Creating in the Opposite Direction
As a college student I remember a Picasso quote to the effect that “good art is made through a series of destructions”. I connected to the idea and claimed it a valid methodology and in fact it was one that I had employed. Some of my classmates were livid. They had the notion, and rightfully so, that art was an act of creation, not destruction.
The destruction hypothesis required, or encouraged one to cover the picture plane with paint; the image could be representational or abstract, it mattered not. Some would wait for the first iteration to dry. At this juncture the idea was to destruct what had been constructed. The crux of the tactic was that the artist had to be relentlessly aware of the surface at all times. Each shape, color and texture was instantly evaluated to determine if it was to be retained or discarded. Spontaneity and a visceral reaction to the play of paint was the desired goal.
Looking back “destruction“ may have been the wrong voice for the procedure. A softer option could have been used such as “a series of alterations”, or manipulations; revisions or variations may have worked. Of course, these words would not have had the same shock value and the “times” necessitated shock value.
To this day, In the Hyde studio, the serious painting begins when the first covering is dry. After analysis shapes and colors are altered; textures and rhythms are manipulated all with the intent of bringing a coherent order to the image. The secret, if there is one, is to always be aware on the existing shapes and colors. It is the reaction or interaction of the fresh color and shape against the old that “creates” new exciting visual relationships.
Both images Barranca del Oeste and Red Rock Winter have been posted on the web before. As with many pieces, one does not become aware of the editing required until it has been studied for some time.
Some time was required to realize that one problem with Barranca del Oeste, 36 x 40", acrylic on panel was one of scale. The mountain overlooking a canyon in the Sierra Madre's in west Mexico was rather majestic. The majesty was not evident in the painting until small trees were introduced into the foreground to provide scale.
At one time Red Rock Winter, 32 x 22" , acrylic on paper, was comprised of variations of red with a little green and blue. The solution was satisfactory but not extraordinary. A small watercolor sketchbook was found with the red rock shapes covered in snow. Transparent and opaque white pigment over red became the plan for the next series of alterations or “destructions”
Artist at Professor
7 年I appreciate your comments Stephen. As an educator it seemed the longer I taught the less interest the students had in probing art issues. Back in the day, I wasn't aware of student leaders organizing gatherings, sans faculty, to look at and discuss art and art issues, but it was happening. You would pass a classmate on the quad they would say we are meeting in the drawing studio at 6;00 p.m. bring a piece of your work. I am rather mild mannered, but It was in is this environment that I developed the ability to take criticism in stride, which worked well for me because the faculty took no prisoners in their critiques.. I had some superior professors, but I wouldn't trade those student sessions for anything. This is where I began to develop my ideas on what constitutes quality art. One also developed the ability to talk more intelligently about images. This became an important asset when teaching became an option for a career. I discovered it is one thing to make marks, it is something completely different to talk intelligently about those marks. I guess I got carried away on this issue. Thanks again Stephen for the comments.
Inter-sensory Artist - Owner at Carpenter Hill Studios
7 年Much appreciated, Marion. Your references to "student days" bring back fond memories of a time when there was conversation about what is necessary and sufficient for an artist. Alas---. Also appreciated is our candor on addressing your paintings and what you undertook (editing) to adjust the paint and materials toward your inner vision and sensations. If an artist is not sensate ---. As to the bit about opaque and transparent white pigment: I'm well aware of that but can remember a recent conversation with an artist who was all about a "simple palette" and what a scam it was to have so many colors available. I appreciate that there are a few different whites and blacks to choose from and that commercially, we still have a few chemists around who also appreciate the other attributes of paint pigment. I remember seeing a Franz Kline up close ---.