I have begun this little practice on my
Facebook Fan Page to post a famous artist quote each day and a painting of his or hers. Today it was Henri Matisse's turn again.
The Dessert Harmony in Red
I do not literally paint that table, but the emotion
it produces upon me. Henri Matisse
Well said Henri. I could not have put it better. In fact, I have not been able to totally explain my landscapes to the viewing public. One attempt I use is, "It is what you think you saw after you look away." Or after downloading some vacation photos, "They are never as bright or intense as the landscape I was trying to capture, so I just paint my version."
In a discussion with a friend recently he mentioned that photography was coming into its own at the time the Impressionists, among them Henri Matisse, were painting. There was no longer a reason to render what you saw before you in a hyper-realistic fashion. The Impressionist tried to capture their impression of the world around them. Or in the case of Monet and others to capture the light or the feeling of light.
Today it is not just photography but the digital manipulation of the image you have photographed. Artists that paint are looking for new ways to capture what they see and yes, Henri, feel and put it upon a platform to display. I do not paint the mission church or the sculpted sandstone of the Colorado Plateau. I paint how those scenes make me feel. And hopefully that translates to the viewer.
Hear, hear! Painting is such a liberating experience and like when composing music, the artists can put so much of their own soul into the works they produce.
ReplyDeleteGreat photography can do that also, but painting is a much more personal and self-indulgent experience for the creator of the work. A good artist can invite the viewer into his or her soul.