Listen to the Music!.....

"Lost in the Sixties - oil on canvas 20x16 inches - SOLD!

"In a picture I want to say something comforting, as music is comforting."

-Vincent van Gogh

Never at any time in the year is there so much music in Nature... as in the Spring! Nature comes alive... the air is filled with sounds and excitement! Music in Nature is pure sound.... void of human noise it is regenerative... and healing to the human spirit. For this sole reason... plein air work should be included in one's process.

Painting beside a waterfall creates the sounds of the visuals in front of you. Combined with the light... colour and movement... it takes artistic awareness and understanding to a higher level. Needless to say... it adds emotional as well as visual support... that often results in a fresher ... more accurate rendering of the scene than from photo reference back in a cozy studio.

Music can be a very supportive influence within the studio as well. Music in this case... comes out of one's "personal play list"... or musical tastes. Whatever the case... research supports that music is inspirational and uplifting to the artistic and human spirit. When those inclement days force you to remain inside... music can transport your senses into a higher zone of creativity.

I have a very eclectic collection of... and interest in various genres of music as does Deb... and in our shared studio we play between sometimes very different individual play lists. We do share common artists and genres... but we do differ broadly in tastes as well. When I need a special artist to inspire me... I choose and vice versa when she feels a need for her music.

I love classical... big band.... jazz... country and folk classic... with a sprinkling of "oldies" from the 60's and 70's. My preference would be to be entirely in the classical genre... and in particular Vivaldi... with those soaring... ethereal violin celebrations.. like the magnificent and uplifting Four Seasons.

However... there are special pictures as van Gogh's quote suggests... that pull at the strings of my heart and soul. Any of Wyeth's work... the Canadian impressionist Tom Thomson and certainly... most of van Gogh's oeuvre. Michaelangelo's David and Pieta reduced "Me" to a blubbering fool... when I stood before them. Art does have the ability to bring about a transcendental state.

Just last week, one of my blogger friends Suzanne Berry posted her most recent piece "The Camera"... a response to the Moses Botkin Challenge Group that she works with from time to time. Suzanne's work is continually of the highest calibre and I much admire both her work and her approach to creating art. This piece however... dragged me constantly back to her site for multiple visits and great enjoyment.

There were many things about the piece that attracted me... but it was the mere simplicity and treatment of her subject that drew me to it... along with her usual masterful and dynamic compositions... breath-taking brushwork and her luminous use of colour. Simply put - this is a masterpiece ... one that I coveted!

I work alone really by choice... and do not join into the challenge thingy... simply because I have so many ideas that I want to work with... before my hour glass is empty and I am no longer able to paint. It will come to us all. Each artist has only so much time to make so many paintings. I choose to direct my own journey in this way. So choose wisely!

Suzanne's energetic... but natural pose reminded me of a photo I had taken on Salt Spring Island when I paid a visit to see my brother and his wife in 2006. The photo taken was wistful... yet warm... but at the same time I felt a deep sense of pathos for the individual. He was most obviously quite stoned... bangin' out 60's hits that we both had shared... but in our very different journeys. He was quite "down-and-out" in his fortunes, it seemed to "Me"... but "He" was 'Free"... to be what he had chosen to become... and seemed happy with his lot. "I" admired "Him" for that! Lord knows...my own journey has hads its ups n' downs too... I can assure you!

I am not usually interested in formal figure or portrait work... preferring to work in landscape and still life genres. I admire those gifted individuals who have committed their lives to those other very demanding art forms. But Suzanne's piece... forced me to leave my path... take up the gauntlet... and to seek some new adventure. I enjoyed my Self so dramatically... that I already had another subject in line before the first was half finished... but that's another story for next time!

So, in closing... my deepest thanks and gratitude go out to my Friend Suzanne Berry and her talented group for making... "Lost in the Sixties" .... a reality! It would never have likely occurred except for this encouraging shove from the witty and talented Moses Botkin Gang... and in particular... Suzanne. Do visit her site... its always a treat for "Me" that I look forward to when she posts new work! Her site is located on the right side of my blog page!

Make your own music... sing your own song!

"Sing!... Sing your song...

Make it simple to last the whole day long.

Don't worry if it's not good enough,

For anyone else to hear...

Just Sing!... Sing your song!"

-Karen Carpenter

Good Painting... and Listening to ALL!!!