Art That Makes My Heart Sing

Le double portrait au 
verre de vin by Marc Chagall

I saw this image, (a tiny thumbnail), on the Bau-Xi Facebook page and didn't realize it was a Chagall painting.... It drew me in instantly. His art has done that for me in the past too, apparently I'm a fan of Chagall's work.

Icarus I by Jylian Gustlin

I am continually inspired by Jylian Gustlin, (I've mentioned her before.) She's an artist from San Francisco... Check out her site, it's a feast for the eyes! She works in so many mediums: From digital, to fiber, to mixed media, even photography.

Primary Concern by Michael den Hertog

Michael den Hertog is a Vancouver artist. I have met him and found him to be genial, he also allowed me to pick his brain about the business of art... I own a print by him. Maybe one day, I'll have an original. See his current works gallery here.

Ne me quittes pas by Ken Flett

The first time I saw this next Canadian artist's work, was when one of his pieces was used by the Belfry Theatre on the poster for a production a few years ago. I liked it so much, I searched for more of his works. It's raw and beautiful. I also couldn't help but love the title of this particular piece on the right, as it's a nod to one of my favourite singer songwriters, Jacques Brel. Ken Flett's works must be seen in person to really be appreciated.

Study For A Saint About To Fall by Rachel Berman

I spend a lot of time, looking at art. I'm one of those people that loves art history as well as visiting my contemporaries' studios. When an artist's style varies greatly from mine, I still find inspiration in their technique or their vision. I can count many artists among my friends. Each one is unique. I remember laughing with Rachel Berman in a bookstore, (a fabulous and inspiring artist), about how we just loved talking about art but that it was hard to get to work right after conversations about it, because we get too wound up in our excitement!

Illustrating Life

I can spend hours browsing in a bookstore... Luckily, both my partner and I are like that, so there's no one waiting impatiently. It's a time we both relish.

Last week, I wandered alone into Munro's Bookstore. I'd been looking for something in particular. Of course, I ended up in the art section. This book caught my eye immediately.

“An Illustrated Life: Drawing Inspiration From The Private Sketchbooks Of Artists, Illustrators And Designers.” by Danny Gregory

I picked it up and started looking through it. I was met with a wide variety of sketches upon sketches. Some are very loose, others are little gems of detail. For this compilation, Danny Gregory  interviewed some 40 artists about their process. He includes plenty of examples from their private sketchbooks and illustrated journals.

Playing with textures

How fabulous is that? Very fabulous when you've spent the last few months struggling with creating art, and not finding the joy in it. Then you see how these artists of every stripe just go on filling journals with sketches, good or bad, doesn't matter. It's about doing it. Period. What it comes down to is, it just keeps you limber, like physical exercise. I'd forgotten about that.

Reading in the Cabin

Yes! I thought. I can do that!(I have done that.) No rules? Even better. (I am however, choosing to not rip out pages. I don't want to focus on the product, only the process. There is so much freedom in that.) Just draw what you see, what you're thinking, what you wish you could see, ideas, whatever. It was worth the 20-something dollars I spent on this book, if only to be reminded of what I already knew. And as I sketch, I am grateful for that serendipitous moment, when this book offered itself up to me.

Hm. Pentel brush pen or graphite pencil today... If only making decisions was always this much fun.

Fantastical Landscapes

I feel a kinship. Something in this artist's work reveals a part of me to myself.  He creates floating, whimsical landscapes one wants to get lost in...  They seem at once familiar, yet oddly dreamlike... this dicotomy makes the eye want to wander aimlessly over the  cascading and intricate sculptures... 

I feel giddy when I look at Chris Natrop's work.

Finding Inspiration in Music

There is a marvelous singer, whose songs I return to again and again. Her songs sound familiar, yet they're incredibly original.  She sings in three languages: French, English and Spanish. I, myself, find that irresistible.  Over her three albums, she has transformed her sound by using influences from Europe's Gypsies, her Mexican roots and the likes of Jacques Brel and Tom Waits, whose works I thoroughly enjoy.

She has a lovely video for the song called "Rising". The song's mood strikes a chord with my melancholic side. And the illustrations, well, i just love their simplicity and thoughtfulness. The transformation of the figures add to the already dreamlike narrative.

The singer's name is Lhasa de Sela. Her music is a balm for the soul.

You can watch her videos, including "Rising", here.

Ondaatje and Matisse - What they taught me.

This morning, my friend and I talked about imagery in the written word.

We were discussing one of my favourite authors, Michael Ondaatje. I am introducing this friend to Ondaatje, with the book In the Skin of a Lion. (He had read only a part of it when we had this conversation). I was marveling at Ondaatje's incredible ability to paint scenes with words. And my friend described it as instead of having the character introduce themselves... Ondaatje literally depicts their environment and their response to that environment. And through that, you get the story and character development. My friend added that he writes with tableaux... He somehow connects each tableau in order to form an intensely original piece of writing. My favourite bit of written word, is actually a chapter in the book In the Skin of a Lion. It's the story within the story, of the nun who fell off the bridge. I'll leave it at that, as you may want to read it for yourself... I recommend that you do.

My objective as an artist, is to move away from simply reflecting what I see - but move into the realm of storytelling... I want to use something other than the act of applying paint to give my work weight. I want my work to tell a story.

On Matisse:

When I was in France 2 years ago. I had the opportunity to go to the Matisse Museum in Nice. While I liked some of Matisse's 2-dimensional works, I was not at all acquainted with his bronze sculptures. That is when truly I fell in love with his works, it is the raw power of his imagery that attracts my every senses. Matisse put it this way: "I sculpted as a painter, I did not sculpt like a sculptor." This is yet another example of using approaches from another medium to strengthen your storytelling power with visual art.

Large Seated Nude

bronze, lost-wax cast
1922-29

Magdaliene I

1901

I will leave you with a Matisse quote:

[...] I know perfectly well what a human body looks like - for me, a model is a springboard, a door I have to break down so as to get into the garden in which I am so alone and so happy.