Bouguereau Study at Arcadia Gallery
This painting was shown at the Boston International Fine Art Show last month. I didn’t get a chance to see the show, but apparently it was hanging on the outside wall of Arcadia’s booth, facing the show’s entrance. The gallery got a call yesterday from a collector whose wife saw it at the show and “fell in love with it.”
It’s getting shipped out today…
…to post much these days. But I am planning to post progress shots from one of the new figure paintings I’m working on. The progression will begin at the first step, which, according to Glinda from OZ, is where one should start. I’ve got five new figure pieces in various stages of development, as well as a new endeavor: A portrait! I’ll post some shots of my first one soon, and if anyone wants a portrait, or knows someone who wants a portrait get in touch.
In writing this post I found two images that are near-identical, but with different titles.
The one on the left, “Head of a Child 5″ 1998, is now in the Denver Art Museum, as seen below with its former owners, Vicki and Kent Logan, standing in front of it. The image on the left is from http://www.helnwein.com/ and is called “Untitled” [Detail] 1998.
On Helnwein’s site (http://www.helnwein.com/), is a quote from William S. Burroughs stating that “It is the function of the artist to evoke the experience of surprised recognition: To show the viewer what he knows but does not know that he knows. Helnwein is a master of surprised recognition”
I agree that Helnwein can indeed provoke surprised recognition, and can agree with Burrough’s definition of the artist’s function, although I think it is rather narrow in its scope. What I wonder about is whether his current painting method can really be called painting? According to another site, http://www.helnwein-museum.com/article1801.html, Helnwein prints digital photos onto large canvases and then dabs paint onto them. I would describe that as retouching a photograph, or something like that. Calling them “oil and acrylic on canvas” seems disingenuous. If Helnwein’s objective is to create images that spur “surprised recognition” then I wouldn’t think it would matter how the image is constructed, because the image’s impact is not keyed to painting. Why not create a new description for the process, one that doesn’t leave out a key component in order to prevent “the initial dazzle of Helnwein’s technique fad[ing] slightly with the knowledge that he begins with a photograph.”
Irish Landscape3 (Nire Valley) 2003
All this leaves me mainly unmoved. Part of me is glad to know how Helnwein manages to pull off these images. Part of me is glad he is making such big, impacting images.
But can it be called painting?
This aphorism, “Always use the biggest brush possible” was posted on Rational Painting on June 12th, and engendered a very interesting debate. One side thought that it was good to tell students and beginners to work with the largest brush possible, while the other side thought it to be an incomplete belief better replaced by an awareness of the reasons behind choosing a particular brush: Desired stroke, opacity, edge, etc.
The pro side countered with some of the advantages of using a large brush, namely saving time, being forced to consider the large forms first, and the painterly quality a large brush provides.
The con side didn’t dispute the advantages, but questioned the issues inherent in holding such an all-inclusive thought.
Is it not more important to know why one chooses a certain brush? Its material, shape, spring and size all contribute to the marks it makes, and paintings are built with brush marks, even when those marks are hidden such as in my friend Tony Curanaj’s work.
The debate raised some hackles and good questions. People always react when a belief is challenged, and artists seem to hold quite a few beliefs that can be challenged, such as the “never use black” belief.
What do you think?
Please take a look at this documentary.
Jim’s solo exhibition in Perth.
Check it out if you like…….
http://www.greenhillgalleries.com/exhibitions/exhibition_details_thalassoudis.html
I started learning to paint in this manner four years ago this month. After losing 30 years to thinking that realist painting was dead and buried — thanks Pratt! — I’m in a hurry to learn as much as I can. Fortunately, I’ve met some wonderful, helpful artists that have been extraordinarily generous. Trouble is, the more I learn the more I realise that I don’t know. I don’t even know what I don’t know, and it can make me a bit crazy sometimes. But I’m going to do as much as I can, and be happy I got as far as I get.