30 December 2024
Horses, of courses
“He stepped down, trying not to look at her, as if she were the sun, yet he saw her, like the sun, even without looking”. Anna Karenina
OK, I love this Painting, and unabashedly so. I don’t love all my paintings, far from it, and I’m not showing all the failures I’ve made that have far out-numbered my successes.
Over the fifty years I’ve looked at tons of painting, and the really good ones remain glued to me and stored in my memory. They live in a kind of i-cloud inside me and can be called up quickly for review like the National Guard when needed in a pinch. So I usually know when I’m on to something, and when I’m not. And this study that already appears to be in my i-cloud, is also an alias holding a place for it in my future work. So when it came out of a session the other day it was both familiar, but also a surprise for me. So while I’m painting over the long haul, I’m also awaiting an image like this to show up to help guide me further along my path.
Like Tolstoy’s image of his character perceiving Anna Karenina as a presence, like the sun, images will also sometimes appear to me without looking at them, like knowing someone so well that loving them comes naturally.
Most paintings over time (if they’re good), will eventually reveal their qualities at some point, sometimes quickly, but suddenly too, like walking into a room, and out of all the people present, one sees the most dazzling person standing there right in the middle, as if lit up by invisble rays of loveliness. More often though, paintings for some viewers, will blossom over time and they’ll come up slowly like old polaroids. But this is not a concern for the painter, for what really matters is that their qualities do eventually shine for the whole world to see, even if it’s just a few people at a time.
Some pictures need more time to be fully seen and appreciated because their beauty opens up slowly like a person who is shy. The same goes for paintings of poor quality that will also reveal their defects either suddenly or slowly, after long scrutiny. In some strange ways, pictures are a lot like people.
But, if a painter continues to grow into this Painting life with patience, they’ll develop a deepening critical sense, hopefully steeped in patience. If not, what’s the point of learning such an unusual craft?
Just like some pieces of music, certain paintings, can drive even the most cynical amongst us mad, as they succumb to the divinity of art. And just like the glamorous beauty of very fortunate-looking people, a painting too, can drive another to suicide, so I‘ve heard anyway. But also art is a big business, so lets face it, some people don’t care what painting looks like, they just want to make a buck.
I was talking to a friend recently who is completely mad about horses. She knows everything about them, always has. I bring her up because the passion and knowledge she has for horses is omnipresent in every part of her personality. She knows horses inside and out, she’s the real deal. I’ve watched her size up a horse and render an opinion about it fairly quickly. She told me that seeing a horse at first sight is important but obviously not everything. She walks around it while assessing every minute detail of it before she gets a sense of its attributes and its flaws. She is an expert in this domain and it’s based upon a complete love for the subject which in this case, is horses. This is not unlike a guy like jay Leno whose collection of cars is is total passion.
Speaking of love, when one approaches a work of art it’s not dissimilar to one’s first sight of another person. The initial impression is important and maybe even overwelming in certain cases, but this sensation can be superficial and often fleeting. For like my horse-loving friend, a full appraisal is necessary to make a wise evaluatation of everything especially future partners.
Lets face it, some people don’t love painting, they just want to make a buck.
Unlike a painting, beauty in human terms is constructed from the interior of a person and has the magic of radiating outward into the creation of physical beauty for just the right person, like they say, beauty is in the ey of the beholder. So like my horse-loving friend, the viewer may need time for this alchemy to be accomplished. Indeed, in human terms, some spouses will tell you that it’s ongoing, either an endless adventure or a nightmare.
A painting on the other hand, reveals it’s entire physical nature on its surface, and the first impression, or first glance can seduce or repel us. But like any love affair, if it possesses both truth and beauty, it pleasure will last a life time. So with paintings and love affairs, and like for almost everything else in life, higher quality pictures will usually rise in one’s esteem while weaker ones will fall over time.
This painting here from the other evening is a somewhat of sketch only because I stopped so early at a place that really pleased me. I then went on to make two others that I pushed much further with the sensual luxury of more creamy paint. But like a face with too much make-up, it doesn’t mean more beauty, just means more make-up.
So this picture speaks to me today. Why? I’m not sure. But sometimes pictures act like oracles that tell us about our future, so if it’s true, it will certainly be beautiful in one way or another. I’ll know in a time but at least it’s lodged already in my i-cloud like a random encounter one has with another human being whom we find rather special. Meanwhile, the weather has been hot and without a breeze so the sea was teeming with bathers when I arrived. When I packed up to leave many were still there.
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