Rothko and the modern world

“The role of the artist, of course, has always been that of image-maker. Different times require different images. Today when our aspirations have been reduced to a desperate attempt to escape from evil, and times are out of joint, our obsessive, subterranean and pictographic images are the expression of the neurosis which is our reality. To my mind certain so-called abstraction is not abstraction at all. On the contrary, it is the realism of our time. “

 I think this is as true today as it was when he said it.  The relevance of his art to this world is best expressed by the recent price paid for one of his works and the fact that reprints or facsimiles of his work (in much reduced size) are available in generic home decor stores.

I’ve seen his works at the Art Institute of Chicago and was inspired by the complexity of the technique and the size of the canvas. They are huge!

A quote from Robert Genn

Find a sanctuary where you can comfortably work.
Dedicate at least two hours a day to your art.
Have more than enough equipment and supplies.
Set short- and long-term goals and keep track of progress.
Think of your work as exercise, not championship play.
Explore series development and exhaust personal themes.
Work alone with the benefit of books and perhaps tapes.
Replace passive consumption with creative production.
Use your own intuition and master your technology.
Feel the joy of personal, self-generated sweat.
Fall in love with your own working processes.
Be forever on the lookout for the advent of style.
Try to be your own person and claim your rights.
Don’t bother setting yourself up for rejection.
Don’t swing too wildly and damage the well-being of others.
Don’t jump into the ring until you’re feeling fit.

You can see this and more at Painters Key, linked to the right.

Multiple versions

I typically repeat the drawings any time, each one is different and it seems to revolve around my mood at the time. A lot of what I do is motivated by my subconscious, the weight of the strokes the hardness of edges. These 2 I did last week.

Graphite vs Charcoal

I like the drama of tone in charcoals vs the subtlety of graphite. Here is a sketch from my notebook done in pencil

I do 2 or 3 a day. This is the model for the charcoal in the earlier post.

The importance of practice

I try to draw for a couple of hours a day. My goal is t least one drawing per day. I am only posting my recent work though. I see the best results when I slow down down and get into a rhyhmn and then things just seem to come together. I’ve been reading the Painters Key and I am impressed with work being done there. Its tough maintaining any kind of internet site and still make time to work on art.

I am still obsessing on female nudes and here is a couple of my recent charcoals. I try to stay loose and not get too focussed on details. I like the light and shade produced by charcoal better than graphite.

Blue Study

pastels and color field

There are possibilities for pastels and color field. Large canvases are typical but I’m thinking that small might draw the viewer in, forcing them to focus vs overwhelming them. The colors are not clean and in this case not distinct.

Not my best yet.

More on the figure

I like the incomplete image of this one as well as the strokes. Don’t like the overall tone. I think it lacks range and looks flat.

Figure studies

I’ve been obsessing on charcoal and graphite figures. I am slowly understanding how to define edges by shading and showing volume through tone. Practice, practice, practice,

The Figure Exercise

Why is drawing the figure important? I like the form, the subtle shading that expresses that form. The effect of shadow and light. Figures have a long history in art education and I think fill a deep psychological need in both the artist and viewer.