Today I show you two of my drawings (from yesterday) and two works by my contemporary, the Italian artist, Francesco Clemente. First, here are my drawings: I was in the middle of making the second drawing when I realized my approach is allowing me to be spontaneous in the the creation of image and form. I am losing my attachment to anatomy and realism and replacing it with expression through the invention of form with an increased awareness of composition as expression as well. This is what I see in Francesco Clemente's work. Now I show two of Clemente's paintings:
Finishing off "Revolution 10" requires a great amount of detail and focus. I have learned the discipline. I can do this. You can see the changes in yesterday's revisions, most obvious on the man's head. The floor was repainted as well, as were parts of his hands and shirt. Most glaring to me is the incorrect slant of the man's nose, but that is a small failure in the larger success of my resolution of the emotional characteristics of this man's expression. I will finish him today.
Yesterday's drawing in interesting, yet I wonder, "Where is the woman's skull?" This question made me ask, "Did Picasso's 'Weeping Woman' have a skull?" Let's look. See the Picasso painting below my drawing—No, she has no skull! I wish it were easier to live with the emotions of living. There is so much complexity in each moment. Living is confusing, and worrisome, if one dwells upon all one understands about life, living, and one's relationships. For me, the way to simplify it all, to toss off the coat of complexity, is to open the door, walk in the studio, and begin to draw. That is what I did yesterday. I had a good day! I get myself in trouble with worry and doubt if I allow myself to be preoccupied with "what it all means." It is far better to simply show up and do.
Each of the four drawings I made yesterday are very good. The formula for me is to have no formula. I have to show up and let it happen. Yesterday I also placed re-touch varnish on the painting "Intimidation." I placed it back on the painting wall and quickly realized the head of the woman on the left is too large. I want to finish this painting within the next couple of weeks and deliver it to the AVA Gallery Summer Show on June 19th. The man's head must be destroyed. Yesterday, in the painting "Intimidation," I re-painted much of the man's shirt and pants, and all of the female figure on the right. Now it is obvious the man's head is wrong. It is wrong in size, shape, expression, and in atmospheric color. Wow, it is really WRONG! So, once again, maybe for the sixth time, I will destroy the man's head and search to find the authentic one. All this destruction and creation has actually boosted my morale. I believe fully in an authoritative outcome for this painting. I feel within me the correct size, shape, expression, and color of this man's physiognomy. It is simple, I just need to feel, paint, and know simultaneously. This means I must be completely present as I create the form and color of this man's head. As I work, I must accept no less than legitimacy. The problem is this: the created visage must be true to itself and the entire painting. The enormous time I have practiced making art has provided me with the intuition, the awareness, and the discernment, to do this well.
Maybe I should not be this way, but I can't control myself. I must. Today I will change the male's head in the painting "Intimidation" once again. It is not perfect. It does not look so bad if you zoom in and view a close-up of his head, but it is not perfect. From here you can see it. His head is too elongated, especially below the nose. Therefore the mouth sits incorrectly. More importantly the emotions he exudes are not quite right, but they have taken a step in right direction since my last corrections. I do like the hands, which are new in the version shown today.
I am trying to be a patient man. As I get older I more fully realize the limitations of my life. I do not want to waste time. Yesterday's one drawing completely consumed me, and I do not think it is anything special. I did practice the craft of drawing. Is that enough to make it worth my time? I think yes. Practicing is like saving money in a bank. It is there for you. Time was spent, time is gone, but knowledge and intuition have been enhanced. So, maybe, it is not so much akin to money in a bank as an investment in property. It sits there, and it can be developed, and made more substantial, through additional, creative effort.
I do know that one of the reasons I make drawings is their being part of the problem solving of my paintings. Yesterday's drawing has an angled, uplifted head, similar (but pointed in the opposite direction) to the woman's head in the painting "Unexpected." Before going back into "Unexpected" I need to understand this particular pose of the head, which presents its own peculiar, structural problems. It did not surprise me much. I'm getting used to it. A big change one day is followed by a quandary the next. Such it was with the painting "Unexpected." Yesterday I did not paint. Sorting it all out is like looking at a river basin full of river stones. I know the stone I like is there, but how do I find it, and how do I know it is the right one? I will have to look at a million stones to securely know the one I like the best. I do like the second drawing I made yesterday (immediately below). I do not like yesterday's first drawing (at end of today's post). This tells me that I like invented and robust forms more than those which more closely approach nature. Take a look at the difference between the noses in yesterday's two drawings to better understand this comment. In drawing #2 the guy's nose is a robust triangle, while in drawing #1 her nose more closely mimics natural reality: boring!
This is not about placing a left hand on a right arm. I've done that before. So has Pablo Picasso. In most cases the viewer will not notice this incorrect anatomy since it has little expressive consequence. In yesterday's drawing it is his left eye (on viewer's right) that is not correct. In this case the incorrectness does diminish the expression. First thing today I will fix it. Look in tomorrow for the corrected drawing.
The post previous to this one was two days ago (02/06/2012). I did get very busy on Monday February 6th, and did not get to the studio. Yesterday (Tuesday) I had nothing to report. Monday morning was devoted to financial matters, and Monday afternoon to appointments. This did not matter as much as my requiring a day off to recover from the recent intensity invested in my work, particularly in the painting "Unexpected." It always surprises me that I cannot control my energy output, or my energy reserves. A day of exuberant work is often followed by several days of me dragging around and feeling depressed about it. This week is a difficult week with many appointments, but this morning I did awake feeling renewed, with an energetic desire to get back into the studio and problem solve. I have often quoted Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator ("I'll be back.") because it feels relevant to my repetitive exhaustion and recovery. This work is a cycle of ups and downs, me always coming back from exhaustion to find the energy to create again. It is unpleasant, but its necessity must be accepted as part of this profession. I have been calling this latest painting "Unexpected" because I'm surprised by its alterations, over and over. I don't even know if this painting is any good, or worth my time. I do know I have a desire to keep pushing it in unexpected ways. I will follow my instinct, and push on. Yesterday's two drawings were very interesting in their willing forthcomingness. The drawing immediately below examines my questions about the rotation of the woman's head in "Unexpected." The drawing at the bottom of this post questions my oft too-close-to-nature manner of making human form. As many of my mentors have shown, from Philip Guston to Pablo Picasso to Alberto Giacometti to Francis Bacon to Willem de Kooning, distortion of the human figure is a better way to express being human.
Monday's studio time is always short, as it on these Money Mondays that I deal with my financial realities (a grounding reminder that work is not purely about expression). I did what I said in yesterday's post. I went back into yesterday's drawing, erased the woman's head, and her right leg, and re-drew both. I visited the studio early this morning and found the drawing adequate. This surprised me, as looking at it in reproduction makes me feel the new woman's head is too large, but in actuality it make sense in the composition. Perhaps her torso is too small or not robust enough. In any case, it is not worth my time to give it a third stab, so this is what we get. Today I will go back into the painting "Unexpected." The company that publishes my post cards has asked me to create four new double-sided cards, which they will produce for free. They want me to have this done this week. I want my newest painting to be on one of them. This is inducement for me to finish "Unexpected."
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May 2024
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