“Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and only thing you have to offer.” Barbara Kingsolver
I love this quote. What is it that I have to say? I’d rather let the painting do the talking.
“The painter needs all the talent of the poet, plus hand-eye coordination.” Robert Brault
I read an article last month that changed my mind about working in series — it’s something I haven’t been interested in doing… until now. Here’s an excerpt from ‘Reasons for Artists to Make Art in Series’ which I found on www.artbusiness.com:
“In a way, you can compare making art to writing a novel or composing a poem. Very few ideas can be adequately expressed in single chapters or verses as compared to how thoroughly they can be treated in entire novels or poems. The same holds true for art.”
The author, Alan Bamberger, went on to talk about a series providing context and taking viewers on a journey, and I had one of those ‘a-ha’ moments. How many times have I seen a work of art and then visited the artist’s website only to be confused by seeing artworks that have nothing to do with the one I first saw? Don’t get me wrong — I love variety. There’s definitely a point at which, for me, seeing art that is too much the same turns me off. Fortunately there are many different ways of working in series so that a body of work tells a story or appears connected, and that’s what I’m interested in exploring.
I’ve spent the last few years painting all sorts of things in a variety of different styles and I have a pretty good idea of what wakes me up and holds my attention, creatively speaking. So now, as well as going off on my experimental tangents, I’m going to start organising my art into novels and poems — two metaphors that make complete sense to me. And that brings me to today’s post. I’ve started working on a series of aerial landscapes based on photos I took on a memorable flight over the Canterbury Plains in 2013. More WIPs to follow soon.
“Art is long, and Time is fleeting…” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“Look at everything as though you were seeing it for the first or last time.” Betty Smith
Yes, it’s the Kaikoura coast again ― same view, same reference photograph ― but every time I paint it, I see something different. I’ll post a photograph of the final painting just as soon as I’m ready to leave it alone.
“One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.” André Gide
Click on the images for a clearer view.
P.S. If the landscape looks a little familiar, that may be because I painted the same photograph last month (The View).
‘The View’ is a little something I made for this year’s Christmas market at Sumner.* The painting is of our beautiful Kaikoura coastline as seen from the Port Hills in Christchurch. I found a $5 frame at a recycling depot, removed the seriously ugly dried flower art that was in it, and painted a landscape on canvas to complement the mahogany-coloured wood (see photograph below). It was such a fun project, I may have to go in search of more frames that need rescuing.
*I’ll be selling my art cards and a few of my smaller paintings at the Sumner Market in Christchurch this coming Sunday 13th and also Sunday 20th December, 10 am – 2 pm.
Anna Cull ~ Art & Music 