learning to see

"We have no visual knowledge of any kind except that of form and space. The dimensions of space determine the world in which we move and live; and space, in turn, is established and defined by the objects or forms that occupy it. The artist, concerned with giving graphic expression to his perceptions and his creative imagination, cannot avoid re-creating form in space, for there can be no visual communication that is formless and spaceless - there can be just nothing at all."
- Graham Collier, Form, Space, and Vision (2nd edition)

"Drawing is learning to see. When we begin, we draw what we think we see..... As we look more closely, we begin to recognize shapes and relationships accurately; we engage with the subject and we begin to read and interpret the marks of the drawing itself, and we allow the subject and the marks of the drawing to guide us through the process. This is the beginning of drawing and learning to see."
- Margaret Krug, An Artist's Handbook: Materials & Techniques

"Form, line, texture, value, and color are the plastic means by which the artist can express graphic ideas. Although the term plastic denotes something formed or molded, as in the three dimensions of sculpture, the draftsman can, by a skillful use of line, texture, and value, create a very real sense of plasticity within the two dimensions of a flat surface."
- Bernard Chaet, The Art of Drawing


I am out and about most days with my sketchbook and nerdy mechanical pencil, finding in groups of buildings and other objects the arrangements of forms and colors that excite my imagination and lead to further study, sometimes resulting in the final layout for a new painting. Recently, I've become really intrigued by egg cartons, of all things. The logical, simplified forms and their relationships to each other in such close proximity was a lot of fun to draw. They are, in essence, architectural. I'm continuing to work on this and have some ideas to do a painting in, of course, egg tempera.

In the above quote, Graham Collier ignores color as part of our "visual knowledge". I don't know why he does. Color affects perception. The appearance of shapes and masses depends, in part, on their color - advancing or receding, standing out in sharp contrast or blending in with the overcast sky. It is an important part of visual knowledge. Sorry, Mr. Collier.

the task prescribed

"Anyone who looks with a pure spirit, with eyes not obfuscated by intellectual passion, could see in a part of nature the 'eternal norms' .... To such a one was evident the 'law according to which the rose and lily blossom', the animal 'type', the leaf, the slow transitions of metamorphosis, the providential memory of Biblical creation. These were the sublimest images that had ever populated the earth. Man must continue to shape, develop, and enrich them within himself, draw them in pictures and books, even if, around him, the elements unleashed their fury.

"The task prescribed for man was to overcome the violence and arbitrariness, sterility and absurdity that accompanied nature, making shine out everywhere the law of the rose and the lily, the perfection of metamorphosis, the harmonious sound of spheres." - Goethe, a biography by Pietro Citati


I work from nature quite a lot because of everything that it throws out at me. I enjoy the weird chaos, even if it's on a low level, of having to contend with the fact that something is in front of me. Which may mean ignoring it, as I sometimes do. Decision making is part of a painter's working process and there is a balance between trying to pack in everything that I can observe, on the one hand, and eliminating the extraneous - - - "what to leave in, what to leave out". These paintings are small and are not much more than note-taking, a kind of short-hand, and are only a step toward an enlarged, reworked, maybe altogether different painting hanging out there somewhere in the future.

Painting at home, I am guilty of being somewhat lazy and habit orientated. Working outdoors can be unpleasant and inconvenient, which is why I do it. It puts me on the spot and forces me to contend with arrangements, patterns, masses, colors, and all kinds of other things that won't come together for me that way when I'm at home and sitting in my chair. There is a whole elemental level that I can start to sink into as the minutes and the hours slip away. I come home afterwards with these little watercolors that I cannot anticipate in the morning.

tardiness will not be tolerated

I was very slow in announcing this blog to family, friends and colleagues and have been spoken to about the importance of staying on top of this now that the blog is up and the website is in preparation. I have received the appropriate punishment and will try to do better in the future.

in a plain way

"The greatest thing a human soul ever does in this world is to see something and tell what it saw in a plain way. Hundreds of people can talk for one who can think, but thousands can think for one who can see. To see clearly is poetry, prophecy and religion, all in one." - John Ruskin


I did not know who John Ruskin was, and what his work had to offer, until after I left art school (damn you, Tyler!). This was a great shortcoming of my professional education. Ruskin believed that art, craftsmanship, and living are all parts of each other and that only with truthfulness can creativity really be effective. He placed great value on skill, but still greater value on truthfulness. I always keep his writings in mind when I am at work in the studio.