Part Two: with them, but not them.
It’s obvious to me that the movement to
Matisse and away from VanGogh is my continuous search. The paintings and
writing of events are what I am and always was. This particular section of the
book was laid out first, in the original, because I was doing my best at Henri
Matisse when the heart attack happened. The initial title was “with them, but
not them”, a simple phrase used to convey the thought of not becoming absorbed
in someone else’s work. I changed around the placement of chapters and renamed
the book to do two things; first, put the heart attack behind me and second, to
take note of the fact that I was in transition with messages happening right in
front of me. It was time for me to take a new attitude, on all fronts.
From VanGogh to Matisse, Cezanne and
Picasso, all smiled at me as I struggled in my studio. Thought dead all these
years, they taught me my craft, and more.
It’s a soul I’m trying to touch upon
canvas for the work of an artist is within, within medias and so much more. It
touches you in the dark, and more.
As a painter I've tried to continue to use the works of others to
study technical aspects, while simultaneously injecting my self in the work. In
moving away from VanGogh and towards Gauguin and Matisse, I've followed the
basic elements from complex to simple, laying into place the processes for my
development into modern painting.
You'd think painting modern works, like
Picasso or Matisse, or abstract expressionism, would be easy. This is not so.
I've found the freedom it takes is absolute, with a sound technical base, only
then can one begin to paint simply. Picasso said, when asked to discuss
concepts of modern painting
"In Matisse's work the vibrations
set up between this violet, that green, creates a third color. That is what painting is. If Matisse draws a line,
it is far more. A kind of metamorphosis always occurs in every single part, and
so creates the whole."
This work is mv tribute to them.
“You
have to remain a child your whole life long” – Henri Matisse
“Really,
there is no one BUT Matisse” – Pablo Picasso
Henri Matisse said to create a drawing,
or prepare for a painting he recreated the work hundreds of times before the
final attempt. He said "in that way, the work comes out automatically with
few surprises."
This painting was done from the drawing,
using red, blue and green in single lines. I feel Henri looking out from it. In
the doing of this work, far from VanGogh in technique and style, I've taken a
path of simplicity, following lessons and messages from Henri.
Portrait
of Henri Matisse (1988)
Matisse is the combination of colors with
grand ideas, in a straightforward manner. That's all he is, and that's all
there is. Art follows simplicity. VanGogh killed himself because his world,
like his pictures, became too complicated. He arrived at a point where he had
to make a choice and Vincent
could only see more complexity. Vincent
made his choice. If you go back to the late 1800's you'll find Vincent, his
"friend" Gauguin and Cezanne, making the beginnings of what the world
came to know as modern painting. They set the stage for Braque, Matisse and
Picasso, who brought the ideas to life. I like Matisse's approach best, a
simple approach in colors and ideas in a world growing ever more complex, an
elegant statement, elegant.
Madame
Matisse,
Waiting
Woman, by Flowers (1910)
