Believe it or not, I have tried for my whole life to blend in. For example, I had no previous plan to score on our own basket when I found myself in possession of the basketball during a high-school game, Nor did I choose the turquoise Volvo. And I had absolutely no intention of marrying someone that much younger.
The only arena in which I unerringly blend is on the canvas. I cannot stop myself and I am not alone in this, as artist friends have uttered the same plaint. This unfortunately means that we cannot be true Canadian artists. John David Anderson, a talented painter in the Group of Seven tradition, gave a wonderful workshop several weeks ago in which he stressed brush-strokes - loaded brush, short strokes, and definition. I honestly gave it my best shot, but it was hopeless. I cannot resist lengthening the stroke and blurring the difference.
Thus it came about that my version of the subject matter (remote snowbank sculpted by the wind and lit by daylight) entailed so much colour-morphing that not only the season but the hour was unclear. I had wandered away down a colour path of my own choosing. John's wry critique was "Congratulations, Z'Anne: the tones are well integrated but you've painted a night scene."
See? I might argue that it was more like dusk but that is splitting hairs. He was so bang on that we all burst into laughter. Oh, well. Back to the blending primer.
But while we're on the subject of Canadian Impressionism, I've been enjoying the huge new overview by Prakash, which my brother gave me for Christmas. One of my favourite painters is Clarence Gagnon, especially his later work. Have a look at the painting of the ice harvest with the red-blanketed horse (ice harvesting was a favourite subject) if you want to see colour, composition, and life! Notice lack of blending.
The only arena in which I unerringly blend is on the canvas. I cannot stop myself and I am not alone in this, as artist friends have uttered the same plaint. This unfortunately means that we cannot be true Canadian artists. John David Anderson, a talented painter in the Group of Seven tradition, gave a wonderful workshop several weeks ago in which he stressed brush-strokes - loaded brush, short strokes, and definition. I honestly gave it my best shot, but it was hopeless. I cannot resist lengthening the stroke and blurring the difference.
Thus it came about that my version of the subject matter (remote snowbank sculpted by the wind and lit by daylight) entailed so much colour-morphing that not only the season but the hour was unclear. I had wandered away down a colour path of my own choosing. John's wry critique was "Congratulations, Z'Anne: the tones are well integrated but you've painted a night scene."
See? I might argue that it was more like dusk but that is splitting hairs. He was so bang on that we all burst into laughter. Oh, well. Back to the blending primer.
But while we're on the subject of Canadian Impressionism, I've been enjoying the huge new overview by Prakash, which my brother gave me for Christmas. One of my favourite painters is Clarence Gagnon, especially his later work. Have a look at the painting of the ice harvest with the red-blanketed horse (ice harvesting was a favourite subject) if you want to see colour, composition, and life! Notice lack of blending.
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