The New Inspirational Movement

yes, still here, and not exactly painting my little heart out… have been experiencing a feeling of unreality for quite some time… i have yet to find my “tribe”. nyc is not what people outside of it think its like. living here is not at all like visiting… yes, been in a couple of big shows, but have not found the “desire” of being here and the expression of that in paint as i expected i would have… still, it is an experience i would not have missed out on for the world… i am so happy that this forum exists, that i may connect with my california roots… i feel that a smiley face is in order at the end of that sentence given the subject matter of so many of the blogs here!

you all should see the tiny place i live and work in. truly amazing. one little room, the size of my living room in sf, and the kitchen is included in this space! i should post some photos. still, it is workable. the painting in the photo i was able to do here. i cannot keep any stretched canvas due to the space, but can work against part of one wall. i will keep in touch and let you know of any more new work… peace and love and happiness to you all, chea

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“Wind from the Sea” 1947 Tempura Painting Andrew Wyeth

“I’m not talking about subject matter but a very American quality-an indigenous thing you’re born with.”
Andrew Wyeth

I was at a used bookstore in Fort Bragg Ca, during the July 4th weekend (my second year anniversary) and found a book called The Art of Andrew Wyeth. I was captivated by the way the book was written and his paintings: the critics/historians actually put themselves into his art/shoes, speaking almost in a human spiritual way about his work…and they let the artist speak a lot. I felt like I was living thru his life, like I understood where he stood in his studio and in his world. I was never a fan of “Regional” Art. But I appreciate Andrew because of his approach to making art.

A lot of people drive thru the country and see either a picturesque beauty or nothing important. But Andrew really captured something, the feeling and reality living in a farming community. And even more importantly, there’s integrity in his work, like “this is what my environment is really like, folks.” His portraits are of his neighbors and symbolicly choses them and their landscapes to capture the remoteness, the struggle of living and the death that occurs in such a place….Their emotional power move me…And we’ll I grew up in place similar to Chads Ford Pennsylvania, where he lived, but his paintings show a time of year when his community is very stark…(I would paint Kansas differently, with more color, if I ever have the desire.) But the point is, I’ve had similar feelings he had being out in such a simple landscape: just sky and land, the vastness of it to wander, ponder, to dream…When I read his book, I had a memory of Kansas when I was a child:

“Looking out the window of a car, driving on a single road. The tall prairie grass moving like liquid gold…
The car pulls up the driveway. We get out. I go to the backyard to find something to do. A chainlink fence, a dog house, a tree…A plane flys over me… Its distant motor makes a sound so sad that I’m reminded it’s Sunday…
Sundays are sad, because they are the end of a weekend, family and friends leave and I have to go back to school alone…”

Me

I love the nostalgia more than the reality of Kansas….which is why I can’t return. I’d have to go thru another nepantla to get there, and I can only handle one at a time…. Continue Reading »

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