(146) Blue Hydrangeas
private collection
6 x 8, oil
Robert Henri talked about the importance of painting the spirit or essence of your subject. Eckhart Tolle explains this concept further when he suggests that we consider the wonder and awe of life, stating that a flower "silently communicates itself to you and reflects your own essence back to you. This is what great artists sense and succeed in conveying in their art. Van Gogh didn't say 'That's just an old chair.' He looked, and looked, and looked. He sensed the Beingness of the chair. Then he sat in front of the canvas and took up the brush."
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"An artist's studio should be a small space because small rooms discipline the mind and large ones distract it"...Leonardo da Vinci
While I see merit in da Vinci's statement, some days I feel like the "old woman who lived in a shoe" because it can become equally distracting to efficiently organize a tiny space. So, with that in mind, I'm stepping away from the easel for a few days in an attempt to do some major sorting, filing,and spring cleaning. Who knows what I'll find out there?Maybe the weather will cooperate and it will actually feel like spring!...TTFN