Updates from Terri on Her Art Journey
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Inspired by Vincent van Gogh’s “Still Life: Vase with Twelve Sunflowers,” an oil-on-canvas painted in August, 1888, I’ve been painting sunflowers this month.
Indeed, I created 28 paintings of sunflowers, and I will begin sharing them on my Facebook page starting this Wednesday, February 1, 2023. Every day during the month of February I shall post a new painting; I’m calling this project SUNFLOWER28. These will be small works (5” x 7,” 8” x 8,” or 8” x 10”), and most of them will be painted in acrylics (although there are one or two in watercolor). In order to practice my color-mixing ability, I’ve used a very limited palette of ultramarine blue, alizarin crimson, yellow ochre and titanium white, along with some cadmium yellow and cadmium red. Although each painting will feature sunflowers, some will be of single flowers, others will be of sunflowers in a vase, sunflowers in a field, or more whimsical and abstract sunflowers. You may wonder why of all of Vincent’s magnificent paintings, I chose his sunflowers. In addition to the fact that they are one of my favorite flowers and they employ a lot of my favorite color (yellow ochre), I’m drawn to this particular painting by van Gogh because it’s an example of his departure from realism and his attempt to portray the ESSENCE of the chosen object rather than a mere photographic imitation. As Ingo F. Walter writes in his book published by Taschen: “With extreme precision (van Gogh) has captured the flowers, yet the pastose application of colour, the confused arrangement of outstretched leaves, and the inner luminosity of the light blue background, give the portrayal a significance which goes far beyond that of the mere painting of the flowers. Thes sunflowers stand for the artist’s imagination, for his identification with them, for some form of deeper meaningfulness, and they appear to have influenced him.” Indeed, Vincent had quite an imagination and it inspires me to be more creative and imaginative. I may never paint a sunflower like Vincent van Gogh, but I shall paint sunflowers like Terri Anne Thompson. Won’t you follow me during the month of February as I share my SUNFLOWER28 project? You’ll find them on Facebook at terri thompson art.
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Anyone who has been following me on my art journey knows that I’m a huge fan of Vincent van Gogh, his art as well as his life. While I was in Manhattan last summer, you may recall, I visited both the MET (Metropolitan Museum of Art) and MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) specifically so I could see and study his paintings that were on exhibit.
This Christmas I received two wonderful gifts to add to my Van Gogh collection of books. My friend Sujata gave me “Van Gogh: The Complete Paintings” (which, quite literally, is a catalog of every one of the artist’s 871 paintings). And my son Paul gifted me “Vincent van Gogh: A Life in Letters” (a compilation of 76 of the 820 surviving letters penned by Vincent). What surprised me is that during the ten years of his career as an artist, Van Gogh was as prolific in his writing as he was in his painting. In addition to the paintings and the letters, both books go into great detail about the life and times of this tortured artist. With these books, I now have an extraordinarily comprehensive window into the mind of one of the world’s best loved artists. As one of the book jacket summarizes: “Vincent van Gogh’s story is one of the most ironic in art history. Today, he is celebrated the world over as one of the most important painters of all time, recognized with sell-out shows, fete museums, and record prices of tens of millions of dollars at auction. Yet as he was painting the canvases that would subsequently become these sell-out modern masterpieces, van Gogh was battling not only the disinterest of his contemporary audiences but also devastating bouts of mental illness, with episodes of depression and paralyzing anxiety which would eventually claim his life in 1890, when he committed suicide shortly after his 37th birthday.” His paintings and drawings are awesome, of course, but I’m also captivated by the way he writes, especially to his brother Theo. He opens up not only about his painting techniques and struggles with being able to afford art supplies, but also about his emotional stresses and insecurities about being an artist. I can relate to Vincent’s struggles. I admire his work, and he’s my go-to when I need inspiration. But I’m saddened that he died at far too young an age. Before I started calling myself “a visual artist,” I worked at Columbia University, where the Dean to whom I reported would require me to make what were called SMART goals. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound. My performance was graded on how closely I reached my goals, and that’s what determined my raise each year.
So, I’m quite accustomed to the importance of setting goals, and I’ve applied the habit to my career as an emerging artist. If you’re interested in setting goals for yourself, here are a few tips I’ve employed::
Here are my goals for the next 90 days (the first quarter of 2023): – Spend at least 10 hours/week in my studio – Make an average of 5 paintings per week – Take one in-person painting class – Take two online painting classes – Do 12 blog posts (one a week) – For the entire month of February, post one of my paintings every single day on my Facebook page! That should keep me busy for the next three months! Won’t you follow along and keep me on track? Every creative person, whether a writer, musician or visual artist, needs a mentor. And since every person was born to create, everyone needs a mentor!
Fortunately for me as an emerging painter, I’ve got the best mentor! If you’ve been following my art journey, you’ve heard me speak of him before. His name is Rod Moore. A contemporary Impressionist artist based in Noosa, Australia, Rod is founder of the Learn To Paint Academy, where he has taught and mentored me for the past two years. From Rod I’ve learned everything from the fundamentals of painting (including composition, color mixing and values) to how to teach painting to absolute beginners (like me) to how to grow an art business. Rod draws inspiration from the Australian landscape. Recently he went on an ambitious month-long journey through the Australian Outback to find the perfect painting subject. It was my honor to help support Rod’s project by pre-ordering a book of the photographs and paintings that are the result of his trip. In this photo, I’m holding my copy of his book, “Outback Impressions,” in my left hand, and in my right hand is a print of my favorite painting of his trip. It’s an oil on canvas called “Majestic Gums, Menindee Lakes,” and it features one of my favorite subjects to paint: A BEAUTIFUL TREE. (I wish I could paint trees like Rod!) All of the paintings above me in this photograph were inspired by Rod’s courses and challenges. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned from Rod is that the more I study about art and painting, the more I realize there is to study. With Rod as my mentor, I plan to do lots and lots of studying and learning. If you’re interested in learning how to paint, I suggest you check out his courses at www.LearnToPaint.academy It’s a new year and time to make some resolutions and reset some goals. With help from a few friends, I think I’m ready to do that.
You may recall that in my blog post a few weeks ago, I shared that I was stuck in an artistic rut and I asked my Facebook friends if they’d ever had a similar dilemma, and, if so, how did they overcome a creative dry spell? I got some interesting responses. My friend Stan offered that this is not an unusual problem for creative people. He noted that Hemingway went through the same thing regarding his writing. He suggested that I take some chances and even try some different painting styles . . . just have fun, even if it looks wrong. This year I plan to do just that. One person suggested putting on some music and painting along with it. That works for me! My artistic friend Carol said when she hits a dry spell, she starts straightening up her studio and she’ll often come across something that’s inspiring. She keeps an inspiration book of her favorite artists. My office studio can certainly use some tidying up and there are a couple of painters I find especially inspiring, including my instructor Rod Moore and, of course, Vincent van Gogh. One of my goals this year is to look more closely at their work and study their techniques. The best advice I got came from my brother who said I should “PRAY MORE and PROCRASTINATE LESS.” Praying definitely works for me. Last week, I started every day with a prayer asking the Holy Spirit to co-create with me. All I had to do was pray and once I put on my painter’s apron, I was off and running . . . the Holy Spirit is MY MOJO! So, for the rest of 2023 (and beyond, God willing), I shall begin each day with a prayer of thanksgiving and a request for God’s Holy Spirit to fill me with a desire to paint. Furthermore, I won’t beat myself up when I hit a few dry patches (it happens to most everyone, after all). I will tackle everyday stresses by being determined to accomplish one thing that day (and not worry if I can’t get everything done). I will energize my self-care by eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly, even if it’s just a walk around the block. I will make an effort to socialize more, in person and online. And I shall focus on WHAT BRINGS ME JOY! How’s that for a list of New Year’s Resolutions? Oh yeah, and like everyone else, I will lose ten pounds this year! |
AuthorTerri Thompson is a journalist-turned-visual artist, who is on an "art journey" and exploring how to tell her stories through her watercolor and acrylic paintings and photographs. Categories |