tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3065694115454910742.post3119407864373000777..comments2024-01-13T23:40:11.599+11:00Comments on tachisme: Negative capability in portrait paintingHarry Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05025438150292484846noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3065694115454910742.post-30938436984990674862012-01-06T19:11:13.467+11:002012-01-06T19:11:13.467+11:00Hi Denise. Thanks for your friendship.
Willy, tha...Hi Denise. Thanks for your friendship.<br /><br />Willy, thanks for your support during the year. Have a great New Year.<br /><br />Thanks Laura. have a wonderfully creative 2012! <br /><br />Thanks Leni. Wishing you an inspired New Year.<br /><br />Hi Azucena. Thanks for your very generous comment.Harry Kenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05025438150292484846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3065694115454910742.post-6088972119353991122012-01-06T19:06:17.338+11:002012-01-06T19:06:17.338+11:00Davida, i don't think it's kids just out o...Davida, i don't think it's kids just out of high school who use the photograph as their yardstick for judging a drawing. I think it's the implicit standard of all Westerners who have had a life-time's exposure to photography but very limited personal experience with drawing.<br /><br />To point out that a self-portrait by Rembrandt is not Rembrandt, but a painting, is already too subtle in its obviousness. That paintings have their own requirements, their own raison d'etre quite apart from their subject, is quite lost on them.<br /><br />But in understanding this lies a key to their own liberty. They are not who their parents and teachers say they are. They are not simply framed by society. Like a painting, they too have their raison d'etre. Children do not 'belong' to parents. They are merely discovered by them.<br /><br />Well, you did ask for prevocative, lol.<br /><br />Keep up the great work with your students!Harry Kenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05025438150292484846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3065694115454910742.post-52038480478861682372012-01-01T03:24:27.202+11:002012-01-01T03:24:27.202+11:00Harry, I wish you a happy new year. Thank you for ...Harry, I wish you a happy new year. Thank you for your comment in my blog.You are a Big master.<br />Feliz 2012. All the best.Azucena Rebonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11616971758262166840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3065694115454910742.post-5869485442365303752011-12-31T21:54:02.944+11:002011-12-31T21:54:02.944+11:00Harry this one is a masterpiece.a first class of a...Harry this one is a masterpiece.a first class of art!Magda Żmijowskahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03157428344539463305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3065694115454910742.post-5977756195654609802011-12-31T04:04:03.776+11:002011-12-31T04:04:03.776+11:00Just here again to wish you a happy new year, and ...Just here again to wish you a happy new year, and thank you for your support for me it is very important because you are a master! Grazie Maestro!nouvelles couleurs - vienna atelierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05136437257114318426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3065694115454910742.post-65494282107827869502011-12-31T02:08:00.279+11:002011-12-31T02:08:00.279+11:00I dont need art history, to tell you, that this pa...I dont need art history, to tell you, that this painting, is a powerful piece of art...<br />Thanks a lot for your presence and support!<br />Healthy creative 2012,WillyWilly.https://www.blogger.com/profile/03433543709359365468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3065694115454910742.post-39654312481652451252011-12-30T13:03:16.464+11:002011-12-30T13:03:16.464+11:00Harry,
I came here today to say that I hope your n...Harry,<br />I came here today to say that I hope your new year is full of good surprises, a lot of art and great accomplishments!<br />Grateful for the presence, support and friendship!<br />a real hug!<br />DeniseDenise SCARAMAIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03900073012771855869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3065694115454910742.post-58459221462583706282011-12-30T03:37:23.710+11:002011-12-30T03:37:23.710+11:00Your welcome, Harry.
You are far too advanced for...Your welcome, Harry.<br /><br />You are far too advanced for my classes. I have students who walk in the door with little or no experience with drawing or painting or art history. And they are not very contemplative. So I teach on a very basic level.<br /><br />My greatest problems are the kids right out of high school who believe the photograph is the standard by which one judges drawing ability. When I talk about process taking precedent over product, it goes right over their heads. <br /><br />That's even when I tell them in a rather crude way they should understand: "The second you don't give a shit, the drawings come out great!" <br /><br />But, my older students get it. They have had enough life experience to be more open to alternate ways of doing things than the kids. They try things where the kids dig their heels in and stubbornly plod on practicing the same error over and over again. <br /><br />Whereas the adults figure I can offer something of value to them, the kids view me as the dinosaur who has nothing to impart. Sometimes they snap out of that, but most times not. <br /><br />I'd much rather teach older, motivated adults than the kids right out of high school. They are discriminating enough to recognize what might be helpful to them and what might not. Then they can run with what's helpful. The kids have none of that discernment.<br /><br />Enough whining. Your provocative posts have me hooked. I keep coming back for more. That please me much.lifeartisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17125150782316360619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3065694115454910742.post-79123037248889452022011-12-29T08:06:37.711+11:002011-12-29T08:06:37.711+11:00Davida, what can i say! What a wonderful response ...Davida, what can i say! What a wonderful response to my post. <br /><br />"accepting artistic tenuousness"<br />"let things unfold"<br />"allowing the surprises is the learning"<br />"visual thinking ... feels like an altered state of consciousness"<br /><br />YES! YES! YES!<br /><br />"Giving up control of process is essential to the process" - how pithy, how lucid, how germaine!!<br /><br />You have said so succinctly and clearly what i've been struggling to chase into a corner with a clumsy stick over numerous recent posts. I'd love to be in one of your classes. I hope they appreciate the quality of teacher they have!<br /><br />Thank you for taking the time to share such fully thought through comment.Harry Kenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05025438150292484846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3065694115454910742.post-5783526512822267472011-12-29T07:53:57.108+11:002011-12-29T07:53:57.108+11:00Hi Paulo, how wonderful of you to quote Kandinsky....Hi Paulo, how wonderful of you to quote Kandinsky. His "Spiritual In Art" became my compass last year. His, "There is no must in art because art is free" has become my key to open the doors of experimentation.<br /><br />First Jung, then Kandinsky - we are reading the same things and have become brothers in art.<br /><br />Have a great 2012!Harry Kenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05025438150292484846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3065694115454910742.post-8762689137535160152011-12-27T14:03:14.510+11:002011-12-27T14:03:14.510+11:00Marvelous self-portrait Harry.
I find that I am f...Marvelous self-portrait Harry.<br /><br />I find that I am fascinated by this post. I have been thinking about it for the last few days. I think I comprehend what you are getting at. Negative capability means accepting the artistic tenuousness of what I do. I know that an idea I have visualized will never be realized exactly as I envisioned it. I also know that once I begin, I have to let things unfold. That unfolding may go into places that are radically different from my original intention. Giving up control of the process is essential to the process. <br /><br />Giving up control to the inherent quality of certain materials is also part of this process. How will a material behave under varying conditions? What tricks can I play? What surprises will be forthcoming? The element of surprise is the fun. Allowing the surprises is the learning.<br /><br />You mentioned process taking precedent over the product. I have said that to myself. I have also said it to my students for all the years I have been teaching. Focus on the process and the product will take care of itself. I have found that if I try to make good work, I am always dissatisfied. Once I let go and immerse myself in the process I am far more pleased with the outcome. By not caring about the outcome, the outcome ends up worth caring about. <br /><br />And sometimes it means realizing that whatever it is, it's as good as it's going to get and no amount of picking is going to make it any better. It's one more learning experience. It is time to move on to the next one and continue the process. <br /><br />I really don’t think it’s not caring. It’s visual thinking. Visual thinking is non-verbal. By banishing language one has the sense that one is not thinking. We are so used to thinking in a verbal way, that not thinking verbally seems to be not thinking at all. But in actuality, it’s a high order intellectual activity that is so absorbing it feels like an altered state of consciousness. <br /><br />But I ramble. This was a fascinating and stimulating post Harry. Your imagery never fails to deliver an emotional punch and that pleases me much.lifeartisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17125150782316360619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3065694115454910742.post-7716469562341415372011-12-27T00:41:19.318+11:002011-12-27T00:41:19.318+11:00Hello Harry:
His words about the art and the...Hello Harry:<br /> His words about the art and the artist are really spectacular,<br /> It nescessário resist, even if the compensation for our work is not fair .. The artist creates his work, act into a purely egocentric and narcissistic,this process of creation of the work was completed only after he put<br /> the image of his creation on the screen. <br /> If I may quote from the essay written in September 1913 in number from 178 to 179 of Der Sturm, written by Wassily Kandinsky, the book "Du Spiritual dans l' art " , bibliography ISBN 85-336-0529-3.<br /> The pure art of paintin<br /><br /> Every work of art is born from an inner feeling of the artist, one emotion, that feeling, makes the artist creates his work., Once created, the work is placed in the holder, this image makes the viewer feel the sensation and allows the viewer to find the content of the work, this is a purely spiritual phenomenon. The work of art This is the path that allows the material to communicate with the soul of the spectator, that is, the language of the soul to soul, so we are witnessing the spiritualization of aesthetic. If pure art painting is used to communicate spirit to spirit - pure art is a spiritual element in art which is isolated from the body element independently and develops uncontrollable and touch the soul of the viewer.<br /> So I think it is possible to explain why the pure art and pure artist<br /> lasted for centuries, even without receiving fair compensation for the creation<br /> their works of art.<br /> I wish you that next year 2012, you can make all your projects<br /> and that peace and harmony are present permanently in their ways of life<br />Big hug<br />Paulobondeartehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07455076125968599576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3065694115454910742.post-58565628656532212462011-12-26T12:13:48.317+11:002011-12-26T12:13:48.317+11:00Thank you Jaime. An inspiring and creative 2012 t...Thank you Jaime. An inspiring and creative 2012 to you too.Harry Kenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05025438150292484846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3065694115454910742.post-14312765779117537132011-12-26T12:12:29.989+11:002011-12-26T12:12:29.989+11:00You make me blush, Celeste. You are so generous.
...You make me blush, Celeste. You are so generous. <br /><br />I do what i can. <br />We all do. <br />What else can we do?<br /><br />Big hug.Harry Kenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05025438150292484846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3065694115454910742.post-55349789197991036422011-12-26T12:10:11.167+11:002011-12-26T12:10:11.167+11:00Your very kind, Brian. Hope you and the wonderful ...Your very kind, Brian. Hope you and the wonderful Ms G had a lovely Christmas.Harry Kenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05025438150292484846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3065694115454910742.post-83832979506368151042011-12-26T12:08:33.729+11:002011-12-26T12:08:33.729+11:00I know what you mean, Rahina, about aspirations pe...I know what you mean, Rahina, about aspirations peeking over one's shoulder. Self-consciousness is the enemy of creativity. It kills immersion in the process. Millipedes daren't think about how they walk. <br /><br />Worse still is setting out to paint a master-piece. Some stilted abortion is bound to result. Best just to get lost in the haptic joy of paints.<br /><br />So i don't actually use these reflections as tenets. They are me trying to articulate to myself, after the event, what it is i've most likely been doing recently as i paint. They are part of my studies which require me to be able to give a rationale of my art practice. (that's the whole problem with academic approaches to painting).<br /><br />Yes, i should definitley not have gotten carried away with manefestos, haha.Harry Kenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05025438150292484846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3065694115454910742.post-16572678124098291162011-12-26T11:58:52.043+11:002011-12-26T11:58:52.043+11:00Haha, Hallie. Well spotted!
Yes, doubt and certai...Haha, Hallie. Well spotted!<br /><br />Yes, doubt and certainty do seem to be vinegar and oil - you can shake em up in a bottle but they just want to settle out. And yet they taste great together. Add a little mustard and everything emulsifies into a unity, so maybe there is hope yet, lol.<br /><br />Ive got a copy of Marinetti's Futurist Manefesto and must confess my creaky brief dot points fall a long way short of starting a new world order! So maybe i'll just confess that they're some temporary working hypothises as i paint, until some more satisfying ones come along. <br /><br />See, just part of my negative capability after all.Harry Kenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05025438150292484846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3065694115454910742.post-91431960009056936682011-12-26T11:47:48.402+11:002011-12-26T11:47:48.402+11:00Thanks, Steven. Hope you had a great Christmas.Thanks, Steven. Hope you had a great Christmas.Harry Kenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05025438150292484846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3065694115454910742.post-30409234646908365202011-12-26T11:47:05.440+11:002011-12-26T11:47:05.440+11:00Hi Carolann. I think erratic is good. It's Hum...Hi Carolann. I think erratic is good. It's Human. Walt Whitman once wrote, <br /><br />"Do i contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes".<br /><br />I guess i harbour a belief, most likely just wishful thinking, that if one achieves enough intensity, authenticty and uniqueness of voice, then one day the work might also find a commercial market. But i expect that's not how it works. Marketing, networking, and youth are the way to reputation in the art world nowadays.Harry Kenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05025438150292484846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3065694115454910742.post-79885176126051254982011-12-26T11:36:57.379+11:002011-12-26T11:36:57.379+11:00Rhonda, thank you for the careful looking and rich...Rhonda, thank you for the careful looking and rich rich seeing. <br /><br />Yes, one tries to outstare the Fates, to put on a brave face distainful of life's blows, but they take their toll in a harvest of sadness which we try to tuck out of view of the world.Harry Kenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05025438150292484846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3065694115454910742.post-41655015300499182802011-12-26T11:33:08.583+11:002011-12-26T11:33:08.583+11:00Thanks so much Gabriella for you very aware and be...Thanks so much Gabriella for you very aware and beautifully expressed, lucid response to this work and the process that gave it breath.<br /><br />Of course you would understand - i see similar questing and questioning in your writing and your photographs!<br /><br />So exciting seeing you make a new start in a new place in the New Year!Harry Kenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05025438150292484846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3065694115454910742.post-4607033957941519362011-12-26T11:27:13.607+11:002011-12-26T11:27:13.607+11:00Hi Laura. Absolutely love your recent vibrant and ...Hi Laura. Absolutely love your recent vibrant and oh so expressive portraits!!Harry Kenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05025438150292484846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3065694115454910742.post-53525298796063065072011-12-26T11:25:40.911+11:002011-12-26T11:25:40.911+11:00Hi Gary,
Sorry for the delay in responding. The r...Hi Gary,<br /><br />Sorry for the delay in responding. The run-up to Christmas has been rather hectic (phew).<br /><br />As to my evolving thoughts about how i want to approach painting, they are very fluid. Hardly the sort of thing to be chisled in stone - unless one takes a line from Shelly, "Look on my works ye Mighty, and despair", haha.<br /><br />My musings here are not prescriptive, not even for myself. They are merely an dialogue with myself as to what my aspriations in portraiture might be. Other people's aspirations will be quite different and i make no judgement about how they want to paint. <br /><br />There is room for everbody and everything. There is no Must in painting.Harry Kenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05025438150292484846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3065694115454910742.post-15312445119845104542011-12-24T23:12:57.998+11:002011-12-24T23:12:57.998+11:00Goog brain, good emotions and awesome conclusions!...Goog brain, good emotions and awesome conclusions!<br />Good health and creativity in the next year!Jaime Baiaohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15908591093196243964noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3065694115454910742.post-15700270701098018432011-12-23T17:29:21.860+11:002011-12-23T17:29:21.860+11:00Harry...how is it that you can be so talented on s...Harry...how is it that you can be so talented on so many fronts? what you've written is right on the money---and the painting is too. I'm in awe of you--!Celeste Berginhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06791708298070342301noreply@blogger.com