Two Lives? Great Idea!

Interior, 1913 

oil on canvas, Pierre Bonnard

"I am just beginning to understand what it is to paint. A painter should have two lives, one in which to learn, and one in which to practice his art."--Pierre Bonnard

Listen to Your Muse!

Cezanne's Snack, watercolor on paper, Susan Giannantonio

"There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique.  And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost."  -- Martha Graham

The Notes are All There

Symphony in White No. 3, James Abbott McNeill Whistler

"Nature contains all the elements, in colour and form, of all pictures, as the keyboard contains the notes of all music.  But the artist is born to pick and choose and group with science, the elements, that the result may be beautiful." -JAM Whistler, "The Ten O'Clock Lecture 1885"

Coax the Soul

Scottish Rose, Susan Giannantonio

"The work of art is to help to coax the soul of the nation back to life."--Gutzon Borglum, sculptor, Mount Rushmore and other major work

Go to the Masters

The Red Canoe, 13 3/4 x 20" watercolor, 1889, Winslow Homer

(sold at Sotheby's in 1999 for $4,842,500 and prior to that, in 1983 for $260,000!)

In the book Writing Down the Bones, Natalie Goldberg tells us "if you read good books, when you write, good books will come out of you. Maybe it's not quite that easy, but if you want to learn something, go to the source." That is my philosophy on painting as well. Those artists whose artwork draws me to it again and again have so much to teach. I never tire of pouring over the beautiful passages, hoping to figure out how to convey some of the magic in my own work. --SG

Painting Inspiration: Winslow Homer

Girl Carrying a Basket, 1882, Winslow Homer

In recent months Winslow Homer's gorgeous watercolors have piqued my interest. He utilized several techniques that modern watercolor instructors seldom endorse or teach. In fact he used anything and everything necessary to achieve his beautiful results. For instance, he often used opaque white watercolor, sometimes mixing it with color, to highlight certain areas of the painting. He often abraded the paper with knives and sandpaper. He used rough paper. He even used breadcrumbs to achieve a texture similar but more subtle than salt.