watercolor 37, 10 x 15”
3:43 PM: this is my final experiment for today: watercolor 37. over decades, i’ve gradually evolved these compositions, both studio and plein air paintings, moving them step by step from being descriptive to being patterns in space, while retaining the familiar forms of rocks, branches & water. this allows us, ideally, us create our own story. for me, as matisse has pointed out, abstraction is a meaningless game unless it derives from natural forms.
this development has been completely organic, in the sense that i never planned for it, and it’s as much of a surprise to me as it will be for you all. after studying matisse for, basically, my whole adult life, i’ve finally begun to comprehend what he was up to, and thus begin iincorporating his lessons in the context of my development as an artist. this also sheds a sharper light on the lessons i received from my mentor, teacher & friend the late yannis tsarouchis in greece during the ‘60’s and ‘70’s. while he never acted the role of teacher, he embodied it, and all you had to do was pay attention. pay attention during those precious visits to his studio; during our drives and walks together, and during his vists to the studio of my then mother-in-law, niki karagatsi, a great artist in her own right.
watercolor 36, 10 x 15”
2:05 PM: here’s the next one: watercolor 36, 10 x 15”
watercolor 35, 10 x 15”
DETAIL of watercolor 35
12:50 PM: i’m now working on the 10 x 15” sheets of arches watercolor paper leftover from the larger sheets i used for watercolors 1 through 34. this one popped out after the time i spent with matisse over coffee. if you glance at the matisse quote on the right of the 1st row of photos in the gallery below, you’ll get a sense of where i’m at. i’m also getting some cool ideas for the book i’ve been threatening to write by flipping through the images from his notebooks. text and drawing are combined on some of those pages in a way i can strongly relate to.
11:53 AM: i’ve been organizing my iMac desktop, basically shoving everything into a folder labeled “DESKTOPS.” familiar?
i also transferred photos i shot yesterday on our trail walk, some of which are candidates for watercolors and/or when my shoulder heals, larger oils.
while having breakfast i looked through matisse; rhythm and line, a BIG heavy book someone was selling years ago on the streets of the 16th arr. in paris. i’m posting a few details from that book, along with diverse other photos, including some from our trail walk yesterday. the first pic on the first row is something that’s been sitting on my desk; it’s what happened when i needed to test the nib on one of my two favorite fountain pens.
if and when i make another watercolor today, i’ll post pics later.
