After spending weeks following sports, you come away feeling that there is a top ten to every subject. Who are the top ten “Point Guards” to ever play the game. Who are the best Golfers, who is or was the best putter, who the best sports announcer. It seems fitting and at the same time unrealistic to declare “best” ever in sports. This concept I believe does not lend itself to the creative arts. I don’t see art as being at all competitive, it’s more about what you like or appreciate.
Because I’ve spent so much time following basketball, I’ve not worked on many paintings of my own. So I will share with you a few artists who’s work I feel have been important to me. (Key words “to me”).
These 3 artists were introduced to me by Harvey Dinnerstein. I feel that they have influenced how I see my own paintings.
I believe “The Tate” has the largest collection of Gwen John’s painting. On my only trip to London, I was disappointed to see that they only had one painting on exhibit, having just pulled a complete showing of her work a week or two before.
When Isabel Bishop passed away, there was a small and brief exhibit of her work in New York. I did not know much about her but loved her paintings. There are a few examples of her work here at the Phoenix Art Museum, and I always look for them when I visit the museum.
Mary Beth McKenzie, teaches at the Art Students League of New York. When I was living in New York, she had a one person show. She also has a good book (if you can find it) “A Painterly Approach”.
| Gwen Johns | Isabel Bishop | |
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Well I just completed something. This is an unauthorized painting of Cybel that I did from memory. This is a lot easier to do then you might think. I recognize my family in my paintings all the time and spend days trying to lose the resemblance.
Hi Bob, thank you for introducing me to Isabel Bishop and Gwen Johns. I very much appreciate Isabel Bishop. With Gwen Johns I lack the same affinity that I lack for Edward Hopper, presumably due to the personality of the artists. Reading the article on Isabel Bishop for which you provided a link : “…Bishop’s image has replaced the sinister smirk of the fatal woman or the sensual come-hither of the pin-up model and odalisque with the more authentic, less dramatic miracle of daily laughter: the face of an ordinary, plump woman, spontaneously illuminated by a smile….” reminded me of my post http://artandperception.com/2007/11/first-female-nude-self-portraits.html – While in Germany, I rediscovered a collection of books of poems, novels and essays by Rilke that I had bought in 2008. But I only managed to read Rilke’s essay about “Die Kunst (The Art)” before leaving.
Hi Bob, I am beginning to understand that my previous comment is strange considering the gentle portrayal of the woman’s face in your own painting. Perhaps, there was merely a period of time where depictions of ‘fatal women’ received more attention. Madonnas painted under Christian influence had gentle faces. Da Vinci ‘Ginevra’ made a deep impression on me when I saw it a decade ago.