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| Dappled oil on canvas 30 x 40 x 1.5 |
is a horse of my own making. Horses in paintings abound. My goal here was to remove a bit of the usual way one experiences a horse, by means of color and by means of posture. A bucolic horse scene is beyond my abilities, to be quite honest. Each time I tried to add grass, a fence, a part of the barn, my own sense of correctness made me paint them over. I am inspired by the horse paintings by Alex Kanevsky. Yet I am not he. Inspired, yes. But taking my own direction. Fellow artist Tom Auld, who frequently provides me with interesting artistic tidbits, provided the following list.
"Notes to myself on beginning a painting" by Richard Diebenkorn
1. Attempt what is not certain. Certainty may or may not come later. It may then be a valuable delusion.
2. The pretty, initial position which falls short of completeness is not to be valued - except as a stimulus for further moves.
3. DO search.
4. Use and respond to the initial fresh qualities but consider them absolutely expendable.
5. Don't "discover" a subject - of any kind.
6. Somehow don't be bored but if you must, use it in action. Use its destructive potential.
7. Mistakes can't be erased but they move you from your present position.
8. Keep thinking about Pollyanna.
9. Tolerate chaos.
10. Be careful only in a perverse way.
My favorite is the part about Pollyanna....cute girl but way too sweet. Loses a bit of the genuine.
A toast to Diebenkorn is in order. Cheers!
No matter what you do, your work always contains elements from what came before. I wish I could say, "I invented trousers.". In the end, I have to give it new character.
Jonathan Anderson, Creative Director, Lowe
