Seeing the Universal in the Specific

Many years ago I was assigned, by the print company for which I worked, to paint a series of angels.  I worked so hard on those angels.  But the series was rejected for print because they looked too much like real people.  I have struggled with this notion.  I yearn to see universal humanity through an individual, not the reverse.  The market is flooded with images of generic people, done so because, supposedly, more people can relate when a particular visage is rendered in an undefinable way.  These images smack of mass marketing to me and seem somehow cheapened.  And so it goes.

So when I read the following quote about H. Craig Hanna on the website from Amelia Johnson Contemporary, my heart was lightened.....someone else feels the same as I do.

 He paints recognizable human beings as opposed to standard images of physically perfect or stereotypically imperfect 'types'.  They are not, however, portraits, and most have their identities effaced, faces obstructed, but their presence is the strongest and most captivating element in the painting.

 Affirmation.  Sweet.

Falling in Love

There is nothing like the feeling of falling in love....very very intense.  It doesn't happen that often.  During our recent visit to San Francisco, we visited a couple of galleries in St. Helena.  Although the galleries were spectacular in every way and there was an abundance of beautiful art objects to grace the home, the works on the walls were disappointing to me.  They were too slick, too impersonal;  i.e. an immense work in black and white of pounding horses' hooves.  Nothing that touched my soul.  The next day, I spotted a poster in a shop window on 24th Street in the city.  The painting pulled me across the street where I quickly jotted down the information.  Back at home on my computer I was able to pull up the wonderful wonderful work of H. Craig Hanna.

Another muse.............totally inspiring.  Hi art.