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January 03, 2006

But then again...

I worry that, not having any situation, story or relationship, my pictures are flat and lacking substance. It is the hardest thing to judge whether your own work has any presence.

It’s no good looking to The History of Art for help, you can find examples of anything you want there, from photorealism:

chuck-close.jpg

Chuck Close

to abstract expressionism:

pollock2.jpg

Jackson Pollock

from the blank canvas to the empty gallery. The History of Art is no help, in fact it’s a hindrance when trying to assess the merits of your own work. No-one has ever worked out what the IT is that makes a painting work.

For a buyer it’s simple: if you like it [and can afford it] buy it. But for the painter it’s ultimately frustrating, you will never be satisfied with your work.

Posted by john at January 3, 2006 03:20 PM

Comments

Some people's paintings are about the beauty of landscape. Other people's
paintings are about the prettiness of
landscape, which is not quite the same thing. Some people's paintings tell a story and some - oh, probably most - portraits are more about status and situation than about the person.
Your paintings are, to me, about the peopliness of people - their physicality, their skin, their muscles, their genitals, all the bits of equipment that are indeed equipment and yet look beautiful to us. And yet they are not idealised: they are real people. That is why I like them so much: and that is why they have both substance and presence.

And your fruit paintings, as your own lemon admitted when you chatted to it recently, are about the lemoniness of lemons, the peariness of pears and quite possibly the peachiness of peaches. They have substance and presence too.

Posted by: Daphne at January 3, 2006 11:10 PM