STOP, LOOK AND THINK #3

Dear Reader,

This is the third blog in my “looking at art” series, written to offer another way to experience art. Please give yourself several minutes to do this exercise. One of my paintings is below with a set of 3 instructions. STOP, LOOK AND THINK before you scroll down to each section. Remember that there are no right or wrong responses, so it’s a win-win experience!

1. Here is the painting. STOP and LOOK at it for a few minutes. Stay with the image before scrolling down to step 2. Take a few deep breaths and pay attention to your feelings. Positive? Negative? A confused mix of emotions? Nothing at all? What’s going on in your gut?

2. Some basic facts about the painting: Title: “The Harbor.” It is acrylic on canvas, 16” by 20”; I made it in 1999. Does this information verify or affect your first response? My title allows you to edge into my world and has specific meaning for me, because there is a story behind it which is unknown to you. Before you scroll down to step 3, THINK about your first response (image only) and compare it to your feelings. Put the basic information you now have and relate it to the image.

3. Here’s the story. In 1999, I was in the throes of painting a series of homages to artists whose work I admired: Georges Rouault, David Hockey and of course, Vincent van Gogh. I was also waiting for some test results. I was in the middle of a van Gogh homage when the phone rang. It was the doctor – long story short – major surgery. And no one likes to hear the word “cancer.” As I write this, I can see the doorway where I stood to take the call while I looked toward the unfinished painting. When I hung up, I thought: “What the hell am I supposed to do now?” I meant “now” – in that stunned moment when I needed to absorb facts and continue. I walked over to my easel and said, “I will make a very beautiful painting.” Artist Joan Snyder (b.1940), whose studio is in Brooklyn, was in Woodstock, NY on September 11, 2001. She said, “Access to the city was impossible and besides I desperately needed to stay put and make beautiful paintings. I kept painting.” Are these circumstances and responses relevant today? I think so.