Something you've just got to do
This is an image of the first painting by Georgia O'Keeffe that ever caught my eye--it was the poster for her retrospective at the Whitney Museum in 1970.
From the first time she rode in a plane, she wanted to paint the clouds.
This is what she said about it;"I painted a painting eight feet high and twenty-four feet wide—it kept me working every minute from six a.m. till eight or nine at night as I had to be finished before it was cold—I worked in the garage and it had no heat—Such a size is of course ridiculous but I had it in my head as something I wanted to do for a couple of years so I finally got at it and had a fine time—and there it is—Not my best and not my worst."
the painting hung in the Whitney show then traveled to Chicago. It was too big for the other museums on that itinerary so it still hangs in a stairwell at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Joan Didion wrote that when her daughter, then aged 8, saw this she said, "Who drew that? I gotta talk to her." I know the feeling; I wanted to talk to her too.
I also know the feeling of an idea that won't leave me alone until I put it down on paper.
Like this one,
This collage was inspired by a photograph in the New York Times Magazine about the author, James Salter. He was a pilot in training and crashed into this house somewhere in the midwest on VE Day. In the photo, the lady of the house stood on the porch with a look of wonder on her face. She's portrayed here by my beloved Lady Cecily Heron, by Hans Holbein. The image stayed in my head for a few years until I sat down and did it. Glad I didn't work on a step ladder in an unheated garage.
It's been like that with the Christmas carols; the images danced through my mind every December and often on into January and February. Now I've completed twelve drawings and various trimmings and I'm getting ready, with the help of Izzy Nova and Mary Kathryn Monday, to take it to the printer. I'm excited, and I'd love to share it with you.
In case you haven't seen it yet,
From the first time she rode in a plane, she wanted to paint the clouds.
This is what she said about it;"I painted a painting eight feet high and twenty-four feet wide—it kept me working every minute from six a.m. till eight or nine at night as I had to be finished before it was cold—I worked in the garage and it had no heat—Such a size is of course ridiculous but I had it in my head as something I wanted to do for a couple of years so I finally got at it and had a fine time—and there it is—Not my best and not my worst."
the painting hung in the Whitney show then traveled to Chicago. It was too big for the other museums on that itinerary so it still hangs in a stairwell at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Joan Didion wrote that when her daughter, then aged 8, saw this she said, "Who drew that? I gotta talk to her." I know the feeling; I wanted to talk to her too.
I also know the feeling of an idea that won't leave me alone until I put it down on paper.
Like this one,
This collage was inspired by a photograph in the New York Times Magazine about the author, James Salter. He was a pilot in training and crashed into this house somewhere in the midwest on VE Day. In the photo, the lady of the house stood on the porch with a look of wonder on her face. She's portrayed here by my beloved Lady Cecily Heron, by Hans Holbein. The image stayed in my head for a few years until I sat down and did it. Glad I didn't work on a step ladder in an unheated garage.
It's been like that with the Christmas carols; the images danced through my mind every December and often on into January and February. Now I've completed twelve drawings and various trimmings and I'm getting ready, with the help of Izzy Nova and Mary Kathryn Monday, to take it to the printer. I'm excited, and I'd love to share it with you.
In case you haven't seen it yet,
Comments
Post a Comment