I was given a set of questions to consider about artists I like and why. “Just jot down some initial thoughts” were the instructions. So of course my mind immediately went off in six different directions at 90 miles and hour and there was no jotting down. The idea has occurred to me before that I should start a scrapbook of sorts that will become and repository for images and notes. I have a range of tastes and to be able to see images in one place would help me see common elements or themes.
I like Hundertwasser‘s work as well as much of Picasso‘s and then there’s work by Christian Hetzel, Kitty Sabatier, Egon Schiele and Junko Oki to name a few. They are all very different and I can see how what I like depends on the context: my taste changes depending on where I am and how I feel.
I’m asking myself . . . What do they have in common. Anything? Do they need to? Isn’t enough that I can appreciate a range of artists? Do I need to question why I like them? And why are there so many painters when I don’t paint? Should I break out the paint? At this point in my development, I think I need to analyse what I like, just a little, in order to deepen my appreciation. I think I need to look not just at work that appeals and inspires, not necessarily the same thing, but also what I don’t like . . . that work that I can appreciate but isn’t to my taste.
So who are my current inspirational artists? Helen Terry, Dionne Swift, Debbie Lyddon, Mo Orkiszewski, Jude Hill . . . this list is far from complete. And then there’s work of locals, of friends, Julz Coffey, Trisha Findlay, Birgit Moffatt . . . to see how their work changes and evolves, their influence, whether direct or indirect, pushes me on with my own. And finally, the teachers . . . wonderful, talented, generous souls, every one of them.
I can see where all this is leading, how my voice is emerging, my aesthetic is developing, changing, but I’m interested in how and why. And I can hear a wee voice in my head saying “hush, just do your work.”
Where I’m going.
Paper, watercolour, encaustic medium, linen thread, cotton cord. 10 x 10 cm sample
Wendy @ Late Start Studio
late start studio 