Verticals come alive & horizontality is met in a certain dynamic way. Such is a description of the way Lois Dobb depicts familiar places such as gardens, houses, or views from her windows.
An iconic figure the early New York art scene, this interview by Painting Perception offers an insight into how this artist starts a painting, the subject matter that interests her, choice of canvas, color scheme, and many more. Looking for light and color, the objective is to stay away from details or surface description. Great concepts for those of us who want to eliminate clutter on our work. To learn more, go to paintingperceptions.com/conversation-with-lois-dodd/ I made 5,127 prototypes of my vacuum before I got it right. There were 5,126 failures. But I learned from each one. That’s how I came up with a solution.”
Sir James Dyson An interesting article by Matt Richtel, a Pulitzer winning author for the New York times.
Everyone – adults and children alike – has a creative streak but for too many of us it lies dormant even though it can be awakened with the simplest of acts. To find or regain your creativity, the author suggests following simple steps. A couple of thoughts.... What if In a kindergarten classroom, a teacher was asked if you could sit on a toilet and when you flushed the handle it sent you to Egypt It is tempting to think that the proper response to such an idea is: "Well, now, Johnny, that’s a silly idea, isn’t it?" Instead, say to the kiddo: “Go on…” Be Imperfect - Perfectionism is creativity’s biggest foe. Your own impulse is perfect because It’s perfectly you.You can’t improve on something if you don’t let it exist in an imperfect form. For the entire article, go to https://www.nytimes.com/guides/year-of-living-better/how-to-be-creative Visual Intelligence - Sharpen Your Perception, Change Your Life By Amy E. Herman Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Boston New York 2016 The book: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/visual-intelligence-sharpen-your-perception/9780544947122-item.html?s_campaign=goo-DSA_Books_Bestsellers&ds_rl=1246160&ds_rl=1254699&ds_rl=1254699&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5Jf8gJf13gIVQrbACh0G1ABMEAAYASAAEgIwFfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds The Author: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v_tn4nyjwE The author trained in art history and worked for many years at the Frick Museum as a public educator. https://www.frick.org/exhibitions/2018 She now makes her living teaching courses in perception and communication to a diverse group of professionals comprised of people from the worlds of intelligence and law enforcement to Wall Street bond traders. You might well ask what this has to do with art or the artist. She uses works of art of every genre and age to instruct the students on how to examine art in all the detail that they can muster. As the book progresses, the reader improves his or her skills to see more deeply into the art, while at the same time how to express this detail to others without error or false assumption. At one point, Ms. Herman says that “art makes the invisible, visible”. To unpack this phrase, we must appreciate that our perceptions are unique to ourselves and to our current situations, assumptions, past learning and biases. For example, some of us see man’s best friend as a warm, cuddly companion and others see the canine as a flea ridden beast that is as likely to bite them as not. Just imagine the differences in the art depicting a dog coming from each of these disparate groups. In the act of creation, the artist must take what is in the mind’s eye and invisible to the outside world and transform that perception into an object for all the world to see, a magical process if ever there were one. As consumers of art we need to be able to express what we see without bias and unjustified assumptions before we can express a valid opinion to others. Above all, this book is an exercise in critical thinking. With one exception, I can recommend this book highly; that exception being that the illustrations in the book are printed darkly and very small so that their close examination is often difficult. Sometimes, the works are well enough described that an internet search will produce a much clearer version, but when this is not possible, the reader will experience some frustration. Nevertheless, all the exercises are valuable and if undertaken with just a little effort, the reader will make noticeable improvement. One cannot operate in this hyper observant mode all the time, it’s just not practical. But, perusing an art exhibit, or planning to paint a scene, switching this mode on will be very valuable. Visual Intelligence is available at the Owen Sound library and I expect will be available at libraries elsewhere directly, or through interlibrary loan. |
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