I am beginning to wonder whether my current project has crossed over that line. Regular readers will have picked up references to my involvement in a series of paintings dealing with the theme of creation and creativity. I’m up to number six of a projected set of seven images, each of which has (in its own way) set challenges of one kind or another. This latest effort beats all of them.
It isn’t easy to explain concisely what I am attempting to do. The central image in this particular piece portrays a small child, seated on the floor, and making an attempt at drawing. This early attempt at creativity is surrounded by references to the history of art, from early cave-paintings up to our own age. I want to suggest the common characteristic that unites all of these endeavours. I find myself committed to producing a series of small reproductions of famous images from the history of art, ranging from a bison from Lascaux to a panel from Mark Rothko’s Seagram project.* So I find myself attempting (inter alia) to reproduce Van Gogh’s Sunflowers and a self-portrait by Stanley Spencer. Crazy!
Actually, it is interesting to note the features of this exercise that present the greatest difficulty, and that in itself is profoundly instructive. Trying to reproduce Rothko’s colours is a nightmare. I had never appreciated before just how incredibly subtle he is in that respect. Just why is that bison such an effective image of animal power? Try drawing it, and you’ll find out.
This week-end will be a journey from the sublime to the ridiculous. I’ve signed up to help out with supervision of a craft session for kids!
*The selection is not complete yet.