Finding Reality

"The painter makes real to others his innermost feelings about all that he cares for. A secret becomes known to everyone who views the picture through the intensity with which it is felt." - Lucien Freud

One of the main ideas I am dealing with in my art recently is how to portray reality as I see it. Every person has a unique way of seeing. This fascinates me! An artist can document reality to a hyper degree, every point covered with accuracy and clarity, or abstractly depict an emotion evident in the same reality. Can you consider both characteristics of realist art? I believe so.

When I was in New York City in 2006 I saw an inspiring exhibit at the Guggenheim Museum that featured Picasso's abstract works directly alongside more realist art (including his own). The exhibit was called "Spanish painting from El Greco to Picasso". This juxtaposition of various types of art has stayed with me influencing the way I see. I found it fascinating that a portrait of a beautiful woman could be so realistic by one painter, and so abstract by another, yet both would obtain likenesses in terms of the character within. Both are valid expressions.

Often when I'm painting a realistic portrait I find that the smallest details can make or break the likeness. What is about your face that makes it unique? That makes it yours? Is it the slight upturn of your nose, the close set eyes, the high brow or square set chin? If that defining marker is emphasized in a portrait then a likeness is guaranteed. We all have seen cartoon versions of celebrities on the Simpsons or a similar show. But how are their characters captured? This is the talent of the cartoonist - finding identifying traits and bringing them out in an unrealistic way yet still showing resemblance to the real thing. This is also the talent of the graphic designer - creating a logo that finds the identifying markers of a company, brand or person and distilling them into a simple graphic mark.

"I sense a scream passing through nature. I painted ... the clouds as actual blood. The colour shrieked." - Edvard Munch, on his painting The Scream.

Something else affects my portrayal of a person: emotions. What is it about a person that makes them "them" beside their physical characteristics? Are they morose, melancholic, cheerful, stoic, tenacious, quiet or calm? And how are those emotions portrayed in a portrait? And what about the artist's relationship with the subject? Complex emotions can be brought forth even in a benign still life because the artist transfers his thoughts onto the subject. I think every artist's inner life is evident in every type of artistic expression whether they're aware of it or not.



Talk of this sort wouldn't be complete without bringing up Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky. Essentially his art dealt with mixing up the senses, ways of seeing beyond the simple organ of sight. He viewed color as a way to represent how he saw sounds, in fact, representing various colors as notes on the musical scale. This exploration of synesthesia interests me. When I see a soft feather I am not so interested in portraying the physical characteristics of that feather but something about it that speaks the essence of feather to me. Perhaps it is a relationship to an eagle's wing, flight and freedom. Or maybe a connotation of heaven and angels, purity and strength. Or maybe I'm listening to a song about a soft touch at the time of my painting. How are these ideas wrought out in my artistic process - in my materials, color choices, and even in my surroundings? I hope to explore this more in my upcoming pieces.

"I paint forms as I think them, not as I see them." - Picasso

IMAGE CREDITS: Top - Ceiling of the Guggenheim in New York ©2006 Bethany Vanderputten. Bottom - Kandinsky art at the MOMA in New York ©2006 Bethany Vanderputten.

The Value of Creative - Part Two

Why do I paint? Is it to work in something I love, to sell a product, to make some cash, or to gain noteriety? Though these things sound amazing they're really not at my heart. I create to effect positive change and meet people's needs.

This comes down to a heart issue. What do people really need? Food, water, shelter - yes. But beyond that don't we all struggle with fear, heartache, loneliness, pain, and other emotional needs? And then there's the largely ignored spiritual need. That's where great creative can come in and transform hearts and minds. This is a bit of a rationale for my artistic career. It doesn't mean I'll stop giving to World Vision or reaching out practically to meet felt needs. I just hope that my art can meet someone in their hidden distress. These unrecognized needs are important and great art can meet them in a way that practical giving cannot.

I wonder if a lot of artists, especially illustrators, see their value being solely their talent for drawing and painting. This is central, yes, but it is not enough. How many clients can attest to enjoying a person's art but not the person? What about everything else that makes up a successful artistic career - good communication, integrity with finances, ability to work well with others, positive attitudes and more? Are these an integral part of my creativity? If they do not go hand in hand my talent will suffer... and ultimately, the hearts of those I seek to affect. Have you ever heard the phrase "she goes above and beyond"? What I hope to do in my creative career is not just create great art that effects positive change in society, but also meets needs in a felt way. This cannot be done halfheartedly but only with a spirit of lavish generosity!

I was sent a particularly moving forward in my e-mail recently about Hitler as a 'failed artist'. It showed much of his own art and spoke of his attempts to get into an art school in Vienna. Personally I think he could be viewed more, to use strong terminology, as a 'perverted artist'. His love for the arts was evident in his early years but when rejected and not developed in an art school or opera these talents were eventually misapplied. This misapplication resulted in horrendous measures of perverted creativity.

Peter Schjeldahl wrote an article called "Hitler as Artist" in 2002 that speaks of this more eloquently (The Williams show referred to featured Hitler's art at the Williams College Museum of Art, in Williamstown, Massachusetts in 2002):

"The Williams show rebuts the comfortable sentiment that Hitler was a "failed artist." In fact, once he found his métier, in Munich after the First World War, he was masterly, first as an orator and then as an all-around impresario of political theatre. He was also deluded. He had no vision of the future apart from ever grander opera." Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2002/08/19/020819craw_artworld#ixzz0gZAF6B5u

As an artist I can choose... will I use my talents to passionately affect this world for good and with beauty? Or, will I let these talents be perverted and used in a way that ignores the needs of the people around me, or chooses to meet them in a malevolent way? Creativity is powerful. I have stated before that great creative brings revolution. Now the choice is what kind.

Bethany's Acrylic Painting Tips

Here are some random acrylic painting pointers I've picked up along the way:

1. Acrylics dry fast. Know what you want to do before you lay down the paint or you'll be readjusting later.

2. There is a difference between opaque pigments and transparent ones. Know the strengths and weaknesses of both.

3. Surface preparation is important and takes time. Plan for this.

4. Don't worry about making mistakes, acrylics are easy to fix. You can always paint gesso over a section, or use rubbing alcohol to remove dried paint.

5. Varnishes are beautiful and protective but flatten the original paint's qualities. I like showing which strokes are shiny and which are matte. Spray fixative can provide some protection.

6. Signing a long name in a small brush is difficult. I sign each painting with FW Ink and a dip pen. It is still acrylic, is permanent and makes way for a beautiful signature.

7. Have lots of tools at your disposal. Don't be afraid to drop a large brush in favor of a kitchen sponge to cover large areas. And a palette knife is a good friend. (I prefer natural bristle brushes over synthetic for more textural expression).

8. Keep your brushes clean. Don't leave them in the water or they deteriorate quicker. Continually clean them as you work lest the paint dry on your brushes.

9. Remember to step away from your canvas/board and look at your painting in different types of light. You'll see things you didn't up close.

10. Learn the color wheel and make use of it. Different brands of acrylics have different properties. An ultramarine in one brand looks different than another. Remember this when painting.

IMAGE CREDIT: A close-up of Bethany painting her artwork "Taking Chances" ©2009 Bethany Vanderputten.

Art and Text

"...integration of word and picture is as natural to the artistic process as brush and canvas." - Steven Heller, "Visuals: The Art of the World"

We are surrounded by such a glut of information in this new age but how do we process it all? We get inundated with 140 character tweets every few seconds and processing each and every one seems to be impossible. But then you see an image and it explains what ten thousand words couldn't say. It could both provide an explanation to the text and also itself be an encyclopedia of information. The thing I like about illustration is that it can both dilute ten thousand words into one image, and also expand on them in a multi-layered image.

My favourite description of illustration has to come from it's origins in Latin: 'illustrare' = 'to make bright'. I believe art has the power to both uncover and to hide. I enjoy how an amazing artwork can give me some direct new insight and also cause me to ponder many mysteries all at once.

Art as Text

Any creative medium can be used "illustratively" if it expands on an already present textual idea. What I enjoyed about my experiences with graphic design was diluting a concept down to it's essence in order to convey it with clarity. This is often how I approach an illustration assignment - I take a multitude of words and distill them into an idea to 'make bright' in my painting. But how do you process or digest all that text and all those ideas and choose just one direction? In design this is solved by creating a hierarchy of ideas to express. For example a depiction of an apple could be just about the crisp fruit, it could speak of a gift for a teacher or the basis of a healthy diet, or it could refer to the story of Eve's temptation!

This is related to the idea behind this digest. Sometimes so much thought goes into one image that doesn't make it out there into the world. What thoughts are there about art when it's being made? What are the contexts and influences artists use when creating their pieces? In our information age these could come from anywhere! How many amazing ideas are discarded on the way to the final product? Often amazing connections and discoveries are made in the process of creating art that are lost along the way.

Art in Text

"Everyone understands text and images alike as ways both of communicating with others and of expressing oneself. Everyone interprets paintings with words — except, perhaps, when the act of interpretation produces another work of art. Whether one is just learning about art or looking for fuller understandings, mute astonishment just will not do the trick. No wonder that postmodern critics, especially those influenced by Jacques Derrida, often use "reading" when they mean interpreting, understanding, or even just looking at art. They have ceased to think of art and text as a shared space, to the point of speaking of art as text." - Jonathan Haber (Read more here.)

A question I was asked a few weeks ago relates this well: "Do you come up with the image first and then try to find text to go with it? Or, do you find an interesting quote and then create the image from that?"

Usually, when I'm creating an illustration, the text comes first. But that brings up an interesting point. The viewer sees the image FIRST and then, if interested, reads the accompanying text. It is opposite to how an illustrator creates. Perhaps both the art and text should be created in more co-ordination? I think this is only natural in an increasingly digital age.

But this kind of integration can only come about with increasing collaboration between creators: designers, art directors, authors, illustrators, animators, copywriters or whoever. It all depends on the creative process. If an illustrator comes in only at the end of an article or book being written they can create an interesting response to the text. But what if their ideas were to influence the creation of the text in the first place?

IMAGE CREDIT: "Alla Prima Apples" ©2009 Bethany Vanderputten. Private Collection.

An Insight into my Process

Detail from my hand-painted artwork "Back Home".

The following is an excerpt from my thesis summary complete with my thoughts and sketches leading up to the finished production of my painting "Back Home". I completed this painting in a directed study with Kazu Sano in the Fall of 2009:

"This illustration is based on a view of a stage setting where an artist like Celine Dion may perform. The lyrics inspiring this painting were: “And yet through this darkness, there’s a light that shines through and brings me back home, brings me back home.” Depicted is a grand piano, a microphone, a couple of chandeliers and more.



Research

I looked through various shots of a stage set up for a performer, including personal photographs from past concerts I’ve attended like at The Fillmore in San Francisco that has unique chandeliers in its ballroom.



Thumbnails

At the thumbnail stage for this illustration I developed the idea of coming home to the “light that shines through”. I portrayed the chandelier alone to signify the lights, also a higher view of an empty stage and others.



Photo Shoot

I am fortunate to have access to a stage through my church and photographed almost the whole set-up for this illustration all at once in the right lighting. This included a grand piano, microphones, and strong light sources. I also brought my own props including a scarf, candles and feminine jewelry.


The initial line drawing done in pencil on Strathmore's smooth drawing paper.

Value / Color Comps

I completed the sketch for this illustration based off the photographs I shot myself. I developed the composition more and broke the bottom of the picture frame with an element. Also, to consider even more the atmosphere being a room in a home, or a stage, or a street scene. I was encouraged to go more surrealist and not worry if the perspective doesn’t make sense completely as long as I’m telling the story. I scanned the line drawing into my computer and completed the value and color studies digitally in Photoshop while playing with the placement of the piano within the frame.



Final

I was encouraged to study the description of light by American Illustrator Drew Struzan. As I had a lot of various light sources in this painting I explored also varying the lights’ vibrancy and color and paid attention to the perspective of the piano and the temperature of my whites. Kazu really enjoyed the green scarf."

See the finished painting here.

The Value of Creative

How do you view art?

Is it something peripheral to your life, or is it integral? I propose that we cannot do without art and creativity. It has a value that crosses cultures, races, and wide oceans and passes down through the sands of time. Art that captured the imagination of Renaissance Italy is still viewed today and has been seen by countless people with an impact that has lasted centuries. The political and social influence of many of these pieces of art changed the societies they were part of, challenging old belief systems, ousting tyrannical rulers, instigating riots, or releasing spiritual peace.

What about the art of today? Whether it be an amazing illustration, a strong identity system, an impactful short film, a catchy song or poem, or many other outlets of creativity, real art... true art, has the ability to astonish it's viewer, bringing new patterns of thought, and bringing about change.

The value of creativity runs deep. It helps us see the world with new eyes. But how can this idea be applied to our everyday? The color of the shirt you chose to wear could just be a regular blue pinstripe, or it could be red and symbolize your participation in the "Go Red for Women" campaign. And what about Lance Armstrong's "Live Strong" armbands? The creativity of that idea changed society and soon everyone wore them for many different causes. Without this strong innnovative idea this cause would have gone unnoticed by many.

And what about the application of creative to your profession? Strong creative catches your eye and bring buyers to your product or market. If you choose to do without great creative your customers and your investors suffer. I believe that every person has creativity in them, but some have invested their lives in making it a career. I know that I can add and subtract but in hiring an accountant I'm entrusting my finances to someone who knows numbers much better than I. Choose to put value on what a creative person can do for you today.

Good creative brings change but great creative brings revolution.

Space

Detail from my hand-painted artwork "Pitch Dark".

Space. How do we think about the spaces in between us? Is there just air or is there tension in the wind? When I look at certain paintings I feel nothing between the artist and their subject. They are painting a reality that Mark Rothko calls "illusory" (see my Pink Lily post in my Journal here for a quote). They do not see the air in between them and their subject and only show, almost scientifically, the object as it is.

Certainly there is room for this type of art but I am more interested in the spaces in between. Often when I am painting a subject I feel emotions that come across in my strokes. This is especially true when painting from a live model. I am intuitive and often find an emotion present in the person's face or body language that I react to when painting.

An Ocean of Radiance

Is space really empty? I don't think there is nothing in the air when air itself is matter. Most painters would know of the idea of atmospheric perspective - when things get further away they get fuzzier as the moisture in the air between you and it distorts your vision. Certainly this can also happen within only a few feet.

I like this quote from a science fiction book that illustrates what outer space looks like to the protagonist, Ransom, as he travels through it on a space ship:

"There was endless night on one side of the ship and an endless day on the other: each was marvellous and he moved from the one to the other at his will, delighted. In the nights, which he could create by tuning the handle of a door, he lay for hours in contemplation of the skylight. The Earth's disc was nowhere to be seen, the stars, thick as daisies on an uncut lawn, reigned perpetually with no cloud, no moon, no sunrise, to dispute their sway. There were planets of unbelievable majesty, and constellations undreamed of: there were celestial sapphires, rubies, emeralds and pin-pricks of burning gold; far out on the left of the picture hung a comet, tiny and remote: and between all and behind all, far more emphatic and palpable than it showed on Earth, the undimensioned, enigmatic blackness...

"A nightmare, long engendered in the modern mind by the mythology that follows in the wake of science, was falling off him. He had read of 'Space': at the back of his thinking for years had lurked the dismal fancy of the black, cold vacuity, the utter deadness, which was supposed to separate the worlds. He had not known how much it affected him till now - now that the very name 'Space' seemed a blasphemous libel for this empyrean ocean of radiance in which they swam. He could not call it 'dead'; he felt life pouring into him from it every moment." (C.S. Lewis "Out of the Silent Planet")

Virtuality


A space I created digitally.

Related to this concept I think about what it is like when I'm online. Being an artist I'm holed up in my studio for hours on end and thus, spend a lot of time online in order to connect with the artistic community. (I do go outside too though, don't worry!) But I wonder about most of the graphics and imagery I look at on my screen. They don't seem to dwell in reality but are more illusory. I see slick graphics and fast moving flash sites. I see pop-ups and flat imagery. When I do see signs of life it is still created digitally. What does this have to do with our day-to-day lives and the spaces between us? Where are the wide open, empty spaces that provide rest for the soul? And where are the broken, emotionally-charged, tension-filled pages that bring you to life?

How do we portray the tactile existence of walking around a vibrant city and interacting with real life things as we look benignly at a two-dimensional surface? This is something I'm addressing in my art as many markets are becoming increasingly digital. How does my art not simply fluidly slide by, but have an intense visual impact as I affect the space between my art and the viewer?

What spaces lie between you and I?