Whistler- and seduction by realism

study from Sanibel Island

Whistler talks about this in some letters. Here is one recipient's quote,"He complained that he was seduced by that damn realism and it was so easy to just paint what was out there. And I think maybe he worried that he wasn’t being original enough, that he was too closely associated with Courbet, that he hadn’t been well-trained. And that he had kind of gravitated to Courbet’s realism because of his lack of training.”

Ruskin was too ill to attend, but several artists, including Burne-Jones, took the stand to defend Ruskin’s position, though the defense of Ruskin was more of an attack on Whistler. Under questioning from Charles Synge Christopher Bowen, counsel for the defendant, Burne-Jones characterized Whistler’s work as “incomplete . . . an admirable beginning,” “deficient in form,” and without composition.
Oh, to be as deficient in form as Whistler!

James McNeill Whistler and the Case for Beauty

nocturne, James McNeill Whistler

 Whistler was drawn to the hazy views of the Thames that he would walk through daily and could see from his balcony.
"They are lovely, those fogs, and I am their painter."

A fellow blogger, Sam (of SamArtDog blog) alerted me to the fabulous Whistler documentary on PBS. You, of course, may watch it online. Please do, before it comes down off their site. Here's the link.

the freedom of memory

 After reading Lisa's comment on Saturday I realized that, for me, watching this series unfold has been enlightening and fun. Who knows what will happen next. She (the series) now has a life and body of her own.  She directs me in bolder, and previously (for me) unseen ways. All I have to do is show up. It's akin to what Elizabeth Gilbert says in her Ted talk about genius, that fickle and wonderful thing.

Check out Lisa's blog Seaside Studios here and Elizabeth Gilbert's Ted talk here.

I close with a quote from Whistler
"I wished to indicate an artistic interest alone, divesting the picture of any outside anecdotal interest which might have otherwise attached to it. A nocturne is an arrangement of line, form, and colour first. The picture is throughout a problem that I attempt to solve. I make use of any means, any incident or object in nature, that will bring about this symmetrical result." --

nocturnes, georgetown at night

georgetown at night

"As the light fades and the shadows deepen, all pretty and exacting details disappear and I see things as they are in great strong masses. And that night cannot efface from the painter's imagination."

James Abbott Whistler

georgetown twilight

When Whistler struggled to find the right word to describe his night scenes of London a friend suggested the parallel between painting and music, Thus the word "nocturnes" began. Tonal harmonies are everything. The small shifts of color and temperature make the scene rather that details or dynamic value shifts. For me, the use of memory is the best way to achieve this.

Sam sparked an idea

1st layer

underpainting

Full spectrum and beautiful grays- that's what Sam, a Maine native, said. (Check out her blog here.) 
This is her comment on yesterday's post, "There's something about the shore in that part of the world that's less about color and all about value. These grays are full-spectrum and beautiful." So it didn't take long to think about working to glaze those full- spectrum grays. Above see the underpainting and the first layer of thin glaze. Seeing the beauty of grays is something Whistler did oh so well. With his thin "sauces" he made beauty and light with gray. So I look to him.... as I so frequently do.

Nocturne in Blue and Silver, James McNeil Whistler

chain bridge nocturne

oil on linen 8x10
So many artists have done beautiful nocturnes; Whistler, Remington and Inness, just to name a few. Then of course we have the contemporary blogger, Marc Hanson, who just finished his month long Nocturne Marathon. Please check out his amazing blog. You are in for a treat. Marc fills his blog with excellent information and beautiful paintings.
I am rising to the challenge. While I have observed many, painted a few, in oil and in pastel I know that I have alot to learn. Two things that seem to be true; cool light and much less color.
For this one I used a warm underpainting (after viewing the Whistlers) Then my love affair with color kindled..in earnest (below). Read too much color. 

Deborah Paris pointed out to me that it had too much color to be night. True.  The value shifts were right, but not the color. Now after a series of viridian, ultramarine blue, burnt sienna, and chromatic black glazes, it looks like night. I thought it also needed one lighter value in all the dark, which explains the brighter moonlight.

When puzzled I often change the mode in Photoshop (CS3) and that allows me to easily see the value. Remember value does the work, color gets the glory. I think I should simply write that on my hand each day...like a tattoo. I can't be reminded enough!
My goal is to learn that if color is to be exquisite, it needs to be controlled.

nocturnes/dusk/Whistler and my struggles

 Whistler, Nocturne in Blue and Silver: The Lagoon Venice
Lately I have been studying the light of the early evening hours. It's always good to go and look at inspiring works as well. Who  better to look to than the man himself?...Whistler. Downtown in the Freer Gallery of Art there is a wonderful selection of his gorgeous nocturnes.
My special interest is in his blue nocturnes of Venice and the Battersea bridge. For these he painted on a deep red or mahogany panel. It glows through the thinly layered blue/gray paint. That's what makes the blues sing. Whistler painted with sweeps of color..just the perfect sweep..no more no less. If it wasn't just right he would wipe it off. Because of the beautiful "simplicity" In his time Whistler's nocturnes were not considered "real art." They just seemed too easy... Oh to be that good!
Whistler said that his palette was where the painting took place. He felt that once all the colors were mixed on the palette the painting was almost done.  So much precise thought went into making a beautiful harmony. He pre-mixed all his colors.  For what I understand his colors included: raw sienna, raw umber, yellow ochre, cobalt blue and then 3 reds, an orange red- I think - vermilion, Venetian red (cooler, bluer red), white and black.
Below was my first try three layers, all wiped away...already!

Below that is the second start. I felt more burnt sienna was necessary before putting the blue/grays on top. It was too light and there was no glow. Never be satisfied with OK, it must be right.

More as it develops.

solving the problem of green and the wisdom of Whistler

9x12 pastel and watercolor on wallis

Painting out of my interest range....just to stretch. Streets are rivers, right? The goal today was to choose a subject matter that I normally would not choose and try to make it feel beautiful while solving the problem of green.

I was reading about the Whistler vs. Ruskin trial. It struck me that during the trial, Whistler tried not to refer to his paintings are 'pictures' but as 'arrangements,' 'symphonies,'nocturnes, 'moonlight effects,'or- most revealing of all as 'a problem I attempt to solve.' (from Whistler by Dormant and MacDonald)
Doesn't that say it all?  A problem I attempt to solve. This IS what we do. He was saying it so that he wouldn't confuse a Victorian jury who seemed confused about painting they didn't understand, but I really think he felt that way.

A quote from Whistler, " Art should be independent of all clap-trap-should stand alone and appeal to the artistic sense of the eye or ear, without confounding this with emotions entirely foreign to it, as devotion, pity, love, patriotism and the like."

PS This one is for Sam.and Casey.  This is green.

another much better nocturne and more whistler quotes

6x16 oil on wood
Another try at a memory nocturne. Pushed the value of the land to be darker which implies about 4:00am, while yesterdays' was right before sunrise. I am working on wood again..birch this time-love it!
Scratching, rubbing and stroking the oil paint to experiment with what it will do.


I will once again end with two famous quotes from James Abbott McNeill Whistler in reference to his nocturnes:

They are "not painted to offer the portrait of a particular place, but as an artistic impression that had been carried away [from the scene]."

I wanted to indicate an artistic interest alone, divesting the picture of any outside anecdotal interest which might have otherwise attached to it. A nocturne is an arrangement of line, form and colour first. the picture is throughout a problem, that I attempt to solve. I make use of any means, any incident or object in nature that will bring about this symmetrical result.

He said these quotes during the court case Whistler vs. Ruskin. This was the case where Whistler became bankrupt. He risked everything for an opportunity to assert the supremacy of art over the increasingly powerful domain of criticism (Ruskin). Yay Whistler!

grisaille for larger oil

24x24 oil on linen
You probably have noticed that I paint this one view, from either side, over and over again.  I am fascinated with the reflections and the three bands of color. After studying of Whistler's paintings, especially his nocturnes, I have been noticing that one of his favorite design concepts is also the 3 parallel bands. He uses it many time and in all different ways. Sometimes he will even split the painting into even bands of sky and water/land. I wasn't quite so bold in this one.
You can already see in this grisaille where I will focus all my attention.

January 2, 2008 Theme in Gold and Purple

17x22 pastel on board, Will be in the gallery, buy it there!

Yesterday I went to visit the Whistler landscapes at the Freer Gallery. His landscapes are all so subtle and abstract. I love the way he names his work by colors and music references. So thinking of him and Carl Sandburg's poem, Theme in Yellow, the title was born.
Theme in Yellow by Carl Sandburg
I SPOT the hills
With yellow balls in autumn.
I light the prairie cornfields
Orange and tawny gold clusters (segment)
I like this one. The light is radiant.

December 16, 2007 After the Storm, D.C.Skyline

It was still pouring when I drove downtown. I was hopeful that I could at least paint from inside the car with the windshield wipers on. As I pulled into a parking place, the rain stopped and the clouds puffed . The sky was beautiful. Here is the view looking toward the Washington monument. The Potomac River and the sky are the stars of this show as the tell tale monument watches like a sentinel.
P.S. I keep thinking of Whistler's river paintings.
P.P.S. Unfortunately the picture quality does not truly show how rich the color is in this painting.