making great paintings

  

Think about it......A great painting rises above and has something that makes the viewer want to look and think. There are many many excellent painters, but it is not technique that makes a painting great. We all admire and well crafted painting, but it is the painting that stops you in your tracks that stays in your soul. It's something that brings it out of the norm...sometimes it surprises you. The painter that "surprises us" paints from inside his/her soul. They didn't rely on reference material. They develop a relationship with the painting and the relationship leads the way. 
When you read about the life of George Inness you can see he was obsessed with painting. His son talks about beautiful paintings that changed overnight. George Inness would go to his studio and work through the night. He would say that he was "trying to get the right tone." Often the painting would "be destroyed" in his son's eyes. But Inness had no fear...instead he was lead by desire. The desire to create a kind of beauty that is indescribable.  George Inness' early work show none of the amazing beauty that the soulful late work show. They were simply technically well done.  Granted, this is just my opinion...but I am soul struck when I see the late works. I constantly analyze why they work as they do. What do you think?