After painting nearly nonstop through the fourth quarter, I'm spending January having my vision repaired -- specifically, having cataracts removed from both eyes. Biggest surprise so far: the substantial difference in the warmth of vision through the eye that has been repaired versus the one that hasn't yet been repaired. For the past year or so, I've been seeing everything through a yellow filter! I apologize to those with whom I argued over hues -- blue vs. aqua, pink vs. coral. What a literal revelation!
JWH working notes
MBTW /
My goal for some compositions is to reduce or eliminate a distinction between “object” and “background.” In those compositions I try to give black, gray, and white near-equal precedence, so that one does not appear to be painted “over” the other.
Before working on the canvas, I sketch each composition – roughly at first, to develop the balance of forms and values that I want, and then in exact scale and value. Each painting is thoroughly planned. However, there is a “discovery” stage, when I study the finished painting in each of the four orientations afforded by the square canvas. I select the final orientation based on its psychological and interpretive impact.
I want to maximize the impact of each painting, but I don’t want to determine the nature of that impact. That’s why I’ve given each painting a simple numerical title. You’re welcome to develop your own, personal subtitle for each painting – I have!
Let's try that again... /
This joyous image is from exactly a year ago, when I had completed all commitments of my professorial life and officially retired.
What an exciting moment! I faced that milestone with optimism, despite the horrors of COVID-19, murders at the hands of those who protect some and accost others, and daily (no, hourly — remember?) assaults on democratic institutions. I tried to portray that clash of personal and public circumstances by mimicking the colors above in a painting titled Superimposition: Retiring the Purple and Gold.
As planned, I returned to the (virtual) classroom this Spring — a way of “phasing” my retirement. TODAY, that phase is over. Most people I know are successfully vaccinated, and I’ve seen people in person! A few state-sanctioned murderers have been called out. We have at least a temporary reprieve from hourly, widely publicized assaults on political decency. I’m ready to try this retirement status again, in a new context:
My goals while painting /
1. Respect and revel in the medium. I paint carefully, even when painting with minimal intermediation (e.g., pouring). This reflects my attempts to control the things I do, but also reflects my respect for the medium. What coverage, uses, and final surfaces will be most visually compelling? What applications will maximize the longevity of the finished work?
2. Provide (or, at times, imply) detail that rewards repeated viewing.
3. Provide sufficient iconographic ambiguity to reward repeated viewing.