Robert Henri - "The Art Spirit"

The Art Spirit - Robert Henri

"For an artist to be interesting to us he must have been interesting to himself.  He must have been capable of intense feeling, and capable of profound contemplation."




contemplation  (ˌkɒntɛmˈpleɪʃən, -təm-)-n,  
As noted in The World Dictionary

1.	thoughtful or long consideration or observation
2.	Compare meditation spiritual meditation esp (in Christian religious practice) concentration of the mind and soul upon God
3.	purpose or intention

What a strong statement.  Think about it.  We as artists must create with a purpose or intention to portray our subject in its true form, sometimes distorting reality to provoke meaningful thought. I personally give thoughtful consideration to my subject.  I know where I want to go with my painting and try my dare level best to take you there with my finished product.

Did I take you into the thick of the forest to stop and wonder who may have been there before you?  If not, I miss my mark.

Robert Henri - "The Art Spirit"

The Art Spirit - Robert Henri

"For an artist to be interesting to us he must have been interesting to himself.  He must have been capable of intense feeling, and capable of profound contemplation."




contemplation  (ˌkɒntɛmˈpleɪʃən, -təm-)-n, 
As noted in The World Dictionary

1.	thoughtful or long consideration or observation
2.	Compare meditation spiritual meditation esp (in Christian religious practice) concentration of the mind and soul upon God
3.	purpose or intention

What a strong statement.  Think about it.  We as artists must create with a purpose or intention to portray our subject in its true form, sometimes distorting reality to provoke meaningful thought. I personally give thoughtful consideration to my subject.  I know where I want to go with my painting and try my dare level best to take you there with my finished product.

Did I take you into the thick of the forest for a surprise to stop and wonder about who may have been there before you?  If I did not then I missed my mark.

Robert Henri - excerts from his Biography

from google search

Robert Henri was born Robert Henry Cozad in Cincinnati, Ohio to Theresa Gatewood Cozad of Malden, Virginia and John Jackson Cozad, a gambler and real estate developer. Henri had a brother, Johnny, and was a distant cousin of the noted American painter Mary Cassatt. In 1871, Henri's father founded the town of Cozaddale, Ohio. In 1873, the family moved west to Nebraska, where they founded the town of Cozad.

In October 1882, Henri's father became embroiled in a dispute with a rancher, Alfred Pearson, over the right to pasture cattle on land claimed by the family. When the dispute turned physical, Cozad shot Pearson fatally with a pistol. Cozad was eventually cleared of wrongdoing, but the mood of the town turned against him. He fled to Denver, Colorado, and the rest of the family followed shortly afterwards. In order to disassociate themselves from the scandal, family members changed their names. The father became known as Richard Henry Lee, and his sons posed as adopted children under the names Frank Southern and Robert Earl Henri (pronounced "hen rye").

In 1883, the family moved to New York City, then to Atlantic City, New Jersey, where the young artist completed his first paintings. info from: http://www.henrirobert.org/

I find this info interesting.  everyone has skeletons hidden in the closet.  The man had to change his name because of his father!

Robert Henri - "The Art Spirit"

Robert Henri - The Art Spirit

Let's get back to Henri's thinking today.  As an artist, I need to think about my plans for the new year and Robert Henri is just the one to "Kick me in the butt" and get me motivated.  I would love to have been able to attend his art classes, although I think he was a bit of a male chauvinist because he always refers to a "him" in his books.  I guess that era did not recognize women as artist so, I will let that one slide for him at the moment.

"The art student must master from the beginning; that is, he must be master of such as he has.  By being now master of such as he has there is promise that he will be master in the future.

A  work of art which inspires us comes from no quibbling or uncertain man.  It is the manifest of a very positive nature in great enjoyment, and at the very moment the work was done.

It is not enough to have thought great things before doing the work.  The brush stroke at the moment of contact carries inevitably the exact state of being of the artist at that exact moment into the work, and there it is, to be seen and read by those who can read such signs, and to be read later by the artist himself, with perhaps some surprise, as a revelation of himself." Robert Henri - The Art Spirit

People ... if you don't have this book I suggest you get it and read it again and again.  I always use his writings to inspire me to a new season of paintings.

Christmas is Over, Yah!

picture from Google images

Christmas is lots of money spent not only on presents but boxes, paper, bows, ribbons and name tags.  They get you ever way you turn.  That $20 gift you just bought is now totaling upwards to $30.  I don't think Christmas was meant to be commercialized.  Poor baby Jesus rode into Bethlehem on a donkey and spent his first night on earth wrapped in swaddling cloths and laying in a manger with hay for a bed.  Yes, we give the gifts in honor of his birthday but we are all going overboard .... don't you think?

Next Christmas my family and I have decided on a Homemade Christmas and I can't wait.  Yes, I paint pictures but I also woodwork, glass work, sew, cook and do a little gardening so there is no telling what I might give my family next year.  My 7 year old Grandson told me he just didn't have time to do all that ... but trust me he will!  In the beginning it was just meant to be my immediate bunch ... hubby, daughters, son-in-laws and the one grandson but my mother-in-law wants in already.  There is no telling who will join us by Christmas next year.  Anyone have any ideas for me?

By the way - Hope ya'll had a Merry Christmas.

It's Christmas Eve, ugh!

In My Shop/Studio

It's Christmas Eve and the threat of snow, in the south, is on the air.  A very rare occasion, especially at Christmas.  I personally don't care much for snow.  I never have.  I usually get into a serious funk and become a recluse in the winter but I seem to do a lot of painting during that time.  Usually a snow scene or some  rendition of a still life.  I definitely have the winter blues. I am sure when I put a fresh canvas on my easel and squeeze out a fresh palette of paint that something will pop into mind and the brush I'll hold in my hand will apply stroke after stroke until something wonderfully strange starts to appear.  For today I will not worry about the chill in my bones or the 2 coats I will wear, because it's Christmas.  A child's laughter fills the air and people are smiling everywhere. (yeah right)

Do you ever wonder just how fake those smiles are? I mean really ... give me a break.  I am tired of shopping, tired of people brushing against me in the stores, running into my buggy with their buggy.  I mean HELLO, you are spending all this time and money to make someone in your life believe you are full of Christmas Spirit and you can't even manage a simple EXCUSE ME? Give me a break I am tired of rude people, screaming kids and a messy house.

That's all for now. Oh, and Merry Christmas Ya'll.

Robert Henri - "The Art Spirit"

The art Spirit - Robert Henri

"We are not here to do what has already been done."

"Know what the old masters did. Know how they composed thier pictures, but do not fall into the conventions they established.  These conventions were right for them, and they are wonderful.  They made their language.  You make yours.  They can help you. All the past can help you."

 What a statement! ... and as an artist I can really appreciate it too.  This is truly what I believe.  I like to paint outside the box most of the time.  One thing I always hated about art class was a paint along. I despise doing them.  I really don't get off doing what someone else has already done.  I want to do my work not yours.  I know I am making sense to a lot of artist. 

Merry Christmas ya'll.

Robert Henri - "The Art Spirit"

Robert Henri - The Art Spirit

"When the artist is alive in any person, whatever his kind of work may be, he becomes an inventive, searching, daring, self-expressing creature. He becomes interesting to other people.  He disturbs, upsets, enlightens, and he opens ways for better understanding. Where those who are not artists are trying to close the book, he opens it, shows there are still pages possible."

Isn't this a compelling paragraph of statements? I, for one, am engrossed in studying this artist. I can feel from the bottom of my being the words I am reading.  They touch the inner most part o f me. Maybe I will find my muse while I am re-reading this book.  I look forward to discussion on this from any follower.

Merry Christmas Ya'll.

Find the Muse

I have been hunting my "Muse" lately. If anyone locates it please forward to hartfieldp@gmail.com.

An artist needs a muse and as long as that muse sits on the artist's shoulder she/he can create until the cows come home ... and for me that's a long time because I do not own a single cow. On the other hand, when their muse decides to take a vacation it can send an artist into seclusion, pacing the floors holding paint brushes looking at paint on a palette, moving it around and creating nothing! My muse has been on vacation for to long now. Please help me find it. If you can find it I will send you a free postcard with one of my Dreamscapes on it.