Jacob Janes: the aesthetic experience of art

“Good art…invites us in and elevates us, as we sense the tension and resolution within the composition, and in some cases, the creative process itself. This is an aesthetic experience.”

—Jacob Janes, artist

“Bullfighter” by Jacob Janes, Oil on panel, 23.5” x 19”, 2021, Private Collection

a guest blog post by Jacob Janes

What do you experience while looking at a painting? How does art affect you or the space it’s in?

Early on, I saw how marks on a surface added up to something greater than their sum. I felt that the images were more alive than myself. Good art does this; it invites us in and elevates us as we sense the tension and resolution within the composition, and in some cases, the creative process itself. This is an aesthetic experience.

“Untitled” by Jacob Janes, Oil on canvas, 38” x 34, 2021, Private Collection

I hope to share this with as many people as possible. It is a privilege to live with artwork which offers this type of experience daily. Artwork can define a living space and endlessly offer a refreshing and healthy perspective. This is my hope for my own paintings, whether in private collections, galleries, or museums.

“Birthday Bouquet” by Jacob Janes, oil on canvas, 23” x 18.5, 2021, Available

“Untitled” by Jacob Janes, gouache on paper, 11” x 10, Available

As an artist and educator, I want to create opportunities for myself and the students I am teaching. How can I encourage students to become artists if they are unlikely to succeed in this field or get teaching jobs? I want to find a way to educate the public on what they should expect to experience from a work of art, and why they should have artwork in their homes. Generally, what sells and what offers a genuine aesthetic experience are two different things.

“Nightcrawler” by Jacob Janes, Gouache and crayon on paper, 10” x 11, 2020, Available

The solution to this problem is to create more collectors who want work that looks good in their homes. Paintings can be affordable and they last a lifetime. There is also this funny thing about paintings, that they just sit there and I really don’t take that much time to look at them, even if they’re in my home. But they are there and they are offering something passively. They provide good, honest company. More than filling up blank walls, they challenge me to be the best version of myself, and that, to me, is something religious.

“Study of Medieval Painting” by Jacob Janes, Crayon on paper, 8.5” x 11, 2019, Available

jacobjanes.com

For inquiries about purchasing a painting, contact Jacob Janes.

More Artists’ Thoughts on Painting:

New Years, New Days by Scott Smith

Chris Liberti: Thoughts on Painting

Words of Wisdom from Krista Steinke

Creativity is Everything by Adriano Farinella

Laura Vahlberg Ten Tips on Painting

In This One

a poem by Kat Good-Schiff

Black Lava Bridge, Hana Coast no. 2, 1939. Painting by Georgia O’Keeffe. Oil on canvas.
Courtesy of Honolulu Museum of Art.

In This One

You stand on the brink
of another adventure.
Mom is about to leave you
but it’s not camp this time—you’re 21,
on your own in Acadia National Park
ready to hike & sunburn
drink beer & chase ravens.
You’ve climbed beyond a railing
to the edge of a rock ledge, while she calls
Do you have to go out so far? then
Turn around so I can take your picture.
You always go to the limits of her sight.
She always tries to hold you with a photograph.
You wear a purple sleeveless shirt
jeans cut off at the knee
you stand in sandals on uneven rocks
special sticky rubber strapped to your feet
with green webbing.
Your left hand leans against the orange cliff—
arm outstretched, elbow slightly bent.
Your right hand rests on your hip.
Below you, the ocean pounds.

Kat Good-Schiff

“In This One” was originally published in Quay: A Journal of the Arts

Kat Good-Schiff is a librarian and writer. She has an MFA in poetry from Goddard College, and her work has appeared in Autumn Sky Poetry, California Quarterly, Meat for Tea, PANK, and elsewhere. She lives with her wife and their animals in western Massachusetts.

Kat Good-Schiff’s blog: Dragon’s Meow: Poetry & Paying Attention

My trip to the MoMA with Kat: Kat and Picasso

Some poems by others:

“Still Life Within the Painter’s Heart” by Margaret Campbell

“The Dust Bowl of My Elbow” by Margaret Campbell

“Virgi’s Muse” by Margaret Campbell

“Masterpiece” by Ian Kindle

“Edge” and other poems by JD Wissler

“Light of the Firefly” and other poems by JD Wissler

“Stars Make Their Own Space” and other poems by JD Wissler

Painting Cows With Melissa

Last month, my friend Melissa signed up for a Cow Painting Workshop I taught at Clear Spring Farm. It was a hot August evening, and the cows were as lovely as always. I have painted them before, and I feel like we have come to an artistic understanding over the years.

Melissa was the only person who signed up for the workshop, which ended up being a very pleasant experience, peaceful and low-key. I showed her how I like to do my preliminary drawings, quickly, using only straight lines. I usually do a few of these straight-line drawings before I start painting. Here is one of the drawings that Melissa made:

The cows were relatively cooperative. At first they displayed a great deal of interest in our painting activities, but then they wandered off. It was ok, though, because we won’t doing “super realistic” painting. It was nice to have the cows around for their energy, but we could also use our memory, our sketches, and our intuitive response to the colors and shapes that we put on the surface of the painting.

We focused on color-shapes, and the way that one color behaves next to another, the way they “talk” to each other. Sometimes, I think of it as the colors “singing together.”

Melissa did a wonderful job. She mixed several gorgeous greens, each different, and they came together harmoniously. It was a pleasure to see the brush strokes and thick paint on the gessoboard. The little white spot on the forehead of the baby cow is a beautiful detail, shining like a star in a special painting.

painting by Melissa D’Amico Mulligan, oil on board, 12x9 inches

Teaching is really rewarding. It makes me happy to see other people falling in love with the painting experience. I look forward to seeing more of Melissa’s paintings in the future.

Thank you Melissa, for the lovely evening of painting. Thank you, Kromer family and Clear Spring Farm, for sharing your land with us. Thank you, cows, for your beauty and presence.

Never, never may the fruit be plucked...

There’s a poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay about fruit and love, a short, elegant little piece in an anthology I have. I remember the girl who gave me this book, Miranda, a college roommate at Bryn Mawr back in the fall of 2000. I remember Miranda as a lively and passionate person, with bright shining eyes and a great deal of energy. She gave me the poetry anthology, along with her exuberant love of St. Vincent Millay. To this day, I can’t read these poems without remembering the excitement with which Miranda pressed the book into my open hands.

I was painting apples recently at my friend’s farm, and the first line of this poem rose unbidden in my mind. “Never, never may the fruit be plucked from the bough…” it was still freshly embedded in my memory after all this time, even though I hadn’t opened the book in decades.

The poem speaks its gentle wisdom: Live in the moment. Live, and love, in the moment, enjoying the fruits at hand. Now is all we have. It’s all we ever have. Don’t try to hoard up any extra sweetness for later. Only what your belly can hold.

St. Vincent Millay refers specifically to romantic love, but I can’t seem to separate that out from all the other ways of loving in my life. Children, friends, food, nature, a moment of beauty. And yes, of course, romantic love. All of it is to be experienced in the moment. Not “someday.”

It feels comforting when I remember to be present, to stay in the moment. Especially this year. It feels so difficult, and almost pointless, to make any plans. What will next month hold? Will my kids still be in school in-person? Will stores run out of toilet paper again? Will someone in my family get sick? Will people continue to buy paintings? Will my house get flooded? Will the planet be ok?

The global pandemic and recent severe weather events have shaken up my sense of security. I used to take so many things for granted. It’s all so overwhelming, it’s tempting to spin out into endless worries.

Instead of worrying, I paint.

I paint the fruit where it hangs.

Mixing colors in my friend’s little grove of apple trees…

work in progress

“Apples , ready to be plucked…” oil on canvas mounted on board, 12x9.5 inches

Finished. I think…

A few paintings

Here are some of my paintings currently available for sale. For more information, or to inquire about purchasing one of my paintings, email me: lauren@laurenkindle.com

“Mock Orange BLossoms” oil on canvas mounted on board, 12x16 inches

“End of Summer” oil on board, 7.5 x 6 inches

“Red Tulips” oil on canvas mounted on board, 16x12 inches, in a beautiful new golden frame (see below)

“Sunset at Cove Beach” oil on linen mounted on board, 7.25x10 inches

“Beach Dunes at Dawn” oil on primed paper mounted on board, 5.25x8.25 inches

“Jade Bowl and Blood Orange (1)” oil on canvas mounted on board, 9x9 inches

“Jade Bowl and Blood Orange (2)” oil on primed paper mounted on board, 5x5 inches

“Jade Bowl and Blood Orange (3)” oil on primed paper mounted on board, 8.25x8.25 inches

“Water Tower” oil on primed paper mounted on board, 6x4 inches

“Spring Blossoms” oil on primed paper mounted on board, 7.5x5.25 inches SOLD

“Villa Milagro Vineyards” oil on linen mounted on board, 11x14 inches (I think)

“Self Portrait Behind Flowers” oil on canvas mounted on board, 16x12 inches

Letters from Kristen

“I am seeking, I am striving, I am in it with all my heart.”

—-Van Gogh, letter to Theo

I met my artist friend Kristen at an art residency in Italy in 2017. We have remained friends and pen pals ever since. Many of Kristen’s letters are filled with warm encouragement and wisdom for the artist’s journey, and I turn to them whenever I feel lost. I thought that others might also benefit from reading some of these letters, and so I had intended to publish a couple in early 2020. But the pandemic happened, and I forgot all about it. But now, as I re-read Kristen’s words this morning, I find that they still hold much value, and so I will share it with you. Enjoy!

Kristen and me at a cafe in Florence, July 2017

December 2019

Dearest Lauren,

Letter from Vincent Van Gogh to his brother Theo, about what it means to be an artist:

“I am seeking, I am striving, I am in it with all my heart.”

This is my hope for your work this new year, in writing and in painting—that is pulled forth from you with the force of being in it with your whole heart—Embodied Art— an extension of your Being (Painting as Person) from that Tom Hess quote in her book (I’ll try to find it in a second…) but I am sitting down so peacefully right now!

Your painting and writing cannot but BE YOU! So be the most enlivened, beautiful you you can be! Enjoy this turn of decade 2020! “The Gift” by Lewis Hyde. It is so very beautiful.

“What is good is given back…” The gift (art), it goes around in a circle. It comes to you and then you pass it on. In the spirit of gift giving, enjoy a gift from my bounty…Use this as a cushion to say “no” to commissions and do your heart work!

…Lean into your heart work, find your voice. Paint with freedom from it needing to garner you cash or be anything but your own free voice! Gift to the world the work of your heart, and the world will give many gifts back. I feel so wealthy, sure with money (which matters) but with a warmth of loving, so dearly, the act of painting, loving so dearly the chance to teach such eager and willing students, feeling like I’ve never ‘worked’ a day in my life— because all of it is so nourishing to me. Read this. Use this to confidently labor after your gift. Merry Christmas dear friend!

Love, Kristen

The book that Kristen sent me…

January 2020… [To Lauren]

To have a pen pal— you! I like it very much. I don’t know when I will actually get to send this letter as I am in Hilton Head, SC at the beach. My parents have a condo here that they come to all the time now that they are retired. It’s beautiful and on the ocean!…

It is hard to have ties and be “a serious” painter. I have been thinking about Grace Hartigan a lot and her “seriousness” and quick rise to fame (no… I haven’t finished the book yet [Ninth Street Women]…) It is crazy though, for all my delving into painting and knowing of a lot of painters, I really didn’t know her work until this book. I really had never heard of her, one generation passes and fame and legacy change, quickly. So fame cannot be the goal. It is fleeting, even if you score it. But, I don’t believe it was [the goal] for her. It was the pursuit of the work, which consumed her.

So, I don’t want to be consumed to the point of never choosing to have children or giving up A CHILD. (How could you?) Or losing a marriage. But I do want to be a painter, a serious and devoted painter…

I am hoping for some discipline this week to actually paint and to sneak away to read…Thank you for my letter. I loved it and plan to read it again with fresh eyes in the morning. A perspective change, from berating myself for what I didn’t to, to being generous and thankful for what I did, and simply taking in life as it comes and not sweating the small stuff.

Life creates and feeds art! The fullest us creates the fullest work. So be full! Full of family! Full of cookies! Full of walks! Full of confidence! Full of seizing the time we can in the midst of a busy life!

Love you!

Love, KP

Kristen and me, trying to set up a tent on a chilly October evening in 2019, at an art opening in Newtown, Pennsylvania.

Further reading: “Interview with Kristen Peyton”

Outdoor Drawing Class

“Art is really just a few very basics concepts that take a whole lifetime to learn.”

--Abigail Synnestvedt

Here is a drawing I did in which I demonstrated the reductive, wipe-away technique.

Last weekend I taught a private charcoal drawing lesson to my friend Il Hyun. We decided to have the drawing class at Hunter Hill CSA, a beautiful local farm just a few miles north of my home in Easton, PA. On that glorious sunny day, we chose a grove of old apple trees as our subject matter.

Artist at work.

During the class, we focused on simplification, value, and gesture. I showed him two drawing techniques that have been very helpful to me over the years: straight line drawing and reductive drawing.

Although it was Il Hyun’s first “formal instruction” in art, he displayed a lot of natural ability and enthusiasm. It was a pleasure to give him some tips and watch his drawings come to life. I feel very grateful for the experience.

Il Hyun’s “straight-line” drawing of an apple tree

If you are interested in signing up for a private drawing or painting lesson, please feel free to contact me with any questions. lauren@laurenkindle.com

Creativity: A Mutual Relationship

I have been writing a novel for the past several years, at a snail’s pace. Early in the morning, before the day starts, my husband Ian and I sit down and write for about a half hour. (Or sometimes only 20 minutes. “Something is better than nothing,” is my guiding motto.) Ian is working on his own novel, so we write together at the same table, but on our separate projects.

Lately, I have been feeling really stuck with my plot. I’ve been spending my writing time each morning not actually writing at all. Instead, I stare in confusion at the computer screen, pulling at my hair and gnawing on the collar of my shirt in frustration, like a maniac.

I have a wonderful writer friend, Kate, and we keep touch with old-fashioned letter writing. In a recent letter, Kate suggested that I use notecards to boil down different scenes so that I could make drastic changes. So I tried, and I have spent a lot of time spreading my notes and notecards and scribbled insane timelines all over the floor, to no avail. I am still really struggling with making sense of it all.

Specifically, I have way too many subplots, and possibly too many characters who are either ghosts or gods in disguise. I also have a really intense climactic scene in the middle of the novel that should probably be near the end, where the real climax is. But logistically I can’t seem to move it there. It’s stuck in the middle, and by comparison, my actual climax is just a thin echo.

Trying harder isn’t helping, I can’t force it.

I wonder if somehow I need to “let go.”

“Writing my novel with red teapot” gouache on envelope

There are clear parallels between my writing and my painting practices. I have experienced in the studio that there is a point, if all is going well, when I need to let go of my original vision of the painting, and allow the painting itself to become an active participant in the creative process. The painting will “speak” to me, make clear how it wants to be. From then on, the dynamic changes. It is no longer a situation where the “active artist” is exerting her will upon her “passive creation.” It has instead become a mutual relationship.

A certain amount of struggling and “sweat and blood” is probably inevitable in all creative pursuits. But there’s a time for that, and there is also a time to let go, to step back, and not try to control everything. This letting go requires a tremendous amount of faith. Success is never guaranteed.

But I truly do believe that the work itself has its own spirit, and that it wants to come into being. If you let it participate in the process, magical surprises will happen!

“Me typing my novel, with flowers” gouache on envelope

Read My Short Stories

Recommended Reading for Artists

Reading is one of life’s greatest pleasures. I read constantly and voraciously. I have compiled here a few lists of my very favorite books that most relate to the artist life.

These books are worth their weight in gold, as far as I’m concerned.

MY TOP LIST

Books I Read Again and Again:

(these are the books I turn to constantly, underlining passages and dog-earing the corners)

Still Writing: the perils and pleasures of a creative life by Dani Shapiro

Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow LIndbergh

Hawthorne on Painting by Charles Hawthrone

The Art Spirit by Robert Henri

Daybook by Anne Truitt (and her two other subsequent journals: Turn and Prospect)

Letters on Cezanne by Rainer Maria Rilke

Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke

Glimpsing Another Artist’s Life and Work

The Journal of Eugene Delacroix

The Letters of Vincent Van Gogh selected and edited by Ronald de Leeuw, trans. Arnold Pomerans

Berthe Morisot by Anne Higonnet

Vincent and Theo by Deborah Heiligman (I just finished this and must return it to my friend Elizabeth Snelling)

Matisse on Art (I haven’t actually read this yet, but it was recommended by my friend Rotem Amizur.)

Vanished Splendors by Balthus (not pictured)

Beautiful Art Philosophy

The Quiet Eye by Sylvia Shaw Judson

The Zen of Seeing by Frederick Franck

Paintings and Etchings 1970-2011 by Gillian Pederson Krag (The essays in the intro are amazing.)

Art as Therapy by Alain de Botton

Whole Child/ Whole Parent by Polly Berrien Berends, especially the chapter “Beauty” (not in photo)

More Favorite Books

Letters to a Young Painter and Other Writings by Rosemary Beck

A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf

To Whom the Shoe Fits by Pat Passlof

The Gift by Lewis Hyde

A Writer’s Diary by Virginia Woolf

Technical Help (highly recommend)

Observational Drawing by Joseph Podlesnik

Drawing from Observation by Brian Curtis

Color: A Workshop Approach by David Hornung

Historical Fiction about Artists

The Fountain of St. James Court by Sena Jeter Naslund (about Vigée Le Brun)

The Passion of Artemesia by Susan Vreeland

Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland

The Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

“We Work Beside the Wind” a short story by me*, Lauren Kindle (historical fiction about Corot)

*I have more art-related short stories here in my blog, most fall under the category “magical realism.”

Books that Deal with Maintaining a Studio Practice

(note: books on writing, by writers, are often very helpful to visual artists, so you will see them included)

Deep Work by Cal Newport (not shown, I gave it to my friend Kristen Peyton)

Keep Going, Show Your Work!, and Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon

Pen on Fire by Barbara DeMarco-Barrett (my friend Kat gave this to me)

Essentialism by Greg McKeown

A Hundred White Daffodils by Jane Kenyon

Books I Intend to Read Soon

The Sense of Beauty by George Santayana

Search for the Real by Hans Hofmann

Sight & Insight by Alexander Eliot (I started this, it reads like a floating dream, or a long poem.)

My Top-Favorite-Ever Books That Are Not Art Related

Howl’s Moving Castle, and everything else I’ve ever read by Diana Wynne Jones

Quest for a Maid by Frances M. Hendry

The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope

Thomas the Rhymer by Ellen Kushner (and all her other books too)

Agatha Christie’s mysteries… and especially her autobiography which I’ve read twice

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

I’d love to hear from you! What would your recommended reading list be? Share your own recommendations in the comments.

Masterpiece

A surprise Valentine poem by Ian Kindle. February 2021

Masterpiece

a poem by Ian Kindle

Seeing you at work upon your Masterpiece

it is difficult to ascribe to you

one consistent way of working.

At times you pass by, glance

then make some fast and casual effortless marks.

A clean bathroom; a tidy surface.

Other times with deep intensive concentration

You spend graceful hours at the easel,

yielding pots of oatmeal; loaves of bread;

calligraphy lessons; a sultry love poem.

Still others it’s a chaotic whirlwind.

A frenetic effort to squeeze a few moments

with this chef d’oeuvre in between

competing demands of the rest of art and life.

A pile of dishes when you’re exhausted;

a sidewalk in need of clearing;

cat litter and endless loads of laundry.

But still you make these brush strokes

upon this giant canvas with grace,

not quite knowing how it will turn out in the end.

You lather on thick daubs of color

and then scrape away.

Always with ecstasy and agony and sometimes

just brute determination of creation

you persevere— artist. lover. wife. mother

as you paint our lives.

For Lauren, Valentine’s Day 2021

“Kiss (2)” monotype, 5x3 inches

Further reading:

Le sommeil d'amour dure encore

Valentines

Strange Love Letters

Ian’s Journal

"What's Your Story" Interview

“I believe that art is important and soul sustaining.”

— Lauren Kindle

A short film by Darin Barron Jr

WhatsYourStory: WATCH HERE

Read the WhatsYourStory Article! (more incredible photos by Darin Barron Jr)

What's Your Story featuring the story of Lauren Kindle an entrepreneur from Easton, PA. Lauren Kindle is a Lehigh Valley native who has a strong passion for art and giving back to the community. She also owns an art gallery studio where many can enjoy art. She shares some challenges that she faces and the importance of giving back.

photo credit: Darin Barron Jr.

What's Your Story Site

Instagram

Facebook

Music By: @John Lannon

New Yorker Sketches

A little over a year ago, I started doing sketches in old New Yorkers. The magazines themselves were gifts, mailed to me from an artist friend in Missouri, Scott Smith. In the ratty old pages of the New Yorkers, Scott’s own sketches were incredible and moving. I was astounded by the generous way in which he shared his art process. His earnest searching and the inevitable struggles of art-making were there in full view, exposed in each sketch.

I felt inspired to be brave and playful in the same way. I started sketching in New Yorkers myself, drawing without any erasers. I used black sharpies, india ink, gouache, oil pastels, and my trusty pilot pen. The “trashy” quality of the old, falling-apart magazines makes it feel less like serious art, and that frees me up to take risks, try new things, and follow my intuition.

Below are some of my sketches.

after Rubens

after Rubens

after Rubens

Adrienne Lunt

“Survival is necessary and yet True Success can only be achieved when we are passionate about what we do. How can we inspire others if we ourselves do not feel inspired?  Inspired to survive? Inspired to dig deep? Inspired to provide? Inspired to lead? Inspired to create? Find and follow your Bliss and you CAN change the world.” -Adrienne

Edge Of Night,  48” X 30”

a guest blog post by artist Adrienne Lunt

I have always been passionate about art but began painting in earnest when I was laid off from my job as a Vet Tech during the Great Recession.  This eventually lead to the very impractical decision of becoming a full time artist.

I enjoy using my paint brush to create unique worlds, whether it is with strong broad brush strokes or minute lines. I take pleasure in plein air painting for the challenge of capturing not only what I see but invoking the feeling of the subject matter. Before having my first child I traveled extensively to paint plein air. With a 5 year old and a 1 year old, I am looking forward to being able to travel again in a couple years!

View From Water Street, 8”x10”

On a trip to Yarmouth Nova Scotia I was able to paint the inlet off Water Street.  The wind scudded the clouds swiftly across the twilit sky and the water gleamed a golden hue just as I realized that the tide being out revealed a sunken sailing ship cast upon the far shore.  I love this piece because the brush strokes are very loose and somewhat wild and I feel it reflects the energy I felt that day.

Nature’s Detritus, 24” X 36”

 In recent years I became obsessed with the overlooked things in nature and resolved to capture them on large canvases by representing them in tiny swirling brush strokes.  This series became known as my Microcosm series.  So each semi definitive brush stroke is in itself representing the tiny overlooked thing that I am enlarging. 

Monkey Head Nebula, 4’ X 5’

My most recent work is space inspired. The beautiful images that have come out of the Hubble Telescope have revved my artistic engine so much that I created a painting inspired by the Monkey Head Nebula image. Since these images are public domain and, we the public are encouraged to use them to inspire ourselves, I chose to paint an enormous five by four foot painting of it! Nowadays you can find me at work making paintings combining images of nature that I have taken out on walks and the images the Hubble Telescope so generously provides. Here I am in my studio working on my latest piece.

The first time I shared myself artistically was in grade eight.  I got engaged in a project to put a mural on the side of my school’s gym, and each kid got the opportunity to interpret their own rendition of the mural. As a typically awkward and painfully shy teenager this seemed a daunting task, but I was extremely excited to try. Unexpectedly my interpretation was singled out for its excellence, which gave me an unforeseen boost of confidence, and of course in turn made a huge impression on me!  Even though I continued to do well in art afterward, doing it more than recreationally didn’t seem practical.  But after attaining two science based degrees and being laid off, I found myself seeking solace in inspiring others through art.  I realized that my hands itch to paint whenever I see a beautiful scene or hear an evocative piece of music.  When my hands are busy creating art I feel inspired, fired up, moved and at peace all at once.  This is how I realized my path.

Adrienne Lunt is an Acrylic and Oil Artist who can often be found sneaking away to her easel for a stolen moment to put a little more paint on whatever piece she is currently working on.  She currently lives in Quakertown PA with her hugely supportive husband, two kids and a very mischievous rabbit.  You can follow along on her adventures here:

adrienneluntstudios.com

or follow her on Instagram!

Free Community Art Group

Update: These monthly zoom sessions have come to an end. Thanks to everyone who participated.

I will facilitate a formal virtual art critique group and art-making event on a monthly basis.

We meet on zoom the first Thursday of every month from 7-9 pm. This is free to the art community, thanks to funding from Lafayette College’s Community Based Teaching Program. Email me for a zoom link.

Email me for a zoom link: lauren@laurenkindle.com

More details:

A formal critique will take place promptly at 7 pm and all artists are encouraged to participate by bringing their own pieces to be critiqued, and by contributing thoughtful feedback on each other’s work.

Following the critique, there will be an hour or more for the artists to work on whatever art projects they want to do. Bring your sketchbooks, paints, print-making supplies, and while you work, we can chat together about our art on zoom.

I will set up a still life on zoom which people can work from if they choose, but this is optional.

Art Critique Guide

• Describe what you see. Line, Shape, Value, Composition

• What is working in this piece of art? What are the strongest elements of the drawing (painting, etc.)?

• How could it be improved or pushed further? Suggestions for the artist to try?

• Does the work remind you of other things you have experienced?

• How has the artist suggested these moods, thoughts, or ideas?

• What expressive language would you use to describe the qualities? (adjectives)

• Does the artwork send a message or suggest a deeper meaning?

“Le sommeil d’amour dure encore”

“At four o'clock in the morning, in summer,
Love sleep still endures.”

— Rimbaud, Arthur. “Good Thoughts for the Morning.” Trans. Ian Kindle

“Le sommeil d’amour dure encore” oil on canvas, 16x12 inches

All summer long, my husband, Ian, spent his mornings translating Rimbaud’s poetry from its original French into English. It was early, before his work started, and before the kids woke up: a special quiet time. We would sit at the same large table, separated by bouquets of flowers. We had such a wonderful abundance of flowers all summer long, grown by our local farmer friends.

“La muse timide” gouache on paper, 7x5 inches

I would sit nearby with my sketchbook or my small easel and paint him. I liked to watch him work, peering unobtrusively through all the bouquets of flowers, much like a jungle explorer might peer through foliage to catch sight of a rare bird. I did many sketches of him throughout the summer, him sitting there behind fruit and flower. I painted from life, and also from my memory and imagination.

“Man Behind Flowers” sharpie and gouache on an old New Yorker

Now, in the middle of a cold, grey winter, I am warmed by re-reading his Rimbaud translations, which evoke memories of luxuriant blossoms, bountiful fruit, and hot summer nights. I share with you here one of my favorite Rimbaud poems: “Good Thoughts for the Morning.”

Disclaimer: Ian asks the reader to remember that he is an amateur translator; please forgive any shortcomings.

“La belle muse” gouache on paper, 7x5 inches

Good thoughts for the morning

At four o'clock in the morning, in summer,
Love sleep still endures.
Under the groves dawn evaporates
The odor of night's celebrations.

But over there in the immense worksite
Towards the sun of the Hesperides,
In shirt sleeves, the carpenters
Already stir.

In their mossy wilderness, peaceful,
They prepare the precious panels
Where the wealth of the town
Will laugh beneath fraudulent skies.

Ah! for these charming Workers
Subjects of a king of Babylon,
Venus! let the Lovers alone a bit
Whose soul has been crowned.

O Queen of Shepherds,
Bring brandy to the workers.
So that their strength may be at peace
While awaiting the bath in the sea, at noon.

—translated from French by Ian KIndle

“La muse séduisant” gouache on paper, 7x5 inches

Bonne pensée du matin

À quatre heures du matin, l'été,
Le sommeil d'amour dure encore.
Sous les bosquets l'aube évapore
L'odeur du soir fêté.

Mais là-bas dans l'immense chantier
Vers le soleil des Hesperides,
En bras de chemise, les charpentiers
Déjà s'agitent.

Dans leur désert de mousse, tranquilles,
Ils préparent les lambris précieux
Où la richesse de la ville
Rira sous de faux cieux.

Ah! pour ces Ouvriers charmants
Sujets d'un roi de Babylone,
Venus! laisse un peu les Amants,
Dont l'âme est en couronne.

O Reine des Bergers,
Porte aux travailleurs l'eau-de-vie.
Pour que leurs forces soient en paix
En attendant le bain dans la mer, à midi.

—Rimbaud, Arthur. “Bonne pensée du matin.” Rimbaud: Complete Works, Selected Letters, The University of Chicago Press, 2005, pp. 178-180.

“His realization” sharpie on old New Yorker

“Ian behind tulips and anemones” 10x8 inches, felt-tip pen

Related reading: “Ian’s Journal”

Reading Art Books With My Daughter (Reprise)

My daughter Nell just turned 14 two days ago, on Monday, the Winter Solstice. Then I turned 40 the following day. Now I am thinking back to when I started this art blog five years ago. In September, 2015, I wrote a post about how my daughter and I would get up early and look at art books together. I wrote:

“For the past year, my 8-year-old daughter Nell has been getting up very early in the morning to spend time alone with me while the others are still asleep. We creep downstairs together quietly and I make some tea and coffee. Then I let Nell choose one of the many big art books on my bookshelf, stuffed with full-color reproductions of beloved paintings. And then we sit, slowly turning the pages, talking about our favorite artists, snuggled under our blankets, until the boys came downstairs wanting breakfast.”

—Sharing Wonder: Looking at Art Books With my Daughter

8-year old Nell (and me) looking at an art book, September 2015 (over 5 years ago)

As I re-read the old blog post, I am warmed by those sweet memories. A lot has changed since then. Nowadays, Nell and I rarely look at art books together, although we do have other ways of connecting. Naturally, as a teenager she has her own separate interests, and usually she prefers to read her own novel in the mornings. But, once in awhile, when the mood is right, we do sit down together and open up a couple of art books, just like old times.

Further Reading: Birth Day

Guitar Lessons

“That is sacred—you have put your heart in it.”

—Charles Hawthorne, to a student, Hawthorne on Painting

Morgan, my 10-year-old son, has been taking guitar lessons for several years. His teacher is a local musician and an amazing teacher. During the pandemic, we have switched to virtual lessons using Skype, and they are working out better than I hoped; I can hear the improvement in my son’s playing.

I have been looking through some old sketchbooks, feeling nostalgic, and I found these pencil sketches of Morgan and his teacher during their guitar lessons from before the pandemic. I miss those days when they could be together in person; hopefully they will return soon.

Thank God for music and art!

That’s all I have to say today.

Related reading:

Piano Sketches a blog post about taking piano lessons

The Witch of the Hill

“Bring me these things, and bring them Well/ All mixed together to break the Spell/ On All-Hallows’ Eve when the moon is Full!”

photo credit: Berry Steiner

Sometimes it’s hard to draw the line between Artist and Mother; in so many ways the roles overlap. Here is one such instance:

On Halloween this year, we did not go trick-or-treating. Instead, I became the Witch of the Hill and invited a few children from our local “pod” to the woods behind our house.

photo credit: Berry Steiner

The Witch of the Hill was imprisoned, trapped by invisible chains to a tree growing on the hill. Her sister, the more powerful Witch of Gollub Cliffs, had put the spell on her (the result of a petty witch’s quarrel.) When the children came in their costumes, they had to approach the formidable witch and gain her trust. Thus accomplished, they were given a list of magical ingredients to find.

To Break the Witch’s Spell

A lock of hair from a laughing child

And a Flower growing Wild

A rose’s thorn, a slender bone,

And dirt dug from beneath a stone.

Confess to something that is feared,

A child’s drawing that is Weird,

A Marigold, and something Cold,

A snip of Silver from a Beard.

Bring me these things, and bring them Well,

All mixed together to break the Spell,

On All-Hallows’ Eve when the moon is Full!

photo credit: Irene Tatariw

The children were able to gather the ingredients and the Witch of the Hill was released form her magical confinement. The Witch’s Familiar, a devoted beast who was Half-bear and Half-fish, rewarded their efforts with generous gifts of candy.

After such a success, it was agreed by all that there should be future adventures, filled with more perilous quests and magical encounters. To be continued…

photo credit: Berry Steiner

The Witch of the Hill and her Familiar…

photo credit: Berry Steiner

Further magical adventures: Treasure Hunt

October Sunsets

“Only here. Only now.”

—words embroidered on a ribbon, a gift from a friend

“Pink Sunset” oil on canvas mounted on board, 8x12 inches

I spent a few weeks last month working on a commission to paint the vista from someone’s front door in Harmony Township, New Jersey. I went several times to get a feel for the place, arriving in the late afternoon and painting through the sunset. It was a glorious vista. The family had lived on that land for a long time, and it felt like a special place.

Here’s a picture of my painting-in-progress on my little french easel, with my beloved palette. I feel very sentimental about the easel and palette; they have accompanied me on many adventures!

On one occasion, I took my student Laurie along with me for a private plein-air lesson. I really enjoy teaching, and Laurie is an exceptional student. I admire her tenacity and spirit! On a side note, I am accepting new students right now. If you are interested in an outdoor, socially distant private lesson, just let me know. I’m up for painting outdoors throughout the winter. We can bundle up!

“October Evening” oil on canvas mounted on board, 8x12 inches

I’m happy with the paintings that I’ve been doing, and I plan to return to this particular vista as the seasons change. The owner of the property has graciously invited me to come and paint any time.

“Memory of a Sunset” oil on canvas mounted on board, 8x12 inches

“October Sunset” oil on canvas mounted on board, 6x7 inches

This last one might be my favorite….

I really leaned into the abstraction and the feeling of the sunset in that one moment, that one place. I allowed myself to be free.

Only here. Only now.

embroidery gift from my friend Clara

For Her

“From the beginning, the dance told me – this is not yours. It is a gift to give away.”

—Terre Parker

filming Liz O-Brien dancing, photo credit: Elizabeth Pangburn

For Her premiered on Friday, October 2nd, 2020. You can watch it here. In this version, the artist talk is a separate video. Find out more about the piece here. @terreparker on social media.

For Her: Reflections on a creative process

By Terre Parker

Creating For Her has been a wild ride. It began last fall with an invitation from an artist I deeply respect – Terry Jenoure. In this meeting, I had my professional hat on (my artist hat safely stowed away.) We were dreaming up a new arts program series and Terry (also a woman of multiple talents with professional and artist hats) had agreed to present one artist. There was a moment of silence and then Terry turned to me and said, “Why don’t you do your thing?” I couldn’t turn down that invitation/challenge.

Being a mom (Rule to live by: Unexpected delays will occur!,) I decided to start early and began working in the studio with collaborators last winter. (You can see some of the early self-portraits in my previous guest blog post.) I danced in the intended site – a grove of elder beech trees – one time before COVID shut everything down around me.

Enter four months of just getting by. Then in July I heard from Terry that we were still on and that I should submit 30 min. of video. 30 min. of video! On top of a full-time job, five year old at home, COVID… How?

on site for a shoot with a bat, photo credit: Terre Parker

I knew I was being called up to give something. From the beginning, the dance told me – this is not yours. It is a gift to give away. So I named it “For Her” to remind myself that I was the channel, but not the owner. I felt the turmoil, pain, grief, and loss of the last months and years of my life pushing on the dam to get through this dance. I was afraid. I called my dear friend Lauren Kindle. She said, “I would not want to be called to create a grief dance right now. I don’t envy you, but I know you can do it.”

I have found a practice of looking in the mirror and saying “I believe in you.” I gave the dance to thing in me that I have been talking to. She heard me.

filming Barbara Cortez-Greig, photo credit: Elizabeth Pangburn

Collaborators Barbara Cortez-Greig and Liz O’Brien re-connected. A new collaborator – Elizabeth Pangburn – emerged, another working/mom/artist. Working together I started to see how Elizabeth made it possible for herself. I began making it possible for myself. I asked for help. I committed to the dance. I made it as important as other people’s needs. I asked it not to eat me up, but to feed me.

Sometimes I have to close my eyes to feel what I have to do next., photo credit: Elizabeth Pangburn

Elizabeth and I met for costume fittings and video editing sessions outside. My mom picked my son up and they drove off with masks on and windows down. I was in costume with my camera and tripod packed when she arrived to pick up. Everyone had a lunch packed, including me. I jumped in a neighbor’s car – masks on, windows down – to catch a ride to the Brook. My neighbor reminded me, “Why make art?” I answered, “Only if you have to.” I had to. I hiked in to the Brook, set up my camera. I became her for 45 min. It was easy to fall in. She was right there. I was ready. All the packing lunches, working late hours to provide for my family, troubleshooting and planning precautions for COVID, it all made me ready. I arrived home with just enough time to take off my wet, dirty costume and shower before my mom and son drove in the driveway. It had been two hours total.

Revelation! I can create art I believe in with only two hours. I began to feel more alive than I had in a long time.

First day of shooting, photo credit: Elizabeth Pangburn

 I carted my son around to research sites. I thanked my blessings for a union job and took a week off. I declared it art week. I ordered equipment. I relearned video editing. I met with Elizabeth, Barbara, and Liz in different local sites. Masks. Distance. Children. Snacks. Migraines. Delays. Technical failures. Construction vehicles making an unexpected soundtrack. All through it the sound of running water. My mom and Elizabeth taking turns with my son to make it possible.

Terre and Elizabeth on site, photo credit: Elizabeth Pangburn

I had one weekend to edit the video. It was not perfect, but it told me what to do. Then my uncle died in the sweeping California fires. I still had to record 10 min. of an artist talk. I was raw and grieving and swamped with work for hire. I had only 1 hour. I went to the River. I asked for what was supposed to come out to come out. I stopped talking after 10 min. and reviewed the video. I hadn’t meant to say so much, to be so vulnerable! But it was not mine. It told me so.

The video is not perfect, but it is real. I became myself again through the process. Thank you, For Her.

on a two-hour solo dance shoot, photo credit: Terre Parker

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For Her is presented by Augusta Savage Gallery for REVIVAL/50: Terre Parker as part of a year-long digital performance series celebrating Augusta Savage Gallery’s 50th Anniversary. This event is also part of the Creative Women Leading Climate Action series presented by the UMass Arts Extension Service, Augusta Savage Gallery, Women of Color Leadership Network, College of Humanities and Fine Arts Advising and Career Center, Department of Theater, and UMass Amherst Center at Springfield with support from Women for UMass Amherst, UMass Sustainability Innovation and Engagement Fund, Massachusetts Cultural Council, and the Arts Extension Service’s Arts Entrepreneurship Initiative.

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Costumes by Elizabeth Pangburn.

 Also by Terre Parker: A Dancer in Isolation

For Her (Artist Talk)

For Her (Performance)