Painting as an Act of Wilful Inefficiency
July 21, 2016
“Ever since the invention of photography, making a painting at all is an act of wilful inefficiency.”
— Amy Whitaker, Art Thinking
I like my photographs of hydrangeas. I like this watercolor painting as much or more. Thank goodness life is big enough to embrace multiple ways of seeing, doing, and being. Efficiency isn’t the most important thing.
Pumpkin Painter and Farmer: Eddie Gordon
October 12, 2015
Each October I look forward to seeing Eddie Gordon’s new paintings on display at Gordon Skagit Farms. This year’s outdoor gallery was as amazing as always. I particularly liked the painting of the pumpkin included like a land form into the Pacific NW landscape, creating a feeling of whimsy. This year’s bountiful squash and pumpkin harvest was matched by a prolific year of painting.
An exhibit featuring Georgia O’Keeffe paintings just opened at the Tacoma Art Museum. Her paintings, which focus on some of her New Mexico still lifes, are juxtaposed with those from Pacific Northwest artists. This exhibit has travelled here from Indianapolis and the Tacoma Art Museum is the only West coast venue for this show. So it is well worth a day trip to check it out.
Georgia O’Keeffe (1887−1986), Yellow Cactus, 1929. Oil on canvas, 30 × 42 inches. Dallas Museum of Art, Texas. Patsy Lacy Griffith Collection, Bequest of Patsy Lacy Griffith. 1998.217. (O’Keeffe 675) © 2015 Georgia O’Keeffe Museum / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy International Arts ®.
I like this article in which the Indianapolis Museum of Art talks about still life painting:
Rarely do we think of still life painting as depictions of a specific area, which is why Georgia O’Keeffe and the Southwestern Still Life is such a unique and important exhibition.”
I am very fond of Georgia O’Keeffe’s art, and I was particularly pleased with this new exhibit which featured several of her paintings that I had never before seen in person or reproduced in books such as a cockscomb and a wooden virgin. Here are some of the other new (to me) paintings:
Georgia O’Keeffe (1887−1986), Mule’s Skull with Pink Poinsettia, 1936. Oil on canvas, 401⁄8 × 30 inches. Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Gift of The Burnett Foundation. 1997.06.014. (O’Keeffe 876) © 2015 Georgia O’Keeffe Museum / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy International Arts ®.
Georgia O’Keeffe (1887−1986), Deer Horns, 1938. Oil on canvas, 36 × 16 inches. Collection of Louis Bacon. (O’Keeffe 941) Photography by Christie’s Images. © 2015 Georgia O’Keeffe Museum / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy International Arts
You can read more about this exhibit from this article in the Los Angeles Times.
While you are at the Tacoma Art Museum, be sure to wander through its new addition, which houses “Art of the American West: the Haub Family Collection.” It includes another new (to me) O’Keeffe painting, Pinons with Cedar, 1956.
Georgia O’Keeffe (American, 1887 ‑ 1986)
Piñons with Cedar, 1956
Oil on canvas
30 × 26 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Haub Family Collection, Gift of Erivan and Helga Haub, 2014.6.91
© 2014 Georgia O’Keeffe Museum / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Art on the Farm, an Outdoor Gallery
October 10, 2014
There is something special about seeing art outdoors on a farm. It is worth driving up to the Skagit Valley each October just to see Eddie Gordon’s new work. Each year the Gordon Skagit Farm becomes a gallery for his latest “crop” of paintings. Take a look:
Zinnias in Art
September 23, 2012
I came across this Mary Cassatt portrait, which features a red zinnia. That was inspiration enough to try my hand at painting one (which ended up being two).
Yesterday was the 2012 Georgetown Garden Walk. My friend Carol and I strolled around, map in hand, enjoying the garden ramble. We re-visited old favorites from last year’s Walk, and eyed a few new surprises. This year the Garden Walk was made extra special by art in the gardens, a co-event called “Cross Pollinate.”
My absolute favorite part of the Georgetown Garden Walk was Jon B. Dove’s garden cottage. I would love to have a garden retreat like this to write, paint, and work on my blog. Here are some photos:
A Collaboration Between Artists and Florists
June 13, 2011
The Tacoma Art Museum’s weekend-only exhibit, Flora & Fine Arts, paired flowers and art in a uniquely collaborative way. About 30 local floral designers used works of Pacific Northwest art from the museum’s permanent collection as inspiration for some dazzling floral arrangements. This idea has apparently been executed previously by the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the de Young Museum in San Francisco, and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
I felt so lucky to have been able to see this exhibit with my gardener friend, Carol. I loved the florists’ interpretations. Their arrangements felt like natural extensions of the artwork, a true sharing of vision. Here are some photos: