This is the ninth in a series of posts taking you back through a history of my work, from its very realistic roots to abstraction.
I was living in a blue world. Sunlight cast shadows on the snow covered ground in just about every shade imaginable. The daylight sky with its muted cerulean expanses and white clouds filled my days, the acequias were frozen over with pastel ice. Even the night sky had its pale azure halos around the stars and the moon.
I was working in the old adobe church gallery at the beginning of my shared gallery experience with Anna. The whitewashed walls glowed powder blue. Even the air I breathed seemed effused with the color. Then there was Anna’s painting, New Mexico Sky, hanging on the wall just in front of my easel, all silver and white. This is where my Blue Series was born. A small series, just three paintings, it remains one of my favorites. I feel the works shifted the tenor of my horse paintings entirely, bringing them into the light.
Here is the inspiration for Blue 1, my lovely herd at home on the llano. That’s Davida in the front.
This is the finished Blue 1. Notice the horses’ legs and the fence posts becoming one.
Here is the inspiration for Blue 2.
The completed Blue 2.
I added a sense of grasses rising up out of the snow and a strong horizon line. This is an enduring favorite of mine and, in fact, along with Blue1, they initiated the use of a smoother plaster ground, moving away from the highly textured surfaces of previous works. It was also in this painting that I first made thinly sliced vertical cuts into the plaster, a process I’m exploring to this day.
I couldn’t find the shot I worked with on Blue 3 but I remember it. It was a picture of Davida, still small, standing behind her mama. I’m sure you can picture it.
Here is Blue 3, its fence posts, legs and grasses all merged together.
Many argue that abstract art should not spring from reality and that its forms should never represent anything. However, I believe two things: first, art should have no rules because, as Kandinsky noted, “…art is free”; second, abstraction can absolutely be rooted in an altered reality. I do not think working with recognizable shapes makes them any less conceptually pure, nor does it diminish the work’s painterly essence. In fact, if an agreed-upon canon for abstract art ever comes to exist (and I pray to God it never does), I believe this stylized reality should be an integral part of it.
After finishing the Blue Series, I launched into a new body of horse-based paintings that were more neutral in tone. Below is the inspiration for Place, the first piece in this collection. With these works, I began combining personal feelings about the horses with my visual draw to fences that are stitched across this land, the linear patterns of the grasses, and the deep mystery of New Mexico.
Place.
Here is the piece as it was originally exhibited at Hand Artes Gallery, alongside Blue 1 and Blue 3.
This is Morning, the next in the series.
Shown displayed at Hand Artes.
Ground.
Snow Light.
Here are several of my different periods and styles displayed together in the Old Church Gallery. I like how these demonstrate that even my realistic paintings were all about strong contrast, a play of shadow and light.
Here is a grouping of the Horse Series at the Truchas Corner Gallery.
And, finally, the photos that brought me to the last horse paintings I’ve created to date.
These images led me back to blue and inspired three sets of triptychs that are at their best when stacked like this. These paintings are also some of my favorites:
In the next post I’ll be wrapping up this series about the history of my painting, ending with a story of fences and horses and grasses and how they changed me.
Love to you all,
Jeane
This article was useful when looking for:
- https://high-road-artist com/13119/artistic-process/a-world-of-blue/ (1)
I love all of your paintings:) They are like looking at photos of you from childhood until now…all lovely parts of you. XOXOX
Thank you, Grace, what a lovely way to look at it.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am thanking you for
explaining the inspiration in your process. The unasked question of “where do
the abstracts originate?” What is in the mind of the artist that inspires the
finished work? It is obvious in realism. Not so for abstract. Are you streaming what you’ve seen or is it
coming from the visions in one’s mind? I say this because I now think it is
both, and probably more! For me, it is seeing a possibility, to view what
evokes memory or inspiration while looking at a painting, (I feel like this is
where the art “speaks to me…”) and then wondering about the artist’s
inspiration and/or intention. For example, the ovals and circles in a few were
inspired by the miles of rocks along the trails of your personal hikes from
Utah to New Mexico. I see what you point out to me, especially in the originals
of the horse series. Having visited
Truchas and your world, I know inspiration is only one glance away. What I
enjoy most about your art, Jeane, is you explore and pour elements of what you
see or hold in your hand into the canvas. I so look forward to your future work
and what excitement it holds for us!
I’m so glad you’re liking the series. Thank you. We have a reader to thank for it for asking the original questions about my process and inspiration.
I don’t know what you mean by “streaming” what I’ve seen, and I know it must be different for everyone, but I paint from two major places: 1. taking in everything around me, living my life and then painting out what that engenders, rather free form and 2. working from photos as a basis for inspiration. The two mix freely. But I wouldn’t say my process comes from the mind or from my head. I don’t plan anything. I don’t see a vision that I try to put out on canvas. I simply follow the impulses and, in this way, sometimes, connect with something that could only be described as magic. This can happen whether the finished piece ever comes together or not.
Honestly, I look forward to the new work, too, and I have no idea what it’s going to be.
I I borrowed “streaming” from snatching info from the air and sending it to our computer to view whatever we seem to want! Maybe that’s the magic that comes to mind when you are creating. Follow the magic….I like it!
I will continue to be open to it and will endeavor to get out of the way when it is offered. Trust. For me I think painting is all about trust.
Nice work Jeane. Happy to see things are going well for you. I’ve been in the area lately doing a show then scouting out property. I am so grateful I introduced you to this wonderful place.
Best,
Quinn
These last 9 are my favorites, there is an element of whimsy that speaks to me. I absolutely LOVE them. For me, no need to analyze further. They just make me HAPPY.
And that makes ME happy. Yes, I feel these last 9 were a celebration of everything the horses were to me. And also a kind of letting go–free and light. So glad that’s how you receive them.
What exquisite work and sharing about process. Your pieces speak the
language of our landscape and the dramatic scenes we see every time the
sun moves across the sky.
Ah, what a lovely compliment Michelle. Thank you. It is what I dearly hope to be doing in my work. That you feel it means the world to me.