Monet Teaches How to Hunt

Sunset out my Window, Oil by C.t. Rasmuss  10x8".

     Last night I finished up watching an original BBC miniseries on The Impressionists, it was told through the account of Claude Monet, 'the leader' of the movement; something I gained from the 177 minute partial account of this monumental art movement was: his 'hunting for the moment' (capturing the moment).
     And where the painting above is stem from, I have lived with such a view out my window for 1 year and almost 6 months; never once have I painted this beautiful and generous view.  What a shame, as I've thought about it many times, but never able to pull the trigger so to speak.  And this is why I read, buy many books, visit museum after museum, and watch many films about the masters.

On top of Mt. Bradbury enpleinair  Oil by C.t. Rasmuss  10x8"

    On top of Mt. Bradbury is my 3rd painting out of a series of 11: where I'm recuperating the $55 park fee I paid for 2018(at $5 per entry); funny thing, the entrance to Mt Bradbury State Park was free the day I went there, so technically I've still got 9 to go lol!  Interesting side note: this was the 1st official mountain I'd ever climbed (elevation of only 407 ft. but still..), and I tell you what I'm really out of shape much more than I thought!!

This next oil was on the Eastern Promenade, where I do almost 50% of my work out of doors lately:

Eastern Promenade  Oil by C.t. Rasmuss 10x8"

The next two series of works are: 1.of a still life in which I bought some fresh cut flowers, I intended to do more work from the still life but ran out of time:

Modernist Still Life  Pastels on Paper by C.t. Rasmuss 16x20"

  2.The chess board study is from my recent museum trip to Bates College Art Museum; 1st time there, the drawing is from an exhibit on Maine legend, Dahlov Ipcar, who passed away last year at age of 99(same age as Georgia O'Keefe):

Study of Dahlov Ipcar 1976 Painting Graphite on paper by C.t.Rasmuss 14x11"

Just for fun, this last one was from a coloring exercise of a Dahlov Ipcar composition at the Bates:

Painting Reality in The 21st Century

Richmond Island En Plein Air study in oil(alkyd) by C.T. Rasmuss

     In the case you have or haven't read my last post, this is number 3 on the year as far as paying for my $55 park pass, which is now $15 on the year($40 to go).  Now this isn't the lone reason I'm painting the scene of Richmond Island here, but it's good motivation for me to get out this summer and paint a good number of outdoor paintings, or studies what ever you prefer; doesn't matter much to me since all art in reality is just a study of the Grand Scheme of things!

     Speaking of reality, yes I'm aware of the reality that the art world considers Plein air painting as long dead(kitch), along with painting sailboats, the ocean, and perhaps anything recognizable or even moral much of the time; but I don't paint for the art-world and I certainly outgrew my need to be accepted or popular long ago.  I believe in the true world made by the greatest creator of all-GOD!!!   Although much of the time The World seems to have gone Mad, and the art-world with it:

    I'm gonna do the best damn! job I can of embracing every bit of reality in which I can latch onto, it's my perception that with the hopes that I'll be able to communicate this same hope others, those who are in the same boat, wanting to survive these crashing waves of modern day civil destruction.

preliminary sketch of Richmond Island, Graphite on paper C.t. Rasmuss

     Don't let the despair of what the world seems to want to make you see, but search tirelessly with the rest of us that search for GOD, trust me he speaks to us all, every moment of existence, you just have to find a way to listen and communicate, as do I.  So this may be an outdated method of painting to the art world, but I don't paint for them I paint for myself, my soul and a way to share with others what I've been up to:) 

sketch of Portland Headlight in cartouche, Graphite on paper, C.t. Rasmuss

En Plein Air in Cape Elizabeth, Maine

     The image your about to see is not my best photo of an image I've ever taken, but certainly not the worst; however the photos of the actual site off the Atlantic coast in which I painted are not so bad, as they were taken from a camera phone.  Also the small composition sketch served its original purpose, as to which the final outcome of the actual oil painting I'm well pleased:

     I'm at the mercy of the public library, and the photo editor choice is between Paint and Gimp, Paint sucks and Gimp is beyond me.  So this is the best I can do today as I have a limited amount of time here.

     Whats really important to communicate in this post is my basic process of En Plein air, particularly the day last week which I painted this seascape.  In reverse order the photos are: but I arrive at the ocean front, pay my parking fee which is normally 5 dollars, but I bought a Maine State parks pass at $55 for the entire year.  This park was 2 Lights State Park in Cape Elizabeth, next time I'm going to go on top of an old military bunker and paint a view of Richmond Island from the view at Two Lights.

     Anyhow one of my missions this summer was to at least do 12 paintings in the surrounding State parks, that way I'll at least break even on the pass, good motivation I suppose; but back to my process, the short and sweet version as the accompanying pictures(again in reverse order) should be worth a thousand words:

     I set up my easel, scout the area for best placement of said easel, draw the composition I decide on, if it works then I snap a photo or two, if not I sketch another composition and finalize my easel placement once I'm satisfied w/ a composition, I then paint til I'm finished, snap more photos as I see fit, break camp and then go home...with a grand smile of accomplishment!  

    Then start the process all over again as soon as I'm able, It's already late August, and I still have 10 to go..lol!  Wish me luck;)

Wild Daisies Plucked From a Concrete Curb.

     Last Spring as I was driving around town on a beautiful night just south of where I lived, I noticed a small bunch of wild daisies sprouting out of the side of a curb, as I was stopped at a traffic light.  As soon as the green light gave me the signal I was on my way again as I took a left down the next road to wherever it was I was going; then it occurred to me, the path I was on wasn't a definite one, so: "why not turn around and bring those daisies home and put them to use, they were fine where they were, and since they were growing on a curb out into a public street, they weren't technically anyone's property.
    
       Nonetheless, I pulled up quickly to the curb, jumped out with my scissor already in hand and with a couple of forceful and swift snips, they were in my possession and I quickly got into my car, placing them carefully in the passenger seat as if they were my newly welcomed guests!
   
       I place them in water that night as soon as I got home, I had not a real vase so I use the next best thing and place them in a red drinking container, that I got from my bank as an apology for a mistake I'd brought to their attention; It worked out for the best as this deep interesting red went nicely with my curbside Daisies.  So the next few days these flowers were put to good use up until they ran out of life, and as you can see below they do still exist.  These 5 Still Life are what I produced, and one photograph I took to document their existence as they really looked as a reference.

 These photos are in chronological order, the mediums I use are a range of Gouache, pastel, oil pastel, pencil/graphite and watercolors..all 11x14 in size.

The next two images are a bonus as they are abstract, and possibly the last one a type of self portrait, in reaction if you will from the fury as to which the 5 Still Lifes I painted:

2 Acrylic Still Lifes by CT Rasmuss

              22x24" acrylic by ctrasmuss

16x20" acrylic by ctrasmuss

The above two works of art, that I've recently finished are in their final states as far as I'm concerned; I'm quite satisfied with their outcomes...especially the backgrounds I created around them!
  In this short blog, I've also included some of the notes and previous stages of these paintings below:

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; Ode to 'The Lighthouse' by Rasmuss

Ode to: 'The Lighthouse' (A Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem) Watercolor by C.t. Rasmuss, 6"x4".

This Painting is an Ode to the following poem by Longfellow:

The Lighthouse

The rocky ledge runs far into the sea,
  And on its outer point, some miles away,
The Lighthouse lifts its massive masonry,
  A pillar of fire by night, of cloud by day.

Even at this distance I can see the tides,
  Upheaving, break unheard along its base,
A speechless wrath, that rises and subsides
  In the white lip and tremor of the face.

And as the evening darkens, lo! how bright,
  Through the deep purple of the twilight air,
Beams forth the sudden radiance of its light
  With strange, unearthly splendor in the glare!

Not one alone; from each projecting cape
  And perilous reef along the ocean's verge,
Starts into life a dim, gigantic shape,
  Holding its lantern o'er the restless surge.

Like the great giant Christopher it stands
  Upon the brink of the tempestuous wave,
Wading far out among the rocks and sands,
  The night-o'ertaken mariner to save.

And the great ships sail outward and return,
  Bending and bowing o'er the billowy swells,
And ever joyful, as they see it burn,
  They wave their silent welcomes and farewells.

They come forth from the darkness, and their sails
  Gleam for a moment only in the blaze,
And eager faces, as the light unveils,
  Gaze at the tower, and vanish while they gaze.

The mariner remembers when a child,
  On his first voyage, he saw it fade and sink;
And when, returning from adventures wild,
  He saw it rise again o'er ocean's brink.

Steadfast, serene, immovable, the same
  Year after year, through all the silent night
Burns on forevermore that quenchless flame,
  Shines on that inextinguishable light!

It sees the ocean to its bosom clasp
  The rocks and sea-sand with the kiss of peace;
It sees the wild winds lift it in their grasp,
  And hold it up, and shake it like a fleece.

The startled waves leap over it; the storm
  Smites it with all the scourges of the rain,
And steadily against its solid form
  Press the great shoulders of the hurricane.

The sea-bird wheeling round it, with the din
  Of wings and winds and solitary cries,
Blinded and maddened by the light within,
  Dashes himself against the glare, and dies.

A new Prometheus, chained upon the rock,
  Still grasping in his hand the fire of Jove,
It does not hear the cry, nor heed the shock,
  But hails the mariner with words of love.

"Sail on!" it says, "sail on, ye stately ships!
  And with your floating bridge the ocean span;
Be mine to guard this light from all eclipse,
  Be yours to bring man nearer unto man!"

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Portland Headlight: I made it to Maine.

Well I made it to Maine, as I left Cincinnati October 3rd, and now just settling in...enough about me, so onto bigger and better things, such as my life's work!  As in: "one day I'll be dead" given that, my hope is that one day I'll at least have something to show for it, other than an obsolete social security number, tax records, student loan debt, etc.  lol!!! same ole same ole..

I've posted an oil painting seen above, and a watercolor seen below; of the Portland Headlight, a favorite of mine for the moment, as it is winter and very cold now: so places like Mohegan Island, Ogunquit, Prouts Neck n such will just have to wait til explorable weather returns here in the spring, sooner the better!
 

 

I recently became a member of the Portland Museum of Art (PMA), first time I'd ever joined a museum, but I figure it'll suit me better than a gym membership, not to mention way cheaper, and keep me in painterly shape...better than rock hard abbs ever would.  I was impressed with its wide range of selected works: from Rockwell Kent, Robert Henri, Winslow Homer to Marsden Hartley, Frank Stella, Braque and Miro also a neat local artistry of Modern Menagerie on the 4th floor.

All in all I was most impressed by Robert Henri's two 10"x8" oil studies of rocks and tides, painted here in Maine one hundred years ago.  After trying to figure out the best way to start here composition wise, his two oils further cemented my intuition that I need to get down into the "mud, rocks and crashing waves"; upon seeing his work and finding further readings on him and his Ashcan renegades from the turn of the Century, I feel as though I've picked up the scent to where he and his group "The Eight" once resided, a group which he later formed (some from the Ashcan) formed out of the ruggedness of Maine.

Much more of this to come, as I dive further into and diverge out of this Newly found Abyss, as of now I've started a new winter project:

Whale Teeth

The Wisdom of Cherry Blossoms

'Cherry Blossoms' C.T. Rasmuss, Acrylic/India Ink, 2012.

 

 

Cherry Blossoms was part of a series in which I combined India Ink with my tessellation technique, as you will notice its composition and feel is modeled after the Japanese Prints that influenced my favorite Impressionists 150 years ago. 

As a kid up in Michigan I remember climbing and interacting with apple blossom trees, I was fascinated with the changes of the blossoms and noticing their transition into apples.  Years later in middle school science classes, we were taught this "ancient" technique of how Blossoms turn into fruit and why, n what not; after reading the poem by Toi Derricotte, I was immediately transported back to this time I forgot as child............I miss my old method of learning. 

Cherry blossoms

Toi Derricotte, 1941

I went down to
mingle my breath
with the breath
of the cherry blossoms.

There were photographers:
Mothers arranging their
children against
gnarled old trees;
a couple, hugging,
asks a passerby
to snap them
like that,
so that their love
will always be caught
between two friendships:
ours & the friendship
of the cherry trees.

Oh Cherry,
why can’t my poems
be as beautiful?

A young woman in a fur-trimmed
coat sets a card table
with linens, candles,
a picnic basket & wine.
A father tips
a boy’s wheelchair back
so he can gaze
up at a branched
heaven.
                     All around us
the blossoms
flurry down
whispering,

        Be patient
you have an ancient beauty.

                                            Be patient,
                                  you have an ancient beauty.

_______________________________________________________________________________



 

 




 

In Flanders Fields by Lt. Col. John McCrae, Poppies- a symbol of remembrance.

"Poppies"  by  CHAD, Tessellation Painting, 2015.

 

 

 

In the spring of 1915, shortly after losing a friend in Ypres, a Canadian doctor, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae was inspired by the sight of poppies growing in battle-scarred fields to write a now famous poem called 'In Flanders Fields'. After the First World War, the poppy was adopted as a symbol of Remembrance:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

-John McCrae


My personal reason for the painting I created was in remembrance of my Grandma, Marion Rasmussen, taught me a lot in life, thanks for serving your country through General Motors Grams!!!

Remember: Peace not War people...

amen

1Line-1Minute Drawings by Rasmuss: $5 ea

Lion by Rasmuss

All these drawings are from one line, where I timed them at one minute each; I call them 1line-1minute drawings by Rasmuss.  Over the last past 12 years I've had my fare share of successes, disappointments, good shows, bad shows, etc.  All in all, I didn't start down this path to be a salesperson, I started out to see what I was capable of...

What I'm trying to say is that I'm giving this idea a shot, which is:  1line-1minute drawings by Rasmuss: $5 each please and thank you!!  This is my new plan on how to fund my career.  Who knows how it will go?...as nothing is a sure thing!  My goal:

To finally separate what I love to do from what I need to do, without compromising the former, but rather enhance my talent with each paid drawing(eliminate an ongoing conflict between artist intent & its funding).  My hope is that each 1line-1minute drawing that I sell, will ensure my success!  Its simple and straight to the point.

 thank you for your support!!

Sunflowers by Rasmuss(*30 second drawing-1line)

 Davinci's Mona Lisa by Rasmuss

Edvard Munch's The Scream by Rasmuss

1line-1minute drawings by Rasmuss, $5 each- send requests to crasmuss76@yahoo.com

-if interested, please contact me by e-mail...you pick the theme for each drawing you'd like, thank you!!

Madonna with Child by CT Rasmuss

'Madonna with Child'  C.T. Rasmuss Lucid Mosaic, 2015.

So this is the first entry I've made since last August, what do I have to say for my slacking?...lol....well, sometimes life just takes a turn down some road which you wonder why you ever turned down that road; and you find yourself asking in the rear-view mirror, why didn't i just turn back, oh well hahaha!

I ended up with this painting which I cant wait to explain more, much more!!  I made some friends I made some mistakes, I made some art and I'm finally ready to make some more blog entries, why? because I can, lol besides how else can I talk out loud and make some sort of sense?..

Tonight I found myself working on another Lucid Mosaic, pondering the dilemmas I've encountered over the last year or so and decided the best way to finish the week was to honor the time my friend & colleague John Sousa took to photograph some of my favorite work.  "can i get a little help from my friends" is precisely why tonight was a good night to get back on track.

Like I said, can't wait to expand on this painting plus other work I've put off as well as telling you all about The Frank Stella Retrospective at the New Whitney, was a great visit and experience btw...Michelle, wherever you are or whatever your doing these days, it was a great time I'll never forget, thanks for all the good memories;) 

was a road worth traveling..

here's a link to original post if you'd like to know more about my process leading up to this finished painting:

http://ctrasmuss.blogspot.com/2014/12/madonna-with-child-contemporary-view-of.html 

 

Stuart Davis' "Yellow Hills"; The Gift of Sight

About 6 months ago I went to the Taft Museum to see a guest exhibit of work on loan from the collection of The Santa Barbara Museum of Art in California.  I went with my then new girlfriend Michelle, we had a good time and remain much closer today, which I'm very thankful for.  It was an inspiring exhibition, we were both glad we went; the painting that inspired me the most was a painting by Stuart Davis, which happens to also be the painting surrounding this post; the original seen here:

Stuart Davis "Yellow Hills" c.1919 oil.

Most of my posts usually are all about art or my processes n so on, but today's post is a little different; the reason for this is due to the fact that I'm still recovering from eye surgery to repair 2 tears in my left retina.  For the last month I've been deathly afraid of losing the sight in the one eye, which would be very tragic, especially with me being a visual artist n all, I feel much better as the surgery went well, and recovery seems on schedule, but the scare it has put in me fades slowly...

Above 2 photos: I've posted the sketch I made from Stuart Davis's "Yellow Hills" c.1919 and the initial painting I finished the night we got back from the museum.  I wasted no time at all getting something done via the inspiration I received from the exhibition that day, but it has taken me over 6 months getting back to finishing what I had started...shown below is where I am with it today after my second sitting since just before surgery last week:

As it stand for now, perhaps the 1st sitting is better than the 2nd seen here...but today I'm not concerned with the recurring topic of "when is an artist finished?"; I am only concerned with the new question that I've never truly digested before:  "Am I happy to just be able to paint, or do art in the first place?"

That answer is: YES!!! I am, and I hope to no longer take it as for granted I have in the past, ever again.

amen

And here's to a full and speedy recovery...

amen