COLLECTIVISM: A Movement of the Here and Now; Powered by The Collectivism Coalition.

Collectivism-  A collective way for artists to discover their creativity, together. This artistic movement in the infancy of the 21st century, looks to bring a taste of the early Modern Art Masters, into the here and now....We are looking for artists who have been influenced by Modern Art from the 1900s to present day..
         -Paulo Guimaraes(co-founder)

Winter Landscape  Pablo Picasso, oil (1950).

Tulips and Oysters  Henri Matisse, oil (1943)

The paintings are from two of the best known Modernists in the 20th century, Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse; I posted artwork by them to demonstrate how much of this new movement we hope to inject into today's "loose" art world, will likely revolve around them(or similar artists) directly or indirectly somehow.

These particular two artworks are also famous for being part of many trades between the artists(the same open relationship encouraged under Collectivism), according to Picasso, his 'Winter Landscape' may have been Matisse's muse for the chasubles in his Venice Chapel; and Picasso chose Matisse's 'Tulips with Oysters' because: "he didn't understand it".

This relationship between the two Masters highlights what Collectivism is all about, it's a movement that doesn't revolve around today's mentality of pure individualism nor the attitude instilled into art students that: "every other artist is your competition"; but that without other artists, there is no art, so why not take advantage of possible relationships with other artists, especially with the Masters who've left their mark for a reason!

Collectivism is not naive in saying that everyone be "buddy buddy", but that we admit our differences, put them out into the open(w/o fear), and not to be afraid of criticism or a little friendly competition, to adopt a mentality of: "that which doesn't kill you makes you stronger", we believe that the art-world of today simply needs a little(lot) more togetherness, revisit the past & push each other toward the future.

For more interesting reading on the relationship between these two Modern masters, I have provided a link below:

Matisse and Picasso: The Story of Their Rivalry and Friendship

Matisse Garden; C.T. Rasmuss, oil; in process (June 2014).

Matisse Garden  C.T. Rasmuss, oil; 18"x24" (June 2014).

 

  In this journey, this is what I have so far; good start I think- after only a few hours, when I had to stop cause I thought it was gonna rain.  I usually don't care about a little unexpected water, but since I'm working in oil with this one, I figured I take no chances(oil paintings-have a special meaning to me as it is also so in the traditional art world, who says I'm not a conformist?? haha).

 

So for this piece which I'm working on, I added: Liquin- quickens drying time, 1st time I used it since art school; due to working en plein air, and considering the un-predictable weather-time.  I 1st then took pictures of all the flowers I'm going to paint in this Floral-still Life, as I mentioned in my notes before starting all this today: "I have a specific goal in mind, yet the result is never known & can never be completely pre-meditated.", and so, had came true once again.

 

One intention I had in mind was to add my signature geometric-pattern to the foreground(as far as I know so for the last 5 years  or so it's been), another was a mix between Rouault and my earlier works with a self-imposed frame(Seurat and many pointillists did this but that's another story and style), but this frame isn't ready to be introduced yet; but what was introduced completely unexpectedly was the Matisse style floral columns. 

 

Here I've used my signature columns for my backgrounds many times, to compliment my geometric foregrounds, but not in this manner, In this painting I've unexpectedly and delightfully been influenced by Henri Matisse.

 

And these some of the flowers in my garden/planters and a few from my neighbor's planters for a stronger palette(all taken with the ease of my I-phone and later edited for better quality):

 

Pay special attencion to the last(#6) purple/green plant w/ little delicate white flowers, it's the inspiration for the Matisse style columns, white flowers soon to come...

 

 



Just now I searched the internet a bit and found a great example of Matisse's floral patterns he was famous for incorporating especially in his Still-lifes, this one particularly, mine closely resembles, fate?? I believe it's possible:

Still Life - Histoire Juives  Henri Matisse, oil.



Matisse competing with Picasso inspires, 'Light Welcoming Shade' by C.T. Rasmuss, 100 years later.

Light Welcoming Shade  C.T. Rasmuss, Oil (July 2013).

Where do I start...

Well to be short, this one went through a few changes; if you care to know..it was supposed to be a mix between Picasso & Matisse's way of displaying a beautiful woman, with me being the deciding factor.  And this is what you were supposed to see here; where I went wrong I believe, is in the fact that I haven't the luxury of a live model to work with...something I surely hope to remedy sooner than later!!

Also this is a 16"x20" canvas, whereas the masterworks I was modeling after, are much larger and practical for detail, specially when I used a palette knife, haha!  I came up with my own composition of course & story-line, but when the woman turned into a blob; I turned the landscape into a pueblo like city-scape, and headed to the museum to sketch some Native American women.

..Oh yeah and the city-scape is formed after my memory of work by Georges Braque:

Viaduct at L' Estaque  George Braque, oil (1908).

Houses at L' Estaque  George Braque, oil (1908).

In the end, the sun was modeled after the fan I wanted blowing the woman's hair(inspired by Picasso's model); The face in the sky to the left, inspired by my interaction w/Mayan culture/museum trips & Matisse Fauvist style, and overall color - mostly by J.H. Sharp works at the CAM(widely known for his portrayal of the American Indian culture.

Again just another lesson on how to learn from the masters independently, and finding out where to go next possibly...what else is needed in my personal tool box of creativity.

Here are the two masterpieces referenced above:

The Italian Woman  Henri Matisse, Oil (1916).

Woman with A Fan  Pablo Picasso, Oil (1908-9).

Joan Miro, The Naive

Ode to Miro, The Naive  C.T. Rasmuss, oil (July 4, 2013).

                 
I recently came across an interesting art book titled, Naive Art by Nathalia Brodskaia; what caught my attention was the painting cover, Myself, Portrait Landscape by French Painter, Henri Rousseau.  After finishing an exciting chapter I, it's my understanding that Rousseau's the 1st/main icon of Naive Art Movement.

Myself, Portrait Landscape  Henri Rousseau, oil (1890).

As I began to read chapter II, I was surprised to see it start with Miro as the focus, but I shouldn't really; given his style and goals in his art, "to assassinate painting", where he set out to create a new set of archetypes, etc.  Here's where a definition of Naive Painting helps:

Naive Art-is a classification of art that is often characterized by a childlike simplicity in its subject matter and technique.

Femme III  Joan Miro, oil (1965).

If we replace 'childlike' with the widely accepted term, Atavism - the tendency to revert to ancestral type; we now include works even more familiar artists such as Picasso or Matisse, who were greatly influenced by African & Eastern artifacts/primal art, respectively.

               

Nude with Towel  Pablo Picasso, oil (1907).

Girl with Green Eyes  Henri Matisse, oil (1908).

Now back to Rousseau, who exhibited periodically with the Impressionists from 1884-1910, it made me think of Gauguin, then I thought of his statement: to Van Gogh: "try to capture your sunflowers by memory".  Given the statement by Gauguin and Miro's work presented in my art book....I closed it and tried Atavism -

Miro style, but yes!! in my own language:)

'Gone with the Wind' by C.T. Rasmuss.

Gone with the Wind; C.T. Rasmuss, oil (2013).                                                

"This one's for you Grams..."

A mix between viewing a Rothko exhibit in Columbus, OH and a particular Matisse at the Cincinnati Art Museum, I present you with this still life.

Beginning with Reds and Raw Umber, I pursued a color field technique, with Rothko in mind; especially when leaving outside borders for colors to be applied later-Green, Med.-Yellow, placed straight to a large brush(unmixed).  Thinning out the remnant left on my brush, I ventured into the top portion, brushing this color out, leaving a 'pure' section for the still life.  It's at this point when I was reminded of the Matisse at CAM (seen many times)....when it clicked I stopped!

                                                'Portrait of Woman' Henri Matisse, oil (CAM)

After starting again, I brushed on Medium Blue til I ran out-leaving a pleasant surprise for latter in the middle border; I then added Prussian Blue to finish top and left outside border.  

Upon finishing the still life, again with the Matisse in mind(w/ a minimalist brush style/pattern) I installed the vase.  Here I created a deep blue base coat, and later added a lighter mixture of it to create highlight/texture, of course with impasto/Van Gogh tech. always in mind..here is where I started with the palette knife after failing with the brush & finishing the work's accents- for the complete and pleasantness that is.

Moral of story...Museums payoff, and I didn't have to even have them in front of me to influence my exploration on canvas...It's only out of respect if anything that we artist pay homage to the masters the best ways we can, and they will reward us beyond comprehension!

Thanks for all the faith Grams, miss ya!!

XOXOXO

Encountering a Fresh Medium

Asylum C.T. Rasmuss, India ink on linen (2012)

  Jerusha Tree C.T. Rasmuss, India ink on linen (2012)

I performed to an audience when creating the above two pieces at Creativa, a creative group based out of Cincinnati, OH and at a Disciple Ministries Concert in Hamilton, OH respectively...it was the first time I had ever used this medium and I had only practiced it just a few days before the 1st live action painting at Creative on Saturday, Oct. 13th.

I've always been curious about this medium and finally had a reason to use it, it dries fast and is perfect for performing live action painting; in my earlier experiences with performing live painting performances it was always a problem what to do logistically with the wet artwork after finishing, especially with the way I apply acrylics in an impasto manner.  After finally giving this medium a try, I'm hooked now and fascinated in the directions I can go!!  I can see why Vincent Van Gogh was so intrigued by the prints of the East, as well as Modernist, Henri Matisse, not just for their composition and pattern, but perhaps the way the ink interacts with such a simple and fine material like linen; I, myself really enjoy the simplicity of it..(definitely the opposite side of the spectrum for me:)

India ink has been around since the 3rd millennium B.C., it developed in China and the carbon pigment in India ink started to be traded in from India thereafter, hence the name India ink.