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us all, every moment of existence, you just have to find a way to listen and communicate, as do I.  So this may be an outdated method of painting to the art world, but I don't paint for them I paint for myself, my soul and a way to share with others what I've been up to:) 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;)

Andre Derain's 'Big Ben' Revamps Cincinnati's Mt. Adams in the 21st Century.

World is for our Children   C.T. Rasmuss, oil on canvas; 16"x12" (May 2014).

However small this particular painting may be, I'm completely satisfied with it; and as you can see in the original photograph I took early this spring(April)...that the power of this transition from reality to super-reality is self-evident and why I'm so pleased!

Well I tried for half an hour now tryin to upload photo, which I must concede to "fate" for not allowing for me to reveal the plainness of my photography skills, but I do still have my preliminary sketch for 'World is for our Children'; which I actually did after the 1st painting above, I made it specifically for the final work, still in process below..

BTW:  The photograph I took was on the Ohio River, Kentucky side's view of Mt. Adams                    Cincinnati, OH (spring of 2014); Purple People Bridge (L) Brent Spence Bridge (R).

World is for our Children   C.T. Rasmuss, ink in artist's sketch book; 6"x4.5" (May 2014).

So next is the Final-final stage, which was the purpose of the smaller 16"x12" (original) oil painting; this panel happens to be 48"x36", a very common size used by the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, also below and last but not least I've included Andre Derain's 'Big Ben' which has been the biggest influence on me for this particular quest..   



 

World is for our Children  C.T. Rasmuss, oil on panel; 48"x36" (May 2014 - work still in process).

CHEERS!!!

Big Ben  Andre Derain, oil (1904).

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).

Paul Gauguin's 'Still Life with Mandolin', 1885; featuring a remake by C.T. Rasmuss.

Opening statement from one of my art-books on Paul Gauguin:

"Gauguin has reworked the traditional still life and brought it up to date.  He has retained a number of conventional ingredients-the rose...however he's not studied the different textures of the objects-the peonies are solid as the wood...The picture on the wall belonged to Gauguin(painted by his artist friend, Armand Guillaumin), similar to a view out of a window as in his own, 'Vase of Flowers', 1881."

                                          Still Life with Mandolin, Paul Gauguin; oil (1885).

The following is my interpretation/Remake of the above accompanying statement/composition:

                       Remake of Gauguin's 'Still Life with Mandolin' (Lily); C.T. Rasmuss (CHAD), oil (2013). 

I see now after looking at the table, that I have a larger angle sloping downward from the left, changing the space and composition via vanishing line.  Where the vase sets, this vanishing line is briefly interrupted, here I'm reminded of Cezanne's still life's; where many of his lines were adjusted, sacrificed for the overall feeling of the work, which played a big role in Gauguin's work(and later the Modernists)..

From the beginning I set out to fill a space similar to Gauguin's original, which included color.  I planned on leaving out the Mandolin & possibly the China bowl(another reference to Cezanne); due to my unfamiliarity with such iconic objects, as I've never had a use or interacted with either one.  Once everything was in place, including place-mat(pun intended) & vase, I then started with the darkest leaves(undergrowth) continuing to use a brush, experimenting with technique; then I tried the peonies, but being unfamiliar with them up close, I had trouble to get them to work for me.  

Solution:

I turned my attention to the opening statement above(from my art-book)...I said to myself: "This is not me" and reached for the palette knife, from then on I never left my array of knifes, end result:

Thinly brush on 1st layer over entire canvas, brush on texture and objects as far as the brushes will take you; when all else fails: "Pick up the palette knives..and don't look back"!  In other words, study all you can and when you like something, don't copy it, but "make it your own", same as Gauguin had done over 100 years ago; hence my Lily instead of his Mandolin, I'm very familiar with Lilies:)

 

Van Gogh's 'Undergrowth with Two Figures', an Inspiring Work of Art.

                    Undergrowth with Figure at Sawyer Point C.T. Rasmuss, Oil (June 12, 2013).


I set this composition according to Van Gogh's 'Undergrowth with Two Figures' (June 1890), created in Auvers-sur-Oise, France.

I don't live in France and have never been, and I've never saw undergrowth such as in Van Gogh's painting...so when I was out on the Riverfront scouting for a good place to paint for the day, I was surprised to notice what was available to me on the Ohio River.  I've studied this painting every time I go to the Cincinnati Art Museum..and I absolutely love it(featured below)..

                       Undergrowth with Two Figures  Vincent Van Gogh, oil (June 1890).

My painting is a mix of an intriguing 'figure' (a brilliant white venue overhang) surrounded by 'undergrowth', I also replaced the trash cans with tall outdoor vases w/ flowers.  My favorite part as well as in Van Gogh's masterpiece, is the large tree smack dab in the middle right of the work; I saw this in his as a broken rule and  an obstacle he set to overcome..which I believe sets up the ultimate view of the two figures, and otherwise would be bland and ineffective if it weren't for the purposeful obstacle!

Enjoy!!!

'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