"the thing"

Temptation

Original oil painting  14x18"

by Susan Roux

What are you striving to capture in your paintings?

Place a bunch of artists in front of the same scene or set-up and everyone has a different interpretation. Are we not seeing the same colors? Are we not seeing the same light?

There is much more to painting than meets the eye...

Emotion. Our own unique response to whatever subject we choose to paint. Even the same artist on a different day will interpret the same subject differently. Who we are. What we are. Everything we've been through physically and emotionally effects how we place paint to canvas. I've been reminded of this recently.

I've noticed over the years when my actual life feels out of my control, my art tightens. It's as though I'm looking to have control over something when everything else feels chaotic. I have a student who reacts completely in the opposite way. She unleashes wildly and boldly in an emotional abstract outpour that has the illusion of somebody screaming!

What happens to your art when life feels out of your control?

Even when life is going along normally, we focus on capturing different things. Is it a feeling you're trying to capture? Perhaps creating an ambiance? It is technical fundamentals? Is it certain colors you wish to play with?

When we decide on a subject to paint, there is something about that subject that spoke to us to make us choose it over all other subjects at that moment. What is that something? What was it about your subject that spoke to you? Whatever it was: the shadow play, the colors, the movement, the serenity, the lines, the structure... This should be your top priority. This should be "the thing" you're trying to capture. It is where your passion lies.

No one will feel about "the thing" exactly like you do. What captures you about the subject is what you should be striving to capture in your painting.

Ignore all those voices in your head that are telling you so and so said I should do it like this or so and so would do it this way. When you're trying too hard to focus on someone else's method, you're not following your own unique voice. Yes there are those times of learning/studying which require thought about the teacher's words. But any other time, the only thing you should be following is your own gut feeling. Let that brush go on auto pilot. Focus on "the thing" that inspired you to paint your subject. Exaggerate it even, so your viewers won't miss it. Everything else will fall into place.

When it comes to art the thing is, expressing "the thing" is what it's always been all about.

The Teaching Component

Papaver

Original oil painting  14x11"

by Susan Roux

As the last of our snow melted this week, I found myself painting reminders of my garden from last summer. This lovely poppy was a new addition and I'm wondering if it survived the winter. I was so attracted to the delicateness of it's petals. They're thin and floppy much like fine transparent rice paper. It was fun trying to capture that quality with paint. I wonder if the name papaver has to do with paper? It seemed the appropriate title for this showy, dainty blossom.

As you well know, I'm in the process of opening an international fine art gallery. It's been consuming most of my time and the prime reason why my posts here are so far apart. Don't worry though, I'm still painting.

I'm so happy to announce that the gallery will have a teaching room. My classes will move from my home studio to Portland. I'm really excited about that component. Not only will it give me the opportunity to continue inspiring lots of people to paint, it offers a space to conduct workshops. My plan is to have some of my represented artists travel here to Maine and teach directly in the gallery. How fun and a wonderful opportunity for you!

Until everything is set in stone I don't want to formally announce our intended workshops just yet, but keep your calendars open for late summer, early fall. If you're curious to know right away who's tentatively coming and when, you can contact me personally. As soon as everything is definite, I'll let you know.

One of the great things about teaching at the gallery is all the wonderful art that will serve as examples of the concepts being taught. Often at home, I pull out my own work to help explain things. Now there will be a whole range of works from many different amazing artists to refer to. I think it will elevate the teaching component and offer such inspiring stimulation for all the students. It will do everyone good to be experiencing diverse works of quality art, including myself. When the bar is set high, people tend to strive for higher achievements. It will be an honor to teach in such surroundings.

Please stay tuned for future announcements of upcoming workshops. There'll be lots of exciting news in the near future!


Keep painting everyone. It's wonderful for the soul...

International Fine Art Gallery

Uniting the world through art

How do you like our sign design so far? Our round logo will fit nicely in the empty space beneath the word Gallery. It's all coming together. Just as the sign design develops, so does the entire vision. It's so fascinating to watch the individual parts begin to fall into place. It's very similar to how a painting comes together. Having a general idea and building upon it by responding to everything else you've already done, while keeping the final goal in mind.

I'm a colorist. I teach and promote the use of creative color. Color can be a crazy thing. Each has its own mood and by combining them differently, the artist can infuse different emotions into their work. 

We are also affected by the colors around us. 

I laugh sometimes as my students create paintings that would fit wonderfully in my home. Every color around them, though they don't even realize it, affects the color choices they make. Even those colors way off in their peripheral vision. 

I like to use this concept as an advantage. In the initial block in, I encourage wild freedom of color. Grab whatever color you feel like dipping your brush into. It's just the underpainting and most of it will be covered again anyway. Nothing too scary about that.

Some students are more daring than others. I really discourage beginning with local color (the color we perceive things to be. The leaves are green, the sky is blue...). Those students that begin with the funnest colors create the most energetic and emotionally filled paintings. As the students take breaks and view each others work, the more conservative ones ooh and aah over the wild colored ones. Why? Because the creative use of color infuses emotion.

Those initial colors keep affecting the color choices we make. Just as color around us affects our painting, so do the colors staring bluntly at us from our canvas. This is an important point that I cannot accentuate enough. An emotion you set early on in the process will strive to carry through until the end. As I tell my students, if you begin to paint something with local color, you have no place to go with it. Adding green to something that is already green is not exciting. Adding green to something that is purple, magenta, blue or red creates energy and excitement. That energy translates back to you as the artist. The funner your painting is, the more you wish to continue painting. Like a good book you can't put down.

How many times have you lost steam while working on a painting? Perhaps you had imagined it more exciting than what was reflecting back at you. Grab some color! Have some fun! You'll like it better in no time.

I'm following this concept as I put together ideas for the gallery. Every time I begin to get too bogged down with the more serious business side of things, I throw in something creative. By keeping it colorful and exciting it reflects back a wonderful energy that makes the continued journey forward easier and fun.

Art has it's difficult side too. Focusing to improve can hurt your head. If you can remember to keep it interesting and fun, the journey and the outcome will always be more exciting.



Thank you for stopping by and leaving your wonderful comments. You really make my day!



Note: Roux & Cyr  (pronounced Roo & Sear)

Artistic voice

Water Yoga

Original oil painting  16x20"

by Susan Roux

When art wants to pour out of you, let it.

Sometimes what feels the most natural in painting gets pushed aside by the artist and thought of as being "nothing" because of the ease with which it was created.

Please don't do this to yourself. I know too many artists that have turned away from their most exciting works because they feel it isn't worthy. How many times have I heard, "Oh that. It's nothing. I came to my studio the other night and just scribbled that out." They're almost embarrassed you saw it. They feel it doesn't compare with their other studio work and frankly at this beginning stage, maybe it doesn't. But with a little time spent developing that different look, it could be your winning ticket.

What pours out of you naturally is YOUR ARTISTIC VOICE.

Make no mistake about that.

The artist's journey can be very confusing and difficult. We spend time looking at art we admire and there's a certain trigger that drives us to try and emulate those aspects we're drawn to. It can be a very good learning tool, but when it really comes down to it, that voice inside is the one we need to listen to. There are two parts to developing as an artist. The learning part and the creative part.

These two parts are very different and shouldn't be confused, though many times they're intertwined and weave in and out of each other. We often become lost in our own webs. After all doesn't it make sense to try to paint what we love? Well, not exactly...

Your voice, like your brushstroke should be as unique to you as your signature. Nothing more exciting and invigorating will pour out of you than your own voice. It might look a bit rough at first, so don't waste time trying to paint like so and so, because what you really need to do is start working on painting like you! Do I really need to point out how many artists are trying to paint like certain leaders of our day? It takes very little time searching the internet to find dozens of painters painting in a very similar style.

You want your art to stand out. People should be able to look at your work and know instantly it's yours.

As many of you know, I'm in the process of opening an International Fine Art Gallery in Portland, Maine. I've been busy scouring the internet for artists to represent. Those artists that are painting what pours out of them without any concern to whether they have an outlet for it or not, stand out above all the rest. I know I have a good eye, but seriously, it isn't hard to spot a true artistic voice when it's floating in a sea of similarity.

So if you're caught in a flood of artists and want to be noticed, remember to shout loudly!   (in your own voice...)

the Swan

Plumed Elegance

Original oil painting  24x36"

by Susan Roux

It was by accident that I stumbled upon the amazing swan photos I took several years back, when Martine-Alison visited for a month. The day was beautifully warm and sunny and we wondered into the lovely Boston Public Garden. Somehow in the hustle of that busy summer, I'd forgotten that I'd taken them. It was a nice find in my photo library.

The swans were building their nest.

I was mesmerized watching them and I remember staying for a long time at the edge of the roped off privacy railing that had been erected to protect them. As one bird gathered long sticks and twigs that had fallen from nearby trees, the other sat in the nest weaving with it's beak. Some of the sticks were way too large and heavy. They needed to be broken. We would have easily snapped them with our hands, but the swans are only equipped with beautiful feathers on their wings. They had to rely on the power in their strong necks to twist and snap the branches. They worked so hard, pushing limbs against the ground. How I wished I could have gone pass the barrier and snap those large branches for them.

After awhile, they swapped places. It was moving to see how well they worked together in preparation for the little one's to come.

Eventually one left the nesting area for a nice relaxing swim on the pond. I can only assume it was the male, as his display of plumage was quite spectacular. He eventually drifted to a cove where the long reflections of the distant trees darkened the water. It was as though my heart stopped. Such a spectacular scene.

The swan lit up with amazing beauty. I took several photos of him glowing before he drifted back into bright water. I remember that encounter like it was yesterday, yet somehow I forgot about those wonderful photos I'd always intended to paint. Perhaps the time wasn't right.

This is a large canvas, 24x36". It used to be a common size for me, but I have to admit, it's been years since I've painted on this format. My admiration for these swans was still quite powerful and to this moment I remain in awe of what I experienced that day. I needed to paint it large. It just seemed to be the right choice for such an elegant waterbird.

I suspect I'll be painting more of these... It was just too fun.

Say WHAT..?

Grandma's Tea Set

Original oil painting  20x16"

by Susan Roux

Life takes us on some pretty interesting journeys sometimes. Not just art journeys, but all sorts of different types.

I am diving head first into a new project that is about as shocking to me as it will be to you. I always think decisions like this are well thought out and the germination process is at least a year, usually longer, but not in my case. I used to tell people if they looked up stressed in the dictionary, they'd find my picture. Now the word I'm sitting next to would be spontaneity.

What is my project? I'm in the beginning stages of opening an art gallery. Not a typical art gallery, mind you. Oh no, if you know anything about me by now, you already know I don't follow the pack. My gallery will focus on international art. It would have been too easy to contact all you talented, trusted artist friends and fill my space with wonderful art. Why is it, I wonder, that I always push towards the most challenging avenue I can find? Don't wait for an answer here. I don't know why myself...

It seems to be that the nightmare of learning about importing, which by the way also includes exporting (the country the art is leaving) will be at the crux of my journey. By this time next year I might be very educated on the subject and a whiz at filling out the paperwork. (One can only hope...) My nights have become nearly sleepless as I continually ask myself if I've gone completely nuts!

They do say that about artists, you know.

Much like most of you, I've often wondered why artists got the reputation of being loony? I've felt level headed journeying through life and I'm an artist. The common phrase didn't seem to apply at all. But as I look at how I'm completely driven on my rash decision, I understand how the average business person could never move forward on such a venture by simply following their heart. I suppose this is where we are viewed as crazy. Creative people are the ones who carve their way with their hearts.

Now isn't that appropriate for the month of February?




Grandma's Tea Set is not a new painting here on my blog. I've reposted it because I'll be exhibiting it in the Art of Heart exhibition at House Arts Gallery in Gray, Maine. It will hang for a month in a special impromptu exhibition that resembles the type of spontaneity that pushes me forward. Gotta love that!

The opening is Friday, Feb 15, a post-Valentine wine and cheese event. It's 5-9. Please stop in and say hi. Mary Colangelo, the bubbly owner, will be happy to make your acquaintance and I'll be happy to spend some time with you...

Scattered

Awakening

Original oil painting  16x20"

by Susan Roux

I've been absent from my blog for so long, it almost feels foreign to me now. I'll have to try to reacquaint myself. For those of you who are loyal followers, I do apologize for not stopping by to say hi once in a while.

I may not have been blogging, but don't worry, I have been busy painting. Painting and experimenting. My subjects have been all over the place. Unlike working in a series, I'm bouncing from on thing to another without any apparent relationship to the previous. I can't explain why. Perhaps I'm searching for something internally and I don't even know what it is! Boy that has a whole level of whacky written all over it.

Scattered.

It's been me. My thoughts, my art, my journey. It's as though the new year held so many possibilities with an enormous amount of time to achieve it that I've become giddy with freedom and lost in terms of a specific goal. I try to put the logic of it all aside, get the analytical me to stop analyzing everything and just go paint. But honestly I can't seem to stop the analyzing part. Must we always know the "why"? Shouldn't it be possible to just "do"? Good luck trying to tell my brain that.

I was looking at some wonderful old art on the internet that just captured my heart. It was so beautiful in light and use of color. You could dream away in it. It just took my breath away...

Of course the analyzing me couldn't just enjoy that experience. It began to analyze why it was so breathtaking. Color associations came into view. There was simplicity in it. It seemed easily understood. I asked myself why I wasn't painting like that? I have the knowledge to understand everything that makes these works so amazing. Why aren't I just implementing all this into my own work? This is when I became scattered.

Perhaps it's much like a block. The awareness of a concept, without complete clarity on how to execute it. The odd thing is, I don't feel blocked at all. I feel something is awakening in me. I don't even know what it is to put it into words. But certainly something is gnawing at me from inside. As I write about my journey, trying to explain it to you, it seems clear that my answer lies in going back to view old beautiful art. What made it so powerful yet dreamy all at the same time? It's how I'd like my art to be. Grab you and put you into a dream.

Wow, I've never been so resolute with a definition of what I'm working towards. Is this what artist's statements are made of?

Here are some of my scattered paintings:

Orange on White

Original oil painting  20x16"

Orange on White, detail

Victorian Porch

Original oil painting  18x24"

Oceanside Rose Cottage

Original oil painting  18x24"

Sun Dappled Garden

Original oil painting  20x16"

Just as the sun is firing up, percolating, getting ready to explode out in my top painting, Awakening, I feel something is bubbling inside me just waiting to burst out. I can't wait to see what it will be...

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