International

Red House

Original oil painting  20x10"

by Susan Roux

Two days ago, Russia called.

It was pretty much passing as an ordinary day. A little excitement stirred as I'd just got word that my art was selected to hang in Portland's art walk during the month of September. The last time my art was up in Portland for a month, I sold 7 paintings. It's hard to forget such a thing and so the excitement about showing again had me smiling and bubbling.

I was behind my easel working on the above painting. My mom was here painting with me. A real special treat. I was down to tweaking my flowers when the phone rang. Luckily I had the insight to place the handset near me and didn't have to go running to answer it. A quick glance at the caller ID made me utter, who's that calling?

Hello Susan. It's Stas Borodin.

You may not know who Stas Borodin is, but I certainly know him well. He's the Russian artist responsible for my exhibition in Saint-Petersburg in June of 2008. A call from Stas is always a welcomed thing!

Stas is a world traveler. He's kind and friendly, making jokes you sometimes don't understand due to the language barrier, but his hardy roar of laughter and a smile that rivals the cheshire cats makes you laugh right along with him! Some people you just feel blessed to have cross paths with and Stas is one of those people. I'm honored to have met such a man. 

He's a master artist. I know, they're rare in today's society and oddly I've had the privilege to meet and paint with two. Don't ask me why I've had these opportunities? I couldn't tell you. Mike says I'm just lucky. 

Perhaps he's right. 

Stas will be visiting in a month. He paints daily. Not at all like some daily painters that take an hour or two a day to paint. No. He lives to paint. From sunup to sundown, he'd be swatting his brush around if he had his way. Stas loves the coast, harbors specifically and we'll be making the jaunt early in the morning so he can take in a full day of painting. He comes equipped for all types of weather and I've never seen a downpour strong enough to keep him from doing his passion. The world is his studio and he is always happily at work!

He's dreamed of going to Monhegan Island. You know, the artist's island 13 miles off the coast of Maine. I really wasn't planning on going to Monhegan this summer, but it seems my plans changed. Yesterday I made reservations from July 8 to the 13. I can only imagine what it will be like to experience it with Stas. A whole new way at looking at a familiar place, I suspect...

I may have the pleasure of his company for two weeks time. He'll run me ragged, I'm sure of that, but it'll be a good ragged. 

Stas always has opportunities up his sleeve. He invited me to join him at a symposium in Normandy, France in September. Oh how I wish! The last symposium he invited me to was at a monastery in Russia. If sales ever begin to skyrocket again, I'll have saved up some money to actually take him up on his offers. These symposiums he speaks of are a gathering of artists from different nations in one place to paint for a few weeks, followed by an exhibition of the work done during that time. Yes! Such things really happen! Doesn't that sound amazing?

Someday. Maybe someday...

So if your phone ever rings and it's a call from Russia, answer it. Who knows it just may be a jolly master Russian artist!

The above painting, Red House, is a crop from a larger piece I'm working on with my Thursday afternoon class. I wanted to paint it wet on wet and it's impossible to do that with my class work. Long periods of drying occur as it sits idly waiting for the next week's session. It's a scene from Ireland. The village is Roscrea. I was told it's the fourth oldest village in Ireland. It was a beautiful place. A cross between ancient and new.

I wrote about Stas last year when he visited. It's here if you care to read more.

Thanks for stopping by. I always appreciate your visit. Please leave me a little hello, just so I'll know you passed through... 

Have a great day, allowing good surprises to happen to you!

Stas Borodin

Susan Roux

Painting at Great Falls, Auburn Maine

I've been absent from Blogworld for awhile, but with good reason.

A very unexpected visitor came to stay with me last week. The Russian artist I mentioned recently in my post about the traveling painting, Stas Borodin, phoned me out of the blue announcing he was in Providence, RI and had some free time to come to Maine. It's been three years since I've seen or heard from him. How odd that at the moment I mention him, he contacts me.

Stas has never stayed with me before, though I've painted with him many times. This was a new experience for all of us. Being with Stas means one thing. Every day, no matter the weather, you go out to paint all day long. If you recall my last post, I was telling you how exhausted I've been. I wasn't in the best condition for the start of a Stas visit. I have to say, keeping up with Stas nearly killed me. My typical day of sitting at the computer blogging with morning coffee and standing in front of my easel in a warm house with Luka Bloom serenading me was a far cry from Stas's normal day. That said, my time with him was very precious and though tiring, I wouldn't give it up for anything.

Stas is a master.

I've been talking to you lately of the importance of fundamentals and how they're no longer taught in today's schools and universities. To really learn them, one must do so from the masters of today. If they don't pass down this knowledge, it will be lost forever within a few decades. That sad thought ripples up my spine. So no matter how tired I was, when a master offered to come paint with me, there was no hesitation to say yes!

If you've been reading any blogs from other Mainers, you already know the weather has been windy, rainy and cold. What was predicted to be a warm sunny week, turned quite differently when a large storm stalled out in the Atlantic, turning and churning the clouds overhead. I only froze on day one. Afterwards wearing my modern day long-john's became daily attire.

Stas is a wonderful person. Don't let the things the government taught us about Russians years ago scare you. If you've had the pleasure to know any, you already know how nice and gentle they really are. Stas is no exception. His kind soul pours out on canvas. His paintings are timeless, brilliantly orchestrated with layers of colors that vibrate the eye and shine with similar luminosity of the inside of a shell. His strokes are broad and rigid, like mosaic tiles scattered atop the canvas. His compositions are unusual. Not the typical lead in with pointers to direct the eye. His paintings grab you with something, some object, and once in, your eye dances a happy vibrating dance bouncing around pleasurably throughout flecks of color. His work is impressionistic. The light it emulates is captivating and entrancing. His work is not always understood at first glance, but get into a roomful of his art and you find yourself touched with a flood of emotion. A rainbow of pastels and grays surround you and with such softness speak the emotions of a well traveled man.

Stas is a unique artist in today's world. It's never about money. It's always about painting. He travels for months at a time with minimal baggage. His art supplies and a few clothes. From country to country, staying with friends he's made along the way, he hops around the world with magnificent stories and a smile on his face. He'll sell a painting right off the easel to a passerby. A few dollars in his pocket help him hop the next bus out of town. He arrives without notice and leaves like the wind blowing pass.

It feels like a quick dream. There is no contact. His cell phone is a Russian number. He doesn't have a laptop. You pinch yourself wondering if it was even real. But photos and a few paintings left behind are proof that he was really here.

He left for NYC where his paintings from Providence and Maine are being exhibited as I write. I got a sneak peek at the entire body of work. It's magnificent. I can't even tell you the venue. Communication is choppy and sometimes difficult. All I can tell you is it's a former synagogue turned art center on Manhattan. Also on view there is an exhibit of the famous Russian artist, Ilya Repin. If you can decipher this code and are nearby, do yourself a favor and go visit.

Vernissage

Vernissage. Its a pity we don't have them.

The Russian artist, Stas Borodin, told me about the vernissage. Being of French decent, I knew it had something to do with varnishing, but I didn't quite understand the full implication of the word until he enlightened me. For those of us in the States, it isn't a celebrated process and many of us are unfamiliar with it.

Oil paintings should dry for a year or more before varnishing. Stas spoke of a wonderful exhibition around the process of preserving your paintings. When an artists had a "varnissage" the works were hung on display and a typical "opening" was held. People came to look at the art.

Lots and lots of people came.

That night after the crowds left, all the paintings were taken down, pulled from their frames and varnished. The following night the people returned to view the same paintings under their brand new coat of shiny varnish! The colors transformed. The depth and richness increased in every painting. The people gathered to discuss how magnificent the improvement was on the works. Paintings they fell in love with the night before were now even more spectacular! It was a wonderful celebration of works, as they come to their final point of completion.

Even the artists haven't seen the full scope of their accomplishment, until this moment. Varnish enhancing the pigments.

I hurried around the other day, preparing my paintings for the gallery. In a crazy procession, I parade my paintings to the backyard where I spray them with retouch varnish. Its very common for me to wait until framing time to spray them, so there were many to do. In and out of the house, back and forth to the backyard, spray and return. The process is like a marathon.

Afterwards, with all the works back in the house, I was stopped by the change in my art. How different they all looked! It reminded me of the varnissage that Stas spoke about, but no one was here to experience it but me...

In other cultures, artists are revered. Art is taught and the people understand and appreciate it. Here its the first program along with music to be cut from schools when the budget is tight. Our openings are often a collection of family and friends. Getting people to come is challenging enough. Everyone is so busy. Can you imagine them returning the following night??? It would never happen here.

It is a pity.

So next time you're varnishing your art, all by yourself, stop for a moment and enjoy the transformation it takes as you bring it to its final point of completion. Perhaps you'll remember the celebrations people had over this event. Maybe next time I can stop viewing it as a chore and can appreciate its significance.

Enjoy painting as well as spraying!

Posted: Inspiration 16x12" Original oil painting (older work) by Susan Roux