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.

Is art dying?

Best in Show

Its no secret to anyone that art is taught completely different nowadays than in the past. What was once structured and guided by rules has completely flipped to pushing creativity in search of the "never-been-done" before. I question myself, "Is art dying?"

Maybe its just me. Maybe I don't get it as much as I think I do. I know art is conceptual and so lends itself to many different interpretations. What captures one viewer may not capture another in the least. But it is my understanding that art is emotion. What pours out of an artist onto canvas (or other support) is their emotional response to their subject. A whole range of emotions can find themselves on canvas. Sadness, anger, happiness, love... To me art happens when the artists can actually convey their emotion to the viewer.

I don't believe art is doing something no one has ever done before.

All that is to me is simply, "something that has never been done before... " If I sit my muddy cat on a clean canvas, I don't call this art. If I grind mud into my canvas and drizzle unset strawberry jello over it and wash it down with organic apple juice, I don't call this art. It may very well be things that have never been done before, but to me, that alone doesn't make it qualify as art.

Maybe its just me...

Posted is a painting that took best in show at an association-run gallery. It is Bacon. It's a print made with bargain bacon on Asian paper. The jurors said, “This very powerful print gets its strength from the color and shape of the composition. The scale of the image, the way it is presented and the placement within the frame all add to a very compelling piece. The work finds success between starkness and complexity that makes it intriguing and fun. The unconventional materials used in producing the work inform the piece with a good mix of metaphor and irony. We applaud the artist for their creativity and exploration.” — Robert Lash & Kerstin Gilg

This is a huge juried show in Maine and the gallery can get as many as 300 entries. It is perhaps the biggest fund raiser the gallery has. A few years back, a wide variety of art could be found there. In recent years, some University professors got involved and the whole flavor of the once totally embracing association changed to exhibiting mostly contemporary art. The three big winners were all created in a sepia tone. Is this the new direction of art? Did I miss the memo? Did I waste my money on my recent order of colored paint?

I didn't enter the juried show. This post is not my anger lashing out because I didn't make the cut. I'm saddened that as time goes by, the college professors are young and they too have never been taught the rules that guide us to great art. The rules that the masters of yesteryear have left behind, passed down from generation to generation. Is art dying?

"A very compelling piece," the jurors said.

To whom? Five marks in a typical counting block is anything but compelling to me.

In todays struggling art market, all too often we hear comments like, "I don't like art. I don't understand it." These are from people who rarely expose themselves to art. They must have never been moved by a piece before. Perhaps the only exposure they get are images of winning pieces posted in local newspapers. They see images like this bacon piece. They are not moved. They continue to think they don't like art. Is it a wonder? I fear a growing negative trend in future potential-art-buyer's minds.

I ask again, "Is art dying?"

Ocean Roses

Ocean Roses

(in progress by Susan Roux)

This is an unfinished painting. I'm working on it with my beginner students. I wanted to give you a glimpse at the wonderful work they do. I hope to keep you posted at different intervals, to the completed painting. If my students allow, I'll post their finished paintings as well.

This is the work of my Tuesday night class. These students have painted only one painting, the beginner class this fall. A few students have ventured out to paint on their own at home, but for the most part, this is their second painting. My more advanced class thought I was brutal to give such a complicated scene to beginners. Honestly, I think they are doing marvelous with it so far.

Five students follow along as I explain colors, placement, composition and the "why" behind everything I have them do. We've worked on this for 3 sessions now, for a total of 6 hours. I've been so impressed with how well they've progressed. Each session, we cover more than I imagined we would.

Classes are fun and exciting. The jokes, laughs and giggles fly around the room continually keeping spirits light and playful. I think part of that "fun" shows up on our canvases. It affects the colors we choose and the relaxed brushstroke we use. The biggest challenge for me is to simplify everything so much that it can be understood and done even by a beginner. With each class I teach, the simplification gets easier.

We scribble paint. We scribble lots of paint! I get accused of being a very good scribbler, but you will be surprised to see their end products...

They scribble well too!

I am under the belief that anyone can do this. All that is needed is the desire. Perhaps they wouldn't all have the ability to become masters, but certainly enough to enjoy the process and be pleased with the end result. I'm very thankful for my students. They are a big part of my life and I look forward to their coming every week. Its been such a rewarding experience for me.

So my students, if you're reading, thank you...