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THE PLEIN AIR CONNECTION NEWSLETTER November 2nd, 2013
Painting with Mercy not Sacrifice.


"Katahdin From Rocky Pond, Baxter State Park" a watercolor 20 x 26 inches by Michael E. Vermette

Many painters sacrifice a visual God-given moment in the landscape for a fear that chases after and appease every changing mood of the subject. They rarely achieve a genuine experience because they never get around to judging what it is about the subject that they want to say. By chasing and copying they will never actually catch its nature, thus sacrificing what they judged as true and beautiful in their heart. Is there a way to paint from a heart of mercy and not sacrifice?

Last Saturday Anne Spencer and I discussed issues like this in the Plein Air Connect group. In his "Letter to the Class, Art Students League, 1915; Robert Henri makes some very poignant statements that clarify this whole practice of judging what is to be said in a painting. By discerning what is to be the subject at its peak moment of excitement, no matter how fleeting, the artists allows the painting experience to be focused on a single moment of divine beauty. Henri describes it this way. 

The most vital things in the look of a face or of a landscape endure only for a moment. Work should be done from memory. The memory is of that vital movement. During that moment there is a correlation of the factors of that look. This correlation does not continue. New arrangements, greater or less, replace them as mood changes. The special order has to be retained in memory - That special look, and that order which was its expression. Memory must hold it. All work done from the subject thereafter must be no more than data-gathering. The subject is now in another mood. A new series of relations has been established. These may confound. The memory of that special look must be held, and the "subject" can now only serve as an indifferent manikin of its former self. The picture must not become a patchwork of parts of various moods. The original mood must be held to.
Robert Henri p.27 Art Spirit


So what is this memory of the subject's peek moment of beauty that we must hold on to? I think it is the practice of trusting in the development of our ability to appreciate and articulate our motives as a seer. Valuing what we love about what we see and what we are passionate about in our vision, rather than ignoring it for clever processes and imposing design principals, connects to the very life of the painting. We as painters need to give the craftsman in us a single motive when painting the subject instead of copying every mood that presents itself as a confusing patchwork of unrelated parts. But instead, painters begin a painting without even asking themselves what it is that they want to focus on, what it is that tugs at their heart about the subject, and what moment will be the peak point of excitement that will define the painting of the subject at its best. There is judgement involved in painting like that. The very things that are not always and permanently beautiful to us have moments of revelation and unity that give us a sense of understanding and great happiness. As a Christian I am reminded of what Jesus himself said in the bible.

"I can of myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and my judgement is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me."      -Jesus /NKJV John 5:30

I believe as artists; we are encouraged to judge with a visual rightness that comes from a higher revelation than what comes from ourselves. As seers and painters we have the exciting opportunity to expect daily revelation to come to us through the landscape or subject so that we can see the Kingdom of God's beauty on the earth no matter how fleeting. We can expect to witness this distinguishing attribute of the beauty of God that signifies divine goodness in the landscape en plein air or painting the figure from life. Our responsibility is to develop our memory of these moments by holding on to them as overlapping moments of timelessness. The question here is whether or not we shall live in and deal with our greatest moments of happiness. Will we humble ourselves and mercy paint by developing our ability to see and keep in our memory that which is essential or will we sacrifice our emotions and sense of rightness by not discerning anything thus ending up with a painting that appears to hit or miss. To make a record that tests how true our seeing and memory have been is the way to true joy, clarity and happiness in our work. 

Many know that one of my favorite painters is James Fitzgerald who died in the early 70's. Many critics who have researched his paintings remark at how well we was able to hold on to the first excitement of the painting even though he painted up to 25 preparatory sketches and tracing paper overlays before making the final painting. He would do all this preparatory work from painted sketches to drawings that simplified the subject but always retained the spirit of the subject as he experienced it in its highest moment of visual excitement. One of my favorite stories of Jim was told to me by my good friend Ann Hubert, who is now deceased. She had a close friendship with the artist, whom upon his death willed all of his paintings to her and her husband Ed. She once told me of a person who came to Jim to express her appreciation of his work. According to Ann this women was so moved by the work she said with excitement," That is a beautiful watercolor!" and Jim replied, "You should see it in my head!" Ann would always smile ear to ear after telling these stories. Why? Because Jim really knew how to hold on to the moments that occurred in the landscape and his subjects that gave him the most joy and happiness. Ann shared this divine revelation with Jim and it is rare to find it in an artist today.  The inspired painting of the mind translates to the canvas over to the viewer and causes a heartfelt reaction of appreciation, sometimes moving them to tears. I have seen this reaction myself.

So how do we paint with a sense of mercy and not sacrifice? How do we get into a place of wishing and not willing or forcing it? Henri gives us a few important keys to help us develop our memory of our best painting experiences. 

1) A painting that is started without life, revelation or motive cannot be finished. Try to see the life of the painting before beginning. And
    realize a paintings beginning and end is about its beginning. That is what is meant by, "a thing that has not been begun cannot be
    finished."

2) Be ready to return to the subject many times, more than if you were coping from nature. Artists who work in the habit of
     memory-practice actually use the subject more than those artists who rely on direct observation from start to finish. 

3) After you have studied and collected information through oil sketches and drawings, dispense with these, the presence of the model or
    the landscape at the time of the actual making of the final work. Only carry what you know to the work in your studio, not unnecessary
    details that you don't yet understand.

4) Once you have it, hold on to it by not sharing with anyone until the work is completed. The impact of the work can be compromised by
     talking about an unfinished work. Finish as quickly as you can. This is because the most vital elements in a painting endures only for
     a moment. Work from memory  as rapidly as you can. There is no virtue in delaying or procrastinating. 

In closing I would urge all of you to delight in what you have in the memory of your subject! Don't allow the many rules and academic compositional principles of formulas enslave you in copying nature's ever-changing moods. This is an endless sacrificial way of painting that requires no spirit and produces a lifeless work that never seems to be enough or completed. Make a decision to be your own seer who understands, judges, discerns and makes beautiful visual organizations. Paint in such a way that God's mercy is allowed to flow from your hands to the viewer. Begin with research studies and drawings yes, but put them away and explore the meaning of your findings. Expect to be inspired by moments of great beauty that surpasses your own expectations.  As Henri suggests, could this be the source of your moments of great comprehension and happiness as a painter? It also creates the best paintings that have a surge of life, unity, and mark true organization. For " if we knew what we saw, we could paint it."

The next section we will cover in the Art Spirit book is "Letter to the Class, Art Students League," 1916 p. 33-51 on November 16th. Next Saturday November 9th we will meet at Grace Church parking lot at 8 am to car pool and paint on location in Acadia National Park. Hope to see you all there.

Have a creative week filled with great happiness in your work,

Michael E. Vermette
Coordinator of The Plein Air Connection