Laura Jeanne Grimes, artist - Blog

Michelangelo's Matthew

10/24/2020

Looking at art history. Michelangelo's unfinished sculpture of St. Matthew. I have seen it in Florence, at the Accademia where the more famous David stands on display. I find this sculpture profoundly moving in his rough, unfinished state. The artist himself once wrote: "Every block of stone has a statue inside it, and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it." Matthew, the tax collector who dropped everything to follow Christ, emerges from the marble, muscled, powerful, the book of the Gospel in his hand.

When looking at a preparatory drawing and the painting based on it, I almost always prefer the drawing. We see the artist's hand at work, the mind thinking. In the same way, in this unfinished work, we see Michelangelo's hand, holding the chisel, his mind making choices of just where to place the tool. The unfinished work is "in the rough," but not imperfect, not found wanting.

The website Michelango.org (https://www.michelangelo.org/the-saint-matthew.jsp) describes it thus: "The standing pose includes a cube-shaped base on which the left foot is raised forcing the knee to protrude; this results in the unusual spiraling that passes into every part of the anatomy, in fieri, of the Evangelist apostle, all the way up to the upwards turn of his head towards divine inspiration -- at once the calling the the source of the book he hold in his left hand. The daring contrapposto, the dynamism pervading the saint's body in every direction, a body that is tense and distressed as it harks the divine inspiration." In fieri: in process, underway, beginning to have existence.

And now a perhaps relevant quote from St. Paul of the Cross: "The statue must be chiseled with very sharp tools before it is fit to be placed in the grand gallery."

And my own thought. We don't like being chiseled ourselves. We chose how to respond: to become bitter or better, serene or sour.

#michelangelo #matthew #michelangelomatthew

Van Gogh, the Missionary

10/19/2020

Art History. Not one of Vincent van Gogh’s most well known paintings — Prisoners' Round, painted in February 1890 at Saint-Paul Asylum in Saint-Rémy, inspired by an 1872 engraving by Gustave Doré of the exercise yard at Newgate Prison.

And, here is a part of Vincent’s life unknown to most people, from Wikipedia: “In January 1879 he took up a post as a missionary at Petit-Wasmes in the coal-mining district of Borinage in Belgium. To show support for his impoverished congregation, he gave up his comfortable lodgings at a bakery to a homeless person and moved to a small hut, where he slept on straw. His squalid living conditions did not endear him to church authorities, who dismissed him for "undermining the dignity of the priesthood.”

Let that sink in. He went to minister to the poor and the church authorities fired him for doing just that. His father believed Vincent was insane and should be committed to an asylum. Instead, as Wikipedia tells us, “Van Gogh returned to Cuesmes in August 1880, where he lodged with a miner until October. He became interested in the people and scenes around him, recording them in drawings after Theo's suggestion that he take up art in earnest.” His sweet brother Theo, always so kind and encouraging to him. But, at the end of Vincent’s life, he did end up in an asylum where he took his own life. His artistic career lasted 10 years. He started painting when he was 27, died at 37, poor as a church mouse, as the old saying goes.

Later this month, Sotheby's New York offers his painting Still Life: Glass with Wild Flowers, for auction. The estimated sale price stands at 14 to 18 million dollars. Vincent most likely would say the money would be better spent helping the poor.

Prisoners' Round, by Vincent van Gogh

#vincentvangogh #vangogh #vangoghmissionary #vincent

The eyes are the window of the soul

6/27/2020

The eyes are the window of the soul. The French say, the eyes are the mirror of the soul ("Les yeux sont le miroir de l'ame.")

In the time of Covid-19, responsible people wear a mask that covers the mouth and nose. We don't know how long this stretch will last, but, for now, as we are out and about, we see each other's eyes. We can still tell if someone is smiling by looking at the eyes. A fake smile doesn't engage the eyes. With a genuine smile, they crinkle and twinkle. I imagine sales of lipstick are down, sales of mascara up.

So, I may have started a new series in response. I had been working on a series portraying the cell phone as a kind of mask, a barrier to communication, when we are so absorbed in that little screen we pay no attention to the people around us. But in these last few works, the figure wears an actual mask and gazes directly at the viewer, not at a device. Perhaps in this season, lonely as we shelter in place, we will crave looking each other in the eye.

I created these portraits on my iPad Pro, Apple Pencil in hand, using the Sketch Club app, no image load involved, no hidden tracing. These portraits are based on selfies posted by the subjects themselves on the Sktchy app for IOS.

For information on the Sketch Club app: app.sketchclub.com -- for info on the Sktchy app: get.sktchy.com

Missu

Rayssa

Kitty

Alana

Black Is Beautiful

6/14/2020

I am old enough to remember when the phrase "Black Is Beautiful" burst on the scene. It never meant "Only Black Is Beautiful," it meant, "Hey, Black is Beautiful Too! Black Is Just As Beautiful!" This was at a time when a black model on the cover of a mainstream (aka white audience) magazine was big news. Glamour magazine had its first black cover model, Katiti Kironde, with its August 1968 issue. The first African-American model to grace the cover of Vogue was Beverly Johnson, six years later, on the August 1974 issue. While no longer front page news, it's still the case that a cover model is more likely to be white than to be a person of color.

Black Lives Matter never meant "Only Black Lives Matter," or "Black Lives Matter More," it meant "Black Lives Matter Just As Much, and We Are Saying So Because the Reality Is, as far as the System is concerned, They Don't!."

How can I, a 66-year old white woman, an artist, sheltering in place, offer my support? I can create artwork featuring people of color. It's an inadequate gesture, I feel. And, the question of appropriation comes to mind. But, it is the best gesture I can come up with right now.

So here are a two recent portraits, based on photos posted by the subject herself on the Sktchy app for iPad/iPhone, both drawn freehand on my iPad Pro, using the Sketch Club app.

Prayer for Peace

Haley

And, an older work, from 2011, a charcoal/pastel on sanded board, of my all-time favorite model, Brittany Anne, done from life in the studio. She moved away awhile back, and I still miss drawing her. She was really an extraordinary model, exuding strength, sweetness, power. She is probably the most beautiful woman I have ever met. And, yes, she has quite the petite ears!

Brittany

Stagecoach Mary

6/7/2020

Mary Fields, aka Stagecoach Mary

As always, drawn freehand on my iPad Pro, using the Sketch Club app.

What a life! Mary Fields, known as Stagecoach Mary, was born into slavery in Tennessee circa 1832. After working for a convent for some time, she lost her job, apparently due to her bad temper. At the age of 60, the Postal Service awarded her the contract to be a Star Route Carrier, in which capacity, she drove a stagecoach to deliver the mail in Northern Montana. According to the Smithsonian National Postal Museum, this made her the first African-American woman ever hired for this job. Six feet tall, carrying two guns, tough as nails, she carried the mail through all kinds of weather, protecting it from bandits. She drank, she smoked, sometimes wore men's clothing, and by all accounts was much beloved in her community of Cascade, Montana. Hollywood actor Gary Cooper recalled meeting her when he was 9 years old. For more on this fascinating women see:

postalmuseum.si.edu/stagecoach-mary-fields

Shelter in Place Sketches

5/24/2020

Sheltering in place for me has meant staying home, with exceptions: walking the dog, going to the Farmers Market (masked and socially distanced) and getting coffee delivery curbside (again, masked and socially distanced). When I want to draw a human subject, the only person handy has been my husband. So here, are three recent sketches of him at the kitchen table. As always, drawn freehand on my iPad Pro, using the Sketch Club app. Quick and spontaneous, not finished works. But, I hope they still offer some charm.

Learning from the Old Masters

5/19/2020

The Old Masters have so much to teach us, if we will "listen," by standing in front of a great work of art, spending time with it, observing rather than simply looking. The average museum visitor spends 15-30 seconds looking at a work of art. Spend two hours doing this, and you will leave visually exhausted, but having learned very little. As the saying goes, "Don't drink water from a firehose." In our fast-paced culture, 15-30 seconds can seem like a long time, but, you have only, as it were, read the first sentence of a book, rather than even the first chapter.

The best way to slow down in front of a work of art and to actually remember it after you leave? Draw it, even if all the museum allows is one of those tiny "putt-putt golf" pencils. Here, sketching on a mobile device becomes a real plus, as you are carrying an entire studio with you. I count three ways to approach the artwork: analytically, intuitively, and both. I believe the greatest artists, such as da Vinci and Michelangelo, approached their own work using both analysis and intuition, but most of us lean strongly one way or the other. Each method has advantages and disadvantages. The intuitive approach leads to greater spontaneity, but less accuracy; the analytical to more precision, but less fluidity. Combine the two, and you do indeed have the potential to become a great master.

Personally, I lean strongly toward the intuitive. As I have always said, show me a preparatory sketch by a great artist and the finished work, I will choose the sketch every time. I love seeing the artist's mind and instincts at work. I consider myself a journeyman draftsman, so to speak, who has an occasional breakthrough of brilliance, and then wonders, "How in the world did I create THAT!!!???"

Currently, in the midst of the pandemic, I find I am in one of the high risk groups for complications from the virus. Even though the local art museum has reopened, albeit at 25% capacity, prudence dictates I stay home. So, I googled one of the old masters, John William Waterhouse (1849-1917). Not a name the average person knows, but if you love the pre-Raphaelite painters, he is a must-see. Being more interested in drawings, rather than paintings, I found his Study for the Lady Clare, done in chalk and paper. Spending a little over an hour on my iPad, Apple Pencil in hand, I became absorbed in this lovely piece. The resulting sketch is in no way an exact copy, but I so enjoyed working on it. Here is the result. On the left, my 18-minute beginning, on the right further developed, total time a little over an hour.

For information and a reproduction of the original work, see www.wikiart.org/en/john-william-waterhouse/study-for-the-lady-clare

For an excellent article on looking at art, see this from the New York Times: www.nytimes.com/2014/10/12/travel/the-art-of-slowing-down-in-a-museum.html

And, as bonus, for Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem "Lady Clare," see www.bartleby.com/360/2/226.html

And, when the pandemic crisis has abated, go to a museum, pick an artwork, and draw it for at least 20 minutes. For now, we will have to settle for Google.

#oldmasters #learningfromtheoldmasters

Things left behind

4/21/2020

You find the oddest things sometimes in the woods. Things left behind, discarded, uncared for, broken, abandoned. Here are a few recent ones I have found here and there. I find them evocative and beautiful, in their own way. We are all broken, to one degree or another, but beautiful in our brokenness.

Red Wagon

Census 2010 T-shirt

Sofa

All is All

"It's a Wrap"

My favorite depiction of the Resurrection

4/12/2020

The Resurrection of Christ, by Matthias Grunewald

Here, I present to you my favorite depiction of the Resurrection, by Matthias Grunewald, one of the great German painters of his time. Not originally a free-standing painting, it was part of the Isenheim Altarpiece, a tour de force of Northern Renaissance painting. I have never seen it in person, only in reproduction, but even in reproduction, it has powerful impact: Christ emerging with blinding light and color, the Roman soldiers prostrate upon the ground.

Khan Academy's website describes the Altarpiece as the most fantastically weird artistic production of Renaissance Christianity, "Christ is wreathed in orange, red and yellow body haloes and rises like a streaking fireball... " I couldn't put it better myself.

None of the Gospel writers describe the actual event of the Resurrection. None of them were there to see it happen. They tell us of the aftermath, the encounters with Jesus. Perhaps the most tender meeting occurs in the Book of John, with Mary Magdalen. "Woman, why are you crying?" He asks her, as she mistakes him for the gardener. Then, when he calls her by name, she recognizes him and cries out "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher). And perhaps the strangest moment occurs a week later, when He appears to the disciples and commands Thomas, who had not believed He had risen, to reach out his hand and put it into the wound in his side. "Stop doubting and believe." In the painting, Grunewald shows the marks in the hands and feet, the wound in the side. Even in His Resurrection, Christ still bears his wounds, the signs of his sacrifice.

Today, April 12th, 2020, we attended Easter worship service via livestream. Our church has not met physically for a month, even though here in Texas, churches are exempt from the state orders regarding social distancing. Our church leadership responsibly decided that, to protect the most vulnerable among us, we would be meeting virtually, not physically. A different Easter for us all, but Easter, nevertheless.

The early spring wildflowers are here

3/26/2020

The early spring wildflowers are here, not in as great profusion as in some years, but still not a shabby display. This being the time of the Covid Pandemic, we are on Stay in Shelter status; however, the guidelines allow us to go outdoors for exercise, so long as we stay 6 feet away from other people. So, we are still able to take the dog for walks. Here are a few photos, all taken with my iPhone 7 Plus, edited n the Camera+ app and Instagram.

"It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart." -- Rainer Maria Rilke

Pink bluebonnet

The wildflower known as Indian Paintbrush

Tiny bloom

Indian Paintbrush