Monday, February 15, 2016
Nature as a Point of Departure
Our altered
environment due to climate change is a reality we all must confront. My
paintings relate to my culture antithetically, for example, they portray
serenity rather than anxiety. My artistic response to these times is to connect
with the outside natural world by painting the landscape as a way to grapple
with dire realities of today and reflect my belief in nature’s abiding beauty,
grace and order. I embrace the knowledge that nothing in nature—or in
life—remains fixed. What I see when I look to the landscape is order within the
randomness. I use nature
as a point of departure for my work—as a means for conveying my own idea of
order—I begin by painting the landscape from life, looking to nature as my
ultimate source of authenticity. In
formal matters of painting, Italian artist Georgio Morandi would come to
influence me largely because of his emphasis on close tonal colors and
compositional structure within his work. Morandi’s Landscapes are almost void of anything “natural,” and rather
manifests the rational and intellectual process he went through in order to
decipher his subject, which is the structure of the natural landscape. I see a
combination of randomness and pattern in the landscape, and within my
paintings, I seek to portray both. My intent is to carefully divide space, and
to often establish simple shapes of flattened mass. Deep space is not always my
concern, but space within the flat picture plane is, with the positive shapes
filled in with closely related tones of color to portray serenity and
structure. I often combine abstracted form with the natural pattern, sequence
and order that I see. I am deeply engaged by the specifics of what I chose to
paint, but not driven by the desire to replicate the appearances of actuality. I
strive to always to reveal the orderly, logical formal relationships that can
be extracted from the randomness of mere appearance—an aspiration that links me
to Cézanne and Chardin as much as the Cubists.
Because of the respect and concern I feel for the natural environment, I want
my paintings to give proper bearing to their subject matter, nature. This is
fitting, as nature is eternally relevant to all human beings now and to future
generations.
Friday, January 29, 2016
Friday, January 22, 2016
Monday, January 18, 2016
Friday, January 15, 2016
Sunday, January 3, 2016
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Deconstructed Landscapes
Sunday, December 27, 2015
Saturday, December 26, 2015
Friday, December 25, 2015
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
my love is building a building - e.e. cummings
around you,a frail slippery
house,a strong fragile house
(beginning at the singular beginning
of your smile)a skilful uncouth
prison, a precise clumsy
prison(building thatandthis into Thus,
Around the reckless magic of your mouth)
my love is building a magic, a discrete
tower of magic and(as i guess)
when Farmer Death(whom fairies hate)shall
crumble the mouth-flower fleet
He’ll not my tower,
laborious, casual
where the surrounded smile
hangs
breathless
photo taken from the whitney, NYC towards the river
late december 2015
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Monday, December 21, 2015
Nature's predictable rhythmic patterns are changing rapidly
Distilled Reconstructed Landscapes
It’s fair to say that my paintings contain layered meaning. Minimally, my paintings are a reaction to the Western culture of my time—my rejection of our society’s penchant for excess and indifference that threatens our planet’s ecosystems. I do not paint pictures of polluted rivers or littered fields. My work represents my own attempts in these chaotic times to reconnect and decipher the natural world, and to come to grips with the exigencies of today’s stark environmental situation. Violence and destruction also exist in nature, yet when I paint, I choose to ignore these traits. In nature’s predictable rhythmic patterns, I see the sublime. To me, nature represents the ultimate example of gracious acceptance of change, even death; winter’s repose inevitably yields to spring’s rebirth. For these reasons, my paintings at least, are simplified, idealized attempts that speak to nature’s persistence, vulnerability and beauty, which I paint if for no other reason than this: within the natural world exists the promise of rejuvenation..
Sunday, December 20, 2015
Come take a week long Landscape Painting Workshop in Taos, New Mexico this April 2016
SPRING
April 16 - 22
Plein Air Landscape Painting Week Long Retreat Workshop
"Sense of Place" Taos, New Mexico
Mabel Dodge Luhan House
Details at Cullowee Mountain Arts Website:
Saturday, December 12, 2015
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Sunday, December 6, 2015
Teaching Schedule 2016
2016 TEACHING SCHEDULE
SPRING
April 16 - 22
Plein Air Landscape Painting Week Long Retreat Workshop
"Sense of Place" Taos, New Mexico
Mabel Dodge Luhan House
Details at Cullowee Mountain Arts Website:
April 30 - May 1st - two day workshop
Small Format Plein AirLandscape Painting Workshop
Wayne Art Center
Wayne, PA - (Near Philadelphia)
SUMMER
June 27 - July 3rd
M-F 9-noon
Small Format Plein Air Landscape Painting I
Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill
Truro Cape Cod, MA
AUGUST 22 - 26
Week long workshop in Gloucester, MA
Plein Air Landscape Painting
all details about the studio and workshop
at the Cullowee Mountain Art Website:
FALL
October 7--9
Three Day Workshop
Small Format Outdoor Landscape Painting II
Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill
Truro, Cape Cod, MA
details at:
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Nor'Easter: Juried Exhibition New Britain Museum of American Art
This painting was selected for
The Nor'Easter
46th Annual Juried Exhibition
New Britain Museum
of American Art
January 9th - February 14, 2016
56 Lexington Street
New Britain, CT
Opening Reception:
January 10th
Towards Great Island,
Wellfleet, MA
38" x 38" oil/linen
Kathleen Jacobs
