In the midst of all the exciting, tiring upheaval that accompanies a house build and move of both the studio and my home, a couple of weeks ago, I decided to push things in the studio for myself. I have been surprised at how easily paintings have been flowing out of me. I think my creativity wants to dance with me to relieve a bit of stress, and I have leaned in.
In my last article, I shared my favorite female figure painters because I have been mulling over some ideas about the figure.
It’s hard to put into words, but these are the main ideas at play.
And that’s all they are IDEAS. I can try to force them into something concrete before I step up to the canvas, but that’s not the dance that works best for me.
figure + sculpture + female + shape + movement + mystery + spirit
If you are new here, you may not know that I dedicated myself to figurative work several years ago. People are fascinating to me on every level, but portraying them realistically wasn’t enough to satisfy my appetite for the mysteries that I want to explore in my work.
The figure in sculpted marble has been a source of inspiration for me since my college days of studying art history. There's something intriguing about this ancient portrayal of the female and her form. It is solid and sensual at once, and it is arrested in time. When I approached this particular painting, I used an image I captured at the Louvre in Paris. I first painted one of the sculptures focusing solely on the female figure, and then I started experimenting with incorporating the male figure embracing her. After that, I began intertwining plant life around her.
During this time the ideas changed to:
embrace + entwined + secret
I had been experimenting with colored backgrounds in my small works and decided to use a solid color, not as a ground but as a “cover”.
This excerpt poem from e.e. cummings captured the spirit of this work so perfectly.
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of
the bud
And the sky of the sky of a tree called
life;which grows
higher than a soul can hope or mind can
high)
and this is the wonder that’s keeping
the stars apart
i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)
-e.e. cummings
It’s finally crunch time for the move, so my “until next time” will have us in the NEW house!! Finally, I’ll be able to take pictures without a construction mess. It might be a minute, but I’ll come back fresh and ready to be creative and share!
Until next time, Monica Lee Rich
I hope you enjoyed this “Anatomy of a Painting” post. I hope to make this a regular column at The Smart Creative. As always, your support means the world to me. Becoming a paid subscriber means I can craft content and share more insights on the inspirations that can help a creative lead an artful life.