Winter Temperatures. 2016. Pastel on Sketch Paper. @10" x 10." Casey Klahn.
15 December, 2016
14 December, 2016
12 December, 2016
In the Bleak Midwinter
These Cello Advent dailies you may follow on your own at You Tube, from Kjell Magne Robak, who is a Norwegian Cellist. I post this one because it's traditional here at The Colorist to post In the Bleak Midwinter at Christmastime.
Enjoy.
11 December, 2016
08 December, 2016
11 November, 2016
29 October, 2016
Snapshots from My October Workshops
Shown from the top are: New Mexico, Provincetown and Cape Cod, a sketch from Boston, and Freeport, Maine.
I'm always too busy teaching to stop and take a photo of the class. I rely on students sending their pics, so if you can, please send me some and I'll post them.
20 October, 2016
When Bloggers Meet - Thug Life version
 |
| Casey and Sippi. Meeting Sippican Cottage in the Intertunnel. |
Sometimes, there's a Blogger. A Blogger whose words you cannot ignore. A Blogger of Bloggers! A man whose wordsmith chops are unparalleled.
Bloggering is a lonely avocation; you find yourself wondering whether anyone other than robots read your heart and soul thrown-up against the wall.
If you are one of the cool kids who've read the guy pictured to my left above, then you will be as thrilled as me to know he's a real guy. Yessir - no bot is he. He's an authentic human, and as a matter of fact he's a whole family of authentics: man, wife, 2 sons and one fiancee for wonderful measure.
Last week I met none other than the famous Sippican Cottage! The best blogger of all time, and that includes the Ancient Near Eastern and Classic eras. It includes the Golden Era, the Cinematic Era, and the Yogi Berra Era.
Although we did have to meet in a red cavern in the intertunnel, we did manage to pull it off. An actual when bloggers meet meet-up! Sippi insisted on a disguise in the photo; he actually wears a cowboy hat.
Sippican Cottage has, in my estimate, civilized the blogger world and made our days in the unterorb meaner and palatable. If none of that last sentence makes any sense to you, then I suggest you read Sipp's award-winning blog, Sippican Cottage. The rewards will be self evident. Also, drop my name when you get there. He seems to know who I am, too.
Sipp and family: meeting up in deepest Maine was a highlight of my days, and my hope is that we'll keep in touch. I hear they have comment sections on Blogger.
04 October, 2016
12 September, 2016
New Mexico Late October
Albuquerque: Reserve today - Spots still available.
Spend 3-days learning from our National Show Judge.
PSNM: Casey is a dynamic artist who will challenge you and provide thought-provoking information you can incorporate into your own work.
“Casey Klahn’s workshops open your eyes to newways of thinking about the elements of painting. He’s not a techniques man. He’s a concepts man. If youwant a good challenge to bring freshness and verve to your work, Casey will not disappoint.”
Pastel Society of America (PSA) Board of Governors, Arlene Richmond.
Contact Marilyn Drake at:
psnm.nswkshop@gmail.com
02 September, 2016
23 August, 2016
16 August, 2016
Room to Breathe.
Morning Forest. 2015-16. Pastel, Oil & Graphite. 14" x 11." Shown with mat. Casey Klahn.
04 August, 2016
Dream Workshops!
I have to pinch myself at the prospects of the workshops that are coming up. Croatia! New Mexico! A demo at IAPS! Also, I am in the planning stages for Indiana, Los Angeles, Seattle and New York City. Planning is going out to 2018.
First, let's talk about the beautiful European gem, Croatia, on the Adriatic Sea. Instructors Ellen Eagle, Karen Margulis and others have reported wonderful experiences and I feel we're in for a treat when we go there in June, 2017.
Porec and Villa Gloria, in Istria, are the popular travel spots where we will be for 10 days. Our host is Mario Vukelic, who publishes the blog, Pastel News.
Pastel Workshops in Istria. Aria Workshops.
Remember I mentioned that Georgian artist Karen Margulis just returned from Croatia? Here is her recent post reviewing her workshop and the trip. Warning! If you are on the fence about coming, this will seal your decision. It is a truly beautiful workshop locale, with great accommodations.
A Week in Croatia.
First, let's talk about the beautiful European gem, Croatia, on the Adriatic Sea. Instructors Ellen Eagle, Karen Margulis and others have reported wonderful experiences and I feel we're in for a treat when we go there in June, 2017.
Croatia and its setting in Europe.
Porec and Villa Gloria, in Istria, are the popular travel spots where we will be for 10 days. Our host is Mario Vukelic, who publishes the blog, Pastel News.
Pastel Workshops in Istria. Aria Workshops.
Porec looks like maybe 40 plus miles from Venice, as the crow flies. Or the dolphin swims. Or - you get the idea.
Remember I mentioned that Georgian artist Karen Margulis just returned from Croatia? Here is her recent post reviewing her workshop and the trip. Warning! If you are on the fence about coming, this will seal your decision. It is a truly beautiful workshop locale, with great accommodations.
A Week in Croatia.
Mario Vukelic and Karen Margulis and her artists in Croatia. Can you say: "Wow?"
29 July, 2016
Frankenstein's Monster (as a Self Portrait)
Self Portrait as a Reanimated Man. 2016. Pastel, Oil, Dry Ground & Carbon Pencil. 15.2" x 11." Casey Klahn.
26 July, 2016
13 July, 2016
12 July, 2016
09 July, 2016
21 June, 2016
The Painter
The Painter. 2016. Pastel, Oil, Dry Ground & Charcoal on Vellum. 10.5" x 8.25." Casey Klahn.
10 June, 2016
My Father Used To Say
Self Portrait in Hell, with Vermilion. 2016. Pastel, Oil, Charcoal & Dry Ground. 12.3" x 10." Casey Klahn.
My father used to say, "well I'll be go to hell!" I hope he was only kidding. For you grammar teachers out there, he did not pause after "well."
This work favors the inimitable Edvard Munch, who did a self portrait in hell. I'm trying to keep the Expressionist fires going.
02 June, 2016
Back Door Italy
By the Back Wall, There is a Cellar Door. 2016. Pastel & Graphite. 16.5" x 10.25." Casey Klahn. Italy.
30 May, 2016
26 May, 2016
Self Portrait
Untitled. 2016. Pastel, Graphite & Dry Ground. 13.9" x 13.25." Casey Klahn. The artist at age 57. This is the informal photo.
17 May, 2016
25 April, 2016
The Gothic. 2016.
It's been a year or so that I've been painting portraits, and here are some personal comments on them. The main idea is to be different each time. This woman is called "The Gothic," because of my observations of frescos in Italy last year. A fresco is a work on plaster, and my desire is to have the muted tones, and the textures, show. Also, the Gothic Era was a particularly spiritual one, and "perspective" was more akin to what the Modernists later wanted to show. This "sign" says that; there is an expression revealed. I notice the colors are muted, but the blue on red treatment reminds me of a celluloid flash from the end of a film reel.
The Gothic. 2016. Pastel, Oil, Charcoal, Dry Ground & Graphite. 16.5" x 13.2." Casey Klahn.
24 April, 2016
19 April, 2016
The Sign He Makes
Cimabue Decorates the Apse. 2016. Pastel, Dry Ground, Oil & Graphite. 12" x 8.75." Casey Klahn.
30 March, 2016
15 March, 2016
09 March, 2016
03 March, 2016
3 Phase Portrait Poster
We're still on Matisse Month, which I think may become Matisse Year before I'm done writing it all. In the meantime, there's no reason not to post new stuff. Please enjoy. This portrait is so much about the element of color intensity, that I decided to deconstruct it in Photoshop just to see what I could see.
3 Phase Portrait. 15" x 7.8." Photoshop. Casey Klahn.
Mostly Yellow Portrait. 2018. Pastel. 13.5" x 8.25." Casey Klahn.
15 February, 2016
Intermezzo
Henri Matisse with Model Henriette Darricarrère, in Nice. 1927.
From Hilary Spurling, Smithsonian Magazine, 2005. Matisse and His Models.
The same seems to have been true of the models for his odalisque paintings of the 1920s. The first of these odalisques—sprawling in “harem costumes” on improvised divans—was Antoinette Arnoud’s successor, Henriette Darricarrère, who was working as an extra when Matisse spotted her in the film studios in Nice. He liked her natural dignity, the graceful way her head sat on her neck and, above all, the fact that her body caught the light like a sculpture. A ballet dancer and musician, Henriette became part of the family in the seven years she worked for Matisse. His wife grew especially fond of her, and he himself taught her to paint.
Matisse said it was essential to start by finding the pose that made any new model feel most comfortable. Henriette’s specialty was discovered by accident after a carnival party attended by Matisse and his daughter, dressed respectively as an Arab potentate and a beauty from the harem. Marguerite Matisse, Lorette, even Antoinette Arnoud, all tried on turbans and embroidered Moroccan tops, but it was Henriette, always modest, even prim, in her street clothes, who wore the filmy blouses and low-slung pants without inhibition, becoming at once luxuriant, sensual and calmly authoritative.
The pictorial possibilities she opened up for Matisse were enhanced by her exceptional sensitivity and stamina. He saw the work they produced together as an increasingly complex orchestration of colored light and mass, culminating in his Decorative Figure on an Ornamental Ground, which was almost as incomprehensible in 1926 as the Blue Nude had been nearly 20 years earlier. The painting is a riot of exuberant trompe l’oeil wallpaper, flowers, fruit and patterned textiles, all pinned firmly in place by the pale upright figure of Henriette. She looked as impersonal and unyielding as a side of packaged butcher’s meat to Matisse’s friend, the painter Jules Flandrin, who was baffled and exhilarated in equal measure: “I can’t begin to convey the brilliantly successful contrast between the wallpaper flowers and the woman so skillfully mishandled,” he wrote to a friend. Soon after the completion of Decorative Figure, Henriette left to get married.
Matisse Month
09 February, 2016
03 February, 2016
29 January, 2016
At the Used Book Stall.
Come with me downtown. We'll be looking in my favorite book stall. The one where the paperbacks smell like stale cigarette smoke and/or mildew. I prefer books where the author does not use "and/or" and "he/she." English may be from the gutter, but it will flow if written with style.
Never mind all that. Today we're going to grab Matisse On Art, mostly translated from the French. Why did I add the article: "the?" I'll stick to visual art - this writing stuff has pitfalls.
In years past my blogging style has been to keep things brief. This year, I am shifting gears for some reason. It feels right that this platform become a place for luxuriously long reads and, when they are on topic, videos. I hope you'll stick around for this year of deeper content. This month we are Celebrating Henri Matisse and I have barely scratched the surface. Maybe we'll extend Matisse Month.
There. I just paid the vendor and now I'm going to walk straight to the waterfront cafe, grab a cup of coffee and read these essays and interviews by and of Henri Matisse.
26 January, 2016
Fifty Self Portraits
There Is No Model. 2016. Pastel, Graphite & Dry Ground. 10.5" x 8.4." Casey Klahn.
Fifty Self Portraits.
24 January, 2016
Virtual Walk Through of the Cut Outs and My Visit to the MoMA in 2014
In 2014 it was my thrill to see the Henri Matisse Cut Outs exhibit at the MoMA. Installed in multiple rooms, including a full scale model of the dining room in Nice where he created the Swimming Pool, this exposition brought Matisse's legacy forward. He still thrills and challenges visual norms. In the last paragraph below there is a link to a virtual walk through of the Cut Outs.
The indefatigable Hilary Spurling, Matisse's biographer, Sums up his life and the Cut Outs in this video from the Tate.
Although at first much of this new form of art seemed impenetrable to me, I slowly began to unlock Henri's messages. Some are as simple as how his maquette for a Vance window means "up," or how Oceana means "immersive and unified." Gustave Moreau taught Matisse and prophesied that he would "simplify art." Indeed, here in the final works of his long career, Henri Matisse distilled color and form into visual delights without missing a beat. It's as if you are awoken in an operating room and your visuals are being administered intravenously. There is no spoon-feeding of subjects or details; you feel directly the experience of a lifetime of seeing. You are walking around inside of Matisse's artwork.
Matisse was not being boastful when he said that it would take fifty years for people to understand these works. Here we are over sixty years hence, and mystery still enshrouds his works. What was he trying to say (and what gave him the iron nerve to say it?) with these childish decoupages?
MoMA provides this examination of what the Cut Outs are.
This walk-through link gives you nearly the experience of the actual show, except that it is linear instead of circuitous. Using clear colors and sharp photography, it provides you with a fine record of the event. Enjoy. Source: New York Times.
Attributions:
"When he’s genuinely tough and self-demanding, as he is in some later work, he’s on a plane of his own. Whatever pain it took, the late work is made for love."
Produced by Larry Buchanan, Alicia DeSantis and Josh Williams. Composite photograph by Emon Hassan. Images © 2015 Succession H. Matisse / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
22 January, 2016
20 January, 2016
17 January, 2016
Matisse Chapel and Tate Matisse Blog
Simple observations are often the kernel of genius. The rub is, they have to contain the truth. Henri Matisse had the genius of simplicity.
On the subject of simplicity, I keep coming back to what Françoise Gilot says (without wasting a word herself) about Henri Matisse and his work. She revered his objective of "...mounting the color to the extreme."
You can learn much by watching a master just drawing on the wall. Here is a short video of Matisse as he designed the Chapel of the Rosary in Vence, France.
For more resources on Matisse, on the subject of the chapel project and much more, I refer you to the Tate Modern blogs on Matisse.
On the subject of simplicity, I keep coming back to what Françoise Gilot says (without wasting a word herself) about Henri Matisse and his work. She revered his objective of "...mounting the color to the extreme."
11 January, 2016
Northwest School (Seen Differently)
Northwest School. Self Portrait. 2016. Pastel. 11.6" x 8.4." Casey Klahn.
09 January, 2016
Matisse - Short Bio
Henri Matisse. 1869-1954.
He migrated south within his native France; born in the north, then to Paris in the central part of the country, and finally he settled in the south on the French Riviera. He found color to his liking, and it became his chief tool of expression. M. Henri Matisse bestrode the Modern Era as a titan, and showed the visual world color and line in their pure forms, all the while working from life.
French painter Henri Matisse (1869 - 1954) in his studio.
May 01, 1913. Credit: Alvin Langdon Coburn.
Artworks:
Henri Matisse - Music. 1910. 260 x 389 cm. / 102.4" x 153." Oil on Canvas.
Henri Matisse - La Mimosa, 1951. Mimosa, 1949–51, a cut-paper maquette for a rug that was realized in 1951.
08 January, 2016
Matisse Drawings
I'm always the last to know about these exhibits. This was in Brisbane in 2011. Enjoy this short window into Henri Matisse's life practice of drawing.
07 January, 2016
Matisse Museum
The Musée Matisse.
This is funny. Anthony Peregrine of the UK Telegraph, writes this
"...word of warning: going to Nice solely for Matisse smacks of hair-shirted obsessiveness."
That'd be me. Can't do beaches or water sports. My shirt's too hairy, I guess. Hee hee.
I do plan on addressing the resistance to Matisse that many feel, which is like in kind to the resistance to Modern art, only more focused. Please return here for the Month of Matisse posts.
06 January, 2016
Matisse Month
Matisse Month.
Since Henri Matisse was born on December 31st, 1869, it seems good to spend a month celebrating the old keener. Matisse was the definitive colorist, and without doubt the greatest French artist of the 20th Century. It is worth noting that Pablo Picasso said: "In the end, there is only Matisse."
Drawing is of the spirit; color is of the senses.
I've been over forty years discovering that the queen of all colors is black.
Drawing is putting a line round an idea.
Seek the strongest color effect possible. The content is of no importance.
Creativity takes courage.
Quotes by Henri Matisse.
Quote Image: Like Success dot Com.
03 January, 2016
01 January, 2016
30 December, 2015
24 December, 2015
Carols
It seems appropriate this year to post a long Christmas service. Blessings to you, kind reader.
23 December, 2015
18 December, 2015
12 December, 2015
10 December, 2015
Self Portrait in Hell
Wearing My Hair Long, Headed for Gehenna. 2015. Pastel, Oil, Charcoal & Figment. 11" x 8.6." Casey Klahn.
05 December, 2015
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