Studio Life

Self-Portrait in a Striped T-shirt, 1906
o/c, 79" x 59"
Henri Matisse

In my studio, several threads are being woven at the same time. I am reading a biography of Henri Matisse, who was a noted Fauvist and a pillar of Twentieth Century art and Modernism. I had just finished a couple large volumes on World War Two, and feeling like I needed another big tome, so I found this @500 page whopper on Matisse. Then, feeling all smug about myself, I realized it was the second volume! I grabbed the Taschen Book on Matisse to round out the visual side of my study, and I'll be hitting the Amazon site to chase down that first book.

When it comes time for me to post on Matisse, you'll see the heroic as well as the staid side of the great Frenchman. Would you be pleased to exhibit your painting at salon, only to be openly reviled and mocked? How would it feel to have the patronage smearing the still-wet oil paint with their fingers just to amuse themselves? Stay tuned for more on the colorist whose shoulders we all stand upon.

Because my exhibition schedule is through for the summer, I am taking advantage of this time to Get Organized. That means I am doing filing, computer back up and cleaning, studio organizing, goal-setting, calendaring and what not. I see by my notes that I took the G.O. class from Alyson Stanfield back in November of 2006, and that led directly to this blog and much coherent forward progress in my art career.

As a means of clearing my head, I am getting outdoors and refining my plein air methods. Look for a beautiful post on Eastern Washington farm country painting at Pastel, soon. You will be treated to my elaborate and Rube Goldberg talents of securing my easel against the ever-present wind. In the near future I will be putting together a workshop for pastels, and I am exploring the possibility of putting my less color-dependant (more realistic) artwork into print. You'll be the first to know about that here at The Colorist, BTW.

On the home front, my two Lieb Kind will be in grammar school soon, and that translates into three full-time days a week for Daddy Klahn to be an artist in his studio. Woo Hoo! Next year, when my littlest is in First Grade, I will finally be a full time artist - a life long goal. Now, I take the attitude of a full timer, which sometimes helps, and sometimes hinders, studio progress.

For a touching display of home life and sending the child to Kindergarten, see this post from last year. Also, next week will be family Bible camp, so I will be out of touch with you starting mid week. Sun, lake shore, a small amount of someone else watching the kids, camp fires, a little bit of plein air painting, some rock bouldering (a type of climbing), and no house chores. Ahhhh.