Vincent van Gogh: Postal

VVG et Moi

If you didn't catch this at Lines and Colors, or at Pin Tangle, then I want you to know that Vincent van Gogh's letters are being posted, one at a time, as a blog. Named Van Gogh Blog, it originates from the Van Gogh Museum, in Amsterdam. The artist's correspondences, which were mostly with his brother Theo, are the subject of a current exhibition at the museum in Amsterdam.

Van Gogh’s letters, the artist speaks, 9 October 2009 - 3 January 2010.

Vacation

Now comes vacation, which I spent so much time preparing for that I didn't get the next post written for the prize series. I did read a very great quote by de Kooning on the subject of art content. I'll give you that late next week, and we'll continue with the series. Thanks for reading here!

I hope you have been reading the comments for these past few posts. Much of the content of this series is being said there.

Looking for the Why

The Portal
4.75" x 4.5"
Graphite
Scene at "Riva Ridge," Italy
Casey Klahn

Partly because I am blocked about writing the next essay on "How to Paint for the Prize," I want to bring you along on the search for content and the need for having ideas in your art. I am blocked by the overwhelming amount of information that I have about content in art. I could tell you my ideas in painting for my recent prize. But I'm getting tired of ringing my own bell. I could write an essay on the academic truths about what content means in art; how art content is different from form and subject. So dry.

I am not lacking inspiration on art ideas - far from it. I am uber-inspired by the things I read and see concerning the masters and what many good writers have to say about aesthetics and meaning in art. How can I get you, dear reader, to ignite your spark and paint your best for that next show?

Yesterday's post on drawing, with two simple quotes from Ingres and Picasso, is foundational to what I believe about my art. Drawing is an ascendant element in contemporary art. I am reading more essays about drawing, and as a result I am going to renew my drawing focus for my next one man show. Conceptualizing my River Series as drawing-based was a huge part of the success of that series. Remember, drawing isn't as much about the tools as it is about the ideas and approach to your work.

Here are some drawing links that will get your artist's heart beating faster, and challenge you to renew your faith in your ability to win the prize of the finest art you can make.

Drawing Masters: Ingres, Pierre-Paul Prud'hon, Rubens, Käthe Kollwitz, and Picasso.
Mary Adam - Drawing Criteria.
The Rebirth of Drawing.
David Jon Kassan - This is his best video of time lapse drawing because the others lose the technique.

Speaking of painting for the prize, you would do well to follow the work of Loriann Signori, whose art was recently recognized with a first place award at the national Shades of Pastel Biennial Exhibition in Maryland.

Deer "Cast" Drawing
14" x 12"
Charcoal, Conte and Compressed Charcoal
Casey Klahn

Words on Drawing

Duc d'Orleans, 1894, Ingres.

"The drawing is three fourths and a half of what constitutes painting." Ingres

"Matisse makes a drawing, then he makes a copy of it. He recopies it five times, ten times, always clarifying the line. He's convinced that the last, the most stripped down, is the best, the purest, the definitive one; and in fact, most of the time, it was the first. In drawing, nothing is better than the first attempt." Picasso