My Matisse Book Report

"Seek the strongest color effect possible...the content is of no importance," Henri Matisse.

Reading Hilary Spurling's giant two volume biography on the great French Modernist, Henri Matisse, has been a blessing and a burden. Quite readable, they are, well...long. And, to quote someone on Twitter, "I hate finishing biographies; they always end the same!" I had the same problem with the van Gogh Yellow House book. I couldn't bring myself to face the old boy's demise.

Everything Henri Matisse.

Color photos of Matisse in his studio from LIFE magazine.

Matisse was not only the "King of the Fauves" - he was the master of all Modernism. Equaled only by Pablo Picasso of Spain, our Matisse brushed, sculpted, cut, designed and lived five decades ahead of his time. He was a luminary artist whose colors and lines are his signature, but whose life, until now, has not been well revealed. I cannot recommend Spurling's excellent and authoritative books more.

I want to keep my reactions to the long books concise. How about a painting done in the style of Matisse? Although Matisse himself was très original, it is not uncommon for an artist such as myself to copy a past master to internalize his methods. I was doing a painting as a copy from one of my numerous instruction books, and it reminded me slightly of HM's muse. I ran with that.

After Matisse
9.25" x 12.25"
Pastel
Casey Klahn

The instruction book image was "Erick," by artist Sally Stride. I'll be out of town until Monday - enjoy your weekend!

Copy of You Know Who

Towpath in Winter after WK

8.5" x 11.75"
Pastel
Casey Klahn

In the past I have been greatly distressed to Google images of you-know-who, only to find other people's art posted and the SE is too stupid to know the difference!

I'll keep the name mum, but you know who I copied here. The difference being that this is a pastel copy of an oil painting. I learned so much from this direct copy that light bulbs were flashing off in my head. Another great Modernist once said that a picture should create its own light.

On a personal note, I have revived my understanding of the dark gray card - a color that I had been "off" of for some time. I will post a better picture after Lorie gets a session with the Nikon.