100 Paintings - Colorist Italian Landscapes

Casey Klahn with Pastel Palette

I just wanted to get the proper tags and link names attached to my new blog painting project. Explanation here.
The van Gogh project (VG is always emulated in every work that I do) will be back in full force, soon. The Old Man Rounds the Corner is on the easel, now.

Paintings Preview and Rollout

Plaza with Red Building
4.5" x 4.75"
Original Pastel
Casey Klahn
$100
100 Paintings - Colorist Italian Landscapes
Framed Size, 10.1" x 10.1"
White Double Mat; Black Wood Frame

Here's a preview of my new project. It is a "Daily Painting" style project, with my own branding and some fresh ideas.
First of all, I bow to the one who I understand is the originator of daily paintings blogs, Duane Keiser. He also invented the 100 paintings and the $100 price point. He recently wrote that he expects repetition of his groundbreaking idea of daily paintings and the blog. He says that he appreciates when artists credit his originality, but he notices when they try to "fit" art into the daily blog format. I see the concern.
To be completely honest, I have been sitting on a big stack or two of custom and pre-cut double mats, with frames for 2 or 3 years, now. Framing prices being what they are, it has been a long term goal to utilize that studio stock. Thus comes the 4.75" by 4.5" size of these works.
Years ago, I did small landscapes exclusively. But as I progressed along with my Colorist American Landscapes, I adopted bigger and bigger sizes. It got to the point that I was doing almost nothing in an inexpensive size. That bothers me, since I want everyone to be able to afford original fine art if they want it.
Also, I think that I am now finding my "voice" in realistic Italian landscapes, in pastel.
My own project shall be themed around this number 100. There will be 100 paintings, then it will end. If you want more, that will have to wait for another theme and project.
In addition, each painting will bid at a starting bid of 100 dollars, and the duration of the eBay auction will be 100 hours.
This gets me off of the daily production schedule, and into a sane 3-4 day cycle instead.
The subject matter will be the Colorist Italian Landscape, based on my travel there, and my true passion for the subject.
In my Colorist American Landscapes, the abstract elements are favored over the actual landscape. In the Italian paintings, I return to my realist roots. This move was forced more by the subjects themselves than any other reason. They do, however, contain heavy colorist influences from my past few years' work in colorism.
What is more, I am offering this "patron's preview" to my growing group of viewers here at The Colorist. I will be selling them to the first come, first served at the flat $100 rate. No bids, just contact me at caseyklahn@msn.com, or post a comment, or call at 509-796-3277. Postage to be figured by Federal express air rates.
Break open a bottle of wine, or vino I should say, and enjoy this offering of very whimsical scenery from the country that looks like a boot.

The Van Gogh Code

In the interests of taking this van Gogh study to the edge, and nudging it over, we introduce:
The Van Gogh Code !
Why does the van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam continue to deny the existence of any photographic evidence of Vincent van Gogh?
Why, when faced with this study of an uncanny photo does the Dutch institution with the most authority decry what may be evidence of Vg's appearance?
Did he ever really exist at all?
How is it possible for a man of his artistic posterity, with a large immediate family of siblings who were close to him, to escape the all powerful lens of the camera?
What skeletons lie beneath the foundations of this great art institution? While we're at it: what does the Louvre know, and when did they know it?
Don't tell anyone, but I have become privy to secret knowledge which indicates that the whole Vincent van Gogh legend is as phony as the moon landings, the death of Elvis, and (fill in your own pet myth).

Italian Landscape Sketches

Enjoy these "process" sketches for my van Gogh project. Italian landscape subjects.








I promised to do van Gogh works from life, and to use his subjects. Then, I also set a goal of producing a painting from one of these sketches.
Although I have been drawing outside, I haven't developed these into finished sketches yet. Stay tuned on that. Also, I have never been to Provence, or the low countries, for that matter. But, I recently did travel to Italy, and so these subjects are as close as I get toVG's subjects. Well, actually, my home shares a lot of geophysical likeness to VG's landscapes. The local wine makers remind me of that on every label.
I had wanted to pursue the Portal drawing as a painting, but it seems to reside in the gray scale world for now. It seems to emanate a lot of power for me just as it is. But, the wonderful scene of an old man rounding the corner on the street in front of the bell tower has potential for a painting. Hello, symbolism. Hello, strong yellows.
Anyway, I offer these drawings as an insight into the process of studying van Gogh.
Do visit Making a Mark, today, if you are serious about looking at VG's color compositions. Plan to take some time pursuing the copious links that Katherine Tyrrell (whom I dub the content queen) provides. I hope you're OK with the nickname, Katherine!

Colorist Red Sky

Hill with Red Sky, 12.5" x 9.5"
Original Pastel
Casey Klahn
$850

I guess I have done a whole series with pinks and greens without knowing it; manifest here as reds and olives with a violet ground. Since the Earth is a big horizontal plane, I find the interest in vertical and otherwise non-horizontal elements.
Pink with green is a favorite composition for me.

Colorist Art

These are not her images. I just was goofing around on Photoshop.

Now that I have your attention, though, I am pleased to introduce you to an artist I found linked from Katherine's Mark blog. Her name is Tracy Helgeson, of upstate New York.
We share an affinity for color fields, barns, and landscapes. See her blog here.

Portal

Portal,
Graphite 4.75" x 4.5"
Italian Landscape

Casey Klahn

Remember my sketch of the traditional Italian house at La Ca? Another half a kilometer down the road lies the scene of my next sketch, a little stone garden hut tucked into a steep downhill slope.

We're going to deviate from art discussions for a minute, here. You'll see the reason, though.
The famous Tenth Mountain Division of the U.S. Army fought a battle in North Italy that is fair to describe as the "Monte Cassino of the North". My late father was there. Last year I visited the scene of the battle at a place the Americans named Riva Ridge.
The elite American mountain troopers conducted a night assault, in winter, up a rock face in what amounts to one of the most spectacular actions of the Second World War. Three other major American assaults by seasoned and first-rate units had been repelled by this "impenetrable" Nazi German position. On the top of Riva ridge were the German's elite Gebergsjager - their own mountain troops.

Aerial Tramway, Feb., 1945 Italy

The most iconic photo of this key battle is this one showing the Tenth Mountain Division's special evacuation and supply tram that was installed in support of the high angle operation. Ammo and supplies went up; wounded and dead came down. What I learned from a veteran is that the small building pictured in the famous photo, was the temporary mausoleum, or collection point for the dead G.I.s and Tedesci (German) alike.
In my drawing is that same building from the old photo. I feature the acute downhill slope towards what is now a garden hut, with a portal through the foliage at the right that leads downhill towards the ravine. In the background, the Riva Ridge ascends towards heaven.
I incorporated some of the VG marks that I have studied, and am using his Garden Cottage drawing as a type of image with copious amounts of foliage, with a structure in the background.

The photo I took of the garden hut, Italy

The entrance to the erstwhile mausoleum.

A Candy Valentine for Colorist Fans

Enjoy. To make your own, go here.
Casey

Van Gogh, The Self-Taught Artist

I forward this very interesting piece from Alyson's blog, by the gallerist Paul Dorrell who speaks to artist's about career moves.
He has a nifty view of the self-taught artist, which I quote:
"As a dealer, I’m always most interested in what an artist is creating now, and in what they’ve created in the past. I don’t even care if they’re self-taught, so long as the work is exceptional. Besides, 'self-taught' can place an artist in some very good company, beginning with that tortured Dutchman. "
VG may have "typed" us artists with some bad perceptions, but I don't mind that one, as I am 98% self-taught myself.
Happy Valentine's Day to all of my loyal readers, and to those who arrived by happenstance.

No Blue Without Yellow

It seems that Emile Bernard, van Gogh's pen-pal, was soon to cross the Mediterranean to North Africa, to serve with Lieutenant Milliet in the French Army. VG was waxing on, artist to artist, about perceived local color.
"What I should like to find out is the effect of an intenser blue in the sky. Fromentin and Gérôme see the soil of the South as colourless, and a lot of people see it like that. My God, yes, if you take some sand in your hand, if you look at it closely, and also water, and also air, they are all colourless, looked at in this way. There is no blue without yellow and without orange, and if you put in blue, then you must put in yellow, and orange too, mustn't you?"
The compliment was the thing to our man van Gogh.

Influence of Van Gogh

VG's influence on my art is already pretty much present. Color, gesture, impasto. Feeling.
In my van Gogh project, to add to my studies, I am choosing his subjects as well. And, his methods of working from life.
It looks like I may have found the painting I'll be working on, based on a photo I took in Italy last year. It's the hardest one I could do, with receding perspective (looking acutely downhill, then continuing up in the background), too much foliage, and other challenges. But, it has the passion! I actually had tears drawing the study.
The Cottage Garden drawing that Katherine Tyrrell posted is a good VG drawing for me to key on, then the opportunity will be to select some good VG colors.
According to one of my sources (Gayford), he would often execute a painting at lightning speed. Brush strokes, intention, gestural movements of brush on canvas. But, he was organized of thought while producing these "fast" works. His sense of composition was pre-ordained by days of thought about what each painting should be.

La Ca, Italia

La Ca, Italy, 5.25" x 5.25"
Graphite on Sketch Paper
Casey Klahn

This little traditional Italian house is tucked into the "front" of Riva Ridge, in a town with the likely name: La Ca. The landscape is dominated by that precipitous ridge, and the not very distant snowy Apennines.
It is the sight of some very high drama in my late father's youth, during that little event called WW II. I visited there last year, and it isn't hard to see why I have so much passion for lovely Italy.

Riva Ridge Operation.

I long ago gave up on cross-hatching with pencils, as I found that varying pressure worked better for me. But, with the influence of van Gogh, I am trying to put it back into my repertoire. It does seem to work better when scanning or printing from pencil.
Also, I don't usually "hatch" trees, but it worked well here to push this one forward.
The wonderful, late Bill Mauldin was not on my conscious mind, but his influence is all over this, too.

Colorist American Landscapes

Light in Branches, 21" x 13"
Original Pastel
Casey Klahn
$2,000.00

Blue is a color that one can dive into; get lost in. How do you get a "cold" color to glow?

Van Gogh Project Update

Katherine Tyrrell, over at Making a Mark, has this update on how everyone is doing on the VG project.
I also wanted to paste what I said on her posting, since I hear some artists struggling with various issues about van Gogh. My comments follow:

This is a good round up. Much thanks.
Other than some some really bad photoshopping on my part (albeit entertaining), I am attempting to recognize the long shadow of VG's person, and at the same time his oeuvre that I describe as "colorist". That's "colourist" for all you English-speakers.
I don't link his bad behavior to his earthshaking body of work. Some pretty cunning, and I think altogether preposterous theories have been put forth by absolute experts on VG.
He had a condition that made him "see" everything slightly yellow, you see.
He sucked on the end of his lead-covered brush, you know.
His condition made him super keen to produce art differently than his fore bearers.
Whatever. It doesn't pass muster with me. And I write these things to encourage my peerage in this project to try to take the "old man" with a grain of salt.
There is forgiveness, especially postmortem. Look at the parts of his work that inspire you, and follow that muse.

Friday, February 09, 2007

I took my son to the art store and we purchased some varied drawing papers, with tints that put me in the mood for VG drawings. Stay tuned.

This Time in French, Van Gogh Book Review

Vincent et moi consultent le long des banques de la Seine.

Le Coloriste

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8 février 2007

Revue de livre de Van Gogh

« Bien, le vieux garçon, ce livre de Gayford, la Chambre jaune, était bonne lue fendante, » dit I à l'apparition de l'artiste.

« Hharumphh, » il offre. Peut-être que la blessure de coup de fusil méchante au coffre donne lui à des douleurs. Peut-être que la serveuse française n'a pas apporté à son cappuccino assez vite.

Et là nous avons le coeur du problème avec ces livres concernant le grand artiste ! Ils essayent de l'interpréter par de divers objectifs. Qui peut vraiment deviner son intention dans une oeuvre d'art donnée ?

Gayford, dont recherche et la bourse est en second lieu seulement à ceux qui ont compilé et ont catalogué les travaux complets du VG, a écrit beaucoup que j'aime, et beaucoup avec lesquels je discute.
Discutez-vous jamais avec des auteurs pendant que vous lisez leurs livres ? J'espère ainsi. La pensée critique est une partie essentielle d'étude.
Gayford propose la manie de ce VG, qui est pensée par certains pour avoir été désordre bipolaire (dépression maniaque), est essentiel aux résultats de ses peintures. Mais, il énumère simplement quelques autres artistes, auteurs et les compositeurs qui ont soufferts de cette maladie, sans n'importe quel exemple ou recherche la montrant est des effets sur leur art.
Je pense qu'il doit éliminer si quelconque d'entre ces hommes affligés aurait réalisé les mêmes niveaux sans manie, ou avec la suppression de la manie par l'intermédiaire du traitement. C'est un ordre grand, je savent.
Le travail de Van Gogh's est unique dans l'histoire, et tout à fait irracontable. Personne d'autre sauteront jamais le début le mouvement moderniste, depuis c'est « dans le bidon », ainsi pour parler. Mais, le niveau de la transformation travaillé par l'art du Néerlandais, tel qu'influencer une vingtaine de mouvements de suite, l'ouverture de la manière pour une plus grande abstraction dans l'art, et pour que la permission concentre plus sur la couleur pure que jamais avant, est son seul manteau.
Sa grande influence sur l'art est une échelle de concordance, plutôt qu'un sous-produit d'euphorisme.
Naturellement, son histoire personnelle est plus dramatique, je pensent, que n'importe quel autre artiste un peut penser à. Elle l'a est effet sur l'appréciation du public de lui, et lui même des stéréotypes tous les artistes de quelques manières plutôt sans attrait. Mais, sa postérité est plus une question de l'acceptation de ses travaux par le monde critique d'art, de sa pairie, et du désir faisant rage du marché de rassembler son art. Cela continue à ce jour. J'ose la parole qui si vous trouviez un fourgon Gogh à une brocante à domicile, vous ne s'arrêterait probablement pas à l'exposition de route d'antiquités pour une évaluation. Vous feriez un beeline pour Christie ou Sotheby !
Je labourerai par les travaux complets, maintenant, à la recherche de plus de données sur cet artiste énigmatique. Mais, j'encouragerais

Van Goh and Xanthopesia

Yellow Photoshops while suffering from Xanthopesia

Can you even see the color yellow? You must have xanthopesia.
(Rolling my eyes, and falling on the floor, laughing. Now kicking. Now crying from belly- laughter)
The most preposterous explanation yet of van Gogh's usage of color. If you don't paint the subject by it's local color (it's color in actual reality), then you must suffer from some malady. No, you are crazy. Yes, that's it.

Van Gogh Book Review

Vincent and I consult along the banks of the Seine

"Well, old boy, this Gayford book, The Yellow House, was a cracking good read," says I to the artist's apparition.
"Hharumphh," he offers. Perhaps that nasty gunshot wound to the chest is giving him pains. Perhaps that French waitress hasn't brought his cappuccino quick enough.
And there we have the heart of the problem with these books about the great artist! They attempt to interpret him through various lenses. Who can really guess his intent in a given work of art?
Gayford, whose research and scholarship is second only to those who have compiled and catalogued the complete works of VG, has written much that I like, and much that I argue with.
Do you ever argue with authors as you read their books? I hope so. Critical thought is an essential part of learning.
Gayford proposes that VG's mania, which is thought by some to have been bi-polar disorder (manic depression), is essential to the outcome of his paintings. But, he merely lists a few other artists, authors and composers who have suffered from this disease, without any example or research showing it's effects upon their art.
I think he needs to rule out whether or not any of these afflicted men would have achieved the same levels either without the mania, or with suppression of the mania via treatment. That's a tall order, I know.
Van Gogh's work is unique in history, and quite unrepeatable. No one else will ever jump start the Modernist movement, since that's "in the can", so to speak. But, the level of transformation wrought by the Dutchman's art, such as influencing a score of follow-on movements, opening the way for greater abstraction in art, and for permission to focus more on pure color than ever before, is his mantle alone.
His great influence on art is a ladder of coherence, rather than a byproduct of euphoria.
Of course, his personal story is more dramatic, I think, than any other artist one can think of. It has it's effect on the public's appreciation of him, and it even stereotypes all artists in some rather unattractive ways. But, his posterity is more a matter of the acceptance of his works by the critical art world, his peerage, and the market's raging desire to collect his art. That continues to this day. I dare say that if you found a van Gogh at a garage sale, you would probably not stop at the Antiques Road Show for an appraisal. You'd make a beeline for Christie's or Sotheby's!
I will be plowing through the Complete Works, now, in search of more data on this enigmatic artist. But, I would encourage everyone with a personal interest to look into van Gogh's letters, which are available on the web here. Why not use his own words to tell the story of his art?

Pastel Society Newsletter

I am the new guy at the Pastel Society of America, having been juried in last year. My "Pastelagram" arrived in the mail yesterday, and I provide a link to this attractive newsletter here. It's in a PDF format. If you can't get the link, go to "publications" from the home page of the PSA link.
By way of providing more understanding of the PSA, I will add the following quote. It has some "good to know" statements about the medium that I have chosen to focus on:

“In the third quarter of the 19th

century, Degas’s startlingly

inventive use of pastel, and his

dedication to its brilliance,

beauty and seemingly endless possibilities,

rescued this extraordinary

medium from being relegated to a

footnote in art history. Exit Degas,

and the prominence of pastel was

eclipsed. Until, in the third quarter

of the 20th century, 1972 to be

exact, the reputation of pastels was

revived yet again by the forceful and

farsighted efforts of Flora Giffuni,

who in that year founded the Pastel

Society of America.

This fall, with the stunning

work on view in the Bernhard

Gallery of The National Arts Club,

the Pastel Society of America’s 34th

Annual Exhibition proclaims that

one of our earliest goals — “to focus

attention on the Renaissance of pastel”—

has been successfully

attained. No longer a medium in

search of itself, pastel now stands on

its own as the vibrant, protean material

it truly is. It has matured, proven

its lyrical and muscular talents, and

outstripped the epithet

“Renaissance” that once rightfully

touted the reemergence of a resource

that had been marginalized and misunderstood

for too long. We can

finally get beyond the slightly defensive

impulse to praise a pastel in

terms of how its pictorial qualities

compare to an oil painting, and simply

praise the outstanding qualities

of pastel work.” Diane Rosen, PSA

Van Gogh Project - Sketches 1.0

First Sketch, Sunflowers in Snow, 12" x 12"
Charcoal on Sketch Paper
Casey Klahn

Happily, a new snow had freshened up the ground just in time for this sketch of winter sunflowers. True to form, the rain started to spit on me while I was drawing it. Here it is in unimproved format, loaded from the scanner bed.

Van Gogh Sketches

All drawings, Vincent van Gogh.

Building in Eindhoven (The “Weigh House”), Neunen, Feb., 1885

Snowy Yard, The Hague, Mar., 1883

Garden in the Snow, Neunen, Feb., 1885

Oxcart in the Snow, Neunen, Aug., 1884

Old Man Drinking Coffee, The Hague, Nov., 1882

Five Men and a Child in the Snow, The Hague, March, 1883

Edge of a Wood, Etten, July, 1881

Dance Hall, Neunen, Dec 1888


I've decided to begin my van Gogh project participation by studying some of his sketches. I post a few of my favorites here.
I chose these for the good figure works, and some for the addition of Conte, or colored chalks, and others for the representation of snow. I'll be doing a few snow scenes as well. I tried to stay with graphite or charcoal works, here. One of them may be reed pen, but my sources don't say.
Before I could commit myself to this van Gogh inspired project, I had to clean up my old studio space , which is in the house. It had been half way moved out to my new 12' x 60' studio, which is a surplused house trailer. It is halfway remodeled, and sans electricity.
So, now that I am re-established in my old studio space, I am ready to go with the new works. I will begin with drawing, as it was the foundation of Vincent's work. He almost always worked from life, rather than memory or reproductions. He did do a little of the latter, especially to copy his own studies, or the etchings of other artists that he admired. He was much influenced by Jean-Francois Millet (French, 1814-1875) and Harmenszoon van Rijn Rembrandt (Dutch, 1606 - 1669), who were both good draftsmen.
I seldom work from life nowadays, although I have done much of it in the past. My Colorist American Landscapes are studio works, from the imagination or removed memory. I noticed that for many of the others in this project, the van Gogh study will be a move away from realism. For, me, it will be a move toward realism.
So, I will be drawing from life, as van Gogh did. He not only didn't have the CRT or Photoshop, he really didn't even have the photograph. Photography was new in his day; it represented a challenge to the ageless pursuit of fine art, and what is more I understand that he disliked the evil photo. I share that opinion.
Anyway, I think that it will be hard for one to gain his perspective without going outside, or at least setting up a still life. I will finish the project with painting, however.
Then, also to get close to the keener's (*) motifs, I want to choose the same subjects. Sunflowers, check. Wheat fields, got 'em.. Orchards, check. Marine climate, check. Maritime subjects, check. Sunlight, check-er-rooni. Self for portraits, check.
Wish me luck!

Here are some links that I don't think I saw on blogs of other artists doing this VG project:

Unabridged Letters by or to Vincent van Gogh
http://webexhibits.org/vangogh/
Van Gogh at Etten. Interesting and broad based web site.
http://library.thinkquest.org/C001734/index.html

(*) "Keener" is defined in urban slang as a nerd or eager-beaver. But, I am using it in it's old school definition of one who is keen-edged, knowledgeable; also the Irish give the keener tragic substance.