Inspiration is to inhale, delivering oxygen to cells that transform nutrients into energy.
Artistically, Inspiration delivers sparks of excitement to potential energy expressing it into art.
I like to think of inspiration as being in the air around me, so I surround myself with artistic things.
Paul Klee
Park Near Lucerne, 1938
39" x 28" (100 x 70cm)
mixed media
Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern, Switzerland
In this park scene by Paul Klee (pron. 'Clay') we see trees and paths and hints of people and animals. The multicolors are spring-like, the black lines tangible. Is that a fountain in the middle?
The most influential book on Abstract Art is:
Concerning the Spiritual in Art
by Wassily Kandinsky, 1911
He shows how :
Yellow is bright & light.
Blue is cool and thoughtful.
Red is forceful and bold.
Straight lines are logical,
Curved lines, emotional
Horizontal lines, stable/resting
Vertical lines, steadfast
Diagonal lines, dynamic.
These are not symbols but qualities.
Poems combine qualities to express,
to make us Feel as much as Think.
Vassily Kandinsky
Improvisation 27: Garden of Love II
1912
47" × 55"
oil on canvas
Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY
From the artist’s notes:
”There are three iterations of a couple abstracted into a garden afternoon.”
Oh, to communicate the essence of an experience,
"Writing is like the moon reflected in water" - Dõgen 13thC. Zen Master
Ryōan-ji
Zen garden in Kyoto, Japan
maintained since 1500 AD
"The garden at Ryōan-ji does not symbolize anything, or more precisely, to avoid any misunderstanding, the garden of Ryōan-ji does not symbolize, nor does it have the value of reproducing a natural beauty that one can find in the real or mythical world. I consider it to be an abstract composition of 'natural' objects in space, a composition whose function is to incite meditation." - Garden historian Günter Nitschke
This famous rock garden is one small part of a whole complex of gardens and temples. Exactly next to the rock garden is this lush moss garden. On the way to both is a enormous lotus lake. It is a sublime & transcendent experience.
The ruins of the earliest surviving garden dates to 550 B.C., built by Cyrus the Great who freed the Jews from Babylonia, Persia.
The ancient Persian word for an enclosed garden is where we get our word, 'Paradise' - to mean a 'place like or compared to Heaven' and likely the inspiration for the Garden of Eden.
Persian rugs often look like walled gardens, or a little Paradise.
The composition of Persian carpets customarily are all-over compositions, without a distinct focal point. The eye moves freely throughout the work, while the borders, or 'walls,' frame the abstracted flora & fauna.
Mid-century Abstract Expressionists & Colorfield artists embraced the 'All-Over Composition' esteemed by art historian, Clement Greenberg. One of my favorite artists is Mark Tobey, right.
Mark Tobey
(American, 1890-1976)
Canticle
Casein on paper
17 3/4 x 11 5/8 in.
Smithsonian, Wash D.C.
Tobey acknowledged that the abstract harmony of music was an important source of inspiration. The intricate pattern of delicate marks that animate the surface (critics called it “white writing”) was inspired by the artist’s study of Arabic and Japanese calligraphy.
The inclusions in Emeralds are referred to as the ‘Jardin’ or garden. It is the imperfections that give it added beauty.
Turquoise is valued for its matrix patterns. These natural markings hint to where it was mined and holds special meaning to aficionados.
“All things excellent are as difficult and they are rare.”
- Spinoza
Almost like wall-jewelry, all-over compositions allow one to be with a work of art without critical thought of meaning or interpretation. Feelings come and go easily while being visually dazzled.
Faceted stones are mesmerizing. Their hypnotic effect is meditative. Aesthetically they celebrate the wonder of nature and represent rarity & excellence.
I had a rocksaw and cut cabochons in high-school, and have always collected rocks.
Chinese scholar's rocks called gongshi, right, are naturally found rocks that feel like a microcosm of the universe held in suspended animation. Their association with landscapes and abstract qualities open the imagination for the scholar to appreciate.
Scholar rocks have been found in 7,000 year old tombs and by the late Tang dynasty (618-907CE) were collected in earnest influencing the development of suiseki in Japan.
As these rocks are not allowed to be reshaped, they are truly non-representational. They are 'non-objective' as artworks, as opposed to 'abstract art' that can resonate the artist's expression. They only have imagery, associations or meaning, given by the viewer.
Interpretation can make the non-representational meaningful.
Representation ranges in communication
from explicit,
to suggestive,
to non-objective,
to indecipherable.
"Reality is only a Rorschach ink-blot, you know." - Alan Watts
Shoji Hamada, (1894-1978) Squared Vase, 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" x 5 3/4"
Shoji Hamada is considered to be one of the greatest Japanese folk art (mingei) ceramists of the 20th century, and in 1955, he was designated a living “national treasure.” Happy accidents fueled Hamada's work with the appreciation of imperfection, celebrated by the tea ceremony.
Ceramics in the tea ceremony are deliberately mis-matched to highlight natural differences. Further, objects 'without overtones of willful artistry' and whose 'oddness was not planned' are highly prized. This aesthetic teeters between beauty and ugliness. Shibui beauty is not explicit, the viewer must find the beauty within its inner implications, making the viewer the artist. -- from The Unknown Craftsman by Sõetsu Yanagi
"Teaism is essentially a worship of the Imperfect." - The Book of Tea
“Our mind is the canvas on which the artists lay their colour;
their pigments are our emotions;
their chiaroscuro the light of joy, the shadow of sadness.
The masterpiece is of ourselves, as we are of the masterpiece.”
― Kakuzō Okakura, The Book of Tea
I like to think of inspiration being in the air around me, and I surround myself with artistic things.
Before painting, I often scan artbooks for images that make my heart sing. Here is an image from a recent painting session where I have books laid out by Kupka, DeStaél, Albers and Redon. Additionally, there are examples from my collection of handmade lace - from the late 1600’s to the late 1800’s
“Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.” - Picasso