I push onward at a funeral pace. The holidays waylaid me with scant time to paint. Background now laid in fairly well. I debated again my commitment to a series of three paintings with the Rue Jefferson / Festival International motif. The progress evident on this one has me excited and pleased. The intention is to continue with the purple and blue for the foreground figures as I did for the first Rue Jefferson painting. Bold, brash, a statement out of my typical color palette comfort zone. In the past, I ceased using a wide array of colors because I was never contented with the results. I struggled with color theory and I still do today but I push myself onward and I choose from the gut with minimal regard for proper technique. Fortunately, I do feel that my instinct has improved with time and I now sense viscerally.
I stumbled upon a wonderful but brief (14 minute) documentary on a self-taught Floridian artist- Mario Sanchez Painter of Memories. It is available to stream on this fantastic site. The repository of work available on the Folkstreams website is outstanding and seemingly without end. Sanchez painted on hand chiseled wood reliefs. “It isn’t easy,” he says in the film, “but I like to conquer the wood.” His work mesmerizes me- the lines, the sidewalks, the streets, the fences. The texture and of course, the people and their clothes. He captures history with his hands and mind. He was able to imbue the work with a a simple yet deep beauty. It is both elegant and brutish at once.
“I know that my modest art isn’t any good but it pleases, and pleases others.” – Mario Sanchez