There are two things I like doing the most: travelling new places, meeting friends, and painting in my studio. Unfortunately I like painting much more. Unfortunately, as it is quite harder and sometimes people don’t get I just need that loneliness in my studio. Yet, it is right in the studio, painting, when I can travel the most beautiful landscapes across the space and time. Like painting this canvas in the yellow, red and blue: still remember getting a set of three oil crayons from Talens, as about 5 years old girl: yellow, turquoise and red. Pure happiness holding these three colors in my hand as a kid has remained in my heart till today and painting this canvas has brought back all these memories……
Self Portrait Study Sketch after Van Gogh, oil on paper
Actually I had a lot of fun with this self portrait. It was made in time of Covid isolation for actual Christies IG open call.
Working on this piece, I’ve tried to stick to original as much as possible, but reinterpretating it on my way. Like starting from the sitter, a doctor, as I did study medicine myself. And accentuating which defines me most.
Flowers and colors
Or moving on to the flower, possibly Digitalis, at Dr Gachet’s table. I’ve painted it as a bouquet of spring flowers from my garden. Just because “I must have flowers, always, and always.”as Claude Monet said. Here aretulips, that I’ve painted several times before, and daffodils, for I never can’t get enough of that particular spring yellow color. Then I’ve put some chess flowers into the bouquet. It is an hommage to my home town, as Fritillaria Meleagris or Snake’s head grows in Ljubljana Marshes, becoming quite an extinct species by now. And as my late friend once said to me: ”Why you don’t paint some chess flowers, they are so beautiful.” Or in different words: “Nobody sees a flower – really – it is so small it takes time – we haven’t time – and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time.” – Georgia O’Keeffe
Brushes and art
I’ve painted myself holding brushes, made them green, just to seem as picked flowers. Referencing to art, as Oscar Wilde said: “A work of art is useless as a flower is useless. A flower blossoms for its own joy. We gain a moment of joy by looking at it. That is all that is to be said about our relations to flowers. Of course man may sell the flower, and so make it useful to him, but this has nothing to do with the flower. It is not part of its essence.”
Books and creating
Then I’ve put some books on the table. In a way referencing Albert Camus: “Creating is living doubly. The groping, anxious quest of a Proust, his meticulous collecting of flowers, of wallpapers, and of anxieties, signifies nothing else.”
What more to say, as happily we are out of times of isolation by now, it might happen that I come back to this sketch, just to paint it in oil on canvas…actally I am already looking forward to it 🙂
Roman citizen of Emona, Emonec, is gilded bronze statue dating back to the beginning of the 2nd century depicting a wealthy man wearing folded toga. The statue was part of sepulchral monument from the burial ground in front of the northern gate of Emona, now Ljubljana. The replica of Emonec is today located in Zvezda Park, near the Congress Square. The original is in the Slovenian National Museum.
It’s been one of those mornings, when light is bright and garden is still calm, like enveloped in the mist of the night just passed and the blossoms of colorful flowers appear after the dark of the night to celebrate the day. Complete solitude is needed to enter the code of color world, walking down the garden feels like entering trough portals of eternal beauty. Picking flowers for a bouquet is a meditative task and as I’ve been picking the first peonies of the season I’ve remembered how happy I’ve been planting these pale pink peonies and how long have I waited before thy started to blossom. Their sweet scent of early summer each June gives me joy and makes me want to paint them in all their gorgeous beauty, so fragile and short lived, but year after year appearing in the corner of the garden, near a small Japanese maple.
This canvas was made after a photo of mine, taken the same year. It was spring, I remember, as I visited Udine with my husband. I can still see the bright day it was as we crossed the market in the old town. Always attracted by beautifully arranged vegetables, fruits, I was taking some pics. As I saw these artichokes I got stuck by the gorgeous colors. How widely had someone put them on display on the bright electric blue vinyl cloth, just to accentuate the herbaceous greens and pinks of the first artichokes of the season!
Summer Bouquet, oil on canvas was painted in summer 2019.
Which I particularly love about the summers is the abundance of flowers in the garden. I usually like to have a morning stroll around the flower beds, see what is new and pick some flowers for the bouquet. Sometimes I would bring a twig from the forest or use some weeds picked among the flowers to put among the bouquet flowers.
And it is at that time that I already see the new painting I am going to paint. Although the hard work begins from that moment on, for a painting to be finished in situ questions have to be answered, one by one. Composition, colors, accents, textures…yet the best occurs when during work flow problems get solved by themselves. Itbis that type of painting when brush seems to paint on its own, yet the painting proceeds to the best possible direction. Which needs a lot of former study and hard work to be accomplished before even starting the canvad, yet is the most rewarding and happy moment for the painter.
And this canvas is among those painted seemingly by itself. Giving me the joy of creation I worked on it during last summer. The size is big enough that looking at it one gets immediately the same feeling as if the real bouquet would be in the room, wrapping our senses in the song of summer colors and shapes……..
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