Inspiring Words, Recovered

"Dusk Colors"
(c) Martha Armstrong, 2014

Years ago, I attended an "Artist's Talk" by Martha Armstrong, at Elder Gallery in Charlotte. I don't know exactly why I set aside the time to attend the presentation that morning, but I do know that I went away totally inspired. Martha was so down to earth, and she said so many things that really resonated with me. She talked about her perceptual approach to painting, and her words really hit home. This was long before I even knew what the term "perceptual painting" meant, and long before I tapped into that approach as my preferred approach to painting.

"View from Peter's"
10 x 16, Oil on Canvas
(c) Martha Armstrong

I scribbled some notes, and tried to write down word for word Martha's remarks that meant the most to me. And then I lost the notes!! Many times over the years I have searched for the notes from Martha's talk, as if finding them would unlock the key to some painting struggle that I was experiencing. 

"Lines of Light"
Oil on Canvas, 30 x 48
(c) Martha Armstrong

Well, dear Readers, I found the notes this week! Tucked inside of a monograph on Monet. On pages from my 2010 Daytimer. So it's been a while. But the words are no less inspiring eight years later. I am illustrating this post with Martha's paintings, and am sharing a few of my favorite quotes from her talk. If you are so inclined, you can also read a wonderful interview with Martha on the Painting Perceptions blog here. 

"In painting, the motivation isn't to get a representation, but rather to bear witness to the act

of seeing."

"Cedar Trees, Umbria"
Oil on Canvas, 20 x 24
(c) Martha Armstrong

"I repeat the same subject over and over. I want to get to know it. It's like a piece of music that you want to play again and again."

"When my granddaughter said that my drawings didn't look like flowers, I replied 'They're NOT flowers--they are DRAWINGS!'"

"Apples and Maple with Post 3"
Oil on Canvas,  5 x7
(c) Martha Armstrong

"Remember the words of Freud: 'Our senses are to the eye as intuition is to the Id.'"