Studios Around the World

 

Table in Cezanne's studio, Aix-en-Provence

Paul Cezanne, Still Life with Fruit Dish

Faithful readers know that I am fascinated by painters' studios. I suspect that even non-painters share this fascination.  It's especially intriguing to visit "preserved" studios of some of the greats from decades (or centuries!) past. If you know an artist's body of work, seeing his or her studio brings a shock of the familiar. What art lover could possibly visit the studio of Cezanne in Aix-en-Provence (seen above), and not recognize  objects from his wonderful still lifes? 

I'm not the only one fascinated by studios and props.  The photographer Joel Meyerowitz has published an entire book dedicated to close ups of the objects in Cezanne's studio.  And that's not all--he also has a book featuring the objects in Giorgio Morandi's studio in Bologna.  Some day I am going to Bologna  to see the studio in person!

Paul Cezanne, "Still Life with Plaster Cupid"

Not that anybody's going to be writing a book about me anytime soon--but I have my own cherished collection of studio props.  The wonky silver-plate teapot from a Maine flea market, the bulbous vase that's shaped a lot like one Morandi had, and of course a full complement of blue and white Chinese export ginger jars (some authentic, some fake).  It's fun to get to know them all, as I observe them very carefully during painting.

Lesley's Objects

I'm closing with a list of artists' studios I have enjoyed visiting, and some that are on my wish list.  If you share the fascination, check them out below. Even those that are reconstructed (noted below) are very evocative.  Each name below is linked to more detailed info, if you care to click on it. Happy touring!

PARIS:  Alberto Giacometti (reconstruction)

                        Antoine Bourdelle  (original)

                        Jean-Jacques Henner (reconstruction)

BOLOGNA: Giorgio Morandi (original)

MADRID:  Joaquin Sorolla (original)

AMSTERDAM:  Rembrandt (virtual tour here) (reconstruction of interior, in original sturcture)

Fast is Fine

 

Faithful readers know that quotations are sprinkled liberally throughout this blog. Some are worth revisiting, and this is one:

"Fast is fine,

but accuracy is final.

You must learn

to be slow in a hurry."

The words are attributed to none other than the famous gunslinger of the Wild West, Wyatt Earp. You can imagine what he meant when he said that accuracy was "final". 

This quote seems especially instructive in the context of plein air painting. When painting outdoors, many things (light, clouds, temperature) are constantly changing, and the painter has to work fast. But being fast is not enough--the painter must also get the right colors, in the right shapes, in the right places on the canvas. It's always a eureka moment when you put down just the right stroke of paint--it works!--and you can lay it and leave it. That's what I'd call accuracy in painting.

"Quiet Hamlet"
12 x 8, Oil on Linen
(c) Lesley Powell
(SOLD)

But how do we achieve that accuracy? By being "slow in a hurry". It's a great example of a paradox--it appears to make no sense, but it actually holds a powerful truth. While working very  quickly, the painter must still take time to look deeply, to analyze what he sees, to compare each color to the next.  In other words, he must slow down enough to make careful decisions, but still work at a hurried pace. Doing things quickly isn't very helpful if you're not doing the right things!

"Atmospheric Hills"
7 x 14, Oil on Linen
(c) Lesley Powell 2019
(Available)

And how do you go "slow in a hurry"? I suspect it has  to do with sustained practice--repeating certain challenges so often that the approaches to them become second nature. Such practice allows us to develop painting skills that become almost instinctual. They become part of our artistic DNA. They can be summoned in an instant.  When we slow down to make the decision about the next brushstroke, the decision can be taken relatively quickly. And the entire series of decisions can be made in a hurry. And so we "go slow in a hurry".  A useful goal to keep in mind.

"Paris Pont"
10 x7, Oil on Carton
(c) Lesley Powell 2019
(SOLD)

I'm illustrating this post with a few favorite plein air paintings from my archives.  These are the miraculous ones  that came together completely in the field, and required no adjustments back in the studio. Final!

21st Century Reducing Glass

 

Photo: Ewan McClure

I have written previously about the reducing glass (pictured above).  It is the opposite of a magnifying glass--it can be held up to a painting to reduce a large area to a small view.  The idea is that is helps you see the work as a whole, in one glance, rather than getting caught up in details.  The reducing glass has been an artist's tool for decades (maybe centuries?).

Photo: Art Apprentice Online

Now along comes the smart phone, complete with digital camera.  There are a lot of apps that painters can use on their phones, from value finders to composition grids and more.  Personally, I don't use any of those.  But I do use the camera on my iPhone as a modern day reducing glass.  One quick click, and a 30 x 40 inch painting appears on the phone as a 2 inch image.  Quite amazing, really.  Check out how it works with the two images below.

It is astonishing what you can learn when your painting is reduced to a thumbnail size like this.  You can quickly see the major masses or shapes, and the overall pattern of lights and darks.  Those are the things that make or break a painting!  Yet so often we get caught up in drawing a tree or a fence that we lose track of the big picture.  Camera (aka "reducing glass") to the rescue! (There is a life lesson here.  Something about seeing the forest for the trees...).

And I might add:  how many times have I thought a painting was completed, but when I photographed it for my website, and looked at the image on a little digital screen, I saw a glaring problem?  Countless times!  Then it's always back to the easel.  I think we should all add the smart phone camera to our list of favorite studio tools...