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A Note from the Artist
My intention is not to try to find a deep connection with the history of Impressionism in America, but rather to define what I think it can mean today. Some current concerns may match up with old ones, but the vital point is how we are trying to see with paint, today. It is about seeing after all, and from my experience, an impression is all we will ever see. There is no permanent or fully rational experience there to hold on to.
Impressionism has always been associated with the expression of light through a heightened palette, famously made possible with the advent of new pigments and the early scientific study of the spectrum. Largely a French innovation, American artists adopted these new ideas eagerly, but were generally more reluctant to abandon drawing and structure to the same extent. The present has brought new influences as the interest in plein air and other forms of representational painting rises. The American school of Abstract Expressionism has left a certain appreciation for paint itself, and now digital photography and image manipulation have introduced new notions of how an image can be interpreted in terms of light. I will avoid the temptation to label other painters, but it is not hard to look around and see a large group of artists working with these ideas, old and new, in one way or another.
My own approach is built on the idea of fusing drawing and color. Philip de Laszlo said, "All my drawing is painting". That was a key insight for me as I finally realized that these two activites were not seperate. Many experiments with palettes led me to understand how to use pure color to respond to form. I see with the color I select and through the process of mark making, I realize the form in terms of colored light. Cezanne said, " Each stroke has its own perspective". This insight helped me understand that painting is the shaping of colored planes. The appearence of visible reality can be interpreted in Art as a conjunction of colored planes which reflect upon each other. This is more than a theory. It is a direct and useful technique. It results in an impression of reality, seen as a shimmering field of light. It can appear as concrete as you like or diffuse into lost edges. It can be handled broadly or you can achieve sharp focus. It is the same process.
Two more great insights from the masters; "A painting is, primarlily, the conjunction of colored planes", Giotto, Circa 1300 amazingly! And from Hawthorne, paraphrasing a bit, " It is the coming together of the spots of color that makes the form, that draws the thing". These are the ideas from which I derive my notion of a New American Impressionism. It is almost incidental that I also have a taste for subject matter that has charm and strong decorative value. While there is a strong connection with the subjects of past Impressionist painters, I think the approach is the heart of the matter, not the content.
Looking forward, I hope to deepen my grasp of these principles and create increasingly direct and inciteful paintings. Subject matter is everywhere light startles us with its beautiful effects.
Sam Robinson, 2008 |
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