Critique – Comment – Observation - Suggestion

 

I recently had the unpleasant experience to become involved in a senseless disagreement with a fellow artist defined as another person involved in the fellowship of painting and of art appreciation. I know now that I should never have engaged this person as the disagreement resulted in a very heated argument. I merely should have found their ignorance refreshing – however I threw that opportunity away and held my ground. Just one of those times I had to stand up and be counted. 

I belong to a web site that hundreds of artists belong to and show their work. It is sort of a learning experience in that there are all levels of participants, novice to professional. To me the object of the experience is to learn, receive feed back, give feed back and act or not act on that feed back received.  

Art (Beauty) certainly is in the eyes of the beholder and as we all have different tastes, the art I like may very well not be the art you like. In America, this falls under our God given freedoms, the same as freedom of expression and all those other freedoms that we as Americans enjoy. 

A fellow artist put up a self portrait onto the website and invited comments. I gave the painting some very nice feedback BUT---- did say that I felt the eyes could use some adjusting as they appeared to have a slight bulge to one in particular. My overall comment was “I think you have a winner here – nice work.” 

Another artist (who I now realize thinks they sit at the right hand of some famous artist --- I guess – or maybe it was Moses – I forget now,) wrote in and told me under no uncertain terms that because I was not a TRAINED PORTRAIT ARTIST I HAD NO RIGHT TO COMMENT OR TO CRITIQUE THE AFORE MENTIONED SELF PORTRAIT.

 I of course disagreed with this and after 8 pages of email (4 from the aggressor and 4 from the aggressed upon (that be me,) we agreed to agree to disagree and stay out of one another’s life. 

As I say this website is comprised of artists who fall within the full spectrum of abilities, talents, hopes and desires.  

I one time had a fellow artist tell me a portrait I had submitted for viewing looked like the subject had a “snot hanging from the nose!” Said half jokingly, but he was right and I got out my hankie and removed the SNOT. I learned from his comment, emailed him and thanked him for the feedback. 

So I guess we need to define the four terms in the above heading – we also need to define those terms as they relate to the mix of artists on the web site I talked about as compared to a critique of art work for say a MAJOR NATONAL EXHIBIT.  

 

 

PAINTING STYLE

A PERSONAL THING

 

My style is based on the emotions I feel about a particular scene at the time I’m painting that scene.   This holds true for a landscape or a still life, Plein Air or in the studio. Sometimes I see a scene as impressionistic or abstract or a combination of these styles. There are also those times when the brush and palette knife seems to have a mind of its own! 

Plein air normally provides me with a more playful and semi abstract-impressionistic style than does a studio piece. These paintings also produce fresher, more spontaneous colors and less detail, as I have to paint faster. 

I always have music playing when I paint in the studio, and the style of my studio paintings is always inspired by how the music I am listening to makes me feel. Some of my favorites are: vibrant and lively guitar by Esteban and Ottmar Liebert – the wonderful music and lyrics of Sugarland, brisk French Cafe music or Native American flute by R. Carlos Nakai. 

Simply stated---my style is dictated by what I’m feeling in the moment. 

I do study the techniques of painters whose work I admire – however I take these techniques and convert them into my artistic presentation within my own style. 

J. Richard Secor

Plein Air - Acrylic on Belgian Linen Canvas Panel. Brush and palette knife application. Oak Creek Canyon is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to. This is my interpretation of the reflections of all the beautiful colors with in the Canyon.

I read an article recently about making your acrylic paintings look like oil.  I'm working on this technique, which produces sort of what I call:
"almost blurred semi hazy scratchy look of rusticity."  WHEW that was a mouthfull!!  This is my description and in going to a lot of galleries over a lot of years, I always wondered how these landscape oil painters got "THAT LOOK!"  Now I know how to approximate "THAT LOOK" in acrylic and I like it.  I'm still perfecting it.

I seal my acrylic paintings with a non-removable GLOSS isolation coat - sometimes 2 coats.  This produces a nice gloss, as well as deepend the colors,and it allows the acrylic painting to be shown without glass over it.  This adds to the appearance of an oil painting.  I don't like the smell of oil paint or the toxic potential thereof.

I will be adding the painting to the Landscape Gallery soon.  It is called:
 
"EARLY SNOW - HIGH COUNTRY"

Let me know what you think of the technique.

J. Richard Secor

These are three terms that sometimes get mislabeled, confused and misunderstood as they relate to art.  Following is my definition of these terms:

To my mind, realism is the depiction of something, let's say an apple, by which the image is a perfect representation of an apple in every way shape, form, color etc: - looks good enough to take a bite out of!  Very similar to a photograph.

The same apple could be depicted in a form which gives the impression of an apple, but is not perfect in every way as was the apple expressed in realism.

This same apple could be depicted in an abstract form that might resemble the south end of a cow, yet the artist was projecting an apple!!!

I like to think of my paintings as impressionistic-realism.  To me, every painting is impressionism in that the subject being depicted is not mounted to the canvas, it is expressed by the artist - therefore it is an impression by the artist of the subject.

I also think a painting can be abstractly-impressionistic. 

I'm working on a painting now that looks like apples but in an abstract manner.

When in La Paz Mexico, I saw 9 apples neatly positioned on a platter in the hotel lobby and my mind immediately register - "Wow-a painting is there --- 9 Days of Health."  Of course this is based on the old adage of "An apple a day keeps the doctor away."  At my age, I like to buy apples by the BUSHEL!

When I finish the painting, I will post it on the web site.

J. R. Secor 

My paintings are created using the very best materials - triple acrylic gessoed 12 ounce gallery wrapped canvas and/or gessoed 300 LB Watercolor paper.  I use nothing but the higest quality professional acrylic paints and acid free materials.

My paintings can be sealed with a gloss isolation coating that is "NON REMOVABLE."  This is a procedure that is recommended by GOLDEN paint manufacturer.  This isolation coat eliminates the possibility of dust, water or liquid damage to the painting.  Acrylic is a water based paint!  The isolation coat also eliminates the need to cover the painting with glass, as this sealing procedure produces a surface that is impervious to the elements as with an oil painting.

This is a procedure that needs to be requested by the purchaser as it does leave the painting with a "GLOSS" finish very much like that of an oil painting.  The procedure takes time to do and several "drying days" before shipment can be made.  The cost for this ranges from $15 to $50 depending on the size of the painting.