SUBJECT MATTER - WHAT TO PAINT

"The Desert Rose" © J. Licsko '10   oil on canvas

I have often said I prefer people look at what I paint rather than how I paint. Frequently, the curse of the realist painter is observers notice the craftsmanship over the content. 

When I started painting many years ago, my first objective was to try to recreate what I saw. There is no better way to develop painting and drawing skills than copying an image from life or from photographs. The goal is to teach oneself to see, while simultaneously developing eye-hand coordination. I chose subjects that had some appeal to me and naively thought that I was making art. It wasn't until much later that I was told by a trusted authority that I had to find my own voice.

That comment threw me into a creative tailspin. We all know that the harder one looks for something the more elusive it becomes. After four years of earnest searching, I started to understand the difference between what I had thought was art, and what my authentic creative self could make as a unique contribution to the general stream of art. Looking back, I now have a respect for the frustratingly painful years of self exploration and doubt, because all the while the craft progressed. When I finally recognized my own voice, I had better skills to express it.

Knowing what to paint starts with knowing oneself. In earlier posts,  Fifteen Rules for Courting the Artist's Muse, The Reluctant Muse, and a Lesson From My Muse, I have given methods and examples of how I recognized genuine inspiration that was uniquely important to me. By listening to our inner selves, we find the universal truths that can be appreciated by others, and also the fuel for creativity.

My painting "The Desert Rose" was inspired by a vacation I took earlier this year with my mother. She, being from a northern climate, was searching for warmth and sun. Palm Desert was the place she yearned for. While lounging around the pool, sipping Margaritas, I couldn't help but notice the contrast between the younger and the older woman. Making no conscious attempt, asleep, and oblivious to the attention she was getting from the men at the bar, the young woman was the focal point. At the same time, I admired the mature woman who has made a life long commitment to her femininity. The advantage of fresh skin has been replaced with jewelry, symbols of her lifetime of accumulated personal power. While I am not actually in the image, I discovered while painting it that I am caught somewhere in between my two subjects. I am reminded that the road between the two is a short one.

A CAUSE FOR "CELEBRATION"

"Celebration"
© J. Licsko 2010
60"x60"
oil o canvas


As mentioned in a previous post "Painting Glass", I live in the Paso Robles wine county, where the win-win collaboration of art and wine is reaching new heights. If you haven't been to Paso Robles in the last couple of years, I encourage you to visit. We have a new annual art festival. The new Studios on the Park, showcases the studios of nearly twenty working artists. The "Studios" building also houses the Paso Robles Art Association's new "Showroom Gallery" where shows change at least every five weeks. The quality of life on the "Central Coast" has pulled many nationally recognized  artists to make their homes here.  Overall, the quality of art is very good, as is the wine. Almost all art events, and fundraisers, are accompanied by an opportunity to taste a local vintner's best wines. Artists hang shows in tasting rooms, vintners pour at art openings. Both groups are frequent donors to fundraising events.

Photo: © Elvis Kokopelli

Thank you - Thank you very much!!!

Perhaps the best loved, and most effective celebration of human generosity is the Central Coast Wine Classic Foundation based nearby in Avila Beach. This non-profit organization raises funds and has bestowed grants totaling $1,370,025 to 62 non-profits in the last six years alone. This year I attended the 26th annual auction. It was fun to watch auction patrons magnanimously bidding for paintings, trips, rare wines, a Lexus, even four places as guests of Emeril Lagasse at his popular Carnivale du Vin. Thanks to superb organization, great volunteers, a good time was had by all, and many worthy projects will get the funding they been hoping for.

"Celebration" is from my series that have been inspired by the social side of wine, the enjoyment of wine. With glass in hand, it is easy to become entranced by the reflections of light on the glass, the elegant shapes of the bottles and stemmed glasses, the rich reds, and subtle tints of the whites. Painting glass and wine together opens up an opportunity for prismatic color, and abstract compositions, seen best when they are painted large. At five feet by five feet, "Celebration" is my largest canvas to date. 

I am very pleased to have had my painting included in CCWC's 2010 auction, and to be invited back for 2011. My experience was gratifying from beginning to end. 

Receiving Inspiration

"Girls Night Out"
© J. Licsko 03
12" x 9" oil on canvas







Visual artists often find the inspiration they need by exposing themselves to music, film, dance, literature and other mediums of expression. These different arts can lift us emotionally, and although we may not reflect the source in our work, the exposure often charges our batteries. We return to our work nourished and freshened.

I was invited to vacation with my mother in Las Vegas recently. The purpose was to wind down, do a little shopping, and enjoy our mother-daughter time together relaxing in the sun. I admit to previously judging Vegas as a little too plastic, too make believe. By the fourth day of this trip, I started to see Las Vegas in a different, more positive light, through more open eyes. Las Vegas can teach us a lot about creativity, promotion, and marketing.

We artists, create something of ourselves, for ourselves. We hope that it also will be desired by others. Las Vegas is a highly successful collective creation, and masterful at the art of seduction. Las Vegas knows its identity, makes no apologies, knows its target audience, caters to what it wants, and introduces its audience to new wants. Artists should know themselves, accept themselves, and search for the audience that both wants their work, and will support it.

In successful paintings, the eye is drawn from place to place by line; painters choose and arrange forms, lines, and textures composing the right balance to please the eye, and keep keep the viewer's eye on the painting .

Visualizing "The Strip" as a canvas, the relative ease of travel on the surface streets and freeways, impressed on me that the city designers are artists in what they do. Architectural forms must work within their layout. The Strip architecture ranges from crass midway style, to the sophistication of the Wynn Tower, but it all works together, and when seen from afar, it makes a strong, identifiable statement. A jumble of themes and styles come together on many layers. Shapes and strokes of color create an appealing patina, strengthened by daring compositions.

As if the desert sun alone isn't enough of a light source, it is enhanced by the equally powerful, endlessly moving, advertising light show. The variety, intensity, and volume is almost too much for the senses. These lights call us, offering a pleasing mosaic of images that represent the always changing, yet always distinct identity of Las Vegas.

A+ to famed architect Frank Gehry's design of the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health building. I see this as Frank Gehry's gift to the right brained of the world. Best seen during the side-angled light of early morning or sunset, it is absolutely wonderful!

A good place to get a sense of scale, the Hoover Dam itself is worth the trip, but the ongoing construction of the new Hoover Dam Bypass, is truly awesome. The longest concrete arch in North America, the graceful design illustrates "less is more" driving home the painting lesson: "know when to quit". Both structures reinforce reverence for human ability. The two angel statues on the Nevada side of the dam are the strikingly elegant "Winged Figures" by sculptor Oskar Hansen, put in place in 1935. Realists will fully appreciate sculptor Steven Liguori's work "High Scaler" and his ability to make us feel the weight of the man and the tension of the ropes.

In the old days of art, the patron was essential, or little great art would have been funded. The combination of the patron, Steve Wynn, and the creator, Franco Dragone, results in Le Reve, a multi-faceted work of art. The synergy created from hundreds of individual artists and technicians elevates and transforms the show's audience. Each performer brings aesthetics, intelligence, perseverance, and the infectious joy of doing what one loves. The nature of the physical work these young artists do, results in truly flawless physical specimens, both male and female. The choreography assembles these perfect forms into ideal compositions, every angle well thought out and executed as in the finest painting. Colors by the millions saturated my cells. The lighting, spectacular beyond description, lit both artist and audience, melding us together. For ninety minutes we were transported, in awe of the vision, the setting, the music. The energy generated by the performers, and their dedication to perfection, is an achievement worth respect, and a testament to teamwork.

If you are thinking there are better shows, you've missed my point. Any show, painting, building, bridge is successful when all the needed elements come together at the right time, in accord with the vision. Though not necessarily painters, Las Vegas is abundant with artists at the top of their game. Their energy feeds me.

I am once again reminded of the heights mankind is capable of, and that it is my duty, my privilege, and to my benefit to support it when I am able. Dipping my psyche into the pool of dreams and illusion, I surfaced feeling revitalized. I return, and like the angel statues at the Hoover Dam, whose toes are polished from continuous human touch, all my nerve endings are polished a little. I am receptive. I am inspired.