Most of my studio time in March has been taken up by the "Sonnets in
colour" series – an attempt to translate into a painting each of 154
Shakespeare sonnets. I plan to start sharing the beginning of this
series in mid-April, when twelve of them are complete.
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| Flowers "after Mondrian". 14"×11", Oil on linen, 2012 |
I will probably remember this March, however, for an interesting
experiment, undertaken in-between the sonnet paintings (albeit directly
related to them). This experiment was inspired by "Mondrian Games"
initiated by Marie Helene Visconti on Google+: I painted a very specific
and individual bunch of flowers from life, while at the same time
keeping in the focus of my mind the geometric abstractions and primary
colours of mature Mondrian. I believe every artist must experience and
deal with a tension between individual visual impressions and
abstraction demanded by painting; the experiment I set up for myself
brought this tension to an almost unbearable degree: the alive flowers
before me simultaneously submitted to and enriched the geometric
structures; it was like trying to find a balance with a heavy weight in
one hand and a thin glass in another.
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| Flowers. 10"×10", Oil on linen, 2012 |
These two floral paintings represent two approaches to this
experiment. The still life with a sketchbook below is an attempt to integrate
the insights obtained in the course of this experiment into my work in
general.
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| Still life with my sketchbook.
14"×11".
Oil on linen. 2012 |
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