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From the Glorious Rhythm of Life

Observation is a key ingredient in creating art that reflects the beauty of our natural world. It is often easier to work from photographs and masterful artists have done so for a long time. But hands down, the most visual information is available to us from life itself. The nuances of light, the vibrancy of color, the atmospheric conditions, the three-dimentionality of what we see is available most dramatically from “life.” A Still Life set up, an outdoor panorama or some kind soul who will sit patiently for a portrait are all examples of painting “from life.”

Observation Rock and Echo Rock (Photo credit: brewbooks)

The two-dimensional nature of a photograph does some of our brain work already. Photographs are wonderful and I use them a lot myself. But in painting or drawing “from life” our brains have the exercise of translating the three-dimensional world onto a two-dimensional canvas or paper. Someone in my last class likened drawing from life to algebra in the way the brain worked to complete an equation – and it is so true. We approach our canvas with a multiplicity of variable ingredients and seek to make a convincing equation from the visual information. It’s push ups for the brain and ultimately the means for the most stunning art work.

In a spiritual application, life can be lived like a photograph – safe, standoff-ish, still and at a distance. Or, in this comparison, “from life” – vibrantly, whole-heartedly, in the fray, in the stuff, in the glorious rhythm where everything is seen and felt and experienced to the core.

Jesus said,

I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

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Beauty and Excellence in the Arts

My beautiful daughter at four years was the subject.

“Art is our human response to whatever we see as beautiful.”
– Luci Shaw in For the Beauty of the Church

As human beings we are drawn to beauty, we are attracted to excellence. The Arts – music, dance, drama, poetry (and other literary arts), visual arts (drawing, painting, digital, sculpture, to name a few) film, and architecture, and the list goes on – all hinge on these aspects of excellence and beauty. We often hear things like “anything can be art,” but this is not accurate. There are skills to be learned and standards to be obtained just as there are in any other learning field! The artist that learns to create beauty with excellence, like an Olympic athlete, does so by discipline, determination and practice. Inspiration fits in there somewhere, but it is not nearly as high on the list as the others. But when someone is moved by something that the artist creates – it is worth all the effort!

The ballet dancer practices the beautiful lines of the body until his or her feet have paid a high price. The writer struggles hours upon end for sometimes just a few words crafted in just the right way to express something profound. The painter labors through many canvases, sometimes painting one on top of the other (for economy’s sake) until they have learned to communicate visually at a level of satisfaction.

Beauty is hard work. Michelangelo said:

If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all.

But of course we know what Michelangelo did not. And that is that all his hard work in creating beauty has blessed the world for hundreds of years, and although it did not seem wonderful at the time – it truly was and is wonderful beyond words.

Creating beauty in the arts is worth the investment of time, learning and skill. For if someone else is moved by our work and it causes them to look up and see a higher purpose in it all, then beauty has served it’s work.

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Art and Facebook

A detail of painting "Colour My World: features roses on a piano with music and a violin. — A detail of painting “Colour My World: features roses on a piano with music and a violin.

A new facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PennyFregeauArt . This is an updated page that has a gallery (photo) section, events and classes, links to blogs, social media and art-for-purchase sites. It also lists a blog for the nurture and care of creative souls. I believe everyone has creativity, for we are all made in God’s image. Thank you for your input, support and encouragement.

Pet Portraits. This is Mandy.

A portrait of our dog, Mandy, on our back porch

This is a portrait of a great dog we had named Mandy. Mandy came to us as a gift from some dear friends – the Delamarian’s. She was the cutest wooly ball of golden fluff with bright eyes and an affectionate nature. Mandy loved water. She would plop down in any puddle. When drinking water she would encircle the water bowl with her oversized paws and dunk her head in – no reservations.

For years Mandy, a full-sized golden retriever, did not realize that she could get over the rather low fence cut from a great redwood log that surrounded our huge Victorian home. She obediently stayed within the yard and loved most of all, like all golden’s do, to be close to her masters. Then one day she spied a low-lying pine tree that was right next to the fence in our backyard. She figured out that it made a convenient step to hop over the fence and be in the great outdoors. fortunately we were surrounded by farmlands, and so it was a safe discovery.

Then Mandy discovered something else. Gophers. She loved to hunt and chomped them down greedily. Crunch crunch, bones and all… yuck.

Our animals got along fairly well. In addition to Mandy there was Stormy the cat and a couple of happy ducks…fenced in happy ducks. While we were gone one afternoon, Stormy gave birth to five new kittens on the kitchen porch. When we arrived Mandy come to greet us with something small and gray. She held it in her hunter’s mouth in an usually soft manner. At first we thought, gopher. When we realized it might be a kitten, our hearts sank. Mandy was a good hunter, and this might be bad.

But somehow Mandy knew this kitten was different and she merely wanted to show us what was new at our house. She carefully returned the kitten back to her mother, with only a little extra slobber, for its journey in the jaws of the golden.

Mandy like all pets had a unique personality. When she was alert, she was all energy. When she was tired, she was totally and fully relaxed (like in this portrait). She was a loyal friend, and we have great memories.

A Simple Story of Hospital-ity

From the collection of David and Lisa Johnson

The painting is called Gevalia Kaffee, after the coffee company porcelain container. The Still Life scene is located in the formal dining room of an old Victorian bungalow home we used to own. The elements tell a story of hospitality – coffee for two, cream and sugar, a rose to add some visual beauty. You are invited to come sit a spell, sip the hot brew and share some life with a listening friend.

Aristotle said:

The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.

Portrait of Aristoteles. Pentelic marble, copy of the Imperial Period (1st or 2nd century) of a lost bronze sculpture made by Lysippos. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Art is a language – a universal one. Through art’s expression we can tell a story – some simple, and much more. Art is also a reflection of the way one views their world. Like a tatoo, there is usually a lot of thought that goes into selecting or creating something visual that represents what is meaningful to us. Ultimately, art is a partnership. I like this quote by Andre Gide.

Art is a collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does the better.

Amen!

A Masculine Still Life

There’s much more in a Still Life than a few objects painted on a canvas. Still Life paintings give opportunity for both visual enjoyment and symbolism to communicate a message to the viewer.

In this Still Life composition we see the eye is continually drawn back to the pipe resting on the deep blue velvet draped material. Notice how the folds of the fabric, the nutcracker, the brass scoop in the walnuts, the pipe stem and the handles of the glazed pottery and pewter lamp all draw the eye back to the middle and down the pipe.

In designing a living space I like to take into account the individuals who live within the home. The thought is that each person should be represented when someone views the home. Is it obvious from the furnishings and the art whom occupies this house? If there is a married couple in the home, does the space look comfortable for both men and women?

In this painting I wanted to accentuate some things that for me spoke of my husband as man of the house. The colors are masculine – deep rich tones. The pipe belonged to my husbands father. One of the ways my husband would help me is to crack walnuts as he was watching sports events, and so you see they are represented here. A pewter lamp was a wedding gift to us from his son. The metal elements symbolize physical strength, something I have really appreciated about my man as he helped build our home. Yet the velvet is a fabric that can be gentle and tough at the same time. I believe there is a song lyric from Leader of the Band (by Dan Fogelberg) that speaks of a thundering velvet hand as referring to his father’s compassionate discipline. My husband would be described as such a man. Can you tell how much I respect him? I do. And so, paintings, in their symbolism, can say many things.

Color Theory Comes to Light in the Shadows

Bodie, from the collection of Matt and Denise Warren

Around 1987 or 1988 I began studying with a very talented and knowledgable colorist painter named Jim Faber. He explained to us the Impressionistic theories of color and light.

The Impressionists brought about a new way of looking at art and life. These artists came out of the studio into the light of day and made some revolutionary observations in the way artists interpreted the natural world and expressed their findings on canvas. The art world has never been the same. There were scientific studies on color and light and how light defined form. The myriad of prismatic effects that light produced on everyday objects also brought about the startling revelation that there was much color and visual drama going on even in shadows. Formerly shadows were often dulled or darkened versions of the local color of the object being painted. Under close scrutiny it was discovered that there are actually many colors existing in the shadows, and emphasizing those visual realities made for a much more vibrant, yet believable, canvas.

On the painting of Bodie (above), I put this colorist theory to practice in intermingling many colors in the shadows as well as the light.

Faber would repeat often, what one knows, scientifically, to be true (that all color is in light), one can act upon and add to and even accentuate within a painting. Therefore when one looks closely at an Impressionistic painting or a painting built upon this color theory, one can see the juxtaposition of many colors in a very pleasing harmony – even in the shadows.

As for a spiritual application of this principle, I can attest to the fact that there is much spiritual activity going on even in the shadowed times of our lives. As we follow the Lord, we may have dark valleys of time when it seems that our prayers are not being answered and we feel like we are in the dark. Yet God continues to work when we sense He is active, and when we cannot feel His presence, as if we are in the shadows. Sometimes the colors resulting from the shadows, although a darker hue, add a richness and vibrancy that a painting of all light could not compare. Much in life truly comes to light when we look closely in the shadows.

Some hearts, like evening primroses, open more beautifully in the shadows of life. – Mrs. Charles E. Cowman, Streams in the Desert

How Time Flies!

A self-portrait of my daughter and I when she was a little girl. Time flies.

We say it often. Time flies. As I restart my art career after fifteen years of ministry I look back at my “first generation art” with memories of that time. My little girl enriched my life in so many ways. Now she is all grown up. In many ways her upbringing helped form the path that God laid out for me. When she started toddling around I switched from painting with oils with the need for turpentine to water based acrylics. It seemed like a safer option. When she started school we became involved with her education and helped found a private Christian school that specialized in the arts (she has some real talent on stage!). That was my start into ministry. And when that chapter closed, I again get to enjoy making new memories with my paintbrush. Time flies.

Commissioning A Painting or Mural

Art often ties us to a memory. The most requested commissioned paintings are of one’s loved ones. A painting is created with time-tested materials that can last for centuries. A work of art is meant to last for generations. Whether the painting captures a special moment, is a formal portrait, or is in memory of one that is missed, a painting makes an indelible statement.

Working with individuals who want to honor someone special by commissioning a painting is a pleasure. So Email Nehemiah’s Art with your thoughts, dreams, and ideas, and together let’s work on something unique that could inspire and last for generations.

Prices vary depending on the theme’s complexity and the time involved in completing the painting. Commissions start in the $400 range for a single subject on a 16″ x 20″ unframed canvas.

Email Nehemiah’s Art

I Am Still Learning!

The Fortuna Drawing Class works on individual projects while enjoying the company of each other.

On the last evening of my last Drawing Class we talked about having the attitude of a life-long learner. Yes, with each day I am still learning in so many areas! Having the attitude of a learner takes a lot of the pressure off those of us who can be too hard on ourselves and our artwork, trying to compete in a world that is hyper-visual. Images are everywhere, but there is great value in learning to create images the old-fashioned, time-honored way – with a pencil and paper. Don’t get me wrong, I like all kinds of artwork, “hand-made” and “digital.” I do them both! But the learning curve with that simple pencil and paper trains the brain in a very significant way. There are no techniques, ‘happy accidents’ or special effects to divert our attention…it is simply practice and learning…practice and learning…discipline, practice and learning!

Having the attitude of a learner means that when an artistic idea or experiment doesn’t pan out, I don’t get bummed. I learn what not to do. Or I learn how to refine a process or change something or “go back to the drawing board.” Hey, what an appropriate cliché made more meaningful!

When we think about life and consider ourselves life long learners, we can acknowledge that “God is God and I am not”, and I am just here to learn what He wants me to do as He supplies the purpose and direction in my life. If I am a learner than all of life is a classroom and I can anticipate each day with a hopeful expectation. I am still learning!

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