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| Taps by Marian Fortunati |
This post is related to art...
but rather tangently. When my Dad passed away earlier this year, he
left me pretty bereft. Of course I knew he had a great long and happy
life, but he was my mentor, my friend and my connection to all that
was. Anyway, over the last few months I've been visiting the home he
built and in which I grew up because I need to clean it out so that we
can rent it. I'm sure many of you have experienced this difficult task,
but this time it's mine.
Dad had a lot. Trying to decide what to keep, who might want something, what might be of value got me to thinking about values. Some things are valuable because they are worth money. Some things are valuable because they mean something. Some things are valuable because they relate to other things of value. Well as happens lately, my mind began to wander. Value is a word which automatically conjures up a certain meaning to an artist which is unique and which doesn't usually mean the same thing to a non-artist. But just as in art all values are relative. In my art journey I've learned that it's the relative value of a mass that is important. That's why we try to mass in the main values and cover a canvas early to convey the relative values and establish a composition. When looking at the value of the THINGS in Dad's house... all values are relative also.... relative to me or to my kids or my husband ... relative to monetary value... to memory.
Today I cleaned out closets and took bagloads of clothing, blankets and other things to the Good Will. But I brought home some artwork. It's probably not of value monetarily, but these pieces were created by long-gone family friends and convey meaning and VALUE to me. There are a whole houseload of things that are of no value to most people but which I cannot give to the Good Will or throw away. They are memories of my Dad and my Mom. What to do. -- All values are relative.
The painting above, which I titled "Taps" was created using muted values that were meant to convey a solemn mood at sundown rather than the brilliant more festive sunsets I often paint. Sometimes solemn is a good thing.
I've been painting and framing and trying to decide what paintings will look best for my upcoming show. I had many nice paintings already, but wanted the majority of the work in the show to be fresh.
This is one of 35 paintings that will be hung my one woman show, "One Lucky Artist at Gale's Restaurant"
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Dad had a lot. Trying to decide what to keep, who might want something, what might be of value got me to thinking about values. Some things are valuable because they are worth money. Some things are valuable because they mean something. Some things are valuable because they relate to other things of value. Well as happens lately, my mind began to wander. Value is a word which automatically conjures up a certain meaning to an artist which is unique and which doesn't usually mean the same thing to a non-artist. But just as in art all values are relative. In my art journey I've learned that it's the relative value of a mass that is important. That's why we try to mass in the main values and cover a canvas early to convey the relative values and establish a composition. When looking at the value of the THINGS in Dad's house... all values are relative also.... relative to me or to my kids or my husband ... relative to monetary value... to memory.
Today I cleaned out closets and took bagloads of clothing, blankets and other things to the Good Will. But I brought home some artwork. It's probably not of value monetarily, but these pieces were created by long-gone family friends and convey meaning and VALUE to me. There are a whole houseload of things that are of no value to most people but which I cannot give to the Good Will or throw away. They are memories of my Dad and my Mom. What to do. -- All values are relative.
The painting above, which I titled "Taps" was created using muted values that were meant to convey a solemn mood at sundown rather than the brilliant more festive sunsets I often paint. Sometimes solemn is a good thing.
I've been painting and framing and trying to decide what paintings will look best for my upcoming show. I had many nice paintings already, but wanted the majority of the work in the show to be fresh.
This is one of 35 paintings that will be hung my one woman show, "One Lucky Artist at Gale's Restaurant"
The reception is on September 30th from 4-6. You would honor me if you could come!
AND....
Tomorrow I leave for another Channel Islands Painting Adventure with David Gallup and 26 other fabulous artists!! I'm so excited!
I'll be writing a lot about it in my upcoming newsletter.
If you'd like to see photos and read a bit about our adventures on Santa Barbara, Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz Islands, sign up to receive my free email newsletter:
http://marianfortunati.com/email-newsletter
Tomorrow I leave for another Channel Islands Painting Adventure with David Gallup and 26 other fabulous artists!! I'm so excited!
I'll be writing a lot about it in my upcoming newsletter.
If you'd like to see photos and read a bit about our adventures on Santa Barbara, Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz Islands, sign up to receive my free email newsletter:
http://marianfortunati.com/email-newsletter
All of us artists are in a pirate mode on the boat...
Forget the rules... just have fun and paint!
Arrrrrrr!!!!
Forget the rules... just have fun and paint!
Arrrrrrr!!!!
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