Torrential rain again, raging in against the screen in my front window. "But at least it's not snow," we Vancouverites say to each other, as we huddle under umbrellas at bus stops and storefronts. Would I rather be somewhere else? Noooooo. But the thought balloons react spontaneously.
In fact, I *do* want to be right here, doing my own thing -- only constantly doing better. That's the goal. One plan, presented by those spontaneous thought balloons, is to return to a practice that proved useful in the on-line course I did in 2018:-- Choose my own subject and emulate the style of an artist I admire. And so, every few paintings, I'm going to add to my "Wannabe Series".
One of the artists I discovered for myself in the 2018 course was Ferdinand Hodler. My Swiss-born friend "Y" tells me, "Hodler's a bit of a joke in Switzerland," but I couldn't pin her down to a reason. She replied, "Oh, he's just so..." and then shrugged.
No matter. I really, really like him for his people paintings with the clearly stated outlines and simple background, such as this self-portrait:
In the on-line course, I modelled Hodler's style for a take-off on 20th-century photographer Richard Avedon.
And with Hodler on my mind as the first in the Wannabe Series, I came across a publicity photo of the perfect subject -- Otto Tausk, the music director of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
The painted outcome?
I have a theory that if I keep working, doing my own thing, studying artists I admire, the skies will begin to clear. There might be snow on the ground, it might be late in the day, but there will be mountains just visible in the distance, and I'll know I'm headed in the right direction.
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