As much as I love words and language, I wince when I see the words "myriad" or "plethora" in places like community newspaper columns.For example: "A plethora of events await you this weekend at the Children's Festival" or "A myriad of reasons make dining an adventure at the Bing Choi Bistro." Double-checking definitions, I can say with confidence that either word means so vastly abundant as to be uncountable; infinite/infinity...for lack of a better word. So these words in the "Features" section are not only pretentious but misused.
And how did things suddenly become "multiple"? The labelling on our
cat litter bag says: "Ideal for households with multiple cats." Whatever happened to "several", "many", "more than a few," or even "a lot of"?
I shouldn't complain. After all, a whole lotta stuff has been happening in my studio lately. You might have noticed that I have a tendency to pack a Plethora of Patterns (was that a lisp?) and Multiple Objects into my paintings. As I worked on "Channelling Matisse," I was struck by how almost every square inch of his original painting was covered with pattern -- and struck too by how much this appealed to me.
I decided I'd push my inclination to the limits with a painting that would indeed be comprised almost entirely of pattern. As I assembled interesting things, I couldn't resist one of the two pottery jars my photo-artist friend gave me a year ago. Citing their delightful embossed labels she said, "Here's all you need for your painting -- 'Time' and 'Stuff.'"
I borrowed the "Stuff" jar from its usual role as a brush holder and suddenly put two and two -- or one and one -- together: With an antique watch from my mother's stash, I had the painting's theme and title: "Time and Stuff."
Other artists have had the same impulse to work with pattern. As I refreshed the reproductions I like to post in my studio, I happened on a painting featured years ago in a calendar from "The Artist" magazine. I'll show just a small section of this painting that really set me off -- with regrets that I didn't make note of the artist's name:
And take a look at contemporary artist Janet Fish, and my long-time favourite Vuillard , the latter shown here with a section of one of his richly patterned interiors:
So I set to work, and it certainly took a whole lotta time. Here's the outcome, which can be viewed in its verrrry long evolution here. (I didn't even try to caption these -- set it on "Slide Show" and let 'er rip). (You'll also see what happens when lovely gifts enter my sphere -- the enchanting packet of Laotian green tea and the Renowned Chef's fabulous knitted bag and scarf.
As usual, once I've finished a painting, I hold a small vernissage for my original and favourite champion. As we enjoy a morning snack or pre-dinner glass of wine, he nods appreciatively and receives for all his encouragement a small souvenir of the event -- usually my little colour plan (shown above, with this post's title) for use as a bookmark. This time, he also received for his exclusive consumption, the green tea from Laos (but not the hand-painted green packet which goes home to the studio.)
