It's true. I did feel very relaxed, sitting beside the empty skating rink at North Van's Shipyards, in the aftermath of a heavy rainfall. But that was mostly because, after dental work, I could again drink hot coffee. (Oh, she does go on about that, doesn't she?) As an example of whiteness, though, it might or might not have been beneficial for my eyes – the debate rages among manufacturers of LED lighting fixtures, depending on their products. Warm white! Cool white!
Whatever. My eyes certainly needed a little respite after dealing with all those Spectral Creatures in a series that I really should have planned more carefully.
It's a little as if they unleashed something – like books that I happen on in the library:
Random happenings that recall the perplexing question: What does violet really look like?
Just in time to decide what I'd do next, I had a bright idea. A very BIG one:
How about that for a lightbulb flash? As it happened, I'd read recently about the official and controversial Pantone Color of the Year – a very special white they call "Cloud Dancer."
This came along just as I was reviewing old notes and sketchbooks and came across a long-held inspiration to convene some famous "Girls in White Dresses." From my sketchbook list, I pulled Monet's "Woman with Parasol (Mme. Monet)" and "On the Strand at Trouville," Degas' "The Invalid," and Thayer's "Angel" – shown here on my laptop screen for your quick reference.
My intent was to group and "copy" these models, and there would certainly be challenges: How to put them together in a satisfying composition? How to offset each white dress, especially challenging when one might be placed against another? Well, here's a first step:
I kept hoping that, with each small colour addition, the way would become clear.
But it was here that I reached a decision point. It was time to invite a few more of these gals, give them their own panel, and treat the two panels together as a diptych. Here's a quick capture of the second group of white dresses: Whistler's "Symphony in White,"Liepke's "The Midnight Salon," Holbein's "Anna Meyer," and Toulouse-Lautrec's "The Hangover."
An early lay-in:
A little more development brought this to the stage where I could decide which panel of the diptych would be which (right or left).
The possibilities were:
I chose the first alignment, worked a little more, and then came the deep sigh that means……now what???
Okay, for the last act, I decided to let loose with pattern, the design element that always makes me feel better, whether or not it looks better. Here's the grand finale, with the two panels side by side:
It's all been a learning experience, right? The influential 19th-20th century art dealer Ambroise Vollard wrote, "Renoir said once that nothing was so difficult to paint, and at the same time so exciting, as white on white."
I'll keep that in mind if I ever try this again. For now, I'll briefly hold the thought that simple can be better than complex. The week after the marvelous huge lightbulb gave me too many ideas, a city workman parked his "cherry picker" almost in front of my house. Attracted by the whir of his lift, I was just in time to see one man, in one truck, with one light fixture, replacing one street lamp. As simple as that! What a good idea!
