FLASHBACK!! How I Developed My Modern Fauvist Style
The painting on top is one of my last remaining Abstract Expressionist pieces. This one is in my private collection. This period of painting didn't last that long for me because I really fell in love with the Fauves about halfway into painting this way. On the bottom is Wassily Kandinsky's Improvisation 6 (African), painted in 1906. I was looking at Kandinsky's early work when I painted the Ferris Wheel. As a matter of fact, I loved the picture of Kandinsky's so much that I gave up non subjective work altogether. Copying masters was something that I had been trained to do in my undergraduate art classes, and I will be forever grateful. I feel that studying those who have gone before is really an essential part of an artist's education.
My personal inspiration for this piece was a brightly colored ferris wheel at the Fryeburg Fair in Maine. To me, it represents that perfect fair day.....bright blue sky, crisp fall air, and the whimsical fun of a ferris wheel circling and the sound of laughter.
Although this piece is a geometric abstraction, I was actually already studying and looking at the Fauves. In this one, the dark outlines, the brushstrokes, and even the color combinations came right from Wassily Kandinsky. His early works just really opened up for me, what might be possible for my own work. No matter what I was doing....even working full time....I always painted and looked at art. I loved Kandinsky's early work so much.....I looked at him even more than Matisse in the beginning. So he really was like my teacher. I believe, with art, you can only be "taught" so much. Color theory, drawing, etc, but then comes the time when you need to just get those ten thousand hours (and more) of practice.
As I moved further and further into subjective work I continued to look at the Fauves and those who were influenced by them. It took years of copying and experimentation to come up with the style that I have today. I think the most important thing for me was to just look at art. To this day I enjoy looking and analyzing art almost as much as I do actual painting.
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