Women and the Call of the Sea

I am in the awkward stages of the paintings and drawings I am currently working on so I decided to dedicate this blog to two contemporary women painters who have chosen to paint one of my favorite subjects, the sea. First, I need to thank and acknowledge one of my all time favorite blogs about marine oil painting, Jeronimus at Marine Oil Paintings. His blog has been listed in my "Artists who Inspire" list (found on the sidebar) for a while now. He is very good at searching out and posting the paintings of marine artists both past and present. I tried to do my own searching for female artists who paint seascapes but didn't turn up much. Fortunately, I found quite a few in the Marine Oil Paintings blog!
I have pretty much lived by the Pacific Ocean for most of my life. Currently, I live a mere 5 minute walk to the beach. Lest you have pictured in your head images of lithe tan bodies stretched out on the sand, I should mention I live in the Pacific Northwest, where the beaches are cold and often rough and wild, not to mention downright treacherous. I love the wildness here. It takes my breath away and has taken up residence in my heart and soul.
Naturally, I want to, have to paint my environment. As I am still acquiring the skills to do just that, it will be a few years before I reach the skill level of the two artists I am about to introduce you to.
The first artist is Katherine B. Young and you can see her work here. What intrigued me about her work is that she paints her marine paintings over metal leaf. That is something I would like to try myself one day. I would love to post a sample of her work however, sometimes a site (understandably so) will not let me copy an image. When I do, I always credit and link the image to the original site. Take my word and click on the link to her site and look at her work. Here is her artist statement:

“Places for Reflection” depicts images of vast oceans and skies.  These oil paintings speak to my love of the ocean, and the importance of the ocean environment in our lives, mentally and physically.  I have always been drawn to the ocean, and it is the place I go whenever I need to see beauty, find inspiration, or reflect upon life.  I was inspired early on by the painters Frederic Church and William Trost Richards, and more recently by contemporary artists Gerhard Richter and April Gornik.

The works in this series are all painted on top of metal leaf.  This reiterates the idea of reflection and symbolizes the sublime that I believe exists underneath it all.

These paintings have helped me realize how important it is to preserve this treasured resource. To this effect, I have pledged to donate a portion of my sales to organizations that help preserve the integrity of our marine environment."

I pretty much feel the same way about the ocean and have the same intention to donate a portion of my proceeds when I start selling my own work. 

The next artist is April Gornik, who is mentioned as one of the artists who inspires Young. 

Here is an example of one of her marine paintings. 

 

Storm Sea Light, 2009, Oil on linen, 74" x 77" http://www.aprilgornik.com/index.html

This picture can be found on her website along with her other wonderful work here.
Her biography and resume are worth reading as well. I was particularly intrigued by her artist's statement which I will share here:
"I am an artist that values, above all, the ability of art to move me emotionally and psychically. I make art that makes me question, that derives its power from being vulnerable to interpretation, that is intuitive, that is beautiful."
-April Gornik

That gives me a lot to think about.
Finally, as a bonus, I have to give another mention of an artist I have in my "Artists Who Inspire" list, and that is Katherine Kean. I have mentioned her before and  I continue to admire her work. The link on my list will take you to her blog. Her website can be found here.
Next week brings an exciting adventure. I will be heading up to Whidbey Island for a workshop with Robert Librace. Stay tuned for posts!
-Renee

Progress and "Herstory"

I have been working away, honestly! I just didn't post last week. As I have mentioned before, this is taking me longer than I thought it would and it has been a  true learning experience. I thought about posting my progress last week but the painting was in a very awkward spot. So, here is the last picture I posted of the painting's progress:

 

And here is the latest:

I have got the first layer of color in on the whole painting. I am doing a little experimenting now and also going back over and refining forms and color. I would like to think that I will be stopping once I have done another go through. This is supposed to be a study, not a masterpiece. I really am anxious to move on. It has allowed me time to think things through though. I have been thinking how to continue my studies and what direction I want to go. I do have a final goal. I want to acquire the level of skills I need to be able to paint anything I want to depict. The skills will always be added to even when I am satisfied that I have reached my goal. 

I am not going to say anything more at this time. I will wrap up my thoughts when the final picture is posted on this painting. 

In the meantime, I came across an interesting comment on an article about women artists and why they are not proportionally represented in our society compared to male artists. It isn't for lack of female artists as many articles report that the number of women graduating from art programs are greater than the number of men, yet only a small percentage are represented in galleries, art shows, and museums. I would add trade magazines and books to that list! I am not going to talk about the actual numbers here as there are more informed resources out there. The comment that caught my eye was actually a challenge. It pointed out that even female artists who blog often have long lists of male artists they admire and few, if any, female artists. The comment is a challenge for us women to start finding and exposing others to the many female artists both past and present that are out there. 

I have been thinking along those lines for quite a while, even before I started this blog. There is a huge gap in our art history courses when it comes to women artists. As the documentary "Who Does She Think She Is?" mentions, the person on the street is hard pressed to name even five women artists. I have been studying on my own and am starting to find more and more remarkable and overlooked women in the arts in our history. I decided to add a little variety to my blog by featuring a female artist, if not every post, frequently. I am going to start out with women from our past history, or herstory. As this post is plenty long, I will be starting these posts next week. In the meantime, in the "Artists Who Inspire" sidebar on this blog, you will also find many links to contemporary female artists. Yes, there are a few men too!

Finally, today is Memorial Day here in the U.S.A. I want to send thoughts of gratitude to the women and men of our armed forces and their families. I also want to acknowledge all the wonderful service and rescue animals who are also heroes in their own right.

-Renee