Thursday, February 19, 2015

Painting Stories


I majored in art in college and have been very involved in art all my life. As a child and teenager, I wrote poems and stories, but my grandmother was a talented oil painter and my mom was the best paper doll maker ever, so it was natural for me to move more fully into creative art and do less writing. Over the years as the pendulum has swung, I have done more writing and spent less time painting, but the truth is they are actually very similar activities.
To begin an oil painting the artist assembles the stretcher bars, staples the canvas to the bars, and prepares the canvas with primer. She then gathers the objects to be painted. The assembly and setup for a painting are very much like researching a story idea and setting up your files and data in the software you use for writing. With the sticks of vine charcoal the artist lightly sketches the basic painting structure onto the canvas. This is much like the planning or outlining of the plot. With the right brushes and paints at hand, the artist builds the painting. She begins with translucent washes, then gradually builds in color, shape and shadow layer by layer, until finally there is a picture story. With each layer the artist’s vision becomes clearer and stronger, just as drafts and editing strengthen a story. The painting may be a still life, or a portrait, or landscape, or even abstract, but when it’s done it’s complete unto itself. Finally, it gets a layer of varnish to protect and seal the product, declaring it ready for the world. For the story, it is now a book and gets a cover. Here are some of my paintings. They each feel like a story to me.

The development of the painting by layers into a final, cohesive product, feels the same whether I’m painting a picture or writing a book. It’s about the craft from start to finish. Ultimately, the painting is hung on the wall in hopes of tempting viewers to look closer, perhaps even to be moved emotionally. A book is placed on a shelf or an ebook retailer site, for the same reasons. The nice thing about a book is that the reader can curl up with it or an ereader on a cold winter day, or bask on a beach in the warm sun, and enjoy the story. I don’t recommend doing that with an oil painting.
Are there paintings that you recall? Images that have stuck with you over the years? The same is true of books and stories. What in those stories spoke to you? The books may seem to be different, but my guess is that if boiled down to their essence, the books you particularly remember have similar themes. I tend to read and write about trust, faith and truth. And that’s where, in my opinion, paintings and books differ. We may be moved by a work of art, have questions raised, and may even divine a story within it, but it won’t touch us inside, won’t stir us emotionally to the same degree that the written word can. You can enjoy a painting and be moved by it, but you probably won’t need to keep a box of tissues handy while you observe and appreciate it.
 
Art and other creative themes show up in my books, especially in A STRANGER IN WYNNEDOWER. I hope you'll take a look.





 
BIO: Grace Greene writes novels of Love, Mystery and Suspense with a Dash of Southern Gothic. She is also the author of the Emerald Isle, NC books, BEACH RENTAL and BEACH WINDS - romance with inspiration. Please visit her website www.gracegreene.com and sign up for her newsletter.





12 comments:

  1. Grace, what gorgeous, gorgeous paintings!

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    1. Thanks, Milou! I'm glad you like them. If only time would permit, I'd still be painting, but with work, etc. something has to give.

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  2. Grace, I love have you've connected telling a story through a painting and words on a page. You are multi-talented. I draw stick figures.

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    1. Margaret - There is art in stick figures, too. I have always felt the same about my finished books as I have about my completed paintings, but this was the first time I tried to express it to others.

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  3. My mother and grandfather painted in their spare time. Mom once brought home a board game that was based on the works of famous artists. I can remember holding the famous sunflower painting, a pond lily painting, and whistler's mother. Why? I cannot remember. But it did give me an appreciation of art.

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    1. Sounds like Van Gogh, Monet and, of course, Mr. Whistler. Paintings, like books, touch us in ways we don't expect and often don't understand, but both make for a richer world.

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  4. What a fascinating post---it is so much fun to see your other artistic side, and the beautiful results!!

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    1. Roxanne - Thanks! I hang my paintings around the house. I do enjoy seeing them, especially since I pretty much stopped painting when I moved more fully into writing. They are special to me.

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  5. Your paintings are very unique and beautiful, Grace. You are multi-talented.

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    1. Thanks, Patricia! I think writers tend to be talented in many ways. Everything we do accumulates in our brains and eventually most of it finds its way out onto the page. Our varied interests are an important part of the books we write.

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  6. Beautiful paintings, Grace. I visited a gallery of an artist called Josephine Wall a few months ago and she spoke about her process. It struck me at the time that it was very similar to writing a book.

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  7. My husband was a gallery artist for many years, so I am always very aware of what is hanging on the walls any place I go -- and the process that might have gotten it there. Luv your paintings, Grace. And your books!

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