Suzanne Valadon--Extraordinary Painter & Mentor

Suzanne

While working on a painting last week, I repeatedly sketched a face. Not my face and that of no one I know with strong, large features. Then I saw her! On Pinterest, I came across a self-portrait by Suzanne Valadon.

Suzanne was born in France on Sept. 23, 1865 and died in Paris on April 7, 1938. I remember seeing her work during my art school days. She's often remembered for her artist son, Maurice Utrillo. She was a wonderful painter in her own right and started out as an artist's model, who sat for Morisot, Renoir, Modigliani, Toulouse-Lautrec and others. Below is a detail of a Renoir painting for which Suzanne modeled:

By watching the artists and with the encouragement from Degas, she began making pencil and pastel drawings. Later, she specialized in portraits of women and children and female nudes considered shocking in their authenticity. Suzanne was the first woman admitted to the prestigious Societe Nationale des Beaux-Arts or National Society of Fine Arts. Below is a portrait of Suzanne by Amedeo Modigliani:

Naturally, I wanted to know why I kept drawing Suzanne's face, so I asked her during one of my meditations. She responded with a lengthy discourse on painting. Here are some highlights:

"Do not paint like me. Paint with my love of the subject."

"Warm colors are like a warm caress. Cool colors are like a cool breeze. The paint and the process is like making love...one touch leads to another. If you try to rush and complete the act too quickly, in one stroke, it is lacking in joy and usually lacks love's expression."

"Go slower. Build layers as if one caress leads to the next."

"I only painted what I loved. I didn't care about bridges and ponds. If I didn't love a subject, I didn't paint it. Paint was just a way to express love and experience love, because painting was an act of making love."

I asked Suzanne what I could do for her. She said: "Think of me. Love my work. Speak of me that I may continue to spread love." I am keeping my word with this blog post. I hope she is pleased.

Thank you Suzanne. You are a beautiful reminder that all the great artists, thinkers, saints who went before us are here to guide and support us when we tune our ear to their message.

© Claudia Rose, Ph.D.

"Still as a Cat"

I just finished this graphite and charcoal pencil drawing. It isn't a finished artwork, yet a sketch for upcoming paintings. I've been producing a drawing every day, hopeful that "muscle memory" will kick in soon. 

When I was in art school, there was no internet, digital files, editing software, instructional videos, online workshops, etc. If we wanted to immerse ourselves in art, we went to museums, galleries and libraries. That was it!

I am deeply grateful for instant access to fine art, teachers and online tools. Most of all, I am grateful for the inspiration and guidance from artists who went before me. They whisper in my ear, nudge my hands and cheer me on from their infinite viewpoint. Blessings, my loved ones!

© Claudia Rose, Ph.D.

Blooms

My latest class assignment involved painting a pillow cover. I grabbed an old pillow case. Then I taped the cotton over plastic and lightly sprayed the fabric with water. I then used Golden High Flow acrylics straight from the bottle to imply blooms and leaves in the garden. Here's a detail:

Detail of Blooms

I thought of adding line work, details with a small brush, yet I once I stopped painting I couldn't force myself to go further. The painting was done!

Blooms drying

This project reminds me of clothes I made from hand painted fabric when I returned from my trip around the world. The fabrics of India, Africa and Thailand were so inspiring! I brought back many yards of the batiks and block-printed fabrics. I was just 21 years old when I laid yards of heavy cotton on the floor of my parent's garage. I wet the fabric and loosely painted abstract designs. With my mother's help, I cut the dry fabric into pants, vests and tops. It was such great fun!

Fabric, especially silk, is so luscious and wonderful to paint. Colors blend on their own with a flow that doesn't require control. Such a great exercise in letting go and trusting in the beauty of creation.

© Claudia Rose, Ph.D.

Up the Garden Path

In my online art class, Pauline Agnew asks us to use a Monet painting as a reference for an oil pastel. This is quite small, about 6" x 8". It will never dry, so it will need to be framed under glass.The watercolor paper is white and looks blue in the photo. I never worked in this style, so it was fun to stretch a bit! Monet suffered with cataracts late in life, so his later paintings are quite abstract and very contemporary looking. I like the suggestion of flowers rather than depiction of every petal.

Monet Pond

Here is another oil pastel study inspired by Monet's paintings of his beloved lily pond. Oil pastels are great fun to use. They are smooth as warm butter!

© Claudia Rose, Ph.D.