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Art and Society

Humans have been making art since prehistoric times. Sometimes I imagine how those marks were made, some over 700,000 years ago, and marvel at the tenacity of archaeologists who dig up this evidence for us. Perhaps, back then, people had a lot of time on their hands and experienced joy in the creative process. It is a matter of opinion whether life was simple then or simpler now. I wonder if artist’s had patrons then.

History teaches us that great art was made because of the patronage of people of influence, resources and status in society. The process of creating art, regardless of whether it is a painting, a piece of music, a sculpture or a monumental building takes time, tenacity, intelligence and the undying belief the artist has in his or her own abilities. Many a time, the artist’s genius may only be recognized by a man as crazy as the artist himself.

Now that I have crossed over from the left- to the right-sided activities of my brain, I am more aware of the importance of these sometimes unsung patrons because of whom we are able to witness the genius of the greats in music, art and architecture.

On our recent trip to Spain, we had the privilege of visiting some architectural wonders. I had never seen anything like the works of Antoni Gaudi a Catalan, a devout catholic and genius from Spain. Instantly, I was in love, in awe and wonderstruck all at once as we visited one site after another. I wanted to travel back in time and get into this brilliant mind to learn how he thought and where his ideas came from. He was known to be gruff, did not conform to the norms of society and had a mind of his own. As I read and learn about artists, I find that many of them were criticized and ridiculed for their thought process and creations. As the story goes, when the owner of Casa Mila was shown the building upon completion, she hated it, was very upset and cried even, yet continued to live in the building. It is said that when Gaudi was commissioned to build anything, it was understood that he would build it his way or the highway. The building that was a site of ridicule and a butt of jokes then, today stands as a world heritage site.



At the sight of the Sagrada Familia – Antoni Gaudi’s magnum opus – suffice it to say I was brought to tears by the sheer grandeur and beauty of the building and its design. The construction of this magnificent church started in 1882 and is planned to be completed in 2026, the 100th death anniversary of the architect of this exquisite temple. We made a promise to visit it again.



The point of this story is that Gaudi could not have created his masterpieces without the support and patronage of his patrons. Eusebi Guell deserves special recognition, for he essentially gave Gaudi a blank check to fuel his creativity. If it were not for him, we would not have The Sagrada Familia or the Park Guell.



It is therefore the responsibility of society to support the artists who create the art. It should not be restricted to the elite in New York, London or Paris, but should percolate everywhere, in little towns and big villages. You never know from whence another Gaudi or a Giotto might grace our presence.

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Hyacinth

Why should you care what about what I paint, why I paint, or why I write this blog? Especially when I entice you to read, and then leave you with a cliffhanger? Well, it’s because I want you to help me learn by engaging with me on these blogs. Some of you out there may be more knowledgeable on certain subjects, and some of you will have your own opinion. I want to break down my thoughts and the artists’ process into bite size pieces, always giving you some valuable information about art and how I think it is related to the science of health and well-being.



Sometimes I look at paintings not just one by one, but as a group. That’s what I did last year with my paintings. I struggled to find out what it is I wanted to convey to the world through my paintings, and I took time to think about it. My artistic endeavors took off in the 58th year of my life. On a lazy summer drive home from Columbus, I promised my son I was going to finish 58 paintings to mark 58 years. When I looked at the 58 paintings as a group, one thing jumped out at me: the color! It was blinding and honestly, almost a bit too much! And then, I looked around my home – color abounds. My garden is colorful. My wardrobe is colorful. I did wear parrot green when it was not so cool, and hot pink when everyone else thought it was “Gauti” meaning from the village. I couldn’t care less.



Upon introspection and with considerable thought and observation, I began to see I lived in color. One year I decided to plant my garden in one color – red. It was so depressing to look at. Now how do you explain the color red to be depressing? Colors are interdependent – they can’t shine on their own. I swore never to do that again. I don’t think there is a color I am not inspired by. This observation took me back to my childhood. I wore color to lift my spirits, to cope with difficult exams and to brighten my day. When I looked around the world, people in the direst of circumstances wore bright colors. I wondered if color could be a panacea for depression. Does color uplift your spirits?



This brings me to Picasso and his Blue paintings painted mostly in the blue period (1901-1904) of his life. Historians think that these melancholic paintings mostly done in blue and later with a touch of pink, were done when he was depressed. It is said that he did not have a regular studio to work from, was short on funds and above all his friend Carlos Casagemas committed suicide in the winter of 1901. Almost all paintings of this period had melancholy writ all over. His subjects were societal discards, emaciated people, beggars and prostitutes. All had a sullen look, melancholic, cachectic and depressed. Slowly the blue period moved into the pink period where he added touches of pink to his paintings – a typical French influence as he slowly got out of his state of depression. Later his works became more colorful and joyful, and in 1907 he started the movement of cubism. I submit, I still don’t understand how his mind really worked when he pioneered this method!



In 1937 he painted Guernica, a black and white painting done in grisaille, a technique using monochromatic grey tones. Picasso abhorred the military and he painted Guernica in protest of the destruction of this small sleepy town that was annihilated by the Germans’ aerial bombing under the authority of General Francisco Franco. He refused to let the painting stay in Spain while Franco was still alive, and pledged to allow it back when Spain became a democracy. Thus, in 1939 Guernica traveled to the MOMA in New York City, and then on to the rest of the world, until its return to Spain in 1981 after Franco’s death. The scale of the painting is massive. It was finished in 35 days, and is quite well preserved and alive 83 years later. I had the absolute joy and privilege of seeing this painting with my own eyes in 2019 at The Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid, Spain! It is regarded as the most powerful anti-war painting in history.



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Thank you. And as always, create!



Hyacinth

Continuing my obsession with the role of color in art, I want to explore works of the leader of the French Romantic Period - Eugene Delacroix. He is famously known to have said - "Color always occupies me, but drawing preoccupies me." Delacroix used colors masterfully in over 9000 paintings and drawings. He painted murals, portraits, landscape, still life, flowers, sketches and lithographs. When viewing a wide range of his paintings at a glance, two things jump out at once:

1. His use of color
2. Movement in his paintings.

Delacroix used color in his paintings quite masterfully, and had a very good understanding of tones and color harmonies. He was a master at using color to depict light and shadows and creating shapes by pairing different colors next to each other. He was prolific and worked in multiple medias and used different paint media for his creations. Van Gogh studied Delacroix’s use of color in his paintings. He used Delacroix’s color theory to form his own interpretation and consequently develop his unique style. Delacroix paintings are full of movement, and he was obsessed with drawing. He is known to have commented that “you better know how to sketch a man falling from the fourth floor of a building before he touches the ground.”

It is interesting when someone comments on your work and tells you that you need to develop and paint in just one style. For instance, I’ve heard the advice, “if you do still life, then just do still life!” “If you are a landscape artist, then just paint landscapes.” “A portrait artist must just paint portraits.” “An abstract artist should paint abstracts!”

I disagree!

I’d like to quote Cecilia Brendel of Olde Masters Galleria - my mentor in Dayton, OH who taught me how to paint with oils. She is a patient, encouraging and sweet teacher to learn from. She always says “Paint what motivates you!” I think that says it all!

The painting that accompanies this blog was one I did with her. This is an oil painting of a photograph I took in China. The minute I saw the place it looked like a painting to me. and I knew I had to paint it! So, I presented the photograph to Cia, as we like to call her, and without batting an eyelid she encouraged my maiden adventure with oils to paint what I consider to be one of my favorite pieces. It took me more than a month to finish this in 2018. For a long time, I did not want to part with it. In the end, I finally gave it away to the local public television station to help with their fundraising efforts. I hope the lucky recipient enjoys it for years to come.

Be proud of your creations. Own it! And, if you follow my blog (https://www.hyacinthpaulart.com/blog), I will give you many examples of the greats who did just that! It’s funny - even Picasso started out painting landscapes, and then he did Guernica!

I thought my blog post today would be about the car caravan that I organized in appreciation of our neighborhood healthcare workers.

Instead, I’m going to talk about why color fascinates me. Color has always been an integral part of my life. It still is. Some of us love wearing black, some love white, and some just stick to blue. But I believe most of us are rather colorful beings. Color says something about our culture, our thought process, and a bit about where we come from. Not everyone can pull off a canary yellow or a chartreuse green. When I had something to do with men’s wardrobes - AKA becoming my husband's personal stylist - I decided he needed a bit more color in his otherwise drab wardrobe. Initially there was some resistance, but lately he’s bolder than I am!

It turns out that I am not the only one who is fascinated by color!

Unbeknownst to me, way back in 2000 when I was finding pieces to furnish our very first home, I kept going back to a carpet design which had the image of Wassily Kandinsky’s Composition VIII made in 1923. I did not know at the time that he was the father of abstract art and a great painter of Russian heritage. I only knew he had a Wikipedia page! Now, I am making an effort to study art on a deeper level. I'm trying to understand why is it I paint the way I do, and why am I drawn to abstracts and would spend my money on an abstract painting over a realistic painting any day. Please don’t get me wrong, I admire realism of the old masters, and will gaze upon “The Stone Breakers” by Gustave Courbet for long periods of time wondering, "how did he paint that?" I would frequent Thomas Kinkade galleries just to look and stare at the way he handled light. But I never bought a piece. I paint in both styles, I labor over realism and I ponder over abstraction; however, the result of either is colorful!

Consider this: Kandinsky said “Color hides a power still unknown but real, which acts on every part of the human body.” I do not know the exact date or time he said this, but it holds true to this day. Perhaps we have not taken the time to study the effect of color in-depth. But that’s not true either! If you look up color and health, over 3 billion results pop up on google. On PubMed, however, the exact same terms result in less than 18,000 articles. What this tells me is that, just as alternative medicine is not as popular in the allopathic world we live in, the effect of color on health is not sexy enough to be funded as a serious subject.

Anecdotal evidence claiming that colors cause positive/negative effects on people abounds. But in the advanced world we live in, where are the quantitative research studies demonstrating these relationships?

On a not so cold, dreary Saturday afternoon, a few brave souls ventured out in a small car caravan in appreciation of the health care workers in our neighborhood. It was a show of bipartisan support for the brave souls not just in Centerville, OH, but in hard hit cities around the world. The dedication of scientists, physicians, nurses, therapists, venepuncturists and every other essential healthcare worker need our salute.

We needed a little bit of Italy and New York in Dayton Ohio! So here’s our tribute (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiKV8dfm3hQ).
Because I am a volunteer for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, I wanted to give a shout out to the leadership of Dr. Lois DeGennaro & Dr. Gwen Nichols of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) (https://www.lls.org/blog/because-of-you-were-helping-to-cure-cancer).

Special mention goes out to Cris Peterson for leading fundraising for LLS in Dayton through the pandemic. Cris and I are devising up unique ways to fundraise in light of current events. So, in honor of the scientists, doctors and cancer patients, 100% of the profits from the sale of any of our products are pledged to LLS.

You can buy original art here (https://www.hyacinthpaulart.com/works).

A variety of products are made using my art as a backdrop here (https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/hyacinth-paul). And yes, art also lives not only on walls, but also clothing and the latest addition – reusable face masks (https://hyacinth-paul.pixels.com/)!

Again, 100% of the profits from any of the above products will go towards LLS.

1.66 billion results popped up when I typed the word “artist” on google. What is the definition of an artist? Simply put, an artist is a person engaged in an activity that is deemed as an art. So in that sense, any person in this world can be defined as an artist. You can be an artist because you are skilled at making a pot, a painting, or a culinary experience. You can be an artist if you are a photographer, musician, sculptor, surgeon, teacher, nurse, welder, skier or a swimmer. Isn’t that a liberating thought? I’d like to think I am an artist, and so should you and the other nearly 7.6 billion people in the world.



In this blog, I would like to focus on the older generation of visual artists. You see, I will be 60 this year, and most of my work was completed in the 59th year of my life. How can that be?



It’s called life.



Life happens, and many of us pursue our passions later on in life. I think this needs to be recognized and celebrated. Recently, I started applying for grants and residencies. I am happy to report that during the quarantine – in my quiet time sans volunteer meetings, grocery trips, parties and other social commitments – I found myself applying to as many grants as I could find. I was a bit annoyed that I did not qualify for a few because of my age (I’m above 50), but it was heartening to know that age was not a factor for most of them. Then there was another category: grants for art students. You see, I’m not enrolled as an art student in any university or college. However, I consider myself a student because I find myself in several workshops, taking private lessons and trying as hard as any student to learn the craft of "visual arts”.



This blog is to make a case for the older, non-student in the field of visual arts.

Did you know Monet, Cezanne, Van Gogh & Hopper were much older when they created their most renowned pieces of art? Grandma Moses started painting at the ripe young age of 78, and continued to paint until she was 101! Bill Traylor started at the age of 85. Alex Katz & Carmen Herrera got recognition for their artistic endeavors late in life. You can look up all these artists and be inspired. As for receiving a formal art education in a college or University, there have been exceptions to that rule as well. Frieda Kahlo, Basquiat and Yoko Ono are a few names that broke the mold.



So, as far as being a visual artist is concerned, it is my opinion that age is not a barrier, and neither is education. However, being an educator myself and an older artist, I’d like to let the younger generation know that they need to stay in school. While age may not be a barrier to accomplish anything your heart desires, it is best to accomplish mastery over time and with discipline. There really is no substitute for persistence, hard work and a great education. These are the cornerstones for an artist making a mark in this world. Yes, there are prodigies, but they comprise 1% of all artists. Artists with no formal training make up 10%, and older people... well, they are a lot more than 10%.



For the older visual artists, my advice would be to keep learning and don’t be too hard on yourself. It’s never too late to blossom into the next Monet or Moses. For the sake of the older artists, I would call for no restrictions on grants or residencies. For the young ones, my advice to them is to stay in school, get an education, and learn what to be and what not to be, as it is important to know the difference.



If you like what I write please subscribe to my newsletter here:

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Thank you! Be curious and create!



Hyacinth