Amanda Rowe

Remembering and dreaming of summer, beaches and boats...

What were we saying about meditation and art? Wow.

It never hurts to take time for a bit of sketcheroo! ...particularly during a boring movie I say. What I love about sketching is how meditative it can be and how it makes so little demands of you creatively. It only asks you to take time to look ....no need for fancy ideas. Just look, and look again.

One of my big pieces that recently found a home. Hope the blue lady and her new family are enjoying each other’s company!

How cool is this? Watch her age depending on angle you view painting. Saw something like this a couple of years ago in Toronto gallery but not nearly as refined.

Any ideas for a name for my most recent eccentric bird?

Enjoying reading about Wayne Thiebaud, California painter of iconic pies, cakes and diner fare. He switched to painting this theme after Willem de Kooning advised he steer away from what was popular and instead pick what he loved to paint or felt passionate about. What do you think? Do what you love as an artist to create ....or create what honours serving others aesthetic desires and needs? For eg...hopeful images appear to be the current trend. Below is my recent fried egg and a few Thiebauds. His look much tastier!

Some words from an article in the New York Times today recognizing the value of artists at this time: You go to the theater, you listen to a symphony, you look at a painting, you watch a ballet. You laugh, you cry. You feel pity, fear. You see in others’ lives a reflection of your own. And the catharsis comes: a cleansing, a clarity, a feeling of relief and understanding that you carry with you out of the theater or the concert hall. Art, music, drama here is a point worth recalling in a pandemic are instruments of psychic and social health.

Three alla prima quick still life pieces ....something different for a change! Alla prima is all about working really quick, in this case with very limited palette, large brushes and not going for perfection, but rather looseness, speed and energy. A good exercise for any artist to practise looking and not get tight and obsessive and rigid. I like either number 2 or 3 the best ...which do you think is the best?

https://facebook.com/events/s/van-gogh-museum-amsterdam-live/207414884172444/?ti=icl