Creating for Creation Sake
Van Gogh’s life was as interesting as his art. You cannot love Van Gogh until you have the pleasure of seeing his works close and in person.
The above “Bank of the Oise at Auvers” was one of the first Van Gogh paintings I enjoyed at the Detroit Institute of Arts. To get close to this wonderful painting and see the mix of colors and the strong strokes that combine to make a beautiful scene – It made me want to paint and to create. Van Gogh was an artist that made me feel that the fun in creating is making life my own or making the scene my own.
There was a time as a young artist I felt that I needed to replicate what was around me. It tortured me that my hands and eyes and mind could not capture and recreate what I saw. Artist can draw anything they want and do it “right.”
Van Gogh helped me appreciate my own interpretation. I did, for a moment, try to emulate his strokes and his layering technique. It felt like work and it didn’t feel anything like me. The “Van Gogh” experiment left me with a love of color (I use to be afraid of too many colors) and a passion for lines and, and, the importance of the interpretation of strokes.
Brush strokes are powerfully emotional and you can feel the emotion and love and searching that was in Van Gogh poured into his paintings.
I do wish that Van Gogh could have enjoyed others enjoying his art.