Chasing Beauty
Welcome. I’m glad you’re here.
I am always chasing beauty in my paintings. I believe the ability to search for beauty is one of humanity’s finest traits. There is a Gerhard Richter quote that goes, “Art is the highest form of hope.” It is Hope that drives my search for Beauty and Moments of Real in my work. The hope that the better parts of humanity will prevail. And, that through the Arts, we can find these best parts of ourselves, as individuals and as a society.
Recently though I’ve been finding beauty in a different way, by letting go. Just as we have had to let go of so many things we knew as normal in our lives. I found myself drawn to letting go artistically. For example, letting go of the notion that I know how I paint and searching for new ways and inspirations. A different visual experience to explore and share as I work to move on with life in this especially difficult time.
Peonies # 12, Oil on Primed Arches, 10 by 14 Inches, 2020, J.Ballay
Letting go is the force behind a new feeling of abstraction and looseness in my recent painting. To me it feels like life is barely holding together at the seams, about to explode into total chaos and disorder. I have found that I can use chaos and disorder in my artwork to create a moment of beauty.
I have featured two recent paintings in this post. “Bind Weed Patch # 1”, and “Peonies # 12”.
In both of these paintings, you can see the use of softer edges and less detailed forms. The images appear to be almost out of focus and yet very volumetric. In both paintings, I see something that goes beyond representation and becomes a translation of the experience of seeing. Like seeing a patch of wild flowering vines on a walk; or a vase of flowers in the other room catching afternoon light through a window.
Bind Weed Patch # 1, Oi on Canvas, 16 by 20 inches, 2020. J.Ballay
It has been difficult to find words that adequately express my feelings around everything that has been going on since COVID broke out. That was in February/March and now it is August almost September.
I had begun to feel some sense of balance in late April. When we were starting to flatten the curve. And then in May, we’re headlong into murder by police in the media, and the resulting riots and social protest. (...and some were surprised….?) and now it is August,... I’ll stop right there. We are all living it daily and know the reality. Please stay healthy, wear a mask, and seek help if you are in need.
It is exactly because of our collective state of unrest and unknowing, that I have begun to search for a new sense of beauty in my current work. I believe we all need reminders of what is good about life and humanity. We need images that can help us find calm and allow time for healing. For me, it’s about finding enough time to get quiet. Quiet enough to calm the anger and outrage that overwhelms my thinking, Finding enough calm to move past the sadness and despair. I believe only then can we begin to heal and rebuild, using these events as inspiration for positive change.
I am intrigued by this new sense of form that is appearing in my work. It is as if new ways of seeing things are arriving on the horizon. Hopefully, we will find new ways of seeing our world to guide us through the process of rebuilding.
As always, thank you for joining me here. I look forward to speaking with you again.
Sincerely
Jamie