Van Gogh's Brushstrokes

IMPASTO!

"The process or technique of laying on paint or pigment thickly so that it stands out from a surface"
 
 
Vincent's brushstrokes-- seen up close above --  often were applied very heavily in a technique called "impasto."  He was working at a time when new colors, chemically produced, were coming on the market, some of which were not stable and lost intensity and hue over time.  He was aware of this problem and the effect it had on his paintings and strove to paint so that the vibrancy he so sought would last.  He wrote his brother Theo, an art dealer, "don't let it bother you if I just leave the brushstrokes on my paintings as they are," because "if a painting is to remain good and keep its colors, it's important that the light areas, in particular, are painted on heavily."  That he had technical reasons for painting the way he did (and his handling of paint was innovative), we must acknowledge the emotional heightening that he achieved through his painting technique.  To make every brushstroke add to the profound visual experience we see even today is a hallmark of his genius.
 
As evidenced by my recent portrait of Vincent, above, I am still vibrating from the Van Gogh Immersive show I went to a couple of weeks ago. This is a good time to mention the paradox of an artist finding their own voice.  As the great poet Billy Collins put it: "You can take intimacy from Whitman, you can learn the dash from Emily Dickinson...you can pick a little bit from every writer and you combine them.  This allows you to be authentic.  That's one of the paradoxes of the writing life: that the way to originality is through imitation." 
…You can take intimacy from Whitman, you can learn the dash from Emily Dickinson…you can pick a little bit from every writer and you combine them. This allows you to be authentic. That’s one of the paradoxes of the writing life: that the way to originality is through imitation.
…You can take intimacy from Whitman, you can learn the dash from Emily Dickinson…you can pick a little bit from every writer and you combine them. This allows you to be authentic. That’s one of the paradoxes of the writing life: that the way to originality is through imitation. –
…You can take intimacy from Whitman, you can learn the dash from Emily Dickinson…you can pick a little bit from every writer and you combine them. This allows you to be authentic. That’s one of the paradoxes of the writing life: that the way to originality is through imitation. –
…You can take intimacy from Whitman, you can learn the dash from Emily Dickinson…you can pick a little bit from every writer and you combine them. This allows you to be authentic. That’s one of the paradoxes of the writing life: that the way to originality is through imitation.
…You can take intimacy from Whitman, you can learn the dash from Emily Dickinson…you can pick a little bit from every writer and you combine them. This allows you to be authentic. That’s one of the paradoxes of the writing life: that the way to originality is through imitation.
 
Hear My Voice !
 
Copyright © *2021 Stephen Gerstman, All rights reserved.

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