As I prepare to publish The Color Investigations of Robert Henri, I am compelled to reflect on the artistic journey I have undertaken to reach this point. I began my blog 17 years ago in the hopes of defining the nature of my work and the language I needed to speak of its images and the passion behind their creation. It is difficult to define what is, by its nature, inherently undefinable. If painting could be described with ease, it might as well be a written expression instead of a painted one.
I am often asked why “Attentive Equations.” The artist must be attentive by nature. Must not allow themselves to be distracted by the periphery of daily living. But must be open to the revelation of every moment. It is in attentiveness- a real paying attention- that we come to know the beauty of the world and our unique place within this cosmos. Images arise from this gaze of attention. They are constantly called forth and miraculously, graciously, reveal themselves. But do we see them?
These images are composed of visual manifestations, but are also supported by other elements. Listening to what that man has spoken of offhandedly; Looking at that child sitting across from you on the subway twiddling their hair, fascinated by the texture; Witnessing the intimate acts of interaction and isolation; Reading Henri’s insights on color’s language or Baudelaire’s journals rife with penetrating awareness; Observing the falling of a leaf as it touches the surface of a pool of water reflecting a blazing orange glow; Hearing the buzzing of the Raven’s wing against the air as it courses in flight over your head; Breathing freely the open space that allows you to be completely alone. All these things, large and small, important as well as unassuming, form a kind of equation that equals an Image. Attentive Equations is my cipher, allowing me to distinguish my path, which unfolds one image at a time, with the hope that an overarching unity may be the end result —a harmony of visual language and a spark of hidden wisdom revealed.
Many glorious moments are crushed by the cell phone, distracting us from our true calling- attentiveness immersed in contemplation- the joy of living with an open eye, in constant expectation of the beautiful in thought and vision, charged with passion. This is the artistic journey- a path that emerges daily, one we are compelled to remain on, that fuels our imaginative instinct. Without it, there can be no artistic consciousness, and no painting of quality can be created devoid of this elixir of vitality.
“Contemplative appreciation of a trace; a picture, hearing music, observing a graceful gesture, may cause the spirit to flame up. We care for and treasure the traces of states of greater living, fuller functioning, because we want to live also, and they inspire to living. That is the value of “a work of art.” The traces are inevitable. The living is the thing.”
Robert Henri, The Art Spirit, p. 160.