Tribute to Rothko...an experiment.

I've decided in my life to go straight into investigating anything I don't understand. In the past, I sort of adhered my opinions to some sort of larger entity thinking that if so many people felt a certain way about something, it must be true. Well, over the years I've realized this is not smart, nor is it healthy. It means I don't trust my own opinions. I'm done with all that.

While this applies to many areas in my life, Art is an easily applicable example. Photo-realism used to allure me. I loved the idea that people could reproduce things so closely to reality.

With all this exposure to ideas about modern art and different movements, I decided I had to pick an artist whose work DOESN'T move me, and absorb myself into it.

I think I might have mentioned Rothko before. (click on his name if you want more info)

I bought a book about him, and thumbed through what seemed like endless pages of dry-brushed color blocks that simply don't inspire me. Except one...

This is called Saffron. What struck me was the light tat comes from between the blocks of red orange. It's like the end of a cloudy day when the sun sets and breaks through the grey and makes that blinding stripe across the horizon.

I asked my professor how he did it and we discussed it a bit. After this I started looking at all his pieces differently. I need to see them in person. I want to see Saffron in person...

So, I tried to make my own. (respectfully, of course.)

It took the better part of this morning when I probably should have been cleaning up this house. It was worth it. This very simple painting isn't simple. There are so many things pushing and pulling - I noticed it as soon as I began to layer the orange over the base of yellow. Here it was, mid-way:



And here it is after adding the piece de resistance....the super-muted violet stripe over the center yellow:

Indoors:



Outdoors:



I was marginally successful. The color across the top of the painting gave me a lot of trouble. I used acrylics, and of course the original is oil. I'm sure it's much more brilliant. I am happy I gave it a try, though.