Chapter 4: Still lives and nudes 1990-2003
After Europe and the Portland Art Museum docent program, Mom started taking classes at Clackamas Community College in Oregon City. It was close to home and had a marvelous program led by local painter Leland John. She supplemented these classes with membership in the Brush and Palette Art Association in Gladstone, the town just north of Oregon City on the other side of the Clackamas River. They had Saturday morning painting sessions with live models. Mom framed some of the products of this studio work, at CCC and Brush and Palette, but left most of her work in four or five large portfolios, where it remains.
The foundation of this studio work is the still life. Objects pose for far less money than a live model, and one gets to try out various media and techniques. For Mom, plants were her favorite subject. Here is one of flowers (4a):
In another one (4b) we get a table, vase, silver plate, and drapes as well. The drapes are especially well done, showing both the folds and the play of light on their surface.
In another (4c), Mom uses the flower arrangement as an excuse to arrange colors and shapes in a Matisse-like composition.
In the next one (4d), the wood, which appears lifeless at first glance, is really a pruned tree trunk. The life within is suggested by the green leaves around it.
Next (4e) we have another Matisse-like creation, with the familiar triad of flower, vase, and table:
All her work so far is full of life, but none has the mystery I used to associate with the skull and chessboard still life of her earlier days. For mysteriousness, I found only a few examples in her portfolios. One (4f) has animal skulls arranged in a ghastly sort of way.
Another (4g) is more fantasy than a drawing from nature. And since it features a cat and some bats, it is not exactly a still life either. The blank rectangle at the bottom suggests that it is designed to be something you paste into the inside cover of a book and put your name in.
My final example (4h) has the mysteriousness of ruins and Greek statues without arms. In this case, a sculptured bust stands alone, severing all but the head, shoulders, and upper chest, while a severed hand mysteriously appears alongside the pedestal.
Another part of Mom’s studio classes was drawing nudes. Mom doesn’t have many; I will show you about a third of the total. Only two are oils, of which I will show one (5a):
The rest (5b-d) are pastels or pastels plus ink.
These nudes show Mom’s delight in the human form, even when it is much younger than her own. The hand that drew the youthful figure of Slide 5d was itself wrinkled and a little arthritic from age (5e). By now Mom was in her mid-70’s.
The foundation of this studio work is the still life. Objects pose for far less money than a live model, and one gets to try out various media and techniques. For Mom, plants were her favorite subject. Here is one of flowers (4a):
In another one (4b) we get a table, vase, silver plate, and drapes as well. The drapes are especially well done, showing both the folds and the play of light on their surface.
In another (4c), Mom uses the flower arrangement as an excuse to arrange colors and shapes in a Matisse-like composition.
In the next one (4d), the wood, which appears lifeless at first glance, is really a pruned tree trunk. The life within is suggested by the green leaves around it.
Next (4e) we have another Matisse-like creation, with the familiar triad of flower, vase, and table:
All her work so far is full of life, but none has the mystery I used to associate with the skull and chessboard still life of her earlier days. For mysteriousness, I found only a few examples in her portfolios. One (4f) has animal skulls arranged in a ghastly sort of way.
Another (4g) is more fantasy than a drawing from nature. And since it features a cat and some bats, it is not exactly a still life either. The blank rectangle at the bottom suggests that it is designed to be something you paste into the inside cover of a book and put your name in.
My final example (4h) has the mysteriousness of ruins and Greek statues without arms. In this case, a sculptured bust stands alone, severing all but the head, shoulders, and upper chest, while a severed hand mysteriously appears alongside the pedestal.
Another part of Mom’s studio classes was drawing nudes. Mom doesn’t have many; I will show you about a third of the total. Only two are oils, of which I will show one (5a):
The rest (5b-d) are pastels or pastels plus ink.
These nudes show Mom’s delight in the human form, even when it is much younger than her own. The hand that drew the youthful figure of Slide 5d was itself wrinkled and a little arthritic from age (5e). By now Mom was in her mid-70’s.
posted by Michael S Howard at 3:01 PM
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