“I’ve told myself a hundred times that painting, materially speaking, is only the pretext, the bridge between the mind of the painter and that of the spectator.” —Eugène Delacroix
What do I think about when painting? First of all, painting is never only about an object. In other words, I never say – I want to paint a vase of flowers or a landscape. Instead I look at something, anything, really closely and see what reveals itself. I wait for the surprises. I look for the flow of light like a river running down and around a form, a landscape…, where does it trickle and where does it become so strong that even the form seems obliterated? Where does it run to hide under a crevice or fold? What happens at the edges where dark and light meet?
Colors offer amazing surprises. Instead of categorizing – oh that is a white cow, a blue sky, pink skin – I notice how the cow’s back is really blue because it reflects the sky. I notice a face has a rainbow from the pink of the cheek to the yellow of the forehead to the subtle blues and greens where the skin is thinner.
Painting from life shows me the beauty in everything. This is the surprise that keeps me hooked. This is what I hope to show you in the painting. This is what the camera’s mechanical eye can never capture, feel or communicate. This is why a hundred pretty photos are quickly forgotten, while somehow a special painting lingers.
—Denise Melvin