A few thoughts from one of my favorite artists this morning. Robert Genn captured the essence of Canadian wild places so beautifully that I often thought I might be able to walk right into one of his paintings. The thoughtful newsletters he sent out from The Painters Keys are still being sent out by his daughter, Sara Genn, also a fine artist, and I am always happy when one arrives in my inbox. I miss Bob, and these are fine words to live by.
. . . creative evils are beaten with the power of knowledge and understanding. By taking pains. By not tolerating mediocrity and mediocre thinking in ourselves. By treating ourselves to the exhilaration of our honest and elevated desires. By honoring craftsmanship and attention to detail. By patience and perseverance. By appreciating the prior and current light of others. By the realization of the responsibility of it all. And the epiphany that even through the act of art we can be our brother’s keepers.
There is always something eating away at what we could be. But the real termites of our studios are the ones that eat away at the clarity of our love.
Robert Genn
(1936 - 2014)
2 comments:
Some days creativity is hiding in the bottom of my closet of dispair. Thanks for reminding me someone out there is still making beauty.
You are welcome to email me (and then you could remove this comment) blackmtnbarb AT gmail DOT com. You're the only one I know in Canada, but there's apparently a bot that uses a Canadian address and I look like I've got 1100 hits from there. Sure!
Post a Comment