Good or Bad Art....?

"Back to Life"

"I maintain that two and two would continue to make four, in spite of the whine of the amateur for three, or the cry of the critic for five."

James Abbott McNeill Whistler

What is 'good' art or conversely, what is 'bad' art? Whistler certainly found out all about that question.Let's have a look at what happened to him and see if it will help us decide what is good or bad art. Whistler maintained that art should need no explanation - that it should stand entirely on its own merit. Unfortunately this brought him into conflict with the establishment and in particular one  John Ruskin. Ruskin was the pre-eminent critic of his day and the final arbiter of what was acceptable or not, in other words, what was 'good' or 'bad' art. He thought art should have a moral or social value. Ruskin wrote a particularly vitriolic condemnation of a painting by Whistler. Our hero was incensed and took out a libel action against Ruskin. Whistler based his case on "art for art's sake", arguing that art was art regardless of what anyone else might think or claim, summed up in his quote above. He expected the support of his fellow artists but he was wrong - his 'friends' were too afraid of offending the establishment so they kept silent on the issue. Nevertheless, amazingly, he won his case. But even the Judge closed ranks against him and awarded damages of just one farthing! One farthing was one quarter of one pence in old money. The resultant  court costs and other incurred expenses made Whistler bankrupt and his paintings and possessions including his home were sold off to clear his debts.  He travelled around Europe continuing to confront and confound the art establishment. He made many friends and built up a large following becoming very successful on the way. These friends included the Impressionists, who invited him to exhibit with them at their first controversial exhibition - an offer he declined. Strange therefore that this enigmatic artist who was so modern in his ideas and subjects is best remembered for a painting he did of his dear old mum! 

So what do you think? Who was right - Whistler or the art establishment?

I think that today the answer would very clearly favour Whistler. We live in an age when anything can be classed as 'art' and according to Whistler - rightly so because art needs no explanation and has no moral or social obligation. So what is 'good' art? There is no objective answer. When I worked in galleries I noticed what I called the 'Gallery Effect' on people. They would talk in whispers so that nobody could overhear their comments and think them stupid for liking or not liking the 'right' thing. There is still a great deal of snobbishness attached to art and critics still have far too much power in deciding what is good or bad. The older a critic gets the more he seems to favour modern or contemporary art...I think this is just to make him appear cool, but the knock on effect can be very detrimental to traditional painters who have taken a long time to learn their craft only to be dismissed as old fashioned and irrelevant(on the soapbox again!). I used to tell the customers that if they like it - it's good, and if they don't - just say it's not so good. My painting above was based on a faded print in my mother's home (perhaps I should do a painting of her.). I had always liked it and brought it back to life as a large watercolour. I later found out that the original artist was called Benjamin Williams Leader. A Victorian painter and a member of the RA, he fell victim to the obsession for modernity and is largely now unrecognised for his fantastic work.

For me though, this is and always will be 'good art'.

Have a look at some more 'art' by Glenn Marshall

Twilight Stroll on Bridlington Beach

Initial Sketch

"To say to the painter that Nature is to be taken as she is, is to say to the player that he may sit on the piano."

James Edward McNeil Whistler

Not all my paintings are inspired by nature...sometimes I am intrigued by a particular effect or look that I want to try and capture. Having decided on the 'look' I want, the next stage is to find a real place that will best fit that look. I had been looking at a painting of Scarborough by J.M.W. Turner. He visited Yorkshire several times and did lots of paintings of the area including Scarborough but I can't find any record of a visit to Bridlington. So that got me thinking, "What if he had made it to Bridlington after all?". So that's the genesis of my painting. Now let me say straightaway that it was never my intention to do a 'Turner' - how could I or anyone else do  justice to this country's greatest ever artist. His shifting shapes and dissolving forms were happening in his head not mine but I could use some of the ideas and techniques that we know he used to help me achieve what was in my head!

So to work. My initial pencil sketch is fairly accurate of the view from Sewerby steps towards the town. Although obviously very simplified the proportions are just about correct so this is the first change to make. So I did what Turner often did and exaggerated the height of the cliffs to make the scene more dramatic. Of course in Turner's time this was never an issue. When he got back home to London and said this is what the cliffs look like - very few people would be able to argue - no digital cameras back then! But this idea is also in line with what Whistler said in the above quote. By his time photography was starting to become popular so he realised that as a painter, he was going to have to do things differently to be able to compete with this new technology......this is even more imperative these days. 

So here's the first painting from the sketch:

You can see that the cliffs have been made higher. I also used a lot of yellow on my first wash and established a very clear light source as the great man often did. I faded the background but retained the church steeple as this is a very prominent Bridlington landmark. The foreground is quite bold and distinctive which again is a Turner trait. I was pleased with the result. Now a dear friend of mine who has been involved in the art world her whole life once told me, "If you  achieve an effect once, it might just be a lucky accident, but if you can do it again and again, then you have learned a new technique.". Sound advice, so I decided to do the painting again. This time I should be able to take more care with the detail as I had already worked out the technique. It worked and I was really pleased with the result. Would you like to see it? All will be revealed later. I left it for a couple of days and just kept having a look at different times - it just needed something extra to finish it off.

Figures? Possibly. Turner certainly used figures as they give a sense of scale as well as a focus for the viewer. But I decided to wait another day or so before I made up my mind. I mentioned my musings on Facebook and got a variety of suggestions ranging from a 'moose' (A friend of mine from the USA),a dolphin, fat bloke with burger and onions. knitting whale (my wife - ever helpful!), dancing hippo in a tutu (what can I say Ozzy?) to a boat....all very helpful I'm sure. Anyway you have waited long enough so here is the finished version:

"Twilight Stroll on Bridlington Beach."
20" x 16"
Original Watercolor
by
Glenn Marshall

I exaggerated the cliffs even more and painted the foreground carefully before adding the figures to complete this timeless scene - hope you like it.
   

What's in a Name...... or Variations on a Theme

"Out to Sea - Misty Morning"

Original Watercolour

by

Glenn Marshall

This might sound silly to anyone who has never tried to sell a painting, but anyone who has will certainly understand what I mean when I say that sometimes the hardest thing to do is.....name your picture!

This is especially true when you have done several paintings of the same scene or the same theme. I was going through my photo archives and came across a painting called "Out to Sea". It was a large watercolour (30" x 20" in old money.) that I painted six or seven years ago. Although it is a fairly simple scene it is actually a very strong composition. It is also an iconic coastal view that most people have encountered when strolling along the clifftops. These factors meant that it attracted a lot of interest and was eventually sold. Let's have a look at it:

"Out to Sea"

So this was the original and even though I say it myself - in a frame with a 2" mount - it looked pretty good. However it had been painted in our pre-digital camera period, so the only record I have now is this small photo. I am preparing to paint a large watercolour which will form part of our major exhibition next year (if it turns out right!). It is a large scale coastal scene that I have in mind and as I had been engrossed in iPad painting for several months I thought this scene would be ideal to revisit to ease myself back into 'proper' painting. I could brush up my 'coastal' techniques and I thought it would be interesting to compare the two. Want to see the outcome:

"Out to Sea - Again"

20" x 16"

Original Watercolour

by

Glenn Marshall

As you can see, it is a fairly straightforward take on the original. But I have made  variations which improve the composition slightly. I have widened the path and curved it  to make it more pleasing to the eye. But the main difference is in the sky. The original sky was very much a 'happening' with the easel tilted  and the painting upside down so that the paint would run away from the sea. Over the years I have acquired a lot more control in the way I paint. I used the same colours (I always do.) but this time made the paint go where I wanted it to so that the clouds lead you into the distance. This creates 'space' in the painting and more depth than the original where the sky is a bit horizontal. However, even as I was painting the sky I was thinking I  should have done this differently! When completed, framed and hung on the wall though, it didn't look too bad. But over the next few days I kept looking at it and wondering. I probably would have taken it no further except that driving up the coastal road I noticed the real life effect I had so nearly captured on paper. It was morning and the sea just faded away into the sky with no distinguishable meeting point. That was it...all the incentive I needed to go "Out to Sea" again! It is no different than a musician doing a different take of a song until he gets it right. This was the effect I was after and had seen:

So the same colours again but this time painting the sky and sea together in one wash to create that lovely misty effect. Again I made a few alterations to the foreground - making the path a bit 'warmer' and exaggerating the height of the posts to create even more depth. I even added a careful shadow on the left hand signpost to add to the illusion of reality. I hung them side by side in my studio to compare the two and have decided that I am very pleased with my third (final?) attempt "Out to Sea - Misty Morning".

Naming the paintings was pretty straightforward but you do have to be careful. When I first started painting professionally, I opened a business bank account trading under the name of Fairfield Arts. It seemed pretty logical at the time - we lived in Fairfield Cottage so why not. But a couple of years later a friend (!) abbreviated it to F-Arts! We then became and still are Marshallartz. Again it is a pretty cool name - but we have had inquiries for karate classes! The Rudston group even tried to get me to change my 'painting' name as there are quite a few artists called Glenn Marshall....they decided I should be known as Ship McCoy!

So on that note I'll say farewell for now me ol' shipmates and splice the main brace!

My Studio...

Painting in Progress

"I have no philosophy, my favourite thing is sitting in the studio"

Arne Jacobsen

My wife, Merice, has been helping me 're-vamp' my studio. This involved a lot of work  entailing moving things (some very heavy things!) around to create more space and make the maximum use of the ambient light. I am very pleased with the result and have already started a painting. 

Earlier that same day we had bumped into a friend of ours while out walking the dog. His wife is a very accomplished artist. She attended several of my courses and workshops but really didn't need to apart from the fact that she needed somewhere to paint. Each week she could come to a class and paint. She needed this routine, not because she didn't enjoy painting- but because she found it difficult to be motivated when she had to set up and then clean up after every session at home...not enough space there for a studio.

This made me realise how fortunate I am to have the luxury of all this space to claim as my studio. There are so many benefits to having your personal studio. It's such a wonderful thing to have a dedicated area to your art - a place where you don't have to set up or clean up after every session. So if you only have a bit of spare time you can just retreat to the studio and pick up where you left off! This is so important to your development as a painter because there is no substitute for picking up that brush as often as you can. Studios don't have to be anything special. You just need enough room to be able to leave your painting kit set up and a good source of daylight is preferable. But even if you haven't got a window you can always invest in a 'daylight' bulb! Now I'm lucky - I've got a full room to myself but remember the more space you have, the more 'clutter' you will collect...this is part of 'Murphy's Law'.

I suppose we are all different when it comes to how we work in the studio. For instance I never change the water once I begin a painting. I certainly don't wash my brushes  either until the painting is finished....that's why I have a different brush for every colour I use.

When were you last washed?

But my studio is not just for painting. It's the place where I let my imagination run riot, the place where I take time out from the world in general, the place to sit and think, to plan and prepare for my next painting, to experiment and have fun with different styles and techniques,the place where I am at liberty to make mistakes, the place where I develop as a painter and a person - so you can see how vital it is for me and why I will never take it for granted.

www.glennmarshall.org

Galleries, Grumbles and more Grumbles...

"Bridlington Priory from Kirkgate"
iPad Painting by
Glenn Marshall

Prints and cards for sale

I had occasion to visit two art galleries last week. The first was a well known 'contemporary' gallery and the second was a 'community' gallery. At opposite ends of the art market it is good that they are both surviving and prospering (I hope!). Although not a big fan of 'contemporary' or 'modern' art I appreciate that many people are attracted to it and by it, and buy it! I admit to being hopelessly old fashioned and like my paintings to look like real places or things. I am a great admirer of painters who have studied the craft of painting and apply it carefully rather than just 'expressing' themselves with daubs and splodges ..hey this is my blog, so just my opinion - no offence meant to anyone! This being so I should have had a better time in the community gallery, but it didn't work out like that. Why? Generally community galleries charge no commission and are open to any artist who can afford a small monthly rent for wall space. This is fine in theory but does not work out so good in practice because having a 'few bob' is not a guarantee of talent. And if you've paid for a space you are going to make sure you fill it up to get your money's worth! So the gallery ends up cram packed with mediocre paintings that completely overpower and seriously undercut the few talented artists on show.

But let me stress - I am not against the gallery system. I used galleries to full advantage for many years. In fact I used to have my own gallery - 'The Glenn Marshall Gallery' in Old Town, Bridlington.

"Glenn Marshall Gallery"
from an original watercolour by
Glenn Marshall

So why don't I have the Glenn Marshall Gallery now? What do you think? Bad location perhaps...no, because Old Town back then was rapidly gaining the reputation as THE art centre of the East Riding of Yorkshire and featured no less than eleven galleries in High Street! OK...maybe it was because the artwork wasn't up to much. Wrong again...of course I have to say that as only Merice's and my work were on display. Joking aside, we were doing  well with sales -so that wasn't the reason. What about the credit crunch? There is no doubt that this certainly impacted on everybody in the art sector but with judicious pricing and increased marketing we were riding the storm so that was not the reason I closed the gallery either. The real reason was...wait for it....the smoking ban. That's right - the smoking ban.

As well as eleven galleries, High Street had seven pubs, so when the ban was imposed, this forced seven groups of people out on to the streets to have a fag. They didn't mean any  harm to anyone. However congregated outside pubs with a drink in one hand and a fag in the other, and shouting across to groups outside other pubs on the opposite side of the street, they unfortunately presented an intimidating barrier to passers by. By the very nature of things the weekends were the busiest times for both sets of businesses and within a very short space of time the number of potential customers dropped dramatically.....time to close the gallery I'm afraid. I wasn't alone either - there are only two galleries left in Old Town now.
So let's finish with a big thank you to all gallery owners and long may you keep providing opportunities for artists to show their work. 

Come Together..

'Leeds Town Hall'
iPad painting
by
Glenn Marshall
More Information
         
               

This iPad painting is based on an old black and white photograph. I have painted it in the style of John Atkinson Grimshaw. Regular followers will have gathered by now that I am a great fan. We both came from Leeds and I first discovered his beautiful work in the Leeds City Art Gallery (the very astute among you will have noticed that we had a 'Town' Hall but now we have a 'City' Art Gallery - this is called progress...I think!). Back to the story. It had been my very great honour to have had a painting selected for the Leeds Open Exhibition and we had gone to see my work hung in such a prestigious place. It did feel good, I admit, to have my painting on the wall in my hometown gallery. Of course while we there we had a look round and came across the paintings of one Mr Grimshaw. I was totally captivated from that moment on. I bought his biography there and then and have been inspired ever since..whenever I get stuck, I think..'nocturne'.

I'm sure that all painters have heard the comment, "Oh, I wouldn't know where to start!", so I thought it might be helpful if I showed step by step how this painting eventually did 'come together'.

Initial outline to establish scale and dimensions

Drawing some detail

"The devil is in the detail" - you're not kidding

First colour wash and immediate transformation

Starting to look like a painting now the sky's done 

Let there be lights...then just the figures to do

Hope you enjoyed the show.

For You Blue...

Midsummer Night's Dream
Original Watercolour
by
Glenn Marshall
Prints and Cards

From the moment I began to paint I was fascinated by the effects of moonlight..how it could transform the mundane into the magical. Over the years I have added people or animals to my paintings but I do think they work best without. This leaves the viewer free to wander through the painting and make his or her own focal point or points. I have always wanted to lead the viewer into a painting and this is a good example. You are naturally led to the white reflection in the distance and then, hopefully, beyond...enjoy your stroll - it's a lovely Summer night!