In tying up ‘Vincent’ I had some new feelings about the essence of the work. I have been so focused on technique for so long, which is a real danger and makes art dead, I lost sight of the reason for the painting altogether. Now that it is almost done, taking a step back I see I need to now hone in on the purpose…the message.
As I have written before, the gut connection I feel with Vincent Van Gogh goes beyond a love for his own work. I have read his collected letters many times and each time a deep empathy is built upon. It is difficult to explain because really it is on an emotional level that I feel these things. The painting is about that empathy, that compassion, in myself that I feel for the man and for his work. It has nothing to do with lifting myself to his artistic level, though I am sure many will take the work as just that. My hope and goal is that those who see it will get a feeling of the tenderness and affection I have for the person he is revealed to be through those letters and the difficult life he lived. To me, he is like a brother.
"If you hear a voice within you say "you cannot paint," then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced." Vincent
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