Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Gestures

Bastrop View, 8 x 10

I painted this this morning at 6 am--needed a little more coffee, but plowed ahead anyway sustained by the results of Monday.  Shortly after painting it (while checking emails), I recalled something I read recently in Robert Henri's book The Art Spirit.  In discussing trees, he offered that a painter should "Give the tree its gesture," and that in a tree "there is a spirit of life, a spirit of growth and a spirit of holding its head up."  Laurel Daniel's blog post this morning about trees brought that quote to mind; the next time I tackle trees, I'm going to remember Henri's expression, because the "gesture" does convey it all.

-julie davis

2 comments:

Carolyn Finnell said...

That's a wonderful quote, and a wonderful painting. Thanks for sharing both.

Laurel Daniel said...

Julie, this is a great quote to memorize and remember every time we tackle a tree! The each do have their own gesture and personality.