by Lynne Ayers

Just offering up, and sharing my humble opinion, of the work of some artists that I enjoy.  I chose some landscapes from my “art inspiration” folder.

Why do we like the art that we do?  Trying to understand what appeals to us in the work of others can advance our own work. Perhaps it projects an atmosphere that energizes or calms. Or it triggers a memory.  It may just be the colour palette. 

The loosely defined shapes and high horizons in the work of Norma Stephenson are very evocative to me of the less inhabited areas of the British countryside. Her soft colour choices give me a feeling of serenity. “Halton Hill” is typical of much of her work with broadly defined landscapes that provide just enough to convey atmosphere and leave the rest to my own memories and imagination. 

The work of Irma Cerese is similar in the use of blocks of colour fitted together like patchwork – loose compositions conveying a sense rather than recording detail.  I particularly like the colours in Knight Pond. I can’t get enough of that orange/red against the purple. I believe she did several versions of Knight Pond, based on a pond in Maine, and I’m not sure which one this is in her series. 

Garrowby Hill by David Hockney has an energy and just a sense of fun. I think the colours in the image I have provided are more vibrant than the original – I apologize for that but there is a sense of fun, portraying a simplistic view of our world which is in itself uplifting. 

Norma Stephenson was born 1945 in the Scottish Borders and currently lives in the Forest of Bowland in North Yorkshire.  “Though I predominantly work in pastel, I use an under painting of watercolour or acrylic paint. Some of this underpainting will be left exposed, some just peeping through. This can reveal exciting marks to be exaggerated and worked into; splashing and dribbling paint and water into the soft pastel work all adds to building the painting.”

Irma Cerese is an American artist.  Here is a link to a short 2015 interview with her.  https://cambridgeartassociation.blogspot.com/2015/03/artist-of-week-irma-cerese.html

David Hockney (born 1937) is an English painter, draughtsman, printmaker, stage designer and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considered one of the most influential British artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hockney

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Dive in! Share your creative activities &/or thoughts! Send JPG image(s) to cagac.ca@gmail.com with a few words describing some or all of what moved you to spend time thinking about art! Share how/if creativity affects (controls?) your life.  Writers, send poetry, lyrics, an excerpt – or what/who inspires you. And why! If possible, include an image of some sort.