I was going to crack out another random blog for you, but on “Sunday Morning” they reported that today was the day Vincent Van Gogh died many years ago. So I'm going to give you the blog that I wrote a month or so ago about my favorite Van Gogh piece: Starry Night.
There's something about Starry Night that has always captivated me. The first time I remember exposure to it is art class when we had to do our own depiction--was it in paper or tempera paints? Of course then there was that "Boy Meets World" episode and Mr. Hagen's Starry Night tie. I don't think I ever studied it formally--we tended to study form and function over history. My high school art teacher wasn't smart enough to cover it. I do remember it in our World History book.
But why Starry Night? Maybe because all the art we studied in Spanish class was so rigid and overtly religious centered with very realistic styles. Even Picasso’s dramatic depictions didn't strike me the same. Maybe that's because Picasso is so much ingrained in our culture that it didn't inspire me when I was first exposed to his works.
There's a whimsical quality to Van Gogh's paintings, not just Starry Night. Van Gogh used colors very much ingrained in my internal palette: deep blues, purple, splash of bright colors like yellow and red. The painting simultaneously feels very vast and intimate. Sometimes all I can see is the looming sky, frightening with its swirls. But the glowing stars are also comforting with a village nestled under them.
And that shape in the foreground. Sometimes I wish it wasn't there obstructing my view, but without this large looming spine, the picture would lose its balance. I don't always see the object (and what exactly is it? rocks, fire?) sitting there. Somehow I look past it. I wonder if that's how Bob Ross (that guy on PBS) got his inspiration for the big dead tree or ugly bush right in the middle of his beautiful paintings. Maybe all this time he was taking his cue from Van Gogh. And here I thought Bob was a radical.
Jenny bought me Starry Night for Christmas and then two of his iris paintings. Well, that sealed the deal.
Another reason I think Starry Night draws me in is because it seems mosaic, and I've always had a fascination for mosaics.
When Trading Spaces came on, I contemplated what my fantasy room would be. After some time it became clear that it would be a Starry Night room, though in what form, I could never picture.
But then it came to me. Why try to recreate this masterpiece in a different form--emulate it. So we bought sponges and the richest, darkest blue and purple we could find and the yellow closest to starlight. Without any guide other than my love for the painting, I sponged this dark blue paint on the wall. Soon I figured out how much was the right amount of paint on the sponge and just how much pressure to apply.
It was a leap of faith, one that consumed me and soothed my soul for seven days. I'm so proud of my room the transformation it underwent.
To go to the New York Museum of Modern Art (MoMA for those familiar with the term) and stand before this painting was truly great. I've stood in front of many other paintings wondering how it would feel to see this one. When the real moment came there were no choirs of angels singing or epiphanies--but I was awestruck and captivated. I wanted to stay there longer to study it, so my only disappointment came when I knew I had to keep moving.
I floated through the rest of my day--for I had been so honored to stand before Starry Night.
There's something about Starry Night that has always captivated me. The first time I remember exposure to it is art class when we had to do our own depiction--was it in paper or tempera paints? Of course then there was that "Boy Meets World" episode and Mr. Hagen's Starry Night tie. I don't think I ever studied it formally--we tended to study form and function over history. My high school art teacher wasn't smart enough to cover it. I do remember it in our World History book.
But why Starry Night? Maybe because all the art we studied in Spanish class was so rigid and overtly religious centered with very realistic styles. Even Picasso’s dramatic depictions didn't strike me the same. Maybe that's because Picasso is so much ingrained in our culture that it didn't inspire me when I was first exposed to his works.
There's a whimsical quality to Van Gogh's paintings, not just Starry Night. Van Gogh used colors very much ingrained in my internal palette: deep blues, purple, splash of bright colors like yellow and red. The painting simultaneously feels very vast and intimate. Sometimes all I can see is the looming sky, frightening with its swirls. But the glowing stars are also comforting with a village nestled under them.And that shape in the foreground. Sometimes I wish it wasn't there obstructing my view, but without this large looming spine, the picture would lose its balance. I don't always see the object (and what exactly is it? rocks, fire?) sitting there. Somehow I look past it. I wonder if that's how Bob Ross (that guy on PBS) got his inspiration for the big dead tree or ugly bush right in the middle of his beautiful paintings. Maybe all this time he was taking his cue from Van Gogh. And here I thought Bob was a radical.
Jenny bought me Starry Night for Christmas and then two of his iris paintings. Well, that sealed the deal.
Another reason I think Starry Night draws me in is because it seems mosaic, and I've always had a fascination for mosaics.When Trading Spaces came on, I contemplated what my fantasy room would be. After some time it became clear that it would be a Starry Night room, though in what form, I could never picture.
But then it came to me. Why try to recreate this masterpiece in a different form--emulate it. So we bought sponges and the richest, darkest blue and purple we could find and the yellow closest to starlight. Without any guide other than my love for the painting, I sponged this dark blue paint on the wall. Soon I figured out how much was the right amount of paint on the sponge and just how much pressure to apply.
It was a leap of faith, one that consumed me and soothed my soul for seven days. I'm so proud of my room the transformation it underwent.
To go to the New York Museum of Modern Art (MoMA for those familiar with the term) and stand before this painting was truly great. I've stood in front of many other paintings wondering how it would feel to see this one. When the real moment came there were no choirs of angels singing or epiphanies--but I was awestruck and captivated. I wanted to stay there longer to study it, so my only disappointment came when I knew I had to keep moving.I floated through the rest of my day--for I had been so honored to stand before Starry Night.
Pictures (top to bottom): Starry Night at the NYC MoMA
Swirl on my north wall (complete with Iris
Painting, though not a van Gogh).
Close up of wall to show "brush strokes." I used a round sponge with
little circle grooves to dot on my yellow texture for stars as the first layer.
The second layer I used a flat sponge with broad groves to emulate his brush
strokes.
The last picture is a corner of my room...two walls meeting. I continued my purple swirl onto the next wall, similar to the continuing swirl in the painting.
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