Art and My Feelings: Week 1 Extended

Featuring works by Agnes Pelton, Kazuaki Tanahashi, Eric Massholder, Mary Blair, and Michalina Janoszanka

Why I created "Art and My Feelings"

If you couldn’t tell from my casual and almost overly enthusiastic approach to art analysis (on TikTok); I didn’t go to art school. What little I know about art movements spurs from Wikiart articles, lots of Googling, and the occasional DailyArt opp ed.

To be honest, fine art can be very intimidating and isolating for most people since it’s often associated with the ultra-wealthy. But most artists don’t live much of a lavish life while they are living, and if they do, they are often doing work they don’t actually enjoy.

But, whenever I see artwork that captures the artist's essence, heart, and ideals, I’m immediately drawn in. There is a gut reaction and almost soul recognition from one artist to another that comes from just seeing something painted, sculpted, or molded from someone’s heart and copious efforts.

So, I made “Art and My Feelings”, not for the acclaimed art critics and ultra-wealthy people shopping around for an investment piece, but for people that love art from a visceral place. I also made it for the people who are new to art and don’t have time to scour the internet for cool pieces to admire. But most of all, I made it for myself, as an art lover, a dreamer, and someone who finds hope and inspiration in creation.

Sandstorm (1932) Agnes Pelton

According to WikiArt, this painting aligns with the precisionist art style and is a symbolic painting.

To decode these words, Agnes uses her imagination to capture the essence of a sandstorm in the desert. Now, essence isn't something concrete, rather it's a metaphor for something deeper and often more spiritual.

Essence is a difficult concept to grasp because there isn't a precise definition for it. But if I were to compare it to something, I'd compare it to scent. Like essence, scents can trigger memories, feelings, and emotions lingering in our subconscious and bring them forward. These memories can be ones that took place in the past or even ones that exist on a primordial level.

This painting was created during Agnes' forty-year stay in the desert and illustrates her deep reverence and respect for the harsh environment. Her precise use of soft brush strokes creates a beige flurry of sandy clouds, that cover the sun, and cast a blue light across the sky. Following underneath is a vibrant rainbow shimmering across the landscape, representing a promise of water.

The inherent optimism in this piece drew me in and provided me with relief from several sandstorms that swirled in my life. The hope, dreamy outlook, and romantic sensibility of "Sandstorm (1932)" captured me, and made me examine my setbacks and hardships with a softer gaze.

"Rainbow Enso" and "Miracles of Each Moment" Kazuaki Tanahashi

These paintings by Kazuaki, are considered lyrical abstractions.

Lyrical abstraction is any artwork where the image is not based on a material object, like a landscape, person, or physical item. Instead, the image is a metaphor, representing a theme, concept, universal truth, or ideal.

Kazuaki often paints the Zen Buddhist lyrical abstraction of, enso, which means "circular form". This circular form can represent, life, growth, enlightenment, or aspiring toward a zen state of mind.

When I first saw the Enso circles, I had no prior knowledge of the religious roots or philosophy attached to them. I just admired the inherently feminine form of the circle and thought the color choices of both paintings brought fresh energy to a seemingly simple circle.

With "Rainbow Enso", I think of the vibrant parts of being a young adult trying to figure the world out with all of its messiness, excitement, and energy. However, when I look at "Miracles of Each Moment", I think of becoming, and settling into an established self, a regality, and surety that comes with age and time spent refining oneself.

The beauty of the Enso is that the interpretation is truly in the eyes of the observer. So tell me, what do you see when you look at these paintings?

"A Gift" Eric Massholder

Finally, we have our first figurative and surrealist piece on the list by the artist, Eric Massholder.

Surrealism and Figuratism seem to juxtapose each other because the former rejects all forms of reality and embraces the absurd, while the latter emphasizes reality and the human form. And the two opposing concepts work beautifully together in "A Gift".

This painting shows a mother and child from an alien nation carrying food to a neighbor's house amidst a psychedelic and vibrant landscape. The bold color scheme and vivid illustration create a technicolor dream world that immediately sucks you in. I mean how could you not be curious about inter-planetary travel when you see art like this?

I truly hope that whenever aliens finally feel comfortable enough to make themselves known to us, it's more like this painting, and less like the foreign and domestic governments in the movie Arrival.

"Peter Pan" Mary Blair

In this animated drawing by the famed Disney concept artist, Mary Blair, we see the Darling children floating away from a drab and dreary London off to Neverland.

Mary Blair captured the feeling of being swept away by the pulling of the children and the stars up and to the right corner of the frame. The farther the children fly, the deeper the night grows, and the more exciting the journey becomes.

This painting captured me immediately, because of my deep-rooted love for the movie Peter Pan. As a child prone to escaping and daydreaming, I particularly loved the idea of a magic fairy pixie boy, whisking me away to a magical kingdom.

The older I've grown the more I realize the importance of practicality and realism when dealing with difficult life circumstances. But, that doesn't mean I need to give up dreaming altogether; instead, I can channel that creativity, like Mary, into art. I can make my Neverland manifest before my eyes each time I sit down to create something.

"Spring" Michalina Janoszanka

In this striking illustration by Michalina Janoszanka, the famous second muse of Jacek Malczewski we see a river's wildlife stirring with awakening energy.

In Michalina's painting, spring seems to come at night. The animals are shaking themselves out of their three-month slumber, and coming to life around the river bed. The dark color choices bring out an almost eerie yet majestic quality to spring and paint it entirely opposite of its standard depiction.

Michalina's aesthetic sense was vivid, alive, and completely her own; which I really admire and look up to. The inherent risk-taking and boldness it takes to make something so antithetical to what was famous during her time takes a lot of courage. Though this risk-taking may have come from her work never being publically shown during her life, it's still indicative of a creative rebel!

This painting blew me away and definitely made me want to tap into my own eccentric leanings and share the weirdness with the world. It will take some time of course, but buyer beware! The weird is coming.

Thanks for reading!

I'll see you,

On the next one <3