Discussions with Mark Norseth

Tree Study oil on panel, 12 x 16″

I’ve been working with a small group of summer students and the subject of painting trees came up.  This wonderful subject, growing in an empty field on Diamond Head, was an ideal study.  Graceful, mature shapes, rhythmic, and well separated  from surrounding trees;  we began using it as a model one morning, and I liked it enough that I decided to invest the time to get into it fairly deeply over the course of several subsequent visits.

One of the students asked me a great question: what I got out of pursuing an oil study when a sketch seemed sufficient.  The more I think about it, I’d have to say “intimacy”.

The old painters were right…nature reveals herself gradually.   You learn truths about the forms of nature this way, but not in a head-knowledge way, because that’s not helpful at all.  It’s experienced. The closer you observe something, the more of it gets under your skin, where it’s useful. And from there,  you  eventually grasp what is unimportant about your subject as well.

Oil Sketch, 12 x 16″,  stage 2

I finished the sketch last evening, and spent some time today pulling things into shape.  I’ve now spent hours in this place, experiencing  and absorbing  the energy of it,  and as a result have a clear working sketch that shows nature as it presents itself.

However, a truly fine painting of the sea is, at heart, an expression of emotion.  I believe that this sort of work  must eventually be judged in large part by its ability to move the sensitive viewer.  It may invoke a sense of tranquility, conflict, resolution, or hope in a visual way; affecting the mind through the eye much the way music can through the ear. I can point to the best works of Alexander Harrison, Frederick Waugh, and Winslow Homer as evidence of this.

So now, the serious question that I need to delve into is: What emotion best describes my experience here?  What is the mood?

Without establishing that, the painting is only a fancy postcard…

So, the next step is a smaller, simple oil sketch.  As if the finished painting were viewed from 15 feet away,  to see how the structure speaks and what it suggests.  I’m on it…nature as I’d  like it to be.

Oil Sketch, 12 x 16 “

This is the first oil sketch for the painting based on my last post.

Climbing down to my location, I found the effect, predictably, not quite as powerful as the previous visit, but no matter.  The basics were there. From this, I’m able to start seeing  the overall design,  and start making choices about where I want this to go.

The working part was a blast; I got wet of course,  and enjoyed every second of trying to make this sketch, where everything is changing.  Imagine looking inside a washing machine and painting it, and you’ll get the idea.

However, this sort of sketch is often a bit of a disappointment when you view it in a more  reasoned  environment, far from the battlefield where it was painted. Whatever was in your head seems hardly as dramatic, hardly as evocative, when you are at this stage, and  usually design changes are necessary to bring it closer to your vision.

But the honeymoon isn’t over yet.

Ideally I’ll return and push this a bit farther.  The color and some crisp points are hard to get in the first go-around, where chaos reigns supreme. After that, I’ll possibly let go of it, turn it to the wall,  and let it simmer on the back burner while I work on something else.  I prefer that sometimes, because I want to clarify what I’m saying before I start the next level, which could be something like a large 30 x 40″ studio piece. That ‘ll probably mean some sketchbook roughs to move things around and see what I’m after.

Your thoughts?

Somedays, I like to disappear and spend time alone in the middle of the vortex.  For whatever reason, I seek out  and find myself utterly connected and in-the-moment in such a place as this.  The combination of the danger,  the stability of the rocks, and the absolute craziness of the sea, with the powerful light falling across it always makes a tremendous impact on me. It’s just like life, and I admire it.   And that’s a marvelous standpoint from which to compose and paint.

This composition came as a result of one of these afternoons.  I took the time to carve out a sketchbook drawing as a reminder, but am already so taken with the place that I  intend to return in a day and begin an oil sketch.  More to come…

Among my favorite places to work, Eternity Beach (Halona Cove) lies at the base of an inactive volcano. It offers a combination of rugged, arid  beauty, powerful contrasts of light, color, and texture, and a human element  as well, such as swimmers or children.  It can also be dangerous.  The surf can rage into this little cove unexpectedly, catching swimmers (and artists) off guard.

This painting was tucked away in my studio and somehow forgotten for several years. I’ve decided to give it another chance at life with a new frame and some public exposure. For myself, the delightful parts are the figures. Organizing and painting them “in situ”, as the come and go on the beach, wet paint into wet paint, is a challenge that I enjoy tremendously.  And it takes me back to my love of Joaquin Sorolla a bit as well.

Eternity Beach , 12 x 16″ Oil on panel

For movie fans, this was the location for Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr’s  famous kiss-in-the-surf  in  ”From Here to Eternity.”  But I usually don’t think of it.