Discussions with Mark Norseth

Silver -Grey, a Corner of Kailua Oil on Linen 20 x 22″

This piece is now finished, one painting of what has become a small series of paintings down in this wonderful area of my local beach.  Construction of a frame is under way, and I’ll be varnishing in a couple months in time for a show in October.

It’s going in a direction I’d like to continue to pursue, turning away from the ocean-based works and drawing more on subjects that are a bit unexpected, the easily-overlooked glimpses of beauty.  It’s been very helpful to find  that others have responded well to this piece and other pictures like it. Despite popular notions of the artist forging a bold direction in spite of opinion, I find it gratifying to discover that I’m not alone in seeing that this difficult world has been laced with unexpected glimpses of heaven.

Because I’m beginning to find my way into creating prints of my work, I’ve decided that over the next year I’d create some paintings particularly suited to reproduction.  On my list has been Halona Cove, a very special and very challenging location that I’ve painted repeatedly over the years.

Halona Cove, final painting, watercolor, 15 x 22″

I brought this painting into existence using the smaller “plein-air”  sketch shown below augmented by a number of pencil drawings, my preferred approach when painting directly, in situ, isn’t a practical solution.

Halona Cove watercolor study, 11 x 14″

The watercolor  study managed to grasp general colors and big shapes, some topographical information, and some figures for scale, but that’s about all I could glean from a watercolor excursion to this place, and the work falls short of my ambitions. However, I can use this as a guide in-studio, and when accompanied by pencil drawings and notes, I was able to create the larger and more complete painting  that expresses more fully what I’d like  to say.

I find that compositional sketches, a simple breaking down of the basic elements into patterns, is indispensable.

Because I’ve immersed myself in painting and drawing on location in Hawai’i, I’ve accumulated a large body of sketchbook material involving figures that I can use and manipulate as reference for paintings.

As my students know, I  prefer this approach over the more popular method of using photography.  Almost every painter I’ve come to admire worked without much reliance, if any, on the camera.  I suspect that some of the shortcomings I find in contemporary representational art, as compared to the work of the older artist’s,  is somehow tied to our  reliance on the convenience of the camera over the impressions of the mind.  At least I think that, and have been willing to challenge myself.  Does anyone else think that bowing to convenience has seriously eroded our skills as observers?   But more practically, the benefits of working  this way are that I’m constantly strengthening  my observational skills by drawing from life,  am disciplined to create stronger mental impressions, and gain a deeper personal connection with what makes a place special.  Perhaps  such a practice will prove to  have a positive accumulative effect over the years.

A detail of the background figures invented from rough sketchbook suggestions.

Working out the foreground figure

I  have had an agreement with myself for a number of years, and that is that as often as possible,  I’ll paint my watercolors from direct observation.

This commitment arose from a real desire to observe life and react in paint as directly as possible.  To work i situations where everything is moving, the people, the light, and the effect, is an exciting challenge, and pretty much the only way to keep me interested  in watercolor.

Painting on location, being in the beehive,  also has it’s drawbacks…you can make bad decisions in the heat of battle, carry something too far, or lose your objective. But after a while, I believe that you learn  to collect and focus all your facilities, and see/respond to the world in a much more real and vivid way.

King Street Market 16 x 12″                                                                    Watercolor

This is the latest, an abstract composition of forms defined mostly by color; the colors mostly subtle grays. These trees, rather homely as trees go, have been transformed by the constant assault of nature, and have a runty survivor’s dignity.  The color scheme and I go back to childhood;  I like weathered, silver grey beach houses and driftwood fences, dried grasses, and sand peppered by violet shadows.  Not colorful?  Look again.

The small indication of the figure was added today, and she may or may not stay.   The composition may hold up  without her, but the warm tones of her figure  and the suggestion of scale thrown into this blender of lights and darks seemed helpful.

untitled, oil on hand primed linen, 22 x 24″

I can finally put this into “sleep” mode  and let it dry for varnishing.  The whole experience of painting it has been a privilege, really, as well as a continuing part of my education.

When I look back at my intentions, and see the finished painting, it’s not unlike what a parent must feel when they suddenly see their child through detached eyes, see them grown,  mature and independent.   They’ve become something that is part of you, and yet become themselves as well.  This piece is like that. It’s only partly what I anticipated, but perhaps the part that is “itself”  is better than what I had planned, and it’s good that it works that way.  I wouldn’t want full control even if I could get it.

untitled, 21 x 27 ” oil on linen

As far as intentions go, I can say that it has the breeziness and movement that I was after, I find that my eye moves through it pretty well, and the color and contrasts are true to the look and the spirit of the place.  It’s got the being-there feeling that I think is the whole point of, well, being there.

My personal sentiments remain the same…I wonder where this painting will be one day, if people will recognize the care that is behind it. Hopefully so.  It may end up anywhere in the world, because you never can tell about these things.  But I’ve had the experience of the work itself, the being-there part. Setting up in the early morning, fighting the wind and the light changes,  meeting the people you will always meet, and rethinking and scraping down difficult passages; the whole bit.  Always wondering, always debating my choices.  The foreground has been reworked four times, I’d guess.  But it works now.

I rebuilt the stretcher bars to a lighter weight, the 4″ ones were too much, and the frame is currently awaiting it’s final finish.  I look forward to seeing it varnished…that’s like the baptism.  That’s when the deal is sealed.

There’s more coming, trust me.  I worked on two studies this morning, which may remain as small pieces, within yards of this place.  I guess it just suits me.