In searching for an “ism” that best describes my method and technique I have, for the past several weeks, emersed myself in other painting modes–past and present–that bear some similarities to my own. It is true that no two artists paint the same way, but may share the same ideology. This, to me, is paramount when trying to encapsulate one’s personal working methodology. I am not trying to establish a “rule” system, feeling strongly that it should not be present in current art traditions. I do believe that an artist should at least have some commitment to a doctrine that does describe his motives for applying paint. How else is one to establish goals for future growth? How could one defend his work, or even talk about what is important to him as an artist? For me, it is not enough to say “I just paint the way I feel at the time”. What does that mean, anyway? Is one to simply say “Today I feel like doing something with blue because the sun is hidden behind clouds” ? Whether that works for some I don’t know, or much less care these days. But I do believe one is selling oneself short when that road is taken. An artist must know where he has been and where he is going, what his current beliefs are and left open to inspirations that may stimulate new growth. I have often said that without change there can be no growth, but should qualify this to read change comes from growth and not growth from change! This is so important to understand I encourage everyone to read and then re-read that line. When an artist moves in different directions it is because he has grown beyond the old ones. It should never be said that an artist changes his modis-operandi out of boredom or failure to master his current method of describing form.
For this reason I have here attempted to describe a somewhat new direction in painting. I has its roots in tonal painting for the reason that the Tonalists did not abandon form but rather embraced it. However, I cannot dismiss the Impressionists for it was they who described a spectral palette and its application on canvas. Nature was now seen to be colour translated directily as light. This is the closest to the way I paint historically. There are differences, of course, and that is why I call my method new, or at least a new way of describing what I see and feel. It is more than Tonal-Impressionism, because besides using colour to describe form as tonal representations of various degrees of light, I also employ subjectively to move the veiwing individual. In this way representation can “transcend” itself in the mind of the on-looker, letting the artist surpase objective realism as pure mood. This is why I cannot call myself an Impressionist, or Tonalist or any other previous “ism”. What I am doing and will continue to persue has historical base but no current precedent. When one treads new waters there is the possibility of triumph as well as danger of total failure. However, that is where each of us should dare if we desire to scale upwards. For now, I will call what I do Tonal-Spectralism, because I define colour less as dealing with the surface of things but rather with light, and colour harmony (subjective colour) to form the basis of visual mood. I will continue to up-date these notations and try to cite some interesting historic parallels when they become available. Tim Widener (Mar. 2009)
I have been reading an old turn of the century publication on techniques and materials concerning oil painting and have come to the conclusion that I have been somewhat wrong about my method. I have for some time been calling it the “Peuse” method having learned the technique from my mentor Bruce Corr, and that is what he called it. It is actually spelled Puce, and refers to an application of purple used as a underlying harmonizer for the painting. Kind of like having purple strewn all over the place to produce harmony. It is true that it, and other colour methods like it, sprang from the Impressisonist approach but that is where the old definition and mine end. I actually arrange and use colour according to the spectrum (as seen in a rainbow), while dismissing browns and black from my palette, much as the Impressionists did, but still seek and utalize form in a Tonal way–that is, looking for and painting halftones of light while creating the unique light effects with colour placed on the canvas next to one another. This is more of a Tonal-Impressionist approach than any method that utalizes a single colour as an underlying harmonizer! The use of purple is restricted to mixing darks, noting that as they drop in value they get cooler. Also, purple is used to create my earth colour and to modify the upper range. That is where my use of purple ends, and it in no way is used to embellish my forms with harmony. If that were so, I believe the paintings created would be overly cool and much too somber for my taste. The method I actually use works for me because I can apply it to any subject–landscape, portraiture, still-life…anything. It also reflects my personal predilection while working from life to paint the effects of light in a givin season and day. However, when I work in the studio from these studies my colour choices find themselves in line with the theories of Wassily Kandinski and his “perfect harmonies”. All this makes me believe that I must admit that my method is mostly unique, an outgrowth of the Impressionist school and requires a new title. Who knows what I’ll come up with, but I’ll no longer be calling it the “Peuse Method”. (Feb. 15, 2009)
Working on-the-spot in different weather conditions has its highs and lows, but is still important in order to learn to read nature both objectively and subjectively. As an artist who works from life, I believe that although studio painting is a good medium to demonstrate the “inner” feeling, or subconcious thought, there is no substitute for enduring the trials and conflicts one sometimes encounters when painting outdoors in order to both catch nature’s light effects and absorb its majesty. It is true that as one progresses in this format, no matter how great the effort and dedication to purpose, one still is unable to attain total conquest and mastery of this process–indeed, I at least, only see how far I have yet to go.
T. H. Widener (Feb 1, 2009)
With each painting, my goal is always to paint what I feel as well as what I see. It is how light creates the effect and how that moment affects me which is important. This does not mean the sun has to be out in full shine—I paint many moonscapes as well as twilight effects, too. However, because I believe in the importance of “feeling” the moment in my work, I must paint in a myriad of conditions. While painting Winter a few weeks ago, I knew I wanted a late afternoon effect while it was lightly snowing. This was not an easy task. Twice, after I had hiked to my destination (within Woldumar Nature Center) and had set up my easel it began to snow far too heavy for me to continue working. But on my third attempt, while it snowed only lightly, I was able to catch the effect in about two hours. Finally, almost as if by Divine will, the weak winter sun poked itself modestly through the haze long enough for me to quickly jot it in. My reward, it seemed, for enduring what started out in frustration.
My wife and I often spend time in Frankfort. Here I enjoy wandering the town looking for new inspiration. On this occasion, I knew I wanted to paint Crystal Lake as the sun broke in the morning. I set up my easel before sunrise under what I believe to be perfect conditions. I thought to myself, this is going to be one of those rare events when everything, including the weather, goes right! I began to work feverishly as the sun broke the horizon, noting low clouds in the distance. I believed I would have enough time to catch the effect and get back to my wife before breakfast. But within an hour, my painting only half complete, it began to rain. Minutes later it was a downpour! When I returned to my cabin a few minutes walk away, I was drenched. I dried off my painting and showed Penny what I had done. Still liking it, I packed it away preserving another small adventure in the life of a “plein air” artist.
If you would like to view these paintings, there is a 2009 GLPAPA Group Exhibit at the Okemos Library from Feb 1-24th.
“Even though I paint the natural world, my work is primarily concerned with the human condition”.
My work is an emotional response to the visual, using color as light to make a subjective statement.
