More crows. I took a break from an oil painting commission this week and did this crow study. I’m wondering if I’m becoming a ‘bird’ artist. But after looking through my reference photos of sandhill cranes and snow geese taken on Westham Island, I realize I’m only interested in crows. The other birds are just passing through and caution is probably the only regard they have for humans. Crows are in my ‘hood, they are part of my world, and they thrive because of human activity. This TED video on the intelligence of crows is fascinating (thanks to Hayden mentioning it on Andrea’s blog).
The other painting that was accomplished this week was by my 6 year old daughter, Olivia, after watching, My Kid Could Paint That. Odd how it's usually Olivia who wanders in and stays to watch documentaries with me. The film is about Marla Olmstead, the preschooler that became a celebrity artist for her abstract paintings until a 60 Minutes profile on her suggested her father helped her with her paintings. Whether she was helped or not means nothing to me. I felt sympathy for her parents, who clearly let themselves be swept up in the hype and caught in the centre of a world that wants to make and break people. This is a great film to watch and think about whether you're interested in art or not.
People latched onto the story of Marla, the art 'genius', and collectors made the price of her paintings soar to $20,000 a piece. One collector in the film, proudly displaying her painting beside his Renoir, talks about the images he see in her work - a doorway, a figure. He said he asked Marla about it and of course, being a typical preschooler, she didn't know what the hell he was talking about.
My daughter, seeing the man describe her painting said, "Wow, she's a good painter to do all that!"which brought on a great conversation. It became one of those rare moments when you feel like you're saying something worthwhile to you children instead of "clean your room and stop trying to kill your sister with the remote!"
I said, "she didn't mean to do that, she was playing with paint but the man saw those things in her painting. It's like when you stare at clouds and see dogs and dragons. The clouds didn't make those images, they're just clouds, but we imagine those pictures in our mind." After the film, Olivia had fun randomly scribbling while I found the images and stories within her drawings. The next day she really wanted to do a scribble painting and find her own stories in them. I let her loose with lots of paint and a canvas and she had fun finding bananas and bears and mice in all that abstraction.
It made me realize, meaning in life is about all those billions of stories that make up our perception. Some we share with large groups (religion, political views, etc.), others are smaller and subtler and make up our personal mythology, some seemingly unimportant things like how we feel about cats and the movies we like to watch. Everything is based on a experience or idea that's recreated through a lens in our mind. One collector of Marla's work in the film gets a little teary eyed when describing why the paintings are important to her. She says they 'capture the moment it was like to be a child' (okay, I have add 'duh', Marla's 4). I imagine one story for that woman is a romanticism of childhood, the free abandon and innocence she perceives to be childhood. Maybe my little obsession with crows is a story about finding connection with something natural and wild in my contrived, suburban surroundings. I think my daughters story right now, is just to find the stories.
Whew, I'm getting too long winded in my blog writing. Next post, pictures and point form. Maybe a meme, anybody know any good ones?
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12 comments:
Ha! Looks like you're doing the same thing as me on a Sunday evening as me -- except yours is much deeper and more thoughtful. This painting looks really different enlarged c omparedto the small version. Its looseness adds to its tightness/cohesiveness and vice versa. I love that! And I have been wanting to see My Kid Could Paint That since I first heard about it (and talked about it on my blog on Sept 14, 2007 after seeing a trailer) but still haven't gotten off me arse to do so.
Andrea: I noticed your new post popping up. Actually the crow is a drawing on paper with a watercolour background wash. Haven't done a serious drawing in ages, feels good. As for the movie, see it and then we can talk about it! It's really good.
Ellen, once again your post was outstanding. The great thing about your writing is how it makes me feel and engages me in contemplation about things I may not have thought of. Hope I'm not getting too "wishy washy" but your a talented writer as well as a wonderful artist. Thanks for sharing
Melody: That's so nice of you to say, thank you. After posting this one, I wish I hadn't for a lot of reasons, so it's reassuring to get that feedback. You're not being wishy-washy, I REALLY appreciate your comments!
Fabulous crow!
I love crows too. I like the one you did that Andrea now has.
I think crows have real senses of humour - at least that's what I see when I watch them.
Caroline: Thanks! And I agree, crows do look like they have a sense of humour. It must be that mischievious look they have about them.
amazing likeness of the crow. they are compelling, aren't they? I read years ago that crow researchers can recognize a distinct east coast and west coast crow accent - and use it as a party game when watching movies - they said that crows are so ubiquitous that there is always one somewhere in the sound track.
Fascinated with your comments on stories: I'm always fascinated with stories. Reminds me of the thinking that suggests we create -"assemble"- the world through the stories we tell. Thanks for the good read!
Well, everyone else seems to be saying much the same: good piece of observation.
But what I perceive to be the lynchpin is your *discussing* the art with Olivia and not rushing off to tell the world about your fabulously artistic little girl.You just gave her paint and canvas and time.And love.
More long-term pleasure and productivity is achieved by youthful play than long-term study.
Well put, Ellen!
Oh, yeah...I like the crow. Of course. But you knew that, yes?
Hayden: Thanks for your comments and another interesting crow fact I can add to the database in my head. I'm definitely enough of a geek to wish to one day be invited to a party of rowdy ornithologists guessing east or west crows. Love that image!
Dinah: Thanks. Olivia's not all that interested in her artistic gifts. She is however, extremely proud (as am I) of her ability to jump rope 5 times in a row while jumping on the trampoline. Unfortunately, I can't think of any way to make that profitable :)
ohmy, i LOVE that painting you've done. I have a huge obsession with crows and used to keep two life-sized, fake ones in our house after Halloween was long over...i felt like they were protectors. Until someone came in and told me to get rid of them, they were bad omens. So, i hung them around the neighborhood, high on telephone poles, where they still 'perch' today. And, i've really wanted to see that movie, too! Beautiful post...
molly: thanks, always happy to hear from another crow lover. I think crows are considered good omens in some first nations cultures. I guess it all depends on viewpoint. That's so interesting about your fake crows still on the telephone poles, I wonder what the other crows make of them.
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