-- Albert Pinkham Ryder, in an interview with Adelaide Louise Samson, quoted by John Updike, Better Than Nature, NYRB (Nov. 8, 1990).
Nature is a teacher who never deceives. When I grew weary with the futile struggle to imitate the canvases of the past, I went out in the fields, determined to serve nature as faithfully as I had served art. In my desire to be accurate I became lost in a maze of detail. Try as I would, my colors were not those of nature. My leaves were infinitely below the standard of a leaf, my finest strokes were coarse and crude. The old scene presented itself to me framed in a opening between two trees. It stood out like a painted canvas—the deep blue of a midday sky—a solitary tree, brilliant with the green of early summer, a foundation of brown earth and gnarled roots. There was no detail to vex the eye. Three solid masses of form and color -- sky, foliage and earth -- the whole bathed in an atmosphere of golden lumosity. I threw my brushes aside; they were too small for the work in hand. I squeezed out big chunks of pure, moist color and taking my palette knife, I laid on blue, green, white and brown in great sweeping strokes. As I worked I saw that it was good and clean and strong. I saw nature springing to life upon my dead canvas. It was better than nature, for it was vibrating with thrill of a new creation. Exultantly I painted until the sun sank below the horizon, then I raced around the fields like a colt let loose, and literally bellow for joy.
-- Albert Pinkham Ryder, in an interview with Adelaide Louise Samson, quoted by John Updike, Better Than Nature, NYRB (Nov. 8, 1990).
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I am constantly searching for the rare, divine, silver-edged moments we are occasionally fortunate enough to experience, when one senses, or even actually sees, the strings that tie together the universe. Understanding the provenance of such moments, their meaning, and how to obtain more of them is what I am always seeking. This is a space for all of you to share your experiences that defy easy explanation. I hope a visit here leaves you feeling relieved, emboldened, and less alone. I look forward to hearing from you. Archives
March 2023
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