Ragged Glory, 46.5 x 55.25", acrylic on canvas, 2014
What are you
working on in your studio right now?
I'm making
painterly landscapes using loose, expressionistic drawings as the reference
material, and occasionally some non-objective pictures called "Carve
Outs". I've also been making "Tree Portraits" which have been
ongoing since about 1998. I make them sporadically, but they are forming a
significant body of work. Three of these were recently shown at Tabla Rasa
Gallery in Brooklyn. They are most often close ups of tree trunks and have a
range of more and less abstract, but have tended to lean more to the
representational. I've been painting landscapes since about 1990, and these
newest ones seem to be closer to who I am as a painter than before. At least
that's how it feels to me.
I'm letting influences
from my early days as a painter come to the front: Marin, Hartley, Dove, Burchfield, Maurer,
Avery, and other early American Modernists. These were my first strong
influences on the representational side, with painters like Hoffman,
Frankenthaler, Olitski, Poons, Boxer, Bush, Noland, and others, on the
non-objective side. It was around 1974 that I began my career as a painter and
I was primarily making non-objective pictures from that point in time until
about 1990. While all good and
great painting that I've ever seen are my broad influences, with Bonnard and
Matisse at the core, along with Cezanne, Manet, Velasquez, Titian and others,
it is the combined and hybridized influences of both the non-objective and
representational painting and sculpture that I consider great, along with the
sense of wonder I’ve had since I was a kid, that comprises my inspiration. I
need the woods and fields around me.
In any case, I feel
like I'm coming full circle, after decades of exploring a wide variety of
different types of picture making, both representational and non-objective, so
that these newest paintings seem to be more fully realized in terms of how I am
integrating my influences via my specific talents, proclivities and character
as a painter. Kind of like what
TS Elliot said: "We shall not cease
from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we
started and know the place for the first time."
The Carve Outs have
been important in helping to lead me to these new landscapes, and keeping me
just off balance enough to make it interesting. And the Tree Portraits keep me
in practice with a certain kind of vision and way of painting
representationally. I like the completely open-ended form, color and
composition elements of making non-objective pictures, and this practice feeds
back into my representational work to keep it fresh. Whether I am comfortable
with it or not, my varied ways of working seem to have a valuable function:
Keeping habits at bay so my practice is always ready to re-invent itself, if
needed, to keep the art at its highest level. That is the goal.
I've also started
doing something I've never done before: making paintings from images of
specific paintings of masters like Delacroix, Courbet and Titian. This has been
a blast, and grew out of my present method of working from small drawings. I
thought,. well, I am making these drawings from life, from photos I take, from
other resource material, whatever catches my eye, why not make drawings from
paintings I love and then make paintings from those drawings? Why not use these
paintings or images of these paintings, as inspiration for resource material?
Of course, there is a long history of copying old masters, etc, but this is
different. I want to borrow compositions, color ideas, etc, from these
paintings and use them for my own purposes, and make them my own. So I did, and so
far only have a few, but have been pleasantly surprised. It was very liberating
to do this, to derive so directly and consciously, and to make it my own.
Drawing is very personal and the transformation happens when I draw.
Can you describe
your working routine?
I get up around
6:30 or 7, make coffee for Cheryl and myself, and feed Ping and Lucy, our cats.
I'm fussy about my coffee, and need it to taste a certain way, so I have honed
my method over the years, experimenting with different coffee beans, blends and
ways to grind the beans. I have an old Gaggia espresso maker. Not the new fancy
computerized types you can get today, but a simple and beautiful machine. I've
replaced the pump once, and over almost 20 years, it still makes great
espresso. I hand carved a wood handle for the portafilter after the plastic one
came apart. Making good coffee is kind of like making art, but a lot easier. I hand
grind the blended beans ( dark and city roast ) to very fine, tamp down just
right, pour the espresso into warmed half and half and milk in a cup that I
like. Tiny bit of sugar allowed to settle to the bottom of the cup. A sprinkle
of cocoa. Tastes wonderful and gives me a good start to the day. Cheryl and I
sit outside on the porch if the weather is nice and have our coffee, listen to
the birds, and enjoy the morning light and air.
I might check email
and facebook, and then head to the studio. I put in 3 or 4 hours. In the
afternoons I head back to my office and begin my work for Golden Artist Colors,
answering technical questions from artists. After 4 I head back to the studio,
unless the lawn needs mowing, or some other domestic activity needs doing. I
cook dinner, watch the news and then back to the office to check email and
Facebook and work on processing images, website tinkering, writing, art
business stuff, etc. If there is a painting drying in the studio, I will head
out to check on it. Sometimes this leads to an evening session.
Can you describe
your studio space and how, if at all, that affects your work?
I have a relatively new studio that we built on our property, finished just several years ago. I feel very fortunate to have this new space. It's a 24 x 40' building that is insulated to the hilt, with electric, heat, and great lighting via fluorescents and LED track lights. The floor is concrete, with a special painting platform that is made of particleboard covered with indoor/outdoor carpeting. I can roll out a piece of canvas, staple it down and start working. I almost always start on the floor. Medium and smaller works are on painting boards that I can move around. I divided the open space into three parts: Studio, storage and wood shop. The painting area or studio is about 23 x 22 feet, with the rest of the space equally divided for storage racks and the wood shop or stretcher building area. The studio is about 60 feet from my front door, so a short walk from the house. For decades I had rented studio space at Delavan Center in Syracuse, a great old commercial warehouse with a landlord who loves having artists in his building and has been a great supporter of the arts over the years. I still rent storage space there. It seems there is never quite enough space, and this is probably true for most artists. I feel very grateful for my studio and expect this will be my last one. Having this self-designed space a short walk from the house allows me to be more productive.
in progress
Tell me about your
process, where things begin, how they evolve etc.
I start on the
floor, and use drawings or watercolours as my resource
material. I paint on un-stretched canvas, stapled to painting boards or my
painting floor, and the work is cropped afterwards. This allows for very wet and liquid painting
methods, which is typically how I start. I like to have a lot of flexibility
built in to my method so I have lots of options as I work. I find the edges of
the painting, along with the final shape as the painting progresses, and
usually after its dry and on the viewing wall. I use joint tape to crop the
painting, mark the edges, measure and build the stretcher to size. A sixteenth
of an inch makes a difference for any painting, whether it's abstract,
non-objective or representational,… and getting the crop right is an important
part of the process for me. I've been working like this since the 70's. This
way of working is not new,….a tradition handed down from long ago. Bonnard
worked in a similar way with canvases tacked to the wall. Most of the painters
I mentioned who were modern influences for me worked like this: Noland,
Frankenthaler, Olitski, Bush and others. It frees me up to paint beyond the
edge, since I don't know where that edge will ultimately be. Better not to
know. This allows for a much more open-ended picture making process.
My
"palette" is contained within hundreds of plastic containers of
different mixtures of acrylic paints, mediums, gels and pastes. They are
loosely organized by color and consistency. I have shelves of very liquid,
pourable paints, and I have buckets of thick, gooey paints, rough aggregate
mixes, and everything in between. Some have a lot of gel or medium added so are
glaze like and translucent, while others are loaded up with pigment and densely
colored. I like to have a very full range of these mixtures on hand at all
times so that my choices, while working, will be as specific and targeted as
possible.
I most often start
with raw canvas, but often change it up with colored grounds, absorbent
grounds, resistant grounds, etc. I like surprise, and I will often orchestrate
things so the unexpected is invited. In the beginning, in particular, I often
use a lot of water and very fluid paints, combined with thicker mixtures, so
working horizontally is necessary. I've been pouring a lot. I can always move
the board to allow for movement if I want. Of course, with lots of fluid paint
on the canvas, there is often a lot of unexpected movement and this is part of
the process. But, I can exert some
control when it is needed. Thick passages of paint can be used to dam up
flowing areas if I want, and that leads to something new and unexpected in
itself. On and on. I like to feel just enough on the edge with the process, so that
the paint stays alive, and just enough in control so the picture is as fully
realized as possible.
Still Life, acrylic on canvas,19.25 x 22.5", 2014
What are you having
the most trouble resolving?
Over the years, my
biggest complaint has been my large output of different kinds of pictures. I’ve
even made botanical watercolors concurrent with my acrylics on canvas at the
time. A critic friend of mine once told me.." Hoffman had the same
problem". This was a kind way of saying, .."well, it can hurt your
career, because you will confuse your audience, but you'll make some great
pictures." I have a lot of curiosity with picture making and go with what
I think are my best instincts. This has paved a long and circuitous path for
me, but I feel like the decades of varied exploration, and living in the "provinces"
has been good for my art. I like to think that this has enabled some resistance
to easy answers and the fashions of the moment.
Do you experiment
with different materials a lot or do you prefer to work within certain
parameters?
I find acrylic
paints, mediums and canvas offers more than enough in the way of materials. I
love paint, and I love to have a lot of materials on hand so I don't feel any
need to draw back or reduce, or hesitate. I go with what David Smith says about
materials. Essentially,..Do not skimp. My parameters are: Acrylic paints and
mediums, and canvas. I also make lots of pencil drawings and watercolors which
I use as take off points for my paintings.
What does the future hold for this work?
Who knows the
answer to that? My ambition is to continue to make the best art I know how to
make, and to do so for as long as possible. I'd like to have more shows, more
representation. And, once again I would reference David Smith, and in
particular his "Questions to Students", written in the early to mid
50's. It's a list of 44 questions. Here is number 44: Do you think acclaim can
help you? Can you trust it, for you know in your secret self how far short of
attainment you always are? Can you trust any acclaim any farther than adverse
criticism? Should either have any effect upon you as an artist?"
Is there anything
else you would like to add?
Thank you for this
opportunity to talk about my work
Scott Bennett in his studio, 2014