“Funny thing about painting, you don’t know what makes it right but you know when it’s wrong.” -from the book
This is a nice little collection of notes and general advice about painting from Charles Hawthorne, put together by his wife from the many notebooks of his various students. Hawthorne (1872-1930) studied with greats like, William Chase, and taught greats like Norman Rockwell, he also founded the Cape Cod School of Art in Maine 1899. After his death his wife pulled together this handy little guide full of bits and pieces of knowledge and advice given to students, but it also gives a decent impression of Hawthorne’s overall philosophy on painting and art.
“Remember that all painting is seeing, not doing. A painter spends his life in despair trying to paint the beauty he sees-in so doing he approaches more beauty. Knowledge will come to you unknowingly. Think of what beauty is revealed to you, put that down.”
I can’t think of a better short description of what painting is then that. Hawthorne has a very “zen like” approach to painting, he speaks of “seeing” as the goal of a painter and not drawing or detail. He tells his students over and over about “spots of color” not outlines or particular objects, but about how a spot of color will meet another spot and that if you just get all of your spots right the thing will draw itself into whatever it is. It seems that for Hawthorne a figure is no different then a tree or a bowl of fruit, the way that the colors meet and form themselves into things is what excites him, he tells his students to be honest about those colors they see and not the preconceptions of how things are supposed to look.
It’s good advice, I know from my own experience that they way things actually are visually is often far different then the way we generally think they are. Ask someone what color a lake or pond is and nearly everyone will tell you, blue, and most of the time they are mostly correct; but what color is water? If you turn on the tap and blue water comes out, I hope you’re next move is to call a plumber! The preconception is that water is blue, but in reality it is clear and reflective, most of the time a lake is blueish looking, however what happens when the sky isn’t blue? or a puddle of water is reflecting a street lights yellowish hue? the preconception breaks down easily. Learning how to see something for what it really is can take some time and is essential to being able to paint believably.
Thanks goes to Elana Hagler for recommending this book to me, check out her website here!
“I want you to get something to work with-your ability to see-that’s the whole job of a painter.”
Untitled oil painting by Charles Hawthorne
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