Ways of Seeing

-
When I was at art college there was a book we were recommended to read called 'Ways of Seeing' by John Berger. People on my course would rave over how interesting it was but back then I couldn't engage with it myself. Looking back I can see that  my life of juggling a large family with small children plus trying to fit in time to study for a degree didn't give me  the energy or time to do any extra reading!
Our circumstances can change over time, along with our perceptions, so looking at it now I can see why it became so popular.
To quote from the book:
"The relation between what we see and what we know is never settled."


With that thought in mind, let me show you some landscapes I recently painted...

 - a brooding sky over a sunlit hill?

 - the bank of a river?

- looking out to sea from a grassy hilltop?


Each of the paintings above could be seen as complete but each one is really just a tiny glimpse of this one!
When I'm working on paper I like to chop down paintings to find the best composition. It means I can cut out the bits I don't like and concentrate on the beautiful part.
And that is one of the joys of being an artist. :) 


Comments

Unknown said…
What an inspiring post... I need to open my eyes!! Ren x
2 June 2011 at 12:09
Kathryn Dyche said…
I love that, it really is about how we see things.
2 June 2011 at 12:15
eimear brennan said…
Hi there, i just found your blog the other day...the colour in the above work is really beautiful....
I know that John Berger book..didnt like it when I was in college! but now, the one line that makes sense to me is "I draw to see"
2 June 2011 at 12:47
Patricia González Palacios said…
Hermosos colores!! amiga ya te envié el grabado por correo , aprox. en 10 días más te llegará. Un beso.
2 June 2011 at 15:14
Julia Christie said…
Yes indeed very very inspiring! I love this series - the simplicity and intensity! Gorgeous as a whole, and unforgettable as a series.

Love these!

Smiles
2 June 2011 at 16:59
Julia said…
WOW! Your work leapt out of the laptop screen at me, and those colours are just sensational!! (Also being admiring your Perranporth piece in the post below).
I vaguely recall that book, not sure that I ever read it but it sounds familiar. I'll check it out, as I do like things like that and your work has me very inspired to discover more.
Beautiful!
Much love
Julia x
2 June 2011 at 19:50
Kim Mailhot said…
gorgeous views ! Love those rich colors too.
Happy Thursday !
2 June 2011 at 23:07
Jess said…
Thankyou for your lovely comments! :) I'm trying to reply to you but once again Blogger is playing up. Some of the comments sections won't allow me to sign in for some reason! Your comments are very much appreciated and I have answered everyone, it's just that they won't publish, it's sooo frustrating!Thanks once again for leaving me coments here. I shall continue to try, so hopefully you'll hear from me personally very soon!xx
3 June 2011 at 10:35
Tomás Serrano said…
Something beautiful, be that as it may
3 June 2011 at 13:17
Victoria said…
Fabulous post Jessie...gorgeous work..gorgeous colors..and gorgeous alternate realities..all beautiful in whatever way ' we each see'....awesome!
Beautiful as always!! Shine on Kindred
Victoria
3 June 2011 at 15:07
Tammie Lee said…
your colors are gorgeous and yes I loved each glimpse as well as the whole.
3 June 2011 at 16:11
Jess said…
Thankyou :)
3 June 2011 at 16:17
Alicia said…
Lordy, right now I have 3 kids, one of which is only 8 months and I thank the stars everyday that I opted out of trying to juggle going back to finish my art degree right now. Just keeping up with building my portfolio right now is a mega challenge. You must have been a trooper!

Btw, scrolling down to see the photo of your daughter as a baby herself made me choke up a little :-) Congratulations on little Maisy!
3 June 2011 at 18:16
Bettyann said…
wow...much food for thought..inspiritional...thank you
3 June 2011 at 18:26
Giggles said…
I love the blend of colors! So beautiful!! Nice that you got to revisit the book when you had time!

Hugs Giggles
3 June 2011 at 20:17
Mary C. Nasser said…
Gorgeous, gorgeous landscapes!
I love these!

So glad I found you through the “All Kinds of Artists” Artist blog hop!
I am your newest blog follower. :)
Looking forward to seeing your upcoming posts!

I welcome you to check out my art blog, too!

Best,
Mary C. Nasser
http://www.marycnasser.com/blog.html
3 June 2011 at 22:15
Dear Fireflies said…
Such a thought provoking post, Jessie! I always think that as artists, we are blessed by the diversity of our point of views. Somehow it's never enough to look at things from one side only.

And did I ever tell you how much I love your landscape paintings? Your brushstrokes and colors are mesmerizing... :)
3 June 2011 at 23:59
Doodlestreet said…
beautiful art and wonderful words...
:)that's got me motivated to paint! :D
5 June 2011 at 16:11
Jo Potter said…
I think the watery quality of your landscape paintings speak so clearly to me. Each brush stroke is gentle and thoughtful. I love how the colours bleed into each other like marble.
You have created magical landscapes on paper!
xx
7 June 2011 at 18:10
soulbrush said…
Thanks for your congrats on my blog, so nice being in touch again.
8 June 2011 at 14:37
Kerri said…
i know that artists look at things differently. i'm not a visual artist, BUT when i was taking a sketching class, i found myself REALLY looking at things. i remember danny gregory saying that if you really want to learn about something...draw it.
8 June 2011 at 18:51
Zorana said…
This was so interesting! The way you presented it caught me off guard... I wasn't expecting it to be one painting (although I often digitally crop my paintings and most often enjoy more the snippets). Beautiful!
10 June 2011 at 17:59
Nicola said…
Hi Jessie, love this post!!! I really want to start approaching my backgrounds differently. How clever that this was all one painting. It really does have you looking at it differently. Love those colours, the blue especially! I've just been scrolling through your previous posts, sorry it has been so long between visits but I think that I've been going through a bit of a creative lull and life got a bit crazy. But I'm back now and posts like yours really do inspire me so thank you!!! Congratulations on the birth of your grand daughter Maisy What a gorgeous little thing she is!!! I wish you and your family all the best :0) oxoxo
10 June 2011 at 22:30
Cynthia Schelzig said…
so true, so true..........thanks for the reminder:)
12 June 2011 at 14:39
IwoX said…
Wonderful colours! I like it very much:)
12 June 2011 at 21:01
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

More Cottages During Lockdown and a Change in Medium.

-
Image
I've been thinking about why I'm drawing cottages lately.  Maybe it's because there aren't many people around where we live and on our daily walks we rarely come across anyone else which I suppose is a good thing as we're still in Lockdown and have to practice Social Distancing which has now become a very well used phrase in our language! Maybe it's this lack of seeing people around that my mind is turning towards houses and flowers? The ones above are done in ink. I love the pearlescent inks, they're so beautiful when they catch the light. The paintings above and below are painted in acrylic. I've been obsessed with watercolour for a few weeks but I felt I'd like to get some acrylics out again. I've always been like this, going through phases of being obsessed with a particular medium thinking yes this is it! This is my final medium and then finding myself being drawn to changing once again to a different way of wor...
Read more

A Give-away! A Give-away! :))

-
Image
I'm having a give-away but first of all let me show you the two new listings I have on Etsy. Both paintings are painted in pen and ink with watercolour on good quality paper. The top one is called A Musical Journey and measures 7 x 10ins. The second one is called the Big Red Cat and measures 12 x 9 ins. They're $40 each in US dollars which will automatically be converted to your own currency on Etsy (That's approx. £25) CLICK HERE for more details :) And now for the giveaway as promised! Here below are 9 postcards printed from my larger paintings that were originally on canvas. Choose 2 of your favourite ones and if you are the lucky winner, I'll send them to you with an extra little surprise gift. :) All you need to do is to leave a comment on this post and I'll include your name in the draw. Easy Peasy! :) update-update-update..... My painting A Musical Journey has been included in an Etsy Treasury! YAY! :))
Read more

A Double Giveaway!!

-
Image
Hello, I'm here today to tell you about my giveaway! I reached 100 likes on my Facebook page a few days ago,  142 today!  ♥ THANKYOU! ♥  There will be two prizes, one will be my original watercolour painting, painted on thick watercolour paper, with lovely soft hues of pink and mauve called 'Peace' :) I'm also offering you a print on lovely Bristol paper from my mixed media painting 'Open Up To The Best'. Here they are.. Peace,   watercolour painting, 8 x 11 inches Open Up To The Best , art print 8 x 10 inches. (The copyright watermark will not appear on your print.) To Enter: Go to my Facebook page where the link for my giveaway is and 'share' and 'like' the link.  There! That's all you need to do. :) If you're not a Facebook person , that's still ok, just copy and paste one of these pictures above to your blog with a link to this post but don't forget to come back here to tell me that you've...
Read more