Power of the brushstroke

 By Petar Meseldžija

The painting brush is a simple,  yet powerful device. The trace that it leaves upon the canvas is a wonderful phenomenon - a marvelous present to us, and a precious legacy to the people of the future.

Just as the spoken word that carries a certain energy,  both physical and emotional , so does the brushstroke carry the energy and the meaning, too. By placing the brushstrokes next to each other,  the artist creates a “sentence”. And as any sentence,  whose purpose is to communicate a thought or an emotion, the brushstroke sentences communicate a certain feeling. Therefore they are a perfect vehicle for the artist’s emotions.

The brushstroke is a statement of the artist’s inborn sensibility. It is the reflection of his longings, a trace of his efforts, the emanation of his uniqueness. These are the hidden powers of the brushstroke. Whoever understands that,  and finds the proper way to express it, will not fail to amaze and inspire with his work.

There is a mystery hidden in a spontaneous, and at the same time well guided  brushstroke. The frozen emotion  that is embedded in such a stroke melts in the eye of the spectator, and releases its flavors and fragrances. Avoiding the control of ever alert reason, it penetrates the uncharted areas of our inner space. And as it reaches the level in us that, perhaps, makes us more human than any other aspect,  it touches the cords of emotion, intuition and that mysterious and eternal longing of our soul.

The signature of the artist will stay preserved in the brushstroke almost forever, as the echo of the gone by ages is preserved in a fossil, trapped in the stone.

Such is the power of the brushstroke.

Rembrandt

John Singer Sargent

John Singer Sargent

Joaquin Sorolla

 

Joaquin Sorolla

Sir Alfred Munnings

Sir Alfred Munnings

Akseli Gallen-Kallela



Akseli Gallen-Kallela



Paja Jovanović

Ilya Repin

Ilya Repin, detail from the painting Portret of V.V. Stasov



Wojciech Kossak

Lucian Freud

James Wyeth

Phil Hale

And now a few humble samples of my own brushwork.

Mother and Child -

70x100 cm (27 1/2”x39 1/4”), oil on canvas, 2001

Saint Georg - 100 x 70 cm / 39 1/4 x 27 1/2 inch,

oil on masonite, 2000

The Balance -

90x120cm / 35 1/2 X 47 1/4 inch, oil on canvas, 2003



Detail from Giants - The Bull Fight, 2010

Detail from The Legend of Steel Bashaw 11, 2005 - 2007

 

Detail from The Queen of the Kanguellas, 80 X 50 cm / 31 1/2 X 19 3/4 inch,

oil on masonite, 2010



Detail from The Queen of the Kanguellas

Detail from Svjatogor, 2010 

Detail from a painting in progress

This blog post was made possible by the extremely generous and friendly invitation of Dan Dos Santos to join the Muddy Colors “band of blogging brothers”. Needless to say, I am greatly honored by this invitation and I will try not to disappoint, nether my host, nor the audience. Unfortunately, due to my very busy schedule and the necessity of maintaining my own blog, I am not able to be a fulltime blogger on Muddy Colors. Instead, and for the time being, I will be a guest blogger and write the occasional posts. The main purpose of my posting will not be to teach you the certain artistic skills (although I will try to do that as well), but rather to inspire you. For I believe I have no things to offer that can match the importance and the might of the goddess of Inspiration.

 Thank you Dan, and thank you guys!

Cheers!