White on White

Kazmir Malevich, Suprematist Composition, White on White, 1918

I know I sound like a whiner but it is 38 degrees outside as I write this at 7:00 AM. It is 74 degrees in my studio. My hands are cold. My feet are cold. As are most points in between these four extremities. I don’t like cold weather.

“Suck it up. Think warm thoughts,” my husband says. That is hard to do when you’re shivering huddled under the down comforter Cold weather puts me in a funk.

I’ve been reading about the Russian painter, Kazmir Malevich. His White on White series of paintings is amazing. Malevich painted his “feelings.” He considered ideas of the conscious mind to be worthless and objects to be meaningless. His paintings show “the supremacy of pure feeling.”

Now, I don’t know that I consider the conscious mind worthless or objects meaningless, but I do understand painting one’s “feelings” or “moods.”

Looking at Malevich’s White on White Compositions, I can feel the cold of Russia: the snow of the Russian steppes. They make me shiver.

I’m influenced by the quality of the sunlight in my garden. Rainy days influence the palette I use. Warm days heat my spirits. I try to capture these feelings in my paintings. My paintings are moods on canvas.

Reading about Kazmir Malevich’s manifesto From Cubism to Suprematism, and perusing his body of paintings, has given me much to think about in examining my own work. I thank you, Danielle, for introducing me to Kazmir.

And now, I’m going to slip into the hot tub and warm up! Brrrrr…… the weather outside if frightful…..

Please take time to visit my website at www.JerryLHanson.com. Take a look at my artwork. Contact me if you want to buy one of my works or if you have any questions about a specific piece. My contact information is on my website or you can leave a comment on this blog site for me to contact you (include your contact info!). You can e-mail me at JeryL@JerryLHanson.com or you can telephone me on my studio phone 760-992-3157. You can call me. I won’t mind.

Thank you for listening

Jerry L. Hanson