{"id":2743,"date":"2020-02-01T19:53:03","date_gmt":"2020-02-01T19:53:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/westnorfolkartists.org\/blog\/?p=2743"},"modified":"2025-02-14T18:56:53","modified_gmt":"2025-02-14T18:56:53","slug":"follow-up-why-do-we-paint","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westnorfolkartists.org\/blog\/2020\/02\/follow-up-why-do-we-paint\/","title":{"rendered":"Follow up, &#8220;Why Do We Paint?&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_2744\" style=\"width: 226px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/westnorfolkartists.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/c40ff0060ee641b28440b216b726e51c.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2744\" class=\"wp-image-2744 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/westnorfolkartists.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/c40ff0060ee641b28440b216b726e51c-216x300.jpeg\" alt=\"Roger Julien Dufour, Veuve de l'\u00eele de Sein (Widow of the Isle of Sein)\" width=\"216\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/westnorfolkartists.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/c40ff0060ee641b28440b216b726e51c-216x300.jpeg 216w, https:\/\/westnorfolkartists.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/c40ff0060ee641b28440b216b726e51c.jpeg 230w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 216px) 100vw, 216px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2744\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Roger Julien Dufour, Veuve de l&#8217;\u00eele de Sein (Widow of the Isle of Sein)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Following on from my question \u201cWhy do we paint?\u201d in December\u2019s Update, I have carried out further research via the internet [technology can have its rewarding side!] into the source of the tiny print, which was hanging on a cafe wall in Ireland, and so inspired me 22 years ago. It has thrown up some very interesting information, and posed yet more questions.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The tiny etching [approx. 6\u201dx 4\u201d] was signed \u2018R L Dufour &#8216;, which I noted in my sketchbook as I made my initial drawing. It is clearly a copy of this original Dufour painting which I believe is an oil on canvas, 3\u2019x 2\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>I saw in the print a woman looking out onto a very dark, stormy sky and windswept sea \u2018. My initial drawing confirms this is clearly not the case in the above original painting.<\/p>\n<p>Looking for answers, Google found the below video for me. It\u2019s a perfect example of how an artist can be inspired to produce stunning individual images of his \/ her immediate environment.<br \/>\nThe trick, firstly, is to have the eye to see, and then to have the technique to convey your ideas to others. Dufour does both in the simplest of ways.<\/p>\n<p>(<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=YdBwUjXmGQ4\">Watch Dufour video on YouTube<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p>At first, his monochromatic images and shapes can appear cold and unfinished.<br \/>\nThen, you look at the people in the video, and their environment [of which he is a part] and you quickly come to realise where his inspiration to paint that way comes from. His use of, or lack of colour, painted in strong shapes and bold use of negative spaces perfectly captures the stark coastal environment, which surrounds him and his subjects.<\/p>\n<p>I can find no mention of R L Dufour ever producing etchings of his work.<br \/>\nSo how did a tiny print produced in Bretagne, and signed by him, arrive on a caf\u00e9 wall in a remote corner of Ireland?<\/p>\n<p>Why did that small printed image have such an immediate effect on me at the time and lead me to an artist who I can so readily associate with, although I cannot understand a word of the French video?<br \/>\nIs that not the power of the visual arts, and why painting is such a fascinating subject when you take the time to \u2019 look beyond &#8216; the actual imagery? Art is visual communication, but can go way beyond the merely visual.<\/p>\n<p>Several years ago, I was contacted by an elderly lady who owned one of my very early paintings. She explained she was seriously ill, and as her family were not interested in art, asked if I would like the painting back? I politely declined for the following reason-:<\/p>\n<p>One aspect of being a painter is that when you have completed a piece of work, and it\u2019s sold, it takes on a life of its own, and hopefully will be around for many years to come for others to enjoy. A bit like your family growing up.<br \/>\nI have received several such emails over the past few years, even one from Australia! That again is just one of the many reasons why I paint.<\/p>\n<p>For the past 22 years I have lived with the memory of that chance encounter with one small etching. Via my sketchbook, my \u2018Hopeless Dawn\u2019 painting and research, I still find it having an effect on my life. Is that not what art should be all about?<\/p>\n<p><em>Michael Smith, <\/em><em>Dersingham<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Following on from my question \u201cWhy do we paint?\u201d in December\u2019s Update, I have carried out further research via the internet [technology can have its rewarding side!] into the source of the tiny print, which was hanging on a cafe wall in Ireland, and so inspired me 22 years ago. It has thrown up some [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Follow up, &quot;Why Do We Paint?&quot; - West Norfolk Artists Association News &amp; Photos<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/westnorfolkartists.org\/blog\/2020\/02\/follow-up-why-do-we-paint\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Follow up, &quot;Why Do We Paint?&quot; - West Norfolk Artists Association News &amp; Photos\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Following on from my question \u201cWhy do we paint?\u201d in December\u2019s Update, I have carried out further research via the internet [technology can have its rewarding side!] into the source of the tiny print, which was hanging on a cafe wall in Ireland, and so inspired me 22 years ago. It has thrown up some [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/westnorfolkartists.org\/blog\/2020\/02\/follow-up-why-do-we-paint\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"West Norfolk Artists Association News &amp; Photos\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-02-01T19:53:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-02-14T18:56:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/westnorfolkartists.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/c40ff0060ee641b28440b216b726e51c-216x300.jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Esther Boehm\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Esther Boehm\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/westnorfolkartists.org\\\/blog\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/follow-up-why-do-we-paint\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/westnorfolkartists.org\\\/blog\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/follow-up-why-do-we-paint\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Esther Boehm\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/westnorfolkartists.org\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/43067bc5dc7dfffdbe5b5b10840d4d47\"},\"headline\":\"Follow up, &#8220;Why Do We Paint?&#8221;\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-02-01T19:53:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-14T18:56:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/westnorfolkartists.org\\\/blog\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/follow-up-why-do-we-paint\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":600,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/westnorfolkartists.org\\\/blog\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/follow-up-why-do-we-paint\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/westnorfolkartists.org\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/c40ff0060ee641b28440b216b726e51c-216x300.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Articles\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/westnorfolkartists.org\\\/blog\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/follow-up-why-do-we-paint\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/westnorfolkartists.org\\\/blog\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/follow-up-why-do-we-paint\\\/\",\"name\":\"Follow up, \\\"Why Do We Paint?\\\" - West Norfolk Artists Association News &amp; 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