Getting a Grip

Perspectives from The Artist's Road

Lady with a Guitar 1911 Konstantin Korovin

One of the most well-worn books in our library of inspirational art books is Robert Henri’s The Art Spirit Not surprisingly, several artists concurred when we asked them to tell us which books they look to for inspiration in the article - Where to Turn: 15 Artists Share Their Favorite Sources of Inspiration.

A quote from Henri that continues to enlighten us is this:

“Pretend you are dancing or singing a picture. . . Low art is just telling things; as, There is the night. High art gives the feel of the night. The latter is nearer reality although the former is a copy. A painter should be interested not in the incident but in the essence of his subject. . . Reveal the spirit you have about the thing, not the materials you are going to paint. Reality does not exist in material things. Rather paint the flying spirit of the bird than its feathers.”

The work to become competent and facile in the skills of painting ca…