15. June 2009 by Marie Pinschmidt.

How do you handle criticism? Did you know the paintings of Joseph Mallard William Turner (1775-1851) were often criticized? This painter of the sublime and dramatic in nature left the world with dazzling sunsets, menacing storms as well as misty sunrises. His most important element was light. He produced an incredible number of paintings, perhaps more than any other artist. His vision was romantic which may explain the self-criticism. So what’s wrong with romance — in painting or life in general? He started painting at the age of twelve and later studied at the Royal Academy, copying from the masters which he felt was an important tool in learning. Fearing poverty, he worked at a frenetic pace to acquire income to support his art. At times, he practiced being elusive, adopted assumed names, and stayed at secret places with his true identity unknown. His struggles paid off as he was elected for life in the Royal Academy, founded by King George III, and amassed a fortune. He never criticised other artists but was obsessed with improving his own work.

Turner spent hours studying skies, clouds, and other subjects of fascination. To paint “Snowstorm at Sea” at the age of 67, he strapped himself to the mast of the ship in stormy waters. He survived the four hours and later painted realistic accounts of what he saw and experienced.  Memory training played an important role in his creative process. He believed that memory and imagination were closely linked.

One wonders, in light of the above, if perfectionism and obsession to avoid criticism made him a better painter or contributed to frustration and self-doubt. It sems to me he was his own worst critic, which perhaps lessened his true joy of painting. Regardless, he left us with one more example of genius. Few of us would struggle to that extent; I certainly wouldn’t strap myself to a boat in a raging storm. In all probability, neither will I ever be considered a genius. However, I can relate to his drive for perfectionism; when a painting is finished, I always think I could have done better. Neither time nor struggle has taken away my joy of the painting process. Like a chronic disease, once the virus of creativity enters our psyche, it’s there to stay.

Turner was buried in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London along with Sir Joshua Reynolds and Sir Thomas Lawrence. He couldn’t have better company.

 To learn more about his painting technique, e-mail me and I’ll cover that in another blog. Until next time.   Marie

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12. June 2009 by Marie Pinschmidt.

June 11, 2009 Happy June June is busting out all over. Children are busting out to the swimming pools, the day camps, and hopefully family vacations. But be careful ─ many years ago I read that family vacations were the main cause for divorce. You’ll have to analyze that according to need. Today’s statistics may be different.  I’m hoping for a stress-less summer, now that my manuscript for “Spanish Moss” has been edited ad nauseam and ready to send to the publisher. I’m sure all authors try to avoid the nightmare of picking up their latest book and finding a stupid error that was overlooked. I’m sure you have found it very frustrating and disrupting when you buy a book that is ripe with errors or incorrect information. A writer can actually continue to edit a book for years and still find a word or phrase that could be better used. Eventually, one has to let go of their babies, mistakes and all, and pray we won’t need to hang our head in shame. UPDATE FROM BAGHDAD. Since my last blog, I’ve continued e-mail conversations with my Baghdad friend, learned much more about her family and what her life is like compared with Americans. For instance, I sent her a copy of “Man on the Balcony” and the following is what she wrote after waiting for weeks for the book. I love the way she expresses herself in English. It should make us feel ashamed to complain about the little things in our lives.  “My dear friend, let me tell you about my adventure to find the post office……its not a joke….when I lost my patient while I was waiting for the post man to knocking my door I decided to take a car and go to find the post office by myself. It was a horrible view…..the building of the post office in aaedamia was all dstroied because of the wars…the man there told me it became in another street…..when I reached…there were so many people… that small building was not only for the post office but also for passports and identifys…so it was crowded with so many people I couldent even saw my feet…The officer asked me so many questions and then told me to come back tomorrow. When I told my friend about that she laughed and said “You are realy a big fool dreamer…wake up….you don’t know what realy happening out there…they were not officers but robbers”.I will go tomorrow and try again. My dear friend, I am so happy about our friendship…helping me to find my way…..maybe that thing was just a simple thing for you but for me was like the only piece of wood I have got to hang with it while I was drown every single day in a dark and unjustic big ocean. Please don’t fly away like all my dreams do. God bless you. Wafa. She never did receive the package. She will send me the address of relatives in Jordan and I’ll send the book to them for her. Imagine.  If you enjoy hearing about this lady, leave a comment.  I wish all of you a happy summer. Did anyone try the recipe – and would you like me to post more New Orleans recipes?  Click on comments at the end of a post and leave a message. I’d love to hear from you.    Marie  

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