16 x 9 vision and painting on the spur of the moment.

Breadnuts wrapped in the tree's fallen leaves.

My painting of breadnuts was made yesterday evening on the spur of the moment.  My wife placed her harvest of nuts, wrapped in leaves, down on the kitchen table. I painted it on the spur of the moment: the moment being ten minutes. 

For this blog post, it serves two fold: first, to show the elusive effect I aim for; and second, to practice seeing my subjects in 16 x 9 vision. In other words, the wide screen format.

The latter learning curve has been thrust on me by my "new" video camera. My old one saw scenes in 4 x 3 format. The wide screen is all very well for landscapes and reclining figures but it poses difficulties for portraits and the standing figure. I have been spending my evenings watching films that have won awards for cinematography to see if I can get the hang of it.  

By the way, breadnuts are from a different tree to breadfruit. Both species grow within a few yards from my studio. By this morning the leaves were in the compost and the nuts in a pot ready for cooking.

Breadnuts photographed in 4 x 3 format.

Differentiating between nude and lewd

Carnival here in Dominica is an opportune moment for me to differentiate between nude and lewd. The above painting of my wife Denise illustrates the natural beauty of the nude, unadorned with sexual connotations. The pictures below are two Carnival Queen contestants from a previous carnival.

If I wanted my paintings and sculptures to exude sexual implications, I would dress my models in high heels and a bikini. As one of my models states in my book "Notes on the Nude":

I'm proud of my body, and through Roger's work it is seen as something to worship rather than an object to be lured at...

One of my past commentaries for Dominica News Online delves deeper into the subject as follows:

A century ago the American artist Robert Henri wrote:

“There is nothing in all the world more beautiful than the nude human body. It is not only among artists, but among all people, that a greater appreciation and respect for the human body should develop. When we respect the nude we will no longer have any shame about it.”

In the Caribbean, carnival is culture and culture, at least here in Dominica, is classified as art. I question that last linkage, but let’s leave it be, for it gives me a slender qualification to say what I have to say on the subject of this commentary.

As an artist I have spent a lifetime depicting the beauty of the nude, and in particular, the beauty of the Afro-Caribbean female nude. From that perspective, let me try to differentiate between nude and lewd.

In the early 1980’s, I began the paintings and sculptures in my series, “Daughters of the Caribbean Sun”. My mission was to extol the beauty of the Afro-Caribbean woman, unadorned by foreign influences. To achieve my objective I had to go beyond Marcus Garvey’s plea to “take the kinks out of your mind, not out of your hair”.

The nude figure is less sexually provocative than one that is scantily dressed. After the initial shock of the nude, the eye takes in the beauty of the body as a whole rather than being drawn to the parts tantalisingly hidden in the name of decency. I know that this is something that many people have difficulty getting their head around, but it is a fact. If I wanted my models to look sexy, I’d put them in a bikini and have them pose seductively, hand on hip.

This is where sexual lewdness corrupts an otherwise innocent picture. But differentiating one from the other can be a delicate balancing act. And this applies not only to the artist and model; carnival participants are also vulnerable to misjudgment.

Let me make it clear, I am not advocating that we revert to a state of nudity but that we do not succumb to an overload of missionary zeal. After all, we are supposed to be the Nature Island of the Caribbean and what could be more natural than ourselves? A comment in my visitors’ book from a Carnival Queen contender reads: You have opened my eyes and mind to true beauty.

Incidentally, age need not destroy beauty. A profound nude by the French sculptor Rodin portrays a woman in her eighties.

My subjects are not professional models. They come from all walks of life, from college graduates with a Ph.D. to market vendors. What they have in common is an understanding of what I am trying to portray. Without exception they have all found the experience liberating and uplifting. It is the model’s task to inspire and they are proud of their contribution to the creative process.

Before I begin a painting, or when instructing a life class, I cite the words of advice given by a past master of the figure:

“Take the shoes from off thy feet, for the ground you are about to step upon is Holy Ground”.

Perhaps it behooves us all to heed those words.

Capturing the essence of life before it's too late.

The opening picture is of St. Georges Market Place on the island of Grenada, and the sketches below are from the scores I made of the market in the 1980's for my book Caribbean Sketches. 

 

My mission in those far off days was to capture the essence of the islands before it was too late. It began with sketches made in the 1970's for my book Virgin Island Sketches. The contents of that book are now history. And the same goes for the hundreds of sketches that I made throughout the Caribbean.

The "Come See Department Store" (below) once stood a few yards away from the new - "all mod. cons" - Market Square shown in the closing image.

The New Market Square, Road Town, British Virgin Islands.

As the Dubliners sang of their own land in the 1970's...

The old ways are passing and soon will be gone
For progress is aye a big factor...

Farewell to the besoms of heather and bloom
Farewell to the creels and the basket
The folks of today, they would far sooner pay
For a thing that's been made out of plastic.

Shakespeare wouldn't stand a chance against today's censors

 

I've left it rather late in life to be brushing up my Shakespeare, but over the last year that is what I've been up to. In doing so it has brought me to the conclusion that he wouldn't stand a chance against today's censors. His suggestive writings have been banned from many schools in the United States and my interpretation of his lines from Venus and Adonis haven't fared any better.

The code of Shakespeare's writing is a difficult on to crack. In the words of jazz musician Wynton Marsalis: He's not going to come down to you; you have to go up to him. But having cracked the code you're in for some risqué double entendre surprises.

A double entendre that Shakespeare would have been proud of appeared in a press release about a new market square in the British Virgin Islands. At first reading, reference to the vendor's market stalls can be confused with reference to the male and female lavatory stalls in the adjoining toilet facilities. Either way, the stalls are a market version of Pete Seeger's "Little Boxes" hit song from the 1960's.

And they all look the same...

I'll leave you with Cole Porter's Brush up your Shakespeare from the musical Kiss me Kate.