I started reading Robert Henri's "The Art Spirit" after checking out the excellent
Following the Masters blog. I've tried to read it several times over the years--many years--but somehow it never resonated. I guess the time has to be right in order to become open to his teachings. His pithy pearls of wisom--alternating between the mechanics of painting (clean palettes and robust brushstrokes) and the more esoteric role of the artist as visionary--strike the right balance and are a resource for most artists to consider and take to heart. Oddly, I had just read this passage in the book when I saw the above picture in a drawing book. "In all great paintings of still-life, flowers, fruit, landscape, you will find the appearance of interweaving human forms, the forms we unconsciously look for. We do but humanize, see ourselves in all we look at." I had just handed the book to Jerry for him to look at the picture and the face on the left popped out like magic.
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