Saturday, March 26, 2011

meanderings


today i came across the work of norwegian artist frits thaulow. i was instantly captivated by his rendering of water, especially slow-moving water. digging around the many sites with references to thaulow, i found out that in 1883, during his stay beside the simoa river at modum, he perfected his talent at painting scenes with slow-moving rivers. in the curlicue lines and sweeping eddies are the brush strokes of
a master who knew the flow and thoughts of water.


river view

water mill

winter landscape

river


i could look at these forever

25 comments:

alaine@éclectique said...

To capture water how the eye sees it, with a brush, is a skill, a gift; it's so hard to do. These are truly beautiful, Steven....thanks.

Ruth said...

I could look at them forever too.

Beautiful to study the water and understand it this way, feel it, share it, interpret it.

Thank you for the introduction to Frits Thaulow.

Rima Staines said...

Beautiful paintings. Had never heard of him.. thanks for the discovery Steven!
Painting water is so hard to do...

Elisabeth said...

They are stunning, Steven especially the way they capture that flow of water.

Pauline said...

Don't you love paintings into which you could walk? He is masterful with a brush to make paint look so like water!

Bonnie Zieman, M.Ed. said...

The magic is in how he illustrates the play of light on the slowly flowing water. Exquisite. Thank you for introducing me to Thaulow.

steven said...

alaine - it's such a gift and i wish i had it but i don't. i'd paint water and clouds if i knew that i could paint like this man. steven

steven said...

ruth - when i see his painting i layer my memories of water over top and through that experience the paintings move. steven

steven said...

rima - i'm glad you enjoyed these works. i've tried to paint water throughout my life and there's something so essential about it that is just beyond my grasp. steven

steven said...

hi elisabeth - i'm glad that you also enjoyed these works. steven

steven said...

pauline - that's an unconscious criteria for my liking artwork - would i wish to be inside the painting. so cool of you to open that one up. steven

Reya Mellicker said...

These are extraordinary! You are so right that he, in some way, joined with the heart of water.

That he loved slow moving water is really something, eh? Wow.

steven said...

bonnie - i think you and i are both fascinated by shadow and light and so i am drawn to work that captures the play of both. the flow of water is all about shadow and light - it's a beautiful metaphor. steven

steven said...

reya - he learned somehow to take himself out of the equation of creating these works and to let the work create him. steven

Tess Kincaid said...

His water is just magical, so soft and lucid. I could look at them forever, too. What a treat. Thanks for sharing these with us, Steven.

steveroni said...

Hey, Susan, this man paints water as the WATER sees itself. I can 'feel' the eddies and the slight tug of a flowing river. I spent a LOT of time on the Ohio River--ON it--and this man could be call "Ole Man River"!

Thank you for this great intro.

Dan Gurney said...

Let's go swimming! Jump in. The water's fine.

Joanna said...

Oh my goodness. These are incredible paintings. He is a master. Amazing that so many have never heard of him.

steven said...

tess - just so! thankyou for bringing your gentle sense of the sensuality of his work to play. steven

steven said...

steve e! we share a name bro! steven

steven said...

dan - some of those paintings look good enough to swim in. steven

steven said...

joanna - one of the great blessings of blogging ofr me is the compelling need to know and learn more about the beauty that has been welcomed and created before . i am so happy that you enjoyed your visit here. steven

R. Burnett Baker said...

Stunning! Almost better than digital photography. Given the work, effort and talent it takes to create images like these, it IS better than digital pics!

Rick

Jo said...

I, too, could look forever at the gentle Thaulow waters.

I wonder where they may be exhibited. I truly would love to seem them in their original state.

What a peaceful energy they give off.

thanks for sharing them.

Richard Jesse Watson said...

Gorgeous. Clearly he spent a great deal of time listening, looking, and drinking in the beauty of the river time.