While I was feasting on the notes of Ernest Blumenschein, I realized that they would be a loving gift to you. These words are from his handwritten notes in pencil, on a linen tablet. Hand written notes are a good use of line, and especially in this case, as they preserve the beginning heart beat of the Taos art colony, and display the cursive style of Blumenschein, with characteristics of his careful brush style. His concern for careful detail, so obvious in his brush strokes, are echoed in his statement of what makes a good painting. I included his comment about “Albuquerque people,” as I thought it very interesting, having been one myself, though years later. May his ideas be as enlivening to you, as they are to me, and may you have a happy new year full of adventures of joy and discovery!
“One great principle is a building of a structure. A kind of architecture – or music if you prefer. But a large intellectual basic harmony of form and color, that carries the theme or mood of the emotion the artist wants to express. Most Albuquerque people believe that painting is simply copying something pleasing to the eye. And good painting is reached when you get correctly all the detail. But I tell you it must be deeply felt, then assembled and executed with great skill. If at the end of these efforts you have a cherished Beauty, that moves the spectator, you probably have done a good job.”
Ernest Blumenschein (circa.1920’s – 40’s)
Series 4: Writings. [Notes For Talk On Early Days Of Taos Society Of Artists], circa 1920s-1940s. (Box 1, Folder 110) Smithsonian Archives of American Art. http://www.aaa.si.edu/collectionsonline/blumerne/container177704.htm