Art Eyeku

The Mustard Field

2005-07-25T13:14:00.000-07:00

Eyeku -

"Country road leads me home to wild mustard in bloom."

Lillie's Garden

2005-07-13T12:39:00.000-07:00

Eyeku -

"Old Mother olive shading her young, blosoms on the rise giving thanks to the sun."
by Teresa Kelly-Tagas

Are you HSP ???

2005-06-29T14:49:00.000-07:00

Eyeku -
"Cool breeze, water ripples, leave me stay here while the day passes."

Art is a field in which a person has much to learn in the ways of seeing, touching, feeling, expressing. We therefore benefit by being sensitive to ourselves, others, and the world around us because by doing so we can learn to express more in our art. For those who are HSP this task comes easier, for those who are not it is something learned over time. Just what is HSP? Robert Genn wrote to me about this topic and I felt too, that what he had to say hit close to home. -

Highly sensitive persons

June 28, 2005

Dear Teresa,

This letter is a bit more difficult to write because it hits close to home. Apparently 15 percent of the general population are what psychologists now call "Highly Sensitive Persons," or HSPs. Among creative types the percentage is much higher. In part, it's the sensitivity that makes us creative. Carl Jung suggested that we are just introverted, shy or depressed. Recent research indicates that HSPs are genetically programmed to be that way. Getting rid of the condition would be like changing our eye colour. HSPs have valuable assets that have traditionally been given a bum rap by the not-so-sensitive majority. Highly sensitive persons often ....

continue to read more here.

River View

2005-06-21T13:07:00.000-07:00

Eyeku-

Cool breeze ruffles the upper leaves, creek bends under, sounds only of the sun shinning.

Daisy Bridge

2005-06-13T19:05:00.000-07:00

Eyeku -

The soothing sound of the creek and robins singing; refreshing of my soul.

Summer Fragrance

2005-06-10T11:56:00.000-07:00

Eyeku -

Gardenia, elegant scent in the air arrives in my nose, I turn and admire the beauty.

Sweet Daisies

2005-05-29T13:20:00.000-07:00

Eyeku -

"Sweet daisies blooming in the sun, Robins wanting their bath."

A painting done on a very sunny moring in late May.

Crabapple Blossoms

2005-05-23T15:07:00.000-07:00

.

Eyeku -
Robins singing "Come to me", spring is in full blossom, Mother Earth at her finest.

A plein air painting done after a rainy weekend in Montana.

2005-05-09T12:57:00.000-07:00

.

"A single white blossom, sensual lines, imprisons my eye, seduces mind and body."

WHAT IS EYEKU ????

2005-05-05T09:32:00.000-07:00

As explained in the letter written below, Robert Genn of Painters Key's has coined the term "Eyeku". It is inspiring and thought stimulating for anyone. When sketching or making thumbnail sketches, it is helpful to write eyku to help remember the additional information of our senses that the image alone does not reveal. In and of itself it can be an inspiration to take you away for a moment to another place and time. They can be quite poetic, or just wonderful visualization. Write them often and always when drawing or painting. They can enhance your joy of life. Pass them on to friends for a wonderful thought of the day. Just do it!

A Last Look

Dear Artist,

The other night while hanging out at a party a friend reminded me of Walter De la Mare's: "Look thy last on all things lovely, every hour." Together she and I relished the idea that regularized, fleeting time might be added to an intensified appreciation of our world. Today I'm reviewing a system for nailing down my seeing. I call it "Eyeku." Off and on I've filled a few trip-books and ring-binders with cryptic haiku-like items. Sometimes I've used a chiming watch to prompt the opportunity. Here's a few from my patio right now:
Creamy, dappled lichen on the gray trunk and branches of a flowering dogwood tree.
On high pilings, Purple Martin young, fluffed out, windswept, waiting to be fed.
By binoculars, two yellow kayaks with yellow-haired paddlers, girl and boy, heading out.
Airedale half in, half out of the sun, carefully licking up the last of my ravioli.
The potential of this system is to regularly exercise our powers of observation, to build on the joy of simple gifts. While it's not possible to make a painting of everything within reach, nor would it be desirable, there is value in enhancing a wider life. By writing it down it becomes monumentalized and somehow more poignant. It gets you seeing potential in the little things, the mundane, the ordinary.
The early Japanese Haiku writers like Basho and Buson recognized the value of codifying simple observations. They adhered to a strict number of syllables in order to keep the form pure. "The octopuses in the jars, transient dreams, under the summer moon." (Basho, 1644-1694) "Leaves, fallen on a rock, beneath the water." (Joso, 1661-1704) "The cricket, climbs up the pot hanger, the night is cold." (Buson, 1716-1784) My Eyeku are not so pure nor so poetically evocative, but they grab the eye-stuff and hold it. Any look at any thing could be a last look.
Best regards,

Robert

PS: "The faculty of creating is never given to us all by itself. It always goes hand in hand with the gift of observation." (Igor Stravinsky)

Esoterica: What about sharing? Emailing four or five short and sweet Eyeku often results in surprising returns in kind. Give it a try. Copy your best to friends and see if they respond. You hardly need to explain what you're up to but you can add "You can reply with yours if you wish." At the top of the current clickback I've asked Andrew to put up a selection that I've recently received. I'm collecting them. They help us to realize that our universe is our constant and replenishing inheritance, and how diverse and great it all is.
Current Clickback: To see selected, illustrated responses to the last letter "Whistler's father," as well as a few "Eyeku," please go to:
http://www.painterskeys.com/clickbacks/whistler.asp

Additonal eyeku -
http://www.painterskeys.com/clickbacks/last_look.asp#eyekuselection

Looking for Eyeku

2005-05-04T10:22:00.000-07:00

I am looking for artists who can share with me their "Eyeku". Does anyone have any?