In my art association, we often use the term “Art Matters” to discuss art and to imply the importance of art.  I’ve been pondering that lately.  Ravi Zacharias, in his lectures and books indicates that when we seek to persuade someone, we should argue from theory, illustrate with the arts, and apply at the table-talk level.   When, he says, we begin to argue from the arts or from the table-talk level, we are not really dealing with the real issue at stake.   Perhaps that is why G.K. Chesterton said, “ A man cannot be wise enough to be a great artist without being wise enough to wish to be a philosopher; a man cannot have the energy to produce good art without having the energy to wish to pass beyond it.  A small artist is content with art; a great artist is content with nothing except everything.”   

When you view my art, know that it is not on a level with theory, but it is an attempt to express those things that words alone cannot convey. 

 I've mentioned before that our arts group meets once a month for a portrait draw night. We take turns modeling for each other for 20-minute sessions. It's a race to capture a face in a short time, but  the benefits are great. 20 minute sketches force us to get to the essentials quickly.  We also enjoy some laughs and learn from each other.  

Eureka! I’ve struck gold again––––another great art book. I just finished reading HENCHE ON PAINTING, a compilation of notes from Henry Henche by one of his students, John W. Robichaux––– ISBN: 0-486-43728-0.

Let me pique your interest with a few Henche quotes:

“The failure of cubism is the attempt of the painter to defy the physics of dimensions.  Any attempt to demonstrate a third dimension by showing all sides of an object in a two-dimensional surface is as senseless as trying to sculpt in two dimensions.”

“ Art deals with the sensory development of man on a higher plane.”

“Truly great ideas take time to develop. So it is with painting.  .  .  . Frivolous ideas, like most of those in the 20^th century art world, are cheap and common. Truly new ideas of growth are hard to obtain.”

“Landscape painting, when you think of it, is probably the most difficult painting.”

“ To develop a finer perception of color, you must teach descriptive color.”

“The main actor in the drama of painting is the light key.”

“Einstein said that God did not play dice with the universe.  The great universe must have laws with its functions, and so does the art of painting . . ..”

“The keener your mind is in seeing, the truer your selection of colors . . .. The finer or greater painters have developed a finer perception.”

“ The way you see an object is by color first, secondly by the shape, and thirdly by the edge.”

“The only formula is to study the masses and then make the divisions within the masses which do not violate the truth of the mass itself.”

“ . . .the arts, in general, at their best, lift people to a higher level of perception.”

“Nothing can escape the truth that all things are different in different light schemes.”

“Paint the proper light key and nearly all things can be beautiful.

“You can’t really paint what you see. God has a better palette. You have to paint with the colors you have in the relationships you see.”

Robbichaux has made a compelling case for the wisdom of Henche.  If I cannot study with such a man, then I feel richer by having read his words and having been made to think more deeply about history and what I see.