Art As Experience

Anchors Aweigh, Oil Painting by Melody Phaneuf, Private Collection
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Josef Albers said that Art is not an object but an experience. It can be both, in the same way that a theatre production might be life altering to some, but to others it’s pleasant entertainment.

My own path from appreciation for the decorative to the realm of aesthetic experience began while viewing murals from Pompeii. Bob Hunter took our group of Vesper George Art School students to see the excavated walls installed at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

I recall that the scale of the room was such that the figures on the walls were life size. The subject of the murals depicted the cult of Dionysus. As I walked around the room I was conscious that the scenes seemed to blend into one another seamlessly but it wasn’t until the finale, where the emissary of Dionysus strikes the initiate that I was stunned with awe. It was only then that I understood what being “moved” by a work of art meant. My body swooned under the crack of the switch.

Determination to understand the secret of my experience drew me into many years of studying abstract relationships of imagery. Ultimately, I surmised the cause of my astonishment to be a combination of a building rhythm of arcs coupled with identification to life size figures. The effect was like a tom-tom, which culminated with a final sweeping arc of the lash in the last scene.

It is more than fair to say that the murals of Pompeii transformed my life. Until then I had seen
making art as something enjoyable, but the idea of evoking emotion, of arranging the cause of aesthetic experience became my life’s journey.

Art should at the very least, I think, ameliorate its surroundings. But the greatest art should transport us beyond ordinary experience.

Above, murals from
The Villa of Mysteries, Pompeii

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Boston Artist, Melody Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life, landscape, and portrait paintings. Her paintings are regularly on view at The Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street; at Fenway Studios, Boston by appointment; and North Shore Art in Gloucester from May through October. Phaneuf ‘s paintings have been exhibited at The National Arts Club in New York City, Galerie Herouet in Paris, and with Art du Monde, in Japan.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo, features Phaneuf’s original oil paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and beverage coasters, fine art prints, and handmade note cards.

Make Your Life a Work of Art~
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New Paintings Explore Pattern

Fishing, 8 x 10 Oil Painting by Melody Phaneuf

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Abstract pattern is the fundamental structure of a painting. A pattern can be achieved in many ways: through color, shape, or light and shadow.

The new pictures I have been painting explore light as it caresses the landscape. Interlocking patterns of light and shadow dance across land, over waves, and between rocks.

The 8 by 10 inch paintings are little gems, perfect for small spaces or to group in larger ones. The little paintings are on panel, framed in a simple gold frame, and priced at $350.

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Boston Artist, Melody Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life, landscape, and portrait paintings. Her paintings are regularly on view at The Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street; at Fenway Studios, Boston by appointment; and North Shore Art in Gloucester from May through October. Phaneuf ‘s paintings have been exhibited at The National Arts Club in New York City, Galerie Herouet in Paris, and with Art du Monde, in Japan.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo, features Phaneuf’s original oil paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and beverage coasters, fine art prints, and handmade note cards.

Make Your Life a Work of Art~
Online shopping at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

Download our free 2010 Calendar
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Pictured above~ Water's Edge, Bench by the Sea

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Waking up the Senses

Lilacs & Peaches, Oil Painting by Melody Phaneuf
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In yoga class we begin our practice with subtle movements to gently wake up the muscles. Likewise, in springtime, a gentle waking up of our senses is pleasurable. Nature provides us with new growth, delicate color, and birdsong.

I’m yearning to be surrounded with cool greens and violet. I submit to the urge to remove the red accents from my living room and replace them with soft pinks and peach. These color harmonies attune me to the subtle transition of the season.

I spend time gardening and arranging my surroundings. A lovely, artistic environment nurtures a mindful existence. It inspires appreciation for all that fills our life with simple pleasure.

Spring Meadow, Oil Painting by Melody Phaneuf
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Boston Artist, Melody Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life, landscape, and portrait paintings. Her paintings are regularly on view at The Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street; at Fenway Studios, Boston by appointment; and North Shore Art in Gloucester from May through October. Phaneuf ‘s paintings have been exhibited at The National Arts Club in New York City, Galerie Herouet in Paris, and with Art du Monde, in Japan.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo, features Phaneuf’s original oil paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and beverage coasters, fine art prints, and handmade note cards.

Make Your Life a Work of Art~
Online shopping at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

Download our free 2010 Calendar
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Abstract Pattern and Shimmering Light

From Bridge, Good Harbor, Oil Painting by Melody Phaneuf

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Plein Air painting is a perfect balance to studio work. My teacher, Robert Cormier, used to say that it was the way to “clean up your color eye.” Outdoors, I look for abstract pattern exposed by the effects of light.

From Brittany Forest, Oil Painting by Melody Phaneuf
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I’m always intrigued by patterns that have a musical quality. I look for rhythms that move the eye in a way that I “hear.” This was something I learned to do as a child and has become the heart of my selection process. It is my way to simplify and find order amidst chaos.

From Harbor Sunset, Oil Painting by Melody Phaneuf

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Boston Artist, Melody Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life, landscape, and portrait paintings. Her paintings are regularly on view at The Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street; at Fenway Studios, Boston by appointment; and North Shore Art in Gloucester from May through October. Phaneuf ‘s paintings have been exhibited at The National Arts Club in New York City, Galerie Herouet in Paris, and with Art du Monde, in Japan.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo, features Phaneuf’s original oil paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and beverage coasters, fine art prints, and handmade note cards.

Make Your Life a Work of Art~
Online shopping at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

Download our free 2010 Calendar
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Training The Visual Memory Part II~ Color

The Critique
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Color is to me, the most delicious aspect of painting. The ability to recall intriguing color arrangements is a most helpful tool for the artist. The following exercise will help train the eye and mind to memorize color.

It’s best to start with single colors. Choose flat colored papers to begin. A box of Color Aid paper is ideal but a bit expensive. If you plan to do other color exercises it is worth the investment, otherwise any colored paper with a variety of hues will do.

I think oil paints are the best to use for this practice because the color you mix will be what you see when you compare it to that which you are trying to recall. Tempera changes value as it dries and watercolor, being transparent, is greatly influenced by its ground.

Cover the table you are working on with a grey cloth or paper. If you don’t have grey, black is the next best choice. Have your paints, brushes, 4 x 4 squares of illustration board and anything else that you need ready but out of your immediate visual field.

Place the color you are trying to memorize in front of you on the table and focus on it for 3 minutes. Close your eyes, remove the paper, and mix what you just saw. Paint the illustration board. When you are finished, take out the original paper and compare them. Ask yourself 3 questions~ should it be lighter or darker, warmer or cooler, duller or brighter?

Put this aside and try another color. A good strategy is to choose 3 or 4 colors and practice these for a week or until you can mix them exactly. Try another set the following week. Once matching simple flat colors is achieved, more sophisticated memory exercises for color combinations can be approached.

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Boston Artist, Melody Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life, landscape, and portrait paintings. Her paintings are regularly on view at The Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street; at Fenway Studios, Boston by appointment; and North Shore Art in Gloucester from May through October. Phaneuf ‘s paintings have been exhibited at The National Arts Club in New York City, Galerie Herouet in Paris, and with Art du Monde, in Japan.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo, features Phaneuf’s original oil paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and beverage coasters, fine art prints, and handmade note cards.

Make Your Life a Work of Art~
Online shopping at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

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Rhythms of Spring

Rhythms And Roses by Melody Phaneuf, 25 x17 oil painting
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The first day of spring was warm and sunny, inspiring sleeping bulbs to push green tips through the ground. There is a softness in the atmosphere. Gray branches show hints of pink and green. People are beginning to smile.

Rhythms and Roses is an ode to spring. Warm, delicate pinks and cool greens dominate the color scheme, echoing gently into the ivory background. The high key of the painting celebrates the return of light.

Textures abound, creating lively rhythms that cause our eyes to dance through the picture. Patterns spiral throughout giving a sense of growth.

Rhythms And Roses is part of a cycle of four paintings, each celebrating a season of the year.

Rhythms And Roses, 25 x17 oil painting by Melody Phaneuf, $2700
The Rhythms Series is available in open edition prints and handmade note cards.

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Boston Artist, Melody Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life, landscape, and portrait paintings. Her paintings are regularly on view at The Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street; at Fenway Studios, Boston by appointment; and North Shore Art in Gloucester from May through October. Phaneuf ‘s paintings have been exhibited at The National Arts Club in New York City, Galerie Herouet in Paris, and with Art du Monde, in Japan.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo, features Phaneuf’s original oil paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and beverage coasters, fine art prints, and handmade note cards.

Make Your Life a Work of Art~
Online shopping at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

Download our free 2010 Calendar
Commission a painting
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Relics of The Sea

Relics Of The Sea, 32 x 24 oil painting by Melody Phaneuf
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You can hear waves still pounding from yesterday’s northeaster. I wonder what formerly hidden treasures will be discovered on the shore today, exhumed by the sea~

There is something mysterious about the painting, Relics Of The Sea. The intermediate key sets a penumbral mood. The color scheme is a transitional one, gradating watery hues. And the objects hold a silent story.

I love the idea of the ocean as symbol of the unconscious, the misty world of almost recognized, yet ineffable truths. The sea marks a threshold between the world of solidity and a fluid, elusive plane.

Finding such parallels between objects and ideas is what fascinates me about painting still life. Like distant foghorns, Relics Of The Sea echoes on both the decorative and allegorical levels.

Relics Of The Sea, 32 x 24 oil painting by Melody Phaneuf, $7500

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Boston Artist, Melody Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life, landscape, and portrait paintings. Her paintings are regularly on view at The Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street; at Fenway Studios, Boston by appointment; and North Shore Art in Gloucester from May through October. Phaneuf ‘s paintings have been exhibited at The National Arts Club in New York City, Galerie Herouet in Paris, and with Art du Monde, in Japan.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo, features Phaneuf’s original oil paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and beverage coasters, fine art prints, and handmade note cards.

Make Your Life a Work of Art~
Online shopping at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

Download our free 2010 Calendar
Commission a painting
Be a facebook fan of MelodyTheArtist.com
Follow MelodyTheArtist on twitter

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