ART OF SOLITUDE

"If women were convinced that a day off or an hour of solitude was a reasonable ambition, they would find a way of attaining it. As it is, they feel so unjustified in their demand that they rarely make the attempt. "- Anne Morrow Lindbergh

WHY WE NEED SOLITUDE? I truly believe that it's essential for busy women, by which I mean all of us, to pause a moment- to reconsider the subject of solitude. Many of us approach time like it were frivolous and expendable luxury rather than a creative necessity. Why? We don't realize that certain doors or windows are tapped only when we are alone. We need to be alone to feed our souls.
"WOMEN FROM THE SOUTHWEST" Many years ago I painted this group of Indian women from Santa Fe, New Mexico. This is one of my figure studies in oil. It took me a while to do this small oil painting about 12" x 20" because human subjects are difficult to paint. This group of women fascinated me, so I gave it a try. They were busy working women. Here they proudly displayed their beautiful potteries. They loved company and probably crafted their potteries together. The above painting was the result of my labor,patience and solitude. I love this painting so much that, I still own it.
As an the artist I know I must be alone to create- the painter, to paint her/his masterpiece and the writer, to work out his thought. I need solitude in order to find inspiration and be more productive. To still the soul in the midst of too many demanding activities. I am a solitaire. Honestly I paint better when I am alone than in the company of many artists. I am less exhausted because I don't spend my energy talking when painting. While others work with CD's on and talking on the phone, I prefer to do things my way. I love to paint in solitude.

TID-BITS ABOUT FAMOUS ARTISTS I just finished reading a novel "The Last Van Gogh." He was a great impressionist artist, who many considered a genius. He and Paul Gauguin (another famous impressionist artist) were good friends and roommates. Despite of being good friends they always argued about their artistic styles and techniques. Although they enjoyed each other's company, I was surprised to know they never painted together. Even men craved solitude. Vincent said "But I prefer to paint alone. Even when I lived with Gauguin, we rarely painted at the same spot. My creative work is better suited for solitude." Vincent always wanted solitude and painted well when alone. And I think his desire for solitude helped him greatly to create his extraordinary masterpieces. No one have ever surpass his paintings.