{"id":15116,"date":"2021-09-22T18:10:20","date_gmt":"2021-09-22T22:10:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/?p=15116"},"modified":"2022-03-12T09:35:49","modified_gmt":"2022-03-12T13:35:49","slug":"ninth-chapter-taking-in-a-last-view-from-the-ridge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/archives\/15116","title":{"rendered":"Ninth Chapter: Taking in a last view from her ridge . . ."},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI always have to watch out for falling into copying what I see accurately, but somehow losing the poetry of expressively applied paint in the process. Accuracy with expressiveness is the key! Remembering this saying from David Leffel… \u2018The beauty of the painting always comes first; accuracy always a dismal last.\u2019\u201d
\n\u2014 Bill Fletcher
\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As I prepare for my first solo exhibition of collage landscapes, I reflect on an exceptional season of working outside with the PAACK and how much I appreciate everybody who helped kick off 2021 with a return to Kelley Ridge last April, especially my \u201cbig sis.\u201d I have six marvelous siblings, but only my sister Joan arrived before me. <\/a>She is my oldest friend, confidante, and role model. Joan inherited a wild place and a half-built dwelling through one of the worst tragedies that a woman can experience, but \u2014 with faith and perseverance \u2014 she endured an unimaginable grief and transformed the shell of a house into a home. It\u2019s a remarkable abode. The previous year I\u2019d created a collage portrait of it<\/a> when Joan hosted the first Art Out on her ridge. When I learned that she planned to put the farmstead on the market sometime in 2021, I knew I had to turn my attention outward from \u201cCardinal Haven\u201d and challenge myself to capture one of its spectacular views<\/a> with torn paper.
\n 
\n<\/a>   <\/a>   <\/a>   <\/a>
\n 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 <\/p>\n

I have fond memories of that event, because I met the affable Roger Snell that day, and we chose a similar viewscape on which to focus. Snell was \u201cfreshly retired\u201d as one of the architects of the Kentucky Proud<\/em> initiative for state economic development, and he was clearly thrilled to be entering his new life as a full time painter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/a>After a decent start<\/a>, I worked through the afternoon and came away with a piece that I thought was close to having been finished on location<\/a>. \u201cJust a few finishing touches to go,\u201d I told myself, but the more I looked at it in the studio, the more I wanted to continue adding contrasting layers for more depth and complexity. Doing that without sacrificing an impression of intuitive choices was not an easy process. I had to stay \u201cin the zone.\u201d By the time I was satisfied, it had became one of those studio-invested pieces that will never be classified as a plein-air artwork. So be it. <\/p>\n

I still feel like I\u2019m just scratching the surface with this particular approach to collage landscape. The distinction between direct observation, photographic influence, and pure imagination is becoming blurred. The outside\/indoor time ratio is often taking a backseat to my achieving a certain end, with a desirable balance of improvisational spontaneity and pictorial authenticity leading the way.<\/p>\n

 
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

From Her Ridge<\/em><\/strong>
\ncollage miniature by J A Dixon
\n8 x 9 inches
\nprivate collection<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI always have to watch out for falling into copying what I see accurately, but somehow losing the poetry of expressively applied paint in the process. Accuracy with expressiveness is the key! Remembering this saying from David Leffel… \u2018The beauty of the painting always comes first; accuracy always a dismal last.\u2019\u201d \u2014 Bill Fletcher   […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51,216,18,249,634],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15116"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15116"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16131,"href":"https:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15116\/revisions\/16131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}