John French Sloan
John French Sloan
John French Sloanwas a twentieth-century painter and etcher and one of the founders of the Ashcan school of American art. He was also a member of the group known as The Eight. He is best known for his urban genre scenes and ability to capture the essence of neighborhood life in New York City, often observed through his Chelsea studio window. Sloan has been called "the premier artist of the Ashcan School who painted the inexhaustible energy and life of...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionArtist
Date of Birth2 August 1871
CountryUnited States of America
The artist does not see both eyes alike. There is always 'the eye' and the other eye... It adds life and plasticity to the drawing if the eye in the light is darker than the one in the shadow. It gives the head vividness.
Painting is drawing, with the additional means of color.
Consistency is the quality of a stagnant mind.
Assimilate all you can from tradition and then say things in your own way.
The artist seeks to record his awareness of order in life.
Nature is what you see plus what you think about it.
Be sensitive to your mistakes. Put it on the wall for a couple of weeks. It may be that you can learn more from the study of your own work than from others.
Draw places you have seen from memory. I used to paint things I had glimpsed through windows while riding in the elevated train.
Be sensitive to the qualities inherent in the medium. Paint honestly and avoid tricks.
There is a better chance of getting an exciting painting from a laboured study with texture than from a fine drawing without it.
...in the habit of watching every bit of human life I can see about my windows, but I do it so that I am not observed at it.
Don't think of sea as color. Make it a solid that can support a boat. Think of 'wetness' as color-texture.
Always think of drawing, getting the forms realized, emphasizing the design.
You can be a giant among artists without ever attaining any great skill. Facility is a dangerous thing. When there is too much technical ease the brain stops criticizing. Don't let the hand fall into a smart way of putting the mind to sleep.