The Power of Art

August 9, 2020

“The spiritual life, to which art belongs and of which she is one of the mightiest elements, is a complicated but definite and easily definable movement forwards and upwards.” is what artist Wassily Kandinsky wrote in his 1912 book Concerning the Spiritual in Art, and in many ways he was right. At the centre of whatever “Art” is is the need to move “forwards and upwards.” In other words, when you look at a painting the logical part of your brain should be activated into thinking of what a piece of art means, and the illogical part should be motivated to use this knowledge for some purpose. You gain something from looking at a piece of art-- it is a transaction. And without the viewer’s participation in the transaction, the art is hollow. In this particular way, Wassily asserts, the soul benefits from art.

When we hang a painting on our wall we are taking this relationship between the soul and art even further, and a piece of art can do many things to a room. Art is not machine made, and so paintings add humanity to rooms usually filled with monotonously machine made items. Indeed, Kandinsky pointed out how art holds the possibility to cut through materialism to reach at what is human in all of us. Additionally, as art reaches into what is human, it also reaches into what is individual. A painting hanging on a wall can act as a translator of an individual taste, outlook, or style to a new person walking into a room. Furthermore, good art has the potential of bringing out an emotional response, and reminds us to stop and look and wonder.

And while Kandinsky’s philosophy of art is rather serious in tone, there is joy to be found in good art as well. Joy is just as unique of an emotion as anger, sadness, nostalgia, or melancholia. It is joyous to look at a painting and think of the human being who creates each brushstroke, who covered the canvas in a specific and particular way, who made decisions and perhaps mistakes. This is what Kandinsky would certainly call “the movement of experience.” The movement of experience is what separates alive art with dead art and creates humanity in a painting-- it is what benefits our soul. The movement of experience in a painting can influence a room, translate our emotions, remind us of our humanity, and above all-- rouse us out of our passivity.

The Effect of Blue

July 28, 2020

Since earth is earth, perhaps, not heaven (as yet)—

Though some savants make earth include the sky;

And blue so far above us comes so high,

It only gives our wish for blue a whet.

Fragmentary Blue” by Robert Frost

Unlike almost any other colour, blue is a colour we wish to be surrounded by. There is a vastness to the blues of the world not replicated by other colours. We may like stains of red or groves of green but the endless blue sky or rolling ocean only “whet” our desire to be surrounded more completely by blue.

This desire can, in part, be explained by the psychological effects of blue. Blue is thought to lower blood pressure and body temperature-- it calms while other colours, such as red, excite. And because of these psychological effects it is often thought to increase productivity, information retention, and concentration. Red is a colour that demands to be looked at, blue is a colour that demands to be lived in. Indeed, even the science of light refraction confirms this hypothesis. Red is invigorating because it travels towards the eye at a fast rate. Blue, on the other hand, travels much slower. Therefore, the effect of blue is of a gentle sweeping wash. Blue fills an area with a sense of calm and tranquility while faster travelling colours stay in vivid patches. A blue painting fills the aura of a room, while a red one hangs on a wall.

Additionally, while many colours have spiritual meanings, blue is the colour of spirituality. Blue can represent purity, goodness, calmness, and inspiration, and it allows for greater concentration on inner health and spiritual peace. The concentration and inspiration that blue is thought to bring can even help with the healing process. Therefore, blue connects itself with the higher self, meditation and divinity.

Blue was voted the world’s favourite colour, and it might be because of these reasons. As a colour, it is clearly different from any other in both its psychological effect and its artistic presence. A blue painting holds eyes in careful concentration far longer than one of any other colour, and a blue painting completes a room.

Money Painting

February 20, 2020

Emily and her husband approached me last year asking if I could create a custom painting infused with one dollar bills. Below is the heartfelt story behind her money painting request, written by Emily…

Years before my grandparents passed on, they had me over for dinner to ask if there was anything I desired from them since they were preparing their Will. I asked if I could have a few days to think about it. They were expecting me to say jewelry or other typical items one might ask for, however, after much thought I realized I wanted to remember them every single day and I wanted a piece that actually meant something to me as well. The one piece that kept coming up for me was this framed sheet of $1 Canadian Bills from 1984 in this hideous frame. This frame was above the couch in their living room for my entire life. I slept under the frame on the pull out bed when I stayed over as a child, I had my first Gin & Tonic, always delivered by silver platter and likely well before the legal age, under that frame. All of my favourite memories and conversations with of my grandparents happened in that room and those dollar bills were always front and centre. Those bills really saw it all - I wanted those bills!

My grandparents thought it was a hilarious request, but of course obliged. I had no idea what I wanted to do with them when they were eventually passed on to me. I thought I might just put them as-is in my basement, however, felt that the meaning behind them would get lost hidden in a basement. I wanted my grandparents, who I loved so much, to be front and centre in my living room watching my family continue on. For that to happen, those bills also needed to be above the couch in my living room. That’s when I sought out Sarah Phelps to help me realize this vision and re-invent these bills into a modern art form that will live on in my house forever.

~ Emily Roukhkian

See below the completed painting with the infused one dollar bills.
Can you spot the money?

COLLABORATION WITH ...BY THE NAMESAKE

August 14, 2018

C O L L A B O R A T I O N
I am excited to announce my recent collaboration with leather jacket designer Rosa who creates gorgeous custom leather jackets. Her company, BYTHENAMESAKE, selected artists across North America who were given the opportunity to paint one of her jackets to raise money for charity. These jackets were presented at Lumas gallery in Yorkville for Toronto Fashion Week, and are available for purchase.