Expiration Date December 2011

Expiration Date

Two days before Christmas

In the twilight of dawn

The day breaks the night

Long shadows still shiver

Brick cement metal beams

Against a still steel sky

Two days before Christmas

Foghorns and ambulances

In the distance by the sea

Down below an alley awakes

Roars of city trash day

Rubbish piles a tree

Mesh wrapped Christmas tree

In the alley on trash day

Engines in high gear

The garbage truck takes

All that is left in the alley

Two days before the holiday

                                                                                                                 Yvette Stenzel

Reminiscing by the sea

Reminiscing By The Sea

Childhood long gone

In yellowed photographs remembered

A pink lampshade a wallpapered room

Summer socks polka dots and pigtails

First cherries in grand-père’s orchard

Joined at the stems hung like earrings

I played pretend in adults’ shoes

And changed my name to Daphné

After all how boring the ordinary

And twelve felt so very ordinary

Fourteen for sure had to be different

In yellowed photographs

Childhood remembered

Summer camp with girlish girls

In southern France by the sea

Twelve fourteen seventeen

Pigtails and summer camp long gone

First heartache giggles and tears

He loves me he loves me not

The hell with bourgeois conventions

Or so I thought

“Muguet des bois” in May

Singing “La Bohème”

John Lennon long gone

Horizons in tangerine still glow

In yellowed photographs

Sentiments remembered

Days of summer camp

 In southern France by the sea

Silenced in the wind

Above the cliffs

Childhood long gone

                                              Yvette Isabelle Stenzel

Remembering 9/11

New York, 1985 Photo by Yvette Stenzel

Baltic Cruise

Copenhagen

Leaving the harbor

Helsinki

St.  Petersburg

Docked in the center of St. Petersburg

Talinn, Estonia

Stockholm

Does size really matter?

          Does size really matter?                                       

     “Why don’t you paint this on a larger canvas, let’s say a 24” x 36” or bigger?”  I hear at times such unsolicited feedback as if bigger were better.  Other advice givers claim: “painting big is more forgiving!”  I have yet to get a clear explanation for such an argument. 

     I choose many different canvas sizes from 2”x2”to 24”x36 or larger, in fact my largest painting done on one single canvas and not on several panels assembled together,  is 42”x42” which gave me in real struggle when I attempted to transport it in my SUV.  How do you determine the size of your canvas?  For me, it is often simply a question of pure practicality.  When painting outdoors for example I prefer an 18”x24” canvas;  it is easy to handle and just big enough for my half box French easel without having to worry too much about the wind tipping it over.  More often it is the subject matter that will help me determine the shape and size of the canvas.  The rendition of an expansive landscape might be more convincing on a sizeable format.  Sometimes I prefer squares to rectangles, ovals no thanks...pas pour moi! Driven at times by a desire to experiment I opt for odd sizes such as a 10”x30”.  Then again I often choose a canvas that will fit a standard size frame which is far less expensive.

     Needless to say very large paintings seem to make a bigger impact...at least at first glance.  Are big impacts really that desirable? Having a painting smack in your face may be as overbearing and saturating as loud noise or a domineering person.  For sure it will catch attention but after a while it may just become irritating. 

     There is a correlation between subject matter, intent and size; common sense will guide you.  Yet, when looking at the vast repertoire of past masterpieces, they seem to come in all sizes and shapes; would Mona Lisa or Rhode’s Aphrodite  be better works of art if they were bigger?  In the end it seems to me a good work of art has little to do with its size.

Everyone loves Max!

                    

 Everyone loves Max!                          

     Max is my Labrador retriever who was born on July 4^th seven years ago.  Every year we have a big celebration for him here in Boston with music, fireworks and of course plenty of food.  The Boston Pops play for us while Max gets his birthday sausage.

     Every artist should have a pet. I am partial to dogs.  Their loyalty is unshakable, their love unconditional and their intelligence impressive.  In fact, they know you better than you may know yourself.  A dog can sense your mood while you may not even be aware of your own true emotion.  Researcher Alexandra Horowitz will show you the amazing perceptual and cognitive abilities of dogs in her remarkable and delightful book (1).

     Max makes a perfect and patient model in my studio and I don’t even have to pay him in money.  He likes to hang out in the studio because it is bright and quiet and, like me he likes the scent of paint.  Moreover, Max always likes what I paint; he is a true fan in full admiration of my artwork.  His motive is not to erode my self-confidence but to please me.  It makes me feel good to have him there.

(1)    Alexandra Horowitz:  Inside of a Dog, What Dogs See, Smell, and Know. Scribner, 2009

Beyond The Summer Wind

Cinque Terre

Beyond The Summer Wind

High above the wheat the summer wind

Carries a scent of hay and honey

Meadows of jewels soften the sky

Let me linger here in comfort

The glow of a wondrous gaze

As summer ripens with ease

Seductive against mango dusk

I don’t want to go north just yet

On the journey ahead

Let me touch the pale ferns instead

And smell the mushrooms

In the early morning forest

Listen to the mellow space

Between woodruff and blueberries

Like harps in the summer wind

Butterflies and bees multiply

Let me linger here a while

I don’t want to go just yet

On the long journey north

Beyond the summer wind

Where the wheat fields end

There is but silence ever so bleak

Ever so endless white nothingness

On the long journey ahead

                                                                                                   Yvette Isabelle Stenzel

                                                                               

Donations to Charitable Functions

     For a number of years I have contributed to various charitable functions by donating artwork.  I have for example supported  large organizations that have a broad following such as the American Lung Association, the Alzheimer Association, WGBH channel 2 Fine Art Auction in Boston and PBS Art Auction in Rhode Island.  I have also supported local causes such as the Newman Preparatory School in Boston. 

     Supporting charitable organizations by donating your art to public events and auctions will not only give you great exposure, connections and a tax deduction, moreover, it will bring you the satisfaction in contributing to important causes in a creative way. 

     When contributing to a charitable event, I would recommend selecting a piece of art you yourself would wish to purchase.  Many artists tend to give pieces they consider of lesser value.  While this may be tempting, after all you are giving away a free painting, I believe it would be a mistake.  Charitable events should not be viewed as venues for streamlining your inventory or uncluttering your storage space.  Doing so would discredit your potential and undermine your self-respect.  Do not, however, hesitate to include promotional materials including an artist statement and a short biography which I usually attach to the back of the painting.  This adds a personal touch and may even lead to a future sale.

   

“Holiday Fruit” 18” x 18”, Oil on Canvas
Donated to the 2011 WGBH Channel 2 Fine art Auction

“Blush Peonies” 18” x 24”, Oil on Canvas
Will be donated to the upcoming PBS Rhode Island Fine Art Auction

   

Using up all your paint

     After some experience we become much more adept at predicting the amount of paint needed on one’s palette for a particular project.  Yet, somehow as the mood carries us along, we seem to often either run out of certain colors or have too much left of others.  After all we don’t want to limit ourselves in any way.

     You might find the following steps to be a worthwhile experiment.  After I have decided on which colors to press out of the tube onto my palette, I put all paint tubes away and out of sight.  I will use up whatever paint I end up with without adding a color or replacing one should I run out of it.  For as long as I can, I won’t put any restrictions to which colors I use.  I simply keep on painting until I have used up every bit of paint on my palette.  This may require that I start another painting.  If I run out of time, I’ll seal the palette with a plastic wrap and return to it later.  By following these steps you will discover that less can become more.

     This procedure may feel constraining at first, but it really does not need to be.  Rather, it forces me out of my habitual inclinations and shortcuts; it forces me to improvise and invent new strategies.  As I progress along I look to new combinations.  My palette will indeed become more and more monochromatic, and since I consider myself primarily a colorist, this becomes a real challenge rather than a confinement.

     Confinement may very well reside in our own habitual responses and in the comfort zones we have forged.