Porter and the Connection to Everything

A few weeks ago, I was having coffee with a friend and the artist Fairfield Porter came up; specifically the quote below, which I referenced in a 2014 gallery talk given at Courthouse Gallery Fine Art in Ellsworth, Maine. Both Porter and Edward Hopper have been major influences in my work for many reasons. In this instance, I'm keen on Porter's thoughts on how we connect to the world around us via painting and by extension to those who view our work.

Fairfield Porter, Wild Roses, oil, 24 x 28, 1961

Here's an excerpt from a 1968 interview Paul Cummings did with Fairfield Porter that I thought very helpful:

PAUL CUMMINGS: [...] You think really then that painting is more of an emotional thing than an intellectual thing?

FAIRFIELD PORTER: No, I don't think it's more emotional or more intellectual. I think it's a way of making the connection between yourself and everything.

PAUL CUMMINGS: How do you mean "and everything"?

FAIRFIELD PORTER: Well I mean "and reality" which is everything. In other words, you connect yourself to everything which includes yourself.

PAUL CUMMINGS: Through the painting?

FAIRFIELD PORTER: Yes, by the process of painting; and the person who looks at it gets it vicariously. If you follow music, you vicariously live the composer's efforts.

Read the full interview with Paul Cummings and Fairfield Porter.

My interest in connection, I think is at the heart of all we do. We all want happiness and structure our lives according to how we think we best can achieve that. How we usually grab "the wrong end of the stick" is the subject of another post, perhaps. But, here, in terms of the painting process and the viewing of it (or the listening to music), we connect to the present moment; to our perceptions and everything around us. When we do, there is some peace there, some happiness; which is really important for all of us to access every day.

Philip Frey, Fall Sparkle, oil, 12 x 16, 2015