Robert Henri- The Beach, Concarneau 1899
Strokes carry a message whether you will it or not. The stroke is just like the artist at the time he makes it. All the certainties, all the uncertainties, all the bigness of his spirit and the littlenesses are in it.
–Robert Henri
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I like the idea of this thought from the great artist and teacher Robert Henri, that the strokes on the surface of a painting unconsciously capture the artist as they are at that moment. This really plays into what I aspire to with my own work even though, to some, the end result may seem like nothing more than a picture made from pleasant colors that appeals to the viewer on a surface level.
That is fine but more than that, I want it to carry my own fullness forward, want it to proclaim my existence in this universe. Even the smallnesses, flaws and imperfections that pockmark me as a human. They, as much as the greater attributes to which I aspire, are a part of that existence.
Every visible edge on a thick stroke carries me forward, has meaning and content beyond that surface. It reflects what I am feeling about what is on the surface before me as well as who and what I am as a person at that moment. There are moments when I run my hands over the finished surface of a painting and I feel like I am a blind person reading something in Braille. The bumps and edges have meaning for me that goes beyond is seen.
As Henri so well put it: All the certainties, all the uncertainties, all the bigness of his spirit and the littlenesses are in it.
Redtree Times 
I’ve often talked about a similar phenomenon in writing: the “surplus of meaning” that attends words. Some of that surplus is inherent in the words themselves, but some is a result of the writing process, and our own relationship to the words.
It puts me in mind of Robert Frost’s fine statement: ” No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.’
*It puts me in mind of Robert Frost’s fine statement: ” No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.”*
I often point out that my biggest challenge is maintaining excitement for myself in my work because that lack of excitement is immediately evident to the viewer. Just as is my own excitement with the work.
Great – with you – on the ‘strokes’ (catch my recent post: ‘Again…’) u echo my own concerns in painting. Have a good day.
This is a quote from Henri I had not really noticed before. He said so much that had meaning! I appreciate your thoughts, and I’m learning how to be more free with my paint strokes, probably will be all my life haha.