Rebecca Harp has a long interview with Stuart Shils on behalf of the Jerusalem Studio School as a prelude to a Master Class workshop in monotype that Stuart Shils is giving there. The interview questions are very thoughtful and get Stuart Shils to open up with many inspired thoughts on painting and perception.
This was one of my favorite quotes from this interview…
So even when very inspired, painting is not as easy as being at the airport and jumping onto one of those moving sidewalks. To the contrary, everything about painting is really difficult and pushes me to the edge of madness and frustration. But I don’t want to reveal the blood of the struggle in a painting, that’s backstage material best kept from the eye of the viewer. I have always worked and pulled my hair out simultaneously, but the higher motivation is the sheer pleasure and joy found in the depths of perceptual engagement and in savoring what is revealed along the way. I’ve been privileged to see remarkable glimpses of light and space while engaged with work (and I don’t mean pretty picture Sierra Club calendar like events) and I can only hope that a little bit of that rubs off on the painting. What interests me is perceptual joy, and I always see the painting as equivalent to a love letter to someone I’m crazy about.”
— Stuart Shils
Painting Perceptions was started in 2009 by Larry Groff to promote the ideas, practice and experience of painters working from observation in a modernist vein from around the world through interviews, essays, videos and community. It later evolved to include imagination-based and abstract painting as well.
Thanks for the link, Larry. I had met him briefly at his recent show in New York and just wanted to ask him all of those questions!
great quote, especially the bit at the end. a great attitude to have.
Shils has a lecture called “The perception of nature and the nature of perception.” which if you ever get a chance to go see is worth the price of entry.
I was in a class of his a couple summers ago which was really good. One of the students owns Edwin Dickinson’s house in Wellfleet. Stuart and a bunch of us went down there on the last day. We drank wine, looked at the view that Dickinson saw and had a very cool experience.
I highly recommend taking a class with Stuart Shils if you can and try to go see his work. It’s exquisite.
Hey David, funny you should be suggesting that if we ever get the chance to take a class with Stuart Shils… I’m currently working on going to the JSS summer program in Italy with Stuart Shils being one of the faculty leading the Master Class. Got some time free this summer? Maybe you can make it too!
Larry:
Bring your video camera and get some of those interviews! I would truly love to go to that JSS Italy program. Apparently they run buses into the cities so you can go to all the museums. Its probably the best art program one could ever dream of. To have Stuart there will really make it a very rewarding painting experience. Send me a price estimate and I’ll contemplate it. The problem, of course, is how to break the news to the wife and kids…
Painters out there: If you get married, marry a doctor or lawyer so that you can afford a nanny and you can take your kids with you on painting excursions to places like Italy. Not sure about marrying an artist; seems like it would have as many problems as merits.
Hi Larry
Your website is a marvelous place to visit. There are always new painters and new ideas to discover. I enjoyed the interview with Stuart Shils; I was able to do one of Stuart’s workshops in Philadelphia in 2009 and regard it as one of the most formative experiences of my artistic life. He worked his butt off for all 3 days of the workshop, bringing a wonderful mix of intelligence, passion and kindness to the experience. Philadelphia was also a revelation!