the art of O'Keeffe

When I began painting, I was obsessed with Georgia O'Keeffe. In fact, my second-ever painting was an homage to her:

Althea  oil on canvas, 36x48"

I thought my painting instructor was going to faint when I brought in a canvas this big. But I was reading everything about O'Keeffe I could get my hands on, and I wanted to see and paint the world the way she did.

It seems her work fell out of favor somewhat, as time went on - her flowers, especially, were thought too girly, and then too feminist. O'Keeffe denied that there was any sexual intention in her paintings. Later, the work was revisited, particularly her early abstractions, and O'Keeffe was acknowledged as the mother of American modernism. MoMA has mounted an exhibit entitled Georgia O'Keeffe: To See Takes Time, which is running at present through August 12, 2023. According to MoMA's website, the exhibit "investigate(s) the artist's works on paper made in series. Using charcoal, watercolor, pastel, and graphite, she explored forms and phenomena - from abstract rhythms to nature's cycles - across multiple examples . . . the exhibition reveals a lesser-known side of this artist, foregrounding O'Keeffe's persistently modern process on paper . . . O'Keeffe developed, repeated, and changed motifs that blue the boundary between observation and abstraction."

Her abstract work captivated me long ago, before I had any idea how abstraction itself would change my direction as an artist. This has always been my favorite painting of hers:

Music Pink and Blue  oil on canvas, 35x30" (1918)

For a woman artist, in 1918, this was pretty radical. Her flower forms flowed pretty naturally from here.

Another thing that has struck me about O'Keeffe, as I've evolved as an artist, is her connection to nature. Her walks outdoors inspired many of her paintings, especially after she moved to New Mexico, as elements of nature inspire mine. I'm very proud to acknowledge her as a muse and profound influence on my work.