Art Blog - Harry Seymour

I'm sure painters paint for all sorts of reasons. I do so simply because it makes me happy. Yes, I know this is an awfully simplistic answer and begs the question- why does painting make me happy-the answer to which I'll leave to the shrinks. Having spent a lifetime doing "real" work and now retired, earning a living is not my motivation-though making a sale is a terrific form of validation. I know I don't paint out of a sense of ego-though my chest swells at an appreciative glance or positive comment about my work. These motives are not why I spend endless hours totally engaged in attempting a work of art. Consider the 16_20 egg tempera "Against the Rail" shown here… Continue reading… 1 comment

I was told a few years ago by a friend upon viewing one of my works-"you 're no Picasso. I know it was spoken in jest but I've never forgotten and continue to ponder the comparison. Of course I'm no Picasso, or Lawrence, Wyatt, or Bearden . I am a Seymour. Indeed, Rembrant is no Picasso and vice versa. In my opinion, no artist should be a comparative gold standard for another. A Picasso is a Picasso. A Rembrant is a Rembrant and a Warhol is a Warhol. What these and all visual artists have in common is a capacity to transpose an internalized vision into a product that arouses some emotion and/or thoughtful reflection from those who view it. The painting here is an 18_24 egg tempera painting "Walking with Grandad." It is no Picasso, it is a Seymour… Continue reading… 1 comment

About 30 years, is a reply I once heard from an artist, suggesting years of experience and by implication, talent has more to do with the quality of a painting than how much time expended on it. Despite the logic of this point of view, those who ask this question really want to know the number of hours or days involved in a particular painting. I'm often asked this about "Departure" --a highly detailed scratchart etching depicting the loading of cars and passengers onto a ferry about to depart from Vineyard Haven on Martha's Vineyard. Well, it took hundreds of hours -extended by eye strain and constant cramping of fingers when using straight pins to produce tens of thousands of scratches… Continue reading… 1 comment

My recent works tend to invoke the question- are they oils or Acrylics. My reply is neither since I work in egg tempera. I'm trying to achieve a painterly and impressionistic look commonly seen in oils or acrylics and never in egg tempera. My aim is to apply egg tempera in such a way that it looks painterly and impressionistic. I favor this approach because I think it injects energy and interest beyond more direct representation. But, I do not want style to detract from the essence of what I am trying to depict. In "Shaking it out" I have painted a rather common event of a little girl on the beach shaking out her towel, and yet, it is this action that interested me… Continue reading… 1 comment