MEET MICHAEL CUTLIP

“I’m painting with paper. It’s totally improvised. The shapes are very impulsive.”

— Michael Cutlip

Michael Cutlip is a master at unexpected juxtapositions——Image a big, dynamic abstraction in red, orange and white, with chunks and splashes of other colors, and graphic elements taken from the street……this is Michael Cutlip’s art. Direct, Bold. Compelling……

Michael says he is inspired by the naïve gestures and honesty of children’s art, as well as the layering and weathered aspects of paint and postings on old buildings. He uses house paint, Xerox transfers, a printing press, wallpaper, book pages, and many other things not usually found at an art supply store. “In life I think I tend to be somewhat serious, but when I’m in the studio, it’s like playing. I’m having fun and putting things together. Then I find something that works and it makes me smile,” said Michael.

“I might start out just throwing down a bunch of flyers from a telephone pole, or tear up some posters just to get some stuff underneath, which a lot of times you see revealed in the edging,” he says. “What paper taught me is composition, and about color. Now I’m just dealing with the basics. Taking a piece of paper and tearing it, layering another piece on top of it, layering, layering — you start creating something you wouldn’t have imagined.”

Michael’s vocabulary has roots in the Abstract Expressionism of Franz Kline, Robert Motherwell and Clyfford Still, and in Mark Tobey’s calligraphic scribbles, and have the same sort of grooving street energy, mixed with fine-art finesse.

As a teacher, Michael is very skilled at helping others see new directions. He encourages pushing edges, exploring the unknown and finding the magic that comes from the process of collage making.
Michael Cutlip and Suzanne Jacquot will be giving a 3 day Mixed Media Workshop July 19, 20, 21 and it is a rare treat to have such a talented teacher and artist make this special visit to the bay area. .

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MEET GRANT TAYLOR

“I am certain of nothing but the holiness of the Heart’s affections and the truth of the Imagination.
”

— John Keats

Grant Taylor at ease

Grant Taylor is someone you would love to meet. He is full of joy, warmheartedness, and enthusiasm for life. He has been a Creative since he was a child and continues to live in the wonder and awe and curiosity he experienced in his youth. You might like to watch this short video on what Grant says about his being a photographer:

Grant studied photography at the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles and spent 8 years in New York City where he soaked up as much art and culture as he could. He took classes at the Art Students League, New York Academy of Art and worked at Sotheby’s as a photogrpher. Then, in his mid-thirties he moved to Santa Fe where he fell in love with the land, “Big Sky” and spaciousness.

Since his move to Santa Fe, Grant has honed his skills as a videographer by working on important documentaries on global warming and hospice and dying. And, he has developed a body of emotional photographs reflecting his own poetic views of the sky as Nature’s grand symphony, and leaves and flowers as Nature’s reminder that beauty is everywhere even in the midst of decaying.

I feel very lucky to have teamed up with Grant to create Living Your Wild Creativity. We started inspiring one another over 4 years ago creatively, spiritually, and emotionally. It has led us to sharing these gifts with others through Living Your Wild Creativity workshops and more. Grant’s keen and sensitive understanding of the subtleties of color is a special gift he brings to the workshop we do together on COLOR.

We are excited to come together to teach next month. COLOR——Moods, Rhythms, and More! February 8, 9, 10, At Studio4404, Sebastopol, CA. We are teaching it both in person and LIVE ONLINE. While our main focus will be exploring color with the heart, we also give tons of information and studio practice exercises to gain mastery of the topic. There is still room to sign up. For more information and to register:

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THE POWER AND VASTNESS OF COLOR PART 2

“I found I could say things with colors that I couldn’t say in any other way – things that I had no words for.”

— Georgia O’Keeffe

I am surrounded by the light and color of West Sonoma County. This time of year I wake up to foggy, rainy or frosty mornings…… The palette is muted, soft, veiled. I respond by feeling quiet, maybe sleepy, some loss, going inward, even peace.

Sunsets, by contrast, can be full of brilliance and intense color. Then, I feel emboldened, alive, radiant and full of excitement, joy and hope.

Color is so powerful because it evokes feelings, impressions, memories. Color fills my body, heart, mind, and spirit, and then flows into my art in its own mysterious ways.

What feelings or moods do these images
evoke in you?

Mark Rathko

Nicolas de Stahl

Stanton MacDonald Wright

Suzanne Jacquot

Felicity Keefe

Gerhard Richter

Helen Frankenthaler

Jude Wild

Lisa Boardwine

Melissa Herrington

Allison B. Cooke

To use color skillfully is an art in itself. Some artists devote their whole careers to experiencing and expressing the power of color such as Mark Rothko, Johannes Itten and Sonia Delaunay. Color at its best opens the viewer to greater depths of life.

Grant and I will be exploring COLOR: MOODS, RHYTHMS, AND MORE! in our next workshop together———February 8, 9, 10, at Studio4404, Sebastopol, CA. We invite you to come learn, discover, and create your own world through color.
To learn more and to register: www.LivingYourWildCreativity.com.

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We would love to hear your comments. 
Let us know what you think . . . 

The Power and Vastness of Color PART 1

“Color in a picture is like the enthusiasm in life.  ”

— Vincent Van Gogh

Grant and I are excited to share our thoughts, our findings and our inspirations on various topics that affect our art as we  create in our studios and help others to find their heart's desires and their creative expression.  So, without actually being in one of our workshops, we hope you can participate through this blog as one way to get to know us and what we offer you. 

We are passionate about COLOR, so this Blog is Part 1 on the Power and  Vastness of  Color.   Here's how we express color in our art:

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Grant Taylor,

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Suzanne Jacquot, Conversation, Acrylic on paper

Have you ever wondered how to view Abstract Art?  A great way is to take in and become aware of the color in the artwork.  How do you respond to the color in these images?  What feelings do you have when you see each image?  How does the palette enhance the mood of the image?  

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Color is one of the elements of painting. Understanding color and its impact can help you create more dynamic paintings.   Here are two important impacts color has on art.  

Color expresses feelings and emotions. 
Color engages the viewer, and helps direct the viewer around the image. 

Color can be a very powerful element in your own images for it can also provide dissonance, harmony, boldness, balance, rhythm, atmosphere, depth and much more when used effectively.  Color is especially exciting since each artist creates a unique visual voice through their use of color.

To explore color it is very helpful to understand a few basic terms and ideas about color.  For example:  Color has three components:  HUE, SATURATION, and VALUE.  What are these?  These are properties and can highly affect the strength, the clarity, the richness of a painting.  We have put together this short color video to help you further understand the properties and some basic terminology of color.   Simply click on the image to begin the Video.  

Color and the Color wheel
Suzanne Jacquot and Grant Taylor
Narration and videography by Grant Taylor

“The chief function of color should be to serve expression.”  ”

— Henry Matisse

AND, to followup the conceptual, and more technical terms of colors we put together a slide show by artists, from the great masters to contemporary painters, so that you can see how they express the properties of colors to engage the viewer and to  create moods and emotions dynamically in their art.

“Color is a power which directly influences the soul. ”

— Wassily Kandinsky

Helen Frankenthaler

Helen Frankenthaler

Allison B. Cooke

Judith Hale

Arielle Sandler

Arielle Sandler

Hiroshu Matsumoto

Brian Rutenberg

Brian Rutenberg

Brian Rutenberg

Brian Rutenberg

Suzanne Jacquot

Suzanne Jacquot and Lisa Jacobs

Paul Cezanne

Arshile Gorky

Claude Monet

Claude Monet

Claude Monet

Claude Monet

Conn Rider

Eileen de Kooning

Richard Diebenkorn

Richard Diebenkorn

Edgar Degas

Edgar Degas

Eileen de Kooning

Helen Frankenthaler

Henri Matisse

Henri Matisse

Henri Matisse

Henri Matisse

Henri Matisse

JMW Turner

JMW Turner

JMW Turner

Joan Mitchell

Joan Mitchell

Joseph Albers

Wassilly Kandinsky

Kevin Tolman

Kevin Tolman

Hiroshi Matsumoto

Suzanne Jacquot

Margaret Glew

Mark Rothko

Mark Rothko

Mark Rothko

Mary Abbot

Mary Cassett

Henri Matisse

Henri Matisse

Michelle Calkins

Mitchell Johnson

Nicolas de Stael

Paul Jenkins

Paul Jenkins

Paul Cezanne

Paul Cezanne

Paul Cezanne

Paul Klee

Paul Klee

Paul Klee

Robert Delaunay

Robert Delaunay

Sonia Delaunay

Sonia Delaunay

Stanton MacDonald Wright

Vincent Van Gogh

Vincent Van Gogh

Suzanne Jacquot

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Please feel free to make comments about the blog or suggest a topic you are interested in the comments section.  We hope you will also sign up for our periodic newsletter which includes our workshops and events schedules. You can do that at the bottom of the blog.  And, we invite you to our website:  www.LivingYourWildCreativity.com 

To sign up for our newsletter:

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We would love to hear your comments. 
Let us know what you think . . . 

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