Calmness and Sadness isn't a conflict : Forests

Meltem

Calmness and sadness is a mix of melancholia and I'm sure that everybody has that. It's a beautiful feeling where every flashback in your life lays before your eyes, like a projector. The disadvantage of melancholia is that you miss those days or moments and you are longing to them. This feeling might come when you're sad or just calm.

Loïc Arnaud, from the series forest, emulsion, oil and carbone on paper (2009 - 2010)

Why this concept or thought? It's a popular concept you might think? A few days back I went to the forest with my parents. My mom loves to talk and there was this moment that I was staring at a really peaceful view. It was this misty forest, with nobody around, only me (and my mom) in the forest with a path that leads to that peaceful view. I didn't had my phone to take a picture, but to be honest I didn't wanted too, because I wanted to live the moment and keep it in my memories. It may sound selfish for some, but in life it's best to keep things to yourself than spreading it into the world. My mom was talking, but I was so mesmerized about that view that I didn't hear my mom talking. I was asking myself many questions, than this melancholia hits me, I was asking myself how can you put this feeling in a painting without using many colors. Just black, white or faded colors. I was synchronizing every artists that came in my head that day and there was this one artist named Loïc Arnaud's that managed to give me this feeling in his paintings. 

Loïc Arnaud, from the series forest, emulsion, oil and carbone on paper (2009 - 2010)

Loïc Arnaud, from the series forest, emulsion, oil and carbone on paper (2009 - 2010)

Loïc's paintings are giving me that feeling where I forget the cold city and the high buildings, the thousand people that are trying to survive the life that god has given them and trying to figure out who they are. The humankind, a complex being with many paths to chose, to discover, to live, ... Therefore there is this path, where everyone is yearning for, this path leads them to peace and this path is a form that converts itself into melancholia. Loïc's paintings bring that calmness and sadness together, it's like the scenes after a war and that's when the trees can finally breathe. He's not only using dark colors, but captures the calmness with the gold (ish) drops and the clear sky on the background.

There are many artists that I'd like to display, but I'm not writing an essay about the similarities these artists may have with each other. I will keep it short and let you appreciate the calmness inside the paintings and let you ask yourself some questions. Each of them give the same melancholia feeling, but in different patterns and techniques. Please enjoy!

This one is by Ivan Shishkin, a Russian landscape artist, there's not much information about him. So enjoy the view!

 Ivan Shishkin 

Ivan Shishkin 

Ivan Shishkin

Second artist isn't that well known either. Wendy Grove Galle, a canadian landschape artist. She appeared like a surprise to me. 

 Wendy Grove Galle

Wendy Grove Galle

And to finish this blogpost I want to show you a photograph by Loïc. You can read one of his interviews on my favorite blog Artchipel. You should check them out!

 

Loïc Arnaud

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Meltem