Believing
it's a good idea to change her subject focus every once in a while, in
order to bring new energy to her paintings, Puiatti's most recent works
include a return to traditional themes: still lifes and landscapes. Yet
on closer examination, whether a vase full of lilacs or a field of grass
and rocks, the objects she paints seem almost to dissolve into abstraction.
The play of shadow and light is her real subject, regardless of the genre.
Her still lifes--often a vase of flowers centered on the canvas--possess
a vitality created, not by dynamic compositions, but by her rendering
of these transient elements of color and light.
Reflection, a large canvas that one would label a landscape, is a perfect
example of this abstracted realism. With a horizon line positioned about
one third of the way from the top, and trees and ground reflect-ed in
the dark water that covers the bottom two thirds, the painting verges
on color-block abstraction. Paint strokes are evident, while shapes melt
into shades. The hues are subtle, analogous blends of blues and greens,
yet the effect is boldly dramatic. Trees, clouds, earth and sky are defined
by broad, vague areas of color and varying intensities of lights and darks,
rather than specifics, such as leaves and branches. "I'm not really interested
in the details," says Puiatti "I want to paint the essence of the site."
By omitting the minutia, Puiatti paints images in which, she feels, the
viewer is invited to participate. She wants whoever looks at her canvasses
to "take in the air" and create images for themselves.
Puiatti prefers to paint alla prima (in wet paint), so most of her works
have the spontaneity of something conceived and created in only a few
hours. (Most canvasses are completed within two to eight hours, while
some do take longer.) Since she has two young sons, short periods of painting
time fit nicely into an already busy schedule. Vice President of the Chelmsford
Art Association and editor of their newsletter, Puiatti enjoys painting
with fellow artists en plein air. "I never work from photographs," she
says. "I just can't get any energy from a still picture." When she is
not painting out-of-doors, Puiatti works in her Chelmsford studio, painting
still lifes she has arranged there, views from her wall-sized window over-looking
a picturesque woodland, or compositions from her imagination. She finds
the imaginary paintings provide a "needed mental escape," but adds, "I
use to feel guilty about these paintings until I read a letter from Gauguin
to van Gogh encouraging his friend to paint more from his imagination."
Often the imaginary views that do exert themselves as mental pictures
are actually referenced in reality. Pointing to one dark, tree-like section
on a rare, winter canvas of snow-covered meadows, Puiatti, notes, "that
area is very much like a spot I pass everyday on my morning walks."
Puiatti likes working in the blues and greens, which she finds most common
in nature. "They're peaceful, with a kind of dream factor," she says,
admitting that she finds working in reds "too aggressive" for her tastes
and that she's a "little intimidated" by the strong influence of Cadmium
Red. Puiatti's palette contains Light Cadmium and Pale Cadmium, but rarely
anything bolder. Her red is Alizarin Crimson, a milder purple-red hue
which blends beautifully with the blue and blue/green tones that dominate
her color scheme. These colors are soothing for her, sheathing her paintings
in a peaceful, ethereal atmosphere.
One series of work, however, does contain ample areas of reds and yellows,
quite atypical of this artist's style. These are four large paintings,
each measuring 40"x 30" created in the three days following the attacks
on September 11. Like so many other artists, Puiatti felt it necessary
to express her emotions, at that time, through her art. The result is
a striking quartet of highly charged abstract pieces entitled Sorrow,
Anger, Fear and Hope , which express the artist's feelings.
"I'm not always comfortable doing abstracts, but I had to do these for
myself," say Puiatti, who put the works away after their completion. Now,
with the urging of her husband and colleagues, she feels comfortable sharing
this series with others, who jointly experienced those uniquely disquieting
days, alone yet in concert with multitudes. The four paintings were included
in the one year commemorative exhibition sponsored by SCAT, Somerville
Community Access Television.
Night Light, a quadriptych, with each of the components also measuring
40"x 30", is quite a different series of four paintings. In each panel
the range of colors is extremely limited--in fact, basically monochromatic--reaching
from dark ink-like blue black, through the ultramarines and aquas to blue-tinged
white. Again, the effect is breathtaking. One can envision a distant horizon
separating a reflective ocean and cloud-filled sky. Though each panel
is a self-contained scene, the visual landscapes blend seamlessly from
one panel to the next creating a near- continuous horizon line that fills
one's visual reference and becomes a sum that is greater than its parts.
The atmospheric perspective and implied distance of this group of paintings
is characteristic of Puiatti's landscapes and seascapes. Even the smaller,
more intimate, works of forests and fields reveal a sense of depth, as
if the viewers were standing and looking through the eyes of the artist
at a scene that stretches out far beyond them.
The "dance," which opens with artist and canvas, changes partners to close
with canvas and viewer, moving to a new rhythm of colors in context.
Linda Puiatti's
paintings are currently [when the article was published] on exhibit (through
December 28) at the Whistler House Museum of Art in Lowell. Her work
is also
represented
at the
NOA
Gallery in Groton and the Alpers Gallery in Andover and may be viewed
online at www.lindapuiatti.com
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