Since I pulled out my watercolor markers again a few weeks ago, I’ve also found myself revisiting some of my favorite art books. (From some of my favorite art exhibitions.) And my current go-to for inspiration has been the exhibition catalog from the Matisse/Diebenkorn show that I saw two years ago.

Unfortunately, I didn’t find out about it in time to see it at the Baltimore Museum of Art (which is much closer to me) but I was going to be in San Francisco while it was up at SFMOMA, so I made it a point to clear out time in my travel schedule to see the show.

It definitely didn’t disappoint. I’ve seen a number of Matisse shows in the last handful of years, but this was the first time I really looked at Diebenkorn’s work. The show explored the ways that Diebenkorn was inspired by Matisse, but yet at the same time, Diebenkorn’s paintings have their own identity.

My favorite work of the entire show was the one above, called Coffee. I’m not exaggerating when I say it literally brought tears to my eyes.

Sadly, no photograph or reproduction does justice to the depth and soul this painting has in person. But still, I’m using it as a beacon as I think about the kinds of paintings I want to create. I know I have a long way to go, but I like that the idea of this painting gives me some kind of direction for my own.

Speaking of my own paintings, I’m still just doing some small works with watercolor markers. (Though I’m hoping to move into some bigger paintings on canvas this summer when I’m not so bogged down with jewelry orders.) I’ve been inspired by the silos I’ve seen doing lots of driving in the countryside where I live, but I’ve also been thinking about how those relate to some of the shapes I was drawn to last summer.

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