Words that have inspired me over the years.

[Anthony Emmolo]

Walt Whitman at one point in his life lived in Washington DC and had regularly seen Abraham Lincoln as he and his people would pass on horseback.

"...I see very plainly Abraham Lincoln's dark brown face, with the deep-cut lines, the eyes, always to me with a deep latent sadness in the expression. We have got so that we exchange bows, and very cordial ones... They passed me once very close, and I saw the President in the face fully, as they were moving slowly, and his look, though abstracted, happened to be directed steadily in my eye. He bow'd and smiled, but far beneath his smile I noticed well the expression I have alluded to. None of the artists or pictures has caught the deep, though subtle and indirect expression of this man's face. There is something else there. One of the great portrait painters of two or three centuries ago is needed."

Personally, I have seen a few portraits that in my opinion truly reach deep inside the sitter, and consequently the artist. A portrait by Rembrandt at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, and although it is not a typical portrait, the Christ child depicted in the "Madonna of the Shadows" by Fra Angelico. It is part of a fresco in San Marco in Florence. Both of these come to mind as there is an awareness in the eyes that is truly "alive". I cannot think of a better word than alive.

I don't expect to reach that level, but it is a constant reminder for me to slow down the momentums in and out of my studio, and really look. That is where sensitivity is born.

Anthony

In addition, Leonardo Da Vinci once said that he is saddened to know that he cannot paint much of what he sees. That statement coming from a man like Leonardo puts me in perspective and cuts through any feelings of failure I may be having in a moment.

Good luck to all and thank you for your thoughts in the different areas of our forum.