I have known Vincent since I started art school at the University of the Philippines. Although I majored in Advertising and Editorial Designs, I had some fine arts subjects too. I studied about the Post-Impressionist, and Vincent Van Gogh became my favorite artist. His many masterpieces have bright colors w/ sharp contrast, heavy brush strokes,layers of thick paint, confrontational directness and passionate style. His paintings inspired my present art style. I paint reality w/ abstract colors.
Vincent, as he preferred to be called was born on March 30,1853 in Holland. If he's alive today, he'd be blowing his 160th birthday candles. When he was alive his painting was unappreciated. Little did he knew that someday he would become one of the most recognized artist in modern times.
In September 2011, I had the privileged to visit Arles, where Vincent lived during his later years.He also painted his many masterpieces in this quaint French town. Walking on his footsteps was a dream come true. I never expected that someday, I'll be able to see Arles and will be recoonnected to Vincent's enduring memories.Today, we are lucky to know so much about Van Gogh’s paintings by the hundreds of letters that Vincent wrote. Many of his masterpieces are in art museums all over the world.
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| The artist at Arles |
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Posing beside "The Starry Night".
Van Gogh was interested in painting night scenes, as can be seen in his paintings of Starry Night and Café Terrace at Night. Vincent wrote. In one such letter, he said “t I often think that the night is much more alive and richly colored than the day.”
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| Photo of Van Gogh's "Starry Night." |
In a letter to his sister Wilhelmina, Van Gogh said “At present I absolutely want to paint a starry sky. It often seems to me that night is still more richly coloured than the day; having hues of the most intense violets, blues and greens. If only you pay attention to it you will see that certain stars are lemon-yellow, others pink or a green, blue and forget-me-not brilliance. And without my expatiating on this theme it is obvious that putting little white dots on the blue-black is not enough to paint a starry sky.”
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| "Cafe Terrace At NIght" |
Vincent described this painting on a letter: "Here you have a night picture without black in it, done with nothing but beautiful blue and violet and green, and lemon-yellow. It amuses me enormously to paint the night right on the spot. They used to draw and paint the picture in the daytime after the sketch. But I find satisfaction in painting the thing immediately.”
The café from the painting still serves patrons today and is a popular tourist destination for those hoping to see Van Gogh’s Arles. One can even stand on the northeastern corner where he stood to paint the scene.The cafés in Van Gogh’s paintings were establishments that he frequented himself. He met other artists there and befriended the owners.
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| The artist w/ the "Yellow House" oil painting. The yellow house where Vincent lived was gone. |
 Photo of the "Yellow House" oil painting.
"If you hear a voice within you saying, You are not a painter, then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced."
Vincent van Gogh
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