[General] ...fields of faded flowers...

[rodgers white]

Hi, there. For me, imagination in writing is just like the filter in a fish tank, and words and paintings are always a perfect combination for us to use to provide a snapshot into our minds and thoughts. Would you please proofread the sentences and share what you imagine when you look at the painting? Any help would be appreciated. Here are the words and the painting.

**********************************************************
Even in my dreams , a breeze keeps blowing through fields of faded flowers, allowing no sense of calm to sleep tonight.

 

[tedmc]

I do not see how the words are related to the portrait painting. What has the "breeze blowing through flower fields" to do "with losing the calm to sleep"?

 

[emsr2d2]

Hi no comma here there. Please stop using greetings in posts. Just go straight in with your text.

For me, imagination in writing is just like the filter in a fish tank, and words and paintings are [STRIKE]always[/STRIKE] a perfect combination [STRIKE]for us to use[/STRIKE] to provide a snapshot into our minds and thoughts. Would you please proofread [STRIKE]the[/STRIKE] my sentences and share what you imagine when you look at the painting? Any help would be appreciated. Here are the words and the painting.

**********************************************************
Even in my dreams, a breeze [STRIKE]keeps blowing[/STRIKE] blows through fields of faded flowers, allowing no sense of calm [STRIKE]to[/STRIKE] for sleep tonight.

View attachment 3746

Note my corrections above.

Is the sentence supposed to be your idea of what the person in the painting is thinking?

 

[rodgers white]

Note my corrections above.

Is the sentence supposed to be your idea of what the person in the painting is thinking?

Yes and no. The answer to this question really doesn't matter too much. I mean you can understand this way or any way you like. This is a portrait of Juan Gris by Amedeo Modigliani. It is regarded as one of the greatest portrait paintings of the early 20th century. The portrait of Juan Gris was painted during the First World War. Apart from four landscapes, Modigliani's output of painting consists entirely of female nudes and portraits, all characterized by seemingly primitive and elongated forms. Just as he was making a name for himself among collectors of modern art, he died of tuberculosis at the age of 35. Modigliani had little success while alive, but after his death achieved great popularity. So, you see, while looking at this portrait, I feel a kind of deep sentiment in my heart: the first world war, the painter's life experiences and his early death. So that's why there is a ripple in my lake of soul at night and try to grab it with the tip of my pen: Even in my dreams, a breeze blows through fields of faded flowers, allowing no sense of calm for sleep tonight.

By the way, Modigliani also painted highly sexualized female nudes that at the time, were daringly erotic. That caused a huge scandal at the time. I like his painting called ‘Seated Nude’. Its model was then the artist's lover.

 

[Tdol]

What exactly do you mean by faded flowers? Are they dying, drooping, etc?

 

[rodgers white]

What exactly do you mean by faded flowers? Are they dying, drooping, etc?

Yup, something like that. I use this image metaphorically to express how I feel while looking at the portrait: something is dying in his soul. For me, those words just flow out of my minds and I let the tip of my pen catch them and write them down. Sometimes it is really hard to express explicitly what they mean. Every individual has his own interpretation.

 

[Tarheel]

If I understand it correctly the person is dreaming that he is having trouble sleeping. But he's dreaming. So he is asleep. So he's not having trouble sleeping. But he thinks he is.
:-?

 

[rodgers white]

If I understand it correctly the person is dreaming that he is having trouble sleeping. But he's dreaming. So he is asleep. So he's not having trouble sleeping. But he thinks he is.
:-?

Haha, I love your words though it seems you are dreaming and murmuring-I am joking. It just tells you are in the zone exactly as I am when I look at the portrait. See, my dear friends, how different our interpretations can be while we see exactly the same painting.:lol:

 

[emsr2d2]

I can see why I'm struggling with this thread. When I look at that painting, I see an out-of-proportion neck under a too-square face, and think "No one actually looks like that". Don't get me wrong; I don't only like paintings that look almost as if they could be photographs, but when I see a portrait, I want it to be a proper likeness of the person in question. I have never looked at a portrait and thought "I wonder what he/she's thinking". Nor has one ever made me think of faded flowers or breezes. I look at the canvas. I look at the paint. I look at the actual image. I decide if I like it or not. I move on.
No doubt you think I'm a complete heathen!

 

[rodgers white]

I can see why I'm struggling with this thread. When I look at that painting, I see an out-of-proportion neck under a too-square face, and think "No one actually looks like that". Don't get me wrong; I don't only like paintings that look almost as if they could be photographs, but when I see a portrait, I want it to be a proper likeness of the person in question. I have never looked at a portrait and thought "I wonder what he/she's thinking". Nor has one ever made me think of faded flowers or breezes. I look at the canvas. I look at the paint. I look at the actual image. I decide if I like it or not. I move on.
No doubt you think I'm a complete heathen!

Not a bit. I really like your comments. That's exactly what I want. Everyone has his own way to understand things in the world, including this portrait. For most of us, it is natural that we would not bother ourselves thinking about all those things. I mean the head and the cylindrical neck in Juan Gris look carved, in a way that recalls the tribal art of Africa and the Oceanic art of the Pacific the painter so much admired. The nose in this picture, like the noses in many African masks, is stated almost as a separate feature. Anyway, just like you said, ‘I look at the canvas. I look at the paint. I look at the actual image. I decide if I like it or not. I move on.’ I don’t think you are a complete heathen at all. We are just seeing the things from different perspectives. That’s life all about.

By the way, Modigliani, the painter, chose to use portraiture to explore both his own psychology and that of his subjects, who were typically fellow artists or lovers. That’s part of the reason why I wonder what he’s thinking when I look at the portrait.

 

[Tarheel]

The fields are full of fading flowers
With deer munching on them by the hours.

:-D

 

[rodgers white]

The fields are full of fading flowers
With deer munching on them by the hours.

:-D

I love your words full of imagination. But there is something really confusing in my head. Deer always avoid some flowers, such as Daffodils, foxgloves, and poppies. Because these flowers are toxic to deer. Deer also tend to turn their noses up at fragrant plants with strong scents. Herbs such as sages, ornamental salvias, and lavender, as well as flowers like peonies and bearded irises, are just “stinky” to deer.

So, what about the faded flowers?:-D

 

[Tarheel]

I don't know what kind they are, but apparently the deer like them.