Friday Feature: Andre Derain

Mountains at Collioure
by Andre Derain

Since we are getting into the haunting season I thought I would focus on artists for the Friday Feature who are very much...

dead.

Andre Derain is sadly one of the many dead artists that I love.

(Follow my Pinterest postings of Dead Artists that I Love if you want to see more.)  

Fishermen at Collioure
by Andre Derain

What do I love about his work?  COLOR!  Oh gravy how this man really let go and splashed bright colors onto the canvas with bold confident strokes.  And all of his work created during a time when the advent of the photograph enabled artists to reassess what the purpose of painting was.  If it was to depict the natural world how can painting push the boundaries beyond realism?  Derain's work is especially interesting to me because he is inspired by natural form, but he is creating something so delightfully new, a happy reflection of the world around us.

 Art must not be intelligent; art is a jouisance, an enjoyment.
-Derain

Long live Derain!

(ha, ha)