Comfort in a picture at a time of great loss

Comfort in a picture at a time of great loss
And in a picture I want to say something comforting

“And in a picture I want to say something comforting.  I want to paint men and women with that something of the eternal which the halo used to symbolize, and which we seek to convey by the actual radiance and vibration of our colouring.

So I am always between two currents of thought, first the material difficulties, turning round and round to make a living; and second the study of colour.  I am always in hope of making a discovery there, to express the love of two lovers by the wedding of two complementary colours, their mingling and their opposition, the mysterious vibration of kindred tones.  To express the thought of a brow by the radiance of a light tone against a sombre background.  To express hope by some star, the eagerness of a soul by a sunset radiance.

And in a picture I want to say something comforting.”

An extract from a letter written by Vincent Van Gogh to his brother Theo – read out at the funeral service of Marguerite Clapp on 5 March 2010 by her grand-daughter.

I thoroughly intend to let both artists guide me from this point on.