Whitbeck Notes
Fall 2024
Bouquets
18" x 24" oil on panel
Persian carpets. For me it was not just that they were seen in so many Netherlandish paintings from the 17th century; on tables, spread on floors or accompanying a still life. That added to my attraction for them, but it was also their amazing beauty. From the less detailed to the very intricate, the patterns and colors are just stunning. There is a richness to them that adds a certain kind of heft and weight that allows them to stand alone, center stage, in all of their glory.
I cannot say that I am an expert. I have read a few books explaining in great detail the multitude of styles and sub-styles, woven in villages and cities throughout the middle east. But the flood of information was a bit overwhelming and I think I will leave all of that to the true experts. At the moment I am satisfied with just enjoying their beauty, be that in books and museums or with the few that I have collected over the years.
I think it might have been those Dutch genre paintings that had set my rug style all those years ago, the ones that I find the most attractive. Anyone who has seen Vermeers or De Hoochs or a Dou or ter Borch will certainly understand the type of rug I am talking about; rich red backgrounds, intricate cloud band borders, flowers cleverly interwoven by their stems. I love it! They certainly add a certain feel to a painting and for years I have been incorporating them into my still life pieces.
Game Still Life with Pomegranate and Rabbit
30" x 40" oil on canvas
Historically, even though some paintings from the period show carpets on the floor, the Dutch would for the most part place these costly luxury items upon a table, avoiding the wear of foot traffic. And when on the table and actually being used for eating or writing a linen or cotton cloth would be laid over the carpet, having it removed when done, extending the life of this prized household adornment. And actually, you can see this in many of their still life paintings; a set-up, using the linen napkin with the Persian carpet underneath, scrunched up in the background, pushed artfully to make more room. The contrasts between the dark, earthy red rug and the stark whiteness of the napkin is stunning and strong. I have often had fun during a set-up, adjusting the napkin over the carpet, showing off different shapes or exposing certain attractive patterns (see above).
The additional time added to a painting that has a good portion of a rug in it, with all of its detail is considerable. For the most part I would say that most of my backgrounds in paintings are relatively simple; all black or gray/ tan, adding a certain feel to a piece with its shadows or subtle changes of light as it crosse the panels surface. These type of backgrounds are not the time consuming parts of those paintings. But, when having my Kashan as a full on background, or even partially, it seems to almost double the time invested. For one thing, just the transferring of all the complicated floral patterns of the rug, via a graph, takes a lot of time; first the initial penciling in (every flower, leaf, curving vine and stem), then using a fine brush to set the pattern in paint, usually with raw umber. After this the overall underpainting (including still life objects) is worked in, creating the lights and darks. And then finally the start of adding color with all of the stages of refinement that come afterwards. All of this detail must be set and maintained throughout the painting procedure. So tedious but so rewarding.
The various stages of working a Persian carpet into a painting
Using Oriental Rugs in my work has given me a great appreciation for the skill, patience and immense talent that the weavers have in creating these carpets, knot after knot, row by row. What an amazing thing! Plus the spinning of the wool, the dying of the wool, the creating of the patterns. Each region and each village having its own style, when one who is knowledgeable of such things could look at a certain border pattern or central medallion and know where it originated from. Some are more "tribal", woven with a somewhat primitive look and some being specifically woven to cover the floor of some great palace. Woven with silk and busy with design. Often times I have to search through my books to find the right piece for a painting, other times I use one from my collection. One of them, a Baluch, was originally woven as the front face for a saddle bag used in transportation on mule or camel. It has great geometric patterns, and you can see where horse hair (or camel or goat) has been woven into parts of the border as well as some of the loops used for fastening the bag shut can also be seen along the edges. I always strive to incorporate objects of character into my paintings. Things that have been through a lot and have seen the decades or even centuries of time march by. Dinged up, worn out, faded, repaired, things of substance. And I find that these woven beauties definitely fill that desire for me.
One new inspiration has been that of a few carpet fragments that originated out of India. I came upon this in an article from Oriental Rug Review. Woven sometime in the 16th century, these intriguing, mysterious pieces show various animals in a somewhat symmetrical pattern emerging one from another, out of mouths, out of necks, twisting and turning this way and that. So fascinating and so odd at the same time. I loved it and have painted it a few times already. Most of the animals are recognizable; leopards, elephants, tigers, rabbits, oxen. And some are fantastical looking more like horned demons, adding to the mysteriousness of its creator. Below you can see the mid stages of this new painting and the fully finished piece at the end of these Notes.
Inspirations for a new painting!
I also love the various ways that my wife Gale and I have come upon our carpets over the years. Not all the same, for sure. The vary first was with a rug dealer who lived a couple of towns over from us. And as this was a birthday surprise for me from Gale, I am now relating the story that she had told me afterwards as I was not there: His name was Bashir Ahamed and he ran an Oriental rug store in Northampton, Massachusetts but lived in Leverett, nearby, and often would sell from his home there. Gale had made a call to Bashir (Basha, as he liked to be called) and was invited to come and see what was available. She had thought that this was going to be relatively simple. Make a choice, pay for it and that would be that. But it turned into quite the ritual of tea, food and conversation. Basha would tell her the stories and histories behind the various rugs as they sat on carpets placed on the floor drinking tea. The oddest thing for Gale was that he would never just tell her the price. He would say, "Oh, I dont know. You tell me what you think it is worth. What would you pay for a fine rug like this?" It was a little awkward she had told me later. Then when she said a number, not knowing at all where to begin, he would say something to the effect of the rug "having so many amazing qualities, and that I could not in good conscience sell it for that amount." "Could you go higher?" he would ask. And she would say another price resulting in a similar response. At one point my wife tells Basha that she cannot go any higher and that she needed to stay in a certain limit. Well eventually a price was worked out, sitting upon the carpets spread on the floor, eating appetizers and drinking tea. Bashir Ahamed, from Kashmir definitely made a great (if not interesting) memory for us with the purchase of our first carpet. We had, eventually, purchased one more from him later, a Baluch bagface from northwest Afghanistan, the one with the horsehair woven in. It was the color and the experience that Basha had given us that adds to the specialness of this rug.
We also received, as a gift from my parents, a beautiful carpet from Turkey. A rich red background with a wide border, all filled with intricate floral patterns. Exquisite! Another was a trade with a fellow artist; a painting for two carpets. One in the home and one in the studio. And the last one that I will mention is the time when I happened to be doing an artshow in Naples, Florida some years ago, and literally right behind my booth was a carpet dealer who had a shop in one of the many stores lining the main street. Not planning on purchasing, I walked in to take a quick look and by the end of the show, after we had packed everything up, we had purchased our beautiful Kashan that I have used so many times in my paintings (including "Bouquets", shown at the beginning of these Notes). You just never know how it will happen, and I love that! The stories behind the objects that make them something more. And this is something, I hope, one way or another comes through when I put them in my still lives. Their stories, their character, their history, all adding just a little something extra and making it more then just a nice carpet in a painting.
Indian Beauty
18" x 24" oil on panel
Have a great Fall, and be sure to keep an eye on my website for all the newest work coming out of Whitbeck Studios. Winter time is the busiest in my studio and the season where most of my work is produced, being able to paint, pretty much uninterrupted. Also visit my site to see what art shows I will be doing in the 2025 season. I will post those as the application results come in. And, as always, feel free to write or call with any questions or inquiries. See my contact information below.
All my best,
James Whitbeck
(413) 695-3937
