I saw the documentary, VINCENT: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF VINCENT VAN GOGH, at ARC at the National Film and Sound Archive last weekend. It is a part of the NFSA's special Australian cinema screenings. It's directed by the Dutch/Australian filmmaker Paul Cox back in 1987.
I was very excited to see this as I had just finished reading 'The Yellow House' which is about the tumultuous time that Paul Gauguin and van Gogh spent together in the 'studio of the south' (the yellow house), in Arles, Southern France, in 1888.
During this time it is said that van Gogh produced his most prolific work such as the sunflowers, the chair etc..
According to the letters he wrote to his brother Theo, he was in love with the light in Arles and you can see this reflected in his work
This was a truly inspirational documentary, just to see his passion for painting and how this was enough to carry him through life, he didn't need anything else and also his love of nature and the colours - the intense chrome yellows, malachite greens, royal blues. It inspired me to capture the autumnal colours of Canberra. A bit different from southern France but still beautiful in it's own right.
Here is a quick drawing I did in my backyard to try and capture some colours and create a painting from this.
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