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Painting Through Winter Depression

A Personal Series of Ink Paintings from Difficult Seasons

Winter depression has accompanied me for decades. Here I would like to show a few paintings that emerged during those difficult seasons. In the past, these periods were often very distressing. By the time of writing in January 2022, I had become better at living with the phase that usually occupied January and February. Painting was one way of working through it.

The examples below begin with the most recent works and move back through the years.

Works from 2022

Broad dark brown and black forms crossing a grey ground, with bright turquoise openings and an inscription at left
Dense black and pale pink strokes forming a broken, angular space beneath a narrow blue-grey strip
The Wolves Got Me: blue-grey wolf-like heads above dark overlapping forms, with pink washes and red accents
The Wolves Got Me

Works from 2021

Bold black gestural forms and red pools on white paper, with small red seals
Winter Demon: jagged green, ochre and orange brushwork gathering around a bright opening
Winter Demon

These phases can be very demanding. At the time of writing, I was managing relatively well without medication. What still troubled me was my feeling that the work became technically less assured during those periods. Yet another kind of force entered the paintings. That tension is part of why I want to show them.

Works from the 1980s and 1990s

A tilted face in black and reddish-brown strokes, surrounded by broad curved marks and red seals
An upright green creature with human-like arms, crouched legs and a dark face against a window-like background
An angular face suggested by sparse dry black strokes on pale paper
In the Night: a dark seated figure against a violet-blue ground
In the Night
A slender reddish-brown figure with outstretched hands and hair falling across the face
A horned, goat-like figure with an extended human-like arm, drawn in black and grey with red seals

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Comments

16 responses to “Painting Through Winter Depression”

  1. AT SUNNYSIDE - WHERE TRUTH AND BEAUTY MEET avatar
    AT SUNNYSIDE – WHERE TRUTH AND BEAUTY MEET

    Art is therapeutic – and those wolves communicate more than words ever could. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
  2. Zettl Friedrich avatar
    Zettl Friedrich

    Thank you very much! Yes, art can be so much! Only now have I remembered that I once sat for hours in front of a great Monet painting during such a phase when I was young. And afterwards my depression was gone….

    Reply
  3. mic avatar
    mic

    👌👌👌🎨🖌🖼👏

    Reply
  4. Zettl Friedrich avatar
    Zettl Friedrich

    Thank you very much!

    Reply
  5. Martha Kennedy avatar
    Martha Kennedy

    Depression… I’ve never consciously represented it in any of my art except maybe some bad poetry. Visual art has always been a rope ladder out of a hole. I think part of me doesn’t want to give depression that power, to affect my pictures. It’s, “No. You can’t have THIS, you fuck.”

    So far I’ve only had ONE major depressive crisis. It taught me a lot. Since I survived it, I am beyond grateful for the experience. It was a wonderful teacher.

    Your blind, lost, pink figure is a very fine depiction.

    Here’s my depression post. The image is what I did through that moment. My roommate — who was Swiss — asked me what we say on the 4th of July (Independence Day). I said, “Happy Fourth of July.” He said, “Huh? Hippy Fords of July?” So, there it is…

    https://marthakennedy.blog/2020/03/21/the-tunnel/

    Reply
    1. Zettl Friedrich avatar
      Zettl Friedrich

      Whether it makes sense to address your own mental state is a question that you have to ask yourself. Above all, whether it corresponds at all with our zeitgeist or is not a matter that is more likely to be assigned to late romanticism. The fine thing about us, who are no longer quite so young, is that we have already experienced and seen so much and that means that a certain filter is programmed into it. In any case, I think it’s not a bad idea to take on challenges and see what positives they have to offer for me. With painting you have a good tool at hand.

      I read your great post. “Trying to find oneself….” Now some already started to find themselves in the metaverse. A second chance, a second life. Go end get ist! Find yourself through your avatar by consuming as much as you can…..

      Reply
      1. Martha Kennedy avatar
        Martha Kennedy

        For me the lesson was that I was the greatest risk to my own life. That is a pretty intense realization. It made me fierce and ferocity was what I needed. I think “finding oneself” was a thing of our generation, in the US anyway.

      2. Zettl Friedrich avatar
        Zettl Friedrich

        Yes, we ourselves are often our greatest threat and opportunity at the same time. But as far as self-discovery goes, at least from a Buddhist point of view, one can only find oneself within oneself.

  6. Chinaman Creek avatar
    Chinaman Creek

    Dear Friedrich: Your paintings certainly gave a lot to the viewer, even if they give you pain to create. That seems very paradoxical. I thought you might like this article on Ma Desheng by Zolima Citymag:
    https://zolimacitymag.com/exiled-chinese-artist-ma-desheng-channels-personal-and-national-tragedy-into-captivating-work/
    Take care! Simon

    Reply
    1. Zettl Friedrich avatar
      Zettl Friedrich

      Dear Simon, many thanks! How funny you mention Ma Desheng! He is an old friend of mine. Here is a photo of us both when we were young and innocent 🙂 https://i0.wp.com/zettl.blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/ma_desheng-friedrich_zettl.jpg?resize=660%2C482&ssl=1

      Reply
  7. swabby429 avatar
    swabby429

    All of the images captured something I feel inside. The most striking one is the pack of canines–they touched something primordial.

    Reply
    1. Zettl Friedrich avatar
      Zettl Friedrich

      Thank you! I know from one of your previous posts that such periods are nothing new for you. Yes, I often try to reduce brushwork so just the essence, especially the feeling is left as main message.

      Reply
  8. Nancy Richy avatar
    Nancy Richy

    The dreary, depressing doldrums of winter. February is the worst; it’s the shortest month but for me it feels like the longest. Will it ever be spring? Lovely art here and some wonderful thoughts. ❄️

    Reply
  9. Zettl Friedrich avatar
    Zettl Friedrich

    Thank you very much! Yes, February is a drag….But anyway spring is on the way. All the best for the rest of the winter!

    Reply
  10. peter robinson avatar
    peter robinson

    Good post!

    Reply
  11. Depression: A Journey Through the Long Winter. – Zettl Fine Arts

    […] articles on depression: Watching the Night – Winter is Here with its Gifts – Gone They […]

    Reply

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