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Archive for November 7th, 2008

Now…

Posted in Technique/History, tagged , on November 7, 2008| Leave a Comment »

A New Day's A-Comin'I have mentioned earlier in the week that I have an upcoming show in Asheville, NC at the Haen Gallery, opening on Saturday, November 22.  It is always a rush here in the studio as the day nears when I head out to deliver the work for the show.  I am finally done with the painting, save for a stroke here and a touch there, and it’s always interesting to step back and see how the whole body of work comes together, to see if there is a common thread that runs through the work.  It’s at this point that I start to put a statement together, a short essay that tries to capture the feel of the work, at least to me.  Usually in these statements I stay away from talking about technique and art history-type material, particularly artspeak, which I don’t think serves any purpose for anyone.  Instead I try to set the tone for the show.  This show is titled Now… and this is what I’ve come up as statement thus far:

Now…

Now is a powerful time.

 Now is a time for action, to move ahead with all intent.

We cannot stop on our chosen path now and peer back into the mist behind and try to retrace our steps– the past tells us only how we came to this point.  Now.

Nor can we pause on our way and look to some far and distant point ahead of us.  That lies too far in the future and is nothing without our action.  Now.

We have charted our course and we must focus on the path immediately before us, to make each step with all determination because now is a time for action.

This is what I see in much of this work, moments caught just as a decision is made to proceed ahead.  I see a lot of determination in this work, perhaps shaped by the time in which most of this work was created, a time of renewed political spirit among many who have decided that this was indeed a time for action, a time to stand up and be heard.

The time is now.

 

This is a first draft so maybe there will be changes but if anyone out there has any feelings on this, drop me a line.  As always, I appreciate the feedback.

 

 

 

 

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Benton

Posted in Favorite Things, Influences, tagged , , on November 7, 2008| 4 Comments »

benton-ballad-of-the-jealous-lover

These are a couple of paintings from one of my heroes, Thomas Hart Benton, the Missouri-born painter of the last century.  I was immediately drawn to the rich colors he used and the complexity of that color.  By that I mean, when I look at his colors I see one color but get the feeling of the colors that comprise it.  That’s a hard thing to really explain but when I finally understood the concept I found my own work growing stronger and more alive.  His colors are always strong and bold, deep and rich.

The first painting also has a great title, The Ballad of the Jealous Lover of Lone Green Valley, which is something that means a lot to me and my work. I think that the title can play an important part in the life of a painting.

The other element that I love in Benton’s work is the obvious rhythm ( a term that I use a lot in describing my work) that runs through his paintingsbenton-trail-riders1.  In the lower piece, Trail Riders, there is a great flow in the landscape from right to left, that to me is pure music.  I have seen Benton’s work described as “Jazz painting” which I fully understand.  There is a real musical quality in the way his landscapes roll and even in the positioning of his figures.

His use of deep color and rhythm are two things I took and tried to make my own, which is something I think all artists do with their influences.  The trick is making it part of your own artistic vocabulary and not merely derivative.  I can only hope I’ve done that.

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