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Archive for November, 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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Carried By a New Wind

Posted in Painting, Recent Paintings, Technique/History, tagged , on November 6, 2008| 2 Comments »

November 5, 2008

  This is a piece that I finished yesterday, while the events of November 4th settled in a bit.  It’s an 18″ high by 36″ wide canvas and has a really neat quality that I can’t quite put my finger on.  There’s a real dynamism that I think comes from the motion in the tree’s leaves along with the roll and rise of the ground behind it.  Gives it a sense of urgency.

As with much of my work, I think the underlying texture really pushes the piece forward and creates the feeling of a harmony above chaos that I want.  I think it has a real rhythm and strength.  A life of its own, which is how I determine how well I’ve done my job.

I’m still mulling a title here but the title of this post seems to fit both this piece and the time which I like a lot.  When I look at my work I am often reminded of the time in which it was created, a feeling that goes beyond the scene in the painting.  I can only hope that that feeling translates to others as well.

This piece will also be heading to Asheville, NC  for my November 22 opening at the Haen Gallery.

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New Day

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged on November 5, 2008| 2 Comments »

When Barack Obama finally approached the podium to deliver his stirring victory address I looked at the clock and it was just past midnight.  All I could think is, “It’s a new day.”

I woke up this morning after a few hours of sleep, my head pounding and my eyes tired, and I grinned like an idiot.  All I could think is, “It’s a new day.”

Well, it is a new day and while I am filled with joy and hope, teary-eyed from watching the world’s emotional response to this ground-shaking event, I recognize the size and scope of the task ahead for Obama and for us, the American people.  We, as a people, cannot rest on the laurels that we garnered last night.  That was only the end of a campaign.  Today is a new day and there is much to be done, many miles to go before we rest.   But it can be done.  With determination.  With self-sacrifice. With a new sense of personal responsibility. With empathy and fairness.

We should dance now and celebrate this victory.  But when the revelry is over we must stay together and get to work.  Because tomorrow is yet another new day.

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A Day of History

Posted in Favorite Things, Quote, tagged , , on November 4, 2008| Leave a Comment »

barack-hope-poster1   There are very few days in our lives when we realize that there is history of great magnitude occurring before our very eyes.  It is awe-inspiring to see the throngs of voters converging on the polls with steely-eyed determination, willing to stand hours so that history will not be denied.  I’m sure each has their own individual motivation but most simply desire a change in our leadership that insures and affirms the fairness and promise of  possibility in our country.

You see, the magic of America has always been about possibility.

Eugene Robinson wrote a wonderful article in  today’s Washington Post that speaks of this:

“For African Americans, at least those of us old enough to have lived through the civil rights movement, this is nothing short of mind-blowing. It’s disorienting, and it makes me see this nation in a different light.

You see, I remember a time of separate and unequal schools, restrooms and water fountains — a time when black people were officially second-class citizens. I remember moments when African Americans were hopeful and excited about the political process, and I remember other moments when most of us were depressed and disillusioned. But I can’t think of a single moment, before this year, when I thought it was within the realm of remote possibility that a black man could be nominated for president by one of the major parties — let alone that he would go into Election Day with a better-than-even chance of winning.

Let me clarify: It’s not that I would have calculated the odds of an African American being elected president and concluded that this was unlikely; it’s that I wouldn’t even have thought about such a thing.”

One new possibility becoming reality opens a door to an open and endless plain of possibility.  And that is all we ask–for a door to open.  Get out there and stand in line.  Vote.

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Foundation: Update

Posted in Painting, Recent Paintings, Technique/History, tagged , , , on November 3, 2008| 1 Comment »

 

 

    A while back I had a post titled “Foundation” (October 13, 2008) that showed a prepared canvas and briefly explained how I prepared the surface for painting.  I promised to show the piece when it was finished and here it is:

 

 

 

This is a 24″ high by 48″ wide canvas.  You can see the texture I talked about earlier in the sky, even on this small image.  This piece doesn’t have a title yet.  Sometimes it takes a while to arrive at a title and other times it pops out.  This is a pretty large painting and I’m holding off on naming it as I think it deserves something special, something fitting the time in which it was created.

I have a method for naming work that requires that I pretend that the work is not mine and I’ve stumbled across the painting at garage sale, maybe fifty years in the future.  I look quickly at it and try to assess it and determine if it has something of value in it, something that separates it and gives it some type of life of its own.  Then I try to grab a first impression of what feeling it conveys and go from there with a title.  It sounds kind of goofy but I find it works for me.

This piece (with a title!) will be at the Haen Gallery show in Asheville.

Quick Update:  I am leaning toward a title –  ” Toward Possibility”.  I’ll live with this piece for a few weeks in the studio and make a final determination.  If anyone has any feelings on this, let me know.  I think this is a really dynamic piece and deserves a fitting name.

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Coming to Asheville- II

Posted in Painting, Recent Paintings, Technique/History, tagged , , on November 3, 2008| Leave a Comment »

This painting is “Archaeology: Man’s Footprint”  and is part of my upcoming show at the Haen Gallery in Asheville,NC.  It is a 24″ X 30″ canvas done primarily with acrylic paints. 

I always consider paintings like this , that have a strong central figure, as iconic pieces.  By that I mean, though the red tree can simply be a tree and nothing more, in the context of the painting it becomes a symbol with possible meanings beyond the obvious.

This piece has a very striking appearance, probably more than one can ascertain from the photo shown here, that is really heightened by the mottled texture in the sky. The finger-like layers of exposed earth and stone have a real rhythm, something I’ve talked about a bit in earlier posts.  All in all, I think this is a very strong piece.

Now, when I say that this is a very strong piece I mean that is how I see the piece.  It does not mean that anyone else will see it that way.  There are often paintings that I feel strongly about that take the longest time to find new homes.  It may be, in some pieces, that my eye is a bit biased because I am remembering the process of creating the work instead of focusing on the picture itself.  Cheri has a painting hanging in our home that is a favorite of mine but could never find a new home at any gallery in which it hung.  When I look at it, I see the struggle of taking a piece that was about to be discarded, early in the process,  as a failure and sticking with it for a long time to make it ultimately work.  I have a great sense of satisfaction when I look at that piece.

The show is titled “Now…” and opens November 22, 2008.

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Coming to Asheville

Posted in Painting, Recent Paintings, Technique/History, tagged , on November 2, 2008| 2 Comments »

 

I am currently working (when I can pull myself from the presidential race) on my next show which is a solo exhibition of new work titled “Now…” which opens November 22, 2008 at the Haen Gallery in downtown Asheville, NC.  The Haen is a beautiful gallery space  that has expanded in the past year, nearly doubling its size.  It’s always exciting to see the work hanging in the Haen as it really shows off the work well.

The piece above is titled “HeartLand” and is 16″ wide by 18″ high.  It is a mixed media piece done with primarily acrylics and acrylic inks on paper.  The style and simplicity in this piece really appeals to me.  Much of the feeling is carried by the color and texture in the sky as well as the contrast at the horizon between the light in the sky and the dark of the ground.

To me, there is a great sense of security in this painting, a safe haven from the turbulence of the outside world.  It’s a theme that seems to come up often in my work.

This is just one of the new pieces for this show.  I’ve started posted new work on my website for those interested and for those of you in the Asheville area, please stop in and see the show and if possible, come to the opening on the 22nd and say hello.

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