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Archive for September, 2012

No Rules

Posted in Influences, Quote, tagged , on September 12, 2012| 5 Comments »

I do what I can to convey what I experience before nature and most often, in order to succeed in conveying what I feel, I totally forget the most elementary rules of painting, if they exist that is.  In short, I allow faults to appear, the better to fix my sensations.

–Claude Monet, 1912

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I have had this little sign hanging in my studio for the last 16 years or so, a rough reminder to myself when I begin to feel like my work is bending to the rules and judgments of others.  It reminds me that I am working in my own realm, my world.  I control the parameters of what is possible, of what defines reality in my work.  The rules of others mean nothing in my little painted world.

Over the years  I have glimpsed this small sign at times when I have been feeling that my work is stagnating or beginning to adhere to  accepted conventions  and have been spurred to push my work in some  new direction.  Heightening the intensity of color or introducing new hues that seems incompatible with nature, for example.  It’s as though these two words are prods that constantly  tell me that nobody can control me when I am here in my created world.  There’s a great liberation in this realization and I find myself trusting my own judgment of my work more and more.  Because I have created  my own criteria for its reality, criticism from others means little now.

I think that’s what I am trying to get at here, that an artist must fully believe that they are the sole voice of authority in their work, that they, not others, determine its validity. Maybe that’s why I am so drawn to  Outsider artists, those untrained artists who maintain this firm belief in their personal vision and create a personal inner world of art  in which it can live and prosper.  Rules mean nothing to them- only the expression of their inner self matters .

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The ParkeHarrisons’ Reality

Posted in Favorite Things, Photography, tagged , on September 11, 2012| 5 Comments »

I wrote  here last year about my admiration for the photography of Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison contained in their beautiful book,  The Architect’s Brother.  They are spectacular and moody allegorical images that really captivate the imagination.  What I particularly liked is that they are true photographs– no computer manipulation.  Everything you see is really in their viewfinder.  They create their visions as an old  film producer might have, with elaborate sets  consisting of detailed painted backdrops and theatrical props.  I think that staying away from computer generated effects gives their work a fuller sense of reality and possibility.  Maybe it’s that sense of rightness I often mention on this blog.

Whatever the case, it’s powerful work.  Here’s a neat video I came across that features a very wide cross-section of  the ParkeHarrisons’ work, including works in full color rather than the sepia tones that mark that work in The Architect’s Brother.  These striking images are set to music from Canadian indie band, The Bresnard Lakes.

 

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Thoughts on a Talk

Posted in Recent Paintings, tagged , on September 10, 2012| 1 Comment »

I gave my annual gallery talk at the Principle Gallery this past Saturday.  As I have noted here in the past, this is always a somewhat nerve-wracking time for me, something that might surprise you if you met me beforehand.  I try to hide my fear and I think I do a pretty decent job.  It must be similar to what an actor goes through in assuming a role, setting aside some parts of yourself and pushing forward those parts of yourself that you think fill fit the character you’re attempting to portray.

That’s always something I think about before these talks, this paradox of an artist doing a public talk, especially one that bases their work on emotional expression rather than technique and craftsmanship.  They generally work in a most private way that allows them to better tap into their observational abilities and sensitivities, which are not traits well suited to a public forum.  But I have come to realize that this part of the deal that I have made with those folks who like my work and find something of value in it.  I owe it to them to speak honestly and openly even if it sometimes feels a bit too personal and confessional.  My work is both and talking about it requires a truthful telling.

Of course, that often borders on self-indulgence.  I know I feel pretty selfish standing up there and talking about my work,  a feeling that often eats at  me in the aftermath of these things.  But I realize that the people that attend these talks have usually connected in some way with the work and have an interest in the story behind it.  They may not see me as being as selfish as I often  feel at these talks.

I sure hope they don’t.

If they do, they hide it most graciously.  The crowd Saturday was wonderful, as they generally are, and inquisitive.  There were many familiar faces and some new ones as well.  There were a number of comments and questions which always carries the talk along.  I spoke about how I came to painting, the story behind some of the icons such as the Red Tree and Red Chair and how the work has evolved.   I also spoke about how I view and interpret the work.  One participant, Dino Drudi, gave his interpretation of the painting shown above, Fire in the Heart.

He saw it as  me being  the Red Tree  and the art elites and academics being  represented by the purple of  the fields in the foreground.  The path that most artists follow goes through that purple allowing the elites to exert their rules and judgments over them.  I have chosen to not follow that path and have instead made a moated  refuge for myself where I defend my work from these rules and judgments.   I’m probably leaving out some details.  It was interesting and there may be some validity to what Dino pointed out as I do often consider myself an outsider to the larger art world.  But I’ll still have to chew on that for a bit before I concede anything.

So, many thanks to all who made it to the talk.  The  inspiration  that comes from your kind and gracious comments carries me for weeks and weeks in the studio.  There were many in attendance who I didn’t get a chance to speak with afterwards and  for that I apologize and hope that  I get to speak with you again soon.  Thank you so much for making me feel so welcomed and comfortable which means a lot for someone who feels uncomfortable in most situations.

Now, time for me to get back to work.

 

 

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Chanson

Posted in Recent Paintings, tagged , on September 6, 2012| 4 Comments »

I thought I would show one more new painting that will be on its way to the Principle Gallery for my Gallery Talk there this Saturday at 1PM .  It’s a tall, thin piece, 4″ wide and 26″ tall on paper,  called Chanson.

This piece was painted over several weeks,  worked at whenever I had a few free moments and wanted to unwind a bit.  I started at the bottom and just let the colorful forms grow upward, letting each block of color playfully work the next.  It gave this piece a festive appearance and the feel of a confection- perhaps a colorful cupcake,  bright and inviting.

But as it finished , the forms began to remind me more of music.  It’s not something I can explain in any satisfactory way but when I look over the shapes and colors, each seems to trigger a sound, a note in my mind.

It was like a choral piece with many voices coming together within the thin parameters of the painting’s dimensions and being forced upward and channeled through the Red Tree that sits atop the stack.  As though the tree was an embodiment of the totality of the  polyphonic sound.

That’s where the title, Chanson, comes in.  It’s a French  lyric song, mainly from the Medieval times,   that consists of multiple voices.  A chant, you might say.  It seems to fit for the way I see it– a colorfully bright song of many voices that rises upward in unison.

Again, this will be at the Principle Gallery on Saturday, September 8, when I give  my annual  Gallery Talk there.  It starts at 1 PM.  Hope to see you there.

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Over the Blues

Posted in Recent Paintings, tagged , on September 5, 2012| Leave a Comment »

This is a new piece, a 10″ by 16″ painting on paper called Over the Blues, that is headed to the Principle Gallery on Saturday.  It will be part of a small group of new work that will accompany me when I travel to Alexandria for my annual September gallery talk there.  The talk begins at 1 PM at the Principle Gallery on King Street and normally lasts about an hour.  I try to keep it a lively back and forth so if you’re in the area, please stop and join in.

This piece appears dark at first with the deep blue fields and clouds but there’s a clarity that comes from the sky  that  brought  the title to mind.  The Red Tree here seems to rise above the darker, more ominous tones of the land around it and revel in the lighter atmosphere it has found.  As though it has shed the burdens that had smothered it before and is now free to breath.  Ethereal air.

Again, Gallery Talk at the Principle Gallery in Old Town Alexandria this Saturday, September 8 at 1PM.

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Thoughts on the Fenimore Show

Posted in Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , , on September 4, 2012| 7 Comments »

Cheri and I made our way to Cooperstown this past Saturday to see my exhibit at the Fenimore Art Museum.  Cheri  had not yet seen it and also wanted to see the American Impressionists show before it comes down on the 16th of September as well as the paintings of folk portraitist William Matthew Prior.  Both of those shows were wonderful, particularly the Prior exhibit which gave a broader view of his work and the world in which he painted.

But  we there to mainly take in my show there, of course.  It’s always a strange feeling going into a space filled with your work.   I remember the first time I had a solo show at the Principle Gallery back in 2000.  When we came into the gallery, the work that filled the space seemed to surround and overwhelm us.  Both Cheri and I felt a bit nauseous at first, as though it were just too much to absorb.  I still periodically get that little bit of  a tremble in the gut when confronted with a roomful of my work and I did feel it just a bit on Saturday.

But Cheri’s response to the work took away any tension I was feeling.  Her eyes opened very wide and her face glowed as she came to the top of the grand staircase and spotted the painting that was framed perfectly in the doorway to my exhibit.  We went into the space and she turned, taking in all the walls with a glance, a broad smile on her face.

“Amazing.  It’s perfect.”

That was all I needed to hear.  I was happy as I could possibly at that moment.  I have often kidded that she is often my harshest critic but that is simply the result of a directness and honesty that comes from 35 years of marriage.  I trust her opinion and her glowing approval set aside any apprehension that might have been lingering.  I began to take in the work without worry.

For me, it was most satisfying seeing the very large painting, The Internal Landscape, shown at the top center here.  I had never seen it hang on a wall, especially  with the beautiful lighting and atmosphere that this space offered.  It was all that I hoped it would be on the wall and my eyes kept coming back to it.  The rhythm of the piece really rang out in that space and seemed to connect with all of the other pieces that surrounded it.  The works there seemed to be alive on the walls and there is a really nice warmth and continuum running through this group of work that seems to envelop you when you enter the gallery.  That’s a nice feeling and I think it’s a great representation of  my work to this point.

It was also interesting to go back into the gallery after taking in the work of the Impressionist masters that took up the adjoining larger gallery space.  I initially was a bit afraid that my work would not fit well, would be overwhelmed by this work.   I mean, there is gorgeous work there from Mary Cassatt, Hassam , Glackens and Willard Metcalf— all painters that I have long admired.  It is a bit intimidating.  But coming back into my gallery, Cheri commented how well my work held up next to their’s and I realized that I didn’t feel as out of place with my work there as I thought I might.  In fact, I no longer felt intimidated in the least.

I hope that doesn’t sound egotistical.  It’s certainly not meant to be and I would never put myself up to the level of the  time-tested masters.  But leaving the museum that day, I felt as though I had fully shown that my work had its own truly  individual voice, one that had the same validity and integrity as the work of any painter.  That was a good feeling on a very good day.

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Days of Labor

Posted in Biographical, Opinion, tagged , , , , on September 3, 2012| 26 Comments »

It’s another Labor Day here in America.  Just another holiday for most, one that marks the end of summer and the transition into autumn.  That’s what it was to me in my younger days.  But it began as a way of honoring the contributions of the working class to our country’s growth and progress.  From the fields and factories to the shipyards and mines, labor has been the backbone that held this country up.  The idea of labor has taken on added meaning for me as I became more and more aware of the importance of it in our history as well as its relevance to my own well-being and identity.

You see, I consider myself a working man, probably before I consider myself an artist.  I learned in my early days working in a factory and toiling as a laborer in other jobs the value of  being able to put my head down and focus on the task at hand.   I learned that effort was the one variable I could control and that effort often overcame my deficiencies.  I might not be as strong or smart or as talented as the next guy but I firmly believed that I could always outwork  him.    Effort brought out the most in whatever limited attributes I might possess.  I believe that any success I have achieved as an artist can be directly tied to these lessons learned with a shovel in hand and the sweat running down.

This value of labor is often portrayed in my work, most often in the form of rows of fields.  This   piece above, from my early Exiles series, always reminds me of the tenant farmers in the Dust Bowl-era photos of Walker Evans in the famous James Agee book, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men.  Labor and effort was all they knew.

I could go on and on here about the value of the labor movement in America and the great debt we owe to those ancestors who fought and died for the rights and protective  regulations which we take for granted today.  Too many of us don’t realize how difficult the battle was for these rights and how quickly they could erode without continued effort and vigilance.   So, enjoy your holiday but remember what it means.

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