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Archive for June, 2014

She’s Too Fat For Me…

Posted in Biographical, Favorite Things, tagged , , , on June 15, 2014| 1 Comment »

dadIt’s another Father’s Day.  I’ve written briefly about my Dad here in the past, one post describing why the photo shown here of him from about 50 years ago is one of my favorites.   I’ve described him as my hero and boon companion when I was a kid and that is the truth.  I remember one year when I was in Little League.  Our team lost it’s first five games and our coach quit, leaving us without any guidance.  I don’t know how excited he was about it but Dad took over and things immediately turned around for us.  We won the remainder of our games but more importantly, what had been a chore for our kids became a lot of fun.

Dad was was surprisingly easy going and uncritical of the kids, never getting excited when we screwed up a play or made a bad pitch.  But  by making sure that every kid played a part in that team and showing us ways to win with his knowledge of baseball, the game became joyous again.  As an example, my best friend’s little brother was part of the team and before Dad came had hardly played at all.

He was a tiny kid and still pretty unskilled so the prior coach had him ride the bench and begrudgingly gave him a single at bat or two.  But Dad saw his tininess as a strength and he became our secret weapon when we needed baserunners.  His strike zone was about the size of a postage stamp,  especially after Dad showed him how to crouch to make himself even smaller, and the opposing pitchers just didn’t have that kind of skill to throw three strikes to him.  He became a walk machine and his whole game improved as did his enjoyment level.  I saw him a few years ago for the first time in almost 40 years and one of his first questions was about Dad. That’s not uncommon when I run into childhood friends.

Another of my memories is riding in the car with him as a child when he would sing.  Some of the songs were nonsense songs that he had made up, one with few words but a melody that I still carry to this day.  Another was the chorus from the polka,She’s Too Fat For Me.  I remember these moments now with great fondness but when I was a very little kid I didn’t like to hear my Dad sing and would yell like a spoiled brat to make him stop.  That bothers me now because he seemed to be having so much fun that I should have just enjoyed that moment and let him belt it out.

So, Dad, if you’re reading this, here’s She’s Too Fat For Me.  Feel free to sing along and have a happy Father’s Day.

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Worldwide Hobbits

Posted in Favorite Things, Influences, tagged , , , , on June 13, 2014| Leave a Comment »

JRR Tolkien Drawing for "THe Hobbit"

JRR Tolkien Drawing for “The Hobbit”

Today, on the website, BrainPickings.org, a wonderfully informative site written by Maria Popova, there is a great post on the art of  The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien‘s classic fantasy that has thrilled young and old alike for more than 75 years now.  It includes Tolkien’s own  drawings, which are quite impressive (one of my favorites is at the top of this post),  as well as a number of other artists’ conceptualizations,  taken from a number of editions from around the world.  There are drawings from Swedish, Czech,  Japanese and   Russian  editions, each very unique in their take on the Tolkien tale.  It’s great to see these other translations of this story that has become part of our universal culture.

Below is a group from Swedish-Finn artist Tove Jansson‘s 1962 Swedish edition of the book.  They are among my favorites although it’s hard to single out any one, so beautifully done are they all. Please click on the Tolkien drawing at the top to go to BrainPickings and see the entire group.

tovejansson_hobbit tovejansson_hobbit1 tovejansson_hobbit2 tovejansson_hobbit3 tovejansson_hobbit4 tovejansson_hobbit5 tovejansson_hobbit6 tovejansson_hobbit7 tovejansson_hobbit8

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The Overview Effect

Posted in Favorite Things, Neat Stuff, Photography, tagged , , , , , on June 12, 2014| Leave a Comment »

earth-full-view 1972It’s hard to believe that the first time we were able to see the Earth in full-view was a photo taken a little less than 42 years ago, by the the Apollo 17 astronauts in December of 1972.  This Blue Marble  image that changed our view of who we are, allowing us to see ourselves from the outside as a whole,  and became part of our worldview.  It is an image that is so powerful that we immediately absorbed it and it seemed as though it had been with us forever.  Yet it is a relatively young image for us.

From looking down on Earth from space, many astronauts have had an experience that has been called the Overview Effect.  It is a  sense of awe and sudden understanding as they see the relationship of all things on the planet to one another and how little protects us from the harshness of space.  They sense that we are all interconnected and all actions effect the whole.

It is a  mind-altering view.

There is a website called the Daily Overview that has a film  that, with the help of several astronauts, t describes the Overview Effect .  The website also  features striking shots of Earth taken from satellites on a daily basis.   Most of the images are of man’s transformation of the environment , some startling in the way they scar the face of our planet and others with a highly patterned beauty.  I have always been attracted to overviews of the landscape, to take that different perspective, so this is a natural for me.  I believe this is as close to being an astronaut than I will ever be.  Check out their site to see many, many more views.

Daily Overview -boca-raton-florida-from-above-aerial-satellite Daily Overview -brondby-haveby-denmark-from-above-aerial-satellite Daily Overview -central-park-new-york-city-from-above-aerial-satellite Daily Overview vineyards-in-huelva-spain-from-above-aerial-satellite

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Finding Yourself Anew

Posted in Biographical, Early Paintings, Influences, Painting, Quote, tagged , , on June 10, 2014| Leave a Comment »

GC Myers- Freedom DreamWhat are we when we are alone? Some, when  they are alone, cease to exist.

—Eric Hoffer

*************

I was contacted by another author for use of one of my images for inclusion in his upcoming book.  It was an old image, one that I still possessed and had used on the this blog, so I began to go through my files to find it.  Shuffling through the old work, many from before I began exhibiting publicly, brought a number of surprises.  There were pieces, like this one here on the right,  that had slipped my mind and seeing them rekindled instant recognition and memory, like stumbling upon an old acquaintance who you had not thought of in ages.  But there were others that had been lost in my memory and seeing them still only vaguely brought traces of their origin, as though you were again coming across someone who knew you but you couldn’t quite remember them even though there was something familiar in them, something you knew that you once knew.

Looking at these old pieces made me think of  all the time spent alone with these images.  The quote  above from Eric Hoffer came to mind.  What are we when we are alone?  Is that the real you? Or is the real you that person that interacts with all the outside world?  Looking at these pieces, I began to think that the person I was when I was alone had evolved slowly over the years, becoming closer to one entity.  What I mean is  that the person I was when I was alone, my inner voice,  did not always jibe with my outer voice and over time, especially as I have found a true voice in my work, has come closer and closer to becoming one and the same.

I don’t know if I can explain that with any clarity.  It’s a feel thing,  one that instantly comes from holding one of these paintings and still seeing the division that once was in them and in myself.  It is not anything to do with quality or subject or process.  It’s just a perceived feeling in the piece, an intangible that maybe only I can sense.  But it’s there and it makes me appreciate the journey and the work that brought these two voices closer together.

My alone time immersed in these pieces has seldom felt lonely and,  going back to Hoffer’s quote, never did I feel that I ceased to exist in my oneness.  I know people who are like that, that need constant interaction in order to feel alive and vital, but for me it has often felt almost the opposite.   That probably is a result of that division of my inner and outer voices that I have been trying to describe.  When I was alone I was always comfortable with my inner voice and the work that resulted from it served in the forms of companions.

I definitely exist  in my solitude and my work, my constant companion, is my proof.

I am going to stop now.  Enough confession for one morning.  I have new companions on the easel to which I must attend.

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After “Traveler”

Posted in Biographical, Music, Recent Paintings, Video, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on June 8, 2014| 2 Comments »

GC Myers-Peerless sm

“Peerless” – Included in the “Traveler ” Show

I am back in the studio this morning  after returning from Friday night’s opening of Traveler at the Principle Gallery.  There is  a sense of relief in the aftermath, a deep exhalation at having mostly completed my obligations for the show.  But there is often a letdown as well,  a combination of having passed the endpoint  you’ve been working towards for months and  natural self-doubts about things you might have done differently in this show.  Fortunately, this show left me with only the mildest of letdowns.  I am already focused on my next projects and as far as doubts, while there may be just a few minor ones, I am sure that I have done all that was in my power for this show and the work in it.

We had a lovely few days in Alexandria, blessed with the best weather we’ve seen in all the years that we have been visiting in early June.  In the past, we have often endured 100° temperatures, torrential rains and excruciating humidity on this weekend.  But this year it was as perfect as the weather could possibly offer with temps in the high 70’s, blue cloudless skies and low humidity .   I am available for other  regional  weather reports, as well!  In short, perfect conditions to wander around the area a bit before the show.

We attended the ceremony  at the World War II Memorial honoring the living veterans on the 70th anniversary of the D-Day Invasion.  It was a beautiful setting there on the Mall, often moving,  and I felt very honored to be able to spend a short time in the near presence of those vets who survived that day of days.  We also were able to see the Andrew Wyeth show at the National Gallery that I wrote of earlier in the week.  It was wonderful to see so much of his work together, to be able to see the constancy and consistency of his personal vision as well as his ability to capture deep emotion within his scenes.

All in all, it was a great stay.  But the highlight was being to see many of the folks that I have met over the years who opted to spend some time at the gallery instead of out in that perfect weather.  I know that if I were in their shoes, it would have taken a lot to get  me there.  But for the many who did turn out and to Michele and her great staff– Clint, Jessica, Pamela and Chris along with guest bartender, Fernando Ascencio– I  extend a simple and grateful Thank You.  I wouldn’t be here right now writing this if not for you all.  And that I will always remember.

Okay, it is Sunday morning and we need to music.  I was thinking something calming while I decompress.  Here’s a classic Vince Guaraldi composition, Cast Your Fate to the Wind.  It has some of those same elements that you might recognize from his iconic work with the Peanuts gang.

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“Traveler” Opening Tonight / D-Day Remembrance

Posted in Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , , , , on June 6, 2014| Leave a Comment »

GC Myers- UnforgettableTonight is finally the  opening for this year’s exhibit of my work at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria, VA.  Titled “Traveler”, this show marks fifteen years that I have been fortunate to have been asked to exhibit a solo show at the Principle Gallery, a fact that I wear as a badge of honor.  It’s something that I would never had expected when I began doing this and it pleases me that I have been able to maintain a level of consistent growth through this time.  It makes me want to continually surpass each past show and this year is no different.  I feel that  group of work is as good, if not better in its own way, as any group I have put in display there in the past.

So if you’re in the Alexandria/ DC area tonight, please stop in at the Principle Gallery.  I would love to see you there.  The piece that is shown here, Unforgettable, is from the show.  I am showing this painting because in a way it relates to a much more important aspect of this day – it is the 70th anniversary of the D-Day invasion on the beaches of Normandy during World War II.

Many people, myself included, are in awe of the tremendous sacrifice and courage of those men on that day and rightfully so.  I can’t sit here and even believe for a second that I could do what they did on those beaches that June day in France in 1944.  But I can honor the memory of those who didn’t make it off those beaches and honor the lives of those who did.  So many who survived are now giving way to death in old age– as it should be–so it remains to us, the living, to maintain the memory of that day and the blood they gave to the land.  And hope and pray that such a day should never again come in our lives.

I see this in this painting.  Let their memories be unforgettable.

On this day, I think it is fitting that Taps be the music for this day.  Here is a version from Arlington National Cemetery ( just a few miles down the road from Alexandria) performed by United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own” bugler,  SSG Drew Fremder  in the starkness of winter.  It is a song that never fails to bring a tear to my eyes.

Hope to see you tonight at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria.

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Proclamation/ Redux

Posted in Favorite Things, Influences, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , , on June 5, 2014| Leave a Comment »

I am on the road today so  being short on time  I am reposting a short entry from a couple of months back, in early April.  I normally don’t repost articles so soon after they first appear but I consider this painting, Proclamation,  an important part of my show , Traveler, which opens tomorrow night at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria, VA.  It represents for me the culmination of the journey, the end point for which the entire journey was made.  It is about a true realization of self, of attainment of goal .  And therein lays the central theme of this show– that our lives can have direction and purpose.

So, without any more words, here is what I posted earlier:

GC Myers- Proclamation By health I mean the power to live a full, adult, living, breathing life in close contact with what I love — the earth and the wonders thereof — the sea — the sun. All that we mean when we speak of the external world. A want to enter into it, to be part of it, to live in it, to learn from it, to lose all that is superficial and acquired in me and to become a conscious direct human being. I want, by understanding myself, to understand others. I want to be all that I am capable of becoming so that I may be (and here I have stopped and waited and waited and it’s no good — there’s only one phrase that will do) a child of the sun. About helping others, about carrying a light and so on, it seems false to say a single word. Let it be at that. A child of the sun.

—Katherine Mansfield

October, 1922, Her final journal entry

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I came across this final journal entry from the writer Katherine Mansfield, who died much too early from tuberculosis at age 35, and thought how much her words fit what I was thinking about this newer painting shown above. I call this 30″ by 40″ painting Proclamation and the thought and feeling it may be proclaiming might very well be the same as those expressed by Mansfield.

It is a painting that speaks of coming to an understanding of one’s self and stepping forward in the light to show that true identity. It is at once flawed and beautiful. Flawed by the scars of attained wisdom and change. Beautiful because it is honest and real, open to the elements and all who look upon it. It has become, to use Mansfield’s term, a child of the sun.

I think it would be too easy to say too much here.

Let it be at that. A child of the sun.

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Wyeth’s Windows at the National Gallery

Posted in Favorite Things, Influences, Quote, tagged , , on June 4, 2014| 1 Comment »

Wind From the Sea - Andrew Wyeth

Wind From the Sea- Andrew Wyeth

A friend sent me a link to the  exhibit,  Andrew Wyeth: Looking Out, Looking In,  that is hanging at the National Gallery of Art until the end of November.  It centers on a group his work that features windows in the imagery, a theme that he revisited numerous times in his career.  It is work that demonstrates a real sense of abstraction and deeper emotion within his realism, something he felt was often overlooked in his career, particularly by those critics who downplayed the importance of his work during his lifetime.  There has been a reevaluation in the aftermath of his death with a deeper understanding of it and  at last Wyeth is getting the full acclaim his work accorded.

My friend said that the introductory essay for the exhibit reminded him of my work. At first,  even though I was pleased with the compliment of being compared to Wyeth in any way, I didn’t quite see it.  Our work is, after all,  so different in appearance in so many ways, our surfaces and imagery having little in common.  But the quote  from Wyeth  at the end of the essay made it much clearer:

Andrew Wyeth

Andrew Wyeth

You can have the technique and paint the object,  but it’s what’s inside you, the way you translate the object — and that’s pure emotion. I think most people get to my work through the backdoor. They’re attracted by the realism and sense the emotion and the abstraction — and eventually, I hope, they get their own powerful emotion.”

It’s a sentiment I have often tried to get across to people.  I want my work to have a simplicity that invites easy accessibility into the picture, hoping then that they will see the underlying elements– the forms, colors and textures– that transmit the emotion of the piece, hoping that my own emotion will be replaced by their own.  Like Wyeth, I consider myself an abstract painter in this same backdoor approach, inviting the viewer with something with which they can easily  relate  initially until they fully realize the emotion of the piece.

That is, if they do at all.   There are some who just won’t get beyond the apparent simplicity and accessible nature of the work.  Certainly the critics of Wyeth never did try to look beyond the surface and  that was their loss.  But if you’re in the DC area this year, try to make it to the National Gallery of Art to see this wonderful work.  I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

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Traveler- A Full Preview

Posted in Biographical, Recent Paintings, Video, tagged , , , on June 3, 2014| 7 Comments »

GC Myers- Find Your Way The  painting shown here on the right is a24″ by 36″ on canvas and is part of  my solo exhibit which opens Friday at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria.  It’s title is Find Your Way which fits neatly in with the show’s title, Traveler.  As concepts, both this painting and this show have to do with moving forward and discovering new territories within, becoming more than you were when the journey began.  Continuous seeking, sometimes plodding along, all to find that internal sense of comfort and belonging that some might refer to as home.  That place where your external reality one day matches your internal reality.

I’m not sure that was my goal when I began painting just a little over twenty years ago.  I knew that I needed to travel from that place inside where I had been dwelling and color and form became a vehicle for me, one that would carry me emotionally to new horizons and vistas, closer to that place where I might feel comfortably at home, inside and out.

And it has.

I am closer to home but it’s a journey that will most likely not end until my final day.  And that’s okay because I have come to appreciate the lessons of the trek and the sight of the new horizon coming into view, knowing that I am further along than I was it all began.

A big part of my journey has been my affiliation with a few galleries, all with which I have had long relationships, who have allowed me to continually keep searching  for that place that I don’t even know.  I began with the Principle Gallery in early 1997 and had my first solo show there in 2000.  It is where the Red Tree was born and this year marks fifteen years that they have allowed me to chronicle my internal travels in a show there each year.  It has been my great pleasure to have stumbled into such a wonderful place with such warm and real people, a place that makes me feel closer to home during this journey.

There’s a full preview of the show below that I quickly put together.  I hope it gives you that sense of the continuity of effort and purpose from image to image that I see.

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The Ferryman

Posted in Neat Stuff, Painting, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , on June 2, 2014| 4 Comments »

GC Myers-The Ferryman smOne of the new paintings that is part of my solo show, Traveler,  at the Principle Gallery is a small piece titled The Ferryman.  It’s a depiction of a man poling a small boat across a body of water, simply constructed with the impact coming from its starkness and the intensity of its color.  It’s a theme that I have revisited several times over the years.  Perhaps it is the symbolic nature of the crossing or the essential nature of a single individual propelling themselves forward.

Probably both apply to my reasoning  for returning to this theme.

Whatever the case, it is a theme that has resonated with others over these years and recently struck a chord with author Thomas William Simpson, who was looking for appropriate artwork for his new book, The Ferryman: 8 Crossings to a Gentler Life.  He came across images of my prior ferrymen pieces and got in touch with me.  The result was this painting which graces the cover of his book which is a parable of sorts.

Here is the book description from Amazon:

Thomas William Simpson-The Ferryman Cover / GC Myers art This short tale about a man’s desire to live a different kind of life unfolds during a single day. At the crack of dawn the ferryman opens his eyes to find an impatient businessman nudging him with his foot. The businessman demands they cross the river. Now. Right away. Not a minute to spare. The ferryman rises and offers tea and scones. The businessman says he has no time for tea and scones. He needs to reach the other side. Progress and profits depend on it. The ferryman understands. Before becoming a simple ferryman he had been a striver bristling with ambition, always angling to close the next deal. He had manipulated and deceived to accomplish his aims. He had believed material wealth the only true measure of success. But he cannot just yet haul the businessman across the river. He must wait for the old woman. The old woman is sick and needs to see the doctor on the other side. The Ferryman is an amusing and tender tale that attempts to shine a wide light on what might actually matter in life. Yes, we have our necessities: food and shelter, security and transportation. But what beyond these basics truly has relevance? The ferryman, who has been a humble ferryman for several years by the time we meet him, has identified eight (8) crossings that have changed his life, he thinks, for the better. By better the ferryman means richer, deeper, less stressful, more joyful. The crossings have civilized the ferryman. Benevolence in all things, the ferryman has come to believe, is the surest way to peace of mind. And really what greater gift can we bestow upon ourselves than a quiet and contented mind? Come ride the ferry with the ferryman. It’s a pleasant, scenic journey filled with small gifts, interesting characters, and boundless miracles. The Ferryman is a tale of self discovery you will read over and over as your own journey passes back and forth across the river of life. Thomas William Simpson is the author of such diverse novels as The Immortal, Full Moon Over America, The Fingerprints of Armless Mike, and This Way Madness Lies. His curiosity for the human condition, as evidenced in The Ferryman, knows no bounds.

Simpson is a very talented and well known author with an impressive resume with books, such as The Caretaker, The Hancock Boys, This Way Madness Lies  and The Editor, that have sold hundreds of thousands of copies and have garnered widespread critical acclaim.  It has been a pleasure working with Mr. Simpson and an honor to have my artwork on the cover of his book.  Please check out his website, Simpson Books,  which is very informative on his writings and his career journey.

If you would like to purchase The Ferryman, click here or on the book cover above to be taken to its Amazon page.

If you would like to see the original painting for this cover, it is currently at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria, VA as part of Traveler, my solo show opening this coming Friday.  It is a modest sized painting, only 5″ by 9″ on paper.  Stop in and see it.

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