Man’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.
-Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
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This another new painting, a 16″ by 20″ canvas titled Expansion, that is part of my show, Into the Common Ground, that opens tomorrow in Erie, PA at the Kada Gallery.
For me, this is a painting whose theme is centered on the expansion of one’s mind and vision, about moving to a higher plateau of feeling and taking a wider view of the world. This involves leaving the mind open to new ideas with the hope that these new ideas bring some form of enlightenment and that the negatives– hatred, greed, anger and envy just to name a few–that we have held on to for so long will be replaced by more positive qualities–love, generosity and kindness.
I see this expansion in the way the Red Tree seems to be facing the far horizon with arms open, unashamed and willing to submit itself to change. It stands among the alternating rows of the field which represent in this piece being trapped in the entrenched patterns of habit. By that, I mean we all too often live without thought, going with the prevailing movement of the crowd and never taking the time to stop and consider why and what we are doing. We accept things as they are without trying to contemplate the possibility of things being somehow different, never consider opening ourselves to a different way of seeing the world.
A different way of simply being.
And I see this possibility, this expansiveness, in this simply composed piece. It is a feeling that is calm and kind and embracing– ideas that we all will hopefully allow to stretch our own minds.
Your art and your words are so deserving of more exposure. And I still have this vision of rooms flooded with light coming through these images. (I just saw the Matisse show at MOMA, the window from the Vence chapel.) Yours would be MAGNIFICENT!
Thank you. You’re very kind, Bonnie. Haven’t seen the Matisse show but love the images.
On Thu, Dec 4, 2014 at 8:30 AM, Redtree Times wrote:
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Speaking of a different way of simply being — this painting seems to qualify. I’m so accustomed to seeing the red tree accompanied by warm colors that I was both surprised and quite taken by the cooler lavenders and blues here. What I really like is the sky, where the color of the tree seems to be swirling up, or distilling down. I could live with this one, very happily.
Thanks, once again, Linda. Yes, I think this is a very livable piece, as well.
On Thu, Dec 4, 2014 at 8:44 AM, Redtree Times wrote:
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Tangentially, I have an “album” of puzzles at Jigsaw Planet among which I spent some calming time yesterday evening zenning out (?) with some lovely images. Here, for those who find relaxation in such activities: http://www.jigsawplanet.com/TheWOL/Paintings-of-G-C-Myers
I need to make a couple more to add to the album. Thanks for sharing your work. Your images are food for much restful thought.
Glad to have my work doing some good. Enjoy!
On Thu, Dec 4, 2014 at 4:34 PM, Redtree Times wrote:
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