Redtree Times

Color and Glide— Coming Soon to West End Gallery

So scanty is our present allowance of happiness that in many situations life could scarcely be supported if hope were not allowed to relieve the present hour by pleasures borrowed from the future.

–Samuel Johnson, The Adventurer No. 69, Idle Hours (1753)

The other day I mentioned not wanting to write about my work when so many wrongs were being spread among us. I didn’t want my focus on art or that of anybody else appear to be a distraction or seem ignorant of what is taking place.

Thinking about it in the days that followed, I realized that I was mistaking the function of art in such times. It is not a distraction at all. It is instead a release, a form of relief that is badly needed if one is aware and stays informed on what is taking place. Anyone who is disturbed by injustice and possessing even an iota of empathy and compassion for their fellow humans can be eaten alive with stress and anxiety in such times.

They need relief of some sort at some point. But not as a distraction nor to make them ignore their fears and cares. No, they need something that calms and gives hope in some way. Something that allows them to step out of the parade and stand hidden in a cool dark shadow for a few moments in order to catch their breath and take in the small details and wonders of this world that may have been overlooked in the hubbub of this moment. To find hope in a small glimpse of beauty, something that reminds them of why they need to continue to care and to stay involved.

No, art is not distraction at such times. It is a needed breath of clean air that keeps us going.

Relief. Release.

It is hope.

Hope and relief are what I find in this new painting. I had a hard time titling it because it does so many things for me that focusing on one thing seemed to leave out others that seemed as vital for me. But it was the ease of the boat going into the many colors and pattern of the sky that captured me. I feel as though I can get lost in the colors of the sky here, each block of color like a new burst of flavor and feeling.

But more than that, it makes me feel hopeful. it reminds me of the freedom of the mind and feeling, that part of us that can’t be captured, dictated to or governed by others.

It is boat gliding under a sky of wonder.

I call this painting, 16″ by 20″ on canvas, Color and Glide. It is included in Guiding Light, my solo show at the West End Gallery that opens October 17.

For this week’s Sunday Morning Music, I am going with a song whose title, along with its lyrics, might also fit this painting. This is Drift Away by Dobie Gray from 1973. The song was originally recorded by others as a country song, but Dobie Gray’s version far outstrips them in depth of feeling in my opinion.