Easter Egg (1996) — At West End Gallery
The opinions of men who think are always growing and changing, like living children.
—Philip Gilbert Hamerton, Thoughts about Art (1873)
On Friday I delivered a group of small paintings to the West End Gallery for their 32nd annual Little Gems show. Most of the work is new but there also some of my earliest pieces, a couple that I have featured here in recent weeks, Summerfield and Isolation both from 1994.
My opinions of these older pieces have all evolved and changed since I first painted them. I don’t believe any of the five were ever shown in a gallery and at the time I simply just didn’t think they were good enough. ‘
But it’s been a long time, over thirty years now, and I have changed as have my opinions and perspectives on many things, including these paintings. The quote above from an essay on the qualities it takes to be a good art critic written by the 19th century British artist, author, and art critic Philip Gilbert Hamerton stresses just that point. He advises would-be art critics to accept inconsistency and changes of opinions about many things. He says that a writer or art critic (or an artist) must constantly be reviewing what they have done in the past and be willing to change their opinion of it based on the new knowledge and experience they have gained in the time that has passed since it was first done.
Hamerton states that consistency of opinion is the mark of a stupid person. They form an opinion and refuse to change despite all evidence to the contrary coming to light after that opinion has been formed. The intelligent person on the other hand has a more flexible mind, one that can honestly accept that their prior opinions or statements can evolve and change. In the words of Uncle Walt from Song of Myself: Do I contradict myself? / Very well then I contradict myself, / (I am large, I contain multitudes.)
The painting at the top is a perfect example of a change of heart on my part. It was painted it in February of 1996. I had been showing my work at the West End Gallery and within a few weeks would be starting a long relationship with the Kada Gallery in Erie. I was starting to really find my groove as a painter and was at a point where I had some control of the media.
On this particular little piece, I had an idea of how I believed the colors of the sky would merge and blend. It was something I had done many times before over the past year and I had certain expectations. What emerged after I dropped the colors together was completely different than what I had anticipated. It was mélange of pastel colors., pink and yellow and robin’s egg blue. An Easter egg. Not even close to what I wanted or expected which was bold deep colors.
I was not happy with what I was seeing. In fact, I was a little angry. I had high hopes up to that point for the piece. I thought the foreground that made u the bottom quarter of the piece was truly exceptional with strong colors and forms with a real organic feel that pleased me greatly. It deserved a bold strong sky. Instead, it was like an Easter egg with puffy pastel colors that somehow weakened the feel and tone of the piece in my mind then. It just was not the piece I wanted to see. I felt somehow deceived by it.
I decided to just put it aside and move on to the next piece. It never left a crate of old work until now.
It is titled Easter Egg now. That was not its original title that I noted on the bottom of the piece. When first done, in my frustration and anger, I wrote It’s Easter!– So Kiss My Ass. This little painting will always live happily in my mind with that title.
Over the past thirty years, I pull it out at least a few times a year and look at it. It always makes me smile. The anger faded a long time ago, replaced by a growing appreciation. What I initially liked in it was still there and I began to see the sky and its colors much more favorably.
Yes, it was not what I wanted to see all those years ago. It was something different and I needed the time to put aside my disappointment in order to see its true qualities. I have found that when someone or something is not what we want it to be, we fail to see and appreciate what it truly is.
I see this now for what it is. And I like it very much.
It is a great example of an evolving opinion, one of those little contradictions we all hold inside us. I believe that both Hamerton and Whitman would concur. Uncle Walt might even chuckle at the original title.
Here’s a song about things changing. It’s a cover/interpretation of the Bob Dylan song, Things Have Changed, from soul/blues legend Bettye LaVette. She released an album of Dylan covers with the same title as this song in 2018 that received a Grammy nomination. Good stuff.
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