Solitude and Reverence– Now at Principle Gallery, Alexandria
I came here to be for all and with all, and what I do today in my solitude will be echoed tomorrow by the multitude. What I say now with one heart will be said tomorrow by thousands of hearts…
–Kahlil Gibran, A Tear and a Smile (1914)
Back in the studio after a day spent delivering the work for my show, Flow, to the Principle Gallery. Though it was a long day it was good one, with gorgeous weather and a drive made easier by lighter than normal traffic.
The stars seemed to be aligned.
So, the work is out of my hands now and in the gallery. I always feel a great sense of relief in simply successfully getting the work there. Of course, that feeling is always short-lived as the worry of how the work and show will fare at the gallery replaces that sense of relief. That anxious feeling hasn’t hit me yet and I am not sure it will come this time with the same impact as in past years.
I think this slightly more relaxed feeling comes from the fact that I have lived with much of the work for quite some time. In some case, for well over twenty years. I know this work completely and intimately. I have lived through my initial excitement and the subsequent doubts and worries about each of these older pieces and have arrived at a place where I am totally confident in the strength and force of every one of them.
They feel battle tested to me, like they have been put through long and grueling batteries of tests to determine their durability. And in my eyes, they have passed every test.
For example, the painting at the top, Solitude and Reverence, has been personal favorite of mine since it first came the easel in 2015. It is one of those pieces that feel perfectly capture how I view my role, at least in an aspirational way, as an artist and a human. Though every piece contains some of that same aspect, there are some such as this one that I feel more fully capture it. The sort of pieces that at the end of my time here I could look at and say with great satisfaction, “That was who I was.”
I could go into a lot more detail on this painting, about the meaning held in its title for me and how I see the symbolism held in its forms. But I am not going to right now. I think what I have written says enough for me at the moment.
Here’s a favorite song from the Beatles, covered by Sara Niemietz, who came to prominence as one of the many talented vocalists who have worked with Postmodern Jukebox. It’s a lovely rendition of In My Life.
Solitude and Reverence is 24″ by 36″ on canvas and is now at the Principle Gallery for my annual exhibit there. This year’s show, Flow, is my 27th solo show at the Principle and opens on Friday, June 12. The work is in the gallery and, though it is not yet hung, is available for previews and prepurchase.
Is prepurchase even a word? Doesn’t matter– I’m going with it either way.
Now, git a move on. I got stuff to do.