Redtree Times

Blaze– You Could Win This Painting!

True art and true science possess two unmistakable marks: the first, an inward mark, which is this, that the servitor of art and science will fulfil his vocation, not for profit but with self- sacrifice; and the second, an external sign, his productions will be intelligible to all the people whose welfare he has in view.

–Leo Tolstoy, What to Do?: Thoughts Evoked by the Census of Moscow (1887)

I am in the midst of prepping for next Saturday’s (September 26) Gallery Talk at the Principle Gallery. Part of this process entails getting some new work around for the gallery and making sure it is properly framed. You know–the regular routine. But for these Gallery Talks, there is always an added step in my preparation, one that I written about here a number of times over the years.

It is the selection of a painting to be given away in a drawing at the end of my talk.

It is not a task I take lightly. It would be easy to slough off lesser work that only had a bit of meaning for myself and no one else. I have a bunch of that work here and it would be almost condescending to push it off on someone. No, the choices I make for these giveaways have to be real work with meaning that runs deep in me. Pieces that I have the urge to hold on to tightly. Pieces that feel as though giving them away is an act of self-sacrifice, that they take with them a vital part of myself.

Why do this? For one thing, it is an act of gratitude. Without those folks who come to the talks and consider my work, my life as it is might not exist. For another, I see it, much as Tolstoy states above, as an act of fulfilling my vocation or purpose, which is to have my work go out into the world and affect others. Maybe the work will affect the person who takes it home or perhaps the very act of giving away part of oneself will cause someone there to be more giving in their own life.

It is much like skimming a stone across the surface of a pond, an act that creates multiple ripples and changes beyond itself.

It is all I can do at this point.

I have done this for all my Gallery Talks at the galleries that show my work every year since that first one at the Principle Gallery back in 2003. I have given away a lot of chunks of myself over that time, a lot of work that spoke loudly to me. You would think that picking a piece would become easier after all these years but it hasn’t.

In fact, it has gotten more difficult.

I don’t know why this task has become harder. Maybe as I age and health issues make me more cognizant of my own mortality, these paintings that speak so directly and intimately to me become even more part of me. They become precious in a way that causes a visceral feeling of loss when they are gone.

Such is the case with this painting that will be leaving me next Saturday. It is titled Blaze, a substantial 20″ by 24″ painting on canvas from 2014. From Day One, the moment it came off my painting table, this piece has felt like part of me. I think it is best expressed in a blog post below from 2015, part of which describes how I felt connected to this.

In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.

–Albert Schweitzer, Memoirs of Childhood and Youth (1924)

It is a simple piece, one that relies on its color, lines and texture to carry the weight of it. For me, the Red Tree here is an example of the the inner fire coming forth and displaying itself to the world. I felt that the quote at the top from Schweitzer was very fitting. Most people have something inside that inspires passion, sets them ablaze. It often goes untended, sputtering with that person left feeling that there is no one with which to share it — no one to take in the warmth of the fire.

I know this is true for my work, that thing which is an emanation of my own inner fire. Without sharing it, without feeling that it is tended by others, it would likely sputter and go out. Without the eyes of those fire-tenders, my work and my fire, would not exist.

I think that description, especially that final paragraph, makes the giving of this painting even more appropriate. Having it go to someone who has tended my fire and kept it ablaze for these many years seems the right thing to do. And hopefully, its blaze will become their own.

That would make me very happy.

I hope if you’re in the Alexandria area next Saturday, that you can join me at the Principle Gallery for a short visit. The Gallery Talk begins at 1 PM and runs for about an hour, culminating with the drawing for Blaze. From experience, I can tell you that it is a quick hour with some laughs and even a few tears sometimes, some insights, some prizes, and the chance to take home this painting. All for free and open to all. 

What more could ask for?

Here’s a song from guitarist Bill Frisell. I have been a fan of his for some time but, as with many things, his work gets a bit lost in the flood of time and thought. iIt as an email from a friend yesterday that reminded me once more of his always fine work. I was immediately enamored of his take of the great Sam Cooke classic, A Change is Gonna Come.

I think this song meshes well with Blaze as it is a painting that holds numerous meanings beyond the one stated above, something that also makes it even more precious to me. The blowing tree, to me, represents strength and in holding fast to your beliefs against the winds from those who will try to force you into being something other than what you know you are.  I find it very hopeful and seeing it as tree ablaze is a call to action, which to my mind makes this painting very pertinent and symbolic for our current situation.

Looking at this piece in recent days has brought this thought to mind: Hope is a nail and action is the hammer.

A nail has little value without the hammer. A fire goes out unless it someone to tend and stoke it.

Feed your fire…