Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Favorite Things’ Category

Bits and Pieces

Posted in Favorite Things, Video, tagged on October 16, 2010| 4 Comments »

It’s Saturday morning and I’m a bit tired and still a little wired from the Yankees’ comeback win last night so I think I’ll just put up a song so I can get to work. 

 I came across a nice video of The Dave Clark Five and was reminded of their impressive string of hits in the mid-1960’s.  Bits and Pieces,  Glad All Over,  Catch Us If You Can, I Like It Like That and several more.  They were always put up as rivals to the early Beatles, being the second of the British Invasion bands to play Ed Sullivan.   Fan magazines always pitted them against one another on their covers.  To me, they were always a bit too squeaky clean and fratboy-like when compared to the other British  bands suchs as the Beatles or the Stones or the Kinks but they had a great sound for their time and occupy a distinct moment in evolution of pop music. 

DC5, as they were called, never really evolved beyond their initial burst and disbanded in 1970 and so, like a movie star that dies young, they are preserved in the pop culture collective memory as they were in their matching outfits and well-coiffed hair.  But they had  a great sound and catchy tunes. They remain a guilty pleasure for me.

I remember the above album cover well. My sister had this record and it was well played in our house.  I have her copy now and it shows the wear of kids holding and looking at it as the songs played on the hi-fi.  A bit worn like memory.

Here’s Bits and Pieces.  Have a great Saturday.

Read Full Post »

Wow!

Posted in Favorite Things, Neat Stuff, tagged , , on October 15, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I went to an opening last night at the West End Gallery for a memorial exhibition of paintings by the late Tom Buechner and an accompanying display of work by the many, many artists who painted with or studied under him.  It was a great show and was heavily attended.  A fitting tribute to Buechner, whose influence in this area has been immense.

At the opening a friend, Brian Hart, who is a great talent of a painter, told me I should stop over to a local arts center, 171 Cedar Arts, to see an exhibit by artist Dave Higgins.  It was a show of illustrated pages and Brian said it was incredible.  After a short while at the West End, Cheri and I snuck out and headed over to 171.

I have mentioned Dave Higgins before in this blog in a post about his Yellow House painting, which he has painted over a hundred times.  He is incredibly talented and creative with a slightly skewed sense of the world that often shows through in his work. We share a love of goofy pop culture, such as Hee Haw .

 I remember sitting in for the owners of the West End many years ago and selling one of his paintings to an older couple .  It was a dark night scene of the city of Corning as seen from a neighboring hilltop.  In the sky above the city was the perfectly rendered head of a red demon with tongue extended.  It could have been awful in the wrong hands but in Dave’s care it became a wonderful painting, with beautiful color and feel. The couple that bought it were an elderly couple who were just swept away by the piece.

This show, David Higgins: My Book 1987-2010, features pages much like the one shown above from the show’s postcard.  Dave started doing at least one of these pages per month back in 1987 and over the years has amassed a treasure trove of these pages.  They are remarkable.  Each page is so different from the next and each shows multiple styles and influences that boggle the mind of someone like me.  Some are purely in black and white while others have rich color.  There are little stories and narratives on some pages and wonderful wordplay throughout.  One of my favorites was a page with the headding that read “Lester, Said Hester, Let’s Pester Sylvester“.   There are references to pop culture and literature, with much of the work influenced by one of three things– children’s books, the Head Comics of the 1960’s and 70’s and the Beauty Books of early 1900’s, which were produced to illustrate the quality of a publisher’s printing process.

I came out of there in complete awe of his creativity and talent.  It is always daunting to look upon a grand expression of talent obsessed.  I wish I had more sheets to show because I know my words lack the impact of the work itself.  If you’re in Corning before the show ends on Novemebr 12, do yourself a favor and stop in at 171 Cedar Arts.  I’m hoping that Dave publishes these as a group soon so that the rest of the world can discover this work that we are so fortunate to experience.

Read Full Post »

Darkness on the Edge of Town

Posted in Favorite Things, Influences, Video, tagged on October 9, 2010| 1 Comment »

Watched the new documentary on HBO called The Promise.  It concerns itself with Bruce Springsteem and the making of his album Darkness on the Edge of Town in 1977-78.  It gives a real inside look at the creative process behind the album, highlighting the immense amount of work and effort that went into its creation.

I was intrigued by several things that were said in the film and was able to easily identify with the process that Springsteen employed in making his album.  They talked about wanting to create a cinematic feel and sweep with the music, one that evoke a visual image with the sound.  Sound pictures, they said.  I immediately understood what they meant in that I have always viewed my paintings in the reverse of this, as being visual music.  As though the message or feel he (and I) wants to get across is caught somewhere in between the two mediums.

They used the word feel often in describing how the songs came around, how Sprinsteen depended on an intuitive sense of rightness in finishing and assembling his songs.  Again, I immediately understood what they meant, even the terminology they used which surprised me because I often struggle with words to describe the process.  His obsessive-compulsive mania for his work also seemed somewhay familiar.

All in all, I found it pretty interesting and if you have an interest in the creative process or Bruce’s music, it’s well worth a watch.  There’s a lot more I could write but I’ll let the film speak for itself.

Here’s the title track from a show in Passaic, NJ right after the album came out:

Read Full Post »

Play Ball

Posted in Early Paintings, Favorite Things, Video, tagged , on October 6, 2010| 7 Comments »

I woke up early this morning, even by my standards, and the first thing in my mind as I laid there in the dark was the thought that there was baseball today.  The first day of the baseball playoffs.  Baseball’s always been a link to childhood for me (and many, many others) but this morning there was the reawakened feelings of childish anticipation on Christmas morning at the prospect of watching baseball in the studio. 

My appreciation of baseball has regrown over the years back to the thrill it provided as a kid.  I had lost interest in it in the 1980’s as I was busy trying to make a living and find my own niche in the world.  But as I began to find who and what I was, I rediscovered the game.  Oh, there’s a lot to be cynical about in the game– ludicrous salaries that make greedy corporate types look like pikers, performance enhancing drugs and such.  Things that have driven away some longtime fans such as my father. 

 But, for me, I look past those  trappings and see only the game and its pace and geometry.  Nuance and history.  The way it raises emotion with a game both simple and complex.  A game where a player is not judged by sheer size or strength or pure physical ability but by skill level and intangibles such as grittiness, hustle and gamesmanship.  A game where losing and failing are built into the game and those who aren’t afraid to fail succeed.  A game that is celebrated with poetry and romance.

So, today is a day for baseball.  A day of childish wonder.  A day of joy here in Mudville.

***************************************

The image at the top is a little experiment from when I was first starting to paint.  I call it Casey at the Bat.  It’s hard to explain what I was going for and how close I came to reaching it with this little piece.  I know it doesn’t look like much but it is pretty much what I wanted from it.

In honor of the first day of the playoffs, here’s a 1908 Edison recording of Take Me Out to the Ballgame. 

Read Full Post »

Pearl

Posted in Favorite Things, Video, tagged on October 4, 2010| 2 Comments »

I see that Janis Joplin died forty years ago on this date, back in 1970.  Her final album, Pearl, was released several months after her death, in early 1971, and was a transcendent album for me when I first heard it as a 12-year old.

It was a great group of songs.  My favorites at the time were the great Kris Krisofferson song  Me and Bobby McGee and Mercedes Benz but soon Cry Baby and Get It While You Can joined them.  These songs were bluesy and raw but with a certain vulnerability that made the power of the music expand.  Just a great album, one that is a testament to its own time and has a continuing life even today, nearly forty years later.

I should be be highlighting a song from this album today but instead in honor of Janis’ death I will play a wonderful version of her take on the classic Summertime.  It’s from 1969, filmed in Stockholm, Sweden.  It just seems right, now that summer is now in the past and the first inklings of autumn are upon us.

Read Full Post »

Prendergast

Posted in Favorite Things, Influences, tagged on October 2, 2010| 1 Comment »

People are sometimes surprised by the names artists give as influences because they can’t see any obvious connection between the works of the two.  My citing of Maurice Prendergast as an influence and a favorite might be such an example. 

Painting at around the turn of the 20th century, Prendergast’s paintings in oil and watercolor were dense compositions usually filled with figures and motion.  There is a busy, swirling feeling to his work that seems the antithesis of the quiet I seek in my work.  Even his skies are usually churning and filled with multiple colors.  Yet for me there is a great harmony in the compositions that creates a sense of stillness for me. 

I’ve wanted to show his work for some time on this blog but I could never find images online that capture the brilliance and visceral impact of his work when seen in person.  The captured image doesn’t capture the depth or texture of his pieces, the luster of the surfaces.  And while they are still lovely and interesting, they don’t have that same oomph as when seen on  a wall before you.  The work of some artists suffer from this and I’ve often wondered how many artists have had their widespread popularity hindered by this factor. 

But, for me, how an artist is ranked by anyone doesn’t counter the sheer imapct of their work on my gut.  There is something in Prendergast’s work that is pure brilliance, something I would like to see in my own work.  But what that is in his work cannot emerge the same from my hand, my mind.  It can only come out in my own vocabulary of imagery, color and texture and whether anyone would ever see anything that suggests Prendergast to them is doubtful.  Even though it might be there.

Read Full Post »

Ninotchka

Posted in At the Movies, Favorite Things, tagged , , on September 29, 2010| Leave a Comment »

There was a terrorist threat in Paris yesterday with a bomb scare at the Eiffel Tower.  Any thought of the Eiffel Tower for me always triggers memories of scenes from one of my favorite movies, Ninotchka.  It is a film from that legendary year in moviemaking, 1939, starring Greta Garbo and Melvyn Douglas and a wonderful cast of supporting character actors.

Ninotchka (Garbo) is a Soviet civil servant sent to Paris to expedite the sale of Russian royal jewels confiscated in the Communist Revolution, which has been held up by the three Soviet agents sent there previously who will do anything to slow the process so that they can further enjoy the luxuries and pleasures of Paris.  Ninotchka is a no-nonsense, stern woman who is meticulous in detail.  In Paris, she encounters and falls in love with Douglas before realizing he is the agent for the Russian countess whose jewels they are attempting to sell. 

 That’s all I will say except that it is a charming movie with wonderful lines  and performances.  If you’ve never seen Garbo, this is a great place to start.  She was a mega-star at the time and to see this, one understands why.  She is radiant on the screen.  Melvyn Douglas gives a great comic performance as do  the three actors portraying the bumbling agents (Sig Ruman, Felix Bressart and Alexander Granach.)

Just great moviemaking from director Ernst Lubitsch and writer Billy Wilder.  Technically, several of the scenes are one-shots, meaning that there are no editing cuts in the scenes and that the whole scene is shot with one camera.  It’s a small detail but it adds a lot to the appearance of the film and the feeling of continuity and unity throughout.  It’s one of those films, like Casablanca, that I can watch at anytime from any point in the film.  Good stuff.

Anyway, that is my trigger memory whenever I hear mention of the Eiffel Tower.  Here’s a taste of Ninotchka:

Read Full Post »

Monday outside my window

Posted in Favorite Things, Opinion, Video, tagged , on September 27, 2010| 4 Comments »

Monday morning and the world is still spinning, at least it seems to be there outside my windows. 

Last week on CBS Sunday Morning, there was a segment with Ben Stein doing a monologue with him bemoaning the fact that though he is in the highest tax-bracket  he is not rich and that he feels he is being punished for being successful by allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire or by letting the cuts continue for only those making less than $250,000 per year.  It’s nagged at me for the past week and I wanted to comment on this new surge in whining by those in higher tax brackets that seems to be popping up more and more these days. 

But this morning I find myself just tired of the whole thing.  There is just so much data out there to counter all this whining and doomsaying by those who say that a return to the tax rates of the 1990’s would be apocalyptic that it just seems like an exercise in futility.  I want  to point out an article from the NY Times this past weekend by Richard Thaler  and another article on Tax.com from David Cay Johnston that provide a lot of content about the negative effects on the economy from the actual Bush tax cuts.

But that’s it this morning.  I think I will stick with what I do, which is paint.  Just paint and let the world spin outside my window this morning. 

To that end, here’s a song called Favorite from one of my favorites, Neko Case.

Read Full Post »

Turner

Posted in Favorite Things, Influences, tagged on September 26, 2010| 1 Comment »

I was looking for a small painting I had done a number of years ago to illustrate this post but came up empty in my search.  It was an image of a barn on fire in one of my landscapes.  A bit of an oddity for me but a striking image.  So, I decided to change my subject and in its place I chose this masterwork, The Burning of the House of Lord and Commons, from the great  19th century British painter JMW Turner.  To me, his work is so unlike anything of its time.  It is at its best when it is fluid and wild and free.

I looked at a lot of Turner when I was first starting to paint.  He single-handedly transfromed watercolor into an accepted artform and the tales of the extremes he went to with his media and paper to achieve the incredible effects in his watercolors inspired me.  His oil paintings were often done in washes of color that was absent in the more restrained and formal paintings of the era and seemed so forward thinking to me.  He was a leading edge of modern painting.

I don’t have a lot to say except that Turner remains a favorite.   I am humbled and inspired to want to be better whenever I see his work.

Read Full Post »

Strange Days Indeed

Posted in Favorite Things, Painting on September 25, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Strange Days Indeed 2005

I came across this piece while searching for images for the request mentioned in yesterday’s post.  It’s called Strange Days Indeed and is a small work on paper, measuring only 5″ by 7.5″, from 2005.  This painting always catches my eye.  The rhythm of the rolling fields flows so effortlessly into the blowing leaves of the red tree above that it makes the whole piece feel in motion.  It has a real ease about it that makes the sight of a blue sun in the sky seem almost natural.

When I looked at it yesterday, I wondered where it was now and how its owner looked at the painting.  Did they even see that blue sun and if so, how did their mind rationalize it, make it translate as normal?  Or did they see it and enjoy the oddity of it set against the scene below?  When I look at it now, even though I can see and recognize that the blue sun is out of the ordinary, it is indistinguishable in my mind from any other representation of a sun that I might incorporate in a painting.

For me, the strange thing is that others do as well.   But I wonder about this painting and its owner.  What is the primary thing they see when they look at it?

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »