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Archive for the ‘Favorite Things’ Category

Job Perks

Posted in Biographical, Favorite Things, tagged on August 2, 2009| 2 Comments »

Following DestinyDo you ever have those days when you need a lift?

You get up and it’s gray and raining.  You’re eyes still have a sleepy glaze on them and there’s no sharp focus.  Your body creaks a bit like the floorboards under your feet as you head out the door.  

Another day and it’s starting on a most uninspired note.

But, luckily for me, my job has certain perks.  

In the studio, I flip on the computer and check my e-mail and there’s a note from a couple in Erie who had just obtained two of the paintings I had dropped off at the Kada Gallery on Thursday.  They wrote how they were drawn to the serenity of the pieces.

My day suddenly changed.

What other job allows you to go from feeling tired and insignificant one moment and inspired and making a difference the next?  Over the years, the comments and notes I have received from those who are attracted to my work have served to constantly bolster my spirits and have provided the sense of another set of eyes looking over my shoulder when I paint.  They provide inspiration beyond anything the folks who send me these notes could imagine.  

It’s one of those things that make me stop in my tracks and pinch myself just to make sure this good fortune isn’t merely a dream.  So far, I’m wide awake and black and blue from all the pinching.

Seeing how much I gather inspiration from such gestures I can only wish that everyone could get the same in their jobs, their careers, their lives.  It saddens me that so many people never hear words of appreciation from those they serve.  Most take this for granted.  But wouldn’t it be a better place, a more hospitable world, if we all were told when we were doing a nice job?  Wouldn’t we all strive to do better then?

It’s funny how we hold onto compliments or expressions of appreciation so often like they were rare coins, so few and so valuable that they should never leave our hands.  

It’s been my experience that there is a kind of karmic return for those who express their true appreciation to others, who spend their coins of gratitude with generosity.  They find that their purse of gratitude never runs low and is constantly refilled by those around them.

So, get out there and spend some of your old rusty compliments.  It’s a good investment.

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Ripping Yarns

Posted in Favorite Things, Television, Video, tagged , , , , on August 1, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Tomkinsons SchooldaysA few weeks back I came across the old film, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, the one from 1939 with Robert Donat, not the later awful musical version with Peter O’Toole.  It’s a very sweet chronicle of a schoolmaster’s life at a British upper crust boarding school, the type of film that would never be made today.  Watching it, however, reminded me of another such story.

In the 1970’s Michael Palin, in his post-Monty Python days, did a short series for the BBC that consisted of half hour episodes, each a different story with him as the main character in each.  It was called Ripping Yarns.  Seeing Mr. Chips reminded of one such episode called Tomkinson’s Schooldays which tells of a young student’s trials and tribulations in such a school.  

I remember seeing it 30 years ago or so and laughing very hard and still use references from it.  I have been wanting to revisit it all these many years and I always look for it but it never seems to resurface.  But of course, I hadn’t checked Youtube.  With a few clicks, there it was, in several parts.  

It was as funny as I remembered.  Here is the first part of Tomkinson’s Schooldays and for those of you who enjoy Python-like humor, you can see the rest on Youtube. 

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Holbein’s More

Posted in Favorite Things, Influences, Painting, tagged , , , , on July 28, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Holbein-SirThomasMoreYou run across a lot of people who are completely dismissive of anything from the past.  They feel that we at the moment are the leading edge of humanity’s progress, that we are the culmination of all that has come before us and thus, anything created long before our time can not have equal value  now.  There’s this sense that only the modern can fully express the complexity of our world.

When I see this painting of Sir Thomas More painted by Hans Holbein in around 1527 I realize what  flawed logic that is.  

Here is a painting that was painted nearly 500 years ago that, when seen in person at the Frick in NYC, has surfaces that are absolutely beautiful.  It still glows with its sumptuous colors.  All the years of technical progress have not produced materials that could accomplish any more than Holbein did with the materials of his time.

holbein_henryviiiI could stand and look at this piece for hours, marveling not only at the beauty of the paint but at the way Holbein captured More’s humanity and the sense of the time in which it was painted.  For me, this painting really illustrates, gives life to, an important figure in history.  More was the ultimate man of conscience, refusing to give in to Henry VIII‘s will that he endorse Henry’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon so that he might marry Anne Boleyn.  It ultimately cost him his head and cost the world a wonderful mind, one that gave us the concept of Utopia.

It is obvious to me that Holbein felt warmly towards More in the way the piece is painted and the way he captures his persona.  In the painting Holbein  did of Henry VIII (on the left) I get a different sense.  It’s meant to be large and strong, to be a display of regal power and that it is.  But there’s a coldness in the piggish eyes and an arrogance in the stance.  Oh, it’s a beautiful painting, on many levels, but when you compare the two it’s obvious where Holbein’s sympathies lay.

This is art and history coming together at single points.  It captures the humanity that is contained in all of us and remains unchanged even to the edge of our time.  Good stuff.  No, great stuff…

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Wheels of Freedom

Posted in Biographical, Favorite Things, tagged , , on July 27, 2009| Leave a Comment »

stingray_deluxe I had an old friend show up at the opening of my show at the West End on Friday night, someone I had not seen in thirty years or more.  Near the end of the opening I looked up from a conversation and saw a familiar face grinning at me, a face that I knew immediately even with thirty years added.  It was Jim Langdon.  Jimmy.  Langoose.

Just seeing him triggered floods of memories from my childhood on Wilawanna Road near Chemung, NY, in the 60’s and 70’s.   It was, as I have said before, a different time and on summers mornings like today I would have been up and out of the house by eight o’clock in the morning, heading up the road on my faithful Huffy Stingray, looking for some sort of adventure.  My little Huffy was to me  like Rocinante,, was to Don Quixote- she wasn’t pretty but she took me to faraway (relatively) places.

The kids of that era had a much larger range to investigate and more freedom to do so.  On many days I would be out of the house by eight in the morning and not return until evening and might find myself many miles away in any direction, driving through all sorts of roads and traffic without helmets or protection of any sort.  We had no idea that there were even such things then.  I can’t imagine today’s children being given such leeway, such freedom to investigate life without the watchful eye of an adult always being present.  The freedom to make decisions on your own behavior and see the results, good or bad.  We probably weren’t as safe in many ways as today’s kids but we were more independent, more aware that there was a world outside the one that constantly revolved around us at home.  And I don’t think that’s a bad tradeoff. 

Seeing Jimmy instantly brought back those moments of adventure and fun and yes, sometimes danger and reminded me how much freedom one little golden stingray bike could bring to a kid.  I smiled like an idiot and we reminisced for a while.  Can’t wait to do it again.

Anyway, that’s that.  Now, you kids get the hell off  my lawn…

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Sunday Quiet

Posted in Favorite Things, Video, tagged on July 26, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Calm SummoningSunday morning.  Quiet.  

There’s always a certain stillness on Sunday mornings.  Very little traffic as I walk down our long driveway to get the paper.  Hardly anything stirring.

I always enjoy these mornings, always feel as though I have the world to myself.   Like the quiet is all mine.

Big quiet.

Here’s an older song from Chris Isaak.  Same feel.  This is from the Tonight Show from 1992 so it looks a little dated.  Enjoy…

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The Most Trusted Man in America?

Posted in Current Events, Favorite Things, tagged , on July 23, 2009| 2 Comments »

jon-stewartI normally don’t have two posts in the same day but I had to comment on a story I just read where, in an online poll taken by Time  (click on to see the results and map), Jon Stewart prevailed as the most trusted newsman in America.  And not by a small margin.  He topped the closest newsman, NBC’s Brian Williams, by a whopping 15%.  

I had written in an earlier post how sad it was that with the passing of Walter Cronkite went the idea of having a newsman who acted as our conscience, who tried to give us the news in a way that best served our needs as a country.  After writing that, I realized that sadly, the only person who might fit this niche was Jon Stewart.  He skewers hypocrisy from both sides and doesn’t seem beholden to any group or ideology.  Oh, there’s a liberal bias but it is tempered with common sense and an idea of right and wrong.  

He also brings a sense of respect for each side to the debate at hand.  It’s not unusual to have representatives from either side of any debate and never does it devolve into a screechfest.  But at the same time there is often real info and real commentary passed along.

While I don’t know if this a good or thing, it should serve as an example to those who finished below Stewart.  I think somewhere right now, Walt is smiling.

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This is Francis Bacon’s Studio, Not Mine

Posted in Favorite Things, Influences, tagged on July 22, 2009| 4 Comments »

bacon-reece-mews-studioOne of the chores I have around the studio this time of the year is to restore a little order.  The year is a little over halfway over and in painting for the two solo shows I do each year that open in June and July, my studio environment can get a little disheveled, papers piled up and paint tubes, bottles and brushes everywhere.  Half-done canvasses, some started with a fire of inspiration that suddenly  dwindled midway and now await renewed  interest, lean against every available wall.  Books are stacked in piles waiting for the day when I can sit down and just read.  

It’s not as bad as it was in my old studio in the woods.  It was smaller and all my different processes including framing, staining and matting, were done in one compact space.  That was infinitely more messy and about this time every year, I found the clutter made concentrating in the studio more and more difficult.  The mess created a kind of static in my thinking.

bacon_study1953Now, the studio shown above is that of Francis Bacon, the late Irish born artist best known for his Expressionistic work that is often viewed as violent and disturbing.  I remember seeing these photos years ago and feeling so much better about my studio.  The huge black paint stain on my floor didn’t seem so bad.  But I wondered if I could function in his space.  I guess the concentration required to block out the mounds of debris would have to be incredible.  Maybe that is part of the painting obsession- to be so engrossed in what is before you that all else is pushed far off into the background.  Bacon did view his painting as an obsession, saying, “I have been lucky enough to be able to live on my obsession. This is my only success.”  

Bacon was an incredibly interesting character and one whose words often ring true for me.  He was self taught and talked in terminology that I understand, earthy and straightforward.  Very little artspeak.  

The piece shown here is one of my favorites, Study After Velazquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent X, and is very representative of the style of much of his work.  You can find a lot on Bacon and his work online.

Anyway, I’ve got some cleaning to do or my studio will start to look like this…

 

 

I have been lucky enough to be able to live on my obsession. This is my only success.

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Reinvention

Posted in Favorite Things, Video, tagged , , on July 17, 2009| Leave a Comment »

The Recalling Reinvention.

What I was is not what I am and what I am is not necessarily what I will be.

We’re fortunate to have such an opportunity, to be able to change and evolve over our lives.  To be able to show the world other and new facets in our prisms.  The only question is why do some people take this opportunity to reinvent themselves and other do not?

I thought about this the other day when I was in the studio, prepping work for my next show. I was listening to Van Lear Rose, an album from a couple of years back from Loretta Lynn, the Queen of Country Music.   It’s a great album with Jack White of  White Stripes fame  producing and playing.  The songs have Loretta’s unmistakeable signature voice and songwriting but have a new feel.  A little more edge and a little less twang.  A new side to Loretta.  She took the opportunity, when it presented itself,  to step forward and change.

But what about those who don’t?  Why don’t they continue to evolve?   Are they simply satisfied with where they are?  In music this is pretty common, guys playing the Oldies circuit, performing the same songs that they made popular when they were 18 years old.  Perhaps the opportunity to change never showed up.  Maybe they felt safe in staying in their tried and true routine of rehashing the past.   No risk there.

Who know?  I surely don’t but I do know that this chance to change our skin, chameleon-like, is an opportunity  that the truly creative should not simply push aside because for them to remain static is death.  Take the risk.

Here’s  a little Loretta from Van Lear Rose:

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The Tour

Posted in Current Events, Favorite Things, tagged , , , on July 13, 2009| 2 Comments »

climbing-in-the-tourIt’s that time of the year again and I’m always surprised at how interested I can become in the Tour de France bicycle race.

I realized this today when I came into the studio and remembered that this was an off day on the Tour so I wouldn’t have the race on the television in the background here in the studio.  I found myself I little disappointed, much to my surprise.  

I’ve always been a sports fan since I was a kid but primarily the big sports like baseball, football and basketball.   Boxing, a staple of the Wide World of Sports, was also a favorite although over the years I have lost all interest.  But when I was a kid, boxing held more prominence in the public eye and Muhammad Ali was at his peak.  I remember even wanting to be a writer for Ring magazine when I was 12 years old.

But bicycle racing never got a lot of coverage here and the idea of it as a watchable sport seemed kind of far-fetched.  I mean, guys on bikes pedaling in big packs for a hundred miles at a clip through all kinds of terrain, going over the highest passable peaks?  It seemed kind of slow paced and didn’t have a lot of action even though the racers sometimes flew down steep precipices at crazy speeds.  The coverage never really captured the spirit of the competition.  Besides, we didn’t know the stars of the sport, who were almost always European.  We didn’t have our own horse in the race, at least anyone who could contend and pull in our interest.

American Greg LeMond changed that a bit in the late 80’s when he won three Tours.  He drew the initial glance from the American public and created a slight sensation.  But his name sounded so, so- how do I say this- French.  The casual fan was never quite sure if he was American.  There wasn’t the same level of of coverage and technology didn’t provide for the instant worldwide dispersal of information that it does today on the web.  

No, it took Lance Armstrong to pull us in.  No wondering about that name.  We now knew we had a horse in the race.  And what a horse he was.  He brought drama to the race, from his unlikely return after his battle with cancer to the way he dominated Tour after Tour in his cool, methodic manner.  The French press and bike racing establishment despised him and that only elevated him in our eyes.

So his victories made us finally watch and the coverage became better and more comprehensive, allowing us to see the real drama and beauty of the race.  To see how truly epic were the efforts of these athletes.  I ache just watching these guys struggle over these impossibly steep mountain passes day after day.  I am amazed at the level of dedication it must take to compete at this level.

So, it has become one of my habits in July to flip on the tube as I work and have the Tour there.  Skinny men with huge legs.  I would have never imagined.

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The Technique of Mark Reep

Posted in Favorite Things, Technique/History, tagged on July 10, 2009| 3 Comments »

Mark ReepThis past week or so, on his blog, Dreams In Black and White, artist Mark Reep has documented his progress in finishing the piece shown here, The Nightingale’s Garden.  I highly recommend that anyone interested in the artistic process take a look to witness the effort and dedication required to achieve work of this caliber.

I have been a fan of Mark’s work for many years now and am constantly impressed with the quality and inventiveness of his work.  He has a look and technique that is his own and when I’m looking at his work I really get the feeling that I am looking at  the inner workings of his mind.  There’s an obsessive quality to the work, a sense that you know that work like this can only be produced by someone that is completely immersed and devoted to the vision.  There can be no half-hearted efforts with work this intricately and meticulously detailed.

Beautiful stuff.  

Mark is one of those artists who have been so consistent at such a high level for so many years that  his work is sometimes taken for granted by the people in our own area.  I don’t think they realize what they have in front of them, that these are pieces that will stand out for generations to come.  But many savvy collectors from around the country recognize this in his work and have made his work part of many fine collections.  Deservedly so.

You can see more of the work of Mark Reep by clicking on the link in the list to the right or go his blog by clicking on the  image of his above.

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