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Archive for the ‘Favorite Things’ Category

Get Off My Cloud

Posted in Favorite Things, Influences, Video, tagged , on January 24, 2009| 2 Comments »

harlequin3Saturday morning and I’m in the studio early, anxious to get to work.  There are things I’d like to post on my blog but I feel like there’s a painting waiting to be released.

I think that for this Saturday morning I’ll instead show a little early Rolling Stones.  At Christmas, I was talking with my nephew, who is around 30 years old, who commented on how many people he knew who were totally ignorant of the music of the Beatles and the Stones, particularly before the mid-70’s,  and the great influence that both had on current pop music and culture.

For anyone from that time that is a remarkable thought because of the incredible changes that were taking place at the time and, for many,  how their music was very much the soundtrack for the era.  Perhaps this is hyperbole and the world would pretty much be the same without either band and their songs but I doubt it.  Great change is only affected by great influence.  The greater the influence, the more we are inspired to go beyond, to take what they have shown us and to synthesize and integrate it with our own voices and visions.  

Growing up, listening to this song, Get Off My Cloud, was empowering.  There was a sense of defiance and a sense of standing up for yourself that pulsed out of the grooves.  I don’t know if it completely comes through but at the time, it played loud and strong.

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Andrew Wyeth

Posted in Favorite Things, Influences, tagged on January 17, 2009| 8 Comments »

Wyeth Trodden WeedAndrew Wyeth died yesterday.  Age 91.

Damn great artist.

I’m showing the piece to the right, Trodden Weed, because I always feel a sense of awe when I see it.  

The gorgeous color.  

The daring composition.  

It raises more questions in the viewer, both about the painting and the viewer himself, than it answers yet there is a sense of satisfaction.

Of completion.

Wyeth Christina's WorldAndrew Wyeth was not the darling of art critics and I think there’s a simple reason for this:

His work didn’t need them.

His work transcended the need for their explanation and validation, translating at once to the viewer.  

There was no warming up to his work, no need to try to feel his message.  It was immediate and powerful.andrew-wyeth

And to someone who is considered the arbiter of taste, this could only be the work of sentimentalism.  This bias would not allow themselves the effort to truly see the work’s beauty and power.  It’s graceful simplicity.

Well, that’s their loss.  Screw them and thank you for all you gave us, Mr Wyeth.

Wyeth Master Bedroom

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A Hard Past

Posted in Biographical, Favorite Things, Video, tagged , on January 16, 2009| 5 Comments »

A Hard PastThis is a painting from a couple of years ago, titled  A Hard Past, part of the Outlaws series.  I have been hesitant to write about this piece even though it remains a personal favorite.  I use it as the wallpaper on my office computer and am always transfixed by this face.

It actually reminds me very much of my mother.  I know that may not seem a very flattering thing to say but there is something in the hardened distant gaze that reminds me of Mom, sitting silently at the kitchen table with a cup of tea and her ever present Camel.  She would just sit there in silence for long periods of time and I often wonder what thoughts and memories ran through her mind. 

The title came from this memory of her.  She had a pretty hard life- her mother died when she was three,  no school beyond ninth grade, years of toiling in a factory and a long, turbulent and angry marriage to my father.  I could go into detail but I don’t think she would like it, if she were still around.  She liked privacy and preferred to be away from other people, a trait that I carry as well.

I could go on but I just wanted to show this piece again.  I do think Mom would be okay with that…

Speaking of the Outlaws series, here’s a short video I put together with the paintings from that series along with some from many years earlier.  The music is from Bill Frisell…

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Albert Pinkham Ryder

Posted in Favorite Things, Influences, tagged on January 14, 2009| 2 Comments »

The Race Track (Death on a Pale Horse)I have always been affected by the dark, moody compositions of the  the American painter Albert Pinkham Ryder, a somewhat under-appreciated  painter who worked in the late 1800’s/ early 1900’s, dying in 1917.

He is probably not as well known as he should be because of the manner in which he painted.  He had little regard for working in a fashion that would insure the longevity of his work and as a result, most of his pieces are heavily cracked and fragile.  Many have not survived.

AP Ryder Flying Dutchman
When I have seen his work in person I am always filled with a sense of excitement, as though I’ve stumbled upon a hidden treasure.  There’s also a feeling of knowing this person and feeling their essence.  It’s as though I feel something in my own being that parallels his in some way.  I hesitate to say this because I do not know in any fashion the man or his personality but that which I see in his work I truly identify with in some manner beyond appreciation.

AP Ryder Toilers of the Sea
I see real poetry and soul in his work, something I think which is lacking in much work.  I can’t describe how I see that– it’s more just a matter of sensing it.  To me, Ryder seems to be trying to communicate something vaporous and indefinable, something beyond the senses, something beyond words.  I identify with that endeavor and find inspiration in his work.

 

ryder_moonlight1

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Henri Rousseau/Obsessionism

Posted in Favorite Things, Influences, tagged , on January 11, 2009| 7 Comments »

Rousseau The DreamSunday morning and I’m thinking, of all things, about Henri Rousseau.

I’ve always been attracted to his work, mainly by the quality and density of his color.  It is rich and deep and translates easily to the eye and mind.  The lushness of his many greens and the way they all come together so cohesively is another factor.Rousseau A Carnival Evening

Then there his life as a self-taught painter, a man who was never taken quite seriously in his lifetime.  Quite compelling and an object lesson for artists everywhere to stick with their own vision and not be swayed by the style of the day to merely fit in with that which prevails.

Obsessionism…

That’s the first time I’ve used this term and one that my wife, Cheri, uses to describe my work.  I’m still trying to define this definition.  In my head, it’s the intoxication of color, when I’m in front of a piece and the color I’m working in is deep and strong and I seem to be within the paint itself, engulfed and embraced.  Time is irrelevant at that moment and floats away.Rousseau Jungle Sunset

Thought becomes mute.  It is not from the front of the brain anymore, it is deeper, instinctual and reactive.  Ancient and ingrained.

It becomes a different form of expression where language is reduced to sensation, the feel of the wind above, the excitement raised by a mere arc or curve.  The depth of color.  Raw emotion.

Obsessionism.  It leaves me at a loss for words to properly describe what the term means to me but I see it in the work of Rousseau and perhaps that is why I am so drawn to it.

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Elvis Presley Blues

Posted in Biographical, Favorite Things, Influences, Television, Video, tagged , on January 8, 2009| 1 Comment »

Today is the birthday of Elvis Presley.Early Elvis

I’m not going to wax rhapsodic about the man or what he has meant to so many people.  Everyone knows the facts:

Elvis was and is big.

For me, it’s memories of going with my sister and cousin to the movies to see his films.  I was 5 or 6 years old but even then, Elvis’ charisma was unavoidable even in those sometimes awful films.

I remember sitting in front of the TV with my dad in’68 when Elvis made his comeback special.  We both sat mesmerized as we watched,  which struck me because my dad was not one to show much obvious interest in a lot of things.  It was an amazing thing to watch.  Elvis had the air of absolute desperation around him, as if everything in the world hung on  him pleasing us and gaining our love and approval.

 It seemed to be, to quote an Elvis hit, now or never.

It was a mythic performance, obvious to even a 9 year old.

But like many mythic beings, intermingled with greatness there was the aura of tragedy and sadness.  That’s how I think of Elvis.  A simple man elevated to myth and burdened with a talent and charisma with which few are equipped to handle.

Here’s another Gillian Welch song, Elvis Presley Blues,  which kind of sums up that feeling.

Happy birthday, E…

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Blackwood

Posted in Favorite Things, Influences, Video, tagged , , , , on January 3, 2009| 4 Comments »

dblackwood7-captain-ned-bishop-home-in-wesleyvilleI just wanted to say a few words about another influence on my work, this time from Canadian printmaker David Blackwood.  I first stumbled on his work several years ago when I came across a documentary on him called, fittingly, Blackwood.  It was nominated for an Oscar as best documentary when it came out in the mid-70’s and brilliantly depicts his technique and how his art and the personal mythology of his home are intertwined.

David Blackwood Man Warning Two BoysMuch of his work deals with Newfoundland and Labrador and its hardy inhabitants.  There are whalers and Mummers, lost parties adrift on the ice, colorful kites flying over a frozen starkness and houses being dragged across ice.  It is fascinating work and beautifully done.  He has created his own visual vocabulary that resonates in his pieces.

This meager description of his work doesn’t do it justice and I encourage those interested to do a bit of researchBlackwood Daybreak The Labrador Sea and discover this treasure for themselves. He has a beautiful website that I will add as a link and there is a beautiful book, David Blackwood: Master  Printmaker that I highly recommend, with a foreword from Annie Proulx, whose own The Shipping News owes much to the mythology that Blackwood’s work depicts.

Really great stuff.  I always enjoy pulling out his book and absorbing the great compositions and sense of place he creates in his work.  Always inspiring…

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The Revelator

Posted in Favorite Things, Influences, Video, tagged , on December 28, 2008| 1 Comment »

The RevelatorI find that whatever is playing in the studio, music or film, at the time I’m painting has a great influence over my work.  Songs or movies that have great dramatic impact for me often manifest themselves in my work, with me picking up their tone and rhythm and trying to lay it down in paint.

This is a great example of this trait.  It’s a painting from a few years back titled The Revelator and even takes it’s name from the song that influenced it, (Time’s) The Revelator from Gillian Welch.  This was a much played song in my studio at the time and I felt that it had emotional weight that mirrored what I was trying to get across in my work.  Wistful but warm.  Accepting of the fact that time eventually reveals what is true and what is important.

Good stuff…

Here’s the song performed by Gillian Welch.  Enjoy.

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Bad Bailey

Posted in At the Movies, Favorite Things, Neat Stuff, Video, tagged , , , , on December 20, 2008| Leave a Comment »

george-baileyIt’s that time of the year  when you hunker down on a cold, snowy night and watch a holiday classic.  One of the most beloved is It’s a Wonderful Life from director Frank Capra.  It has long been one of my favorites and it would be easy to go on and on about its message and how the final scene with the redemption of George Bailey makes me tear up just thinking about it.

But yesterday David Terrenoire  wrote in his great blog, A Dark Planet, about how he secretly preferred Potterville, George Bailey’s bizarro world version of his hometown, to the original Bedford Falls.  Potterville was a rockin’ town.  Strip clubs.  Hot music.  Bedford Falls was, by contrast, a real snore.

George Bailey Close-upHe cited an article by Wendell  Jamieson in the NY Times that made his case for the same thought.  Jamieson even goes so far as to state that George Bailey would be facing prison time for the loss of the 8000 dollars, regardless of restitution.  

Just before I had read these two articles I had come across a video entitled Bad Bailey.  It’s put together as a movie trailer and using eerie music and a drastic realignment of the movie’s actual scenes make for pretty disturbing viewing, especially for lovers of the movie.  It made me realize how much darkness there was in the film which, I think, probably made it so powerful.  Just shows what a little editing can achieve…

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Outlaws

Posted in At the Movies, Favorite Things, Influences, Painting, Technique/History, tagged , , , , , on December 12, 2008| Leave a Comment »

The FearA few days back I talked briefly about a series of pieces from 2006 called Outlaws, small and dark figurative paintings of individuals sometimes looking out windows, sometimes holding handguns.  They were a departure and some followers of my work were a bit put off.  Some were fearful of the figures, seeing them as menacing.  Most saw the fear in these characters, their past haunting them.

There was an observation I made concerning people’s reactions.  Those who were disturbed by the images saw the central figure as an intruder peering in through the window.  Those who were more empathetic with these figures saw them looking out the window.  They saw that these characters were the fearful ones.

These pieces were inspired by some silent films I was watching at the time.  These films from around 1918-1927 were made in the aftermath of the first World War, a time when expressionism emerged.  Many of these films were dark and gritty, filled with raw emotion and violence.  When two figures fought, it was not the clean, one-punch knockouts of later films.  They grappled, clawing at one another in a horrible realism.  One that stands out is  Sunrise  from the great F.W. Murnau, probably best known for his vampire classic,  Nosferatu.  It is the story of a married farmer seduced by a city woman who conspires to kill his wife and go to the city.  It’s a great story that is dark and full of wonderful imagery.  There is a train ride into the city that is a great piece of film.  Though most people think that Wings won the first Oscar for best picure, Sunrise won the award that year as Most Unique and Artistic Production, a short lived award that basically  split the Best Movie award into two parts.  It was great then and is still quite moving.Confession

Also, around that time I saw a group of Goya’s small pieces at the Frick in NYC.  They were done by covering  ivory palates with carbon and dripping water on to the surface then manipulating the puddle until an image emerges.  I was taken by them, mainly because I fully understood the technique.  It was how I had taught myself to paint.  I saw it as an opportunity to express the faces and figures that have inhabited my mind for decades.

I only do a few of these a year now and the handful I have in the studio are what I consider personal treasures that still provoke thought from me, time and time again.Night and the City

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