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Archive for the ‘Painting’ Category

Satisfied

Posted in Biographical, Influences, Painting, tagged , , , on September 12, 2013| 6 Comments »

GC Myers- SatisfiedIt was twenty years ago this month that I had the accident that started my painting career.  When I began painting at that time, it was not with some long-range goal of becoming a professional artist or even with the thought that anything would come from it.  I was simply looking for a creative  outlet for emotion that was roiling within.  I never had real expectations and didn’t even begin to form any until a year or so after I started.  I had no idea where this would take me nor did I have a notion that my work would take any sort of form that might reach out to people.  It was simply an urge that begged to be fulfilled at the time.

As the years went by, expectations and hopes did begin to take form.  I began to expect to sell my work and to have people take somewhat of an interest in it. I hoped that people would take my work as seriously as I did and that people would look deeper into it.

But the thing that has surprised me over the years is something  that I never expected or had even thought of beforehand.  That is the trust that many people place in me when they confide to me their feelings about the work, often sharing deeply personal stories about their lives.  I have heard many personal stories, some sad and some triumphant,  in the past two decades and seen many teary eyes as they relate their stories.  Each time I am surprised and touched at how open and honest these folks are in sharing the details of their lives with me.  Surprised may not be the right word here.  It was surprising at first  but then  turned to humbling in that I often didn’t feel worthy to be so privileged.  Now, it is still a bit surprising, a lot humbling and totally an honor to be let in on such private emotions.  It is the most gratifying and satisfying aspect of my experience as an artist over the past two decades, far exceeding financial rewards and public acclaim.  It is perhaps the most inspirational element that I carry with me into the studio each morning.

I had no idea that such a thing might happen when I started and still struggle to figure out how it has happened within the framework of my paintings.  It remains a mystery but a most satisfying one.  Thanks for such an unexpected gift.

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The painting shown here is fittingly titled Satisfied and is a 24″ by 14″ piece on paper and is currently at the Principle Gallery.

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Teun Hocks’ Everyman

Posted in Favorite Things, Painting, Photography, Video, tagged , , , , , on September 11, 2013| 3 Comments »

Teun Hocks PrairieI came across these photos by Dutch artist Teun Hocks  (b. 1947) which reminded me very much of the work of Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison, which I have featured here twice before.  Actually, it was on this same day last year that I last featured them– perhaps I am looking for an alternate reality on this date as opposed to trying to relive in some way that morning twelve years ago.  The ParkeHarrisons create elaborate but real backdrops against which they photograph their Everyman in allegorical scenes– there is no digital manipulation.  It is more like the worlds created in the earliest days of cinema when what was seen had to made real in some way, even the most fantastic scenes.

Teun Hooks Untitled- Man on IceTeun Hocks works in very much the same vein except that he creates a painted backdrop against which he photographs himself as the sometimes comical but deadpan Everyman.   Think Buster Keaton here.  He then creates oversize  gelatin silver prints on which he paints in oils, treating his original photo as an underpainting.  The result is a beautiful image with a painterly feel that is  imbued with both humor and pathos.  You can’t but help feel some sort of connection with Hooks’ character as he faces a sometimes puzzling reality.  Don’t we all?

I’m showing just a handful of the work of this prolific artist here as well as a YouTube video showing a larger group.  Hope you’ll enjoy this on this day.

Teun Hocks

Teun Hocks Baggage

Teun Hocks Untitled-Man Sleeping with Weight

Teun Hocks Crossroads

Teun Hocks Music

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The New Revelator

Posted in Music, Painting, Recent Paintings, Video, tagged , , , , , on September 5, 2013| 2 Comments »

GC Myers-The New Revelator smI usually take a small group of new work with me for the Gallery Talk I give each September at the Principle Gallery, which takes place this Saturday at the Alexandria gallery.  It’s nice to have a few new pieces to illustrate some of the points I am trying to make during the talk.  This is one of the new paintings that will be going with me, The New Revelator, a 16″ by 34″ piece on paper.

I’ve been finishing this piece over the last few days and it has underwent a dramatic transformation during the last stages, one that took it from a piece that was struggling to find its identity to one that has what I feel is a powerful presence.  When I look at it I see the bands in the field that run towards the center as being not only a crop but as a representation of some sort of communal knowledge or power that runs through our world, unseen.  The Red Tree stands at the center, joining this gathering knowledge with the greater power of the universe  that I see represented here by the open horizon behind it.  There is an ethereal quality in the descending hills, one that gives a feeling of movement through time especially when coupled with the breaking sky.  The Red Tree is the new revelator here, exposing the hidden powers of the universe to those who want to see.

That might seem a bit of a stretch for some, as far as what they see in this painting.  Again, I remind you that this is only what I see here, what this painting holds for me in an emotional sense.  You might see it as simply a landscape with interesting forms and colors.  That is good enough.  Or you may not like it all which, too, is okay.  Whatever the case, the painting stands as it  now, hopefully revealing something for you.

The New Revelator will be at the Principle Gallery this Saturday.  My Gallery Talk there starts at 1 PM and I will be in the gallery before and after if you would like to stop in and say hello.

For now, here’s an interesting version of the great old Blind Willie Johnson song, John the Revelator, from Nick Cave, who always seems to have a unique take on most things.

 

 

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The Sky Doesn’t Pity

Posted in Biographical, Favorite Things, Influences, Painting, Personal Mythology, tagged , , , , , on August 22, 2013| 4 Comments »

GC Myers-The Sky Doesn't Pity 1995smI was looking around my studio, taking in some of the work hanging on the walls throughout the house.  There are pieces from other artists, including some notables such as David Levine and Ogden Pleissner, but most of it is older work of my own.  There are a few orphans, paintings that showed extensively but never found a home.  In some I see flaws that probably kept someone from taking it home but most just didn’t find that right person with which to connect.  Most of the other hanging work is work that I won’t part with, work that somehow has deeper meaning for me.  Work that just stays close.

One of these paintings is the one shown here, The Sky Doesn’t Pity, a smallish watercolor that’s a little over 4″ square.  It was painted in 1995 after I had started publicly showing my work for the first time at the West End Gallery in Corning, NY, not too far from my home.  The gallery has been what I consider my home gallery for 18 years now, hosting an annual solo show of my work for the last eleven years.  This year’s show, Islander, ends next Friday.

But when this piece was done I was still new there, still trying to find a voice and a style that I could call my own.  I had sold a few paintings and had received a lot of encouragement from showing the work at the gallery but was still not sure that this would lead anywhere.  I entered this painting in a regional competition at the Gmeiner Art Center in Wellsboro , a lovely rural village in northern Pennsylvania with beautiful Victorian homes and gas lamps running down Main Street.

It was the first competition I had ever entered and, having no expectations, was amazed when I was notified that this piece had taken one of the top prizes.  I believe it was a third but that didn’t matter to me.  Just the fact that the judges had seen something in it, had recognized the life in it, meant so much to me.  It gave me a tremendous sense of validation and confidence in moving ahead.  Just a fantastic boost that opened new avenues of possibility in my mind.

I still get that same sense even when I look at this little piece today, a feeling that would never let me get rid of this little guy.  I can’t tell you how many times I have glimpsed over at this painting and smiled a bit, knowing what it had given me all those years ago.

 

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Annie Louise Swynnerton and Legacy

Posted in Influences, Painting, tagged , , , on August 18, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Annie Louise Swynnerton -Sense of Sight 1895At this last gallery talk at the West End Gallery, I was asked about what I thought my lasting legacy would be, the questioner commenting that they thought my work would continue to live on.  Although I was flattered by the thought, I quickly downplayed the idea of such a thing, saying that an artist has little, if any control, over how their work will be perceived in the future.  I said that I have seen so much incredible work over the years from long dead artists whose name or body of work has little or no recognition today.  They may have had acclaim in their time or locality but didn’t have the legs to make it through time intact.

Annie Louise Swynnerton -Joan of ArcComing home after that, it didn’t take long to make a quick search and find an artist whose work I felt was powerful and compelling but had little in the way of modern acclaim.  Her name was Annie Louise Swynnerton who was born in Manchester, England in 1844 and died in 1933.  She lived much of her adult life in Italy married to sculptor Joseph Swynnerton and  prospering as a renowned painter during the Victorian era, not a small feat for a female in that time.  Her work was collected widely ( John Singer Sargeant purchased her painting The Oreads, which is now in the Tate) and in 1922  she became the first female associate of the British Royal Academy since the 18th century.  Altogether, a large career for the time, especially  for a  feminist and suffragette.

Annie Louise Swynnerton -The LetterMaybe Annie Louise Swynnerton doesn’t belong completely in the category of the unknowns, given her presence in a number of museum collections.  But perhaps she aspired for more, maybe even deserved more with her obvious talents.  What keeps the name of one artist on the minds and lips of newer generations of viewers while some equally talented artists fade from sight?

It’s something that the artist can’t control or fully manage.  I know that the only control I have over the future is to maintain a sense of continuity and consistency in my work, giving future generations a coherent body of work to which my name might be attached.

Maybe…

 

 

 

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Talk OD

Posted in Favorite Things, Painting, tagged , , on August 2, 2013| 4 Comments »

GC Myers- The Prodigal SightI OD’d yesterday.

No, not on drugs.

Talk.  Straight, pure, unadulterated talking.

I gave my Gallery Talk yesterday at the West End Gallery to a group  people who just let me keep going on and on, sometimes egging me on with questions and comments that opened up new veins of info.  Enablers, that’s what they were.  By the time I was home, I was physically wiped out from all of the talking.   Seriously.

But, all kidding aside, I think it was worth it.  The talk went very well thanks to a wonderful group of folks who chose to spend an hour or two with me at the gallery.  They were attentive and inquisitive, asking questions that allowed us to cover a lot of material.  If it was a successful talk, it was all due to their good graces.  I send out a hearty thank you to everyone who attended.  You certainly made my task easier and for that I am truly appreciative.

We also had a drawing and awarded the painting above, The Prodigal Sight, to Steve M. from Corning, someone who I have known through the gallery for many years but did not yet have a painting of mine.  This was a painting that had only shown once a few years back and had remained with me in the studio since, along with a mere handful of pieces from each year that had returned to stay with me, their qualities yet to be discovered and enjoyed by someone willing to take them in.

Orphans, of a sort.

I commented that these pieces that stay around for a bit become so familiar and fond to me, more so sometimes than the more wildly successful pieces that quickly leave the studio and galleries never to be seen again.  I noticed that the frame on this piece had a slightly darkened edge where I had picked it up in the same spot many times over the past few years.  Seeing this made me realize how often I do gaze at these few pieces in the studio that haven’t yet found homes, wondering why the things I see in them haven’t become obvious to others.  I imagine that is how a parent sometimes feels about their child, seeing their better qualities above their flaws.

Anyway,I am glad that this piece has found a home, one in which I am sure it will be highly regarded.

Again, thank you to everyone who came to the West End Gallery yesterday.  I truly enjoyed my binge but now I am off to rehab in the quiet of my studio.  It’s a strictly”no talk” zone today.

 

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The Stand

Posted in Influences, Painting, Quote, tagged , , , , , , on July 26, 2013| 5 Comments »

GC Myers- The Stand

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in all of us. And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

— Marianne Williamson

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The quote above is an interesting example of how the internet sometimes creates its own mythology.   When I first came across this quote it was attributed in many places to Nelson Mandela, taken from his inaugural address in 1994.  That sounded right.  But I also saw that it was attributed to Marianne Williamson, the bestselling New Age guru.  And indeed, with just a short investigation, it was confirmed that Williamson was the author of this quote and Nelson Mandela had never uttered those words despite all those web followers who believed it so.

But regardless of authorship, it remains a good and inspirational quote.  I think it serves the painting at the top, The Stand, well as a description for what I see in it.  It is about letting your light shine and moving forward into a world of new possibilities.  Too often we are content to exist as less than we can be, to settle for a known mediocrity because we believe that the safety of this choice outweighs our desire for fulfillment.  Plus, it’s easier to stay put– no risk of stumbling in the spotlight and our friends are still there to commiserate.  Stepping up requires the risk of failure and the possibility of moving beyond those around you.

But, as the quote rightfully points out, we are doing no one a favor by denying our full potential.  Each of us serves as an example for those around us and to wallow in an unfulfilled life sets a bad example, denying inspiration to others.  No, we should dare to shine and let those around us look for their own potential in the light it provides.

There is a lot more that could be said here but I think brevity rules this day.  You can see this painting, The Stand, a 24″ by 48″ canvas, at the West End Gallery where my annual solo show, Islander,  opens tonight with a reception from 5- 7:30 PM.  I will be at the gallery so if you would like to stop out and talk for a bit, that would be great.  If not, come out anyway  to have a glass of wine and hear my friend Bill Groome play some wonderful parlor guitar music.  We’d love to see you there!

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Moment Sublime

Posted in Biographical, Opinion, Painting, tagged , , , , , on July 19, 2013| Leave a Comment »

GC Myers 2013- Moment Sublime smI delivered my work yesterday to the West End Gallery for this year’s solo exhibit, Islander.  The show, which hangs in the Corning gallery from July 26th until August 30, is something like my 37th or 38th solo show at different galleries around the country so there are common experiences with each that you begin to notice.  One is definitely the sense of relief that comes with delivering the show.

The work is done, everything framed and photographed, and in the gallery.  Seemingly , my job is done.  That’s not exactly true as there is always an aspect of the job that lingers after the work leaves the studio such as writing this and doing other promotional things that are required in order to spread the word about my work.  But for the most part, my work is done and I can step back to take a deep breath.

I generally notice a sense of exhaustion that sets in immediately after delivery, as though the tension of meeting a deadline has been a distraction from the tiredness that has been creeping in.  It’s a good exhaustion though, one that comes with knowing that I am totally satisfied with the work that I have done and have put in it as much as I could.

It’s a feeling much like the one I see in the painting featured above, Moment Sublime, a 9″ by 14″ painting on paper that is part of the show.  I suppose that is why I chose it for today’s post.  There is that same real sense of satisfaction in this image, a peaceful feeling of being only in the moment.  For me, after delivering the show, this means having no regrets about the work I have done and not concerning myself in that moment about the future results of the show or what comes next.

The task is done.  I am very happy with what I have done, feeling that it truthfully represents who I am at this moment.  All that I could ask.  In that instant, I am that Red Tree and the moment is indeed sublime…

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This Perfect World

Posted in Opinion, Painting, Recent Paintings, tagged , , on July 16, 2013| 6 Comments »

GC Myers- This Perfect World smThis is a new painting that is part of my annual show at the West End Gallery opening next Friday, July 26.  This 24″ by 30″ canvas is titled This Perfect World.  It’s a painting that has taken a while to come around and has turned into one of my favorites, probably because of the way it has evolved.

This is one of those pieces that started quickly, back in January or February,  then came to a standstill, losing all momentum.  I would pick it up every few days and look at it but I could see nothing.  The surface seemed flat and dull and nothing made me want to even attempt to push ahead.  Finally, a couple of weeks back, I decided it was time to move on this painting.  It would rise or fall but it would no longer linger in the shadows of the studio.

I quickly heightened the colors of the landscape in the foreground and suddenly the whole thing jumped to life.  Everything in the composition contrasted off of this small change dramatically, taking away the dullness and building depth.  Even though I have seen this on numerous occasions, it still shocks me when this transformation occurs so quickly.  It creates that sense of excitement that I am looking for myself in all of my work, that feeling that has me anxious to push forward so that I can see the ending.  Like an impatient reader who goes to the end of a book to see how it all turns out.

And soon it was done.  So quickly it came, a final touch here and the transformation from lifeless surface to a vibrant entity is complete.  I wish I could know exactly  where this transformation occurs, at what point in my process does it jump to life.  But that remains a mystery to me.  Perhaps as it should.

Looking at it afterwards, there is a sense of fullness and rightness in the piece.  That is where the title comes in to play.  The natural world is a perfect thing.  By that I mean that there is no room for indecision or regret over every mistake.  Everything simply is.

Each moment is the only possible result of all circumstances that have taken place before that moment.  Each moment perfectly fits the setting that has been created for it. Perfect.

Now, though I invoke the word here, I am not looking for it in my representations of  this natural perfection.  I  think the imperfections in a piece  display the human element in the natural world.  And this painting is a good example of it.  There are visible edges in the sky where the pigment set before I lifted it from the surface.  There are bits of bristle from my brush (and maybe a little hair from my head ?)  in the paint.  There are tiny dark spatters of paint here and there.  All of these flaws, as some may call them, are perfect to me.  When I take in the painting as a whole, I don’t see imperfections.  I see the rightness of the piece, its perfection in the moment.  Those human indicators simply give it depth for me, let me know that I was in that moment.

And that is as perfect as it can be for me…

 

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Mirrors and Windows

Posted in Painting, Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , on July 14, 2013| 7 Comments »

GC Myers-Mirrors and Windows

Maturity is that time when the mirrors in our mind turn to windows and instead of seeing the reflection of ourselves we see others.

–Anonymous

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This is a new piece for my West End Gallery show, Islander, that opens on July 26th.  I am calling this  painting, a 12″ by 36″ canvas, Mirrors and Windows.

It didn’t start with this title or the quote cited above in mind but as it progressed the lakes and sun/moon (your choice, although I am personally seeing a sun here) began to remind me of mirrors and the blocks of the  field reminded me of windows.  The terrain took on a pop or cartoon-like quality as though I were looking at a wavy  building  with curving windows and mirrors attached to its side.  The vibrant colors really accentuated this feeling.

I found myself looking at this piece quite often in the studio, trying to ascertain what it was that was pulling me in.  As I looked, I began to be more aware of the road running through which signified to me our life’s journey.  We spend our lives looking in mirrors and out windows, living in reflections of ourselves and the outer world.

There must be some perfect balance in this.  Somewhere.  Somehow.  And maybe that is what the quote at the top here infers, that we reach a point where we know who and what we are and turn away from mirrors and begin to look for windows in which we can expand our vision of the outer world and gain greater wisdom.

Perhaps this message is too much to ask from a painting that at first speaks with the look of a comic book.  I guess you should judge a book by the cover…

 

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