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Archive for the ‘Painting’ Category

Avatars

Posted in Painting, Recent Paintings, tagged on June 29, 2011| Leave a Comment »

This is the painting that is featured on the invitation for my next , Avatars, which opens July 15th at the West End Gallery.  It is titled The New Avatar and is 23″ by 33″ and on paper.

I chose to use the word avatar as the title because I wanted to have people look beyond the surface of the piece, past the representational quality of the work.  Past the idea of the painting as a landscape.  I wanted to stress the  idea that the painting and its subject is symbolic of something more, something beyond the apparent.

 An avatar is the incarnation or manifestation of a person or idea.  In Hinduism, this incarnation is of an Immortal Being or the Ultimate Supreme Being, usually Vishnu, the Preserver.  The word avatar is derived from the Sanskrit and means descent and usually implies a descent into mortal realms for special purposes, to instruct or to guide.

Maybe that’s too much to ask for paint smeared on a surface but I wanted to at least open it to the possibility of being more than it seems.  More than a Red Tree.  More than a Red-Roofed house.  More than a Red Chair.  I hoped that the viewer might see something in the work that might reveal itself only to them, something that would be an avatar for what they needed or desired in their own lives.

Again, that’s asking a lot for what seem to be simple landscapes.  I may never know if I’ve succeeded in this aspiration.  That may not matter.  Just continuing  to find a new avatar in each new piece that speaks to me, that reveals some sort of meaning if only for my eyes, may be the final reward. 

 And that is good enough for me. 

 

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Show Report

Posted in Current Events, Painting, tagged on June 13, 2011| 6 Comments »

Well, I’m back home in the studio after my show Friday night at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria, safe and sound. 

 And cool. 

 It’s wonderful to feel shivers from the cold this morning after being slow roasted with temperatures that were hitting 104 degrees in traffic that had come to a standstill on the beltway around DC.  We were a bit concerned that the heat would keep folks away from the show but  many shows in the past there have had very high temperatures along with severe thunderstorms and neither had noticeably decreased the crowd size.  This year’s show was no different.

It was a great crowd and a really nice night all the way around.  I saw many folks that I knew from past shows as well as many new faces.  As always, there is never enough time to spend a sufficient amount with everyone and I ended up only saying hello and good-bye to some of my favorite folks that come every year.  Although they understand the constraints of time at such an event, I always feel bad that I wasn’t able to get to them.  The fact that they came out is a big deal to me and I at least want to thank them.  Plus I always enjoy talking with them. 

I met several people who had pieces of mine who told me wonderful stories of how the work inspired them.  A psychologist who has a number of my paintings in his office told me about the wide range of emotional reactions the pieces brought from his clients, something I always find interesting.  I also met several longtime collectors for the first time which is always good if only so that I can express my gratitude in person.  I’ve done 28 or 29 solo exhibitions such as this over the past 11 years and I still view the fact that people show up at these events, let alone buy the work, as a miracle of sorts.  I do not take it for granted in any way and want to take the opportunity at such times to say thank you.

So, if I spoke to you at the opening, I say , “Thank you.”  If I didn’t get a chance to speak with you there I also say, “Thank you.”  Thank you for your time and your appreciation of my work.  It means a lot to me and always gives me new life in the studio when I return.

Shows like this are always inspiring to me, giving me a real sense of validation for the work.  There are points, as I have noted here before, where I begin to doubt if the work will speak to anyone but me, especially after spending so much time alone with it.  So when people do come out and respond, it gives me a greater sense of confidence in the path the work is following.

So, thank you for giving me that.  It is, as always, most appreciated.  Thanks for everyone who came out to the show.  Thanks to everyone at the Principle Gallery who have always treated me so well over the years and have long championed my work. Thanks to Dave and Ted for the wonderful conversation prior to the show.  Thanks to Erin and Noah for still coming to the show, if only via the phone and through the eyes of Denny.  Thanks to Stephanie, Tom and Henry for coming out if only to say hello and good-bye.

Just thanks for a great show.

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

PS–  For those of you who couldn’t make it to the show, the Principle has asked that I do a gallery talk in September.  More details will follow in the future…

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Night of Wonder

Posted in Painting, Recent Paintings, tagged on May 31, 2011| 3 Comments »

I’m in the last few days of finishing my work for the show that opens next week, June 10, at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria. VA.  I’m sealing frames and wrapping the pieces for safe transport to the gallery later this week.  This is always the time when there are alternating waves of relief and anxiety.  Relief in knowing that the work is done and that I’ve did all I can for this show.  Anxiety in the fear that it won’t do well, that I’m seeing something in the work that won’t be evident to others. 

 This is somewhere around my 30th solo show so I’m somewhat used to these mixed feelings by now and don’t panic when the anxiety hits.  I know that I’ve given maximum effort and it’s out of my hands.  I can’t control the response.  

The anxiety, like most things, will pass with time.

I’ve tried to create a mix in this show with some new looks and some pieces that are easily recognized as being part of my visual vocabulary.  The piece shown above, Night of Wonder (15″ by 20″), is such a piece.  A very simply composed piece, it has many of the elements that have been part of my work for many years.  The archetypical Red Tree, perched atop a distinctive nob of soil.  The exposed  and somewhat irregular edges.  The two blocks of color separated by a thin white break between them.  Dense color and a viewpoint with the eye-level set at the same height as the horizon. 

I think they all come together well here and give this piece the sense of quiet wonder that I hoped for– quiet but not bland.   It has bite , if that can be used here as a measurable quality, and that is what makes this piece come together so well.  

It also has a solidness of feel that helps quell the anxiety of preparing for this show.  It is like an old friend who I know will stand up well for me when I need it.

And that is saying a lot.

 

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Dusky Dance

Posted in Painting, Recent Paintings, tagged on May 23, 2011| 7 Comments »

I’ve been showing a number of the pieces here that are part of my Principle Gallery show that opens on June 10, focusing recently on the more monchromatic work, those pieces in shade of gray and sepia with less color.  I thought this painting would be a nice return to the color of my normal work.  Called Dusky Dance, it’s a 7″ by 15″ image that rests in a 14″ by 22″ mat and frame.

This image features the intertwined trees that I have sometimes painted over the years, their trunks and limbs rhythmically coming together which brings about the dance of the title.  There’s a great moodiness here in the misty orange atmosphere with the sun  softly finding  its way through. 

The landforms are kept low and simple, their compositional impact intentionally kept to a minimum.  The piece is really about the feel from the sky with its dusky oranges and yellows,  and the the way the trees twist together.  As though the the two trees are existing in only the rare atmosphere of that moment which I think is reflected in the extreme focus of this piece.  It’s simply put together but intense in its feeling, both aspirations I normally maintain for my work.  This  makes this a very prototypical piece, one that expresses much of what I feel for my work.

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Something Different

Posted in Painting, Recent Paintings, Technique/History, tagged on May 20, 2011| 1 Comment »

I try to have a few pieces in every show that are a bit out of my normal range, pieces that still carry the same momentum as the other work in the show but have a different look from my typical work.  This is one such piece from my next show, Now and Then, which opens at the Principle Gallery on June 10th.  This is an 11″ by 11″ painting on paper and is limited in its color with shades of brown and gray and bits of more vibrant colors.

I do these interior scenes once in a great while, usually employing a window or door as part of the composition.  I enjoy the contrast between the sharp angular geometry of the interior space and the more rolling curves and arcs of the outer landscape.  The window also provides a contrast in darkness and light for this piece, the darker tones of the interior making the lighter exterior scene pop in this composition.

Like my landscapes, I still try to keep details to a minimum.  The interior scene provides more opportunities to embellish, to add more points of interest such as the few things on the table, but I want the larger forms to be the expression in this piece.  I want the piece to still read easily from a distance.  This is similar to the way I felt about my earlier Archaeology series.  There was an area of great detail but I wanted that to be secondary to the whole scene, preferring that the viewer be drawn to the overall feel of the piece first then noticing the detail after.  Also like some of the Archaeology pieces, I’ve added bit of self reference here in the form of the painting on the wal, a small red tree. 

I always like these pieces if only for the difference they display from my other work and the fact that they feel more personal to me, as though the outer scene here is the one I regularly share with the larger world and the interior scene is the part that I don’t show, that part of the self I keep in reserve, hidden from the outer world.   Maybe that is the meaning here.  As for any other message,  I don’t know what they say to others. don’t know if that really matters in the case of these pieces.  Perhaps they are simply what they are, shades of brown and gray and bits of color…

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Symphony

Posted in Painting, Recent Paintings, tagged on May 17, 2011| 7 Comments »

I wrote yesterday about how my upcoming show at the Principle Gallery was beginning to take shape in the studio.  I’ve been thinking about this and thought I might add a few points, maybe clarify things a bit.  Or muddy up the thought process even more.  There’s no telling  at this point.

I view the show not as a group of individual paintings but as a cohesive collection with common threads that run through them, emotional connections that create a unity of feeling across the group.  This is a hard thing to explain and goes beyond subject matter or style and technique when I’m trying to take in the group as a whole.  It comes down to a gut sensation, that feeling of rightness that I’ve struggled to describe before.  For instance, there are a few pieces that I could show with this group but , while they are strong and fully alive, their emotional resonance is slightly out of line with the rest of the work.  I don’t even know where to start in defining this emotional resonance that I’m talking about here.  It’s as though each piece is emitting a tone or a note and I’m trying to choose those pieces that harmonize with one another.

Maybe it’s like a composer putting together a symphonic piece, trying to unite all these disparate instrument and sounds into one united voice.  You can pick out the different themes and tones of the individual instruments but it is the power of the whole that draws you in.

Maybe I shouldn’t view the work for my shows in this manner, should not worry  how the work is assembled as a group.  I mean, it may not even be noticeable to anyone but me.  But I do recognize it when I look at the shows as whole entities and that me feel there is something in it , something that makes the work come together to create something more powerful than the individual elements.  And this unity ultimately enhances each piece.

I don’t think I can really explain this, it being a pretty nebulous concept.  But it does occupy my thoughts for these weeks leading up to a show.  Hopefully, this will be evident in the show.

By the way, the triptych at the top is part of this show, part of the symphony.  It is a work on paper that frames out at 16″ by 34″.  There’s great warmth in this painting, a great sense of security for me.  But the title is still evading me at this time so if you have any suggestions, I would gladly listen.

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Call to Waking

Posted in Painting, Recent Paintings, Technique/History, tagged , on May 16, 2011| 7 Comments »

I’m in the final days of painting for my upcoming show at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria.  I’ve titled this show Now and Then and it opens June 10th.  This past weekend really was extremely productive in the studio, with several pieces finally finished and the overall feel of the show taking  shape.  I had struggled for some time to find real definition for this show, that key factor that hopefully makes  each show distinct.  The past few days has me thinking that this show has found its distinction.

I think that it is defined by a fairly large group of works on paper such as the one shown above,Call to Waking.  This is an 11″ by 11″ image that is a mix of black inks and a sort of sepiatone that is actually a mix of many colors.  As I have described before, my process involves putting a lot of paint on the surface then pulling much of it off, soaking it up with brushes then squeezing them out.  In my old studio, I often found myself squeezing this paint on to the floor which left a huge blackish stain on the flooring there.  I try to be a bit more careful in my newer studio and have made a habit of collecting this paint, which often results in the creation of a color like the sepia of this piece. 

 There are a number of pieces in this show that have either this sepia or black/gray as the base color.  I have shown a few at a time in the past but this will be a substantial group and will provide an interesting juxtaposition between this work and my prototypical work. filled as it is with strong colors.  Seeing the two differing styles side by side in the studio has really shown this contrast.

Many of these pieces have bits of color in them, a faintly red tree or an orangish sun/moon  that pops from the gray/sepia background, but this piece is devoid of color.  I felt that the sepiatone had a warmth in itself and the contrast of the light breaking through the sky provided its own pop.  I felt that  any more color, say with  red roofs, would actually be a distraction here, altering the ample mood that has been created.  I think it works well as it is.

Well, although I could say more, I have work to get to.

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The Supramental Being

Posted in Influences, Painting, Recent Paintings, tagged , on May 11, 2011| 5 Comments »

A newer painting, this one an image of about 18″ by 26″ on paper.  The composition is intentionally simple in that  this piece is obviously very much centered on its color and texture.  The stringlike twirls of its texture create a real feel of motion and energy underneath the image, the hint of the hidden forces of nature  that exist just beyond our ability to recognize or comprehend them.  I don’t know if I would call these  purely physical forces or if they somehow become a spiritual force as well.  For this painting, let’s assume that they are both.

I see the Red Tree here as being enmeshed in both the visible world and in the world of these hidden forces.  While trying to find a way of describing this energy, these hidden forces of life, I came across the writings of Sri Aurobindo, anIndian philosopher/yogi who was very influential in the the first part of the last century.  Some of his writings describe the spiritual evolution of man into what he called the Supramental Being.  Here is how it is described in Wikipedia:

Sri Aurobindo’s vision of the future includes the appearance of what may be called a new species, the supramental being, a divine being which would be as different and superior to present humanity as humanity is to the animal. It would have a consciousness different in kind than the mind of the human, a different status and quality and functioning. Even the physical form of this being would be different, more luminous and flexible and adaptable, entirely conscious and harmonious. Between this supramental being and humanity, there would be transitional beings, who would be human in birth and form, but whose consciousness would approach that of the supramental being. These transitional beings would appear prior to that of the full supramental being, and would constitute an intermediate stage in the Earth’s evolution, through which the soul would pass in its growth towards its divine manifestation as the supramental being in the earth nature.

It is an interesting concept and one that I feel fits the imagery of this painting.  However,  I did think about how the concept was similar in nature to Nietzsche’s Superman  or Ubermensch  and the use of that idea by the Nazis,  how it could easily be diverted from its original meaning and twisted to rationalize behaviors far from the true nature of the concept.  It’s unfortunate that many ideas that are concerned  with the betterment of all people are often perversely used to divide and destroy people.  Here, I am thinking of this concept in the purest sense, of the elevation of the individual to a higher state of being, aware of and in harmony with all the forces of this world.

Or it’s just a tree blown by the wind…

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Good Fortune

Posted in Painting, Recent Paintings, Technique/History, tagged , on April 27, 2011| Leave a Comment »

I’ve been continuing this recent series of  patterned  landscapes, most on paper,  in the studio the past few weeks, falling into a very nice rhythm as I proceed.  This is a recent completion, an 18″ by 25″ image on paper, that has the Red Tree as the central figure in a quiet but bright composition.  The patterned fields of the landscape, like many of the paintings in this series, takes up about half of the composition, solidly built as a foundation to hold up the breaking sky above.

I’m still thinking about what to call this piece.  There is a sense of the idyllic in the scene, hunkered away safely from the intruding fingers of the greater world.  I suppose that’s why I find this work so satisfying as I paint.  There’s a comforting aspect in this work for me.  Soothing. Pacifying.

There’s also a simplicity in it but I would not call it naive.  I have a feeling that while this is an idealization and the landscape portrays the comfortable and safe, there is also an awareness of the world outside.  As though the Red Tree is cognizant of its good fortune in being rooted in this tranquil place.  Perhaps that should be its title- Good Fortune.

Let me think on that…

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Bluette

Posted in Favorite Things, Influences, Painting, Video, tagged , on April 22, 2011| 1 Comment »

Blue II- Joan Miro

When I’m painting, which is most of the time, there are occasional shifts in the work from day to day.  Sometimes they just happen without any forethought, an adding of an element here or there to change the balance of a composition or the touch of a color that may have been absent from the palette for some time. 

 
Then there are conscious decisions made in advance of coming work, such as the decsion ot work in a certain size or medium.  I came across some older work lately in my archives that made me make such a consious decision.  It was a group of  mainly nocturnal scenes done in deep gem-like transparent  blues.  They have a stark and moody feel and, while I always have really thought highly of them, have been out of my repertoire for some time. I’ve got to make an effort to revisit this work and see what emerges.  There’s something different in approaching a painting as an examination of  solely color rather than as harmonizing a landscape’s composition.  The focus on color seems to create its own mood and drama, one that comes across off the wall even in the starkest of compositions.
 
We shall see.  For now, here’s a video that speaks to the subject for me.  It’s Dave Brubeck’s Bluette played over the wondeful work of Joan Miro.  Enjoy.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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