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Archive for the ‘Painting’ Category

Grind

Posted in Biographical, Painting, tagged on January 28, 2009| Leave a Comment »

GrindGrind.

That’s what I call this painting from a year or two back.  It’s a small, simple piece.  A little fanciful perhaps.  For me, there is something personal in the piece.

Whenever I see this piece it reminds me so much of the many jobs I had before literally falling into this career.  I remember the long days spent at real labor where there seemed to be weights on the clock hands, preventing them from moving ahead.  At the A&P I remember another guy and me loading a railroad boxcar with cases of mayonnaise  by hand, filling it completely, one case at a time, deep into the night.  I remember building chimneys with my brother in the mud and snow, hefting each chimney block up the ladder on my hip, each step a struggle as the cold permeated your core.  I remember clearing the land where my home stands, cutting the white pines down and into 8-12 foot lengths and dragging them by hand to the side of the clearing.  I remember starting my overnight shift as a waiter at Perkin’s Restaurant, knowing that there was nothing in store except cooks who just didn’t care and an endless supply of lousy-tipping kids, drunks and other nefarious creatures.  Those nights were the definition of grind, just moving forward one step at a time.

It may sound as though I’m complaining.  I’m not.  I so appreciate each of those work experiences, along with the many others I didn’t mention.  Each had a lesson.  The lesson of endurance.  The lesson of realizing what you can and cannot control.  Focusing on the task at hand and blocking out the rest of the world.  The lesson of discovering what you were and weren’t.  

So when I have what I now consider a hard day in the studio, I remember all the days spent in ice and mud, my boots soaked through and my back and shoulders aching, and I laugh.  

This is a gift.  

That was a grind…

Also, John Updike died yesterday.  Whenever I read anything, I compare them to Updike in my head.  His writing at times left me breathless, having to stop and re-read sentences and paragraphs.  He was a true master and luckily for us, he left a wonderful group of work that will live on.

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Maxfield Parrish

Posted in Influences, Painting, tagged on January 26, 2009| 5 Comments »

Parrish Christmas Morning 1949Today I want to just show the influence of Maxfield Parrish on my work.  He is certainly well known for his fairy tale-like scenes of scantily-clad young women or children  in fantastical settings but I have always loved his other, lesser known work, particularly his landscapes and homescapes.

There’s an intensity and warmth of color that I find completely compelling, drawing you in immediately and immersing you in a luxurious blanket of warm tones.  For instance, in the piece above, Christmas Morning 1949, even though it is a wintry, snowy scene there are warm tones in the snow fields.  It changes how you look at and feel about the scene, differentiating it from the normal, obvious winter landscape.Parrish Hunt Farm

I am also visually excited by the way Parrish used gradience in the colors of his skies, taking a deep rich color at top and drawing it down in lighter fragments of the colors that make up the original color.  It creates a brilliant effect.

The trees often took a central part in his compositions as well, something to which I was obviously attracted.  Many were boldly colored and powerful.

The houses were mainly long range and very idyllic, warm interpretations.  More home than house.  There was never a specific story conveyed in these homes, just an overall feeling that was formed by their part in the overall picture.Parrish Hill Top Farm Winter

I have also been influenced by the way Parrish put his compositions together, how all the elements were placed to create mood.  The way the trees fill the picture plane.  The way the houses are shown, never in full view.  More about feeling and inference rather than representation.

I could go on and on about his work and all the little things comprising his magic that I’ve tried to incorporate into my own work but the images tell the story much better.  Enjoy…

parrishevening-shadows1parrish-the-reservoir-at-villa-falconieri-frascati1

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Seeking Imperfection

Posted in Painting, tagged on January 23, 2009| 2 Comments »

Seeking ImperfectionThis is the title piece from my 2001 show at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria, VA, titled Seeking Imperfection.  I’ve always liked the title to that show (as well as this painting) and the thought behind it  which is that everything is inherently flawed in some fashion.

 I have a belief that for every strength there is a parallel, balancing weakness and that when one seeks perfection in an area of their strength, their area of weakness grows more apparent, more pronounced.  The trick is in maintaining a workable balance between these two poles.

Perhaps it’s a matter of knowing what we aren’t is as important as knowing what we are…

On a separate matter, we have solidified the dates for my 2009 show at the Principle Gallery.  It will open on Friday, June 12 with an opening reception running from 6:30 to 9 PM. It will be my 10th show at the gallery and I’ll be announcing some special things that I will be doing for this show in future posts.

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Arnold Bocklin

Posted in Influences, Painting, tagged , on January 22, 2009| 2 Comments »

arnold-bocklin-the-isle-of-the-dead-1880This is Isle of the Dead from artist Arnold Bocklin, a Symbolist painter of the late 19th century.  This was a painting that Bocklin painted in several versions and is the painting for which he is best known.

I’m showing it because it’s a piece I’ve always been drawn to and to illustrate how an artist gets inspiration from work that is wild divergent from his own.  

Obviously, I don’t paint in a style that resembles Bocklin in any manner but the way he uses great contrasts of light and dark struck me immediately.  When you look at great pieces throughout history, one of the common elements is invariably great contrast.  It creates tension and mood within the piece and draws the eye in.  It heightens the visual impact of any piece.

So when you see a piece of mine with high contrast you can bet I was thinking of Bocklin and many others when I was at work even if there isn’t smidgen of their work visible in mine.

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Obsessionism- The Gathering Light

Posted in Painting, Recent Paintings, Technique/History, tagged , on January 21, 2009| 8 Comments »

The Gathering LightThis is a painting that I finished yesterday while the inauguration of President Obama was unfolding on the television.  I am tentatively calling this piece The Gathering Light although I was considering something to commemorate the day.  I was thinking that the paint strokes in the sky represent the gathered populace yesterday in DC and the central figure, the Red Tree, represents President Obama.  Perhaps the fields and houses in the foreground represent the rest of the USA watching this event take place.   I guess even with that interpretation, the title The Gathering Light is fitting.  Yesterday was a gathering of light.

I consider this a painting in my Obsessionism category.  That really describes the state of mind that takes over me when I work on this type of painting.  There’s a degree of focus and immersion that is different than on other pieces.  Also, the way the piece unfolds before me is different.  It takes shape much quicker and more spontaneously.

This is a 30″ by 40″ canvas so it’s a pretty good size piece which makes the strong color really pop.  I am keeping this in the studio and constantly re-examining it  to make sure that it’s as strong as it can be.  I find that this extra time with the Obessionist pieces is invaluable because it takes me past the period of infatuation with the color and composition and allows me to develop a more objective view of the painting.  But for now, I am pleased with it…

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Light at the End of the Tunnel

Posted in Painting, tagged on January 19, 2009| Leave a Comment »

InvocationI’ve chose the painting to the left, Invocation, for  symbolic reasons.

Today is the last full day of the Bush reign.

For me, and many others, I feel as though we are emerging from a dark era, one that made us question our country’s ability to maintain the ideals we hold so high.

Justice. Fairness. Equality. Opportunity.

The common good.

Freedom.

This painting, to me, symbolizes the movement from darkness to light, the appearance of hope.  As we move forward  along the path, the tree symbolizes our prayers and hopes going out before us.

The invocation of light.  The expressed desire for  a better life, for ourselves and others.

Maybe it’s pie-in-the -sky.  But it feels so much better to have the smallest trace of hope and optimism rather than the cynicism and fear that have encompassed us for all too long.

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Dedicated Follower of Fashion

Posted in Early Paintings, Painting, Video, tagged , , on January 13, 2009| 3 Comments »

Dedicated Follower of FashionThis is called Dedicated Follower of Fashion, based on the song of the same name from the mind of Ray Davies  and the Kinks.  

I call this one of the Exiles pieces but I’m not really sure if it truly fits.  It was done at the same time back in 1995 or ’96 and performed in the same manner but lacks the emotional depth of the others.  In fact, it’s defining feature is its lack of emotional content.  

I think that this blankness may have been the factor that led me to shape this piece into its final form.  The elements of the face were the first part completed and basically dictate, in the way I work, where the painting goes.  For instance, he could have been place on a vast and deep plain that sweeps to the distance behind him but that didn’t fit for me.

There was something in his oddly colored features that reminded me of the vanity and obsequiousness of many fashionistas. And that’s where the Kinks come in.

So, maybe he doesn’t quite fit in with the other Exiles but maybe that in itself makes him an exile of sorts.

Anyway, here are the Kinks doing the song…

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New Obsession

Posted in Painting, Recent Paintings, Technique/History, tagged , on January 12, 2009| 5 Comments »

red-roof-2009-smaller2

Yesterday, I wrote about obsessionism, about immersing yourself in the work and feeling as though you’ve become part of the surface.  Everything moves in a natural, rhythmic fashion.  Intuitive, not thought out.  There’s a feeling of giddiness that goes along with this that I’ve described  before as a kind of intoxication.  This painting, I think, fits into this category as obsessionist.

This is the painting I wrote of last week when I wrote about my new work for this new year  (Differing Technique– January 5 post) and the similarities of it to my Red Roof series from several years back.  This is the larger piece I was working on at the time, a 24″ by 48″ birch panel.

I always feel exhilarated when I paint in this style, excited by the pop of color and the building of brushstrokes.  I spend a lot of time just looking at these pieces and feel really drawn into them. There is a great balance I feel in these paintings between stillness and power as though I were at the absolute center, the middle line dividing the two opposing poles that make up everything.  They are strong yet calm.

Again, I struggle with the words…

As with much of my work, the title for this piece has not yet come around and I want something bold and unique for this painting.  I think it deserves it.

I am open to suggestions or even an opinion on the painting…

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Beyond the Crossroads

Posted in Painting, Technique/History on January 7, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Beyond the CrossroadsOccasionally, certain paintings just don’t strike a strong enough chord with someone and remain unsold.  They move from gallery to gallery, hoping that a different area will have that specific person who sees what this painting has to offer.  Eventually, they run their course and  come back to my studio.

I’ve been pretty fortunate in that this doesn’t happen too often.  But when it does it gives me an opportunity to really take another, closer look at the piece and try to determine if there is something missing or if the viewing public just didn’t see what was there.  Sometimes, the answers are obvious.  The painting be a large piece which sometimes takes a bit longer to find a home– not everyone has the room or cash for a very large piece.  

Sometimes after a piece has been in the studio, I begin to see flaws that I might not have seen before.  A lack of depth as the eye moves into the picture plane.  Flatness of color.  Small things that might be imperceptible but are just enough to keep someone from fully connecting with the work.

But sometimes a piece comes home and I’m stumped.  This is one of those, a painting called Beyond the Crossroads.  I remember completing this painting and feeling that this was a strong and special piece.  I was sure it would reach out and touch someone but it made the rounds and ended up hanging in my studio.  I look at this piece everyday and am always pleased but puzzled, my eyes scanning the picture to find that element that might be the detraction. 

But I always end up happy that I have this painting in my possession because sometimes I have regretted letting go of those strong and special paintings.  Perhaps, this piece was destined for me alone…

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Exiles: The Creeper

Posted in Influences, Painting, tagged , , , on January 6, 2009| 1 Comment »

The CreeperThe Creeper is another of the Exiles series although he is an anomaly in the series.  He does not mirror the sense of loss or suffering of the other pieces.  He is not the mournful exile.

He is the menace of dark dreams. He is always there, looming halfway in the bedroom window.  

But, while he is a little scary, there is a bit of whimsy in his appearance.  He is more cartoonish than the others.  When I look at this face I am constantly reminded of the movie parodies from the beloved  Mad magazine of my youth, with their Mad Magazine Godfather Parodyoversized, caricatured faces.  This softens the whole feel of the piece for me and makes him less terrifying.

Now, whether someone without that same frame of reference will see him in the same way is another question.  Without that reference, maybe he is as creepy as his name.

For me, The Creeper  always brings back the memory of a young friend who loved this painting and truly identified with everything about it.  He saw the humor but felt the darkness of it as well.  He was a vibrant, whirlwind of energy  who knew well about the personal demons so depicted in this painting.  He was a tortured personality and took his own life several years ago.  For him, The Creeper was all too real.

This one’s for you, Scott…

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