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Archive for the ‘Quote’ Category

Expansion

Posted in Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , , , , on December 4, 2014| 6 Comments »

GC Myers- Expansion smMan’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.

-Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

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This another new painting,  a 16″ by 20″ canvas titled Expansion, that is part of my show, Into the Common Ground, that opens tomorrow in Erie, PA at the Kada Gallery.

For me, this is a painting whose theme is centered on the expansion of one’s mind and vision, about moving to a higher plateau of feeling and taking a wider view of the world.  This involves leaving the mind open to new ideas with the hope that these new ideas bring some form of enlightenment and that the negatives– hatred, greed, anger and envy just to name a few–that we have held on to for so long will be replaced by more positive qualities–love, generosity and kindness.

I see this expansion in the way the Red Tree seems to be facing the far horizon with arms open, unashamed and willing to submit itself to change.  It stands among the alternating rows of the field which represent in this piece being trapped in the entrenched patterns of habit.  By that, I mean we all too often live without thought, going with the prevailing movement of the crowd and never taking the time to stop and consider why and what we are doing.  We accept things as they are without trying to contemplate the possibility of things being somehow different, never consider opening ourselves to a different way of seeing the world.

A different way of simply being.

And I see this possibility, this expansiveness,  in this simply composed piece.  It is a feeling that is calm and kind and embracing– ideas that we all will hopefully allow to stretch our own minds.

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Blaze

Posted in Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , , on November 25, 2014| 4 Comments »

In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.

–Albert Schweitzer

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GC Myers- Blaze smMy show, Into the Common Ground, has been delivered to the Kada Gallery, well in advance of the December 5th opening.  While it is a relief to complete the task and have the work out into the world, there are always those pieces that I wish I could spend a bit more time with.  This is especially true of the paintings that were completed in the final weeks.

These pieces usually are done in the midst of  a deep groove that has developed over the months leading up to the show and often feel effortless in their creation, a culmination of purpose and effort coming together.  But they are done and suddenly gone before I have fully taken in their fullness for an extended period of time.  And I am left wishing I could have spent more time absorbing their essence a bit more.

Such is the case with this painting, Blaze, a 20″ by 24″ canvas.  It was one of the last pieces completed and made quite an impression before it left soon after.

It is a simple piece, one that relies on its color , lines and texture to carry the weight of it.  For me, the Red Tree here is an example of the the inner fire coming forth and displaying itself to the world.  I felt that the quote at the top from Schweitzer was very fitting.  Most people have something inside that inspires passion, sets them ablaze.  It often goes untended, sputtering with that person left feeling that there is no one with which to share it — no one to take in the warmth of the fire.

I know this is true for my work, that thing which is an emanation of my own inner fire.  Without sharing it, without feeling that it is tended by others, it would likely sputter and go out.  Without the eyes of those fire-tenders my work, my fire,  would not exist.

So in this week of giving thanks, I send out a sincere thank you to those who have kept my fire alive through the years.  To my family and friends, to those who work with me at the galleries, to the collectors and the readers of this blog, I extend my deepest thanks for kindling this fire.  I have enjoyed the warmth and hope it has warmed you as well.

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Out of Line

Posted in Painting, Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 17, 2014| Leave a Comment »

I have never listened to anyone who criticized my taste in space travel, sideshows or gorillas. When this occurs, I pack up my dinosaurs and leave the room.
― Ray Bradbury

Zen and the Art of Writing

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GC Myers- Out of Line smI am in the final stages of preparing work for my show, Into the Common Ground, that opens December 5th at the Kada Gallery in Erie.  Final touches on the last few paintings. Framing. Packing.  Details, details, details.

  It is  both my favorite time and least favorite time in the studio.  Favorite because if things go as normal, the work peaks right about this time and the show’s personality and feel really shows through.  I can now see the work as a group hanging in my mind and witnessing it as it comes together is a wonderful feeling that repels the ever present self-doubts that creep in from time to time– still.

It is my least favorite because of the all important detail work that takes place.  This week will be filled with last brush strokes, the smell of varnish and stain in the air and the dust from freshly sanded frames coating my clothing.  It’s not that I mind doing this work–it’s exhilarating to see a piece sometimes transform when it is framed.  It’s just that mind is moving ahead of my body.  I am already seeing in my mind new work inspired by the flurry of the last work from this show but can’t act on it as my body is busy on the details of the show.  There’s a weird tension between the relief of being done with a group of work and wanting to keep going that puts me a bit on edge during this time.

The piece above is one of the later pieces from this group.  It’s a 12″ by 36″ painting on canvas that I call Out of Line.  It is obviously, or so I think, that this is a piece that deals with our singularity as individuals.

For many of us, stepping out of line or expressing our individuality is an uncomfortable thing.  We don’t have the comfort and protection of the crowd to hide our flaws, our quirks.  But for some, it is just a matter of being.  They accept and even celebrate their own flaws and quirks because they make them who they are.  And that is as it should be.

Or so I think.

I don’t think I need to go any further on this painting– it speaks very well for itself, thank you.

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Cradle of Light

Posted in Biographical, Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , , , , on November 11, 2014| Leave a Comment »

The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities of darkness.

–Vladimir Nabokov

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GC Myers- Cradle of LightThis another painting that is headed to the Kada Gallery as part of my solo show, Into the Common Ground, opening there on December 5th.  I call this 12″ by 16″ canvas Cradle of Light, very much based on the idea expressed in the quote above from Vladimir Nabokov.  Similarly, I tend to believe that our lives are bursts of ephemeral light in the darkness of the universe, so preciously short that each moment in the light is a gift.

Maybe that explains my rising at the first vague hint of light in the early morning sky.  Our time here seems so short , so tenuous, that to waste the light seems foolhardy.  Of course, this realization doesn’t keep me  from squandering this rare commodity on an epic scale nearly every day.  But at first light I am always reminded of the fact of our mortality, of that short time we have to fulfill our purpose here.

Whatever that purpose might be…

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Listening to the Muse

Posted in Painting, Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , on November 7, 2014| 6 Comments »

Spend time every day listening to what your muse is trying to tell you.

–Saint Bartholomew

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GC Myers- Listening to the MuseThis is an 18″ by 18″ canvas that is headed to the Kada Gallery in Erie in a few weeks for my show, Into the Common Ground, that opens there on December 5th.  I call this painting Listening to the Muse, very much in line with the quote from St. Bartholomew from back in the 1st century AD.  It was true then and still is, twenty centuries later.

I see this piece as being about the value of silent listening, of finding a quietness of mind and spirit that allows one to observe the world as it moves  along.  I think  the muse dwells in those deep recesses of quiet, timelessly waiting to reveal its secrets if only we can calm the chaos and sound surrounding us long enough to hear.

This is one of those pieces where I could write for hours and not add a bit to what the painting itself reveals with a glimpse.  That being said, I will shut up and listen. Hopefully, the muse will appear.

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Fauve Attitude

Posted in Influences, Quote, Technique/History, tagged , , , , , , on November 6, 2014| 1 Comment »

Maurice de Vlaminck- Houses at Chatou 1905

Maurice de Vlaminck- Houses at Chatou 1905

When I get my hands on painting materials I don’t give a damn about other people’s painting… every generation must start again afresh.

— Maurice de Vlaminck

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I have to admit I don’t know much about French painter Maurice de Vlaminck  (vlah-mink)  who lived from 1876 until 1958.  His work is best known for a short period  in the early years of the 20th century when he was considered one of the leading lights, along with Andre Derain and Henri Matisse, of the Fauve movement.  Fauve translates as wild beast and the style of these painters was very much like  that to the sensibilities of that time.  It was brightly colored with brash brushwork and little attention paid to detail.  It was all about expression and emotion.

I recognize some of his early Fauvist work, mainly for the obvious influence of Vincent Van Gogh  it exhibits, and none of his later which becomes less colorful and exuberant, perhaps shaped by his experiences in WW I.  But his name is one that I have often shuffled over without paying too much time to look deeper.

Maurice de Vlaminck At the Bar 1900

Maurice de Vlaminck- At the Bar 1900

But I came across this quote and it struck me immediately.  It was a feeling that I have often felt  when I immerse myself in my work.  All thoughts of other painters– of their influence, of comparisons and artistic relationships– fade into nothing.  It is only me at that moment faced with the task of pulling something new and alive from the void.  I can’t worry myself at that moment about what other painters are doing.  Their whats and hows and whys  are all moot to me then because I am only trying to express something from within.  It might only exist and live for me in that instant, though I hope it transcends the moment, but that is the whole purpose and all of the works of all the painters throughout time can’t change this singular expression of this moment.

This single, simple quote brought me into kinship with de Vlaminck and made me promise myself to explore more deeply into his work and life so that when I come across his name in the future I don’t simply skim past without a thought.  But when I am painting, rest assured I will not be thinking of Maurice de Vlaminck.  And that is as it should be…

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A More Than Ordinary Moment

Posted in Favorite Things, Influences, Quote, tagged , on November 1, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Robert Henri Quote Boundless

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The Moment of Decision

Posted in Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , , , , on October 30, 2014| 2 Comments »

One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. Which road do I take? she asked. Where do you want to go? was his response. I don’t know, Alice answered. Then, said the cat, it doesn’t matter.

–Lewis Carroll

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GC Myers- The Moment of Decision smMaybe I should call this new painting The Cheshire Cat Tree instead of The Moment of Decision, which is the title I  gave to it.  There is a sort of  built-in grin in the curve of the lower path, as though it is all that remains after the Cheshire Cat has disappeared and the advice he offered Alice in the quote at the top seems to fit so well with anyone coming to any fork in the road.  And the Red Tree offers only, like the Cheshire  Cat, enigmatic advice and guidance at best for it knows that we alone are responsible for our decisions and the path that we will ultimately follow.

For me, this painting also has an interesting interplay between the direction of the two paths,  the lower one being more earthly and the other heading upward  toward a light filled horizon and the heavens above.  It seems to break the painting in two parts, opposing forces that co-exist in harmony.  Yin and yang.

Just a thought.

The Moment of Decision is 24″ by 36″ on canvas and will be part of my show at the Kada Gallery in Erie, PA opening December 5.

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Many Ways to Wander

Posted in Painting, Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , , , on October 23, 2014| 4 Comments »

GC Myers- Many Ways to Wander smWandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe.

-Anatole France

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On Monday,  I showed  a work-in-progress at an early stage of a painting that is bound for my December show at the Kada Gallery in Erie, PA.  Above is the resulting painting,  a 24″ by 48″ canvas that I am calling Many Ways to Wander.

For me, the title connects with the many paths that show themselves to the eye, from the fragmented white roads going in what seem to be several directions among the rolling foothills to the observatory’s relationship with the sun and space.  There is also the Red Tree’s posture which represents a spiritual questioning of the universe.  I also see it in the depth created by the distant hills and valleys, which create a sort of visual portal, representing for me an inner wandering.

There is a lot going on in this painting, with direction, color and shape.  But despite this it remains a quiet contemplative piece, with a sun that oversees all and acknowledges our need to search with a cool and non-judgmental eye, knowing that each will find their own path to follow in their own way.  And that is as it should be.

I’m enjoying this piece in the studio over the past few days.  There always seems to be a new angle to see it from, something new to glean from the details and forms, and that seems to pull m eye to it on a regular basis.  I find myself wandering in it throughout the day and I am calmed by it.  And that is all I can ask of it…

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Family Lines

Posted in Influences, Personal Mythology, Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , , , , on October 21, 2014| 5 Comments »

In different hours, a man represents each of several of his ancestors, as if there were seven or eight of us rolled up in each man’s skin, — seven or eight ancestors at least, — and they constitute the variety of notes for that new piece of music which his life is.
―Ralph Waldo Emerson

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GC Myers- Family Lines smThis is another newer painting that is headed to Erie for my show, Into the Common Ground,  in December at the Kada Gallery.  This 30′ by 40″ canvas is titled Family Lines with the Red Tree serving as the symbol of a family tree and the Red Chair acting as an offspring of it.  The broken segments of the winding path leading up to it represent for me the often arduous task of finding your connection to this tree while the light of the sky represents ultimate discovery and illumination.

I’ve often felt as though I had little definition of myself or my connection to the world through my ancestors.  My work as an artist has helped change this in many ways, giving me a portal for displaying who I am or  at least aspire to be in definition.  But my connection to my ancestors was always vague and hidden away beyond my knowledge.  I wondered who they were, what their stories held  and what traits they fed forward  through time to me.  I began to study my genealogy, hoping to discover some form of connection with the past that might help me better understand who I was in the present.  To discover what worlds the winding path that led to my own life traveled through.

It’s been a wonderful process that has given me greater connection with the past and with the history of this country and with those countries that gave birth to my ancestors.  Naturally, I am always drawn to the grand stories that are uncovered, the heroic and celebrated ancestors that I find myself hoping have somehow contributed some of their positive traits to my DNA.  But I am equally intrigued and touched by the simple and sometimes tragic tales that are uncovered.

I had earlier written of a great grand uncle who had lived his whole life in a county home for the infirmed. He was described in the censuses during his life as “feeble-minded” and he was unceremoniously buried  in an unmarked grave there at the county home.  I recently came across his death certificate and they listed him as a lifelong sufferer of epilepsy.  It made the story even more tragic in that this was perhaps a person who had a condition that would be treatable today.

I think of this person quite often.  His story is as much a part of that tree as those of  its more celebrated members.  It may not be the most beautiful leaf on the branch but it is there.  As Emerson says, we represent in some form a number of our ancestors and whose to say what part this ancestor plays in that piece of new music that is my life.

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