Quote | Redtree Times

Archive for the ‘Quote’ Category

Looking at the World Twice

Posted in Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged Alicja Mann, KADA Gallery, Saint Vincent on April 6, 2009| 1 Comment »

About a year ago I received an e-mail from Alicja Mann. She is a writer with an interesting past, living now in Arizona who has a couple of my paintings. She informed me that she was working on a new book of essays and poetry and wanted to use the image from one of the paintings of mine that she owned on the cover. I was honored that she chose to use my work and gave my okay.

It had completely slipped my mind until this morning when I received another e-mail from Alicja with the announcement that her book was out. She explained that she had encountered obstacles in the past year that had slowed her progress in completing her project but had overcome them and was pleased with the final product.

According to the book’s website: “The author writes from the perspective of “the other European” (from Eastern Europe) and “the other American” (an immigrant). She came to the States from Poland at a time when it was still dominated by Soviet-style Communism. In her new country she transformed herself from a scientist to a writer. These essays and poems take the reader on a journey through space and time addressing issues of identity, alienation, belonging, and responsibility. Sometimes funny, sometimes tearful, but always thoughtful, this book charms and provokes. It invites the reader to sit and reflect, as symbolized by the art on the cover.”

As you can see, she deals with many of the same issues as I do with my work. I look forward to reading it soon and am sure it will inspire something new in my own work. You can click on the book cover shown to go the book’s website.

In other publishing news, another painting of mine was used on the cover of Saint Vincent Vitals, the quarterly magazine of the western Pennsylvania based regional health care provider.

Over the years, a number of people associated with Saint Vincent have acquired pieces of mine through the Kada Gallery in Erie. I have met many of them at the gallery so was pleased when the magazine contacted me several months ago for permission to use my work on their cover.

Though I don’t actively seek this type of exposure for my work, it’s always interesting to see the work in a different context. It allows me to see a bit how others view the work, to see what emotion it evokes in them. In both of the cases shown, I think they both see it as I do.

And that is gratifying…

Read Full Post »

Reaching…

Posted in Quote, tagged Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse Five on April 2, 2009| 6 Comments »

Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.

-Kurt Vonnegut

The quote above is from the late writer Kurt Vonnegut, who was one of the writing heroes of my youth. I read his Slaughterhouse Five, a WW II dark comedy novel, over and over during my teens and twenties. I identified strongly with his point of view and the aloofness of many of his main characters. They always seemed slightly out of place in their worlds and times which appealed to the same feeling I have often felt.

I like this quote a lot. It’s very arguable, simple but with aspects that are contradictory and open to debate.

When I first looked at the quote I thought of someone who aspires to a career as an artist or writer. I remember reading many years ago some advice to prospective artists that said to be an artist you must first act like an artist. The writer’s point was that if you thought of yourself of an artist and did all the things an artist did with the same dedication, then eventually you would find you were truly an artist.

I have found this to be true, to a degree and with a few caveats. For instance, I think this only applies if you stick with this for a long period of time. Pretending you’re something for several months or a year only means you tried but couldn’t maintain the dedication that is required. Doing it for a long time means going through the ups and downs of a career, the thrill of success and the abyss of being rejected. Time means going through periods of creativity and periods when there is seemingly nothing. But if you are what you say you are, you forge on.

But before you pretend to be what you wish to be, know what the pitfalls are that accompany your choice.

This is kind of a continuation of yesterday’s blog, The Spiral, where I talked about expanding my horizon and thinking bigger. I hope that more people reach out for what they really want and find the dedication in themselves that is needed to live the life they want.

The key is to never stop reaching…

Read Full Post »

The Spiral

Posted in Influences, Neat Stuff, Quote, tagged Goethe, Great Salt Lake, Robert Smithson, Spiral Jetty on April 1, 2009| 6 Comments »

Progress has not followed a straight ascending line, but a spiral
with rhythms of progress and retrogression, of evolution and dissolution.

– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I was looking at a book catalog yesterday, just browsing for something new and I spotted a book on the works of Robert Smithson, who is best known for his monumental earthworks. The most famous is shown here, the Spiral Jetty, which juts out into the Great Salt Lake in Utah. I’ve always been somewhat fascinated by earth-moving on a large scale and have always admired Smithson’s work.

The reason I mention this now is that I found myself thinking smaller lately, painting smaller paintings for a smaller economy. Part of this was a conscious decision but part was the result of just becoming a little more wary with all the turmoil in the world. There has been a period of introversion marked by a noticeable withdrawal from thinking boldly. Seeing this reminded me of the need to think big.

I realized I had become a bit fearful of pushing myself, perhaps afraid of exposing my limitations. I had lost a little faith in my own abilities, including the ability to adapt to new challenges.

I was being safe. It was the retrogression that Goethe talks of in the quote above. I was in the spiral.

This all flashed in my head within a few seconds of seeing the spiral jetty. Funny how a single image can trigger a stream of thought with so many branches off of it.

I had forgotten that I had to trust myself and throw the fear of failure aside, that thinking bold almost always summons up the best in many people. Once you say that you don’t give a damn what anyone says, that if you fail so be it, the road opens up before you and your mind finds a way to get you on it.

So I have to remember to think big.

To look past the horizon. Just freaking do it.

Then progress will come…

Read Full Post »

Rules

Posted in Painting, Quote, Technique/History, tagged Henry David Thoreau, Rules on March 1, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Any fool can make a rule, and any fool will mind it.

-Henry David Thoreau

I have always had a problem with adhering to rules, in practically all aspects of my life. It’s as though when a rule is presented, a part of me automatically starts figuring out an exception to the rule, a way to go around it. In everyday life this not always a desirable trait, often putting one at odds with the law and one’s own conscience. But, as luck would have it, this trait is indispensable in art.

It’s always amazing to me how many artists are tied to their own set of rules and nothing can deter this adherence, even if straying a bit might actually cause their work to really blossom. For instance, I know a painter who can only paint what is before him and will not add or subtract any detail from the scene. He once showed me a painting that was really painted beautifully, rich and bold. Everything worked well and the piece was really eye-catching except for a telephone pole that bisected, in a very intrusive fashion, the very middle of the canvas. It was a real distraction that threw off the whole weight of the composition

“Why is this pole here?” I asked.

He gave me a quizzical look and explained that it was in the scene as he had photographed it. When I asked if it had any purpose in the painting he said that it didn’t but it was part of the original scene.

There was a certain realization that came from this brief exchange. I realized that there were truly talented artists who would always be shackled by their own rules and that absolute adherence to any arbitrary rule can be the death of creative expression.

Now, I’m sure there will be those who would argue this point and would be able to point out any number of examples that might contradict this statement. So what? They are mere exceptions to this loosely formed rule.

So, kids, the moral of this story : In art, keep the rules around as guidelines, but when you need to paint outside the lines, just do it.

Read Full Post »

On Christmas Morning

Posted in Quote, tagged Charles Dickens, Christmas on December 25, 2008| 2 Comments »

Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childish days; that can recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth; that can transport the sailor and the traveller, thousands of miles away, back to his own fire-side and his quiet home!

~Charles Dickens

Read Full Post »

A Time for Giving

Posted in Quote, tagged Charity, Cowboy hat, Stetson on December 21, 2008| Leave a Comment »

Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance

– St. Francis of Assisi

On this last Sunday before Christmas, I’d like to make one more appeal to everyone out there to extend a little charity to those who need a little help. Give what you can, be it cash or food or a bit of your time. Believe me, it is needed because until there is universal fairness and justice in this world, there will always be the need for others to help.

I’m showing a Stetson I painted for a museum fundraiser several years ago, not because this was a supreme act of charity, because it certainly was not, but to illustrate the point that there are ways one can help even if they can’t afford to do so monetarily.

Just try to give a bit. You’ll feel better for it.

Read Full Post »

Kandinsky Was Here

Posted in Influences, Quote, tagged Kandinsky on December 16, 2008| Leave a Comment »

In the final analysis, every serious work is tranquil….Every serious work resembles in poise the quiet phrase, ” I am here.” Like or dislike for the work evaporates; but the sound of that phrase is eternal.

– Wassily Kandinsky

The above quote is from Wassily Kandinsky and concisely captures what might be the primary motive for my work. I think, for me, it was a matter of finding that thing, that outlet that gave me voice, that allowed me to honestly feel as though I had a place in this world. That I had worth. That I had thoughts deserving to be heard. That I was, indeed, here.

That need to validate existence is still the primary driver behind my work. It is that search for adequacy that gives my work its expression and differentiates it from others. I’ve never said this before but I think that is what many people who respond to my work see in the paintings- their own need to be heard. They see themselves as part of the work and they are saying, “I am here.”

Hmmm….

Read Full Post »

Edison

Posted in Early Paintings, Quote, tagged Exiles, Thomas Edison on December 14, 2008| Leave a Comment »

Opportunity is missed by most people

because it is dressed in overalls

and looks like work.

– Thomas Edison

The painting to the right is from a very early series that I painted in 1995, Exiles. It was the group of work that I showed as the basis for my first solo exhibition and remains very close to my heart. I will write more about this series in the future but for now, enjoy your Sunday.