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Archive for the ‘Recent Paintings’ Category

Purifying Light

Posted in Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , , on March 18, 2014| 4 Comments »

GC Myers- Purifying Light smSolitude is the place of purification.

–Martin Buber

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I call this new painting, a fairly large 20″ by 60″ canvas, Purifying Light.  There’s something about the light from the sun here that speaks to me of the burning away of impurities, of purging the darkness with light.  Light is the revelator of truth and truth is the revelator of flaws and impurities.

That sounds a bit too dramatic, a bit too preachy for what I am trying to get across here.  But it’s always hard to get across vague but large concepts.  I think we all possess flaws and impurities that we live with by hiding them in the shadows around us– with half-truths told, hidden histories and diversions that take the light from these flaws.  But at some point, these imperfections always come to light in some form, revealing our true selves, our true natures.

At first blush that sounds awful.  But ultimately that is when and where we find the peace and acceptance of  the truth of our reality– what we are and what we are not.  The light of this truth burns away the weight of those imperfections, like the rust and barnacles being stripped away from the hull of a steel ship.  As the ship glides easier through the water freed from these things that once clung to it so do we move forward, freed from the burdens of our faults.

Okay, there’s a bit of hyperbole here.  But there is something in this piece, perhaps because of it’s large size and strong colors, that inspires a little heightened rhetoric.  It is calm and introspective but with an exclamation point.  And I kind of like that…

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A World To Call One’s Own

Posted in Motivation, Painting, Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , , on March 10, 2014| 4 Comments »

A World To Call One's Own smMen fear thought as they fear nothing else on earth — more than ruin, more even than death.  Thought is subversive and revolutionary, destructive and terrible, thought is merciless to privilege, established institutions, and comfortable habits; thought is anarchic and lawless, indifferent to authority, careless of the well-tried wisdom of the ages.  Thought looks into the pit of hell and is not afraid … Thought is great and swift and free, the light of the world, and the chief glory of man.

–Bertrand Russell

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I was looking at the painting above, a newly finished  12″ by 12″ canvas, trying to ascertain what it was saying to me.  I was picking up all sorts of symbols from it and was seeing it in from all sorts of perspectives but finally it came clear to me what I was seeing in this piece.  It was the freedom to create our own worlds, to define our own way of seeing and experiencing that world.  That freedom, that need to create my own world, is what always drew me to creative outlets.  It is certainly what drive me in my painting.

I didn’t always like what I saw in the outer world of reality and was usually powerless to change it.  But in my thoughts I could create an inner world that had reason and empathy or at least what I saw as reason and empathy.  It would be a place where these better thoughts could live and grow without the fear of being crushed by thoughtless others, people shackled to ideologies and beliefs that they accept and follow without questioning.  Without thinking.

That’s what these blood-red rows in the fields and the teal mound  and the cascading colors in the sky say to me.  This is my world and there, these all make perfect sense.  It is a place where one is always free to think what they might.  I think that’s why I chose the quote above from Bertrand Russell.  We all too often choose to not think, to just float along with the prevailing thought  of others, never trusting our own thoughts enough to fully live by them.  I know I certainly have fallen into that category in the past.

But we all have our own private worlds of wonder  inside of us if we dare to simply think.

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Shambhala

Posted in Influences, Painting, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , , , on March 3, 2014| 4 Comments »

GC Myers Shambhala smAccording to Buddhist tradition, Shambhala is name given to what they consider the Pure Land, a utopia of sorts whose reality is as much spiritual as it is physical.  A place where everyone achieves a state of enlightenment and peace and tranquility.  Author James Hilton morphed the name into Shangri-La for his novel Lost Horizon which describes a group of Westerners who find themselves the guests in a small idyllic nation of this name tucked away in a protected Himalayan valley.

Whatever you call it, the idea of a place of enlightenment and peace seems pretty attractive to me these days, given the many events going on in the world being driven forward by such negative factors as greed, hate and fear.  That tranquil inner place is what I see in this new painting, an 18″ by 36″ canvas that carries this name, Shambhala.  The road , for me, represents the search that leads to this elusive state and the sun  a blissful guide with a warm lure that radiates throughout the sky.  The Red Tree is on a small peninsula set into a calm body of water, still attached to the world  but in an ethereal space.  It is in a state of being where it is firmly in the moment, having set aside the past and disregarding the future.  Just absorbing the now.

That’s what I see and that is what I imagine how that moment might feel but I am still on that path, looking ahead for a sight of that hopeful destination.

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Happy Trails

Posted in Music, Painting, Recent Paintings, Video, tagged , , , , , , , , , on February 24, 2014| 3 Comments »

GC Myers- Happy Trails smI finished this painting, a 10″ by 20″ canvas,  over the weekend.  Every piece has a different feel in process.  Some are struggles, not wanting to show me a way through to the finish.  Every decision and move must be really scrutinized.  Some show me a way but leave me uneasy about my choices until near the end.  And some, like this painting, open wide and invite me in, the process feeling almost effortless.

This painting felt right from the moment it went on the easel.  The composition fell together easily and the colors meshed immediately which left me feeling as though I was simply along for the ride.  Not painting but rather just observing it coming together.  It’s an interesting feeling and one that is highly desirable, at least for me, as the resulting work usually feels naturally free and easy.

And for me this piece has this feel.  It flows easily and the warmth of its colors and the rising elevation of it gives me a sense of joy, as though it represents a desired destination, an endpoint to a long journey.  You always hope that your journey will end well and this piece is symbolic of that hope.  I call it Happy Trails.

Some of you of a certain age will probably immediately associate this with the theme song  of  film and television cowboy Roy Rogers , written by his wife, cowgirl Dale Evans.  Those of you of a slightly younger age will probably think of the song that Van Halen with David Lee Roth used to end its shows.  And those of an even younger age will probably just think that its a catchy title.  I fall into the first group, having watched reruns of the Roy Rogers Show on Saturday mornings as a kid, mainly because we only had a couple of channels.  Plus, I did like Trigger and Roy’s sidekick, Gabby Hayes.  And the theme song which ended every show.

It’s a catchy and pleasantly warm song.  Its feel and title fit this painting well.  Here’s a lovely version that I found online from a gentleman on a ukulele named Patrick Hildebrand Sr. from the Amazing Music Store in Pacific Palisades, California.  The uke’s warm tones and his pleasant voice fit this song well.

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Buddha Candle

Posted in Painting, Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , on February 17, 2014| 2 Comments »

GC Myers Pure Joy smI used the term joyous melancholy in yesterday’s blog to describe the feeling of a painting and a moment, the paradox of finding some sort of small pleasure in a gloomy moment.  It’s a delicate but satisfying feeling, one that solemnly affirms one’s humanity.  The new painting above, an 8″ by 24″ canvas,  is the opposite of that.  It is not paradoxical in any way nor is its message delicately or solemnly expressed.  It is pure color and joy that proudly displays what it is with gusto.

It’s a very strong, almost muscular piece in its expression.  Bold and unapologetic.  Willing to share its glee with anyone who is drawn to look at it.  It brings to mind a quote from Buddha: Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. 

A reminder that our joy is not a finite product, that it should be a shared experience.  I think I will call this painting  Buddha Candle.

On yet another below zero morning, I am enjoying the warmth and joy in this piece.

 

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Brighter Days Ahead

Posted in Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , on February 13, 2014| 5 Comments »

GC Myers- Brighter Days AheadThe future ain’t what it used to be.

–Yogi Berra

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I like winter and winter weather.

Maybe that’s part of the contrarian streak in me. I don’t know.  But even I am kind of surprised at the way this year’s winter has bared its fangs for much of the eastern part of the country and find myself looking forward to warmer weather.  You know, temperatures in the high 20’s and 30’s.

This new piece is part of the series of paintings that I have been working on lately that feature snow as part of the composition.  This piece, which I call Brighter Days Ahead, is on paper and measures 14″ by 24″.  There’s a lot of bands of texture swirling through this piece and a lot of embedded layers of color throughout.  Here in the studio where you can take in the depth of its texture and the contrast between the dark linework and the color, this piece has quite a striking appearance.  I am not sure my photography can fully capture the effect.

There is a real feeling of optimism and warmth in this painting, which gave rise to the title.  The colors of the sky and the sun rising in the center represents a warmer and gentler future, which  is obviously optimistic.  The future should be optimistic.  Anything less means that we have caved in to our fears, seeing only the worst scenarios,   and lost faith in our ability to persevere.

I sometime fall into that trap and follow the lead of my fears.  But history tells us that there are always two futures– those that we imagine and those that we make– and that the two most often are not the same.  Throughout history, we have always seen the worst in the future.  Doom and gloom, the end of days descending on us.  But somehow we always make it past that imagined future and beginning forming the next future to dread.  And it will come and not meet up with our fears.  Oh, it will  not be everything we hope because things, by nature, change and we always resist change.

The future is a foreign land to us and we will never be quite comfortable there.  It might not be perfect but perhaps it won’t be so bad.  Just a bit different.  And if we remember  that, we might even see the sun that will assuredly still be shining above.  And begin imaging a new future.

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The Eternal Gaze

Posted in Recent Paintings, tagged , , , on February 6, 2014| 3 Comments »

GC Myers- Eternal GazeThis past week on the blog, I’ve been putting up images from a group of work that is part of the Little Gems show that opens tomorrow at the West End Gallery.  I was going to show yet another snow painting in honor of our recent wintry weather- it’s hovering around zero on the thermometer and everything is covered with a white layer of snow here.  But this painting struck me this morning.  Maybe it was the warmth of the sky.

It’s called The Eternal Gaze and is about 4″ by 6″ on paper.  The large bird who seems to be overseeing the whole scene and the atmospheric glow give this an otherworldly feel.  Large birds, especially crows and ravens, have always had an otherworldly quality for me, their watchful intelligence always coming across as some sort of deeper and timeless wisdom.  As though they are and have been witnesses to our time in this world.

The contrast between the light of the sky and the darkness of the bony tree and the bird creates a nice tension within the picture but it’s the simple silhouette of the bird that changes the whole feeling and focus of it.  Without the gazing black bird this piece felt much different.  Again, the bird carries a certain cache in its symbolism.

Actually, since the snow piece I was going to show had several birds in a tree in a more wintry setting and also alluded to their watchfulness, why not show it as well?  This is Winter Watchers and is a mere 2.5″ by 3″  on paper.  Both are currently at the West End Gallery.

GC Myers- Winter Watchers

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Memory Way

Posted in Influences, Personal Mythology, Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , , on February 4, 2014| 4 Comments »

GC Myers-Memory Way smEvery man’s memory is his private literature.

-Aldous Huxley

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As I have stated in the past here, the Red Chair, an icon that often appears in my work, is a symbol to me of people and places and experiences from the past.  In short, my memory.  In this new piece, Memory Way, that is most certainly the case.  This little painting, 2″ by 5″ on paper, is another of my pieces from the Little Gems exhibit which opens Friday at the West End Gallery.

The road here represents to me the continuum of time.  The landscape is almost idyllic, perhaps representing my tendency to block out the worst parts of memory.  At least, to downplay them and keep them in the background and to put what good there was there in the best possible light.  I like to revisit the past occasionally and I have to make it a place where I am comfortable.  A past filled with nothing but dark and fear-filled memories is no place to venture on a regular basis.

Anyway, this little piece makes me happy and fills my mind with a feeling of good memories.  As Huxley said  above, our memory is our own private literature, filled with the memories of our lives and the lives of our ancestors.  I sometimes edit, embellish and redact my life’s literature, all to make it an interesting read for myself.

That’s what I see in this little guy.

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Serenata Blue

Posted in Favorite Things, Music, Painting, Recent Paintings, Video, tagged , , , on February 2, 2014| 4 Comments »

GC Myers-Serenata Blue This is another of the pieces that are in the upcoming Little Gems exhibit at the West End Gallery in Corning.  This little guy is titled Serenata Blue and is a just a bit larger that 2″ by 4″ on paper.  It’s a continuation of the recent snow paintings as well as another of my solitary guitarist pieces, of which I do a handful each year.

There’s something very appealing to me in the solitary guitarist standing amidst open space as he cradles his guitar.  It usually brings me a wistful, somewhat sad feeling.  Not in a bad way sad.  Just a slight existential melancholy.  You know, the good kind.

I thought that there should be some appropriate musical accompaniment to this painting so I came up with a sad song.  And I mean sad.  This Nancy Griffith’s version of Tecumseh Valley.  It’s an achingly  beautiful and sad  lament that tells the story of a poor mountain girl.  To make this version even sadder, this is from a tribute show from the friends of the song’s writer, the great Townes Van Vandt, right after he passed away in 1997.  But it is a haunting and lovely song so don’t be afraid to listen.

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Steps to Solitude

Posted in Biographical, Painting, Recent Paintings, Technique/History, tagged , , , on January 29, 2014| 7 Comments »

GC Myers- Steps to Solitude smMaybe I decided to use this image  because it was -8° when I headed out for my stroll through the woods to the studio.  Well, not really a stroll.  More like a hard determined march, trying to cut through the sharp cold as quickly as possible.  But as I glimpsed at the still dark sky,  Venus  was shining brightly just above the treeline, so much so that it caused me stop and just wonder at its brilliance.  To my eye it had a reddish glint that made it seem  like some exotic little gem in the sky.  Beautiful enough to stop me in my frozen tracks.

This brought to mind the upcoming  Little Gems show at the West End Gallery in Corning that opens next Friday,  February 7th.   I am currently prepping a group of paintings for this exhibit of small work which is always one of my favorite shows of my painting year and one that always brings back good memories.  As I have noted here in the past, the Little Gems show in 1995 was the first opportunity I had to show my work in public.

A first step on a then unknown path.

This will be my twentieth Little Gems show, something which would have seemed unfathomable back at that first show.  I don’t paint as many small pieces in recent years, spending more time on larger work, so this is always a great time to revisit the small form.  There is something  wonderful in seeing the colors and forms compressed into a smaller space, something that brings out the gem-like quality in each.  Each element, each mark takes on greater weight in the smaller form.  There’s a different type of concentration, one that is  quicker in its self-editing and one that is definitely more intuitive.  The sizes are such that everything just happens quicker and there is less time to ponder.

And that is often a good thing.   I’ve often said that I’m not smart enough to paint when I have to think about it.   Maybe these small pieces are  proof  of this.

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This piece is called Steps to Solitude and is a compact 3″ by 6″ painting on paper.  It will be at the West End by the end of this week along with several other small pieces.

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