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Archive for the ‘Recent Paintings’ Category

Fulfilled

Posted in Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , , on October 31, 2013| 6 Comments »

GC Myers -Fulfilled smTo be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end of life.

-Robert Louis Stevenson

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To me, this new small painting, a piece about 7″ square on paper that is titled Fulfilled, feels totally peaceful.  The road with its winding tracks that disappear over a small rise signifies a journey at its end for me and the Red Tree that appears on piece of land across the water represents the intended  destination that is reached.  The horizon here feels as though it might represent time or eternity.

Whatever the case, it has a great feeling of tranquility, one that feels very satisfying to me.  Fulfilling.

This was one of those pieces that came easily, as though it fell from my hand without any thought or struggle.  This is a sensation I have described in the past, saying that when it occurred earlier in my painting life I would not trust the ease with which it came.  I still felt that struggle was necessary.  Little did I know that what I sought required no struggle,  In fact, this inner wrestling only took me further from the desired end, confusing me and obscuring the destination.

No, what was required was an acceptance of the moment and what I was.  And am.  And in this simple, quiet painting I think I see that.

PS– This painting, Fulfilled, is going to the Kada Gallery in Erie as part of my upcoming solo show there, Alchemy.  The show opens  Saturday, November 16th.

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The Furthest Reach

Posted in Motivation, Painting, Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , , on October 27, 2013| 6 Comments »

GC Myers- The Furthest Reach smNone of us will ever accomplish anything excellent or commanding except when he listens to this whisper which is heard by him alone.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

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This painting is called The Furthest Reach, a 20″ by 24″ canvas headed to the Kada Gallery for my November show.  This has been done for a few weeks now and has been at the edge of my sight as I have been prepping for this show.  There is something quite reassuring about having it there, serving as a reminder of the trust I have placed in that inner voice that Emerson references in the quote above.

 It has taken a number of years and many thousands of hours spent in the relative isolation of the studio to truly trust that voice, to feel as though I have separated my work from all  external noise and distraction, including the subjective criticism and opinion of others.   It has allowed me to use this  trust as the sole criteria for my work, to no longer judge it against the work or opinion of others.

With this trust the work becomes self-sovereign and, as I have written here earlier this year, the  island serves as a symbol of  this self-sovereignty while the stance of the Red Tree, a symbol of the work for me here,  represents the liberated feeling attained in the realization of this trust.  I see the dock as the gateway to outer world, meaning that while there is trust in the work spawned from this inner voice there is also a willingness to share it  with this outer world.

Again, that’s how I have come to see it in the last few weeks here in the studio.  Perhaps you will see something quite different.  Maybe you will see a confidence and  tranquility in it that meshes with your own experience or perhaps  simply a pleasant scene with a quiet warmth.  Or maybe you won’t see anything in at all.

Whatever your inner voice whispers to you, place some trust in it…

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Deep Focus

Posted in Quote, Recent Paintings, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on October 23, 2013| 8 Comments »

GC Myers- Deep Focus sm

Meditation brings wisdom; lack of mediation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what hold you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom.

–Buddha

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This is another new painting that is headed to the Kada Gallery for  Alchemy, my solo show that opens there on November 16.   This piece, 18″ by 18″ on canvas, is titled Deep Focus.  This was one of those pieces that just seemed to fall out with very little inner wrangling or consternation.  Once I started, it was off and running with what seemed very little assistance from me.

It was immediately clear that this painting was going to be about focus, about looking deeper and deeper into the canvas. Built from the bottom, each layer pushed the eye further inward.  About halfway into this I began to think of the title for this as being AutoFocus, just for the ease with which it was emerging.  But I finally opted for Deep Focus because of the depth I was seeing in  the picture and the way everything seemed to gravitate toward the central point of the sun that is peeking over the distant hill.

This piece seems to have a very meditative quality, a placid feeling that goes well with the ease of the piece.  Or at least,  the ease that I felt in its creation.  Sitting here now, taking it in, its construction seems simple, almost naive. Yet there is a feeling of opulence that I think comes from the colors and curves of the landscape that sheds this naivete and gives it a feeling of deeper knowledge.  or a way to deeper knowledge.  Far from naive.

Years ago, I had a  hard time trusting the validity of pieces that fell so easily from my hand, believing that  struggle must be part of making a painting come alive.  I was almost embarrassed by the ease with which some pieces came.  But over time, I have come to believe that it is this effortless work that is the goal, the work that is true and has the authenticity that I seek.  This piece is a testament to the trust in my intuition that has come with time.

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The Upward Gaze

Posted in Painting, Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , , on October 17, 2013| Leave a Comment »

GC Myers- The Upward Gaze smAstronomy compels the soul to look upwards and leads us from this world to another.
–Plato

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I have painted a couple of paintings this past year that have featured an observatory propped upon a hill.   I like the idea that this building has a shape and a location that instantly defines it, making it almost symbolic of the desire to transcend this world that it contains.  This desire to transcend, to know more, is built within us and we  seek these existential answers in many ways, sometimes in the stars and sometimes in the spiritual.  Others seek these answers in other worldly ways, either through love , pleasure or labor, among many other things.

These different ways of searching  are what I think is the central theme of this new new painting, The Upward Gaze, a 20″by 24″ canvas that is part of my November show, Alchemy, at the Kada Gallery.  The observatory is there resting high above the other buildings as it looks for the celestial answer: where have we come from?  Then there is the a church with a steeple that is pointing upward seeking an response from above to its question: where are we going?  On the lower left there is a barn among the fields which for me symbolizes the question: what is our purpose here?  The Red Roofs of all of the buildings here act as indicators, each pointing upward.

The road heads outward from this group of building, moving  toward and disappearing before  the horizon, over which an all-knowing  sun/moon hovers among a mosaic sky.  The soft,broken colors of the sky feel like light particles to me, the energy that propels this whole thing.

It’s a seemingly simple painting but I think there is much more to it…

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Greener Pastures: 42

Posted in Favorite Things, Painting, Recent Paintings, Television, tagged , , , , on September 29, 2013| 5 Comments »

GC Myers- "Greener Pastures: 42"It’s kind of a sad Sunday.  For one thing, our favorite ice cream place, Mindy Moo’s,  is closing for the season.  Actually, that’s probably a good thing as we have been indulging way too often but I still hate to see it close.

Secondly, tonight is the finale to what may be the finest show to ever come across a television screen, Breaking Bad.  I have been addicted since it first  exposed us to the moral gymnastics of high school chemistry teacher Walter White as he found his way into the world of meth, hoping to make enough cash to support his family after his imminent death from the cancer that had recently emerged.   His moral dilemma and the subsequent downward spiral has been a wild ride, supported by incredible writing, storylines and performances, often leaving me gasping at the end of an episode.  I will sorely miss it and have a feeling that almost everything else on TV will pale in comparison for some time to come.

Mariano Rivera Entering the FieldAnd finally, today is the end of era in baseball as Mariano Rivera rides off into the sunset, retiring from the New York Yankees as unquestionably the greatest closer ever and perhaps the most respected and beloved player to come around in a long, long time. Even Red Sox fans give Mariano, he of the hated Yanks, a standing ovation.  He has been nothing but class since day one, never pounding his chest or belittling his opponents and always showing the utmost respect for the game that has given a poor, skinny boy from Panama so much over the years .  His stoic demeanor on the mound is almost Zen in its nature and has long comforted Yankee fans when games are in a tight spot, even on those rare occasions when he has failed.

The painting at the top of the post,  a 12″ by 12″ canvas,  is titled Greener Pastures: 42.  The number 42 on the outfield wall is meant to honor both Mariano and the man who wore it most famously before him,  the barrier breaking Jackie Robinson.  Mariano is the last player to wear this hallowed number after it was retired by Major League Baseball to honor Robinson and has done so with  a fitting grace and character.  On the day honoring Mariano at Yankee Stadium last Sunday, one of my favorite moments was when  Rachel Robinson, Jackie’s widow now aged 91, was on the field and she cupped Mariano’s face in both hands, staring hard into his face with such a wonderful look on her face.  I don’t know what she was thinking or conveying but it looked like she was letting Mo know that Jackie would have approved of the way Mariano has honored his number and his memory.

Hard to believe that after today, there is no more ice cream (well, for a while) or Breaking Bad or Mariano.  Like I said, it’s a sad Sunday with a few glorious endings…

 

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Iconic Moment/ Everything is Broken

Posted in Music, Recent Paintings, tagged , on September 7, 2013| Leave a Comment »

GC Myers-Iconic Moment smI am in Alexandria today for my Gallery Talk at the Principle Gallery and to drop off some new work there.  That  includes the piece shown here, Iconic Moment, a 12″ by 24″ piece with copper leaf on masonite.  I thought I’d have a little road music here today.  It’s a great version of Bob Dylan‘s Everything is Broken by bluesman RL Burnside.  Great rhythm for the road.

Have a great Saturday and if you’re in the Alexandria area stop in and say hello.

 

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The New Revelator

Posted in Music, Painting, Recent Paintings, Video, tagged , , , , , on September 5, 2013| 2 Comments »

GC Myers-The New Revelator smI usually take a small group of new work with me for the Gallery Talk I give each September at the Principle Gallery, which takes place this Saturday at the Alexandria gallery.  It’s nice to have a few new pieces to illustrate some of the points I am trying to make during the talk.  This is one of the new paintings that will be going with me, The New Revelator, a 16″ by 34″ piece on paper.

I’ve been finishing this piece over the last few days and it has underwent a dramatic transformation during the last stages, one that took it from a piece that was struggling to find its identity to one that has what I feel is a powerful presence.  When I look at it I see the bands in the field that run towards the center as being not only a crop but as a representation of some sort of communal knowledge or power that runs through our world, unseen.  The Red Tree stands at the center, joining this gathering knowledge with the greater power of the universe  that I see represented here by the open horizon behind it.  There is an ethereal quality in the descending hills, one that gives a feeling of movement through time especially when coupled with the breaking sky.  The Red Tree is the new revelator here, exposing the hidden powers of the universe to those who want to see.

That might seem a bit of a stretch for some, as far as what they see in this painting.  Again, I remind you that this is only what I see here, what this painting holds for me in an emotional sense.  You might see it as simply a landscape with interesting forms and colors.  That is good enough.  Or you may not like it all which, too, is okay.  Whatever the case, the painting stands as it  now, hopefully revealing something for you.

The New Revelator will be at the Principle Gallery this Saturday.  My Gallery Talk there starts at 1 PM and I will be in the gallery before and after if you would like to stop in and say hello.

For now, here’s an interesting version of the great old Blind Willie Johnson song, John the Revelator, from Nick Cave, who always seems to have a unique take on most things.

 

 

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Step Forward

Posted in Current Events, Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , , , on August 14, 2013| 1 Comment »

GC Myers-Step Forward By striving to do the impossible, man has always achieved what is possible. Those who have cautiously done no more than they believed possible have never taken a single step forward.

–Mikhail Bakunin

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There has been a lot of talk over the last few days about the new form of transportation proposed recently by entrepreneur-inventor Elon Musk, the man behind PayPal, Tesla Motors and SpaceX.  His idea is to have people shooting all over the country in a larger ( and more sophisticated) version of the vacuum tube system that you might see at your local bank’s drive-through, where the transaction is placed in a receptacle by the driver of the car and , once placed in the tube,  it is whisked with a whoosh to a waiting teller in the building.  Musk’s claims that you could shoot from San Francisco to LA in about 30 minutes, reaching speeds of around 700 mph in the tube.

It’s not a mind-bending idea in itself.  I mean, haven’t you wondered about the possibility as you sit waiting at the bank’s drive-through?  I know I have.  No, it’s not the idea but the sheer scope of such a project that raises eyebrows.  We look for any reason to not move ahead with big and bold innovative projects now.  The idea of pursuing the seemingly impossible, that trait that defined our last century, has for the most part disappeared from our psyche.

All you hear is how this project cannot succeed. And maybe the naysayers are right.  But at least there is a tap in this idea into the creative mind, the wellspring that allows us to dream bigger, something we seem to be backing away from.   But our world faces big challenges that require big ideas and big dreams.  Maybe this is not the ultimate answer to one of our challenges but kudos to Elon Musk for daring to dream big.

The painting at the top is in this same vein.  I see this piece as being about being bold and daring to step forward, away from the accepted normal.  Titled Step Forward, it is a 36″ by 24″ canvas that is part of my ongoing West End Gallery show, Islander, that hangs for a few more weeks there.  I’ve had a surprising number of comments about this painting over the course of the show.  Hopefully,  that is a good sign for us all…

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Show Night

Posted in Recent Paintings, Technique/History, tagged , on July 28, 2013| 4 Comments »

GC Myers- Correspondence

GC Myers- Correspondence 12″ X 34″ on paper

Well, the opening for my annual show, Islander,  at the West End Gallery was this past Friday evening  and, as I wrote here on Friday, I had some apprehensions.  Not about the show itself.  No, on that front I was confident and felt that this was one of the  best shows I had produced for the gallery.  No, it was just that summer openings are sometimes sparsely attended, especially  when the weather is as beautiful as it has been for the last few days, everybody trying to pack in as much time as possible outdoors.  But thankfully people did show up and the evening turned out well, even successful.

I would like to thank everyone who did come to the West End on Friday.  I can’t really express how appreciative I am.  It was such a pleasure getting to meet many new faces and talk with them for a bit.  One of the luxuries of the summer opening is being able to spend more than one or two minutes with someone.  I have had openings where even that short time is a stretch so being able to actually relate more about the work to someone who has traveled to see the show is a big plus.

For example, there were two couples, Melissa and Peter from the Albany area and Julie and Mark from Westchester County, who had traveled to Corning to see the show after coming across my work at last year’s exhibit at the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown.   I was able to spend a little more time getting to know  them  and to tell them more about my work.  I only hope that I didn’t talk too much!

I have written here before about how I judge a show by how much time the people in attendance spend looking at the wall rather than how many people gather in front of them to talk.  The faces are all turned outward toward the walls rather than inward.  This show was a good example of such a show.  It wasn’t as crowded as some shows but those in attendance were definitely there to see the work.  That is what I am looking for from my work– paintings that continue to draw the viewer’s eye to them and provoke a reaction.  In this particular aspect, this show was definitely a hit.

Again, many thanks to those who came to the gallery.  It was my pleasure to meet those of you who I was able to speak with and be assured that the energy you provide me carries me through a lot of long days alone in the studio.  Thanks also to  Linda, Jesse and Hedy at the West End for their their friendship and commitment to my work over the years.  Their hard work on my behalf is so appreciated.

Now, on to the next thing– getting ready for my Gallery Talk at the West End this coming Thursday, from noon til one or so.  Hope you can make it!

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Feelings Before the Show

Posted in Biographical, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , on July 24, 2013| 2 Comments »

GC Myers-The Understanding Silence sm

The Understanding Silence– GC Myers

Well, just another few days until another show at the West End Gallery in nearby Corning.  I feel that this show,  which is called Islander and hangs at the gallery from this Friday, July 26, until August 30, is a very strong group of work and represents my work at its best.  I just think that this is a very good show.  Maybe that is not for me to say but I am proud to deliver a show that lives up to my own expectations, especially to a gallery that I consider my home gallery, one that has been responsible for me even considering painting as a career path.  Without their unexpected invitation to show my work there eighteen years ago who knows where I would be right now or what I would be doing.  I very much doubt that I would be writing this at this moment.  I even have a doubt that I would even be painting.

As much as I want to deliver a good show because of this gratitude  there is also  the desire  to simply do well in your home area, to show the home crowd, especially those folks who first supported the work,  that their support was well-founded.  I feel a tremendous sense of debt to those people for giving me the incentive and inspiration to keep pushing ahead, to keep creating solid work  that continues to expand.

There is also the desire to show young artists from the area that in doing consistently good work there is the possibility to  make their living as an artist.  Our area is not the most affluent and there are not a lot of examples of successful working artists for them to follow but I hope that they get some inspiration from a home grown artist who, while basically uneducated and without many advantages, makes a decent living.  A matter of  if he can do it,so can I.

I suppose there is also the desire to show those people who may have doubted the validity of my work from the beginning that it does have worth, does have meaning.  That has become less and less of a motivator as I have grown into my work.  I find now that  I would rather focus on those people who see something in my work rather than trying to sway people who are naturally averse to my work.  You can never satisfy everyone and wasting time trying to do so takes away from your core work.

So, as you can see, I put a lot of pressure on myself with these shows, probably more than I should.  Probably more than is healthy for myself.  I have written here before about the anxiety I feel before a show and it’s always even more intense before these home shows, especially a summer show such as this.  You hope for a great turnout but being the summer many people are away on vacation or at the nearby lakes so attendance naturally suffers a bit.  You want to put out a great group so that people don’t regret making the choice to come to the show and will tell their friends who couldn’t make it so that they will eventually stop in to see it.

But, in the end, I reconcile it all with the knowledge that I have given a total effort and produced a show of which I can be proud.  Hope you can come see it.

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The painting at the top is from the show and is titled The Understanding Silence.  It is a 16″ by 20″ canvas.

 

 

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