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Archive for the ‘Recent Paintings’ Category

Artifacts

Posted in Painting, Recent Paintings, Technique/History, tagged , on February 26, 2010| 6 Comments »

This is a new painting I’ve been working on for the last couple of days.  It’s a 14″ by 18′” piece on ragboard and fits well in my Archaeology series.  The upper and lower sections of this piece are painted in two different styles, with the upper being painted by adding layers of paint ( what I call my obsessionist style) and the lower painted in a predominately transparent fashion but with quite a bit of opaque touches.

Shown at the top, I wanted to show the lower section of this piece in a little more detail, to give a better idea of how this section is put together.  It’s  a chance for me to paint spontaneously, but in detail.  I  start at one corner and bounce all over the section, basically using my brush to draw the small items.  As I’m moving along, I’m constantlly weighing each new artifact against those around it then against the section as whole.  This weighing process has to do with color and shape, not what the item actually is.  I don’t really think about what the items will be in these pieces.  I prefer to let them take shape as the piece progresses although I do fall back on a number of recurring artifacts.  Some of these are the peace symbol, my initial, a shoe, a mask of some sort, books and a few others.  This particular piece also has a self-reference in the form of a small painting.

This is only the second piece in this series that has the upper section painted in this way,  showing the simplified  roots of the tree and having the sky painted with multiple layers of rough strokes.  So far I am liking the contrast between the top and bottom.  I may lighten the foliage of the tree and adjust a few parts of the sky but I’m not sure yet.  This is at a point where it requires a little time to sit and be taken in, almost with a peripheral view.  With paintings like this, with a lot of detail and action in the color and forms, I find that I need to see it but not focus on it completely to get the best overall feel for it.  That’s the real test.

So, with this piece, we’ll see over the next several days in the studio.

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On the Shoulders of Time

Posted in Recent Paintings, tagged , on February 19, 2010| 6 Comments »

This is a new piece, a little 6″ by 8″ canvas, that I finished in the last few days.  It is in the same vein as my Archaeology series although it is without the artifacts beneath the surface.  I personally refer to them as Strata pieces.

The Strata work still exposes the underground timeline but relies on the rhythm and color of the layers to carry the painting.  There is also a chair aboveground in this painting, something that I never used in the Archaeology work, which was intentionally left devoid of human evidence outside of the underground artifacts.  The inclusion of the chair puts this piece more in the present time, the time of man.  The Archaeology series hinted more at being in the future, in a world without man.

I call this piece On the Shoulders of Time.  It is just a reminder of how we are the result of all that has come before us.  Every decision, every action, everything good and bad that preceded us, has brought each of us to this juncture in time.  Our decisions, our actions, will determine how and where that chair sits for future generations.

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Led Home

Posted in Recent Paintings, tagged on February 16, 2010| 4 Comments »

As I wrote in a post last week, the idea of home has been a large component of my recent work.  For some,  it is a physical place and for others it is simply the sense of being at home, a feeling that may be prompted by something that triggers memories of a time when they felt at ease and completely secure.  It’s probably different for many people and I’m not sure it matters how one defines home for themselves.

For me, the important part is that the idea of home is a universal theme, one that we all identify with in our own lives.  We all seek the safety and comfort of home however we define it.  And it’s this seeking for something that is so vaguely defined that interests me as an artist.  It’s such a strong drive in us that it raises many different images in our minds.

This new painting, which I’m calling Led Home, deals with this idea of home as an elusive quest.  The house stands in the distance with a road leading to it through a field of golden grass.  Above, the sunlight breaks through the broken sky to act as a sort of beacon guding the seeker forward.  The tree and the path in the foreground are almost in shadow as though the discovery of home signals a transition from darkness into light.

The house, like many of those used in my work, is without windows or doors.  I’m never positive why this is so but perhaps, given the short expalnation above, it is because it is representing something vaguely indefinable, soemthing we can’t really see in full detail in our minds.  I don’t know for sure– that just came to me as I wrote this.

This is just one way of looking at this piece.  How I see it this morning at first glance.  Perhaps it will change in definition for me with time but I doubt it– those first glances tell a lot about a piece and tend to hold the most truth.

The painting is a 10″ by 30″ work on canvas.

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A New Archaeology

Posted in Painting, Recent Paintings, Technique/History, tagged , , on February 10, 2010| 4 Comments »

This is a new painting from the studio that I finished yesterday.  It’s a 16″ by 20″ canvas that combines, for the first time, the elements of the Archaeology series with the painting style that I call obsessionist.  The difference is visible when comparing the finer, more detailed work in the detritus of the Archaeology section at the painting’s bottom with the way the tree and sky above are painted, with more expressive, visible brushstrokes.

Also for the first time, I show the roots of the tree above.  I had been thinking of doing this in the past and many people had inquired but I didn’t want to do it unless it maintained the rhythm of the piece for me.  I don’t know how to explain how I judge this rhythm.  It’s just a matter of looking at the piece and determining whether a sense of rightness exists.  Do the elements flow easily together?  Is there anything that makes the eye stop because of something, a line for instance,  feeling unnatural?  Just intuition, I guess.  So far, I like the roots showing and feel they maintain the rhythm of this painting but I’m still taking in the piece.

It’s the time of the year when I can hold a piece for a while and soak it in, let it live in the periphery of my vision for weeks.  This gives me a better sense of the piece’s cohesiveness.  Sometimes a painting will feel complete and ready but, with a little time to let it be, reveals a need for something more.  It may be a major change such as the addition of a whole new compositional element or just a tweak in a small bit of color in a small section of the painting.

It will be interesting to see what this piece reveals over the next few weeks…

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Finding Home– A Short Film

Posted in Biographical, Painting, Recent Paintings, Technique/History, Video, tagged , , , on February 8, 2010| 6 Comments »

This is a short film that I put together one day last week.  It was a little project that I took on at the request of my friends at Lovetts Gallery in Tulsa, OK.  They, like many galleries around the country, have taken a hard look at how they interact with their clients and are making a real effort to provide more information about the artists they represent in their gallery.  To this end they are putting together a multimedia website that will give their clients a better look at the work and thoughts of their artists.

They asked that I provide them with some film of me working in the studio with some dialogue.  It was pretty difficult deciding what I wanted to say in the film.  I wanted to give an idea of what I see in my work and to tell a little of how I came to painting but I didn’t want to say too much.  Wanted the paintings to be the focus.

As I was putting it together and I was inserting narration a theme came around.  About the idea of finding one’s home.  It’s a concept that I’ve been seeing a lot in my work as of late and one that I think can be applied to most of the work through the years.  I think it fits.

The music is from the great acoustic guitarist Martin Simpson, a longtime favorite.  I had the chance to take lessons from him many years ago when he resided in Ithaca for a while, after coming to the States from England.  Carried the little classified ad from the Ithaca Times around in my wallet for the longest time but, like so many things in life, never got around to doing it.  I’m not big on regrets but I do wish I’d taken that opportunity.

Anyway, this is the film that I came up with.  I hope it works in some way…

To see the film in higher quality please click here to go the YouTube page.

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Finding Voice

Posted in Influences, Opinion, Recent Paintings, tagged , , on January 27, 2010| 4 Comments »

I wrote yesterday about how music and other stimuli influence my work.  Since then I’ve been thinking about that and a comment made by writer David Terrenoire about knowing other fiction writers who refuse to read other writers for fear of having the voice of this other writer creep into their own.

I believe the creativity of any artist, writer, or musician comes from their own unique perception of the world around them, how they see and take in everything to which they’re exposed and reflect it back to the world.  I don’t think it’s so much that they create new worlds but how they synthesize what they encounter in this world into their own personal version of it.  This synthesis of influences is what gives an artist their unique voice.

I was recently talking to a young painter, still in a college program, whose work showed real promise but it was obvious he was still in search of a voice.  Every painting carried the earmarks of the painter he was influenced by during its making.  While all were well done, there was nothing yet visible that stood out as being uniquely his in any of the paintings.  It was obvious he was still gathering influences, seeing what was out there and trying to copy it first.  I asked him how he liked to paint, how he saw his work in his mind and he said he wasn’t sure yet.

He hadn’t started synthesizing yet.  While obviously talented, his voice was not present yet.

But at some point, for any creative person,  there has to be the transition from simply taking in information and reflecting it just as it entered to a thought process that allows new data, new influences, to be taken in and transformed internally into something uniquely their own.  Their own voice becomes unmistakable.

When that happens, I can’t say.  It’s probably different for every person and maybe it never happens for many.  Maybe there’s an aspect to this I’m overlooking because I am just thinking out loud here.

As is often the case, I don’t really know…

The piece at the top is a tiny new painting,  the image being 1 1/2″ by 3 1/2 ” in size and matted in a 6″ by 8″ frame, called Hold Your Banner High.  It is available at the West End Gallery as part of their Little Gems exhibit.

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Law of Nature

Posted in Opinion, Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , on January 24, 2010| Leave a Comment »

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There is a wonderful law of nature that the three things we crave most in life– happiness, freedom and peace of mind– are always obtained by giving them to someone else.

—— General Peyton March

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This seems like the right thought at this time.  All too many people all over the world  lacking in happiness, freedom and peace and too many people trying to satisfy these desires of their own in a greedy, selfish way, believing they are not connected to the suffering of others.  That they cannot have an effect.

But ultimately we are all connected.  And perhaps it will only take a few small acts of kindness in our everyday lives that will snowball, inspiring others to action and changing the way that our collective mind looks at the suffering of others,  allowing us to believe that we can do great things.  And with that belief, we could do great things.

And wouldn’t that be a big step forward to achieving happiness, freedom and peace of mind for ourselves?

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The piece at the top of this post is titled Lines of Connection and is a wee 2″ by 4″ painting and is available as part of the Little Gems show at the West End Gallery in Corning.

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Little Gems

Posted in Biographical, Favorite Things, Recent Paintings, tagged , on January 21, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I’m trying to refocus my attention back to my work after the last few days of the auction.  Currently, I am working on a group of very small paintings for an annual show called Little Gems at the West End Gallery in Corning.

This show has always had special significance for me in that it was the first show that I ever publicly displayed my work, back in 1995.  I wasn’t sure where the road would lead at that point and surprisingly, it has surpassed my hopes of that time.  Without that first step, at that first show fifteen years ago, I might very well have a very, very different life now.  So you see how I put some weight towards this exhibit of small paintings.

I also like this show for the format which forces me to work small.  It’s a great opportunity to work out new things on a small basis,such as amping up different colors and blocking in new compositions.  Or in the case of this small piece shown above, revisit a composition with a different feel and color.  Small pieces enable me to work on dynamism on a small scale, finding what elements work and might translate to larger work in the future.

Important rehearsal time.

From a collecting standpoint, small works have always been important to me.  Many of my longtime collectors obtained a small painting of mine as their first piece of art.  I try to make the small pieces every bit the same as the larger, more expensive paintings in all aspects except for the price.  I like the idea of making original work available in price to most people, opening the sometimes overbearing world of art to a wider range of the public.  There is something exciting about having new eyes and new energy in the galleries and both often come from people who may have been intimidated by the idea of even being in an art gallery in the past.

And like my first foray into the world of art fifteen years back, that can be an important first step.

Little Gems opens  February 5, with a reception from 5-7:30 PM,  and runs through March 12 at the West End Gallery in Corning, NY.

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A Small Way to Help in Haiti

Posted in Current Events, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , , on January 15, 2010| 4 Comments »

Yesterday, I sent out a donation to a relief organization to aid in the effort to help the citizens of Haiti in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake.  When you see the images of those people, wandering aimlessly through streets strewn with corpses and the rubble of what was their life before the quake, how can someone turn their back on these people?  I know we all have our own problems and worries in our own lives to bear but do they really compare to what these folks are experiencing?

Try to imagine the feelings that must be racing through these people’s minds.  Despair and loss.  The feeling of utter hopelessness.  In all too many cases, the grief of losing family.  These are people who have struggled through the bleakest of times only to have everything they have stripped away in a few moments.

Do your problems really compare?

If you can, please give, but choose wisely.  Unfortunately, there are unscrupulous skunks out there willing to profit from this type of tragedy.  I have always supported Americares because of the efficiency of their organization.  Over 99% of their donations go directly to rescue and aid efforts all over the world as well as here in the US.  Another is the Red Cross , always at the forefront of providing disaster assistance.  Then there is Yele which is the Haitian relief organization set up by Wyclef Jean in 2005 to help lead his native land in  recovery from their many past woes.  There are many others who are trying to provide great assistance to the people of Haiti.  Just know what the organization really is to which you are donating.

ANOTHER SMALL WAY TO HELP


Besides my cash donation, I would like to offer this painting up for an online auction in which all proceeds will go to one of your choice of the three organizations listed above. Actually, I will go one better– I will donate 125% of the winning bid, 100% of the bid and an additional 25% from my own pocket.  So your winning bid will provide $1.25 of aid for every dollar bid. I will pay for shipping and insurance for the piece.  Bids will be accepted through the comments section or, if you prefer anonymity, at my website’s email address, info@gcmyers.com .

This painting is titled Proclamation and is a 12″ by 16″ painting on canvas, framed in my normal floating frame.  It is a piece that would normally be priced in the $1400 range in galleries.  I will ship it with a dedication to you on the back in honor of your donation as well as a signed copy of my book.

The bidding starts at $300 and runs until Tuesday, January 19, at 12 noon EST.

So, if you’d like to help in a small way the people of Haiti you can bid on this piece with my gratitude in knowing my work would be of some help to these people. If you can’t or don’t want to bid on this, try to give something to an organization set up to help these folks, such as the ones listed above.  If you know someone who might be interested in this painting and in giving aid to the Haitian people, pass this post on to them.

Whatever the case, try to help…

The Current High Bid as of 2:57 PM Friday is——$ 1500.00


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Raise Your Eyes

Posted in Painting, Recent Paintings, Technique/History, tagged , on January 11, 2010| 3 Comments »

This is my first complete piece of 2010,  a 30″ wide by 40″ high painting that is tentatively titled Raise Your Eyes.  It’s a continuation, of sorts, of my Red Roof series.  Instead of focusing on doorless and windowless structures, like many of the other pieces in this series, this painting is actually centered around the multitude of windows and doors present.

It creates very much the same feeling, for me, as the earlier doorless pieces, of solitude and maybe even a bit of alienation within an inhabited space.  However, there’s more of a busy feeling as though the windows were actually eyes.  It’s that feeling of being on a busy street yet feeling completely anonymous.  That’s what I wanted to make the lone tree stand out a bit more as the central voice in this painting, as it stands in relation to the sun.

I painted this with  larger brushes than I normally use for this type of painting.  It gives the structures and their doors and windows a little rougher, less precise and fussy appearance.  It creates a rhythm and motion of its own within the picture.

The central tree is also a bit against type for my work.  It’s not the red tree you might normally see.  I chose to go with a green leafed tree for this piece, to counter the reds of the roofs.  Again, it makes it stand out a bit more

I’ve spent a lot of time looking at this and there are a lot of things that I like about this piece.  The size and the warmth of the colors makes it  a pretty dynamic piece to view.  Hopefully, this is a good start to a good year of painting…

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