Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Recent Paintings’ Category

Show Day/ Song of Self

Posted in Recent Paintings, tagged , on July 24, 2009| 3 Comments »

Song of Self    Well, another show day has come around.  Tonight’s opening is at the West End Gallery in Corning,  kind of my home gallery.  It’s in my home area and was the first gallery to show my work so there’s a certain sentimental attachment.  You always want to do well on your home field.  

Normally, this creates a certain tension, some nervousness.  But as I wrote about my earlier show this year, I’ve tried to shake off these jitters.  If I’ve done the work and feel I’ve done my utmost then there’s nothing to be worried about.  How folks react is beyond my control and to feel stress over it is a waste of energy.  Besides, I do feel that this is a very strong group of work.  

That being said, there’s still a little anxiety, mainly over just having to talk about my work.  I try to remind myself to not overtalk, something I tend to do when I’m nervous.  I babble on a little more than I should, sometimes speaking but saying little just to fill the pauses in the conversation.  I try to remind myself to listen more.  Like any situation, my openings always go best when I let the natural pauses occur and just listen to what the people are saying to me.  It’s a lesson I learned in sales many years ago.  If you just listen, the person you’re dealing with will tell you what is important to them.  And knowing this makes your conversation all that much better.  For instance, if a person reveals that their attraction to your work is because of the emotional impact, they may not want to hear the technical details of how a piece was painted.  They probably want to know more of the intent behind the painting and how I view the piece.  

Knowing how to speak to people’s differing needs is an important part of  the opening and sometimes I do it well and sometimes I miss my mark.  So, today I keep reminding myself to listen and give each person who wants to talk my full attention.  If they make the effort to come out to my show, then that is the least they deserve.

The piece above is Song of Self and is part of tonight’s show.  It’s a very simple composition, one that I’ve done in a few versions over the years.  It’s meant to be a piece where the the quiet of the scene is highlighted by its contrast to the texture and color in the painting itself.  The sky in this piece has great texture and brings a deeper visual interest to areas of the painting that may not immediately register when the piece is first seen.  I like this piece a lot.

You can see this painting tonight at the West End Gallery in Corning, NY.  The opening for this show, Dispatches, starts at 5 PM and runs to 7:30.  If you want to talk stop in and I will listen…

Read Full Post »

Dispatches At the West End

Posted in Recent Paintings, tagged , on July 21, 2009| Leave a Comment »

DispatchesThis is the title piece from my show, Dispatches, which opens this coming Friday, July 24, at the West End Gallery in Corning, NY.

This painting has a lot of motion in it from the leaves and bend of the limbs on the trees to the way the color seems to move over the texture of the sky.  It’s a pretty simple composition that allows the motion and color to take center stage although I still believe the strength of this piece comes from how one sees the central message, which is contained in its title, Dispatches.

It’s primarily about our interaction with the world and how much we’re willing to give of ourselves.  What we send out into the world.  Our intentions shape our actions and our actions define us.  

What message are you sending out to the world?

Read Full Post »

The Dark Blue Above

Posted in Painting, Recent Paintings, Video, tagged , , on July 19, 2009| Leave a Comment »

The Dark Blue Above This is a new piece that’s titled The Dark Blue Above.  It’s very much about atmosphere and feel, very much about the weight of the sky and the potency of color and texture that give it a certain presence.  I think the simplicity of the overall composition enhances this feeling.

Makes me think again of my own smallness, my own insignificance in this world and this universe.  It’s a catalyst and sets me thinking on the nature of all things.  How? Why?

I guess that’s all I can ask out of a piece of work.  

This piece is past of Dispatches, my solo show at the West End Gallery that opens July 24.

On this Sunday morning here’s a song from Johnny Cash that sort of fits the feeling of the painting…

Read Full Post »

An Empty Studio

Posted in Recent Paintings, Technique/History, tagged on July 18, 2009| 2 Comments »

Gather the Light Well, I’ve delivered the work for my show that opens this coming Friday, July 24th, at the West End Gallery in Corning.  

It’s always a bit strange those first few days after the studio is emptied of a great deal of work.   The pieces had maintained a presence here for months, filling the space with a sort of life force,  then suddenly, they’re gone.  It always takes a few days for me to recover my equilibrium, to refocus, after I face the empty studio.  I try to find a new destination, try to think of when and where the next step will be taken.

It’s as though, in preparing for a show, I am racing down a road towards a fixed point that looms on the horizon.  As I near the deadline, the focus makes the road  seem narrower and narrower.  That fixed point is all that I can see.  Then, upon delivery, it’s like I have burst through that point of destination and a whole new horizon suddenly opens before me in all directions.  There’s a period of gathering one’s bearings, taking in all the possibilities of this new landscape I’m faced with.

And that’s where I find myself this morning.  Horizons in every direction.  The feeling of potential is wonderful but behind it there is always a nagging fear of making the wrong move, choosing the wrong direction.  It’s a fear of freedom, the same type described by Erich Fromm in his book, Escape From Freedom, from the early 1940’s.  He basically (it’s much more in depth than I’m going to paraphrase) said that while everyone craves total freedom, few are prepared for the self-responsibility that comes with it.  Most feel the need for guidance of some sort.

A point on their horizon. A destination.

So, here I am today.

The painting at the top, Gather the Light, is part of the West End show.  It’s a piece that I very much like for many reasons.  I think there’s a certain dynamism to the color and light that gives it real oomph.  While there is this dynamic feel, it doesn’t betray the quietude and introspective nature of the piece.  I like that tension between these two aspects of the painting.  It creates a layer of interest that is really felt and not seen.

Hopefully, other will feel this as well…

Read Full Post »

Wind of History

Posted in Recent Paintings, Technique/History, tagged , , on July 16, 2009| Leave a Comment »

9909-234 Wind of History smallThis is a new painting that is titled Wind of History, part of my next solo show at the West End Gallery.  The show, Dispatches, begins next Friday, July 24, with an opening running from 5-7:30 PM.

This is a very striking piece, one that demands immediate attention.  It has a lot of different aspects that all contribute to the overall impact.  It has a very graphic quality in the strong color and the way the multiple  layers below stack together.  There’s also great visual interest in the sky’s texture, which may not show very well in the image here.  The stones below the surface echo the light of the sun (or is it a moon?) in this sky. 

Adding to this is the motion in the trees with the central figure, the Red Tree, astride a hillock.  There is motion in the strata below as well which gives the impression of them being a part of a wave under the ground’s surface.  The Red Tree seems to ride this wave.

There’s a lot about this piece that I like.  For me, the Archaeology-like paintings are more about abstraction that the final painting’s representation.  By that, I mean, when I start a piece like this I have little or no idea where it’s going.  The piece builds from the bottom, in the layers.  As I paint them, there is little thought to what will be above.  It’s, as I said, very abstract at this point, all about color and shape and how each bit relates to the other.  One layer dictates how the next will form.  It’s an interesting time in the painting of the piece.

I think all of the elements in this painting come together very well, creating a unity that I think translates really well.  It has a powerful feel, at least in my eyes.  I hope it comes across to others as well.

Read Full Post »

Take Heed

Posted in Recent Paintings, tagged , on July 11, 2009| Leave a Comment »

DSC_1055 smallTake heed: You do not find what you do not seek.  -English Proverb

 

This is another piece from my solo exhibition at the West End Gallery in Corning , opening July 24.  The title of this painting is Take Heed, taken from the English proverb shown above, which serves as a reminder that we have the ability to set our own paths and destinations.  It seems that all too many people live their lives without any thought to where they want their lives to take them.  They simply take the path that is immediately before them , that which is easy.  They will never know what might be  off the path they follow, which is the path of others.

 

 


 


Read Full Post »

Soul Lights

Posted in Recent Paintings, tagged , , , on July 9, 2009| 1 Comment »

DSC_1048 smallThis is a new piece, Soul Lights, that is part of my upcoming show that opens July 24th at the West End Gallery in Corning.  It is painted in my obsessionist style, one that I have mentioned in previous posts.

The title of this painting comes from the way the sky is formed from many patches of color and the way the light is formed therein.  It reminded me of one of the supposed byproducts of the string theory which is a very  speculative area of quantum physics.  Without going into the scientific basis for the theory ( which I really couldn’t do very well anyway), string theory basically creates a platform where extra dimensions could and may exist alongside the dimensions that we know and dwell within, without our knowledge of their existence.   A simplified example of how this might work is the way we are surrounded by radio signals all the time without our knowledge but with the proper receptor, a radio, they become apparent.  With string theory, perhaps there are also parallel dimensions around us without our knowledge, dimensions that contain others forms of energy, other forms of existence.

People have used this as theoretical basis for many things such as time travel, the existence of UFOs, and things supernatural such as ghosts and other spectral occurrences.  The string theory has been a very fertile field for science fiction writers to work.  

Perhaps it also provides a place where the soul, the source of energy that animates the body,  ultimately dwells.  Perhaps there is the energy of souls all around us in these alternative dimensions.  Maybe the photons we see are also the part, a facet, of something unseen.  That’s how I see the sky in this painting, as masses of disparate energies that we only see partially in the dimensions we can detect.

Okay, remember that it is early in the morning when I’m writing this.  I’m not smart enough to really discuss quantum physics.  I am not familiar with all the New Age-y spiritualism.   I’m just saying there is some form of energy out there in the light we see.  What it is, I surely don’t know.  In this painting I like to see it as light and energy of souls.  

And that makes me feel good…

Read Full Post »

New Precious

Posted in Recent Paintings, Technique/History, tagged , , on July 7, 2009| Leave a Comment »

New Precious This is a new painting that will be hanging at the West End Gallery at my next solo exhibit, Dispatches, which opens July 24.  This piece, titled New Precious, is painted in what I have termed an obsessionist style, a term that differentiates it from the style I use in much of my work.

I use the term obsession because it best describes the feeling I have when I’m painting these pieces.  There is a complete immersion in the painting and every stroke changes the piece and dictates the subsequent stroke.  It requires complete focus on the canvas to maintain wholeness throughout.  I really enjoy painting in this way,  enjoy the feeling of connecting so completely to the surface.

This particular piece has a very iconic feel, thus the title, New Precious.  By iconic, I mean the painting has a feeling of being presented as an object rather than a portrayal of a scene.  This is something I have always looked for in my painting.  I feel that this objectification gives the painting a physical presence when hanging on the wall that gives it a sense of weight and gravity.  I think these qualities, these intangibles,  contribute heavily to the first overall impression a piece makes on the viewer, which is the point where their determination of connection to the piece is often made.  This first impression is the gateway into the painting for many viewers.

It’s hard to tell if a piece succeeds in this way and impossible to plan such a result.  But I think it remains important to maintain the goal and  hope that occasionally the mark is met.

Read Full Post »

Dispatches

Posted in Recent Paintings, tagged , , on July 1, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Postcard 2009 WE 2 smallI’m in the final weeks before my next show for the year, opening July 24 at the West End Gallery in Corning, NY.  This is, as I wrote in earlier posts, the the time when I’m finishing up the last details of painting on the body of work, varnishing finished canvases, getting the frames prepped  and titling each painting.  Hectic.

The title of this show is Dispatches.  Linda Gardner, owner of the West End, asked the other day for a show statement and I realized I had not had a chance to write one.  I don’t always write a statement for my shows but Lin likes to use quotes from the statements in preparing press releases and other publicity for the show so I always do one for her.

This is my first draft of this year’s statement:

Dispatches.

 

Messages sent out into the world. The act of communication.

 

The name for this group of work came from this idea that has been rolling around in my head for a while. I’ve began to realize, over the years that I have been fortunate enough to show my work at the West End Gallery, that my paintings are not about simply portraying a scene, merely creating a pleasant decoration for one’s home or office. I realize now that they are a form of communication, a way of transmitting a feeling across that void between the picture and the viewer’s eyes and making a connection. It’s this connection, this union between the painted surface and the viewer’s own experiences, that gives voice to the work and allows it to say more than I ever consciously could.

 

I wish I could explain how this connection comes about. I wish I could explain the alchemy behind how a simple painted surface affects another person. I wish I could know how to insert my desired message into a painting. But I can’t.

 

So, knowing that I can’t control this reaction between the painting and the viewer, I have started looking on the work I do as dispatches, messages sent out into the world. Being such, for them to reflect what I want for myself, they must be earnest and honest. They must be true to my way of being if they are to reach out to others and reflect their own truth.

 

So, this is how I see this work. Dispatches. Messaages. If I have been true to myself, some will make that connection.

 

 

-GC Myers

July, 2009


 

Dispatches.
Messages sent out into the world.  The act of communication.  
The name for this group of work came from this idea that has been rolling around in my head for a while. I’ve began to realize, over the years that I have been fortunate enough to show my work at the West End Gallery, that my paintings are not about simply portraying a scene, merely creating a pleasant decoration for one’s home or office. I realize now that they are a form of communication, a way of transmitting a feeling across that void between the picture and the viewer’s eyes and making a connection.  It’s this connection, this union between the painted surface and the viewer’s own experiences,  that gives voice to the work and allows it to say more than I ever consciously could.
I wish I could explain how this connection comes about.  I wish I could explain the alchemy behind how a simple painted surface affects another person.  I wish I could know how to insert my desired message into a painting.  But I can’t.  
So, knowing that I can’t control this reaction between the painting and the viewer, I have started looking on the work I do as dispatches, messages sent out into the world.  Being such, for them to reflect what I want for myself, they must be earnest and honest.  They must be true to my way of being if they are to reach out to others and reflect their own truth.
So, this is how I see this work.  Dispatches.  Messaages.  If I have been true to myself, some will make that connection.  
-GC Myers
July, 2009

 

 

Read Full Post »

Thoughts on the Show

Posted in Recent Paintings on June 14, 2009| 2 Comments »

Written In the Cool Air Well, I’m back here, sitting in my studio after returning from Alexandria where I attended the opening of my show at the Principle Gallery.  I’ll try to sum up how I felt everything went there and some general impressions.

We had a wonderful turnout for the show and luckily, the weather was as cooperative as could be, especially for Northern Virginia in June.  Past shows have had stifling heat and humidity along with violent thunderstorms so this year’s relatively mild weather was greatly appreciated.  

As always, I immediately feel some regrets over not being able to spend the amount of time with each person there that I feel they deserve.  It’s hard to get into too deep a conversation when I can see folks out of the side of my eye who have been waiting patiently to ask their questions or simply comment.  But while I try to answer every question as best I can and get to every person who wants to talk, I know some are missed or are conversations are cut short and that always nags at me.  So, if you were there and didn’t get a chance to say hello or our conversation was interrupted, please accept my apologies.  The nice thing about doing this blog is that it gives a forum for questions and comments that might get lost in the hubbub of the show, so feel free to forward any questions or comments I might have missed.

It’s always good to see familiar faces that have been coming to the show for years as well as the many new faces. It’s an unusual relationship that develops between me and those who collect my work. Though we only meet for moments at a time, they often feel as though they know me well through my work and through things I’ve written such as my show statements and this blog.  So there’s a familiarity and warmth that one doesn’t often experience from folks about who I often know so little.  I’m honored that they feel this way.  It makes me feel as though the work is communicating in the way I hoped.  That is, touching on universal themes in a personal manner.

I want to thank everyone who came out to make this a successful show, with special thanks to  Noah and Erin Ristau (and family) and my favorite blogger, David Terrenoire, for making the journey from points south.  I also want to extend my extreme gratitude for those who wished me well and related what the work meant to them during a toast that took me completely by surprise, leaving me standing there sort of shellshocked.  I’ve never been the subject of such a thing nor did I ever expect to be but I was very moved by the whole thing and wish I could’ve said  something more eloquent at the moment.  I wanted to yell “Timeout!” so I could gather my thoughts to properly express my sincere thanks for such a warm outpouring from everyone there.  I will remember it always.

Of course, I owe a special measure of gratitude to Michele, Sue,  Amy and Ali at the Principle.  We have been together for about thirteen years now and we both grown over  the years yet still mesh very well together.  Without their encouragement and efforts over the years, my life and work might be very much different than it is at this point.  That alone is worthy of all the thanks I can muster.  I mean, how do you thank someone for giving you the means to live the life you dreamt of as a child?

To everyone there, many, many thanks…

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »