I wrote the post below back in 2009. I’ve revisited the use of multiple images a few times since but only on a limited basis. Maybe once or twice a year. But it’s a concept that appeals to me and just seeing these images again always sparks something.
I was looking through some older images on my computer, searching for a painting that I had completed several years back. As I scanned through the paintings, I noticed several pieces through the years that were different from most of the work I’ve been doing recently. They were multiples, such as Peers, shown here. They were paintings with several windows with a new scene in each, although most of the scene were very similar to the others.
It was a format in which I really enjoyed working and one that I have not revisited in a couple of years. I really don’t know why. They have a very graphic appearance and really stand out on a wall, making them pretty well received as a rule. I guess in the past few years I’ve been focusing more on working on texture and heightening the color, as well as working in the Archaeology series, so that I haven’t even thought of revisiting this format.
I remember some of the early ones very well. One had 48 cells and had a great look, the result of overlaying the paint with layers of chalk and pastel. Another was the same number of cells with 48 individual small paintings, each window having a separate opening in the mat. It was a pretty difficult piece to mat and frame but it also popped off the wall. I will have to go through my slides from that time (pre-digital) and see if I can wrangle up a few shots. I would like to see them again to see how they really hold up against my memory.
Maybe I will revisit the multiples sometime soon. I often run across things that have slipped from the front of my painting mind when I go back looking for something else. It may be a format such as these multiples or may be a small compositional element. It’s always interesting for me to try to re-insert this older element into the new work, to see how the inevitable evolution of the work will change this older concept. We’ll have to see what this brings…
I think I have seen this before but it caught my eye this morning. It’s a video of Turkish artist Garip Ay who works in the art of ebru, known to us as paper marbling. In this video he takes on Van Gogh’s Starry Night but that is only the start. What turns out in the end is a bit of a surprise although you may see it coming in the process. Just a neat video and a wonderful display of total craftmanship.
For this Sunday morning music, it’s got to be Chuck.
I’m out the door this morning but wanted to at least acknowledge St. Patrick’s Day with a little traditional Celtic music from the Chieftains.
Lately, when I have been very busy, I’ve been sharing some videos of artists’ work set to music. For example, I’ve shared videos of the works of Edward Hopper and Thomas Hart Benton in recent weeks. It’s always interesting to see artists work set to music, especially when they seem to complement one another.
“Enlightenment is man’s release from his self-incurred tutelage. Tutelage is man’s inability to make use of his understanding without direction from another. Self-incurred is this tutelage when its cause lies not in lack of reason but in lack of resolution and courage to use it without direction from another. Sapere aude!- ‘Have courage to use your own reason!’- that is the motto of enlightenment.”
Last week I shared a couple of videos of the paintings of Edward Hopper set to music. I thought that I’d do the same this week for the work of another of my favorites, the great American Regionalist painter Thomas Hart Benton.
Another Sunday morning which means it’s time for a little music. I thought that for this week’s choice I would go with something a little further off the beaten track, going all the way up to Regina, Saskatchewan to grab this tune from the group 
I spoke with a group of about 60 third grade students on Thursday at the Big Flats Elementary school. Earlier this year, their art teacher, Joanna Martinec, had used my work in some of their lessons and they were excited to learn that I lived in the area. Ms. Martinec sent me an email with some images of their work and a list of questions that they had asked. I offered to come and speak directly to the kids to answer their questions.
Nowhere can man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul.
Redtree Times