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The Wayfaring Stranger

September 27, 2016 by redtreetimes

GC Myers- Wayfaring StrangerOne of the results of doing this blog for so long– over eight years now– is that when real life takes precedence and there’s not enough time or energy to write anything, I feel a real sense of guilt.  This has become an entrenched part of my day and to be too busy or distracted with something else leaves me with a bit of an empty feeling, like I’m shirking my duty, even if it is only to myself.

And that’s how I am feeling this morning.  Way behind on so many things, some way due in part to forces beyond my control and partly due to my own faults, I still find myself needing to get something down this morning if only to start to get my normal, productive routine back on track. So, I went through some older images and the painting above from back in 2004 immediately jumped out at me.

It’s a favorite of mine called Wayfaring Stranger.  based on the old 19th century folk song concerning a pilgrim’s journey to a better place in this world.  I’ve always liked the clarity and feel of this painting.  The houses have an anonymous coolness, the kind a stranger might feel as they pass by while on their journey and the distant sky with its dark warmth and the golden fields beneath it  reminds me of the song’s second verse:

I know dark clouds will gather o’er me
I know my pathway is rough and steep
But golden fields lie out before me
Where weary eyes no more shall weep
I’m going home to see my mother
She said she’d meet me when I come
I’m only going over Jordan
I’m only going over home

It’s a very simple painting but I think that simplicity is it’s strength, much like the song.  The song has been sung by scads of performers over the years but I really like this version from Neko Case.  Give a listen.  Time for me to get back on my own path…

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Tomorrow Is My Turn

September 25, 2016 by redtreetimes

Sunny Point from the shore of Keuka LakeThe last couple of weeks have been pretty hectic as you might guess from the lack of posts here.  There was the Gallery Talk last weekend at the Principle Gallery down in Virginia then a few days spent setting up and leading the painting workshop at Sunny Point on Keuka Lake with a bunch of personal things jammed in between.  I was plain pooped out yesterday and just couldn’t get myself to write anything for the blog.

Inside at Sunny Point. Keuka LakeBut the workshop at Sunny Point this week went really well and was, I think, fun for the folks there. Me, too.

But I do know that they made incredible strides in a very short period of time and had created several pieces that were pretty advanced in my opinion.  I think I made some strides, as well, as far as my teaching method goes which made everything goes a little faster. This, along with the beautiful setting on the shore of Keuka Lake, with the lap of the waves keeping rhythm just outside the workspace, made this year a bit  more enjoyable than last year’s affair which was very satisfying in itself.

I was very unsure going in if I would be willing to do this again but this experience with this setting and the warmth of the folks there makes me think I might want to try once more.  We’ll see.

For this Sunday’s musical selection I thought I’d go with something slightly weighty and cerebral.  I think this version of Tomorrow is My Turn  fills the bill.  It’s from the super talented Rhiannon Giddens and is a remake of Nina Simone‘s English language version of a Charles Aznavour  song, written originally, of course, in French.  None of that really matters when you’re listening.  So set everything aside and give a listen.  Then have a good Sunday…

Posted in Favorite Things, Music | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

In Heaven Now…/ Redux

September 20, 2016 by redtreetimes

Even though this post only ran last August, I thought it was worth replaying, if only to remind us to maintain some semblance of civility and sanity in this bitter election season.  I was reminded of this post because the painting featured in it, Raised Up, went with me to the Principle Gallery for my talk there this past Saturday.  It’s a piece that I like very much as is the song at the end from John Prine.  Hope you’ll enjoy them as well…

GC Myers- Raised Up

Practice kindness all day to everybody and you will realize you’re already in heaven now.

—Jack Kerouac

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I am not sure what to do with these words from Jack Kerouac but I do like them and think they deserve to be passed along.  I am a firm believer of kindness in all forms and believe that it is a pathway to a better life here in this world.

When I was waiting tables I found that my own attitude and demeanor often dictated how others responded to me.  If I smiled and acted congenially, more often than not the person I was dealing with responded in the same manner.  We are reactionary creatures and we instinctively respond according to the tone we encounter– rudeness with rudeness and anger with anger.

And kindness with kindness.

It’s our choice.  If we can fight against our reactionary nature and choose to act and react with kindness, we can shape our world and then perhaps realize that a form of heaven might be within our grasp.

I have never had the faith or certainty of those who believe that there is an actual heaven waiting beyond this world.  I would like to but I just don’t have it within me.  So, for me, if there is to be a heaven it is something to be sought in the here and now.  By that, I mean creating an environment that is honest, kind and gentle.  A life that is peaceful and quiet–that would be heaven to me.

So, when you’re out there today and face rudeness and anger, make the choice to react in a gentler manner and be kind.  Your world might be one small step closer to heaven.

This quote reminded me of a song from one of my favorites, John Prine.  The title pretty much sums it up: He Was In Heaven Before He Died.

Posted in Advice, Current Events, Favorite Things, Music, Quote | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Thanks…

September 19, 2016 by redtreetimes

gc-myers-gallery-talk-2016-smMany, many thanks to everyone who came out to the Gallery Talk at the Principle Gallery on Saturday.  While I wasn’t as sharp as I would have liked, everything (including the giveaways at the talk’s end!) went off really well and it was great to speak with so many folks that I only get to see once in a great while.

I don’t know if I can really ever fully explain how important these talks have been for me.  It’s not only for the wonderful feedback I receive about the work which helps me see the paintings in the way others do but in the way it allows me to express my gratitude for the life that their appreciation of my work has given me.  These talks allow me to see how fortunate I was to have fallen into this life.

So,  a deep thank you to everyone there, including my good friends at the Principle Gallery– Michele, Clint, Pam, Haley and Pierre— who allow me to feel at home in their space with their warm friendship.  You have all given me more than you will ever know, more than I can ever repay in gifts or words.

Since I was out of the studio yesterday and missed my Sunday morning music, I thought I’d fill that void today with a selection that gallery director Clint reminded me of this past week in a posting on Facebook where he played this song and invited his friend to identify it.  It’s a song from guitarist Bill Frisell , called Ghost Town/ Poem For Eva. I couldn’t identify the song at first without a clue from Clint even though I knew that I knew the song.  I have used music from this particular Bill Frisell album in an earlier video of my Outlaw series.

So, give a listen and have a good week…

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You Can Win It! Gallery Talk Today!

September 17, 2016 by redtreetimes

Defiant Heart! Win this Painting!

Defiant Heart! Win this Painting!

Just a last reminder:

I will be giving a Gallery Talk today, Saturday, September 17, at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria, VA.  The event starts at 1 PM and is about an hour long with plenty of conversation and a lot of Q & A so if there is something about my work you want to know, today is your best chance to ask about it.  I promise to be completely honest and transparent– or at least a reasonable facsimile thereof.  It is an election year, after all.

Plus, the highlight is the free drawing at the end of the talk for the painting shown here, Defiant Heart.

And, as usual, a little more.

Hope you can make it!

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Studio Favorites

September 16, 2016 by redtreetimes

GC Myers- Geometry 1999

GC Myers- Geometry, 1999

I have mentioned that I will be bringing a group of older paintings from my studio with me when I head to the Principle Gallery for my Gallery Talk there tomorrow, Saturday.  These pieces will be there for only a short time and most have become favorites of mine as they have spent more time with me here in the studio.

One is a 1999 painting, shown here on the right, called Geometry.  This vintage piece that is very typical of my pre-2000 work: the Red Tree had yet to make an appearance and the composition is basically comprised of two blocks of color separated by a thin line of white.  There’s a lot that I like about this simple painting.  It has a mature quality, one of completeness, that was coming into my work at that time.  It reinforces my confidence to see that it holds up well after seventeen years.

GC Myers- In the Window: The Searcher

GC Myers- In the Window: The Searcher

Another included painting is called In the Window: The Searcher from 2005.  It is one of my favorites from the Window series which was a fairly short lived series.  The concept of my landscapes being placed in windows in the way a jewel is placed in a setting was a fun concept and exciting to work in.  It got a lot of interest from collectors at the time but it felt limited to me as a long term series, one that I would work in throughout the years.  But it remains a series that still captures my fancy and I think that this piece really exemplifies what I was trying for in it.

There are several other paintings from different years in this group, many shown below, that all have similar backgrounds.  These are all pieces that have somehow found their way back to me without finding a true home.  It’s interesting to see them in the context of the current work, to see both the consistency in the work as well as where they diverge.

 

Defiant Heart! Win this Painting!

Defiant Heart! Win this Painting!

You’ll be able to see the whole group  together tomorrow on the gallery walls along with a selection of new works.  So, I hope you’ll stop in this Saturday at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria.  My Gallery Talk there will be starting at 1 PM and will feature a free drawing for the painting shown here, Defiant Heart, along with a few other goodies.  These talks are generally a lively conversation with a lot of Q & A.  It has usually been a good time in the past and I see no reason this shouldn’t be a lot of fun as well.  Hope you can make it!

GC Myers- Room to Breathe

GC Myers- Room to Breathe

GC Myers- Through Time

GC Myers- Through Time

GC Myers- Call to Waking

GC Myers- Call to Waking

GC Myers- In the Clearing

 

 

 

 

 

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A Time to Rest

September 15, 2016 by redtreetimes

GC Myers- A Time to Rest smThere is a group of new work along with a select group of older pieces heading to the Principle Gallery with me on Saturday when I head there for my annual Gallery Talk.  The piece shown here is a new painting, an 8″ by 16″ canvas that I call A Time to Rest.

The rows of the fields have represented the idea of work to me for some time in my paintings.  I have always considered myself more of a worker than an artist, feeling that my work ethic kind of defines me in my painting.  I like being in the studio, like the work that I do and would rather be alone in my studio than almost anywhere else most of the time.

In fact, I find the work itself restful.  Sometimes for me, it is the time away from the work that seems labored and difficult.

And maybe that’s the point of this painting: the Red Tree finds itself resting in the midst of the worked fields, looking at the work that has been done thus far.  It reminds me of being in the studio and seeing work in varying stages — some newly started with the beginnings of what they will one day be fresh on their surfaces, some prepared canvasses waiting for that first dash of paint and finished work hanging on the walls around me.

This piece surprised me.  It seemed to be blah through the initial stages.  I wasn’t sure if I would even finish it but then it suddenly popped near the end of the process and I find myself now really drawn to it.  Maybe that’s why I see myself and my own world in it so clearly.

Again, the Gallery Talk at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria is this Saturday, September 17, beginning at 1 PM.  The highlight is the drawing for my original painting , Defiant Heart, that will be held at the end of the talk.  That and a little more… 

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Come Together

September 14, 2016 by redtreetimes

GC Myers- Come TogetherThe reason why the world lacks unity, and lies broken and in heaps, is, because man is disunited with himself.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson

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This new painting, a 12″ by 36″ canvas, that is headed to the Principle Gallery with me this weekend is called Come Together.  It’s a continuation of the island theme that has been running through my work as of late.

I think the words of Emerson above fit very much with what I see in this painting.  Though it appears to be two separate islands with trees linked by a bridge, I see them as having been once united and have somehow been separated.  In this case, it may have been the tumult of time where the seabeds rise and the mountaintops fall– many of the high peaks that we know are sedimentary rock, after all, raised from the bottoms of the oceans.

The disunity Emerson was writing about was man separating himself from nature instead of realizing that he is part of nature and operates best when he is united with it through order and reason in a sort of partnership.  It makes sense especially when you consider the way that nature reacts when we try to exercise our belief that we have dominion over it.

In the same essay, Emerson also wrote the following  that I think better puts this into context:

Nature is not fixed but fluid. Spirit alters, moulds, makes it. The immobility or bruteness of nature, is the absence of spirit; to pure spirit, it is fluid, it is volatile, it is obedient. Every spirit builds itself a house; and beyond its house a world; and beyond its world, a heaven. Know then, that the world exists for you. For you is the phenomenon perfect. What we are, that only can we see. All that Adam had, all that Caesar could, you have and can do. Adam called his house, heaven and earth; Caesar called his house, Rome; you perhaps call yours, a cobbler’s trade; a hundred acres of ploughed land; or a scholar’s garret. Yet line for line and point for point, your dominion is as great as theirs, though without fine names. Build, therefore, your own world.

We all have the ability to live within nature and to build our own world that reflects our spirit.  If only we can find unity with the nature that desires to be our partner.

Just remember, your world is what you make it.

***********

This painting will be with me at the Gallery Talk this Saturday, September 17, at the Principle Gallery.  It starts at 1 PM and  should be a good time.  There will be a drawing for the painting, Defiant Heart, which has been shown in the past couple of  posts. Plus there will be a few other surprises as well.  Hope to see you there!

Posted in Painting, Quote, Recent Paintings | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Watchman

September 13, 2016 by redtreetimes

GC Myers- WatchmanFor thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth.

—Isaiah 21:6

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The biblical verse above is of course the one which was the basis for the title for Harper Lee‘s sequel, to her classic To Kill A Mockingbird.  In the books, Scout regarded her father, Atticus Finch, as such a watchman, a moral and righteous sentinel looking out for injustice and evil.

And that is kind of how I see the central figure of this new painting, the lone Red Tree set high on rocky outcropping in what seems to be an endless sea.  Maybe it is the red of the sky that sets such a tone.  I don’t know.

I’ve been fascinated by small islands in my work lately.  The isolation of them gives these pieces a brooding quality and reminds me a bit of working as an artist.  I’ve often felt that the job of an artist is to act as a sort of watchman.

It is very much a job of isolation, one that is often formed in the solitariness of youth when one always felt like an outsider, observing the world quietly and mostly unseen from the edges of life.  The work itself is done and grows in isolation but is very much influenced by one’s observations of the world around them.  And much of the work, if it reaches the level of art, is based on a sensitivity to what that artist has observed and felt.

And maybe that is the real purpose of artists, to act as a watcher, looking to warn us of our own straying from reason and to keep our humanity intact.  Maybe that is what I see in this painting.

gc-myers-defiant-heart-smThis painting is 8″ by 24″ on canvas and is titled, of course, Watchman.  It is coming with me to the Principle Gallery this Saturday, September 17, when I give my Gallery Talk there beginning at 1 PM.  There will be a group of new paintings including this piece as well as a group of selected pieces from my studio that will only be available for that day.  And there is, of course, the drawing at the end of the talk for the painting, Defiant Heart.

Should be a good time and I hope you can make it to the Principle Gallery this Saturday!

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You Can Win This Painting!

September 12, 2016 by redtreetimes

gc-myers-defiant-heart-smThis coming Saturday, September 17, is my annual Gallery Talk at the Principle Gallery in Old Town Alexandria, VA.  This is my 14th Gallery Talk at the Principle and it’s been a lot of fun through the years.  There’s generally a lot of give and take between the audience and myself in the form of questions and comments and something new and unexpected often comes to light.  I almost always find myself saying something I didn’t expect to say or learning something new about my own work from the comments from someone at the talk.

It’s a surprising dynamic and I am always grateful for the folks who turn out at these talks.

But deep down I know they come for what has become a tradition– the giving away of one of my paintings at the end of the talk.  We have a lot of fun with this and I really do struggle in trying  to choose a painting that holds meaning for me,  one that  that I think deserves attention in someone’s home.

And the painting shown here at the top fits that bill nicely.  It is titled Defiant Heart and is about 14″ by 14″ on paper.  It’s one of those paintings that I felt strongly about but seemed to have bad timing in those times in which they hit the galleries, never coming before the eyes of that person to which it would speak some sort of truth.  There is much that I like about this painting and think it has much to say to the person who connects with it.

It will be my pleasure to have it find a home this coming Saturday.  Maybe it will be you.

So this Saturday, September 17, please come on in to the Principle Gallery in beautiful Alexandria.  The talk runs starts at 1 PM and generally runs about an hour. We’ll have a conversation, I’ll tell some of my secrets and maybe a lie or two and at the end of it, someone will take home their own Defiant Heart.  Oh, as always, there will be a few surprises along the way. Hope to see you there.

Posted in Favorite Things, Neat Stuff, Painting | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments »

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