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Abstract Fears

September 9, 2015 by redtreetimes

GC Myers- Plates 2015I had a dream a month or so ago that has had me working on fields of painted shapes, trying to recapture the forms that captivated me in that dream.  It’s an elusive thing and I am still trying to figure out where this fits in my work.

GC Myers- Time Frames smI have used many of these attempts as the background texture under a few pieces featuring some of my normal imagery– the Red Tree in a landscape for example, like the painting shown here on the right.  I like the added depth that this background gives the work and could easily see it becoming a regular part of my process.

But part of me sees the painted group of shapes as an entity in and of itself, something that could and should stand alone.  Even though I feel my normal work is built primarily on abstract forms, showing a piece like the one shown here at the top of the page feels different in many ways, some of which raise fears in me.

First of all, it is based less on emotion than most of my work.  I think my work comes often across because it speaks of and to emotions common to us all.  This work feels more purely meditative, like I am looking at the building blocks of thought and matter.  They simply exist.  No emotion, no judgments, no narrative to fulfill.

And that scares me a bit.  Takes me out of my comfort zone and leaves me feeling more exposed even though I might actually be showing fewer aspects of myself in the work.  Maybe it’s a case of standing naked without the protection of any sort of cover, asking viewers to accept me as I am without trying to influence them with my choice of what I wear over my true being.

That’s a hard thing to do when you’ve been standing in front of people in one guise for so long.  So I struggle tying to determine if this new work can stand naked and alone.  There is much more to explore in it and over the next few months I hope to find the answers I am seeking.

As with all things, we shall see…

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Labor Day/ Working Hands

September 7, 2015 by redtreetimes

Since it is Labor Day, I thought I would rerun a post from several years back that is one of my favorites that very much has to do with one of the symbols of labor–the hands of the worker:

working-hands-photo-by-tony-smallman-2008I have always regarded manual labour as creative and looked with respect – and, yes, wonder – at people who work with their hands. It seems to me that their creativity is no less than that of a violinist or painter.

-Pablo Casals

******************

I came across this shot of working hands and it made me think of how I’ve viewed hands through my life.  I’ve always looked at people’s hands since I was a child.  The liver spotted hands of my grandmother had thin ivory fingers that seemed like translucent china, for instance.

The hands of our landlord Art, an old farmer, were thick and strong and missing at least one digit down to the knuckle on several fingers, the result of an impatient personality and old farm machinery.  Not a great match.  I saw quite a few farmers with missing fingers.

Fat Jack, who I wrote about here a ways back, had hands whose nails were longer than you might expect and permanently rimmed with the black from the oil and grease of the machines on which he was always working.  His hands were round and plump, like Jack himself, but surprisingly soft and nimble, good for manipulating the small nuts and bolts of his world.

There was a manager when I was in the world of automobiles who was a great guy but had extremely soft and damp hands.  It was like handling a cool dead fish when you shook hands.  A mushy, damp, boneless fish.

I admired working hands.  They reflected their use so perfectly, the scars and callouses  serving as badges of honor and the thick muscularity of the fingers attesting to the time spent at labor.  They seemed honest with nothing to hide.  They were direct indicators of that person’s life and world.

My own hands have changed over the years.  They were once more like working hands, calloused and thickening from many hours spent with a shovel.  There are a number of small scars from screwdrivers that jumped from the screwhead and into the flesh time and time again and another on the end of my middle finger from when I cut the very end of it off while trying to cut a leather strap with a hunting knife.  Not a great idea.

I always felt confident when my hands were harder and stronger.  Now, I have lost some of that thickness of strength and the fingers are thinner and a bit softer from doing less manual labor.  I look at them now and wonder how I would have judged them when I was younger, when I measured a man by his hands, something that  I don’t do  now.  I now know there are better ways to measure a life, that the work of the mind is now a possibility– something that seemed a million miles away then.  But when I come across working hands, strong and hard, I find myself admiring them still.

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John Henry

September 6, 2015 by redtreetimes

John-Henry-statueAnother Labor Day weekend.

I usually focus on the labor aspect of this holiday when writing about it, trying to point out how much our country was shaped by both the toil of the workers as well as the labor unions who fought for and won many of the rights that we now take for granted.  But this year I thought I would focus on a folk song that addresses the role and importance of labor in our lives:

John Henry–  that steel driving man who faced off in an epic battle of man against machine, defeating the steam drill that threatened to take away his job.  Well, sort of defeating it.  I guess a victory is still a victory even if you die in the wake of your triumph.

john_henry_by_fw_long_dehtUnfortunately, John Henry’s great efforts ultimately didn’t save the jobs of the workers who would be displaced by the steam drill.  But it did illustrate the importance of  labor and the purpose it adds in our lives.  Labor has always been that thing by which we have provided for ourselves and our families, from the time we were primarily hunter/gatherers and farmers (which was not that long ago) to the present day.  To take away that ability to provide is to strip away one’s pride and definition as a human.

In that aspect, John Henry’s victory  was more than a triumph of blood and bone over steel and gears.  It was a triumph of the human spirit, a crying out of our need to be necessary in some way, to be undiminished.  And despite John Henry paying the ultimate price for his victory, I think that is why this song still strikes a strong chord with us.

So for this Sunday’s music I will play one of my favorite versions (among many) of John Henry.  It’s from Johnny Cash from his 1963 album, Blood, Sweat and Tears, an album which focused on labor.  I think it captures that idea of purpose really well.

Have a great Labor Day weekend but try to remember the idea behind the holiday.

John Henry William Gropper
 

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Perpetua

September 4, 2015 by redtreetimes

GC Myers- Perpetua

The decisive moment in human evolution is perpetual. That is why the revolutionary spiritual movements that declare all former things worthless are in the right, for nothing has yet happened.

—Franz Kafka

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I have been working on some new work that is built on layers of painted textures in the under painting.  They are often in their own way abstract pieces in themselves and I find myself contemplating the possibility of building more on these to create pure abstract paintings without any direction toward representation.  I think there will be at least several attempts in the future to at least explore the possibility, trying to see if I can satisfy my own needs within the realm of abstraction.  But for the moment, the abstract elements support, and hopefully enhance,  my own imagery.

Much like my normal gessoed surfaces, these painted underlying elements are meant to create a visual thumbprint, a distinct and individual surface that has a life force of its own and adds a measure of depth to the whole of the painting.  Some of the painted textures have been chaotic with multiple shapes and colors throughout.  Others use similar forms and colors set in a loosely patterned manner.  Whether they are random or built in a pattern, they must have some natural flow and depth within.

This new piece above is an 18″ by 18″ canvas that I call Perpetua.  It is built on a base of what I would call painted rectangular plates that seem to be descending into the background.  For me, it takes a simple image comprised of only a couple of elements and gives it added levels of depth and meaning.

When I look at this, that background has me considering things beyond the central figure of the Red Tree and its place in the moment.  It becomes a mere marker in a larger continuum, perhaps at the vanguard in its own present time but soon to be surpassed by the progress of the coming future.  Perhaps those plates represent images of past times and those things that were the cutting edges of those times, hovering in the background and supporting a new ascension.

Maybe.  Who knows?  I painted it and much of it remains a mystery to me.

And maybe that is the whole point…

Posted in Painting, Quote, Recent Paintings, Technique/History | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment »

Quote of the Week: Lawren Harris

September 3, 2015 by redtreetimes

Lawren Harris- Mountains in Snow 1929

Lawren Harris- Mountains in Snow 1929

The power of beauty at work in man, as the artist has always known, is severe and exacting, and once evoked, will never leave him alone, until he brings his work and life into some semblance of harmony with its spirit.

—Lawren Harris

***************

The more I look at the work and read the words of the great Canadian painter Lawren Harris (1885-1970), the more of a fan I become.   His work was never about  capturing the physical reality of place.  No, it concerned itself with capturing the emotional response to the and harmony and spiritual nature of place, to evoke that power of beauty that has moved him.  It reminds me in that sense of  Edward Hopper’s work.

I am totally enamored with his paintings of the great white north in fantastic colors and forms but have been recently looking at his more abstract work and find then every bit as beautiful and engrossing.  They possess that same degree of feeling of his more representational pieces yet move into an even more internal space.  I find them intriguing and inspiring.

There is a book on the work of Lawren Harris coming out in a few weeks, co-authored by actor/comedian/art collector Steve Martin, The Idea of North: The Paintings of Lawren Harris,  that will be attempting to take Harris from being portrayed as  just a Canadian painter and place him highly in the larger context of all art.  It’s a book to which I am looking forward.

Lawren Harris The Spirit of the Remote Hills 1957Lawren Harris - abstractLawren Harris- Abstract #7 Lawren Harris- Abstract Painting #20 Lawren Harris abstractlawren harris-mt-lefroy LawrenHarris-Mount-Thule-Bylot-Island-1930

Posted in Favorite Things, Influences, Quote | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments »

A Couple of Deadlines

September 2, 2015 by redtreetimes

GC Myers- Lake Tranquil

GC Myers- Lake Tranquil

This Friday, September 4,  is the final day for my Home+Land show that is hanging at the West End Gallery.  If you’ve been waiting to see it, I hope you get a chance to check it out. Many Thank You’s to everyone who made this a successful show!

Also, I have mentioned that I will be leading a two day workshop where I will be revealing many of the techniques I use in my work.  It takes place at the YCAC in Penn Yan, NY on Thursday and Friday, September 17 & 18, which is just over two weeks away.

Speaking with director Kris Pearson, I discovered that while the workshop was initially filled there have been two cancellations so there are still two openings left.  So if you are interested, please contact Kris by email at info@artscenteryatescounty.org or by phone at 315-536-8226.  It should be a fun couple of days, so if you’re up for it, please come along for the ride!

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September Song

September 1, 2015 by redtreetimes

GC Myers- September Song sm

GC Myers- September Song 2014

August has finally and thankfully passed.  You would think as one gets older you would want to hold on to every moment–every day, week and month– but August never passes quickly enough for me.  This distaste for August has given September an almost magical appeal.  The very sound of the word feels cool and easy in my mind.

Relieved from the hard edges and sharpness of August, September brings cooler air and falling leaves.  Time passes just as quickly but there is a calmness which allows for reflection.  In September, I often find myself stopping and just standing,  looking into the sky and absorbing the moment, glad to just be where I am.

Maybe that’s why I love the old song September Song.  It’s a wistful reflection on the passing of time and aging.  Composed by Kurt Weill, it was written for  and  first recorded by Walter Huston for the Broadway play Knickerbocker Holiday in which he plays Peter Stuyvesant, the governor of New Amsterdam (present day New York) in the 1600’s.

The play didn’t have much success but the song, written for Huston’s limited vocal range and rough voice, has lived on as one of the great standards of modern music, recorded by scores of artists over the years. Today I thought I would play a beautiful version from the one and only Ella Fitzgerald.  As I look out of my studio window, it is cool and foggy and the words and sound of this song just feel so right for the first day of September.

Have a great day.

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Edward Calvert’s Visionary Prints

August 31, 2015 by redtreetimes

The Chamber Idyll 1831 Edward Calvert 1799-1883

Edward Calvert The Chamber Idyll 1831

Edward Calvert was a British artist born in 1799 .  He was trained in the Royal Academy as a painter and had a distinguished career as traditional painter of his era.  But in his early years, he also learned wood and copper engraving as a member of a group of artists who were followers of visionary artist and poet William Blake.  They called themselves The Ancients.

It was during this time that Calvert created a series of prints from his engravings that are considered visionary masterpieces.  I know that when I look at them they seem to be out of time and almost modern in feel, certainly not something you would expect to see from Britain in the 1820’s.  His last engraving from this time was The Chamber Idyll, shown at the top, finished in 1831.  It is considered his masterpiece and would be the last print he ever did, abandoning printmaking altogether to pursue his career as a painter.

He didn’t carry the visionary feel of his early print work into his paintings, choosing to work in the traditional style of the time.  While he had a long career as a painter, his painted work is not considered in the nearly the same regard as his prints which are considered to be some of the most important British prints made. I think they are pretty wonderful and  find myself just staring at them, taking in each composition’s  design and use of space within the picture.  Just beautiful…

The Sheep of his Pasture circa 1828 Edward Calvert

Edward_Calvert_-_The_Ploughman_

Edward Calvert- The Ploughman 1827

Edward Calvert The Brook 1829

Edward Calvert -The Lady and the Rooks 1829

Edward Calvert -The Flood 1829

Edward Calvert -The Cyder Feast 1828

Edward Calvert -The Bride 1828

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Highway 61 Revisited

August 30, 2015 by redtreetimes

Highway 61 Revisited Album CoverI wrote earlier this week about the 40th anniversary of Springsteen’s classic LP, Born to Run.  Just a day or two later came another anniversary of another landmark album, this one marking  50 years since Highway 61 Revisited from Bob Dylan was released back in 1965.  It has remained a critical favorite over the decades, coming in at #4 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.  Of course, lists like that are pretty subjective but in this case, I tend to agree.

It was Dylan’s first all electric outing after making the transition from purist folkie to rock star with his prior album, Bringing It All Back Home, which was part acoustic folk and part electric rock.  With Highway 61 Revisited, Dylan went all in and made an album that was a real document and catalyst for the turbulent times in which it was made.  It is said that the 1960’s, as we have come to remember them as an era, started with this album.

I know it has long been a favorite of mine.  It’s an album that has been with me for so long that it doesn’t seem to be of any time, regardless of its age.  It just is.  Every song holds up and each is like a full and rich meal.  It’s filled with a meaty mix of words and textures and meanings that just fills you up.

So, for this week’s Sunday morning music,  what could be more fitting than the title track from this classic from half a century ago?  It’s a song that never gets to get my blood moving.  It’s been covered by a multitude of other artists and I don’t know that I ever heard a bad cover of it.  Here’s the original.  Have a great Sunday!

 

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Yummy Night

August 28, 2015 by redtreetimes

West End Childrens Center Party 2015 Charlotte Royal

I was the guest speaker last night at a private event held at the West End Gallery.  It was a combination dessert /wine tasting with a bit of a gallery talk thrown in to break up the great flavors, all of which was an item offered in a charity auction to benefit the Children’s Center of Corning that was held earlier in the year.  The generous winning bidders, Chris and Darryl Heckle, and a group of their friends were treated to four incredible desserts and their appropriate wine accompaniments provided by Susan Barbosa, the executive chef at Corning Inc.

Oh, best of all– I got in on the goodies as well.

The one shown above was the first of the night, an exquisite Charlotte Royal.  It was a beautifully crafted dome of two cool and creamy mousses under a covering of thin sponge cake slices.  Wonderful flavors.

Profiterol Cheesecake WE 2015My favorite was the finale offering was this monster, a base of chocolate cheesecake filled with profiteroles (creme puffs!) that was topped with a deep chocolate ganache.  Long story made short– I cleaned every drop of it off my plate.  I could have eaten that until my eyes popped but decorum dictated that I just eat the large piece I was given.  I don’t know how decorum judged me licking my plate clean but that’s the risk you take when you let a guy like me into an event like this.

All kidding aside, it was a lovely evening with a very congenial and interesting group of people.  I gave an abbreviated version of my gallery talk and answered a number of questions from the group.  I also talked a bit about  a few other artists in the gallery, pointing out the influence of the late Tom Buechner on the many artists of this area.  Hopefully, they found something of interest in much of this.

A hearty “Thank You” to the Chris and Darryl Heckle for their generous bid.  Also, many thanks to Peigi Cook of the Children’s Center for her coordination of the auction and this event and to Susan Barbosa for the meticulous preparation and service of her wonderful goodies.  And to Jesse and Linda at the West End Gallery for opening their gallery to this event.

It was a pleasure.  And tasty, too!

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