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Posts Tagged ‘Corning NY’

Poetry for the Unknown

Posted in Biographical, Painting, Quote, tagged , , , , , , on August 7, 2014| 6 Comments »

magritteI conceive of the art of painting as the science of juxtaposing colours in such a way that their actual appearance disappears and lets a poetic image emerge. . . . There are no “subjects”, no “themes” in my painting. It is a matter of imagining images whose poetry restores to what is known that which is absolutely unknown and unknowable.

–Rene Magritte, 1967

    In a letter two months prior to his death

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I am giving my annual Gallery Talk at the West End Gallery this coming Saturday, August 9.   I don’t usually come in with a prepared speech, instead speaking off the cuff and responding to the audience, but I still prepare myself in a few different ways.  One is to go over possible themes and clarify my thoughts on these subjects to minimize awkward pauses at the actual talk.  Oh, it doesn’t eliminate them but it helps to have some sort of thought formed beforehand.

The quote above from Belgian Surrealist Rene Magritte reminds me of an instance where I didn’t fully get across what I was trying to communicate in response to a question.  While speaking to a regional arts group consisting of enthusiastic painters, some amateurs and some professional, a question was brought up about the importance of subject.  Magritte elegantly stated in his words what I was trying to say that evening, that the purpose of what I was doing was not in the actual portrayal of the object of the painting but in the way it was expressed through color and form and contrast.  To me, the subject was not important except as a vehicle for carrying emotion.

Of course, I didn’t state it with any kind of coherence.  Hearing me say that the subject wasn’t important angered the man who  was a lifelong painter of very accomplished landscapes.  He said that the subject was most important in forming your painting.  I fumbled around for a bit and don’t think I ever satisfied his question or got across a bit of what I was attempting to say.

I think he was still mad when he left which still bothers me because he was right, of course.  Subject is important.  It is the relationship that you have with the subject that makes it a vehicle for accurately carrying the emotional feeling  you are trying to pull from the painting.  While I am not interested in depicting landscapes of specific areas, I am moved by the rolls of hills and fields and the stately personae of trees and that comes through in my painting.  Yes, I can capture emotion in things that may not have any emotional attachment to me through the way I am painting them, which was part of what I was saying to that man that evening, but it will never be as fully realized as those pieces which consist of things and places in which I maintain a personal relationship.

It is always easier to find the poetry of the unknown in those things which we know.

Hopefully, I will not be as inelegant Saturday as I was on that evening.  I hope you can come to the West End Gallery around 1 PM and test me a bit.  I think I’m ready.  Plus, you might walk away with a painting from my studio!

See you then…

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Gallery Talk at the West End!

Posted in Neat Stuff, tagged , , , , on August 4, 2014| Leave a Comment »

GC Myers- Shine Your Light

GC Myers- Shine Your Light

I’ve written a number of times here about giving talks at the different galleries where my work is shown, where I speak for a bit and field questions.  It usually ends up as lively discussion,  like a conversation between friends .

And sometimes there’s a little more, a little extra as a show of my appreciation to those folks there who have supported my work over the years and those who think enough of it to spend an hour or so at the talk.

This coming Saturday, August 9th, I will be giving a Gallery Talk at the West End Gallery in Corning.  And , yes, there is an extra to be had at this talk that starts at 1 PM and runs for about an hour or so.

There will be a drawing for  a painting from my studio along with some other surprises at this Gallery Talk so if you’re in the Corning area this Saturday, please come in to the West End Gallery on Market Street.  Maybe you’ll leave with a painting!

PS– It is not the painting shown here, Shine Your Light, which is part of my show,  Layers , now hanging at the West End.

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“Layers” Show Preview

Posted in Motivation, Music, Painting, Recent Paintings, Video, tagged , , , , on July 20, 2014| 2 Comments »

GC Myers- In the Pocket of Time sm This coming February marks 20 years that I will have been showing my work at the West End Gallery.  It has been my pleasure over these two decades to be able to exhibit my work in my home area, to be able to share what I do with those folks who live in close proximity to me.

You would think this would make for an easy-going time when it comes to mounting a show each year, as I have done for the last twelve years.  After all, many of these people know me, have watched the evolution and growth of the paintings through this time and have supported me in so many ways that I will never be able to fully express my gratitude.

Maybe it’s that last point that makes this such a nerve-wracking show for me.   They have done so much for me that I don’t want to disappoint.   Like any performer or athlete, you always want to do well in front of a home crowd.

I feel very good about this show, feel that it will the space with deep glow of  saturated colors., feel that it really is a full expression of  myself in my work.  Hopefully, this will prove true.

Below is a short video that gives a preview of all of the work from my upcoming show, Layers, which opens this coming Friday, July 25th, at the West End Gallery in Corning, NY.   The music is  a guitar interpretation of Gymnopedie #1 from composer  Erik Satie.  The painting at the top is from the show.  Called In the Pocket of Time, it’s a 24″ by 30″ canvas that was one of the first inspirations for the show’s title.

Have a great Sunday…

 

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Seeking Uncertainty

Posted in Opinion, Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , , on June 25, 2014| 2 Comments »

Doubt is not a pleasant condition but certainty is an absurd one.

–Voltaire

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GC Myers- Twilight WandererMuch of my work has a journey or a quest as its central theme and the odd thing is that I don’t have a solid idea of what the object is that I am seeking in this work.  I have thought it was many things over the years, things like wisdom and knowledge and inner peace and so on.  But it comes down to a more fundamental level or at least I think so this morning.  It may change by this afternoon.  I think the search is for an end to doubt or at least coming to an acceptance of my own lack of answers for the questions  that have often hung over us all.

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I would say the search is for certainty but as Voltaire points out above, certainty is an absurd condition.  That has been my view for some time as well.  Whenever I feel certainty coming on in me in anything I am filled with an overriding  anxiety.  I do not trust certainty.  I look at it as fool’s gold and when I see someone speak of anything with absolute certainty–particularly politicians and televangelists– I react with a certain degree of mistrust, probably because I see this absolutism leading to an extremism that has been the basis for many of the worst misdeeds throughout history.  Wars and holocausts, slavery and genocide, they all arose from some the beliefs held by one party in absolute certainty.

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So maybe the real quest is for a time and place where uncertainty is the order of the day, where certainty is vanquished.  A place where no person can say with any authority that they are above anyone else, that anyone else can be subjugated to their certainty.

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To say that we might be better off in a time with no certainty sounds absurd but perhaps to live in a time of certainty is even more so.

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The painting at the top is called, fittingly, Seeking Uncertainty, and is a new 10″ by 20 painting on canvas that will be part of my upcoming solo show, Layers,  at the West End Gallery in Corning which opens July 25.

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Alexander Hogue: An American Visionary

Posted in Favorite Things, Influences, Video, tagged , , , , , , on September 23, 2013| 5 Comments »

Alexander Hogue- The Crucified Land 1939

Alexander Hogue- The Crucified Land 1939

Several years ago, I wrote a post about the work of Alexander Hogue, an American Regionalist painter whose work I felt was at the same level as that of Grant Wood and Thomas Hart Benton, though he never achieved the wider fame of these two.  I know I knew nothing of his work before stumbling across his name on the site of a gallery that I was associated with at the time in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where Hogue had spent the last half of his long life, dying in 1994 at the age of 96.

Alexander Hogue- Mother Earth Laid Bare

Alexander Hogue- Mother Earth Laid Bare

His work was a stunning find for me.   The imagery is bold and powerful.  His color palette was strong and unique, with deep saturated colors often alongside ethereal, wispy colors .  His depictions of the southwestern landscape possess a profound sense of place and spirit, filling what might seem like an otherwise desolate scene with a quality of humanity.  His dust bowl scenes from the 30’s are spectacular visions.

Alexander Hogue --Eroded Lava Badlands Alpine 1982

Alexander Hogue –Eroded Lava Badlands Alpine 1982

So, I was thrilled when I read that the exhibit, Alexander Hogue: An American Visionary was opening this week at the Rockwell Museum of Western Art in nearby Corning.  The Rockwell is an unexpected gem for the visitor to this region, a treasure trove of the largest collection of Western art east of the Mississippi where Hogue’s wonderful work will feel at home, although I feel his work is powerful enough to stand among any painter from the last century.  This exhibit displays work from across the many years of his long career, with works from the 1920’s up to near the end of his life.  Hogue worked until his death, which I find reassuring.

Here’s a video from  the show’s curator, Susan Kalil. I love how she describes the attachment of the owners of Hogue’s paintings to the work. I really urge you, if you are in the Corning area this fall, to stop into the Rockwell to see this show.

 

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What Next?

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on August 31, 2013| Leave a Comment »

GC Myers Sea Call My annual show at the West End Gallery in Corning ended yesterday which leads to the question: What’s next on the horizon?

Well, for starters, next Saturday, September 7, I will be at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria, VA for my annual Gallery Talk there. It’s normally a pretty good time with some laughs and, hopefully, some real information passed along.  If you’ve never been to one, don’t expect a lot of technical mumbo jumbo that might scare you away.  Oh, be assured, I will answer any question about technique  but I try to focus more on the stories behind the work.  Motivations, meaning and emotional content.  And maybe a story or two.

Plus, as in the past few years, there will be a free drawing for one of my original paintings.  I try to make the work that I give away special and this year’s piece is one of my favorite orphans.  It has meaning for me and hopefully will as well for whoever takes it home.  So, if you’re in the Old Town area next Saturday afternoon, stop in at the Principle and maybe win a painting.  I If you don’t win, I’ll try to at least make the time seem  well spent.  Hope you can make it.

After that, my focus will turn to my final show of 2013, which will open November 23  ( my early morning mistake– it is actually the 16th!) at the Kada Gallery in Erie, PA.   I’ve been showing at the Kada since 1996 and  owners Kathy and Joe DeAngelo have always done a great job for my work and my shows there, so I always  do my best to provide some very special work.  This year’s show is titled Alchemy and I promise that there will have some interesting work to support that title.

I will, of course, provide more details in the upcoming months.

For the moment, that is what in store for the next few months.  Got to get to work!

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The Sky Doesn’t Pity

Posted in Biographical, Favorite Things, Influences, Painting, Personal Mythology, tagged , , , , , on August 22, 2013| 4 Comments »

GC Myers-The Sky Doesn't Pity 1995smI was looking around my studio, taking in some of the work hanging on the walls throughout the house.  There are pieces from other artists, including some notables such as David Levine and Ogden Pleissner, but most of it is older work of my own.  There are a few orphans, paintings that showed extensively but never found a home.  In some I see flaws that probably kept someone from taking it home but most just didn’t find that right person with which to connect.  Most of the other hanging work is work that I won’t part with, work that somehow has deeper meaning for me.  Work that just stays close.

One of these paintings is the one shown here, The Sky Doesn’t Pity, a smallish watercolor that’s a little over 4″ square.  It was painted in 1995 after I had started publicly showing my work for the first time at the West End Gallery in Corning, NY, not too far from my home.  The gallery has been what I consider my home gallery for 18 years now, hosting an annual solo show of my work for the last eleven years.  This year’s show, Islander, ends next Friday.

But when this piece was done I was still new there, still trying to find a voice and a style that I could call my own.  I had sold a few paintings and had received a lot of encouragement from showing the work at the gallery but was still not sure that this would lead anywhere.  I entered this painting in a regional competition at the Gmeiner Art Center in Wellsboro , a lovely rural village in northern Pennsylvania with beautiful Victorian homes and gas lamps running down Main Street.

It was the first competition I had ever entered and, having no expectations, was amazed when I was notified that this piece had taken one of the top prizes.  I believe it was a third but that didn’t matter to me.  Just the fact that the judges had seen something in it, had recognized the life in it, meant so much to me.  It gave me a tremendous sense of validation and confidence in moving ahead.  Just a fantastic boost that opened new avenues of possibility in my mind.

I still get that same sense even when I look at this little piece today, a feeling that would never let me get rid of this little guy.  I can’t tell you how many times I have glimpsed over at this painting and smiled a bit, knowing what it had given me all those years ago.

 

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Talk OD

Posted in Favorite Things, Painting, tagged , , on August 2, 2013| 4 Comments »

GC Myers- The Prodigal SightI OD’d yesterday.

No, not on drugs.

Talk.  Straight, pure, unadulterated talking.

I gave my Gallery Talk yesterday at the West End Gallery to a group  people who just let me keep going on and on, sometimes egging me on with questions and comments that opened up new veins of info.  Enablers, that’s what they were.  By the time I was home, I was physically wiped out from all of the talking.   Seriously.

But, all kidding aside, I think it was worth it.  The talk went very well thanks to a wonderful group of folks who chose to spend an hour or two with me at the gallery.  They were attentive and inquisitive, asking questions that allowed us to cover a lot of material.  If it was a successful talk, it was all due to their good graces.  I send out a hearty thank you to everyone who attended.  You certainly made my task easier and for that I am truly appreciative.

We also had a drawing and awarded the painting above, The Prodigal Sight, to Steve M. from Corning, someone who I have known through the gallery for many years but did not yet have a painting of mine.  This was a painting that had only shown once a few years back and had remained with me in the studio since, along with a mere handful of pieces from each year that had returned to stay with me, their qualities yet to be discovered and enjoyed by someone willing to take them in.

Orphans, of a sort.

I commented that these pieces that stay around for a bit become so familiar and fond to me, more so sometimes than the more wildly successful pieces that quickly leave the studio and galleries never to be seen again.  I noticed that the frame on this piece had a slightly darkened edge where I had picked it up in the same spot many times over the past few years.  Seeing this made me realize how often I do gaze at these few pieces in the studio that haven’t yet found homes, wondering why the things I see in them haven’t become obvious to others.  I imagine that is how a parent sometimes feels about their child, seeing their better qualities above their flaws.

Anyway,I am glad that this piece has found a home, one in which I am sure it will be highly regarded.

Again, thank you to everyone who came to the West End Gallery yesterday.  I truly enjoyed my binge but now I am off to rehab in the quiet of my studio.  It’s a strictly”no talk” zone today.

 

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Show Night

Posted in Recent Paintings, Technique/History, tagged , on July 28, 2013| 4 Comments »

GC Myers- Correspondence

GC Myers- Correspondence 12″ X 34″ on paper

Well, the opening for my annual show, Islander,  at the West End Gallery was this past Friday evening  and, as I wrote here on Friday, I had some apprehensions.  Not about the show itself.  No, on that front I was confident and felt that this was one of the  best shows I had produced for the gallery.  No, it was just that summer openings are sometimes sparsely attended, especially  when the weather is as beautiful as it has been for the last few days, everybody trying to pack in as much time as possible outdoors.  But thankfully people did show up and the evening turned out well, even successful.

I would like to thank everyone who did come to the West End on Friday.  I can’t really express how appreciative I am.  It was such a pleasure getting to meet many new faces and talk with them for a bit.  One of the luxuries of the summer opening is being able to spend more than one or two minutes with someone.  I have had openings where even that short time is a stretch so being able to actually relate more about the work to someone who has traveled to see the show is a big plus.

For example, there were two couples, Melissa and Peter from the Albany area and Julie and Mark from Westchester County, who had traveled to Corning to see the show after coming across my work at last year’s exhibit at the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown.   I was able to spend a little more time getting to know  them  and to tell them more about my work.  I only hope that I didn’t talk too much!

I have written here before about how I judge a show by how much time the people in attendance spend looking at the wall rather than how many people gather in front of them to talk.  The faces are all turned outward toward the walls rather than inward.  This show was a good example of such a show.  It wasn’t as crowded as some shows but those in attendance were definitely there to see the work.  That is what I am looking for from my work– paintings that continue to draw the viewer’s eye to them and provoke a reaction.  In this particular aspect, this show was definitely a hit.

Again, many thanks to those who came to the gallery.  It was my pleasure to meet those of you who I was able to speak with and be assured that the energy you provide me carries me through a lot of long days alone in the studio.  Thanks also to  Linda, Jesse and Hedy at the West End for their their friendship and commitment to my work over the years.  Their hard work on my behalf is so appreciated.

Now, on to the next thing– getting ready for my Gallery Talk at the West End this coming Thursday, from noon til one or so.  Hope you can make it!

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Feelings Before the Show

Posted in Biographical, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , on July 24, 2013| 2 Comments »

GC Myers-The Understanding Silence sm

The Understanding Silence– GC Myers

Well, just another few days until another show at the West End Gallery in nearby Corning.  I feel that this show,  which is called Islander and hangs at the gallery from this Friday, July 26, until August 30, is a very strong group of work and represents my work at its best.  I just think that this is a very good show.  Maybe that is not for me to say but I am proud to deliver a show that lives up to my own expectations, especially to a gallery that I consider my home gallery, one that has been responsible for me even considering painting as a career path.  Without their unexpected invitation to show my work there eighteen years ago who knows where I would be right now or what I would be doing.  I very much doubt that I would be writing this at this moment.  I even have a doubt that I would even be painting.

As much as I want to deliver a good show because of this gratitude  there is also  the desire  to simply do well in your home area, to show the home crowd, especially those folks who first supported the work,  that their support was well-founded.  I feel a tremendous sense of debt to those people for giving me the incentive and inspiration to keep pushing ahead, to keep creating solid work  that continues to expand.

There is also the desire to show young artists from the area that in doing consistently good work there is the possibility to  make their living as an artist.  Our area is not the most affluent and there are not a lot of examples of successful working artists for them to follow but I hope that they get some inspiration from a home grown artist who, while basically uneducated and without many advantages, makes a decent living.  A matter of  if he can do it,so can I.

I suppose there is also the desire to show those people who may have doubted the validity of my work from the beginning that it does have worth, does have meaning.  That has become less and less of a motivator as I have grown into my work.  I find now that  I would rather focus on those people who see something in my work rather than trying to sway people who are naturally averse to my work.  You can never satisfy everyone and wasting time trying to do so takes away from your core work.

So, as you can see, I put a lot of pressure on myself with these shows, probably more than I should.  Probably more than is healthy for myself.  I have written here before about the anxiety I feel before a show and it’s always even more intense before these home shows, especially a summer show such as this.  You hope for a great turnout but being the summer many people are away on vacation or at the nearby lakes so attendance naturally suffers a bit.  You want to put out a great group so that people don’t regret making the choice to come to the show and will tell their friends who couldn’t make it so that they will eventually stop in to see it.

But, in the end, I reconcile it all with the knowledge that I have given a total effort and produced a show of which I can be proud.  Hope you can come see it.

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The painting at the top is from the show and is titled The Understanding Silence.  It is a 16″ by 20″ canvas.

 

 

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