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Posts Tagged ‘gallery talk’

Re-Presenting

Posted in Early Paintings, Painting, Technique/History, tagged , , , , on September 11, 2014| 2 Comments »

GC Myers- Blue Night Discovery

GC Myers- Blue Night Discovery

I have a small group of new work accompanying me to the Principle Gallery this Saturday for my 1 PM Gallery Talk there.  There are also two older paintings, one a piece that I wrote about here a couple of weeks ago, The Elusive Path.  It is from 1990 and is one of the first Red Tree paintings but was trapped in a bad frame that sapped away much of its potency.  A new and more fitting frame has allowed its true self to shine through.

Another older painting that will be coming with me is shown above, Blue Night Discovery.  Unlike The Elusive Path which had a horrible dull green-blue frame, this painting had a decent looking frame.  The problem was that the mat surrounding this painting on paper was extra wide and the frame was massive.  It was huge and cumbersome, much too weighty for this work.  The framed piece felt like a slab of rock when I would pick it up and I seldom looked at it because it was such a chore to drag it out.

It was buried in the very thing that was supposed to set it forward and present it in its best light.

GC Myers- The Elusive Path

GC Myers- The Elusive Path

I had went through a period of these large, heavy frames and extra wide mats and over the years I have changed most of these paintings back to smaller, more reasonable frames that don’t overwhelm the painting.  So many so that I have a huge stack of these massive frames in a basement room.  There’s enough wood there to build an addition on my studio. Looking at these frames,  I can now safely say that the idea of these wide mats and heavy frames was a misjudgement on my part.

But there is a bright side to this realization.  For all of these frames, the  paintings that had been held captive have almost all found new homes soon after being re-presented in a manner that allows them to show what they really are, to let them exhibit their own qualities.  Seeing Blue Night Discovery out of that huge frame let me see it with cleared eyes not distracted by a setting that had little to do with the piece itself.  I had discounted this painting in my mind for years because of this distraction but now saw the strong forms and saturated colors, the contrasts of the dark of the  blues against the light light of the moon.  It made me remember the time when I had painted it and those positive feelings to which it had given rise.

It seemed new again in my eyes.  All because it was in a new position, a gem in its proper setting.

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Battling Selfishness

Posted in Biographical, Quote, tagged , , , , on September 10, 2014| 2 Comments »

They who give have all things; they who withhold have nothing.

–Hindu Proverb

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"Brilliant Determination"

“Brilliant Determination”

I have given away or will be giving away several paintings recently at talks at the galleries that represent my work, including the painting shown here on the left at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria this coming Saturday.  I have described this as an act of gratitude towards the folks who have supported me so well through the years, buying my work and following its growth in the galleries and here online.  This is true, it is an act of gratitude but it also has more meaning than that for me.

It is a small act of giving that is part of a larger battle against the selfishness and meanness of spirit so evident in the world.  I am not exempt here.  I have been a selfish person in my life, probably more so than I would ever admit or know.  And I will probably be selfish in the future even though I try to avoid this pitfall.  But with each small act of giving, of parting with something that I could easily hold onto covetously, there is a lightening of my burden and my spirit.

Generosity forces down many of the meaner parts of myself and creates space within for those better parts to expand and show themselves.  It is an exhilarating feeling, a feeling of liberation from my baser self.  So much so that these events where I give away paintings have become the highlight of my working life.

I think that is why I take so much time and effort in choosing the painting to be given away.  I have to find that piece that I could easily hang onto for myself.  It has to make me twinge a bit, make me a little uncomfortable to give it away.  But once that decision has been made, the lightening begins and I am eager to see where the painting will find a new home.

So, if you can come to the talk on Saturday, know that if you win you are helping fight my battle against selfishness and bringing me great joy.  Even more so if the painting brings you some joy of your own.

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Win This Painting Saturday!

Posted in Painting, Quote, tagged , , , , , on September 9, 2014| 5 Comments »

"Brilliant Determination" - GC Myers

“Brilliant Determination” – GC Myers

Well, I finally made my choice for the painting to be given away in a drawing at this Saturday’s Gallery Talk at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria.  It was a tough decision that came down to two pieces that both have a lot of meaning for me.  But when it came right down to it, this painting, Brilliant Determination, seemed more appropriate for the event.  It has the Red Tree in a windswept posture in a simple composition that is supported by a deeply textured background that sets the emotional tone for the painting.  The strong texture of this piece has always drawn me in, connected me to it.  One criteria for giving away work has been met– this painting has meaning for myself.

Another criteria is that the painting be a real painting.  It must have real value, be a painting that I would gladly exhibit and not a studio failure that is one step from being tossed into the fireplace.  This 16″ by 20″ painting on canvas meets this requirement easily.

I thought enough of this piece to have written about it here a few years back.  Here’s what appeared in that blog entry:

 

If your determination is fixed, I do not counsel you to despair. Few things are impossible to diligence and skill. Great works are performed not by strength, but perseverance.      

– Samuel Johnson

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I’ve been thinking about determination a lot lately.  There are times when nothing seems to come easily and it seems like there are any number of things that would be more enjoyable than struggling forward with your chosen endeavor.  But in the end you force yourself ahead.  There’s a greater satisfaction in struggling with that which you have chosen and feel is meaningful than in doing something that means little to your inner self even though it is easier and, in many cases, more entertaining.

This is something I keep in mind when I’m in the studio.  There are many days when nothing comes easily, every stroke is like lifting a heavy weight and inspiration seems to have left the building long ago.  In these moments self doubts begin to stir and I seriously wonder if I have reached an end to my creative life.  It’s like a dull pain that seems like will be with me forever and there are points I want to stop.

But I remember that this is the path that I chose to follow.  With that recognition I am reminded of other times when I have been at this point before and I know, I just know, that if I steel my mind and force myself to move ahead, one small step in front of another, that I will come to a point  where all this forced energy builds and builds and suddenly breaks free.  In this moment of release, everything suddenly seems effortless and inspiration is everywhere.  It’s like going from the dark depths of a stifling mine to the top of a cool mountain.

And the memory of the toil that it has taken to reach this point fades into the distance.

Until the next time.  And that’s where determination is needed once more.

So, if you can make it to the Principle Gallery in Alexandria this Saturday, September 13th, around 1 PM, you will have a chance at giving this painting a new home.  Plus, there are always a few more surprises.  Hope you can make it!

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Open All Night

Posted in Music, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , , , , on September 7, 2014| 1 Comment »

GC Myers- Moonshadows

GC Myers- Moonshadows

I am in the midst of preparing a group of work to take with me when I go to Alexandria this coming weekend for my annual Gallery Talk at the Principle Gallery on Saturday.  It’s like a mini-show with some new paintings fresh from the studio including the piece shown here, Moonshadows.  It’s a smaller painting on paper, a 6″ by 9″ image, that moodily focuses on the moon and the  shadows cast from it by the Red Tree and the Traveler on the path.  It’s a simple and quiet piece, one that invites thought.

I have also narrowed down the field for the painting that will be given away in a drawing at the Gallery Talk.  There are two pieces that I am going back and forth on, both having real meaning for me.  As I pointed out before, it’s important to me to give away work that is real and alive at these events and I think either of the two pieces I am considering easily meet that requirement. I will reveal the piece in the next day or two so check back.

Being Sunday it’s time for some music and in keeping with the theme of the painting I chose an older song, Open All Night,  from Bruce Springsteen’s great 1982 acoustic album, Nebraska.  I find it hard to believe that this album is over thirty years old but when I consider how many times I have ran these lyrics through my head as I’ve been driving somewhere, I am less surprised.

Anyway, enjoy and have a great Sunday…

 

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Upcoming Events

Posted in Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , , on September 4, 2014| Leave a Comment »

GC Myers-Into the Valley of Color smThe summer shows are past now as I turn to the autumn months where there are a couple of things on my calendar.  First, on September 13th, I will be giving a Gallery Talk at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria.  It begins at 1 PM and runs for an hour or so.  There will be a drawing for an original  painting of mine to be given to someone in attendance plus there will be some other surprises.  I am going through my painting here in the studio trying to decide which piece will be the prize this year.  There are some strong contenders, all having some personal meaning for me.

I will also be bringing a small group of new work for the gallery.  Included is the piece shown above, Into the Valley of Color.  It’s a larger painting, measuring 36″ by 36″ on canvas, that I have been enjoying for the last few days here in the studio.  It has a real presence that draws me in when my eyes turn its way.

Next on the calendar is a new solo show, The Common Ground, which opens December 5th at the Kada Gallery in Erie, PA.  I have been showing at the Kada Gallery for going on 19 years and always enjoy my visits there.  I am pretty excited by the direction in which the work is headed as I prepare for this show.  I think it will be a very strong group.  I will be posting updates through the next couple of months.

So, if you’re in the DC area on September 13th, please stop into the Principle Gallery.  For my friend in Western Pennsylvania and NE Ohio, I will see you in December.  I had better get to work!

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Allura

Posted in Influences, Painting, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 26, 2014| 2 Comments »

GC Myers- Allura smI am putting together a small group of work to take with me for my upcoming Gallery Talk at the Principle Gallery next month, on September 13th.  Among the paintings is this 24″ by 24″ canvas that I am calling Allura.   After finishing this piece, it seemed that the moon was the central focus, the tree and landscape holding an attraction for it.   I wanted something that described that but was sort of nebulous, not really well defined.  What better way to do that than with a word that sounds descriptive and perhaps from a foreign language but has little basis in its meaning.

You see this a lot in automobiles.  The Integra.  The Elantra.  My favorite is the Cadillac SUV, the Escalade.  Oh, its a real word in French but it means the scaling of a fortification’s walls with ladders such as in a military attack.  I’m not sure how this means anything to the vehicle perceived image.

But the word Allura stuck with me.  It had its base in the word allure and that was what I was seeing in it.  It was simple and efficient and even a bit elegant.  But looking it up just to make sure it didn’t have some other meaning I found that it is an girl’s name used mainly in the 18th and 19th century in England and America.

But even more interesting was that the name’s given definition was Divine Counselor.  I liked the name even more with this little bit of info.  It seemed to fit as even better for me than the vague word implying the moon’s attraction.  I could see the Red Tree here perching itself on that rise of earth and asking for some sort of guidance from the tranquil presence in the night sky.

I feel right with the name Allura now.  It sounds like it fits and ultimately, it does…

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25 Miles

Posted in Music, Painting, Video, tagged , , , , , , , on August 10, 2014| 2 Comments »

GC Myers- All We Cannot Know smHad a really nice Gallery Talk yesterday at the West End Gallery.  A wonderful crowd of folks turned out, a mix of  many new faces and those who I have seen before.  Made for a very comfortable setting and their warmth and interest made me feel at home.

Sort of the theme of the talk.

I had two different people, both from my hometown of  Horseheads,  remark afterward how proud they were that I was from and creating this work there.  It caught me off guard.  I had never looked at my work from that perspective, as being a source of civic pride.  I had never seen it as being of one place but it is, being from where I live.  My home.  There’s a power in that phrase that can’t be underestimated.

Many, many thank you’s to everyone who took time from a summer day with perfect weather to spend an hour with me, especially to those who traveled distances to do so.  I cannot fully express my gratitude for your warmth, your attention and your participation.  And, as always, many thanks to Linda and Jesse Gardner at the gallery.  Sticking to the theme, the West End is my home gallery and they have always made me feel at home there.  Thanks so much for the opportunity you gave me nearly twenty years ago.  My life is much changed as a result.

So, since I usually have some music on a Sunday morning, let’s stick with the theme of home.  Here’s 25 Miles , performed by the late Edwin Starr, the Motown artist who is best known for his 1970 #1 hit, War .  You know the song– War– good god y’all– what is it good for, absolutely nothing.  25 Miles was from a couple of years earlier, in 1968, and reached #6 on the pop charts.  It’s an indicator of what was to come with War.

Enjoy and have great Sunday.

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Win This Painting Today!

Posted in Early Paintings, tagged , , , , on August 9, 2014| Leave a Comment »

GC Myers- Silent Passage

GC Myers- Silent Passage

Well, I give a Gallery Talk this afternoon, starting at 1 PM  at the West End Gallery in Corning in support of my show, Layers, which hangs there for another few weeks.  One of the attractions for this talk is a drawing that will be held among the attendees for a painting of mine. The process of deciding what that painting will be resembles a dance, going back and forth between selections.

I have been spending the last few days looking at some of the pieces that I have here in the studio, trying to find one that is right for this event.  I have given away paintings before at these talks and it has always been important to me that the pieces have some significance for me.  I don’t want to simply pick out an old piece that I now recognize as having weaknesses.  I have a few of those from many  years ago that still take up space here.  It would be easy to grab one of those and be done with the whole selection process.

But that would be like handing out discards and that doesn’t seem like the right thing to do when the whole concept  behind the drawing is to display the appreciation I have for those who have followed and supported my work through the years.  If the folks take time on a summer weekend  afternoon to come to the gallery to participate in a Gallery Talk then they deserve a piece that is real and alive, something meaningful and of value to me.

So, after going back and forth, I settled on this painting from a number of years ago.  It is titled Silent Passage and has long been a favorite of mine.  It is a real painting  with an image of  9″ wide by 29″ high on paper.  Its framed dimensions come in at 18″ by 38″, so it has presence in its size and its value.  But more important to than the size or monetary value of  this painting is the meaning of this work for myself.  It encapsulates much of what I have tried to put across for these years.

A study in quiet and movement.  Color and texture.  Light and dark.  Now and eternity.

I hope whoever takes this home this afternoon will understand the meaning it holds for me and will see it for themselves.

The Gallery Talk starts at 1 PM.  Hope you can make it there.

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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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