Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘gallery talk’

Two Sides/ Shoot Out the Lights

Posted in Event, Music, Painting, tagged , , , , , on August 15, 2019| Leave a Comment »

As the next couple of days are crazy busy for me as I get ready for a Gallery Talk and a show delivery, I wanted to share another little seen piece that will be part of  Icons & Exiles, my exhibit that opens next Friday at the Octagon Gallery.

The piece is Two Sides, shown here on the right. It’s from my Outlaws series from back in 2006 and is one of my favorites from that series. There is something about the dark and light of this piece that gives me a sense of the yin and the yang symbol, the idea that we all have opposing polarities within ourselves.

Two sides.

The Outlaws series introduced the element of a handgun into my work. It wasn’t meant to show the gun in any heroic form. Rather, the gunmen in these paintings seem to be, for me, all possessed with a deep and mortal fear.

The gun in these paintings is a sign of weakness, not strength. They fear something they can’t see, something that they don’t know or understand.

This particular painting has hung within my sight in the studio and it helps me a lot personally. When the events of the world–outer and inner– get to me and I feel anxiety building, I look at this piece and it reminds me that my anxiousness is all built on fear. In that moment, I see I am that guy grasping tightly to my gun looking out at nothing, imagining unseen monsters that are coming for me.

Just naming it as fear makes it subside a bit, brings everything into a more practical and manageable form. I can choose to be scared of bogeymen or can move on with a degree of confidence that I will be capable of handling anything that comes my way.

Fear is a powerful thing, a weakness that alters our perceptions and enables poor decisions and actions.

Fear is the darkness and courage is the light. Holding onto that gun keeps this person in the darkness, in the grip of fear.

That’s what I see in this piece.

You can see this piece and many more like it at the Icons & Exiles exhibit, opening next Friday, August 23, (opening reception 7-9 PM) at the Octagon Gallery at the Patterson Library in Westfield, NY. The exhibit runs until September 20, 2019 and I will be giving an Art Talk there on Thursday, September 12, at 6 PM.

And this Saturday, August 17, there is my annual Gallery Talk at the West End Gallery, beginning at 1 PM. Good talk, some laughs and, best of all, PRIZES! See you there!

Here’s one of my favorites from Richard Thompson, an acoustic version of his classic Shoot Out the Lights.

Read Full Post »

Toil’s Reward

Posted in Event, Painting, Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , , on August 14, 2019| Leave a Comment »

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

“The highest reward for a man’s toil is not what he gets by it but what he becomes by it.”

–John Ruskin

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

John Ruskin (1819-1900) was yet another of those 19th century British jack-of-all-trades. He was an accomplished artist, social commentator, philanthropist and the leading art critic of the Victorian Age. He was also a prolific writer on a wide variety of subjects, from archaeology to ornithology and everything in between. He also wrote stinging polemics calling for needed social change in Britain at that time. He was the British equivalent of a renaissance man.

Born into a wealthy merchant family, Ruskin may not have experienced much physical labor in his life but he obviously toiled in other ways to have achieved so much in his time on this planet. I think his words above on how we are changed from toil have a certain ring of truth.

I believe there are rewards for hard work that go far beyond the immediate material compensation we receive. It forms our behaviors, our tolerances and our perception of our place in the world. It teaches us what is important and what is not. It gives us focus and discipline and the experience that may one day transform into wisdom. It gives us identity and  purpose.

And it applies for everyone, from clerks to plumbers to scientists to housekeepers. Even artists.

Hard work has been a recurring theme in some of my work over the years. It’s definitely the theme of the painting at the top, Toil’s Reward, which is included in my Moments and Color show now hanging at the West End Gallery. There’s a richness and warmth in the colors of this piece that feels like a reward in itself.

If you come out this Saturday, August 17, to see it at the West End Gallery, say around 1 PM, you can take part in my annual Gallery Talk. I promise you I will be working hard. Maybe even sweating profusely. But hopefully, you will be the one being rewarded, maybe even taking home the original painting that will be given away. Even if you don’t win the big one, there are some other smaller prizes that you have a pretty good chance of getting. And besides that, it’s usually an entertaining time.

Like they say, it’s not hard work if you like what you’re doing.

See you Saturday!

 

Read Full Post »

Light and Wisdom

Posted in Favorite Things, Painting, Poetry, tagged , , , , , on August 12, 2019| Leave a Comment »

+++++++++

“We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.”

― T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets

++++++++++

The painting shown above is Light and Wisdom, part of my show, Moments and Color, that is currently on the walls of the West End Gallery. It’s a personal favorite of mine and one that I think sometimes get overlooked by other work that is larger or brighter. Maybe it’s just that I see a lot of personal symbolism in it. The background of the sky resembles a maze which symbolizes the search for something, for example. And it has my recurring symbols of the Red Roofs, the path that runs toward a distant point, the guide trees that frame the scene, the far horizon and, of course, the Red Tree arriving at a moment of realization in the form of the light from the rising sun.

It’s a meaningful piece for me and my hope is that others will see that in it as well.

I love the lines below it from T.S. Eliot, feeling that they express so well what I see in this painting. Life often feels like a constant search for some vaguely defined object– knowledge, wisdom, love, experience, etc.– that will make us somehow whole. Yet, as is often the case, we only reach wholeness within ourselves, in that place where the journey began. Maybe that is why I chose this painting for this bit of verse from Eliot– it has a sense of wholeness that has been ultimately fulfilled by realizing that the answer was in itself.

The answer, the light that illuminates our meaning, is always near, always just waiting for us to really see it for what it is.

+++++++++++++++

You can see Light and Wisdom at the West End Gallery where I will be giving my annual Gallery Talk this coming Saturday, August 17, beginning at 1 PM. As mentioned here before, the Gallery Talks always features some great conversation, some laughs, occasional tears and the pièce de résistance, a drawing for an original painting — or maybe two?–along with some other pretty neat prizes. Hope you can make it there!

Read Full Post »

Next Saturday–Win This Painting!

Posted in Event, Favorite Things, tagged , , on August 10, 2019| 2 Comments »

My annual Gallery Talk at the West End Gallery is a week away. It takes place next Saturday, August 17, beginning at 1 PM. It’s an hour of conversation about art and often much more that comes to an end with what has become a tradition– the drawing for an original painting to awarded to someone in attendance.

I have written in the past about how I sweat over the selection of the paintings for these drawings. I really want these paintings to be meaningful for myself so that it feels like I am actually making a sacrifice in letting go of the piece. To be honest, I have given away paintings in the past that I kind of regret having done so now and wish I had held on to them.

But I know that by giving those paintings away that I cherish, they most likely will have more meaning to those who receive them. And that is important to me.

Take for example the choice I have made to give away next Saturday, shown at the top. It is a painting called Night Oath from 2007. It was shown only once for a short time in a gallery before coming home to me. Never showed it again.

It always felt special to me but I knew that in its original form it was much too dark. It had great color but it didn’t pop off the surface. Over the years I have always planned to rework the painting but something always came up and the painting shuffled from spot to spot in my studio, patiently awaiting its time.

Recently, that time came. I added a lot of light and highlights to the surfaces and was smitten with the finished piece. It was the painting I always thought it should be, so much more vibrant and alive than it was for all those years in waiting.

It deserved to be seen, deserved to be part of someone’s life.

Maybe part of your life.

Next Saturday I will part with it and it will begin a new life somewhere outside my studio. I am excited by the thought that this painting might take on new meaning for someone else. I make my living  and get great gratification in selling my work but the simple act of transferring a meaningful painting in these events is a special moment for me. There’s a certain freedom that comes in letting things go. That may be what defines the spirit of generosity. I don’t know.

Whatever the case, please come on out to the West End Gallery next Saturday, August 17 for the Gallery Talk and a chance to make Night Oath part of your life. Plus, there are some other little surprises so definitely try to make it.The Talk begins at 1 PM and, as I’ve noted before here, try to get there a bit early to get a seat– it fills up pretty quickly! Maybe we can have a pre-Talk chat.

Read Full Post »

The Gallery Talk is Coming!!!

Posted in Event, tagged , , , on August 6, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Hey, my annual Gallery Talk at the West End Gallery in Corning is coming up in less than two weeks! It begins at 1 PM on Saturday, August 17 in the well known Gaffer District gallery that has shown my work for going on 25 years.

If past Gallery Talks are any indicator, this could be fun. There’s a lot to talk about this year with the new Multitudes series hanging in the gallery and other new work in the Moments and Color show. Or we can talk about whatever is on your mind. There’s usually a quick paced conversation with a lot of back and forth between those in attendance and myself. So come armed with questions and don’t be afraid to speak up.

And, of course, there are PRIZES. If you’ve come to my talks in the past, you know that I am not above bribing you to come to this talk. That being said, I am prepared once more to offer a multitude of prizes including a chance to win an original painting of mine. I am currently in the process of picking out a suitable painting to be The One Grand Prize.  I haven’t settled on The One yet but rest assured, it will be a worthy choice.

Stay tuned to see which painting will be The One.

So, mark your calendars and get down to the West End Gallery on Saturday, August 17, at 1 PM. Actually, get there a bit early to claim your seat– it fills up very quickly! Maybe we’ll even get to have a Pre-Talk Chat. I think that’s a real thing.

It’ll be fun, I promise!

Hope you can make it.

Read Full Post »

Hey Bébé

Posted in Event, Music, tagged , , , on September 23, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Good day yesterday. My Gallery Talk at the Principle Gallery went really well, with a great group of folks that made the task much easier for me. Lots of familiar faces of friends that I have seen many times before and plenty of new ones as well. They all made me feel comfortable and had lots of interesting and well thought out questions. The hour flew by and I only stumbled once or twice. We had some laughs and I hope everyone walked away thinking that it was time well spent.

I know that I enjoyed myself. That’s not something I have always said after some of these talks. I often anguish over things I have and have not said, over those folks I didn’t get to say more to, over the flop sweat that I can feel seeping out of my pores when I suddenly go blank. Things like that. But yesterday didn’t hold a lot of regrets for me.

I felt very free to be open and honest with these folks.

Thank you to everyone who was there for giving me that freedom. I can’t fully express my appreciation for the sustenance that it will provide me over the long days ahead in the studio.

And a very warm thank you to Michele and the gang at the Principle Gallery for the continuing support you offer me after the 21+ years we’ve worked together. I appreciate all you do for me but more than that, I value the friendship and trust you have shown me over this time.  Thank you, as potent as those words are, seems insufficient. But you know what I mean, right?

Hope we can do it even better next year!

For this Sunday morning music here’s something from a favorite of mine, the great Rhiannon Giddens. It’s called Hey Bébé and it has a nice, jaunty feel to kick off the first Sunday of autumn. Have a great day.

Read Full Post »

Tomorrow’s Gallery Talk

Posted in Event, tagged , , on September 21, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Last month’s Gallery Talk at the West End Gallery went so well that I thought I would follow the same format for tomorrow’s 1 PM Gallery Talk at the Principle Gallery. This is what I promised for that talk–

  • Margarita Fountain and Omelet Bar.
  • Psychic Readings.
  • Bagpipers.
  • Guest Appearance from Jimmy Osmond.
  • The June Taylor Dancers. Or the Golddiggers from the Dean Martin Show. We are still in negotiations with both.
  • Rap Battles.
  • Ziplines.
  • Fireworks Display.
  • A Fly-Over by the Thundercats. Couldn’t get the Thunderbirds but I have been assured these guys are nearly as good.
  • Acrobats. Kind of a Cirque du Soleil vibe but without all the apparatus. Or movement or music.

Of course, I wasn’t able to deliver on any of these things.

Zoning prohibited both fireworks and ziplines inside the gallery. Even my sparkler was a no-go.

Most of the June Taylor Dancers are deceased or long retired and the Golddiggers just wouldn’t return my calls.

Jimmy Osmond would only appear via Skype from Branson, Missouri and I couldn’t get Skype to work properly. I could have got Wayne Osmond but there wasn’t much enthusiasm for that..

The bagpiper had bronchitis which created another problem as he was the caterer/bartender.

I did try a thing where I rapped while doing psychic readings but that didn’t seem to get much traction with the folks there. They looked very confused. The idea of their grandmother rapping at them from the great beyond was just a step too far for them, I guess.

Turns out that the Thundercats are just cartoon characters. Who knew?

And the only acrobatics that day were verbal although I did walk a bit to my left at one point.

Okay, maybe my imagination is running wild. Or there’s a gas leak here in the studio.

Actually, like the West End talk, the talk tomorrow will just be a middle-aged guy talking about art and telling some stories and sharing some laughs. But there is a free drawing for one (or more) of my paintings. And there are, of course, more prizes and some light refreshments. And lively conversation which makes for a good time.

And here’s the same promise: It won’t be the worst hour you ever spent. 

I think I held up my end on that one. Hope you can make it tomorrow.

Read Full Post »

The Moon’s Revelation

Posted in Event, Painting, Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , , on September 19, 2018| 3 Comments »

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

Art has no other purpose than to brush aside… the conventional and accepted generalities, in short everything that veils reality from us, in order to bring us face to face with reality itself.

–Henri Bergson

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

This is another new painting, 16″ by 20″ on canvas, that is part of the group of work going with me to Alexandria on Saturday for my Gallery Talk (begins at 1 PM!) at the Principle Gallery. I call it The Moon’s Revelation and I have spent a lot of time over the past few weeks looking at it, both taking pleasure in it and questioning what I was seeing in it.

What purpose, if any, does it hold?

The question of purpose is a big theme for me lately. My own purpose and that of my work. The purpose of truth. Of institutions and laws. I can’t say if I have found answers any of these questions. But I still believe that there are clues leading to my own purpose somewhere in this piece and others.

They just have to be revealed, in the way the moon brings the colors of the fields to light in this painting.

Time , as always, shall be the revelator.

 

Read Full Post »

Gallery Talk Preview

Posted in Event, Video, tagged , , , , on September 17, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Here’s a short video preview of most of the new work that will be coming with me for my Gallery Talk this coming Saturday, September 22, at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria, VA. It begins at 1 PM.

This is my 16th year doing this Talk which began with the first King Street Arts Festival in Alexandria, which has grown into a pretty large outdoor art show. I view these talks as a chance to get to really talk with folks who are interested in art and what I might be doing with my own work. It allows me to go into a little more depth about some things, giving background details and telling some stories.

The feedback that comes from these talks is invaluable to me. Outside of this blog, my shows and talks are my only chance to get out of the secure bubble of my studio and really see how people interact with my work. It is normally very motivating for me when I get back in the studio.

Plus, these talks give me a chance to express my gratitude to the people who have followed and supported my work over the years. Part of that comes for me in giving away a painting (or two— you’ll have to come to see what the actual number is) such as the painting shown here, Deep Focus. And there are some other goodies that will be given away that I think are pretty neat.

So, if you’re interested, come for the Gallery Talk on Saturday. There will be new paintings, a drawing for a painting, some giveaways, some refreshments, good conversation, a few stories and generally some good laughs.

Hope you can make it.

Read Full Post »

Echo

Posted in Music, Painting, Poetry, Quote, tagged , , , , , , on September 16, 2018| 3 Comments »

+++++++++

Poetry is an echo, asking a shadow to dance.

–Carl Sandburg

+++++++++

I like this line from poet Carl Sandburg. I think any artform acts in that way, as an echo of the person who formed it trying to bring that created remembrance forever to life. I often write about trying to see that sense of life in my work, that quality where the work has a feeling of movement–life— and seems to speak with its own voice.

What it is saying is an echo of what I was feeling in the moment it was created. And if I have done my job well, it sets these echos, these shadows, dancing. A reverberation from the past, the creators own echo sent into the future. A voice that will continue to speak, to echo, long after its creator has gone.

Or as Victor Hugo similarly stated: What is history? An echo of the past in the future; a reflex from the future on the past.

Maybe it’s too early on a Sunday morning to try to work on logic that is somewhat circular. I think I’ve said what I want to say here but the better part of it might still be in my head. Alas, that’s the way it will have to stay.

For this Sunday morning music here’s a fittingly titled song, Echo, from the celebrated British folk trio, Talisk. It has a building intensity that I very much like. Give a listen.

The painting at the top is a new piece  whose title is A World of Mystery, an 18″ by 24″ on canvas. It is headed to Alexandria with me next Saturday, September 22 for my annual Gallery Talk at the Principle Gallery. The talk, which starts at 1 PM, features a drawing for a painting of mine as well as several other goodies. Hope to see you there.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »