This is a new piece that’s titled The Dark Blue Above. It’s very much about atmosphere and feel, very much about the weight of the sky and the potency of color and texture that give it a certain presence. I think the simplicity of the overall composition enhances this feeling.
Makes me think again of my own smallness, my own insignificance in this world and this universe. It’s a catalyst and sets me thinking on the nature of all things. How? Why?
I guess that’s all I can ask out of a piece of work.
This piece is past of Dispatches, my solo show at the West End Gallery that opens July 24.
On this Sunday morning here’s a song from Johnny Cash that sort of fits the feeling of the painting…
It’s been about six months since I started writing this blog and in that time I’ve become a lot more familiar with this odd shadow world of blogs.
I’m not so sure it’s a world with which I would want to spend too much time.
Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’ve enjoyed writing about my little world, getting to hear from a lot of diverse people and I often enjoy reading the blogs of others. There are many people who produce wonderful blogs, full of humor and insight. But on the flipside, all too often, it’s a non-stop freakshow of anger and hatred. Idiocy and lunacy. An endless display of moronic babble, people who nitpick and dissect every miniscule detail of whatever happens to piss them off that day. These are people whose idea of reasonable debate is to yell louder and longer than the next guy, throwing all logic aside and spewing venom from the behind the veil of their cyber-anonymity.
As you can see, their rants incite rage.
Hey, I understand anger. I understand rage. But my anger and rage can be quelled with reason and rational thought. Many of these idjits remind me of those poor dogs who are chained to doghouses all alone. They have no contact and become increasingly mad, barking and snarling at everyone and everything.
I don’t know, maybe these people are like those pitiful dogs. Maybe they need some compassion. Perhaps they need some kindness. Maybe they need to shed a tear or two…
Well, here’s a song from Johnny Cash singing his version of the Loudon Wainwright song, The Man Who Couldn’t Cry. Maybe these folks should put down their poison pens and give a listen. Couldn’t hurt…
A week or so ago I showed a painting, Nighthawks by Edward Hopper and talked a bit about how this painting, and many of his other works, always reflected to me a sense of aloneness and alienation. On this Sunday morning I am reminded once again of this by another of his paintings, fittingly titled Early Sunday Morning.
While it is bright and colorful, there is a quality in the emptiness of the street that speaks of loneliness, an aloof sense of existence in the midst of a city. The warmth of the red in the building and in the sunlight is a strong counterpoint to the coolness of feeling depicted. I’ve always found this a powerful painting.
In the spirit of Hopper’s painting, I’m also showing a video of Johnny Cash and Kris Kristoffferson singing Kristofferson’s Sunday Morning Coming Down, a longtime favorite of mine whose main character has certainly walked down this Sunday morning sidewalk…
Just thought on a Sunday morning I would throw out a small bit of Johnny Cash, someone who I have unabashedly idolized for over forty years. This song, though earlier in the decade, reminded me of Cash’s TV show of the late 60’s and the the incredibly diverse talent that would appear. The very best of rock, pop, soul and country would show up every week. It reminds me how our explosion of media access has separated everything into niches, neatly labeled and put apart. As a kid living in the country, I remember being glued to my little radio, listening our local AM station, WENY, and hearing guys like Johnny Cash one minute then the next the Rolling Stones and after that the Doors then Otis Redding, all topped off by Frank Sinatra. Or maybe Barry Sadler singing “The Ballad of the Green Beret”. Or the 1910 Fruitgum Company. What great diversity! And the funny thing is that it seemed to make complete sense, that the transition and flow from one song to another was not abrupt or shocking. It forced the young mind to find the common thread and grab it.
This is not to condemn today or glorify yesterday. Each is what they are. Just a memory. It’s Sunday, so relax and give a listen to the Man in Black.
This is a short film featuring some paintings I have done featuring a lone character that inhabits my world, often seen from a great distance. It also features the song, “Solitary Man” from the late-great Johnny Cash, a hero of mine for over 40 years. His “American” series is one of the great pieces of self-expression I’ve ever heard, seen or felt. His was a truly unique voice in American music and he remains an influence…
This is a new piece that’s titled The Dark Blue Above. It’s very much about atmosphere and feel, very much about the weight of the sky and the potency of color and texture that give it a certain presence. I think the simplicity of the overall composition enhances this feeling.
Redtree Times 