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Posts Tagged ‘New Painting’

Closer to the Center

Posted in Recent Paintings, tagged , , on April 28, 2014| 4 Comments »

GC Myers- Close to the CenterHere’s another new piece, a 16″ by 20″ canvas that I am calling Closer to the Center for the moment.  I came to that title because when it seemed to me that the trail which runs along a ridge above the valley reminded me of  the path through a labyrinth or a maze  where the person  moving along the trail that winds in and out  is often taken to points where they are so tantalizingly close to the destination that they feel their journey is almost complete. But  they have, in fact,  quite a journey ahead of them.

That’s what this piece brought to mind for me, the light and richness of the valley acting as a destination, a final point.  You can continue on the ridge path with the  lush valley still in sight or you can opt to take  another path that may take you further from the center but will bring you to your intended destination sooner.  Or it may take you to another point altogether, one that you never envisioned  from the trail.  That is the decision that must be made– which path do you follow?

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Strata

Posted in Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , on April 24, 2014| 1 Comment »

Strata smI’ve been working on a new group of pieces that incorporate the layered  elements, the subterranean strata,  from my Archaeology series. I decided to forego the field of artifacts that mark the Archaeology work, instead focusing on the color and  organic lines of the layers and the geometry of the boulders and stones between them.  These layers and forms take on an abstract sense that really appeals to me, especially when countered against the representational feel of the surface elements– the Red Tree and the sun/moon.

For me, the resulting image takes on a really contemplative feel.  Maybe it’s the idea of seeing  a cross-section of the immense changes that time brings, reminding me of our own relative smallness in the larger picture.  Any one of those layers, perhaps the thinnest ones,  could represent our time on this planet.  It takes away a lot of the hubris and bluster of man and reduces it to an organic line.

And in the end, life still goes on in the form of the Red Tree.  It may not be the human form that we hope for but it is life, nonetheless.

Life persists.

And even without us, the human race, that in itself is comforting.  That is,  if you believe that there is a unity and a force that connects us to all living things, great and small.  In that sense, we might still be around to look upon that sun/moon many, many millennia from this moment.  And I find that sort of comfort, both humbling and reassuring,  in this series of layers and color.

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Battling Indifference

Posted in Influences, Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , , on April 19, 2014| 7 Comments »

“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.”

-Elie Wiesel

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GC Myers Memory of Night sm

I’ve been sitting here for quite some time now, staring at the quote above from Elie Wiesel.  I had planned on writing about how my work evolved as a response to the indifference of others but now, looking at those words and putting them into the context of  Wiesel’s experience, I feel a bit foolish.  Wiesel, who had survived the Holocaust, was eyewitness to indifference on a grand scale, from those who were complicit or those who did not raise their voices in protest even though they knew what was happening to the personal indifference shown by his Nazi guards, as they turned a blind eye to the suffering and inhumanity directly before them on a daily basis, treating them as though they were nothing at all.

The indifference of which he speaks is that which looks past you without  any regard for your humanity. Or your existence, for that matter.  It is this failure to engage, this failure to allow our empathy to take hold and guide us,  that grants permission for the great suffering that takes place throughout our world.

So you can see where writing about showing a picture as a symbolic battle against indifference might seem a bit trivial.  It certainly does to me.  But I do see in it a microcosm of the wider implications.  We all want our humanity, our existence, recognized and for me this was a small way of  raising my voice to be heard.

When I first started showing my work I was coming off of a period where I was at my lowest point for quite some time.  I felt absolutely voiceless and barely visible in the world, dispossessed in many ways.  In art I found a way to finally express an inner voice, my real humanity,  that others could see and react to.  So when my first opportunity to display my work came, at the West End Gallery in 1995, I went to the show with great trepidation.  For some, it was just a show of  some nice paintings by some nice folks.  For me, it was a test of my existence.

It was interesting as I stood off to the side, watching as people walked about the space.  It was elating when someone stopped and looked at my small pieces.  But that  feeling of momentary glee was overwhelmed by the indifference shown by those who walked by with hardly a glance.  That crushed me.  I would have rather they had stopped and spit at the wall than merely walk by dismissively.  That, at least, would have made me feel heard.

Don’t get me wrong here– some people who are not moved by a painting walking by it without a glance are not Nazis.  I held no ill will toward them, even at that moment.  I knew that I was the one who had placed so much importance on this moment, not them.  They had no idea that they were playing part to an existential  crisis.  Now, I am even a bit grateful for their indifference that night because it made me vow that I would paint bolder, that I would make my voice be heard.  Without that indifference I might have settled and not continued forward on my path.

But in this case, I knew that it was up to me to overcome their indifference.

Again, please excuse my use of Mr. Wiesel’s quote here.  We all want to be heard, to be recognized on the basic levels for our own existence, our own individual selves. But too often, we all show indifference that takes that away from others, including those that we love.  We all need to listen and hear, to look and see, to express our empathy with those we encounter.  Maybe in these small ways the greater effects of indifference of which Elie Wiesel spoke can be somehow avoided.

It’s a hope.

The painting at the top is a new piece that I call Memory of Night, inspired by Wiesel’s book, Night.

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Into the Pure Land

Posted in Influences, Motivation, Painting, Recent Paintings, tagged , on April 12, 2014| 5 Comments »

GC Myers- Into the Pure Land smI’ve had this newer painting in the studio for a few weeks now and it has become one of those pieces where my eyes often come to rest.  That’s something I wasn’t so sure would be the case when I was painting it.  In the earliest stages when I compose the piece by blocking in the forms with a red oxide paint, it felt stiff and lifeless.  This is not necessarily strange at this point in my process but this piece felt even more so.  But with each change in the surface, each layer of paint added, it gained life and depth.

By the its finish, it was instantly drawing me inward.  It had such a meditative effect that I began to think of it in terms of mantras and focal points.  But ultimately, I began to see it as an endpoint, a desired place of attainment.  As a result, I settled on Into the Pure Land as a title for this 10″ by 20″ piece.

In some forms of Buddhism, there are seven levels of heaven, whose name takes on a different meaning than the one denoting paradise that we often associate with the word heaven.  Their heavens are those realms of cyclical existence where a being is reincarnated time after time, hopefully gaining wisdom with each incarnation.  If the being is able to gain total enlightenment, nirvana,  he moves beyond the heavens and into the Pure Lands, which are the eternal abodes of the Buddhas.  This would be closer to the traditional heaven that most likely comes to mind.

This piece has that feel for me, an idyllic place attained by working to pass  through many levels, represented here by the path passing through the layers in the landscape’s foreground.  The radiating bands in the sky represent the eternal pull forward through these layers, almost as a visual mantra that focuses the attention on reaching the endpoint of enlightenment, which I see here as the sun over the horizon.

Mind you, this is only my simplistic take on the concepts of a religion.  The five cent version.  But these terms strike a chord in me when I look into this painting.  Maybe that is my response alone, my personal reaction to my own expression.  For others, it might be a painting that makes them feel a little joy or just an attractive piece with a graphic feel.  Or it just might not be their cup of tea, period.  All are fine with me.  I’m just thinking about entering into that pure land…

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Harvest Moon

Posted in Music, Painting, Recent Paintings, Video, tagged , , , , , on March 30, 2014| 2 Comments »

GC Myers- Traveler- 2014I don’t know if this painting is exactly right for the title of this post or this song.  But in the early morning light it has a moonish glow in its center, the gray of the shadows muting the brightness of the color at its edges.  For a moment, it looks like it could be a harvest moon.  At least, what I think of as a harvest moon.

The actual title of this 18″ by 48″  painting is Traveler, which is also the title of my June show at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria.  It has been above my fireplace in the studio for a couple of months now and is wearing well with me.  I find myself often looking up at it, letting myself be pulled along that winding path toward that beckoning sun.  Or moon, depending on how I see it at any given moment, such as this morning.

I will write more about this painting and the June show at a later date.  For now, its a dreary, snowy  Sunday morning here and I need some music that will change my mood a bit.  Here’s Neil Young with a version of his always lovely Harvest Moon.

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Phronesis

Posted in Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , on March 25, 2014| Leave a Comment »

GC Myers--Phronesis Phronesis… involves not only the ability to decide how to achieve a certain end, but also the ability to reflect upon and determine good ends consistent with the aim of living well overall.

— Aristotle

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This is a new painting, 8″ by 14″ on paper, that I am calling Phronesis.   It’s a Greek word that the philosopher Aristotle used to differentiate practical wisdom from theoretical philosophy.  Phronesis involves putting gained wisdom into rational, measured action, not merely reflecting upon it.  It is the ability to determine where one wants to be– physically, mentally and spiritually– at a future point and how to achieve that goal.  Phronesis employs  theoretical wisdom  and puts it into rational action.

That’s the five cent version of the concept.  And that’s what I see here.   In a calm fashion, the Red Tree has determined its course, which is to be in unity with a greater universal power or spirit, represented here by the breaking sun and the layers of color in the sky.  It has already recognized the universal truths and is now trying to enact them, trying to become closer to the central truth.

It sounds much more complicated than it might really be. ‘Live lightly’ might just as easily get across what I struggle to say here.  That would probably fit the simple composition of this painting, that  spare elegance which draws me to this piece.  In itself, there is a sort of phronesis taking place, as its painting is an action that takes what little wisdom I have gained and allows me to move a step closer to that same goal shown in it.  Peace and light, really.

Well, enough said.

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Purifying Light

Posted in Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , , on March 18, 2014| 4 Comments »

GC Myers- Purifying Light smSolitude is the place of purification.

–Martin Buber

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I call this new painting, a fairly large 20″ by 60″ canvas, Purifying Light.  There’s something about the light from the sun here that speaks to me of the burning away of impurities, of purging the darkness with light.  Light is the revelator of truth and truth is the revelator of flaws and impurities.

That sounds a bit too dramatic, a bit too preachy for what I am trying to get across here.  But it’s always hard to get across vague but large concepts.  I think we all possess flaws and impurities that we live with by hiding them in the shadows around us– with half-truths told, hidden histories and diversions that take the light from these flaws.  But at some point, these imperfections always come to light in some form, revealing our true selves, our true natures.

At first blush that sounds awful.  But ultimately that is when and where we find the peace and acceptance of  the truth of our reality– what we are and what we are not.  The light of this truth burns away the weight of those imperfections, like the rust and barnacles being stripped away from the hull of a steel ship.  As the ship glides easier through the water freed from these things that once clung to it so do we move forward, freed from the burdens of our faults.

Okay, there’s a bit of hyperbole here.  But there is something in this piece, perhaps because of it’s large size and strong colors, that inspires a little heightened rhetoric.  It is calm and introspective but with an exclamation point.  And I kind of like that…

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A World To Call One’s Own

Posted in Motivation, Painting, Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , , on March 10, 2014| 4 Comments »

A World To Call One's Own smMen fear thought as they fear nothing else on earth — more than ruin, more even than death.  Thought is subversive and revolutionary, destructive and terrible, thought is merciless to privilege, established institutions, and comfortable habits; thought is anarchic and lawless, indifferent to authority, careless of the well-tried wisdom of the ages.  Thought looks into the pit of hell and is not afraid … Thought is great and swift and free, the light of the world, and the chief glory of man.

–Bertrand Russell

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I was looking at the painting above, a newly finished  12″ by 12″ canvas, trying to ascertain what it was saying to me.  I was picking up all sorts of symbols from it and was seeing it in from all sorts of perspectives but finally it came clear to me what I was seeing in this piece.  It was the freedom to create our own worlds, to define our own way of seeing and experiencing that world.  That freedom, that need to create my own world, is what always drew me to creative outlets.  It is certainly what drive me in my painting.

I didn’t always like what I saw in the outer world of reality and was usually powerless to change it.  But in my thoughts I could create an inner world that had reason and empathy or at least what I saw as reason and empathy.  It would be a place where these better thoughts could live and grow without the fear of being crushed by thoughtless others, people shackled to ideologies and beliefs that they accept and follow without questioning.  Without thinking.

That’s what these blood-red rows in the fields and the teal mound  and the cascading colors in the sky say to me.  This is my world and there, these all make perfect sense.  It is a place where one is always free to think what they might.  I think that’s why I chose the quote above from Bertrand Russell.  We all too often choose to not think, to just float along with the prevailing thought  of others, never trusting our own thoughts enough to fully live by them.  I know I certainly have fallen into that category in the past.

But we all have our own private worlds of wonder  inside of us if we dare to simply think.

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Buddha Candle

Posted in Painting, Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , on February 17, 2014| 2 Comments »

GC Myers Pure Joy smI used the term joyous melancholy in yesterday’s blog to describe the feeling of a painting and a moment, the paradox of finding some sort of small pleasure in a gloomy moment.  It’s a delicate but satisfying feeling, one that solemnly affirms one’s humanity.  The new painting above, an 8″ by 24″ canvas,  is the opposite of that.  It is not paradoxical in any way nor is its message delicately or solemnly expressed.  It is pure color and joy that proudly displays what it is with gusto.

It’s a very strong, almost muscular piece in its expression.  Bold and unapologetic.  Willing to share its glee with anyone who is drawn to look at it.  It brings to mind a quote from Buddha: Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. 

A reminder that our joy is not a finite product, that it should be a shared experience.  I think I will call this painting  Buddha Candle.

On yet another below zero morning, I am enjoying the warmth and joy in this piece.

 

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Brighter Days Ahead

Posted in Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , on February 13, 2014| 5 Comments »

GC Myers- Brighter Days AheadThe future ain’t what it used to be.

–Yogi Berra

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I like winter and winter weather.

Maybe that’s part of the contrarian streak in me. I don’t know.  But even I am kind of surprised at the way this year’s winter has bared its fangs for much of the eastern part of the country and find myself looking forward to warmer weather.  You know, temperatures in the high 20’s and 30’s.

This new piece is part of the series of paintings that I have been working on lately that feature snow as part of the composition.  This piece, which I call Brighter Days Ahead, is on paper and measures 14″ by 24″.  There’s a lot of bands of texture swirling through this piece and a lot of embedded layers of color throughout.  Here in the studio where you can take in the depth of its texture and the contrast between the dark linework and the color, this piece has quite a striking appearance.  I am not sure my photography can fully capture the effect.

There is a real feeling of optimism and warmth in this painting, which gave rise to the title.  The colors of the sky and the sun rising in the center represents a warmer and gentler future, which  is obviously optimistic.  The future should be optimistic.  Anything less means that we have caved in to our fears, seeing only the worst scenarios,   and lost faith in our ability to persevere.

I sometime fall into that trap and follow the lead of my fears.  But history tells us that there are always two futures– those that we imagine and those that we make– and that the two most often are not the same.  Throughout history, we have always seen the worst in the future.  Doom and gloom, the end of days descending on us.  But somehow we always make it past that imagined future and beginning forming the next future to dread.  And it will come and not meet up with our fears.  Oh, it will  not be everything we hope because things, by nature, change and we always resist change.

The future is a foreign land to us and we will never be quite comfortable there.  It might not be perfect but perhaps it won’t be so bad.  Just a bit different.  And if we remember  that, we might even see the sun that will assuredly still be shining above.  And begin imaging a new future.

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