Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘Principle Gallery’

Coming Up After August

Posted in Current Events, tagged , , , , , , , on August 31, 2016| 2 Comments »

GC Myers- At the End of the Day smI have written here several times about my dislike for the month of August, most recently in a post from last year called Cruel August.  This year’s events have not changed my mind one bit.  But today mercifully ends August and there is the somewhat more soothing feel of September and October on the way.

Here’s what is on my calendar for the next month or so:

There are only a couple of days left before my show, Contact, comes off the walls at the West End Gallery in Corning.  The show ends this Friday, September 2, so if you want to take a look at this year’s show, please get into the West End in the next day or so.

On September 17, I will be giving my annual Gallery Talk at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria, VA.  This is my 14th talk at the Principle and it is always a pretty good time.   It’s a simple matter of combining some good folks, good conversation, a few confessions and the chance to win one of my paintings at the end of it all.  And a little more.  There are more details that will be revealed in the next week or so.  As I said, it’s Saturday, September 17, beginning at 1 PM.

Then then following week, I head up to beautiful Keuka Lake where I will again lead a two-day workshop for the Arts Center of Yates County.  Last year’s workshop was my first foray into teaching and, despite the initial apprehension that I wrote about here on the blog, was a wonderful and fulfilling experience.  I was amazed at the amount of info the attendees absorbed and the great progress they made in two days.  It was very satisfying and I am excited to be at it again this year.  The workshop runs on Thursday and Friday, September 22 and 23 from 9-4 each day.  For more info click here.  You can also call them at  315-536-8226.

After that, it’s on to this year’s last solo show, Part of the Plan, which opens October 29th at the Kada Gallery in Erie, PA.  It’s been two years since my last show at the Kada, which has represented my work for over 20 years now, and I am eager to show some new work in this show.  There will be more details upcoming on this show but mark your calendar.

 

 

Read Full Post »

Point of Contact

Posted in Painting, Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , on June 27, 2016| 1 Comment »

GC Myers- sm

The world is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.

–Eden Phillpotts, A Shadow Passes (1919)

These handful of words from the British author Eden Phillpotts succinctly sums up the idea behind my current show at the Principle Gallery as well as that of my next West End Gallery show, Contact, which opens July 22.  And that is that there is a world of wonder within our grasp if only we make the effort to recognize the patterns and forces of which they are comprised.

I have said before that we are part of a greater pattern.  I believe that it can be found in two simple ways– either looking inward or looking outward.  Since we are are formed from this pattern we can find parts of by examining our own inner world, our thoughts and dreams.  Or we can examine the world immediately around us for the hints of the pattern that are everywhere if only we can identify them.

Unfortunately, in this busy modern world we too often  find ourselves doing neither.  We live in a sort of limbo where we are mesmerized by the glossy lure of technologies that occupy our every moment.  It’s hard to look inward or outward when our eyes and thoughts are fixed on the screen in our hands.

Don’t get me wrong– I’m no technology-resisting Luddite.  I embrace the wonders of this technology when it serves a real purpose, when it expands our knowledge and sends it to the far corners of the world.  The possibilities for good things are seemingly endless.

But none of it matters if we lose contact with the greater powers and wonders that surround us every day, forces and patterns that patiently wait for us to unravel the magic that makes them invisible to us.

I know to some, this sounds like a bunch of mumbo jumbo.  Maybe the idea of great forces and patterns surrounding us seems a bit loony to some.  I get that.  But set that aside, if you must, and  simply consider the benefits of looking away from your smartphone or laptop for a short time each day to examine the inner and outer world outside of that screen.  Maybe if we do this on a regular basis our wits will sharpen to the point that we will better see that world of magical things as Bertrand Russell pointed out.

The painting above is 11″ by 16″ on paper and is called Point of Contact.  Part of the upcoming July show at the West End Gallery, I believe this piece very much mirrors the thoughts above.

Read Full Post »

Mission/ Redux

Posted in Favorite Things, Motivation, tagged , , , , on June 18, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Man’s Search For Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl is one of my favorite books, one that has helped me through the tough times in my life.  I’ve mentioned it here several times including the post below.  I thought I’d rerun this post from several years ago as it fits very well with the theme from my current show at the Principle Gallery, Part of the Pattern, which is that we live in a universe that is vast and chaotic, often making our existence seem small and meaningless.  Yet, if we can see how we fit into the underlying pattern that lays within the chaos, can find our purpose, our why, we can live a life of meaning.

I urge you to read the book.  You can even listen to it freely on YouTube.  One of the first installments is at the bottom to give you a taste.

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

GC Myers- The Moment's Mission 2011Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life; everyone must carry out a concrete assignment that demands fulfillment. Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated, thus, everyone’s task is unique as his specific opportunity.

——Viktor Frankl

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

The words of Viktor Frankl, the WW II concentration camp survivor who went on to greater fame as a psychotherapist and author, seemed to ring true for this square painting after I finished it.  I saw the Red Tree here as one that finally saw its uniqueness in the world, sensing in the moment that with this individuality there came a mission that must be carried out.

A reason for being.

I think that’s something we have all desired in our lives.  I know it was something I have longed for throughout my life and often found lacking at earlier stages.  I remember reading Frankl’s book, Man’s Search For Meaning, at a point when I felt adrift in the world.  I read how the inmates of the concentration camp who survived often had  a reason that they consciously grasped in order to continue their struggle to live.  It could be something as simple as seeing the ones they loved again or finishing a task they had set for themself. Anything to give them a sense of future.  Those who lost their faith in a future lost their will to live and usually perished.

At the time when I read this, I understood the words but didn’t fully comprehend the concept.  I felt little meaning in my life and didn’t see one near at hand.  It wasn’t until years later when I finally found what I do now that I began to understand Frankl’s words and saw that I had purpose in this world as a husband, an artist and a person of feeling.

We are all unique beings.  We all have unique missions.  The trick is in recognizing our individuality and trusting that it will carry us forward into a future

+++++++++++++
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe2R_R0kVaY&list=PLJl0vgwlPbB9vt7fefE3hR8HVT_bvPV5I

Read Full Post »

To the Watchtower

Posted in Music, Painting, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , , , , on June 6, 2016| Leave a Comment »

GC Myers- To the Watchtower smI’m a little tired, mainly of talking about my work and myself, and want to keep this short today.  I thought I’d show another painting from the show at the Principle Gallery and couple it with the song that spawned it.  The painting above is titled To the Watchtower  which I derived from the old Bob Dylan song All Along the Watchtower.

I thought it might serve as a good metaphor for what will be my final plea for your help in our efforts to raise funds for the Soarway Foundation, a campaign that ends today.  By donating, you can possibly win a painting of mine but the more important thing is that you are reaching out to those in need, people who don’t expect your help, don’t feel entitled to it but desperately need it.

Like the Red Tree in the painting, we often place ourselves on islands, seemingly insulated from the rest of the world and hopefully immune to the ills and woes of it.  I openly acknowledge that I am prone to this.  But we are not islands.  We are connected to the world.  It’s knowing that we are part of a greater whole that is the basis for the empathy that keeps this world together.  So, even while we try to stay put on our island we must man that watchtower and stay vigilant to the suffering of others.

Reach out.  Help someone.  Maybe you don’t give a tinker’s damn about people on the other side of the globe.  So be it.  Then help someone in your neighborhood. Your town. Your country.

Just help someone…

But I am asking for your help today by going to the link at the bottom.  If you can or if you already have, I thank you mightily.  If not, like I say, help someone else.

Reach out.

Thanks.  Here’s the classic Jimi Hendrix version of Dylan’s song.

https://www.crowdrise.com/artists-engaging-nepal
 

Read Full Post »

Afterthoughts

Posted in Favorite Things, Music, tagged , , , , , , , , , on June 5, 2016| Leave a Comment »

2016 Principle Gallery Wall shot aHad a very nice visit in Alexandria.  On Friday the weather always seemed on the verge of a huge thunderstorm, which had me a little apprehensive– even more than I normally be on the day of a show– about prospects for the opening reception of this year’s show, Part of the Pattern,  at the Principle Gallery on that evening.  However the storm never really hit with much force and the reception turned out well.

It was a really nice evening with a great crowd that kept me completely engaged throughout.  It was good catching up with folks who have been coming to the shows for many years now as well as greeting many new faces.  I can’t say “Thank You” enough to those who were able to come out on Friday and to our friends at the Principle Gallery–Michele, Clint, Pam, Haley, Pierre and Megan— who made it all possible. Oh, and special thanks to my canine friends at the gallery, Asher and Chase.

Jim Brown, Muhammad Ali and Bill Russell

Jim Brown, Muhammad Ali and Bill Russell

Word came out during our time there that Muhammad Ali had passed away.  Ali was a huge hero of mine when I was a child, part of what I consider the Holy Quartet of Heroes– Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, Bill Russell and Bob Gibson– who had much in common.  They were all dominant legends in their respective sports, the greatest winners of their times.

They were all strong and smart black men who were not afraid to go against the grain, to take a stand outside the world world of sports and say things that were not always popular nor politically correct.  They seemed to understand that that their sports were secondary to the state of the world.  They all transcended their sports and became cultural heroes and symbols, something more than mere performers on the athletic stage.

Ali was certainly a standout in that last category.  He was arguably the most widely recognized person on earth, a sports figure whose image was widely known throughout the world  decades after his time as an athlete had ended.  I remember reading, I think it was in Wilfrid Sheed‘s biography of Ali, about Ali’s picture hanging in mud huts in Africa.

He was so  much more than a boxer.   I have a hard time watching boxing today but I watched a lot of it when I was a kid and it was mainly because of Ali.  It was no less brutal a sport then but Ali made it seem like there was an air of poetry and gracefulness in it.  In my mind, I can still see his seemingly effortless movements around the ring, dancing lightly on the toes of his white shoes around plodding opponents.  It was a thing of beauty to see this big man move like he was being carried by the breeze as the other man would dive at him, often flailing away at a target that was there then gone in a flash.

He was the rarest of birds.  Style and substance.

Sorry to see him go.

Well, this song doesn’t have a lot to say about Ali but it is about a boxer and it is a beautiful song.  Below is a version of the great Simon and Garfunkel song as perfomed by Alison Krauss, Shawn Colvin and dobro-master Jerry Douglas.

Thanks for stopping in today and have a great Sunday.

PS:  TODAY IS THE LAST FULL DAY — this event ends MONDAY, June 6, promptly at 12 noon–to take part in the event to raise funds for the Soarway Foundation‘s efforts in Nepal.   Your donation, which will help immensely, also gets you a chance at winning a painting of mine valued at $5000 plus a signed poster.  What more can you ask?  You get the pleasure from helping others, a tax deduction and a chance to win something fairly valuable.

https://www.crowdrise.com/artists-engaging-nepal

 

Read Full Post »

Part of the Pattern

Posted in Biographical, Painting, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , , , on June 2, 2016| Leave a Comment »

GC Myers- Part of the Pattern Paintings 2016GIFPart of the Pattern , which opens tomorrow, June 3, is my 17th solo show at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria, VA.  It’s been a great run since that first show back in 2000 that introduced the Red Tree into my body of work.  I’m not even sure that I had a body of work at that point.

But through the years this annual show has given me the desire as well as a platform to continuously move my work forward.  It has often reflected my own small steps forward as I sought to find answers in my own life.  This desire  to discover how I fit into this world has been a driving force in my life and the work I have produced over the last 17 years, producing small incremental steps forward  in both.

I don’t know that I will ever reach a point where I will be totally satisfied on either front.

But through this time I have come to believe that the world we know is but a small part of the larger whole, that there are forces and energies that swirl around us without our knowledge of them.  They move in seemingly chaotic ways that occasionally reveal a glimpse of their underlying patterns to us who are fortunate to be looking at that moment.

What it is, what it means, how we fit in—I don’t have any answers.  But just catching that glimpse convinces me that there is a place for us, for me, in that pattern.  Every being, every life, including my own small and seemingly inconsequential life, is included in that pattern and somehow fills a need  by playing its role.

I think a lot of the work from this show reflects this belief that the forces and powers that seem far removed from us are actually within reach.  They affect us and we affect them.

You know, this is a really hard thing to express in words without sounding like I’m dancing on the outer fringes.  Maybe that’s why I work in color, lines and shapes.  I hope you’ll stop in at the Principle Gallery and take a look at this show.

Maybe you will see what I mean.

Part of the Pattern is now on view at the Principle Gallery at 208 King Street in Alexandria, VA.  The show opens Friday, June 3, with an opening reception that runs from 6:30 to 9:00 PM.  Hope to see you there.

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

ONLY A FEW DAYS REMAIN TO REACH OUT TO NEPAL

AND

GET A CHANCE TO WIN THIS PAINTING!

“Enraptured” is a 30″ by 40″ Painting valued at $5000

Event ends Monday June 6 at 12 Noon ET

For more information go to:  ARTISTS ENGAGING NEPAL

https://www.crowdrise.com/artists-engaging-nepal

Read Full Post »

Winds of Hope

Posted in Painting, Quote, tagged , , , , , on May 31, 2016| 2 Comments »

GC Myers- Winds of Hope smA great wind is blowing, and that gives you either imagination or a headache.

—Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia

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

This is another painting from my show at the Principle Gallery, Part of the Pattern, which opens this Friday, June 3, at their Old Town Alexandria location on historic King Street.  This piece is a 20″ by 24″ canvas that I call Winds of Hope.

The words above from Catherine the Great jibe well with the meaning that I take from this painting.  For me, the patterned winds symbolize the constantly changing nature of the world.  The world is never static and change is inevitable and beyond our ability to control it.  How we see this change and react to it is the only thing that we control.

For some, any change is scary and filled with imagined terrors.  They try to hold tight to a past that has long since spun away and can never return in the same form.  Their world is filled with their own fears and each new gust takes them further from that idealized past.

I guess that the winds of change would give these people a headache.

Others just ride the currents without any thought, barely if at all noticing that change is all around them.  Maybe they are the fortunate ones, these people who live with their eyes only on that which is directly in front of them, never seeing the pattern of change in the sky above them.  They only notice it when it hinders them.

Then there are those who realize that the winds cannot be controlled, that they will blow where they please.  The change they bring comes without a thought as to how is affects us.  These are the ones who try to find the positive aspect of this change, who attempt to spark their imagination to see hope in this new future.

They see hope in the winds of change.

Is that a naive way of seeing things?

Maybe.  Probably.

But I prefer the naivete of hope over the cynicism, fear and careless ignorance of the other views.

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

Only 6 Days Left!

Speaking of hope, PLEASE help the Soarway Foundation in their efforts in Nepal

and possibly WIN the painting of mine shown below.

Your help is truly needed…

https://www.crowdrise.com/artists-engaging-nepal

Read Full Post »

The Untold Want

Posted in At the Movies, Favorite Things, Painting, Poetry, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on May 27, 2016| Leave a Comment »

GC MYers- The Untold Want smThis is another new painting headed to the Principle Gallery this weekend for my show there, Part of the Pattern, which opens next Friday, June 3.  This piece is 14″ by 34″ on paper and is titled , The Untold Want.  The title was taken from the title of a very short poem from Walt Whitman that contained the phrase that spawned and became the title of  the  Bette Davis movie,  Now, Voyager.

It’s a great film with a great cast, the kind of movie that could not be made today without becoming something other than what it was intended to be.  It’s the story of a young lady from a wealthy family who is hindered and defined by an overbearing mother.  She suffers until she meets a therapist (played by the great Claude Rains) who finds a way to let her break free and find her own definition of self.  To discover her own untold want.  He quotes the Whitman poem as she leaves his care.  He has given her the tools and she, the Voyager, must discover the world on her own.

There is a lot more to it than that, of course.  But I think that little synopsis captures what I see in this painting.  I see it as being about moving out into the wide world on one’s own terms, unafraid to show oneself as they truly are.  Visible for all to see, flaws and all, and ready to uncover all the mysteries that the world has to offer.

At least, that’s how I see this piece.  I like it, like the feel of it, like the color and tone of it.  It has a sturdiness and simplicity that I find appealing, like a piece of Craftsman furniture.

Here’s the poem:              

 The untold want, by life and land ne’er granted,  

Now, Voyager, sail thou forth, to seek and find.

-Walt Whitman, The Untold Want

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

REMINDER: Engage Nepal

The clock is running on the event for the Soarway Foundation.  Every donation of $25 and above gets a signed poster like the one shown below as well as a chance to win a painting of mine valued at $5000.  This event ends June 6, 2016 so click on the Crowdrise link below or click here  to see how you can help and possibly win!

Soarway Poster -Engage Nepal

https://www.crowdrise.com/artists-engaging-nepal

Read Full Post »

Cleansed

Posted in Painting, Recent Paintings, Technique/History, tagged , , , , on May 25, 2016| 1 Comment »

GC Myers- Cleansed smThis is another piece from my upcoming June show at the Principle Gallery.  It is titled Cleansed and is 18″ by 18″ on canvas.  The final look of this painting really pleases me with its clarity and pop.  It really makes the eye jump to it in the studio.

During the past few days as I’ve been doing final preparations for the show, I have found myself seeking this piece out just to look at it for a few stolen moments.  There’s something very soothing in a placid kind of way for me in this painting, despite the brightness of the color that seems to almost be shouting from the canvas.  Maybe it’s shouting, “Relax!”

Cleansed Layout and Underpainting 2016This was an interesting piece.  I initially laid out the composition in red oxide and began to lay color into the rays in the sky.  At that point it felt like the overall color of it was going to go into the blues. A nocturnal scene perhaps.  But that didn’t quite ring true for me so I didn’t go forward with it.  So for the last couple of months this piece has been sitting in the state shown here at the left, behind me as I work at the easel.  Whenever I would turn around, it was there staring me in the face.

Finally, in the last week, I decided that it had to be done.  It still felt like a night scene but I decided to go against that intuition.  I had been working on a couple of pieces with brighter colors in the days before this and decided to continue in that vein here.  At first, I regretted it but it quickly took on the glow that I see in it.

I’m glad I went this way even though I think the other way would have brought a really strong image.  I think I needed it this way more than the other way.

And sometimes that’s what painting does for me– it gives me what I need at certain times.

_________________________________

REMINDER:  ENGAGE NEPAL AND WIN!

Just a reminder that you can help the Soarway Foundation in its efforts to help the people of Nepal in their struggle to recover form last year’s earthquakes.  Your donation of $25 and above gives you an entry into a drawing for  my painting, Enraptured, a 30″ by 40″ canvas valued at $5000, as well as a signed commemorative poster from the Soarway Foundation.

In relative terms, your odds are pretty good so reach out  and give a helping hand and maybe you can win this painting.

This event ends in less than two weeks, on June 6, 2016.  So please act now.  If you can’t, please share this or tell a friend or two–every little bit helps.

You can go to the contest site by clicking here or clicking on the painting or poster below:

Soarway Poster -Engage Nepal GC Myers- Enraptured sm a

Read Full Post »

“Part of the Pattern” Preview

Posted in Painting, Quote, tagged , , , , on May 23, 2016| 2 Comments »

American Art Colector June 2016 coverThere’s a nice preview of my upcoming Principle Gallery show, Part of the Pattern, in the new June issue of American Art Collector.  It’s always nice to see your work in the context of a national magazine, especially when the images show well and the article is well written.

And I think that is the case with this particular article.  When I was interviewed by the editor I wasn’t so sure that this would be the case.  In a telephone interview with limited time, it is sometimes hard to know if you’ve coherently made your point or if you’ve just made yourself sounds kind of nutty.  When I hung up the phone on this interview I wasn’t really sure in which camp I fell.

But it reads well, with a reference to an Erwin Schrödinger quote that sticks with me– The task is…not so much to see what no one has yet seen; but to think what nobody has yet thought, about that which everybody sees– which for me is about trying to take what could be mundane scenes and imbuing them with sensed meaning and emotion.

There is also a nice quote from a couple, Deidre and Jim, who have collected my work for the past fifteen years.  They do not consider themselves “art people” and came to my work through a chance encounter with a painting in the window of the Principle Gallery those many years ago.  They speak about how that one moment, that one look, has made a difference in their lives in those fifteen years.

The fact that Jim and Deidre don’t consider themselves “art people” very much pleases me.  That means that the work affected them in a way that took them out of their normal pattern, made them see something beyond what they normally were seeing.  That goes back to the words of  Schrödinger and is the hope of any artist.

So, if you see the magazine please check out the article.  And if you’re in the Alexandria area on the evening of June 3, stop in at the Principle Gallery for the opening of the show.

2016 June American Art Collector GC Myers article

 

 

 

 

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »