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Posts Tagged ‘Principle Gallery’

In Spite of Ourselves

Posted in Video, tagged , , on June 3, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Let the World See... I’m pretty busy today, almost finished with the final touches on my show that opens next week at the Principle Gallery.  This has been a tough one to finish due to some chronic back problems that have slowed my pace as I move through my processes.  It makes me realize how precious the simple idea of movement is to my quality of life.  But it’s all part of the bargain so I slog on.

Thought I’d fill today with the piece shown here, Let the World See…, that is part of the show which opens next Friday, June 12, and a song from one of my favorites, John Prine.  This is a song titled In Spite of Ourselves and includes the distinctive voice of Iris Dement singing along.  It’s a catchy little ditty having Prine’s typical humor and wordplay and is a good listen.  

Have a great day and enjoy…

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Calling In the New Day

Posted in Biographical, Recent Paintings, tagged on June 2, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Calling In the New Day This new painting, to me, is a reflection of myself and the anticipation I get for the new day.  I am a habitual early-riser, often up before the sun breaks over the hill to the east of us.  Often in the dark.  Once my eyes open and catch a glimpse of any light, I’m up.  At this time I always have a feeling of something close to anxiety but with an edge of optimism, even excitement.

It’s as though each new day has a new capacity for possibility, as though this might be the day that something new and exciting happens or a breakthrough discovery is made within my work.  It’s a feeling that has propelled me into every new day for a long time now and on the occasional day when I find this feeling lacking, it’s as though I’m walking in uncharted territory- I feel lost.

But in this piece I see a good day, myself as the red tree perched alone, facing the first light of the day while the rest of the world sleeps.  This could be the day…

This painting is called Calling In the New Day and is again one of the pieces that I will be exhibiting at my upcoming solo show at the Principle Gallery, opening June 12.

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The Uplifting

Posted in Recent Paintings, tagged , on May 30, 2009| Leave a Comment »

The UnityI’ve mentioned in the past several days that I’ve been busily preparing work for a show, getting all the little detail work in place so that I can deliver the show next week.  This is always a hectic time and  always leaves me kind of frazzled.  This year is no different.

During this process I am not painting and in its absence there are feelings of doubt that arise.  For me, the act of painting is a sort of balm that soothes my insecurities and anxieties, giving me a sense of refuge in the work.  When I’m not able to get to  my painting, these anxieties are allowed to once again come to the surface.  

I begin to question the validity of my work.  I question my ability to continue on in such a sometimes egocentric endeavor.  I begin to doubt that my work has any tangible value in anyone’s life.  I am filled with doubt.

Then on a day like today I come into the studio and check my email and there is a message from a young lady telling me how she and her now husband came across my work in the window of the Principle Gallery on their first date years ago.  She shared with me how they bonded over the work and they saw the same symbolism in the work that related to their feelings.  They now have two children and she wanted to let me know how the paintings have played a part in their lives.

My doubts vanish.  My spirits are lifted and I feel once again a sense of usefulness in my small place in the universe.  She may never know how much her note has done for my day or even the next few days.  It’s a reward that far transcends any other that comes with my work.  I wish everyone can find such a lift, to find such a purpose in their own lives, their own work.  

My day has gotten much brighter…

The piece above is titled after such a feeling.  I call it The Uplifting.  It is part of the show at the Principle Gallery that opens on June 12.  I love the unity of the two trees against the dramatic texture and color of the sky, as though they, the trees,  are braced together to endure whatever comes their way.  One lifting and holding the other…

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Off the Mainline

Posted in Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , , on May 29, 2009| 2 Comments »

Off the Mainline

If you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step, you know it’s not your path.  Your own path you make with every step you take.  That’s why it’s your path.

           –Joseph Campbell

 

I’m very busy this morning as I’m getting ready for the show that opens June 12 at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria, VA, so I thought I’d make this a simple post.  I like the quote from Joseph Campbell and thought it went well with the accompanying painting,  a new piece titled Off the Mainline.  It’s a piece on paper and has a wonderful glow as I look at it here in the studio.  There’s real vibrancy in the color and texture which, if you’ve read this blog in the past, is something that I strive for in my work.  It has a real spark, a sense of its own life.  I think it’s very strong.

Like the quote above, the painting’s title  insinuates that not every path necessarily goes down the main road, that there is true meaning found in following your own path and daring to leave the main route.  A simple concept but one that’s often hard to realize…

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A Shining Reward

Posted in Recent Paintings, tagged on May 27, 2009| Leave a Comment »

2009Here’s another new painting.  It has a very bright and optimistic feel which I believe is the right atmosphere for what I see in this piece.  Like many of my pieces with the fields with rows , this has a certain symbolism for me.  I see the rows running to the center as representations of labor, of working toward ones aspirations.  I see the red tree as a sort of dangling carrot.  A reward for effort and perseverance.  It’s a recurring concept behind my work and something I try to keep at the front of my mind as a reminder of the need for patience in my efforts.

In the houses I see a reminder that one’s toil and efforts might go unnoticed by those around you.  Everyone has their own field to work.

I call this piece A Shining Reward which is a bit obvious after giving my read on the piece.  But if the shoe fits…

 

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You Can’t Judge a Book…

Posted in Personal Mythology, Video, tagged , , , , , on May 26, 2009| 1 Comment »

FarmerI’ve just put the final details on a couple of paintings that will be part of my solo show at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria, VA.  The show opens June 12th and I’m scheduled to deliver the work to the gallery a week before so I’m in the final stages of preparation.  This is my tenth one-man show at the gallery and before that I did two shows as part of a group of painters from the Corning , NY area that was dubbed the Finger Lakes School.  

I particularly remember one moment from the first show with that group.  There was a pretty good crowd and several of us from the group mingled, answering questions and such.  I had a small break in the conversation and I heard a female voice from behind ask her companion where we were from.  Her friend answered that we were from the Finger Lakes region in New York.  He  said it was a pretty rural area with a lot of wineries and farms.

“Well, you know, they do look like farmers,” she replied.

I think I did a spit take.  Over the years I often think back to that lady’s comment and sometimes laugh.  Maybe we shouldn’t have all worn our overalls and straw hats that night.  It just reminds me how people judge others by that initial glimpse and how often  they end up being wrong.  Actually, I’ve come to the conclusion that, in the end, I would prefer being mistaken for a farmer than an artist anyhow.  Offhand, I can think of more positive attributes for the farmer.   So, if you can make it to the opening look for the guy who looks like a farmer…

That brings me to a song, You Can’t Judge a Book, that was originally written by blues great Willie Dixon and made popular by Bo Diddley.  My favorite version was from Long John Baldry, one of the pioneers of the British blues/rock movement in the early 60’s and a guy who had real panache, but I couldn’t find a version online.  But while searching I came across an interesting jazzy version of the song from Ben Sidran.  Give a listen  and enjoy…

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Call Ethereal

Posted in Recent Paintings, tagged on May 23, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Call Ethereal It’s a Memorial Day weekend and on this early Saturday the sun is mottling the yard of my studio, filtering through the new foliage on the trees.  Beautiful day.  A stray cat came wandering up the driveway.  Nice size cat, dark striped tiger.  I watch him as he stops to drink from the small creek and wonder where he belongs, if  he’s someone’s pet on an adventure or a stray.  We don’t get so many strays as we once did, probably due to the coyotes that criss-cross our property.  This guy doesn’t get a very warm reception either.

As he comes around the bend in my drive I see two turkeys coming from the opposite direction. Seeing the cat, they pick up speed and begin trotting towards him.  The cat turns and walks back down the drive, acting very cool about the whole thing.  The turkeys continue and get near him and he dives into the brush to one side and the turkeys continue on down the driveway.  At this point I go out to see if he might be friendly enough to approach me.  As I get out there, I see a doe, one that I simply call Mama Deer (she is a great mother to her fawns, very protective)  trotting through the woods towards the spot where the cat has entered the brush.  She stops and begins to stomp her front leg and I hear her loud snort.  She takes another step and this poor cat pops out of the brush and heads back down the driveway in a slow trot.  Mama continues over towards where he was, just to make sure he doesn’t double back.

I doubt that this poor guy will be back.  Too bad…

This painting is called Call Ethereal and is another piece for my 10th solo show opening June 12th at the Principle Gallery.  I like this piece very much and feel it really captures the essence of the Red Tree.  I get a feeling of both contemplation and epiphany from this piece and having this dual feeling excites me.  I think it’s  very strong.  Hopefully it will find someone who will have something akin to my feelngs for this piece…

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The Commitment

Posted in Biographical, Technique/History, tagged , , , on May 21, 2009| 2 Comments »

To SanctuaryI’m in the last few weeks before my show in June at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria, VA.  As I’ve written in earlier posts, this is a time filled with finishing paintings, filling in the final details of pieces.  There’s photography to be done and then matting the pieces on paper and framing them all.  There are frames to be stained and sanded and glass to be cut.  When I see it all written out it seems like an awful lot of work but I’ve been doing this long enough that it seems like second nature, just something that must be done.

The one thing I do notice in these last few weeks is finding myself so immersed in what I have to do that I neglect the outside world even more than I do normally.  I read the newspaper and listen to the news but nothing seems to register, nothing seems to stick.  A few minutes later and I can’t remember much of what I’ve read or heard. Quite honestly, even when I’m reading my mind is focused on my work and, as a result,  my attention is never fully engaged.   This bothered me in the past, making me feel even more apart from the outside world.  Made me feel even less intelligent. Less informed.

I’ve come to accept this as part of who I am and what I do.  I realize now that for my work to succeed on any level, my total involvement and immersion in it is required.  Commitment.

This was somewhat reinforced by a video a friend sent me this past week of Malcolm Gladwell, author of Outliers, talking about the common traits of those who succeed creatively.  He spoke of a commitment to do whatever their chosen field was, to immerse themselves totally, excluding many other aspects of their life in order to practice their craft.  I immediately knew what he was talking about and  felt somewhat reinforced in my commitment to my work.   So I put my head down, push the world aside and get back to it…

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Finding Joy

Posted in Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , , on May 19, 2009| 1 Comment »

The Coming Together


 

Joy lies in the fight, in the attempt, in the suffering involved, not in the victory itself.

          — Mahatma Gandhi  

How do you define joy?  Is there such a thing as joy that is the same for every person or is finding joy strictly a personal preference?  Are there people who live without any joy at all in their lives or are there moments in everyone’s lives where they experience something close to joy?  Maybe it’s not a giddy kind of joy.  Maybe joy for some is a feeling of contentment, an absence of fear, an absence of pain.  

Maybe that’s it.  Maybe joy is finding that which takes away our fears and pains.

I don’t know.  I know that it doesn’t have to be sought.  It’s just there or it’s not.  For me, it might be as simple as laying in the grass and having my dog come over and lay against my chest.  It might be in sipping a cup of tea or watching the deer graze laconically in the yard.  It might be  in laughing out loud at something I’ve seen a hundred times yet still find funny or in making my wife laugh.  It can seem so simple yet I see people who seem joyless and I wonder where their joy might be.

Certainly, they must have something which brings them something akin to joy.  At least contentment.  But maybe it’s not for me to see or maybe they live a joyless existence.  Who knows?  Just something I wonder about on a sunny morning when the sun filtering through the trees, scattering patches of light on the thick grass beneath them, brings me joy.

By the way, the painting above is a new one, The Coming Together, that is part of the Principle Gallery show in June.  It features the entwined trees I sometimes use as well as the field rows.  I really like the feel of this piece and love the texture and color in the surface.  

Makes me happy.

Gives me joy…

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Ozymandias Shoe

Posted in Recent Paintings, tagged , , on May 11, 2009| 2 Comments »

Ozymandias ShoeThis is a new painting called Ozymandias Shoe, using the name of the previously mentioned king from P.B. Shelley’s poem.  It’s sort of an extension of my Archaeology series from last year but more about the rhythm of the the underground strata than the symbols and artifacts contained in the original series.  The piece that was the subject of the contest a week or so back, Laminae In Harmony, was in this same vein.

To me, these pieces are about the organic quality of the layers and the interplay of the colors.  I like having this semi-abstract element in a painting that is primarily representative in nature which is something that I feel is present in my best work.  As I’ve written before, the use of the representative elements in my paintings is primarily a means to engage the viewer.  For me , the paintings are about the abstract quality of the underlying elements, by which I mean the color and texture of the forms that build up the surface.

Okay, that’s enough of that.  I almost wandered too deeply into the land of artspeak.  If you stay there too long you may never come back and if you do, you’ll be wearing a beret and a cape.

Anyway, this piece is meant to speak to the theme of Ozymandias and the futility of believing in our own immortality, our dominance over the earth.  This painting will be part of my show at the Principle Gallery, starting June 12.

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