L'heure Bleue

The Blue Hour, reflections (yes, they are everywhere), and the consequent bliss.

Analog Man, Digital Woman

What an age we live in.

I love the way I can digitally capture an image, say, of an oil painting as shown above, entitled "Closeup 02, Porcelain Redhead", which, point of information, measures 12" x 48", and then quite easily manipulate the image to my liking, as shown in one iteration, below.

To me, this is shear fun, all over again.

World, are you listening? Stop all the mayhem, and go for the fun. You heard it here first, fun is sustainable.

Sign Post and Surprise

Time and again, I am full of surprise and wonder when I see one of my works, sometimes older, sometimes newer, and I am reminded that, yes, I really did paint, or draw, or sculpt that.

I tend to rotate works around my house periodically and sometimes a work will end up in storage and out of sight for a while. The image may go out of my peripheral consciousness. When I see the work again, I have to look at it and imagine myself in the creative process. I remember the order of its creation, the drawing of a line, the rendering of a mass.

For a moment, I relive its birth and feel the joy all over again.

A Place To Be

A place to clear my head, that is, on the summit of Mount Pemetic. Everything that you need is there, sun, views, natural sculpture, blueberries. It is the doing, being, doing experience.

Just bring your own water.

Is a Dead Tree Really Dead?

No!

At the time that the tree stops functioning as a living, growing organism, as we normally think about it, it takes on a new life, a phantom, as host to the bugs, bacteria, bats and birds. As storehouse, condo, and insulator, it also continues to provide a measure of shade and wind protection. The tree takes on a magnificent sculptural appearance and patina as it points heavenward only to be brought down, ever so gradually, to nourish and renew the next generation. We could learn a lot from trees.

If “man is a tree of the field”, might not we have this sort of legacy or afterglow of purpose and poise?

Yes, and it is all by design.

Notan

There are satisfying and rich rewards to be rendered in the tasteful interplay of positive and negative space, that is, the interplay of light and dark, a concept known to the Japanese as "notan." This is a concept that is equally applicable to photography, painting, sculpture, typography, food preparation, and, well let's just say that we are limited only by our imagination.

The key is to observe the magic, and have fun with it.

Peace Rock

The Peace Rock has been found! The location? Mount Desert Island, Maine.

Re Stanislavski

Who am I?

Why am I here?

Where do I come from?

Where am I going?

Form and Color

You never know what combination of form and color will capture your imagination, and, thankfully, there can be no formula. When you see it, you know.

It is all to be found in the doing.

Just for Scale, Just for Fun

In the middle of "Between Stations" both 01 and 02.

Between Stations

Shown above is one of the newer paintings that I have done, a painting done with no road map and no preconceived ideas. I like it when I am surprised by the end results. Whatever it is, I always say that you can't get to the next piece until you finish the one that you are working on.

Often, I check to see if a work holds up from a distance, and, I have to say that this one doesn't do that. I think that you have to really get up to it to see what is happening in there, which is fine on a case by case basis. This painting is fairly large for me at 36" square so there is plenty of territory to check out, and, a lot of form interaction by virtue of the close proximity of elements.

Here is the fraternal twin to the above painting, also rather large at 40" x 30". It was completed in the same breath with its twin, and was just as much fun. This painting does hold up well from a distance. I just couldn't wait to do a painting with a color palette of red, yellow, white, and black.

Both paintings bring me back in a way, to earlier times. The first to a distinct memory of my early teens, and the second to a feeling, an emotion from my earliest years. In part, I think that is what the creative endeavors are about, a sort of mirror to your essence. The question is, can you really see?

Joy of Sepia

The subtle use of color, in the middle ground between "color" and "black and white" can be a feast for the eyes, revealing an entirely new image with a timeless quality.

Can you see the porcupine posed face in to the underside of the rock? Who says animals can't speak? I hear him saying "I will be here minding my own business, I recommend that you do the same."

In The Mix

I just completed three paintings in the last two days in the studio. These were all canvasses that went through a series of iterations over the past couple of months. In each case what had been was submerged deep below the gesso, building internal strength and muting the voice of the canvas to a whisper. I listened to that voice and the work has now become realized.

It is very satisfying to have them form into finished works nearly at the same time. I am not sure how I will see them in the morning, but it feels good for right now.

I love watching paint dry!

Joy of Grayscale

The interplay of dark and light has a magic all its own.

Joy of Color

Orange and yellow, and, their friends.

Sundogs

I heard the art teacher tell the young student that water could not be orange. I cringed inside. I bit my tongue.

I thought to myself, doesn't she know that water is colorless, that water takes on the color of reflected light in the surroundings, that water could be any color at all? There are a lot of reasons why water could indeed be orange. Has she not been to Venice Beach, California at sundown and looked out over the Pacific?

Even if water couldn't be orange, does it matter? In our creation, water could be any color that we choose.

Self Portrait in Computer Chip

My cousin David, childhood chemistry prodigy, who, as a boy in the early 1950’s, used to send his dad off with shopping lists that included the makings of complex high explosives, is known to say that all science, when artfully engineered, produces superior results over science that is not artfully engineered.

By the way, his dad got wise to him, closed down the chemistry lab and bought him a telescope.

Homage, Part 2

“Spread your color around”, he said. “Learn to accept constructive criticism, recognize that it is meant to help. Be true to your self as an artist” he taught, and, he was so right.

I owe so much to this man, Harold Zabitz, artist, teacher, man of his times. When I was in his class, I felt that I was exactly where I was meant to be.

He interacted with the likes of Jackson Pollack. He is as engaged an artist now as he ever was. He continues to inspire.

The Incarnation of Purpose

Once a hearth to warm the souls of roaring twenties revelers, this fireplace and stack survived the (alleged) torching for insurance money that destroyed the complex. Having sat for decades amidst the secret wooded refuge of motorcyclists and free spirits, known only as “The Ruins”, it now finds itself central to one of the premiere golf courses in the New York metropolitan area. When and what will be the next incarnation of purpose and design for this lone stone time traveler?

Live, thrive and survive to find out.

Turn and Return

The complexities of nature as revealed in this long overturned stump, and, nowhere is there to be found a straight line.

Review, Regroup, Reswizzle

A new exhibit at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art entitled “Hidden Treasures”, works from the permanent collection, featuring a broad array of art from around the world and spanning the centuries, was enticing enough to draw me in quickly to see what had been down in storage. I especially enjoyed seeing some drypoint etchings by John Sloan and Edward Hopper, and a series of colorful, if understated, silkscreen prints by a variety of artists such as Ellsworth Kelly, Roy Lichtenstein, and Robert Motherwell. A display of pre-Columbian Mexican artifacts was also of keen interest.

The museum is doing some updating and has temporarily relocated some artwork to new exhibition rooms. It was good to see some old favorites, like a rather unique Van Gogh self portrait, hanging in a new location, with new friends in its midst.

The highlight of the visit had to be viewing two striking paintings by Balthus, but, aren’t they all?

Attavanti, Come to Pray

SACRISTAN Her picture!

CAVARADOSSI Whose?

SACRISTAN That strange girl who has been coming here these past few days to pray. Such devotion… such piety.

CAVARADOSSI It is so. And she was so absorbed in fervent prayer that I could paint her lovely face unnoticed.

SACRISTAN Away, Satan, away!

CAVARADOSSI Give me my paints. Oh hidden harmony of contrasting beauties! Floria is dark, my love and passion…

SACRISTAN Jest with knaves and neglect the saints …

CAVARADOSSI And you, mysterious beauty… Crowned with blond locks, your eyes are blue and Tosca's black!

Blond Nude

I completed an oil painting today, tentatively entitled “Attavanti, Come to Pray”, shown above. This one had a rather long gestation period of some six to eight months. I am of the mindset these days of not to rush or push the completion of a work. At present, I prefer to let the work evolve in its own time, emerging when the time is right.

I look forward to seeing how I will feel about it going forward, but for right now, I enjoy displaying it on my wall.

Icons, Part 3

Oh, who could resist?! Here she is. My take on Jackie.

She is the best single thing that ever happened to Jack.

Icons, Part 2

Art, politics, culture. Icons are where we blur the lines. My pick for top icon of the twentieth century? Hands down, Chairman Mao.

If only it could have been Jackie!

Icons of the Twenty First Century?

Lenin, Mao, Gandhi, Stalin, Marlene Dietrich, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, all of them were, by any measure, twentieth century icons.

Is there a new set of enduring icons? Is it too early to tell in the twenty first century? Can you identify an enduring icon alive today, especially one who captivates the public imagination at present?

Leave me a comment. I would be very interested to hear your view!

The System and The Bee’s Knees

Hard to fathom that the linchpin that holds all of life together on this planet rests on the fervent and relentless activity of this little fellow shown above, sucking nectar out of the style of a flower. As he gathers the nectar, going flower to flower, he spreads the pollen stuck to his body securing the pollination and ensuring the continuation of all plant life, and thus the vast animal food chain that relies on it.

If we were to properly value this pollination effort, we would do everything in our power, and base every decision on the health and wellbeing of the bees. Instead of applying our cunning for war and conquering and mayhem, we would help our little friends who labor on our behalf. Then we would truly live in a world abundant with milk and honey.

Designed and Manufactured with Available Materials and Technology

While hiking in what had been the summer hunting grounds of the Eastern Abenaki Indians, I came across this small stone on the trail. Though grouped with other like sized stones, this one caught my eye and I decided to examine it. Could it be an Indian artifact, a tool of some kind? It seemed to me that it might well be!

The stone was symmetrical side to side and front to back. It clearly seemed to have been worked. If anything, it appeared to have a dual purpose with a full radius, uniformly sharp, serrated blade on one end, and a blunter, straighter serrated scraping blade on the other. It appeared to have been crafted by deft striking. It felt good in my hand.

Where is the stone now? It is right where I found it on the trail. Now I will always know where it is!

Stonescape

I just returned from a week of camping and hiking in Acadia National Park, on Mount Desert Island, Maine. I was far from the world of work, the web, buttons and screens. It was a welcome respite, with my eyes to the mountains, and the skies, to read the heavens for signs of rain or stars. I also found time for the guitar and books, to soothe and nourish the inner man.

On a return visit to the summit of Mount Pemetic, I came across this wonder in 3 dimensions, like a friend to greet the temporal visitor, whether on two legs, four, or in flight. On par with any abstract creation that I have seen, with profound dimensions of form, mass, and color, and placed as though by the thumb and forefinger of the Maker.

Homage

My drawing professor from design school, the great, Jak Kovatch, used to say, among many other things, “color attracts the eye.” I think, well, yes it really does.

Countless times, often while drawing or painting, or sometimes, just while driving in the car, I think of Jak and his words, put out softly, like nuggets of gold, or gems lying on the ground. Many will pass by, but will they value or even notice?

On Balance

A day in the home office, off the roads, catching up on paperwork, conducting business, with time for social interaction, some drawing, some painting, some planning, and, a light workout.

Net out: fulfillment.

Plastic Phantasm

My favorite museum goer checks out Dutch artist Folkert de Jong's "The Shooting... At Watou", on exhibition at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art. Bold and interesting, but not a place that you would want to linger due to the violent depiction, the freakish figures, and the terrifying and wholesale use of such disquieting materials as polystyrene and polyurethane. It was the first time I wanted to wear a dust mask at a museum. Still, a memorable work.

Wonder and Action

What an age we live in.

All the tools are at hand for the positive and good, or for mayhem and destruction. Man seems hard wired either to create or to destroy, depending on the ideas entertained by the individual.

To build takes creativity, focus, acumen and perseverance. To destroy requires very little really, and those without the drive and purpose to create are prone to destroy what they cannot produce. The weak succumb to their weakness, would deny others of the good, and destroy themselves in the process.

Good design, good art, and fun. These, and other good things, like compassion and hope, are what will elevate us and provide the critical mass to make the day, this day, and tomorrow.

Photo Finish

I am in the midst of a couple of quieter days in the home office, just prior to the long holiday weekend. It’s a chance to catch up on paperwork and get a little better organized, hopefully to step back a bit and get some perspective on the bigger picture.

While in the process of clearing off my drawing board, in the hopes of actually using it for drawing, I came across some old brochures from art exhibits I had attended. One particularly caught my attention, entitled “again, serial practices in contemporary art.” This was largely a photography exhibit, but also included other media, and was on display at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, an exhibit in conjunction with The Cartin Collection. The exhibition took place back in the fall of 2007.

I recall several images from the exhibit, particularly some odd portraits and a large number of photos of electric chairs and the chambers that housed them. What struck me most was, off to the side, in a partially enclosed darkened area, a collection of small, almost crudely produced, and seemingly badly archived, portraits of women. This was the work of Miroslav Tichy, a Czech artist and photographer. For better or for worse, mostly for lacking the patience at museums and galleries, I tend to focus on the work and less on the write ups. I knew nothing of Miroslav Tichy, but attempted to decipher, for myself, what I was looking at. It appeared that none of these women were aware that they were being photographed. The artist loved the female form, to be sure. This was at the other end of the spectrum from fashion photography. It appeared that he had many busy days at the beach, stealth camera in hand, and many subsequent busy hours in the darkroom. Hours and minutes of private joy, no doubt.

I thought one photograph was particularly lovely, of a young woman, caught unawares, in all likelihood, walking home from a swim on a summer afternoon. She appeared quite relaxed, in bathing suit and top, and flush with a generous dose of vitamin D. Miroslav Tichy was at the ready, silently seizing the moment. Perhaps he used one of his homemade cameras fashioned from found materials, lenses having been cleaned with toothpaste and mounted in old toilet paper rolls. No viewfinder here, just point and shoot. Who knew?! The photo would be lovingly developed at home and custom printed. Later, he would often sketch right on the photograph enhancing it to his liking, and perhaps make one of his homemade frames, playfully decorating it with colored pencil or ink. This work was not produced for commercial success. This was the eccentric “artist in his own garden” at work. This was the work of a confirmed recluse and a political and social outcast.

Miroslav Tichy is in his mid eighties now and by all accounts his output has tapered considerably. The story has a peculiar twist near the end of his career, with his work being “discovered” sometime around 2005, widely exhibited and commanding big money. It is difficult to find much written about him except in blogs. He has no listing in Wikipedia as of this writing. When profiling his work, bloggers often begin by saying some such thing as, “where do I begin?!” He defies convention, in every sense of the word, and walks a fine line between the acceptable and the unacceptable. He sought to document his environment, and, I believe he succeeded.

Design and Utility

I just discovered, nearly by accident, that an additional two new patents were registered on a project I worked on for a client, one in the USA, and one in China. This brings the number of patents I have to a grand total of four. That and a subway token will get me a good ride. That and a glass of port on a winter evening will give me a warm glow. But, it does feel so good! To view the patents, click here, here, and here. For the link to the patent in China, click here. For the Chinese patent, when asked to install the "Language Pack Installation", click "cancel."

As Art As Life

Performance art, music, dance, party, science fiction, fun.

The B-52's have it all.

It was that good.