Falling in Love

There is nothing like the feeling of falling in love....very very intense.  It doesn't happen that often.  During our recent visit to San Francisco, we visited a couple of galleries in St. Helena.  Although the galleries were spectacular in every way and there was an abundance of beautiful art objects to grace the home, the works on the walls were disappointing to me.  They were too slick, too impersonal;  i.e. an immense work in black and white of pounding horses' hooves.  Nothing that touched my soul.  The next day, I spotted a poster in a shop window on 24th Street in the city.  The painting pulled me across the street where I quickly jotted down the information.  Back at home on my computer I was able to pull up the wonderful wonderful work of H. Craig Hanna.

Another muse.............totally inspiring.  Hi art.

Mile High Sketch Club

Mile High Man...a sketch

I am a member of the mile high club.....sketching, that is.  Is there another?   One row up across the aisle is the perfect position for acquiring an unknowing model.  This gentleman was a fidgeter....tall and lanky.  He spent lots of time standing in the aisle where his legs could expand.  During the sitting intervals, he provided me with ample drawing opportunity.  The difficulty was in his slight lateral movements to the left and right, where the degree of eyeglasses and nose changed from time to time.  Therein lies the challenge.  Values were all midtones, so there were no extremes on which to build a stronger sense of patterning.  No strong light.  I was satisfied.

Have Sketchbook Will Travel...

Chicago O'Hare...a sketch

Life presents many wonderful opportunities for travel...most recently, it was the marriage of our son on the west coast.  My first thoughts in preparing for a trip always have to do with my art-making.  Painting provides my way of maneuvering through the difficulties that life presents.  Quite simply, it is an addiction.  It is difficult for me to do without the wonder that art-making provides.  Sketching fits the bill.  A small sketchbook and set of pencils is always at the ready in my bag.  An unexpected delay of 4 hours at Chicago O'Hare provided the opportunity to observe and sketch many weary travelers, myself included.  Although most of the sketches remain unfinished and unresolved in so many ways, the freedom of the mark-making and the resultant calming are ever-present.  When a book is filled with sketches, there is always a pleasure in returning to this visual diary.  For a visual person, there is nothing better.

Kathy Johnson is at it again!

Loves Me   oil/canvas   6 x 6

The owner of Hudson Fine Art & Framing is hosting an unusual "In The Pink" exhibit this year.  Over 50 small canvasses (6 x 6) will be raffled to support The Gathering Place, a support venue for cancer patients and their families.


A wine and cheese reception will be held this Friday, October 1 from 5:30 - 8:30 pm.  The exhibit will continue throughout the month. 

"Loves Me" is my offering.

Clarity...

Buddies   oil/canvas   20 x 10 x .5

results when the temperature drops a bit in September.  The humidity is lower.  The mornings are crisp and clear.  As a result, everything seems to come into focus...flowers, landscapes and feelings seem to be crisper.  We are lucky to live close to a large reservoir that is used year round recreationally for many folks who fish, boat and hike.  I believe that fishing is a tranquilizer for those who enjoy it just as painting is for me.  Peace.  Quiet.  Oneness.  Fresh Air.  The losing of the self in the activity.

I don't much enjoy the notion of painting a landscape.  Perhaps it all seems so far away.  My subjects tend to be pulled in more closely.  A  vertical "slice of landscape" seems to fit the aesthetic bill for me. I am able to hear the water lapping against the sides of the aluminum canoe.

Buddies is an observation.  Fishing with a friend.

The term "high art"

implies  a polar opposite which would likely be deemed "low art".  High. Low.  The image perceived is that of a ladder where concepts and individuals are in a position where some have a leg up, and others a leg down.  Verticality.  Yang thinking.  A paradigm construed of aggression, authority, words and left-brained thinking.  I guess then, that Hummers and McMansions would then be seen as higher up than Volkswagon Beetles and cottages.  And what is deemed high or low would be defined by our own position on the ladder....we humans are egocentric creatures.  I propose a change from "high art" to "hi art" (as in "hello", the greeting)....that which speaks to an individual, no matter what place that individual holds on the perceived totem.  A shift to the horizontal, the yin......respecting differences, respecting the vast spectrum of visual appeal.  Intuition.  Feeling.  And, yes, sentiment.  Tolerance.  Different art, different music, different tribes.  All cool.  I guess then that the work of Thomas Kinkaid could be considered "Hi Art" to lots of people.  The deciders of what is "hi art" could then be individuals themselves, rather than the "authority on high" deciding what is worthy and what is not.

Hi Art.

Question  Authority.

They're Playing Our Song...

Marci   oil/canvas   20 x 10 x .5

is currently showing at Weathervane Theater in Akron until September 26.  This play revolves around a songwriter and a lyricist whose creative quirks in their collaboration provide lots of laughs. And, to be quite truthful, I saw our own relationship being played out in several scenes.  Rick and I are showing work in the lobby, so we were treated to the production last evening........hilarious, touching and quick-tempoed.  What a great production to open the season!  Rick has sculptures and photographs.  Mine contribution is a collection of paintings celebrating both music and the harvest season that is upon us.  Our good friend Marci Paolucci is the curator for the gallery there and has been at if for over 25 years!  Her contribution to the local arts is an important one and she takes pride in touching the lives of the artists whose work she chooses to exhibit.  I had a very difficult time writing a collaborative bio for the two of us.  She took the information the whipped it into a wonderful few paragraphs.  Here's to Marci!  Here's to another stimulating theater season at Weathervane Playhouse!  Hope you all have time to take it in.

Things that Become Tangled...

Pepper Party   oil/canvas   6 x 6 x 1.5

should be a category on Jeopardy......strings, hair, thread, and, yes, vines.  I have painted many tangled vines before and find a special delight in it, actually.  It appeals to my sense of hidden rhythms and puzzle solving as far as prioritizing.  If all of the pieces/parts are equally described, the work becomes very difficult to read visually.  In "Pepper Party", I subdued the leaves and the vines, for the most part, even though they are oh-so-appealing in order to give dominance to the peppers themselves.  Still a tangle.  But then,  I also like frayed things, things marred by age and plants and bushes grown a bit out of control.  I like the wildness.  Wabi Sabi.

Quick Painting/Slow Painting

Tomato Tango   oil/canvas   8 x 8 x 1

I believe that, with a little planning, a good painting can result from a short session or several longer sessions that last months.  Goals need to be adjusted.  The open house at Cuyahoga Valley Art Center is a festive affair....lots of friendly people, great conversations, chatting with colleagues, sampling tasty hors d'oeuvres and very little focus.  It's the nature of the gathering.  And, so, I came armed with a small 6 x 6  canvas that was pre-toned in violet.  My attention was diverted every few minutes so each stroke had to count.  "Tomato Tango" is the result.  A bit wildly painted.  I'm afraid that, given another session, I may have been tempted to fine tune it a bit.  And I'm not sure that would have been a good thing.  My standards seem to be different from what they used to be.  Perhaps I am just happier with who I am.

Revisiting...

Baughman Barn  oil/canvas board   12 x 12

a dry work has both advantages and disadvantages.  Rhythms and brushwork, often determined by the current mood of the artist, will be invariably different.  I have to feel that my time will be well-spent in returning to the work.  These are not studio paintings.  These are plein-air works that were "finished" (but often not to my satisfaction) on the spot.  I am gradually learning how to paint in one session which requires a maximum amount of thought and a minimum amount of paint.  Otherwise, the colors all become murky, in a mid-value range.  Revisiting allows for corrections in color temperature and in value...reestablishing the darkest darks and the lightest lights.  If the draftsmanship is off, I won't even bother.  "Baughman Barn" was revisited yesterday to my satisfaction.  Although the yellow-golden quality is gone and the color temperature has shifted to cool, I believe that the work has been improved.