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Friday, August 15th, 2008
Magic Hour finished (Gitxsan Totem Pole, Thunderbird Park, Victoria, BC Canada), 60H x 40W x 3D inches acrylics on canvas, sturdy home-built stretcher frame, wrapped sides painted, narrow trim frame. Here is an earlier post with information about this totem pole.
Great moments in painting are addictive, when so completely immersed in the work that time becomes non-existent… The Zone! I’ve had a good week with this one, partly because of getting past the habit of trying to control the outcome. Things happen in every painting that are not planned, and the endless choices are part of the fun.
Painting is considered to be a two-dimensional undertaking, but it’s so much more. While lost in the work process, all the dimensions of the subject are explored, including the deeper dimensions of ourselves. While painting we discover our convictions and the means to ask how far we are willing to go to stand up for them.
Work every day is about continually reevaluating decisions, taking responsibility for choices made, being honest about mistakes, shortcomings and limitations of media and self, and digging deep to find compromise between technical and intuitive solutions. It’s about control of all those elements, combined with easing up on trying to control too much. All this and more translates onto a flat surface as we hope to give the illusion of depth…if that isn’t magic, I don’t know what is!
Post-dated Note: When choosing this totem pole that is erected in Thunderbird Park at the RBC Museum in Victoria, I didn’t realize that it’s the same one that Emily Carr painted in 1928. More magic! Here is a link to more information about this totem and the Gitxsan Poles moved from Gitanyow (formerly Kitwankool) B.C.
A word here about artists’ representation of First nations or any other cultural/historic works: subjects are painted with the greatest honor and respect, with purpose to study and draw interest to the importance of appreciating our multi-cultural world and the unique characteristics of each and every culture. This is what artists do. Our differences as cultures are connected across time and place, as there are many common traits and themes expressed through Art everywhere.
Robert Genn and readers of The Painters’ Keys have some very interesting comments all around the board about this topic.
Magic Hour – work in progress
Thursday, July 24th, 2008
Magic Hour, 60H x 40W x 3D inches acrylics on canvas, work in progress.
Art history is human history. What we call Art is the expression of individuals finding connection with our humanity; who are we? How do we respond to our surroundings and who are we in relation the things we depend on for survival? Standing in front of the Totems I realized that the answers we sought long, long ago are the same, and the things we love now are the same things people have always loved. As Artists and Art Viewers we’ll never venture far from subjects that speak to the heart.
The originals of all the totem poles erected in Thunderbird Park on the grounds of the Royal BC Museum in Victoria, Canada are now protected from the effects of weather inside the museum. The totem portrayed in this painting is a replica of the Gitxsan Pole that was moved in 1958 from Kitwankool, BC. This version of the pole is named Skim-sim and Will-a-daugh, belonging to Chief Wiha (Wee-kha, Ernest Smith), the chief of the Wolf Clan: only the top 3/4 of the totem is portrayed. Due to deterioration caused by weather, the originals of all the totems in Thunderbird Park are now erected inside the museum and are replaced with replicas carved by Mungo Martin, chief carver, Henry, Tony and Richard Hunt (this one 1960).
Symbols/crests: The bird at the crown is a giant woodpecker (wee-get-welku). Legend reads that a female ancestor kept a pet woodpecker, feeding it so much it grew to be a giant monster that ate everything made of wood until it was killed. It sits atop 5 human figures who stand on the head of the Mountain Eagle (Skim-sim), who kidnapped and mated with a woman then devoured their offspring. The eleven small figures are humans fishing through holes in the ice. Under them and not pictured in the painting is Will-a-daugh, also known as “Person With a Large Nose”, holding her child who was conceived from a wood grub.
Magic Hour started
Thursday, July 17th, 2008
Magic Hour, 60H x 40W x 3D inches acrylics on canvas, wrapped sides painted, work just started. This is the top half of the magnificent Gitxsan Totem pole, one of the Haida totems in Thunderbird Park near the Inner Harbor downtown Victoria, B.C.
The drawing is sketched with Alizarine Crimson and Red Oxide base. We were there a week ago just as the sun set, shining light on the right side of the totems and rising moon light lit the left side. I changed the tree silhouette to a typical B.C. horizon of tall Red Cedar, whereas the trees in that park are Maples.
The 4th of July on the 22nd of June
Sunday, June 22nd, 2008
Added darkest values, mapping out the composition more clearly, now will define a few blossoms in the foreground by washing off dark areas and paint with pure colors from the tube and bring back to the cheery lights and brights that were present at the start.
The Fourth of July 01, work in progress
Friday, June 20th, 2008
The Fourth of July 01, 36H x 48W x 2D inches acrylics on canvas, wrapped sides painted, sturdy custom built stretcher frame. Work in progress. Rarely do I draw outlines to start paintings.. just start splashing paint in a frenzy around the canvas, responding to the subject matter.
Not only does the Orange Milkweed remind me of fireworks, but it was on July 4th last year that I stopped to photograph the vibrant wildflowers growing alongside the highways in Kentucky.
Guanacaste Trees
Monday, February 25th, 2008
Guanacaste Trees, Costa Rican Grasslands, 11H x 14W inches oil pastels on paper. Part of the Paper Places series, all have white double mats and white custom built wood frames with crackle finish, total size 22H x 26W inches.
The unusually wide umbrella-like shape of the trees look cartoonish, but with a few textures I think the issue is resolved now.
Guanacaste trees have such presence! Costa Rica is not well known for its open grasslands, but north-west and central areas of the country flatten out a little, with mountains of rain forests and volcanoes on the horizon. Guanacaste trees look entirely different growing in the rain forest than on the open grasslands.
The Great Ocean Road
Sunday, February 24th, 2008
The Great Ocean Road, east coast Victoria, Australia, 11H x 14W inches oil pastels on paper, framed with 3 inch white double mat, brass title plate, and white wood frame with crackle finish, 22H x 26W inches total size. Sold.
Palo Verde tree in bloom at a nursery in Ajijic, Mexico
Friday, February 15th, 2008
Palo Verde tree in bloom at a nursery in Ajijic, Mexico
Nature Insists
Sunday, January 13th, 2008
Nature Insists, growth through rock, North Carolina – 9H x 12W inches graphite, watercolor and graphite on 40lb cold-pressed premium watercolor paper. Framed size 26H x 22W inches.
Exhibition Opportunity
Tuesday, December 4th, 2007
Galahs in Traffic, Australia. 14H x 11W oil pastels on paper, has 3-inch-wide white double mat and 26H x 22W inch white custom-built white wood frame with crackle finish.
Flocks of Galahs fly in front of cars… unfortunate fatalities along the highway to the Kangaroo Island ferry, South Australia. The trees illustrated are Norfolk Island Pines.
One of the pieces showcased in the AJAS Fall/Winter Online Gallery.
For Artists interested in juried competitions and online gallery exhibitions, the American Juried Art Salon (AJAS) gives helpful feedback and critique whether your work is accepted or not. For information about their Spring/Summer 2008 competition visit http://www.artjury.com/art.html Artists whose work has been accepted twice in a row receive a website page for one year.