Art is a demanding mistress. When things are going well, the ideas present themselves and the mediums cooperate to the degree they ever will, your everyday life goes to hell. Because you are so driven and you need to ride the wave while its there. Your house is unkempt, friends and family ignored, daily duties forgotten and forget about sleep. On the other end of the balance, when abandoned by the muse, the body collapses, illness sets in, anxiety stalks you and all you want to do is sleep, hoping for inspiration, messages in dreams, a reason to scrape that first stroke of paint on the taunting canvas. For three months was sick and the hectic pace of the holidays, stepped in and I was deluged by doubts and insecurities. Over the previous three months, I painted more than 30 pieces. The last three months, maybe five. But finally the damn broke last week, my subconcious, the muse, a touch of the numinous stepped in and not only guided my hand, but took over. I started a new series of paintings. So far the working title for the series is "Ambiguity Indecision, and Duende. I'll have to see if that sticks. So far these paintings are oil on wood panel or cradled wood. While my last series focused on textile towns had more to do with my personal history of living in two textile towns, this next series is more psychological and vague. They've painted themselves. The more I tried to control the subject matter, the more the paint worked against me, morphing figures, blocking out sections I thought would work, flowing into figures I had not envisioned. The first was meant to simply be two figure studies. But the first figure, who I call "the lady in red," decided to inhabit just a small portion of the board and soon I ended up with three figures and a dark, slightly depressing interior. The painting is titled The Tarot Reading" and I view it as trying to capture a moment of duende. Duende is a Spanish word used a great deal in poetry. There are many different interpretations for this word and to what it implies. In art it refers to the inspiration, the muses, lacunae, memory. In poetry , especially in the works of Federico Lorca, it elevates to a more evasive concept. Hard to explain, easier to describe, I view it as the space where the numinous hides or resides. Its that dark empty space at the bottom of your pocket, that sliver of nothing between blind slats, the moment before you turn a corner, or that sucked in breath before you start a new paragraph. Its the shadowland between two skyscrapers and that second before you step off a train. In my view, in this variation on the word, rue describes a time, space or place where nothing happens at the same time anything can happen. Its like Schrodinger's cat. Everything is possible at the same time. German artist. Anselm Kiefer, says "Painting is difficult. It's not entertainment." And that is the reality. People might consider it a hobby. Enjoyable. But its not. Its more like a compulsion. An idea has to be released, expressed. And even as a writer of many years, words won't cut it. That's why I call the series, Ambiguous. Because I even felt ambiguous about what I want them to evoke in the viewer. I've always wanted my paintings to be a little disturbing, to make people think and ask questions. If people come to my studio looking for something pretty to go on the wall, they've come to the wrong place. Sure my seascapes might be sort of pretty but even in my landscapes, there is something a little off. Some if them are what I consider dreamscapes deal with issues such as anxiety, abandonment, depression, suicidal ideation. Some people have called my work dark and that's true. I don't believe art is meant to decorate walls. Its meant to make you think. I've been reading "Jung on Art" written by. and Jung constantly speaks to the concept that art us to stir up reactions in the viewer. The artist is taken by a concept and for some reason us driven to paint it out and expose the viewer to the concept, even though it might be difficult and painful for the artist to express himself this way. He/she is compelled. Finally I have stumbled on an artist who explains what Jung has said, what musicians say but we hardly hear artists relate, words nit being their medium. Finally I have been held in awe by both the art and words of a living painter. We hear the names Picasso and Munch, Monet and Modigliani over and over but how many living artists in our time hold such rank, command such respect? Anselm Kiefer is one. A quote of his showed up on my Facebook page so I looked up his art and was blown away. His work is moving and terrifyingly beautiful. It makes you think and makes you sad. He has the pattern ability of Pollock but creates dreamscapes, not quite landscapes,, which might be considered nightmares by some. There is a sense of ruin, or decay, abandonment and something close to apocalyptic. But it doesn't take you over the edge due to an overwhelming sense of longing they instill in the viewer. Very few contemporary artists have held me in such awe: Dave Mckean, Nick Bantok, Gerard Desjardins, Steve Viner, Wendy Farrow, Tim Speaker, Dabney Mahanes.
Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
Monday, January 4, 2016
Monday, August 24, 2015
The Horse in Art, a Jungian View
For 17,300 years, dating back to the cave drawings in Lascaux, the horse has been featured in art. Even up until today, the horse is a common theme having survived so many trends and isms as a subject. Is it the athletic beauty of its physicality , its role as a companion in sport, now that its no longer a neccessary helpmate, or is there something illusive but intrinsic, an essence artists continue to try and capture? I ask all this since throughout my artistic life, the horse has appeared in both my art and dreams. A few years ago, when I first started painting horses, it coincided with a series of dreams and I came to realize that to me the horse symbolized spirit. So it doesn't surprise me that I'm painting a series of horses. This is at a time in my life when I don't feel like I have complete control since I have to have CT scans every three months to see if my cancer has returned. Its hard to plan things such as trips or signing a lease for an art studio since if I have to start chemo I will quickly be too weak to drive or paint. I think this is why I'm returkning to horses as a subject. To me they represent spirit and freedom and are also, in my view, messengers from the subconscious. In Jungian writings, the horse is a complex archetypal figure and an important ally once acknowledged and assimilated. Jung connected it with the primal and intuitive side, especially when hidden in the subconscious. the horse can represent a means to reach into the subconscious world to confront the shadow and access the energy and awareness we can find in any exchange with the unconcsious forces we have relegated to the unconscious realm. Once in the realm of shadow work within our dreams, creative imagination or art, we are often confronted with paradox. When we work with the horse archetype, we are harnessing our energy to deal with the inner conflicts we encounter and the desire to paint horses can be sign we are ready for such a journey. Because, every three months, I have to wonder if my cancer has returned, I find myself trying evaluating my life. As I did, I turned to art which serves to ease the worry but also as a means to communicate internaly. The first horse scene of this series I chose to paint wet on wet on wood. I just started layering on colors without a subject in mind. The orange horse appeared and shortly after the blue figure who I considered a man in a hat. It didn't take long before I recognized the vague figure as Picasso from a documentary I had watched a few days earlier. I decided to leave him vague, as if a ghost was speaking to me from the past, perhaps a symbol my unconscious choose telling me to continue using art as a means to reach the subconscious as he had. the architectural lines of the ancient town were evident in the grain of the wood so i brought them out to remind myself that internal work involves heeding not only archetypal aspects but also history, ancestors and those who have lived before us
James Hillman and Sonu Shamadashani , their noteworthy book on Jung's "Red Book" describe how Jung's message through his own art, was an attention to the dead and how such recognition taught him much about his own internal life. When dreams and images, such as those an artist may repeat in their art, are mirrored to historical theme, Joan Chodorow, notes in her book, "Jung on Active Imagination," we view the larger picture and see what it can mean to our ownn future. The second horse I painted in oils in a wet on wet technique and it is more highly colored and expressionistic than my usual style. It looked to me like a harlequin once he was finished and the harlequin has appeared in my art with a horse before. The harlequin to me is representative of the mercurial figure of Hermes, the trickster or communicator all depending on one,s level of awareness and moral state. The sunrise was inspired by the photograph of another artist, Susannah Melee. and the finished painting seems to be influenced by Picasso's work, although I had not seen many of his paintings of horses.
In another oil painting, this one larger and square, I realized that this final draft looked I finished. I had painted a reddish brown horse, rearing up in a vague sort of mystical setting. I painted this piece without, plan, forethought or any idea about message. I just kept standing back and viewing what appeared. The areas surrounding the border came from mistakes where I removed excess paint when finishing the horse and layered it over the sky and what eventually even became the ground. This is not my usual method at all. I also let the painting sit for days drying. Usually I work wet on wet since I'm in a hurry to complete a project. But on this one I decided to see what would strike me. I did fish for ideas, looking up paintings of horses by famous artists and paintings by artists who were familiar with Jung. Most of the rearing horses I found were either threatened or being threatened. After seeing some of the alchemical paintings by Anne Mccoy, the daughter of Andrew Wyeth, I found one she did with a very beautiful horse. However it was not a testing horse. Then a few days later I saw a painting of a woman offering a tray of food to some people. Something about her pose struck me and I realized I needed a woman reaching out to the horse. At first I thought I would paint the same pose but it ended up with the woman comforting the horse instead. She also came out looking fairly ephemeral do the underlayer if paint and I looked ger that way, looking almost ghost-like. It seems to be second step in my interactions with a horse. In the first painting I did at least five years ago, a female figure is offering a mask to a blacvk horse, which in my Jungian way of thinking is my ego trying to place a persona s mask on myself. In two even earlier paintings, I depict alone up a mountain with a huge skeletal face in the foreground. And in a later painting a horse is barely visible outside a window while a woman inside burns letters. Three two paintings seem to me know to represent my detachment from spirit, while me recent one, still in progress is representing an aspect of myself trying to comfort spirit, which is fairly accurate since I await results to see if my cancer returns and am in the midst of moving out of my art studio. Jung considered the horse a symbol of the mother in addition the the subconscious. And her aspect could symbol the maternal care one needs when confronting the confusion and chaos one encounters with.the shadow. We may have to find our personal internal mother to deal with some of the issued we unravel during any sojurn into the subconscious realm.
James Hillman and Sonu Shamadashani , their noteworthy book on Jung's "Red Book" describe how Jung's message through his own art, was an attention to the dead and how such recognition taught him much about his own internal life. When dreams and images, such as those an artist may repeat in their art, are mirrored to historical theme, Joan Chodorow, notes in her book, "Jung on Active Imagination," we view the larger picture and see what it can mean to our ownn future. The second horse I painted in oils in a wet on wet technique and it is more highly colored and expressionistic than my usual style. It looked to me like a harlequin once he was finished and the harlequin has appeared in my art with a horse before. The harlequin to me is representative of the mercurial figure of Hermes, the trickster or communicator all depending on one,s level of awareness and moral state. The sunrise was inspired by the photograph of another artist, Susannah Melee. and the finished painting seems to be influenced by Picasso's work, although I had not seen many of his paintings of horses.
In another oil painting, this one larger and square, I realized that this final draft looked I finished. I had painted a reddish brown horse, rearing up in a vague sort of mystical setting. I painted this piece without, plan, forethought or any idea about message. I just kept standing back and viewing what appeared. The areas surrounding the border came from mistakes where I removed excess paint when finishing the horse and layered it over the sky and what eventually even became the ground. This is not my usual method at all. I also let the painting sit for days drying. Usually I work wet on wet since I'm in a hurry to complete a project. But on this one I decided to see what would strike me. I did fish for ideas, looking up paintings of horses by famous artists and paintings by artists who were familiar with Jung. Most of the rearing horses I found were either threatened or being threatened. After seeing some of the alchemical paintings by Anne Mccoy, the daughter of Andrew Wyeth, I found one she did with a very beautiful horse. However it was not a testing horse. Then a few days later I saw a painting of a woman offering a tray of food to some people. Something about her pose struck me and I realized I needed a woman reaching out to the horse. At first I thought I would paint the same pose but it ended up with the woman comforting the horse instead. She also came out looking fairly ephemeral do the underlayer if paint and I looked ger that way, looking almost ghost-like. It seems to be second step in my interactions with a horse. In the first painting I did at least five years ago, a female figure is offering a mask to a blacvk horse, which in my Jungian way of thinking is my ego trying to place a persona s mask on myself. In two even earlier paintings, I depict alone up a mountain with a huge skeletal face in the foreground. And in a later painting a horse is barely visible outside a window while a woman inside burns letters. Three two paintings seem to me know to represent my detachment from spirit, while me recent one, still in progress is representing an aspect of myself trying to comfort spirit, which is fairly accurate since I await results to see if my cancer returns and am in the midst of moving out of my art studio. Jung considered the horse a symbol of the mother in addition the the subconscious. And her aspect could symbol the maternal care one needs when confronting the confusion and chaos one encounters with.the shadow. We may have to find our personal internal mother to deal with some of the issued we unravel during any sojurn into the subconscious realm.
Saturday, April 25, 2015
Less than one week and counting to our grand opening at Studio Unknown and we're crazy busy with all the preparations. It's so great to see dreams put into reality of an arts venue where anything can happen. We already have 25 names on the waiting list for our guest art wall.
Ashton Higgins, photographer, will be our first guest artist and i met him when he climber over three second floor balconies in my daughter's apartment complex to let her know I9 was there and waiting. It was quite a hilarious story, with me yelling up at her to "open up", throwing rocks and keys until he same to the rescue laughing at this old woman making a scene. Come to find out he and his wife are both artists. she went to Limestone College and will have a guest wall later this year, and the friend with him on the balcony is also an artist. Who would have thought it three doors away from where I lived for nearly a year. I volunteered to make them a piece of art for thanking him for risking his life, and when they invited me in, they explained they were artists and collected art.
Odd they way the universe has of introducing people!
Don't have photos of his usual take on things yet, but will post it as soon as he sends it along. He is busy as
We're always brainstorming and we've come up with some more ideas events. there will definitely be poetry readings at the First Friday in may and we plan to have a chess table and poker table set up in the pavilion for those who enjoy a mental challenge. When visitors are not looking at art, listening to poetry or just hanging out at one of our two fire pits, we hope they'll be coming up with ideas for events.
We did find out from a friend of resident artist, Kevin Anderson, Leroy of Judson mill, that out building was not only the general store to Brandon Mills Plush mill but was also a kickin' pool hall. Always packed. So the concept of games fits right in. In the future, there are plans for night time golf and night time bocchi ball and who knows what else.
It's interesting how these buildings, built circa turn of the century (Brandon Mills was built in 1899) evolved. the Village Studios I lived in at one time in the Village at West End was at various times a furniture store, a mortuary and a carpet store. (the metal measuring marks are still on the floor in the lower level). There are even rumors it was a brothel, but I haven't found proof on that one yet.
Over time, we're going to learn a lot more about the history of our section of the Textile Center of Greenville. Up until the late 1970's and 80'sd it was a bustling community with many shops and services offered along Easley Bridge Rd. Hwy 123. Chuck's barber shop was right next door to where Studio Unknown is located and I've yet to find out what was once located two doors down. A working upholstery shop is still in existence.
The story about the two Clock restaurants side by side is interesting enough, but that's for a later time, - maybe around the fire pit.
About seven hours later...
Just got this cool info on our Studio unknown art studio/gallery building when I put out a call on the Brandon Mill Facebook Page.
thanks Kojn, Ken and Gary!
- Joan Elizabeth White I will check with my dad, I know about a barber shop somewhere, in that area not sure, but if it is the one I am thinking about dad, may have pictures of the inside of the barber shop not sure my memory shot these days,,,,,,,,,,,,,I know that there was a barber shop on Pendleton once a long time ago, where my oldest got his hair cut, and my youngest got his first hair cut and a week later the guy retired and soon they went out of business.......................
- Joan Elizabeth White Wishing you Good luck with your Biz
- Ken Adams OOPS In the coroner building where Hall's Up. shop is there was a drug store. Next door to Chuck's Barber shop there was another barber shop ran by Joe Fulbright. He lived in the large house on West Ave. I remember when he went to $1.25 for a haircut and I thought that was hiway robbery. On down the street there was a pool room but it was hard for a kid get in there. Joe has a brother that does or did cut hair in Dunean. Sorry but no pictures.
Thursday, March 26, 2015
New Art Studio at Studio Unknown
There are a couple of reasons I haven't posted lately. The main one is that I now have a new art studio! Yesterday, Szag and I booked our studios at Studio Unknown at 914 Easley Bridge Rd. (Hwy. 122) in Greenville, SC! We are so excited. It's a great place and easy location not far from the main drag at Pendleton in the Village of West Greenville, just a little bit further than Ryan Calloway's blacksmith shop and art gallery studios at Creative Artistry on Andrews St.
The other reason is that I've been insanely painting and framing to get submissions ready for three big juried shows in Anderson, SC, Pickens, SC and Artisphere in Greenville. Today I deliver "Diana" and "Textile Mill Owner" to Anderson Arts Center.
I moved in a few things yesterday for my studio, but Bruce Miller, the owner, is building me a new door and wall so I'm not going to bring the big things yet and get in his way. The place is awesome with four studios and a public space with lots of walls to hang art, two separate seating areas, a dining table and four chairs, a TV, stove refrigerator, stove, sink, microwave, two crockpots, and a coffee maker! So we can hold events and serve food and chill out with the other artists when we're not working! There is also an outdoor area with a table, chairs, a fire pit and grill. So we're all set to really interact with each other, other artists, patrons and visitors.
I'm so excited - it is the coolest place and Bruce, the owner, is an incredible person, a great artist with a background in art and music. He was an inker for Marvel Comics, even did Spiderman for years since he was a very young man and also has a lengthy career in the music interests, playing in a number of bands, touring and opening for the likes of Bad Company and Styx. He has lots of cool stories and we think alike about polytheism, synchronicity, loves Jim Morrison like I do. His favorite artist is Dali, just like Szag.
I did a thrift store run and found a cool chair for $20.00, a small shelf for $2.00, a wicker medicine cabinet for storing paints for $7.50 and a wastebasket for $1.00. I painted them all turquoise sea blue to make a short of Jane Coslick look. I'll be bringing my red futon and chair that I had in my studio at the Village Studios along with a funky styled metal high top chair in seagreen which I can sit on to paint from my table top easel, my two easels, a set of storage drawers, a large standing cabinet that someone was throwing out in my neighborhood so its free, and a crazy table with a lighted top that I found at the side of the road a year ago in my neighborhood. I'll also upcycle and paint these two pieces turquoise sea blue, And then there are all the paints, frames, canvases, wood boxes and boards I've been hoarding since I recovered from cancer.
The other reason is that I've been insanely painting and framing to get submissions ready for three big juried shows in Anderson, SC, Pickens, SC and Artisphere in Greenville. Today I deliver "Diana" and "Textile Mill Owner" to Anderson Arts Center.
I moved in a few things yesterday for my studio, but Bruce Miller, the owner, is building me a new door and wall so I'm not going to bring the big things yet and get in his way. The place is awesome with four studios and a public space with lots of walls to hang art, two separate seating areas, a dining table and four chairs, a TV, stove refrigerator, stove, sink, microwave, two crockpots, and a coffee maker! So we can hold events and serve food and chill out with the other artists when we're not working! There is also an outdoor area with a table, chairs, a fire pit and grill. So we're all set to really interact with each other, other artists, patrons and visitors.
I'm so excited - it is the coolest place and Bruce, the owner, is an incredible person, a great artist with a background in art and music. He was an inker for Marvel Comics, even did Spiderman for years since he was a very young man and also has a lengthy career in the music interests, playing in a number of bands, touring and opening for the likes of Bad Company and Styx. He has lots of cool stories and we think alike about polytheism, synchronicity, loves Jim Morrison like I do. His favorite artist is Dali, just like Szag.
I did a thrift store run and found a cool chair for $20.00, a small shelf for $2.00, a wicker medicine cabinet for storing paints for $7.50 and a wastebasket for $1.00. I painted them all turquoise sea blue to make a short of Jane Coslick look. I'll be bringing my red futon and chair that I had in my studio at the Village Studios along with a funky styled metal high top chair in seagreen which I can sit on to paint from my table top easel, my two easels, a set of storage drawers, a large standing cabinet that someone was throwing out in my neighborhood so its free, and a crazy table with a lighted top that I found at the side of the road a year ago in my neighborhood. I'll also upcycle and paint these two pieces turquoise sea blue, And then there are all the paints, frames, canvases, wood boxes and boards I've been hoarding since I recovered from cancer.
Saturday, March 7, 2015
Figure Painting, Jung, the Subconcious and Emotion
While I enjoy all types of painting and collage, I have to say that figure painting is my favorite. I'm
not quite sure why artists are so fascinated with the human figure but I guess for me it's the act of creating a piece of art that communicates emotion. Because I've had little training in painting, I don't really know techniques for painting faces with emotion. Most of my work is to paint, sort of letting my subconscious take over, then stand back and see what the painting is telling me. I examine it and if I see an emotion, I stop painting. If I don't feel anything, I keep messing with it, often ruining good eyes or faces and having to start over. Since I paint with heavy oils, untouched my thinning agents, I end up with heavy layers, not the smartest method to capture such a sensitive subject as emotion.
Here is where my studies in Carl Jung help because he believed that art, as shown in his Red Book, tapped into his subconscious. Through a highly transformative and prolific period, he discovered that paintings reveal things the artist isn't aware of at the moment, but which is revealed in the painting. This happens to me all the time. Not a professional way to paint utilizing proven techniques but the main reason I paint.
I feel as if Edvard Munch painted this way which is one reason he's one of my favorite artists, along with Modigliani, Sir Edward-Coley Burne Jones, Waterhouse, and. Dante Gabriel Rossetti I'm also, to my surprise, coming to respect Pablo Picasso more and more. I'm not into his cubism much, bur love his blue period for the emotional content as much as his talent.
The piece I'm working on now, "Diana," an oil on wood 36X18, is one of these, but I'm trying to employ better and new techniques, as well as just painting and allowing it to flow once I'm in the zone. I don't know if it's going to work or not, since I'm trying out new techniques. I'm not sure if they'll ruin all the work I've already completed.
My art is not what one would call good art. My figures are not formed in a realistic or accurate manner and portions are often out of proportion. However, as Carl Jung discovered in his psychoanalytical practice and in his personal life with his creation of The Red Book, , the creative act of producing art is often an act of the transpersonal, taking the personal aspects of the finished piece and adding to it the universal aspect where it raises an emotional reaction in the viewers. Often this reaction can't be explained, but the viewer knows immediately whether they are drawn to a piece of art or are not, The transpersonal arises from the subconscious of the artist and is in communication and collaboration with the subconscious of the viewer. This is a reason art has such an impact, and
paintings we might not fully understand on a conscious level still touch us emotionally. Jung also believed that creating and viewing art was more than just an aesthetic experience relating to beauty, but rather an important transformational opportunity for both artist and viewer.
The artist go into a zone, allowing what Jung called participation mystique, where the artist lets the ego step out of the way, releasing the inner awareness buried in the subconscious and communicating to the viewer via the symbolism found in the art work,
In the paintings I've included on this blog, I actually set out to try and paint more realistic portraits, but my subconscious was more powerful and I ended up with paintings that are combinations of people I know with emotions, I didn't plan to include. The first one, "Francois Burgogne" is the combination of an ex-boyfriend, an actor and one of the characters in my novel, Shaman Circus. The second one, "The Philosopher," is the combination of an artist friend and a famous cellist, the third one, "The White
Queen" was supposed to be a self-portrait but ended not even close and appears to me as both a queen and a motorcyclist. The symbols at the right, were pieces I elaborated on which seemed to appear in the mixture of colors I used in the background. I just fleshed them out.
The fourth painting of the woman with red hair on the left is my unfinished piece, "Diana." I'll be painting more on her this weekend. She is a glorified self portrait as me as a much younger woman and the goddess Diana or Artemis has long been a pivotal figure in my personal mythology. I actually shot archery in high school and then again when I was in my later thirties and was a pretty good shot, winning some competitions using a recurve bow. I plan to paint her dress today and may include a bow.
I now consider these types of figures to be interpretations. They are in no way portraits but rather a view of these people and their influence on my work, from the perspective of how my subconscious views reality. I have my personal interpretation of the emotion they evoke, but prefer to leave the interpretation and experience of those emotions to the viewer and how they view their own reality.
These oil paintings were completed at different times in the past seven years or so but were still painted in the same type of zone where I lose all awareness of anything but applying paint. As much as I've tried to focus on techniques I've learned about through reading, You Tube videos or art history, all is overshadowed by what my rush wants to do as it is driven by my subconscious.
Here is where my studies in Carl Jung help because he believed that art, as shown in his Red Book, tapped into his subconscious. Through a highly transformative and prolific period, he discovered that paintings reveal things the artist isn't aware of at the moment, but which is revealed in the painting. This happens to me all the time. Not a professional way to paint utilizing proven techniques but the main reason I paint.
The piece I'm working on now, "Diana," an oil on wood 36X18, is one of these, but I'm trying to employ better and new techniques, as well as just painting and allowing it to flow once I'm in the zone. I don't know if it's going to work or not, since I'm trying out new techniques. I'm not sure if they'll ruin all the work I've already completed.
My art is not what one would call good art. My figures are not formed in a realistic or accurate manner and portions are often out of proportion. However, as Carl Jung discovered in his psychoanalytical practice and in his personal life with his creation of The Red Book, , the creative act of producing art is often an act of the transpersonal, taking the personal aspects of the finished piece and adding to it the universal aspect where it raises an emotional reaction in the viewers. Often this reaction can't be explained, but the viewer knows immediately whether they are drawn to a piece of art or are not, The transpersonal arises from the subconscious of the artist and is in communication and collaboration with the subconscious of the viewer. This is a reason art has such an impact, and
The artist go into a zone, allowing what Jung called participation mystique, where the artist lets the ego step out of the way, releasing the inner awareness buried in the subconscious and communicating to the viewer via the symbolism found in the art work,
In the paintings I've included on this blog, I actually set out to try and paint more realistic portraits, but my subconscious was more powerful and I ended up with paintings that are combinations of people I know with emotions, I didn't plan to include. The first one, "Francois Burgogne" is the combination of an ex-boyfriend, an actor and one of the characters in my novel, Shaman Circus. The second one, "The Philosopher," is the combination of an artist friend and a famous cellist, the third one, "The White
The fourth painting of the woman with red hair on the left is my unfinished piece, "Diana." I'll be painting more on her this weekend. She is a glorified self portrait as me as a much younger woman and the goddess Diana or Artemis has long been a pivotal figure in my personal mythology. I actually shot archery in high school and then again when I was in my later thirties and was a pretty good shot, winning some competitions using a recurve bow. I plan to paint her dress today and may include a bow.
I now consider these types of figures to be interpretations. They are in no way portraits but rather a view of these people and their influence on my work, from the perspective of how my subconscious views reality. I have my personal interpretation of the emotion they evoke, but prefer to leave the interpretation and experience of those emotions to the viewer and how they view their own reality.
These oil paintings were completed at different times in the past seven years or so but were still painted in the same type of zone where I lose all awareness of anything but applying paint. As much as I've tried to focus on techniques I've learned about through reading, You Tube videos or art history, all is overshadowed by what my rush wants to do as it is driven by my subconscious.
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Anderson Arts Center Warehouse
My friend Mark and I took a small road trip to Anderson, South Carolina to check out the
Anderson Cultural Arts Center Warehouse. (Shown in this wonderful photo by Gbrill.)
On the way, I stopped in at SOS Thrift store and found a heavy, sturdy dark wood table top easel. It was marked for $25.00 but I got it at 25% off for senior citizen Tuesday. What a great deal and I'm already using it since I've been painting in both the kitchen and my studio while I work on "Dianna" and "Tina. It helps to have at least two pieces going while I'm waiting for drying time to start next steps.
Anyway, back to Anderson, The Art Center is beautiful, set in what may have been an old mill building right in downtown on Federal Street. There is a gallery downstairs and two very large galleries with huge windows upstairs. The mill is restored but with much of the industrial look intact including machinery. It was the first day of their annual youth exhibit showcasing thee work of students from kindergarten to high school. When I learned this I was disappointed because I wanted to see adult art and get some inspiration and idea of what the artists producing Anderson. But it only took a few minutes to be happily wowed by the talented works of these young people. It was an amazing show, all the way up from four year olds. The creativity was amazing and the technical skill often rivalling that of adults. We spent more then and hour and a half there, enjoyed talking to the young artist and teacher manning the gift store and viewing the works. What a great experience for the community and the artists who will never forget seeing their work hanging on those beautiful walls.
It just shows what a progressive group of artists and curators they have in Anderson and I hope the Greenville Center for the Arts has visited Anderson's center to get ideas. https://www.facebook.com/GreenvilleCenterforCreativeArts
Mark and I walked around downtown which has really cool architecture from the turn of the century1920's, and art in public spaces such as their fish and art-covered trash and recycling receptacles. We visited Gallery 313 and Pazzazz Consignment a cool clothing consignment shop Braddy and Blake, a fashion store, as well as a small grocer, the Village Store which had very low prices on their wine. We stopped and ate at Dolittle's, a cool pub with a great, menu an delicious reasonably priced food. It was a great day with lots of high points and the first time I've been out of town since I goy sick.
On the way, I stopped in at SOS Thrift store and found a heavy, sturdy dark wood table top easel. It was marked for $25.00 but I got it at 25% off for senior citizen Tuesday. What a great deal and I'm already using it since I've been painting in both the kitchen and my studio while I work on "Dianna" and "Tina. It helps to have at least two pieces going while I'm waiting for drying time to start next steps.
Anyway, back to Anderson, The Art Center is beautiful, set in what may have been an old mill building right in downtown on Federal Street. There is a gallery downstairs and two very large galleries with huge windows upstairs. The mill is restored but with much of the industrial look intact including machinery. It was the first day of their annual youth exhibit showcasing thee work of students from kindergarten to high school. When I learned this I was disappointed because I wanted to see adult art and get some inspiration and idea of what the artists producing Anderson. But it only took a few minutes to be happily wowed by the talented works of these young people. It was an amazing show, all the way up from four year olds. The creativity was amazing and the technical skill often rivalling that of adults. We spent more then and hour and a half there, enjoyed talking to the young artist and teacher manning the gift store and viewing the works. What a great experience for the community and the artists who will never forget seeing their work hanging on those beautiful walls.
It just shows what a progressive group of artists and curators they have in Anderson and I hope the Greenville Center for the Arts has visited Anderson's center to get ideas. https://www.facebook.com/GreenvilleCenterforCreativeArts
Mark and I walked around downtown which has really cool architecture from the turn of the century1920's, and art in public spaces such as their fish and art-covered trash and recycling receptacles. We visited Gallery 313 and Pazzazz Consignment a cool clothing consignment shop Braddy and Blake, a fashion store, as well as a small grocer, the Village Store which had very low prices on their wine. We stopped and ate at Dolittle's, a cool pub with a great, menu an delicious reasonably priced food. It was a great day with lots of high points and the first time I've been out of town since I goy sick.
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Getting Exposure
This is a busy time! This month I'm starting to work on getting mire exposure for my work. I'll be
donating some works to charity auctions and entering some juried shows. I've already entered four pieces to a juried show in Columbia where they're having a black tie gala. One of them is shown on the right, titled "Helena" it's oil on a wood panel and another is "Hope and Cynthia" or "Hope and Cynicism", pictured on the left.This one is oil on cradled wood.
I also entered another figurative painting pictured in the last post which is called "Introspection" and is also oil on cradled wood and the fourth is a spring landscape of the foothills of the Blue Ridge painted on canvas, .
In addition I'm donating an encaustic piece to benefit Safe Harbor, Goodwill, and The Family Effect during the silent auction at the Fluor Golf Tournament and gala in May . http://golfforgreenville.org/tournament/
I'm also excited that in March Greer and the Anderson Art Center will hold their juried shows. Anderson's is huge with $25,000 in prizes since it's the 40th year. And there are many prices in various categories.
Greer is only in it's sixth year so the prizes are less ($300.00) and while they accept a variety of media, they only offer Global Greer and Greer as juried show categories to tie in with the Greer Festival. Global Greer can involve the upstate so I'm entering one of my landscapes of the foothills of the Piedmont in Marietta where I used to go hiking near Jones Gap.
I haven't decided on what to enter into Anderson's yet but we get to enter two pieces.
I've also been busy, when not watching my granddaughter, Deven, finding more wooden surfaces at thrift stores and priming them.
.I now have six boards waiting to be painted.
I completed a new piece this week, "Three Nudes under Two Moons," my first acrylic in many years. Deven was painting a jewelry box for her mother and we only have acrylics at my daughter's house. .
My friend and awesome painter, Donna Nyzio sent me some links to how to market your art work and trends in the art collecting world and it was surprising to learn that collectors are downsizing their collections and buying more from artist's studios where they can meet the artists or purchasing art sight unseen from online.
I've finally updated my website at Gail Gray Studios but also wanted to do some juried shows and charity art auctions to get local nd regional exposure. Since I don't have my work in the Village at the West End currently, I thought it was time to try this route. Donna's been getting her work into a number of juried shows, but then she's a much better artist than I am a hundred fold.
I also entered another figurative painting pictured in the last post which is called "Introspection" and is also oil on cradled wood and the fourth is a spring landscape of the foothills of the Blue Ridge painted on canvas, .
In addition I'm donating an encaustic piece to benefit Safe Harbor, Goodwill, and The Family Effect during the silent auction at the Fluor Golf Tournament and gala in May . http://golfforgreenville.org/tournament/
I'm also excited that in March Greer and the Anderson Art Center will hold their juried shows. Anderson's is huge with $25,000 in prizes since it's the 40th year. And there are many prices in various categories.
I haven't decided on what to enter into Anderson's yet but we get to enter two pieces.
I've also been busy, when not watching my granddaughter, Deven, finding more wooden surfaces at thrift stores and priming them.
.I now have six boards waiting to be painted.
I completed a new piece this week, "Three Nudes under Two Moons," my first acrylic in many years. Deven was painting a jewelry box for her mother and we only have acrylics at my daughter's house. .
My friend and awesome painter, Donna Nyzio sent me some links to how to market your art work and trends in the art collecting world and it was surprising to learn that collectors are downsizing their collections and buying more from artist's studios where they can meet the artists or purchasing art sight unseen from online.
I've finally updated my website at Gail Gray Studios but also wanted to do some juried shows and charity art auctions to get local nd regional exposure. Since I don't have my work in the Village at the West End currently, I thought it was time to try this route. Donna's been getting her work into a number of juried shows, but then she's a much better artist than I am a hundred fold.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Round Two - The Velo Fellow
In fact, I only called this gathering two days before on the Upstate Steampunk facebook page after Ben, musician, artist (of IFB fame) and I decided to get together. He was working during the last meeting so missed the incredible experience. And we had more than 25 people show up! I would hesitate to say that we literally "invaded" the sublime pub with the incredible ambiance and varied menu, but I think we may have inundated them to some degree.
It was fun to see a good number of my co-workers from the head injury program show up, as well. I'm not quite sure what they all might think. The experience can be overwhelming when delving into the lively and often tangential conversations of steampunkers and their varied backgrounds, even when we are not all in our steampunk gear. Josh did wear the goggles he won (expertly crafted by Gypsy Teague, herself) at last year's con but the rest of us, having come straight from work were in current day garments.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
First Fridays and Famers Markets
May continues as a major art month in Greenville, SC, with over 30 galleries and art studios in the Pendleton Street Arts District. Once again we made the rounds and saw old friends and new at the various galleries. One highlight was to meet Charles Pate, the son of sculptor, Charlie Pate, JR Charles came to my attention via the news when his sculpture of a man carving himself out of a tree was unveiled on the corner of Main and Perry. It's an amazing lifesize piece rigorous in its action exquisite in its detail. Awe inspiring, indeed. And then Lindy, Vicki, Julia and I all agreed how a painting by Charles looked so much like our friend, Homer, the musician. We stood in aw in front of the massive portrait full of lights and strength. We chatted with friends, Teresa at Art & Light Gallery and Suzanne at Millagro Studios, Urban Peacock (Kavita) at The Village Studios, along with Tricia Earle and Dabney Mahanes, and Julia and Vicki, who collect art form all the cities they live in, purchased another. This time it was one of the crow drawings by Dabney. 
I'm also framing some artwork, some of my own for future shows and some for my daughter's new condo. She has been building a collection of original art since she was in her early twenties and now has quite a nice variety of art all by Greenville artists.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Influences - the call of spirit; the movement of soul
Too often, we over think and overplay, turning the joy of our creativity into work, forgetting that our soul knows the way, our hands and eyes only need to heed the subtle messages crowding into our dreams, daydreams, imaginations. As an expressionist style artist and one who likes to write magical realism, dark fantasy and steampunk, I've learned to let go and go at it. The method works for me and often results in my work surprising myself, many times revealing things hidden in my subconscious which I hadn't turned over in my mind until it appeared on a canvas or manuscript page. The heart and soul strings vibrate with the strings of the universe and it all comes together in a way as individual as a snowflake, as individual as you are, if you only listen.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Steampunk Fissure still seeking art
Submissions for poetry and fiction have closed for the Steampunk Fissure but I'm extending the deadline for art. This special issue will be released at the Upstate Steampunk Con
http://www.upstatesteampunk.com/
on Nov. 19 & 20th. I'm reading at the moment. We've had some great subs both in fiction and poetry - a wide variety, however, we could still use some artwork so if you know any steampunk artists out there, send them my way.
http://www.shadowarcherpress.com/submissionguidelines.htm
A listing of the acceptances so far will be announced soon. Although I'll still be reading for a couple more weeks.
Gail
http://www.upstatesteampunk.com/
on Nov. 19 & 20th. I'm reading at the moment. We've had some great subs both in fiction and poetry - a wide variety, however, we could still use some artwork so if you know any steampunk artists out there, send them my way.
http://www.shadowarcherpress.com/submissionguidelines.htm
A listing of the acceptances so far will be announced soon. Although I'll still be reading for a couple more weeks.
Gail
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Trudging and Travails
Two steampunk submissions are now in circulation and as it turns out, I may turn The Foxglove Broadsides into a novella or perhaps a series of steampunk short stories set in the same part of Kensington, UK involving the same characters. I'm enjoying the opportunity to play with science, botany, and the printing industry of the 1800's, incorporating a clamshell press I saw in an antique store in Columbia, SC, during a,memorable visit to a friend who provided a tour of arcane bookstores and antique shops. We even discussed, in a somewhat offhand manner,how to transport the two ton piece of glorious machinery to my house. The press was a work of art in and of itself with its art noveau styling. It also appeared quite serviceable. But alas, it's weight deterred me. So now it lives in my reality through it's place in two of my stories. This way, I am able to own and operate it with ease through my characters, Cecile Bainbridge and Nathanial Cooper. Talk about ways to shift dimensions, time and space. Writers get to do it at all time.
On a less Victorian note, I've been offline for a while for a series of reasons which include, lack of time due to setting up and initiating the new Arts Activity program at the head injury program, some health issues and a vicious virus which has rendered my regular computer out of service. Due to the latter, and other forms of thuggery and protection rackets perpetrated by the banks, cable companies, cell phone companies, utilities and Internet is it any wonder I prefer to wander about in an alternate time?
On a less Victorian note, I've been offline for a while for a series of reasons which include, lack of time due to setting up and initiating the new Arts Activity program at the head injury program, some health issues and a vicious virus which has rendered my regular computer out of service. Due to the latter, and other forms of thuggery and protection rackets perpetrated by the banks, cable companies, cell phone companies, utilities and Internet is it any wonder I prefer to wander about in an alternate time?
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Art shorthand as character triggers
Often one or two of the pieces I see at Art Bomb shows will infiltrate my imagination and end up in in my writing.
The pieces are owned or viewed by my characters. In Shaman Circus, two characters are artists. Mavis, the Katrina survivor is a painter, and Lily is a painter who also creates 3-d sculptures in copper and pottery.
I thugged this concept from my favorite author, John Fowles, whose character, Nick in the The Magus, visits a house on the Greek island of Phraxos. The house's charismatic and mysterious owner, Conchis traveled the world and owns large valuable art collection. However, among, all the paintings, Nick is drawn to the Bonnards.
When I first read The Magus, I was unschooled in art. I was young and foolish, and didn't bother to look up the artwork, but years later, after about my 5th or 6th read, knowing the painter and his subject matter (nude and semi nude women in the boudoir or bath) added layers to the scene. Fowles used the painting, instead of words to speak volumes for those who knew Bonnard's work.
Granted some of the pieces I mention are not internationally known yet, but I believe they will be or should be. my character's reactions to the art, is another way for me to do characterization, even character development. I call this technique art shorthand.
Twice these have been pieces by Greg Flint, but the artists there always offer something which challenges my preconceptions about art and writing, which then filters into my characters mindset. For instance, a piece I own of Greg's and its message of the hero's journey is incorporated in Shaman in Exile. The piece and it's meanings are touchstones throughout the entire book, reflecting one of the main themes. The characters refer to it over and over again, and even carry symbols of it as a talisman. A second a piece I drooled over but which was eventually bought by someone else inspired parts of Fireworks, Interference Equation.
I know a lot of you who are writers already use music to augment your atmospheres, what your characters listen to hum or play, but don't forget art. Look at your favorite pieces and see what they tell you. They may tell your characters something as well, who will turn around and tell your readers, thereby making your writing richer, deeper, multi-layered.
I'm curious, who of you out there have used art in your writing....and how?
Friday, April 2, 2010
Shaman in Exile on location III
I'm picking back up on my location series regarding where I lived and the locations I used while writing my Shaman novels. Now we continue with the locations of Shaman in Exile (in progress). Starting May of 2006, I wrote the first part of Shaman in Exile in New England, where I had to move for six months to handle the details following my mother's death. I lived in a 400 sq. foot 1940's cottage in Hampton Village, New Hampshire, a small seasonal coastal town which is nearly deserted from the first weekend in October until Memorial Day weekend.
For those 6 months I lived without hot water, a stove and had only a college fridge. I used a hot plate to cook but did have internet via a highly expensive chip (necessary for the legal work). I did learned to cook full meals on two electric eyes but also ate out at favorite local eateries. Le Bec Rouge, where I also saw live bands downstairs, Lupo's, right up the street on Ocean Blvd. with a view of the Atlantic Ocean and a TV so I could catch up on the news, and Ronaldo's an Italian place with a North end of Boston chef, and Ouda's, a small gunshot bldg. which tipped over by the ravegas it suffered during the winter. It's right on the bay and is frequented mostly by fishermen and lobstermen. Ouda is a fiesty and often irreverant German owner/cook who threatens to handcuff you to the girll if you don't clean your plate. The portions are massive and cheap. Each of these places are featured in Shaman in Exile.
For the second part of Shaman in Exile, I lived in my art studio in the Pendleton Street Arts District in Greenville, SC after my return to South Carolina. Pipes had burst in my house, taking out kitchen and bathroom floor and parts of the foundation. So I had to move out while reconstruction went on for another 8 months. I decided to live in my studios - cheaper than an apartment, no utility bills or security deposits. Plus I worked a whole lot more with fewer distractions.
This Pednleton link has a lot of photos of the various art studios, including the Village Studios where I lived in the two room studio/bathroom from Oct. 2006 to May 2007, while my house was under reconstruction after water pipe leaks destroyed the kitchen, the bathroom and part of the foundation, while I lived in Hampton. The studio is featured in both Shaman books.
This Pednleton link has a lot of photos of the various art studios, including the Village Studios where I lived in the two room studio/bathroom from Oct. 2006 to May 2007, while my house was under reconstruction after water pipe leaks destroyed the kitchen, the bathroom and part of the foundation, while I lived in Hampton. The studio is featured in both Shaman books.
This is what my studio looked like while I lived in the two rooms over Christmas (my studio and a bathroom anotyher area about 400 sq. feet.). There was an area downstairs with microwave and a shower that all the artists could use. The two nude women are paintings of my characters. The one on the easel is Shya, who appears in two of my gothic urban fantasy short stories set in New Orleans and the one on the right on the wall is of Mavis, the artist who survived Katrina in New Olreans in Shaman Circus.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Art Show and Book Release at Vitti Gallery
So here's the first installment... a little bit about writing, a little bit about art, a little bit about publishing. I've paid attention to all three this week, having just come off a weekend art show at the Vitti Tile and Pottery Gallery in the Pendleton Street Arts District in Greenville, SC. It was a busy show, with waves of viewers where I displayed some of my paintings and showcased the catalog of chapbooks and six issues of Fissure magazine which I publish under my micro press, Shadow Archer Press. Suzanne Vitti was kind of enough to let me hang paintings and display books alongside her diverse collection of Asian influenced, Mexican Day of the Dead and funky pottery and tiles. Kay Larch was on hand with her amazing mosaic-style paintings of rock icons, fantasy figures and street scenes of Greenville. Mark also displayed his contemporary abstract painted windows.
I chose a Halloween theme since my work is rather gothic and dark anyway and I love October: Skeletons and carnivale scenes, the River Styx and other ghoulish paintings were on display, including one of the Francois Burgougne, a character from my Shaman series. Shaman Circus, the first book in the series is to be published by All Things That Matters Press in Maine.I've been invited back to show at Vitti gallery and hope to bring out more of the paintings and assemblages from both Shaman Circus and Shaman in Exile, the second in the series. Shadow Archer Press featured 19 books by 16 writers from all over the world with original cover art and photography by ten local and international artists.More info can on Shadow Archer Press can be found here http://http://www.shadowarcherpress.com/And for a peek at my original artwork, photography and weaving, check here:
I chose a Halloween theme since my work is rather gothic and dark anyway and I love October: Skeletons and carnivale scenes, the River Styx and other ghoulish paintings were on display, including one of the Francois Burgougne, a character from my Shaman series. Shaman Circus, the first book in the series is to be published by All Things That Matters Press in Maine.I've been invited back to show at Vitti gallery and hope to bring out more of the paintings and assemblages from both Shaman Circus and Shaman in Exile, the second in the series. Shadow Archer Press featured 19 books by 16 writers from all over the world with original cover art and photography by ten local and international artists.More info can on Shadow Archer Press can be found here http://http://www.shadowarcherpress.com/And for a peek at my original artwork, photography and weaving, check here:
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