Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Arts Company



My gallery in Nashville, The Arts Company, has a nice feature about me on their blog, be sure to check it out here. Anne Brown, the owner, is one of the "pros" in the Southern art world; honest, friendly and knowledgeable. The gallery is a couple of blocks from the Ryman Auditorium and anchors the Downtown Nashville Arts District. On the first Saturday of every month there is a gallery crawl in the evening, with over 20 establishments participating. This event is great entertainment, offering a diverse display of creations and a hip crowd of participants. Go, you will not be dissapointed.
Above: Sweetheart Of The West, 20x18 Fr, oil on wood 2007
available at the Arts Company, Nashville

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Modern Ark

Two interesting articles in The Wall St. Journal this week.
Artists vs Blight was a report about painters and sculptors moving into boarded up houses and abandoned industrial areas in cities such as Cleveland and Detroit. Galleries, restaurants and latte shops are following them, (this is what we do).
The second article told of the construction of contemporary Arks, including one just christened in Hong Kong, that was built to biblical specifications, complete with fiberglass animals! Be sure to check out the slideshow. The story of Noah and the flood has always been an Old Testament favorite of mine. I have used the image of an Ark in several paintings, here are two examples.


Top: ROAD TO DAMASCUS 22x18 fr oil panel 2007 (private collection)
Bottom: ANCIENT BEGINNINGS 24x18 fr oil panel (private collection)

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Spring Break

Some random thoughts:
Spring in Atlanta can seem like a miracle (and a Chamber of Commerce's dream come true). Everyday there is a new shoot, bud or blossom. The parade of flowers that began with the forsythia, continues at a brisk pace: daffodils,azaleas,tulips,dogwoods,irises,and roses. The vibrancy of color and form, is very humbling for me as a painter. The weather does not disappoint either, this past week there was light snow, "Biblical" thunder storms, cold mornings and warm afternoons. It can all be very disorienting. The mind and body can not rest with all this evidence of rebirth and possibility (which might explain this rambling post).

My daughter, Madison, is into theme cupcakes. these are her latest creations. A great food blog, Serious Eats, has a disturbing post about deep fried "Peeps". I am tempted to try it.

As a spectator, baseball is my sport of choice. I live close to the Braves stadium, and the tickets are inexpensive, which makes it convenient to spend an afternoon at the ballpark. Growing up I played all sports, some were on organized teams, but mostly it was just grabbing your gear and hitting the field. That's what we did for fun. Now, as an adult what I enjoy, besides the amazing skill, is the finality of the results, you have a winner and loser, one is best the rest not. In the art world this is not the case, opinions rule, and everyone has one. In Grad school it was easy to start an argument just by mentioning that you thought,___, was a great painter.I learned early in my career that some will enjoy what I create and others will dismiss it, which is how it should be. All these differing views keep the physical product alive and ever evolving.

Above: DOGWOOD (Land of Spirits) 44x35 oil on canvas
I was informed that this painting was too "Southern", (see what I mean).