Earth Day-Torrit Grey

Each spring in honor of Earth Day, the folks at Gamblin gather the pigments that have accumulated in there air filtration system and create a tube of paint they call Torrit Grey (available the month of April and free as a promotion). The color is named after the Torit air filters used in their Portland Oregon factory. From a dove grey to an earthy black, the color varies depending on the dominate pigments used in production that year. The "color-geek" in me wonders if the resulting hue symbolizes the mood of the populace. Out of the tube, this year's Torrit is almost black, as you add white there is a slight hint of red...uh-oh, have at it Mr. Beck.

Above:The 2010 edition, I picked up mine at the Utrecht store on Peachtree. Do a better painting than above and enter it in there Fall competition, win prizes.

Roadtrip,Chattanooga

This past Thursday we took a day trip to Chattanooga, home of the "Choo Choo", Tennessee Aquarium, MoonPies, Walnut St. Bridge, and The Hunter Museum of American Art. Walked the bridge (despite the threatening clouds), bought some MoonPies for the ride home (thumbs-up for new peanut butter flavor), but spent most of the afternoon at the Hunter and the surrounding neighborhood. The museum is located in the Bluff View Arts District, scenically perched on a rock cliff 80 ft. above the Tennessee River. The collection is outstanding, ( thanks for the suggestion Clayton), you can preview it here. The following are just two of the many works I studied at length, (family patience was appreciated).

Thomas Hart Benton,"The Wreck Of Ole '97", 1943, egg tempera on masonite, 28x44, fantastic color and narrative.

This painting is a mystery, date and artist are unknown, they gave it the title of "Oh!". What is going on here?, the scale of the basket items are whack, the men in the background, with the coordinating arm gestures, are involved in some sort of incident, I love it.


Top: The Hunter Museum, original mansion on the right, new wing on the left.
Bottom: View of the Hunter from the Walnut St Bridge. I have more photos on Flickr

Spring Cleaning

I initiated a personal program last month, I call it the, "Throw something away everyday project." My name is Charles and I am a "pack rat". You reach a stage in life where the junk starts cluttering up your mind, the rationale of I can fix or use "that" begins to nag. This liberating exercise has picked up steam as I have begun to recognize its value. Luckily, in my neighborhood, whatever you place on the curb miraculously disappears by the end of the day; a TV set, lamp, lawn mower, chalkboard, metal pipe, books, shoes, VCR tapes, bathroom fixtures...gone within hours. Who picks up this stuff up?..wait, that used to be me!

So far, my only snag has occurred in the studio, specifically, what to do with old paintings? I have attempted weeding out the racks before, but as I start the process I get caught up in "looking", I know the story behind these pictures and there place in my development, nothing gets tossed, yet.


Above: one from the racks, not bad, WESTERN SONG 22x18 oil canvas,1998

4G Picture

Above, the finished painting I started chronicling here and here. I thought this would be a good painting to demonstrate the development of a picture, but turns out I had it nailed from the beginning. Most time was spent on the landscape portion, it's a leisurely scene, leisurely painted, in contrast to the exploding tulip, I like it.


My daughter took her first visit to New York City this past week. She was there to sing with the award winning Grady High chorus, sightseeing and a Broadway play were also on the agenda, came back with an ever so subtle air of worldliness about her, New York will do that to you.

Top:Untitled, 28x25, oil on canvas 2010
Middle: Times Square and atop the Empire State building
Bottom: Madison, Battery Park, NYC
Also
Click here for TEW Galleries latest video, it features all the info you will need to join the fun April 1st, hope to see you there.

The Pink Pearl

I spent last Thursday drawing up a new canvas, which really means, I spent the day erasing. I only use Pink Pearl erasers (above). This eraser, first manufactured by Eberhard Faber, uses a unique formula of rubber and Italian volcanic ash to give its eraser a softer touch and excellent cleaning properties. The geniuses at Eberhard Faber were the first to put the eraser on the end of a pencil, which is only popular with pencils for the American market, hmm.

Speaking of pink, our Japanese magnolia or Saucer magnolia, as my Mom called it, is in full bloom this week. This tree, which dominates our front yard, is one of the largest I have seen in Atlanta. If the wind is just right these fragrant blooms are noticeable from a block away. Mid March is kinda late for this tree to flower, late January being the earliest. The heavy rains and consistently cold temperatures we experienced this winter should make this Spring a monster, I can't wait.

Timothy Tew's Top 25

Tew Galleries in Atlanta (my hometown representative) has a unique exhibition opening April 1st. "Timothy Tew's Top 25". The show will feature 25 of Mr. Tew's personal favorites from the gallery collection. I will have a painting in the show, don't know which one, he is being real hush hush about the selection. Why don't you let Tim tell you about the top 25, by watching his latest video on YouTube, it's very entertaining, I promise.

Above:Timothy Tew, rocking some fine jewelry.

I Blame...

..."This Old House". The PBS series (circa 1986) with host Bob Vila, was the rage when we were looking to buy our first home. It looked simple on TV, but those romantic notions that swirled through our heads as we signed the contract on a "fixer upper", soon slammed into the crumbling plaster wall of reality. Kids came and money flew. Now our 1920's era bungalow has a multiple personality disorder. Some rooms are finished to contemporary standards and others, not so much. Our bathroom had become the main eyesore, (I once saw a mushroom growing behind the toilet). The past 12 days have brought that to an end. Thanks to the experts, (these days I am just a go-fer and trash hauler) we now have a full functioning "green" bathroom.

Creativity and painting take a hit during a renovation, art posts will resume soon.