Warm sun, no rain and 80 degrees all week.  Quite a change from Vermont’s humidity as well.  Hiked in the Sierras, swam in the very cold waters of Lake Tahoe, and enjoyed visiting with family and friends.  Not much drawing or painting at the moment, but have visited a few art gallery/stores.  Most interestingly found some “enhanced” oil paintings, with foundational layers printed on canvas and then other layers are quickly added.   Without a very close examination, a novice buyer might miss the fact that these are done in series.  The cheap price for very large works is the clue.  Chatted a bit with one representative about this, who said it is common practice.  Economics trumps art.  Necessary for the survival of the artist. 

Two days to a Jet Blue flight out west. A chunk to get done before departure (i.e., how do you mow the lawn in a downpour? – WHEN is it going to stop raining for awhile?) This a.m. Bridget at Twin Oaks Massage will get my shoulder feeling great, and then I’ll put a few more layers on the still life just started. The August class in North Hero is now fully enrolled (see previous posts) but the Drawing/Writing Across the Curriculum was cancelled for the lack of a single additional student. We had 4, needed 5! What a drag. Planning it took time, and I don’t know if it is worth trying again. Maybe it’s the economy? A new grandchild is likely now on the horizon. It’s hard to imagine three so quickly. Time marches on, which I personally know from shoulder tendons, declining hearing (I’ll need to devote a blog and half to that sometime), seeing, and all the other things for which we now have remedies.  Willem and I visited Tad yesterday, and got a tour and another great lesson from the putty master!  For those of you who have not seen his latest work, make an appointment and check it out.

The top image is a photo which eventually will become another still life exercise. The 2nd image is a drawing of the photo posted yesterday (done on gessoed canvas). The third is the first layer of paint on a landscape which I’ve done in watercolor and wanted to try in oil. The background is almost in. Much detail will go into this when it is done. 

Our next instructional workshop on Drawing/Painting is tentatively scheduled for Monday, August 11, 2008 at the Library in North Hero.  If you might be coming, please let me know. Right now we have about 9 folks signed up.

The topic will be “The Artist’s Handwriting”, which is about style. It will focus on an issue that came up last time.. Intuitive Modes of Drawing: quick, sketchy, assertive, impulsive, loose.,… vs. Analytical Modes of Drawing: precise, controlled, careful, patient, measured, etc. (which we did intensively last time). All this will be viewed in the context of the “handwriting” of master artists… the strokes and styles of Morandi, Rembrandt, Degas, van Gogh, Delacroix, Matisse, Kollwitz and others. See chapter Two in Dodson’s text: Keys to Drawing.

The image at the top is a photo of a still life set up now in progress. When I get a few layers done on the painting, I’ll post them.

Am still adding layers on these two images.  The top one is very muted right now.  I shadowed the table in the back and the background on the left.  Lots of putty in this.  I’m about ready to revisit the objects in the final pass.

The second image has a new background as well, which is now darker at the bottom.  The color of the shelf is finally where I want it, but the light from the vases on it (blue shadow) needs to be broken up on the edges.  When it dries I’ll head back here again.  I also want a final pass on the vases themselves.  Right now they are very rough.  The keystone effect makes them look tilted in the image, but that’s because my camera was tilted a bit when the photo was taken.

Tad is giving some very useful putty workshops at the Shelburne Art Center in August. I’ve been painting with the putty for about 6 months now, and along with a bucket of vegetable oil for cleaning my brushes, it has saved my health/lungs. No toxic solvents needed.  I plan on attending to learn more. For any of you local readers who want to go, here is the information:
Monochrome Putty Workshop
Thursday, Aug. 7, 10:00am–12:00pm
$60

This workshop offers an excellent introduction for painters who would like to understand what the putty is and can do. Also a great way to learn more about the textures and degrees of translucency the putty makes available. Methods of adding, subtracting, digging, blending, will all be covered. Students should bring a palette, brushes, black and white paint, and a color image from which to work. All other materials will be supplied.

Thinking Abstractly in Color: Earth Color Triad Putty Workshop
Thursday, Aug. 14, 10:00am–12:00pm
$60

The fundamental color palette of many older painting was a yellow earth, a red earth, black and white. How and why were older painters able to accomplish so much with so little? What are the technical means for using these permanent, non-toxic colors effectively? What are the benefits of a limited palette in solving the complexities of a painting? Students should bring a palette, brushes, and an image from which to work. All other materials will be supplied.

17th Century Direct Painting Method Putty Workshop: Using Two Triads
Thursday, Aug. 21, 10:00am–12:00pm
$60

One of the features of the style of many painters of the 17th century—Hals, Rembrandt, Rubens, Van Dyck, Velasquez—is the use of unbroken color from the palette for all stages of the painting, resulting in a more lively surface and more vivacious color. This workshop will cover the direct painting method using a dark, transparent triad and a lighter, brighter, and more opaque triad of colors. Why does this work so well? Why has this system been used for centuries? What colors can be used in each position? How should the painting begin and be developed with this system? Students should bring their paint, a palette, brushes, and an image from which to work. All other materials will be supplied.

The drawing session at North Hero on July 14 went well.  Eight came and we worked on exact measurement and analytical modes of drawing, which resulted in some very nice still life drawings.  I forgot the memory card in my camera, so no pics (sob)!  The image shown is the first four stages of a painting that is now done and ready for varnish.  I’ve spent enough time on this and will post the final finished painting soon.  The final version is more harmonious, with less broken color in the background.  This melds better with the figure.  Our next North Hero session is on August 11, and it will focus on “The Artist’s Handwriting” (specifically on Intuitive vs. Analytical modes of drawing).  Please email me if you plan to attend.

We had writing group at the Fulwilers in Fairfield. Three of the 150 images I took are down below. The first is Toby turning a bowl for Corrine. He did it completely from a raw chunk in about 30 minutes. The second image is of Toby and Corrine with the finished bowl. The third is the salmon/cucumber main course of a wonderful meal prepared by Toby and Laura, Rosalind and Carl (yummy pie), Glenda (Day Lily salad… YES.. day lilies), Rebecca (Macaroni, artichoke, olive, pepper salad) and wonderful pre dinner snacks by Hub and Mary Jane. I hope I got it all right. Corrine read her poems from Oaxaca (a first draft of one is below), Hub read the preface to his new book which we are all excited about, and Mary Jane read a revision of her poem from last time.  Thanks to all you folks for a great time.  Toby… I can burn disc with all the photos on it if you wish.  It will show the process of bowl turning from beginning to end.

Corrine Glesne, Oaxaca 2008

Recovering What We’ve Lost

The man in the market selling rebozos,
huipiles, and embroidered baby shoes
told me that people in Oaxaca are not poor
although it’s called the poorest state.
“One day, others will turn to us
to learn what they have forgotten.

We know the body is divided into four
and those parts have to be in harmony.”
Pointing at an undulating line in a shawl, he said,
“The serpent signifies from the belly button down.
Life power, sex, energy, earth.
If a man is a coward, he is said to have no
cohones. His energy, depleted.

The body from the waist up holds the spirit
signified by los aves, birds.
Quetzacoatl was half bird, half serpent,
the greatest of our gods.
When we dance La Pluma,
we wear headdresses of feathers,
while bells on our feet tie us to the ground.

We are not just serpent and bird, however.
The right side is the tonal, the part that reasons.
In the Occidental, this side overtakes all others,
the Occidental is out of harmony.

At night, in our dreams, the left side, the intuitive,
the nahual, our animal allies, enter. But people need
this side in their waking state too. We need all four.
Our ancestors knew this. They had the cross
before the Spanish came. Where the four arms
come together, they create the fifth nature, the soul.”

Picking up a tiny embroidered baby slipper
his fingers traced a cross of blue and gold.
“Many villages are lacking development,
villages high in the Sierras. They are not poor.
They are the ones that will lead the way
to recover what we have lost.”

The Catamount Gallery Reception was last night. Though it certainly doesn’t fit in well with the local Burlington art scene, with Rebecca’s kind support and help, and with the always enthusiastic energy of curators/managers, Martin and Jerry, it went well enough. The best parts for me were visits from friends speaking kind words – not just about painting, but about life generally. Some VERY interesting people came (see below).

There was some discussion of the texts, process and painting. I didn’t count, but somewhere between 20 and 30 visited between 5 and 7 p.m. The jar of addresses/phone numbers for the drawing (a free painting) was full, so many more people are seeing the exhibit than came to the reception. The idea of multiple pictures of the painting process, with accompanying texts to explain and clarify the chaotic paths to completion of each work, seemed well received. That kind of showing was inspired by Tad Spurgeon’s recent exhibit in Shelburne. My small version was an amateur effort, but I learned a lot from creating it, and acknowledged Tad in the main introductory poster. Below are some photos of the evening.

The transition from an earlier profession to a another endeavor in later life was also a theme for many discussions last night. Perhaps this reflects the age of most of the guests? There was a consensus that this impacts the spirit in positive ways. Thanks to Bill Eddy and his wife, to Glenda Bissex, to the Geigers (Winnie, Bill and Karen,) and to Bert Dodson and the many other creative artists/writers who came and contributed their wise thoughts and best wishes. That you came made the effort worthwhile. As our roving documentary photographer, Rebecca snapped the pictures below.

Great art? Definitely not, in contrast to the extremely embarrassing article about me and the exhibit in the Caledonia Record! But that’s not the point. Like the new roof we are currently having placed on our home (with much banging and noise all week) this work, and the exhibit, are my own sisyphusian efforts to deflect entropy, time’s arrow, as the body, mind, and the world in general inextricably follow the 2nd law of thermodynamics.

For those not familiar with the second law it simply states that, over time, differences in temperature, pressure, and density tend to even out. WHAT? – You may be thinking. That’s the old chemist in me speaking.

For all you nonchemist readers out there (NO chemists read this of course): The second law states that knives and teeth get duller, hinges get rusty, shoulder joints and muscles wear out, vision gets blurry, hearing fades, pissing gets more difficult, mountains wear down and stars explode. The universe evens out. Entropy is a measure of how far along this evening-out process has progressed. And it only goes in ONE direction. Time’s arrow is irreversible. The stone always, in the end, runs down the hill.

Like all of us in our “Composing/Eating/Writing” group: Toby turning wooden bowls, Glenda composing music, Mary Jane, Corinne and Rosalind writing poetry, and Hub composing essays for his book, I’m now happy enough painting pictures, teaching drawing, and following the 2nd law. Like I have a choice?!! It is a LAW after all.
The pictures below from the reception, in sequence, are of me with Bert Dodson, Author of “Keys to Drawing” (the BEST book on introductory drawing in the country – I think even in the world). His newest book is “Drawing and the Imagination.” Read about Bert here: http://www.bertdodson.com/

The second is of me with Bill Eddy, author of “The Other Side of the World”, also an amazing and very interesting book. Visit Bill’s website at http://www.mind-nature.com/index.htm.

The third is of me with Glenda Bissex, a member of my writing group and author of many books, including the recent “Partial Truths”. You can read about Glenda here: http://red6747.pbwiki.com/Glenda+Bissex

At the bottom is a picture of my chemist colleague Bill Geiger, who visited with his wife Winnie and his artist daughter Karen (who among other things, curates at CCV here in Burlington, and has had many of her own exhibits in Vermont). Read about Bill here: http://www.uvm.edu/~chem/faculty/?Page=geiger.html

Have been down with a bug from  tomatoes(?).  But the problem is diminishing today.  The top image is Archer’s first day at the beach.  He had a good time and enjoyed learning how to swim at Red Rocks Park/Beach.  The second image was taken after today’s efforts at sprucing up the portrait of my daughter (on the right) and playing like Morandi with a still life.  I’ve made some of the adjustments Tad suggested for the image of my daughter (see previous post) and checked a Morandi book out of the library and tried to emulate a still life with just a brush and paint.  No camera photos, no pencil, no drawing – just me, brush and goopy paint and lots of marble dust/linseed oil putty.  The result is on the left – both setup and first pass painting.  The background (top and bottom) will no doubt be altered in some way.  Right now they are too light/high key.  Morandi was painting only for Morandi I think.  If you put one of his still life paintings in a gallery in Vermont (with another signature on the bottom besides his) I don’t think it could be sold.  What a cynic I am.

We are off to the western part of the country for winter, instead of across the water.  The value of the dollar makes overseas very pricey.  I  hope this will change someday soon.