Another New Year

A lot of blogs have done their list of impressive Artists or Shows and when the end of the year comes it certainly is a time for reflection and we usually try to say something important.

I've had several thoughts about what to say at this special time, but they seem to dissolve and fade. So I think I'll just remind us that this is a great time to count all our blessings large and small and to resolve to try harder to do those things which we've put off or ignored.

Wishing you all a Wonderful New Year !
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Phillip Allen is an artist I've admired since first seeing his work. What a mind. And ain't it great to be in these postmodern times where artists have the freedom to make work like this ? The image is from his current show "Sloppy cuts no ice" at The Approach Gallery in London, where they so generously provide 20 installations shots of the show.

Merry Christmas

One of the many good things about this season is that it brings out a little bit of the child in all of us. With that in mind I'll let you enjoy this video from Vernissage TV. . . . .
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The artist is Gunther Forg and when seeing these paintings, the child in me wants to paint too.

Grand Studio

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I had never heard of Trevor Bell, but seeing this picture of his studio from an interview at artcornwall, piqued my interest. Though it's not the normal fare on this blog, you'll forgive me for having a soft spot for minimalism and his work, to me, is sort of in that direction.
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There is not much I can say about the work since I'm unfamiliar with it, but I thoroughly enjoyed the visit to his studio via and courtesy of Art Cornwall. The video is over 9 minutes, so sit back and enjoy your visit.



Trevor Bell from artcornwallvideo on Vimeo. Pictures of his work Here, and Here .

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Abstract and a Story

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This painting pretty much grabs your eyeballs by the roots and makes you want a closer look and the colors are about right for this time of year too. Doesn't this make you want to know what prompted her to start writing into her painting ?

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Marie Evans has a nice Website where she displays 3 distinct styles of painting. The Text Paintings are by far my favorite and hold a lot of promise.

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Tracing Shadows.

Earlier this year I had contemplated doing a series of "shadow paintings". By that I mean that when the opportunities arose, tracing random shadows on the canvas would produce subject matter, tone and volume. The two premier canvases are still hanging on the wall in a state of limbo. The compositions fascinate me just enough to keep me pleasantly confused.
So it was with piqued interest that I viewed this video from wooster collective. It really is a very good short story, that gives you a peek into one artist's life and his thinking process.
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Small Dots

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The long story is that I had torn out an b&w ad from the NYTimes and taped it to my bedroom door. And for about a year I would see this everyday. There were many times when different thoughts about some of the possibilities for turning this into a work of art would gel and then dissipate. Actually, I rather enjoyed it just the way it was. Something very reassuring about this guy sitting in his lofty apartment overlooking Central Park; what with his stone floors and vast window views which he's ignoring while he reads the paper with a cup of coffee - just like I would. (click for larger view)

Well, finally the day came and I affixed this to a 16x20 canvas and proceeded to color it; found a stopping point and started with the dots, when suddenly I realized that I was using all the same size dots. Hadn't I graduated to using dots of different sizes and not completely covering the canvas ? Oh well, guess I'll do just one more like this. And then, tired of strategically applying the colored dots, it seemed to be time for the silver. Before too long, by golly, it was done.

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Having seen the original "under painting", I'll always look into the painting and find the guy drinking his coffee, sitting at the long counter with the bowl of fruit. I'm continually surprised by the way this painting fascinates me and keeps my attention in spite of the almost haphazard way in which I applied the color and the dots. It was an experiment, of sorts, of trying to be casual; not being to precious with it.

To tell the truth, sometimes I really miss the original (at top) and wonder how else it might have turned out. But I'm at peace with the final product and find myself comfortably staring at it, just like when it was taped to the door. It's titled "Surprising The Angel Of Defeat".

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Dots and Gesture

I wonder if the Pointillists ever stopped to consider the flood gates they were opening, simply by deconstructing painting to each bush stroke of color ? At the time, their approach was so very radical, even scientific. That's really quite difficult for us to understand since we're surrounded and bombarded by every imaginable type of visual stimulus.
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What a beautiful symphony of colored dots, large and small and flourishes of gesture we have here. We've left realism and pointillism way behind. Here in 2008, artists can simply paint their emotions. There are no restrictions, no restraints. It's as if we've finally arrived at a galaxy that used to be far, far away.

This image, "It was as if I had Opened a Door", acrylic and resin on aluminum 28.5" x 26" is by Bernal Koehrsen.

She's represented by the Blue Gallery in Kansas City. See more of her work HERE.