Michelle Temares

Meeting Bowls...Meet THE NEW YORKER

In New York, complete strangers touch each other regularly.  It comes with living in a big and heavily populated city.  No, we’re not lawless or immoral.  We’re just crowded.  Packed rush hour subways cause physical closeness many married couples haven’t experienced in years.  Ditto for buses and lines at food trucks. However, there are some unwritten and heavily enforced rules.  Keep private parts and hands to yourself.  And, above all, DO NOT make eye contact.  Ever.   Mmmm, a Spanish public art group, is attempting to break this cherished convention with their temporary Times Square art installation of “Meeting Bowls”.   

Looking like park benches bent by Superman into a bowl shape, the seating is designed to encourage interaction and dialog between strangers as they are forced to face each other.  Spaniards may know bull fighting but they don’t know bull about New Yorkers.  The New Yorkers know the rules (and the tourists only want to take photos of each other). 

The Meeting Bowls are, however, a fascinating behavioral study using contemporary art as the stimulus.   If you manipulate a public space into something more socially conducive, will you get the desired behavior?  In this case, apparently not.  You can change the setting, as Mmmm has but, based on my visits, the setting did not change behavior.  New Yorkers are not going to begin eyeing each other any more than tourists are going to put down their cameras.

The Meeting Bowls are fun interactive art but they’re incomplete interactive art.  Here, a catalyst is needed along with the change in setting to create the desired shift in behavior.  The Meeting Bowls need a spoon.  They need a facilitator in each bowl to stir the pot.   “So, what have you liked best about your visit to New York?  Joe here has lived here all his life.  He can probably tell you about some great shopping spots.  Joe?” 

If you have a chance to visit the Meeting Bowls before September 16th when they are scheduled to head for the dishwasher, take a chance.  Be the spoon.  Turn the Meeting Bowls into Mixing Bowls.

Art as Motivator

Do you remember when I was telling you about my nonartist friend, who was very ill in the hospital, and how art was helping to soothe his body and soul?  He has now transitioned to rehab and, once again, art is helping him to heal. It is also helping him to become stronger.   It may even help him to return to the life he knew before. 

Because he has been bedridden for so long, his muscles have atrophied and every step, even with a walker, is painful.  Some days it must seem like it is not worth the effort.  It must be so discouraging. 

In the lobby of the rehab center, and continuing throughout the building,  is a permanent display of soft sculpture dolls (see photo above).  Each absorbs the viewer's attention with engaging faces and animated poses.   Both my friend and I are completely smitten and spend many light moments, during this difficult and unhappy time, viewing and discussing the artwork.

Yesterday, he was grumpy and unwilling to do the prescribed physical therapy.  Suddenly, he thought of the art display near the physical therapy room and was finally willing to go to physical therapy on the condition that I wheel him to each and every soft sculpture in the building!  I was overwhelmed by the power of art to motivate him to engage in painful, but necessary, physical therapy. 

Unfortunately, the artist is not credited anywhere in the building.  Whoever you are, I am deeply and eternally grateful.  I wish I could tell you just how much.

Pizza or Paintings?

A close friend of mine is in the hospital.  Recovering from major surgery, and in great pain, he is in and out of lucidity.  When lucid, his requests provide insight into humanity and spirit. 

He does not ask for food, for TV or for a computer.  He does not ask for video games or for a telephone.  What he does continually ask for is music and art.  This is particulary interesting since my friend is not a musician or an artist.  He is a retired businessperson.    Yet, at times of wakefulness, he asks "to hear some nice music" or for "a better view of the painting on the wall".  We play music and talk about art and he is soothed both physically and spiritually.

This is a reminder to me, and to you if you desire, to not wait until misfortune or tragedy compels you to replenish your soul.  Do it now.  There are opportunities for arts experiences in nearly every community.   It doesn't have to be expensive VIP tickets to the hottest show in town.  Many arts experiences are low cost or even no cost including free admission hours at local museums and gardens, free park concerts, free community art shows and more. 

Enjoy every day that God grants you good health and enrich those days that are lacking.  The arts heal.  I have seen it myself many times.  The only thing I've found that provided the comfort of the arts to my ill friend was prayer and holding his hand.

She Wore an Itsy-Bitsy, Teenie-Weenie...

This past weekend, a two block stretch of Main Street in Riverhead, NY became a communal canvas for artists at the town’s annual Mosaic Festival.  Residents of all ages, backgrounds and abilities claimed “a square”, created paintings and adorned the street.  There was little in common among the artists, or the viewers of this temporary installation, other than the hard work of the artists and the respect of the crowd. 

 The artists toiled on black and steamy asphalt on a 90-degree day, backs stooped, hands and clothing smeared with dirt and pastels, and beads of sweat highlighting exposed skin.  Even though the art was literally on the pavement, the crowd walked gingerly around each painting and admonished small children “Don’t walk on the art!” 

 It’s interesting to note that the paintings were immediately viewed as “art” (and by extension the creators as “artists”) when spectators viewed their hard work and efforts; no critic or critique was needed.  Perhaps we need to have an artist working live in every gallery to increase respect for unknown contemporary painters.

 Every pedestrian stepped around the paintings except for one woman, who in her bright yellow mini-skirt and five-inch heels, purposely strode over each image.  Onlookers gawked. Children gasped.  Tough looking tattooed bikers tsk-tsk’d.  The artists merely shrugged their shoulders as if accustomed to the disrespect. 

 As the day wore on, the climate and the working surface grew even less hospitable.  All were aware that the art had a predetermined shelf-life almost as brief as the ice cream cones being sold from the nearby truck.  Yet, the work continued.  At the end of the day, however, the police reopened the street to traffic which sped over the carefully constructed paintings.  The artists were now gone and the drivers neither slowed down or appreciated their efforts. 

 Perhaps the mini-skirted woman in the five-inch heels was the most truthful of us all.

Pencils Down

I'm pondering some big life questions:

1. Why does chocolate taste so darn good?
2. Are fresh flowers in the home linked to the secret of happiness?
3. Does classroom testing promote or detract from long term learning and understanding?

Answers:

1. Who cares.  Just give me some.
2. Yes.
3. Not enough information to answer the question.

As an educator, I’m becoming more and more convinced that testing doesn’t help learning or retention and, in fact, actually impedes it.  Testing also does little or nothing to develop and sharpen the critical thinking skills that are so necessary in a competitive world. 

Thinking back to my own college days, I remember the nights before PreLims (Cornell speak for Midterms) and Finals as a haze of forced and rote memorization.  48 hours later, at least 25% was forgotten.  Now, um, a few years later, most of the information is forgotten unless I use it on a regular basis.  However, information from assignments that involved research and writing have stayed with me at an astonishing rate.  I am finding the same with my own students.

Why do we persist using this archaic 18^th century rote memorization and regurgitation model?  I’m all for sticking with the old when it works but is this really working?  Is it useful, for example, if non art majors in my art history classes can recite the date, artist, school and geographic location of, say, Leutze’s Washington Crossing the Delaware but have no idea why it’s important and the impact it had, and continues to have, on American identity and politics? 

Next semester, I’m considering changing student assessment.  There will be no exams but, instead, a series of writing assignments grounded in research and critical thinking. 

This is a good idea (please check one)

-True

-False

-Not enough information to answer the question.

You Say Potato, I Say Potahto

Who and what determines what can be called "art"?

It’s a question I am often asked by students and one I often think about.

Some say it’s the free market that determines what can wear the  label of "art".  Worth millions and it's art.   Priced for a few hundred or less and it's trash.  I’m not buying it.  Take, for example, Vermeer.  Popular in his lifetime, by the early 19^th century he was all but forgotten.    A museum curator in the late 19^th century brought him back to public attention and the prices of his work soared.  Inexpensive one day, priceless the next. 

What about 20^th century artists such as Picasso, Rauschenberg and Pollack?  Worth millions today, how will future generations see them?  Will their prices hold 100 years from now?  500 years from now?

The art market has too many similarities to the stock market to credit it as the barometer. 

Is it time?  Does popularity over time earn a work the title of “art”?  Maybe not.  Artists and art work go in and out of style almost as quickly as hair styles.  Maybe we need to have a time standard like the antique  trade.  In our case, less than 500 years of popularity and it's labeled a “collectible”.  More than 500 years, and it can be labeled “art”.  Yeah, that should work. 

What about viewer response?  If it creates a strong emotion in the viewer, we can call it art.  Does it make you feel sad, wistful, nostalgic or peaceful?  Then it's art.  But what if it makes you feel anger?  Ooops, then it is not art.  Then it’s called heresy, damaging or just plain disgusting.  Seems like the emotion standard won’t work either. 

Since I can’t determine a definition of what is art for you, I am going to settle on a definition just for my own work.  Here it is:  If it advances or elevates humanity, it's art.  I like that.  I can live with that. 

What if what I think advances or elevates humanity is not what you think?  Oh no, here we go again…

But What Does It Mean?

There are questions about art that have been discussed  ad nauseam.  "Yeah, but what does it mean?" is one of those questions.  I wouldn't be surprised if cavemen sat around looking at their cave paintings and one asked, "Hey, Zog, what do you mean by that?" 

Artists create art for a multitude of reasons: to communicate, to inspire, to provoke, to  make a living, etc.  But sometimes the end products are not understood by the viewer and occasionally the abstractions are lost on all but a few.  Hence, the often heard question "What is that supposed to mean?"  When this questioning occurs and the viewer is unable to answer the question himself, the art risks losing its accessibility.  Perhaps the viewer didn't care enough to spend the time to understand the art or even bother to try and understand it.  Some might say "That's okay.  It wasn't meant for that kind of viewer." 

However, there are important tangible benefits when art is easily understood.  One of the most accessible forms of artistic expression is when the art engages the viewer so completely that he/she never thinks to ask "what does it mean?"   Instead, the viewer becomes so immersed in the art experience that he creates his own meaning.  Perhaps this is even one of art's highest callings.

The Dana Lynn Louis and Barbara Eiswerth bronze tree sculpture at the Portland Central Public Library is a glorious case in point.  I recently had the good fortune to see this sculpture in person.  Although the sculpture is in the children's room of the library, I watched a steady stream of adults and children visit the sculpture.  Each interacted with the art searching for their own personal meaning and connection.

The 14 foot tall bronze tree, weighing over one ton, features images from Oregon's natural history, subjects from the Dewey Decimal System and icons from favorite children's stories.  The images of the most interest to children are placed on the bottom of the tree within easy reach of even the smallest child.  More interpretative images are placed at the taller heights for older children and adults to contemplate.  Yet, all are recognizable and relateable to visitors. 

So, what's the purpose of this art?  To me, it has one primary purpose.  It is meant to be enjoyed.  By everyone.  And everyone "gets it".  I don't think anyone has ever looked at a Norman Rockwell painting and said, "Hey, I just don't get it.  What's that fellow trying to say anyway?"  No one will view this Louis and Eiswerth sculpture and ask that either.  And that's okay.  In fact, its more than okay.  Art doesn't always have to irritate or provoke or agonize.  Sometimes it can just be.  And we can be, right along with it. 

 

Got 'Em Eating Out Of My Hand

Or, out of someone else's hand.

This pic was taken earlier this month at the Elizabeth Morton Wildlife National Wildlife Refuge in Sag Harbor, NY.  The scenery looking out onto the Little Peconic Bay is beautiful and the hiking trails captivating but the star attraction has got to be the black capped chickadees.  During fall migration the chickadees are abundant in the preserve and visitors who bring treats (seed) will be rewarded.  Place the seed in your palm, stay still and quiet, and the birds will eat the seed right from your hand.  These cute balls of fluff, weighing less than half an ounce each, are barely felt on your skin as they steal their gastronomical prize.  It is an amazing experience.   There are no nets around the preserve.  It is all natural. 

Although the preserve is a bit out of the way, tucked high into the eastern North Shore of Long Island, it is worth a special trip if you plan to be in the New York area. 

Culinary note:  They partial to sunflower seeds. 

I Studied With Norman Rockwell

Well, I could have if I had been alive in 1925.

This advertisement was recently posted on ephemerastudies.org.  By 1925, Rockwell was already a successful illustrator with many books and magazine covers to his credit.  Yet, he still chose to teach.

Rockwell is one of many artists who continued as an educator even at the height of artistic success.  William Merritt Chase, Thomas Eakins and Robert Henri come to mind as a few other examples.  Furthermore, for example, Robert Henri, in turn, taught Edward Hopper, Rockwell Kent, George Bellows and Stuart Davis.  All of these students also became major figures in the art world.

I'm willing to bet that whoever coined the phrase "Those who can't, teach" was not an artist.  We artists know better.  Only the best teach.  And I'm willing to wager that the axiom is false for other professions as well.  If it was true, we would have had a steady decline in every area of academia over hundreds of years.  Clearly, this is not the case.

As we head back to school this fall, I salute our teachers: past, present and future.

The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau. -Dan Rather

“I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well” -Alexander the Great

“Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe.” -H.G. Wells

 

Judging a Book by its Cover

Spring means several things to me: bike trips!  kayaking!  used book sales! 

Lately, at book sales and flea markets, I've been gravitating to the covers more than the books.  At first, I felt guilty about this.   Wasn't reading the book the whole point?  But what about the cover artists?  They deserve a share of the admiration too!

Nowadays, the dust jacket gets all the design attention.  The cloth binding underneath the jacket typically has the title, perhaps the author, and not much else.  However, this was not always the case.  With the introduction of the cloth binding in the mid 19th century, cloth covers gradually became works of art. As the century progressed, the covers became more and more ornate including gold embossing, deeply stamped imprints, multiple colors etc.  These artists did it all without software and an "undo" button.  I'm adding 19th century book cover artists and designers to my list of art heroes.

To see more of these works of art, check out this website from the University of Florida: www.uflib.ufl.edu/spec/baldwin/covers/coverstory.htm

When viewing these precious works of art, go ahead and judge the book by its cover.  I give my recently purchased examples, pictured above,  a "10". 

Life is a Taboret

Organizing my art studio is more difficult, and more agonizing,  than organizing my closets.  Although my closets have clothes in least three sizes, not to mention clothing and accessories for each of our four northern seasons, they still pale in complexity and frustration with organizing my art supplies.  Clothing and accessories have predictable sizes and shapes to match our predictable human bodies.  Art supplies, on the other hand, range from 1” long watercolor tubes to 4 foot long rulers and 5 foot wide, or wider, canvases.  Even if I set aside the large size outliers, it’s still a challenge to find a system that keeps the rest organized and accessible.  I feel like I have tried it all including plastic bins, file cabinets, shoe boxes, straw boxes, toy chests, and on and on.  Each had their benefits but each fell short. 

Many artists organize their supplies in a taboret.  For those not familiar with the term, a taboret is defined as  a small cabinet.  Art supply companies offer taborets complete with drawers of various sizes, brush holders, palettes etc.  Prices start at approximately $500.  I’ve often thought of purchasing one but wondered if it would just end up in my museum of “Why did I buy this, anyway?” art supplies.

Then, finally, I found a system that works perfectly for me and, hopefully, it could work for you too.  At approximately $200, it's cheap too. 

I bought a portable kitchen island.  It’s perfect for artists!  It has lots of drawers, a paper towel holder, a shelf for mediums, a place for a brush holder, cabinets for taller items, etc.  It even has four wheels to aid in movement and a granite insert on the top that I use as a palette.  Why, or why, didn’t I think of this sooner?  While portable kitchen islands are available in a wide range of prices, I bought mine at Big Lots for about $200. 

Here’s a similar one for $229.  

Oh, and by the way, snacks fit very nicely in the top drawer. 

Paint Honestly

Artist Robert Henri advised his students to “paint honestly”.   I was fairly confident he was not advising his students to laboriously copy their subject;  however, beyond that, I wasn’t sure what he meant.  But it’s Robert Henri.  It must mean something and it must be important.

I think I may have discovered what he meant, at least in part.  This past November I visited Pasadena California.  As with any trip to any place, I am on the lookout for potential painting subjects.  Much of what California is famous for was not to be found.    Sun and fun were hidden behind coats and scarves.  Beaches were empty.  Surfers were difficult to find.  Pasadena’s famous roses were reduced to bare branches on sticky bushes. 

A highlight of my trip was a visit to Descanso Gardens.    I can’t resist a garden anywhere or in any season.   While beautiful even in winter, traditional garden subjects were sparse with few if any flowers or trees in bloom.  I took some reference pictures of the rose garden and, once back in my studio, began studies to recreate what the garden might look like if it were June and not November.  After much struggling and guessing as to what the lighting might be like in June, how the roses might cascade on the garden structure, etc., the voice of Robert Henri rang in my ears.  Paint Honestly.  Paint Honestly. Paint Honestly.  

Suddenly, I had one of those long desired but hard to come by epiphanies.  He meant that artists should not do the exact thing that I was trying to do!  Don’t fabricate what isn’t there but interpret, in your own voice, what is there.  Do I dare?  Could I dare? Should I dare?  A rose garden in November? 

I  dared.  It was one of the most fulfilling artistic experiences I have had as a painter.   Honest.   

“Awaiting Renewal”, the resulting painting,  is posted above.  Please click the painting to enlarge.

The Mayor of Strawberry Fields

Spend time in NYC and sooner or later you will meet or see someone famous.  And although I once saw President Clinton, I had never met any mayor of NYC.  Until yesterday when I met the Mayor of Strawberry Fields.

Strawberry Fields is the Central Park memorial to John Lennon.  Located steps from his apartment in the Dakota, the memorial is just inside the W 72nd St entrance to the park. 

Currently, I'm working on a series of paintings of Central Park and, when time allows, I spend a few hours in the park sketching and photographing.  Or, as my good friend Karrie jokingly puts it, stalking.  That's how I met Gary De Santos, the self proclaimed (and not readily disputed) Mayor of Strawberry Fields. 

Each morning for the past sixteen years, and for the foreseeable future,  Gary lovingly decorates the Imagine mosaic with fresh flowers, mementos and seasonal flora.  Each display is unique and eye catching.  While chatting me up Gary told me that he was famous: articles about him have appeared in the New York Times, Rolling Stone and a long list of other A list publications; a movie had been made about him; he knew Yoko and other celebrities personally etc..  I thought, um, ok.  But part of me thought ...Hey, its NY.  You never know.  "Look for me on The YouTube and The Google" he yelled after me.  

Everything Gary told me appears to be true.  Here's a recent New York Times article about him. 

The Mayor of Strawberry Fields, however, is not without controversy.  Some see him as an artist, some as a nuisance panhandler, some as a parasite on John Lennon's hard earned reputation.  Gary sees himself as lover and spreader of peace and love.  

Beyond the legal ramifications of his work which are beyond my scope and knowledge, he does raise some intriguing questions for both the general public and the art world.  Specifically:

• Is it art?  Curators might call it a site specific installation, others think of it as clutter at best.  

• Does Gary have a right to create art in a public space that was designed for the use of all not just one?  Does his art and presence, complete with donation bowl, impede the right of others to enjoy the space?  Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, "The right to swing my fist ends where the other man's nose begins."  It can be difficult to locate the anatomy though where art is concerned .  Would it matter if he weren't asking for donations via his "Make A Wish" sign and donation bowl?  Is this where the public's nose begins?

• Is there a higher artistic virtue in the mix?  Many now beloved public art spaces and memorials were, at their birth,  controversial.  In the 19th century, the newly proposed Central Park was decried as a potential haven for criminals and scoundrels.  The Washington Monument was mired in controversy for 40 years before it was opened in 1888.  More recently, Maya Lin's Vietnam Veterans Memorial, opened to the public in 1982, incited red hot tempers.  Because Gary DeSantos' work is not approved by any commission or government agency, is it less of a memorial?  Less worthy?  Or, does government and peer review earn the art it's legitimacy?

Here's a solution that might work:  An individual patron or arts organization could fund his work.  This would would negate his need to ask for donations via the tour guide pitch or the donation bowl and allow the public to enjoy his creations unimpeded.  Until then, Gary DeSantos is likely to continue to find himself in a battle despite his stand for peace. 

No Place For A Child

Please click on painting to enlarge.

He was too young to go to war, but the war came to him.  

One of the most catastrophic results of war is what we now euphemistically call "collateral damage".  This new painting, No Place for a Child, is a commentary on this tragedy. 

The US military defines collateral damage in Joint Publication 1-02, page 120:  "Unintentional or incidental injury or damage to persons or objects that would not be lawful military targets in the circumstances ruling at the time.  Such damage is not unlawful so long as it is not excessive in light of the overall military advantage anticipated from the attack. (JP3-60)" 

The human cost of war lasts for decades and perhaps even centuries.  As witness and victim, this young man's life will be shaped and influenced by the Civil War battle fought in his Pennsylvania backyard.  As the poet William Wordsworth wrote "The child is the father of the man."

My Heart Leaps Up-William Wordsworth

My heart leaps up when I behold a rainbow in the sky

So was it when my life began;

So it is now I am a man;

So be it when I grow old, or let me die.

The child is the father of the man;

And I could wish my days to be

Bound each to each by natural piety. 

The New American Wing

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC  has reopened, in part, their American Wing.  Long anticipated, the redo is even better than expected. 

While the paintings portion of the wing is still under construction, the MET has opened a brand new sculpture court and reinterpreted period rooms.

The sculpture court, seen above, is flooded with natural light showcasing the artistic nuances of each piece in a manner that would be difficult, if not impossible, to do with indoor lighting.  The majority of the sculpture was created to be displayed outside or created before electric lighting.  Hence, we see the sculptures closer to the conditions under which they were created and much as the artist intended us to see them.  For me, these ideal conditions make the art even more breathtaking.  I hardly thought it was possible.

The period rooms, entered via an authentic NYC period facade (on left in photo) have been rearranged and reinterpreted.  Artifacts are placed in their natural settings making their place and use in the family home much easier to understand.  New computer kiosks have been installed in each room with extensive contextual information regarding the trade and economic origins of each artifact along with other interesting tidbits.  My one complaint?  Each room has only one kiosk.  Each of the three times I have visited since the opening there have been long waits.  Most visitors don't wait and leave without the full experience.  This is disappointing for both the visitor and the museum.  Wall labels, which could serve as back up, are spotty at best.  

All in all, well worth a visit.  I give it a B+.  Fix the computer kiosk problem and it's an A!

My Art Supply Find at Kohls

How many palettes, sketchpads and tubes of paint can one artist buy?  A lot. 

Usually I purchase  supplies at an art supply store or an art supply website.  Once I try them out, I inevitably discover a few I should not have bought.  A few (ok, many) end up collecting dust  in my studio for years.  Every once in awhile, however, something becomes a must have.  By accident, I found a new must have.  And, of all places, it came from the housewares department of Kohl's. 

The "foodie" trend has inspired an avalanche of creative new merchandise for both preparing and serving food.  Typically, it doesn't interest me; I'm not much of a cook.  But, the serving dish (on left) just screamed "watercolor palette" to me.  My field kit (on right) is small and light and is super convenient for outdoor sketching.  However, in the studio, the palette space is just too limited for the loose studies I sometimes do before a final oil painting.  This roughly 10" x 10" 4 section serving dish has been a terrific solution.  The smooth china wells provide a large mixing space and excellent pigment flow.  The sloping walls of the sections allow pigment to be diffused gradually enabling easy value control.

Who knew?

$29.99 -40% off (as of last Saturday).

Meet Fanny Palmer

 I've been preparing a lecture  for my American Art History class and, once again, have come across the artist Fanny Palmer.    Although she is not household name, either now or in her working period of the late 19th century,  as a Currier and Ives artist her work appeared in households across America. 

Writer George DeWan says about Palmer "Few talented 19th-Century women worked so hard and got so little credit as Fanny Palmer, an unheralded Brooklyn artist who did close to 200 prints for Currier & Ives." 

Currier and Ives specialist Ewell L. Newman posits "It is likely that during the latter half of the nineteenth century more pictures by Mrs. Fanny Palmer decorated the homes of ordinary Americans than those of any other artist, dead or alive."

That's quite a legacy and, therefore, the aim of this post is to bring Fanny to the attention to additional artists and art lovers of the 21st century. 

Fanny had a difficult marital life.  Today we would call her an enabler.  Her husband Edmund, an alcoholic,  relied on Fanny as sole support for the family.  Said author Harry T. Peters about Edmund`"He was fond of shooting, even fonder of drinking, and had no interest in any kind of work.''  When Edmund died, as a result of a drinking accident, James Ives is reported to have said "That's the best thing he's ever done."

Had Fanny not been pressured to make a living, it is likely she may have given up her artistic interests and talents at marriage as was common among many 19th century women artists.  But Fanny's loss was America's gain and her images have become the icons of 19th century America and appear on Christmas cards, calendars, textiles and other Americana products to this day. 

To learn more about the fascinating Currier and Ives firm "Printmakers to the American People" check out the Currier and Ives website and the movie documentary located right on the site.  For more about Fanny Palmer, see George DeWan's excellent article "The Picture of a Workhorse"  which tells of the little that we know about this remarkable woman.

A Silver Note

An Enduring Promise, the painting in the post of October 16 2008 , just won the Silver Medal at the National Art League.  I feel grateful, honored and very happy.  Tomorrow, back to the easel!

An Everlasting Promise

Please click on painting to enlarge.

Separation from friends and family in the 19th century was as much a part of life as it is today.  In the 19th century it must have been more painful.  No email, no telephone, no myspace.  Mail delivery was irregular and unreliable at best.  It could take months for a letter to reach it's destination with news of weddings, births, sickness or even deaths.

In this new painting,  An Everlasting Promise, a young woman tells you of her promise to her fiancee who left the north east in search of  cheaper land out west.  It is now July and she has not heard from him since he left after the  winter's last snowfall.

While the day lilies in the background are fleeting, her love is not. 

What Fluttered By

Many Long Islanders head down to Jones Beach after work to enjoy the sunset and take a brisk fitness walk on the two mile boardwalk.  In summer, each night brings a live band for singing and dancing along with mini golf, shuffle board and other summer pleasures (ice cream!).  Summer is sadly over and summer pleasures along with it. 

But.....

Last week I saw a sight that was better than any game of mini golf I played or any ice cream cone I  licked.  There, right off the boardwalk, was a pine tree smothered with Monarch butterflies.  There were hundreds of them on the trees and dancing overhead.  It felt like a Disney movie.  It was one of the most amazing sights and feelings I have ever experienced.  Just indescribable.  I wish I had video to show you but I do have the next best thing-a picture.  This shows just a small section but close your eyes and imagine the rest of the scene equally drenched in beautiful monarchs. 

The New Arrival

Please click on painting to enlarge.

I am fascinated by the parallels between our past and our present.  So many issues that we grapple with today are the same issues that confronted our ancestors. 

The title of this new painting, "The New Arrival" is designed to spark a dialog about these parallels.  What is the "new arrival"?  Is it the imported Staffordshire bowl and pitcher and therefore the painting is a commentary on international trade?  Or, is the "new arrival" the young woman standing by the window and the painting is therefore a commentary on immigration?  Either could make a convincing argument. 

The answer is both.  The pitcher and bowl are indeed imported and highlight our dependence on foreign imports even in the 1830s where this painting is set.  The young woman is also a new arrival, an Irish immigrant working as a servant in an upper middle class household.  As today, Americans in the 19th century were dependent on foreign imports and there were fierce battles regarding immigration, both legal and illegal.  The arguments were stunningly familiar "Buy American"  "Stop spending money overseas!"  "America for real Americans!" 

As George Santyana famously said in The Life of Reason in 1905, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

Where's Mama?

Please click on painting to enlarge.

I'm continuing to put new work on my blog until I have a chance to update my web site.  This painting, Where's Mama?, is in response to the universal childhood experience of getting lost at one time or another. 

For me, it was in a mall department store.  I must have been five or six.  My mother and I were on the second floor near the escalator and suddenly I turned and she was gone.  Or, more likely, I wandered off and she was gone.  I went down the escalator, I have no idea why, and then began to panic.  An adult saw my distress and helped me find my mother who was, of course, frantically looking for me.  It is a feeling you never forget. 

In this painting, the child's mother is as close as can be even though out of sight.  Her purse is on the bench and the bottom of her skirt is in reach of her child if only the child would turn around.

Do you remember getting lost as a child?

Painting The Posthumous Portrait

Recently I quoted Ray Kinstler in a lecture he gave at Society of Illustrators in NYC.  He said, in part, on posthumous portraits  "If they resurrected Sargent, he couldn't get blood from it."  My friend, Pete Culos, a fellow history painter (and a very evocative one) asked me to elaborate on this comment.  (Check out Pete's blog here.)

Many portrait painters refuse to do posthumous portraits.  Why?  In short, because it is often impossible for the artist to work to his/her normal quality level.

In the typical situation the family tells you that there are tons of photos of the person so it shouldn't be a problem.  Problem.   The photos contain most or all of the following problems:

1. The photos are small.  The typical photo is 4"x6" where the head is two inches or smaller especially if it is a group shot.  Too small to make accurate judgments for a full size painting.
2. Subject has a huge grin. We all smile in family photos but that huge grin can look off putting in a full size painted portrait.  But the artist has no way of knowing the shape of the person's mouth when closed.  Without accurate information, the likeness will suffer.
3. The angle of the photo is often unflattering.
4. The photo is not in focus.
5. The stance is very casual and being blocked by others.  No way of knowing how the person held their hands or what their hands looked like. 
6. The camera distorts color.
7. The camera distorts values (how light or dark something is)
8. The biggest problem...The photos were taken with a flash which wipes out most anatomical information.  The job of the flash is to wipe away shadows.  For birthday party and vacation photos this can be a very good thing but for painting reference this is disastrous.  The shadows define the bone structure.  The bone structure defines the likeness.

Recently, I did a posthumous portrait (my first in years) of a well loved member of my local community.  Another artist had completed the assignment and the local board was unhappy with the results.  The artist was faced with most of the above problems.  The board eventually found me and because I knew the person, loved him and was grateful for his contribution to our community I completed the commission.  I faced the same problems as the first artist and it was very frustrating. The board was very happy with the results.  "Wow, it looks like he is right here with us".  But I am unhappy.  I know I could have done a much better job if I could have worked with the subject when he was still with us and what joy it would have brought him to know that the community cared so much about him. 

In short, the best time, by far, to commission a portrait is when the person is still living.   The person will enjoy it, you will have a choice of more artists, and the results will be fabulous.

A Painting Hero

Like many, I have long admired the portrait work of Everett Raymond Kinstler.  He is often compared to Sargent and that is no exaggeration.  Recently, I had the good fortune to attend a lecture/demonstration by Mr. Kinstler at the Society of Illustrators in New York. 

I discovered that many of my own thoughts as a portrait painter were reinforced by Mr. Kinstler.  That makes me feel like I am on the right track.  Here, for all you artists out there, are some of the thoughts he voiced:

1. Never trust the camera.  The camera will mislead you.
2. There comes a moment where you feel that "click".  If you don't get that click...
3. Ask yourself, "Do you like the way it feels?"  Don't ask "Do you like the way it looks?"
4. Camera reference taken with a flash bulb is deadly.  All you see are features.
5. If you don't get freshness in the beginning, you can't get it back.
6. Don't change it if you don't feel it.
7. On posthumous portraits "If they resurrected Sargent, he couldn't get blood from it."
8. Learn your (painting) language.  There is no substitute for it.
9. If you feel you've arrived, you're finished.  It never ends.

Master Teachers

Most artists share one overriding yearning.  Regardless of skill or success, they want to get better.  There is this sense of never being satisfied.  Even those deemed masters seem to have had these feelings.  Although frustrating at times, I think it's a very good thing.  It drives the painter to continue to work towards excellence.

The essential question then becomes...How can one become a better painter?  I direct this particular post to the representational painters in the crowd. 

Representational painting is heavily observation and analysis driven
e.g. what shape am I really seeing, was is the value scheme, what exactly are the proportions, is that shadow cool or warm, etc.

One of the strongest learning tools you have is to not paint.  Yes, you read that correctly.   Take some time away from the easel and study with the great masters including Rembrandt, Vermeer, Sargent or whoever you admire.    Thanks to public art museums, you can study with the greatest masters of all time even though they have long departed this earth.

The problems that you may be experiencing with a painting are likely to have perplexed others before you.  How did they solve the problem?  Are there many solutions?  How are they alike or different?  Now go deeper.  Was the turning of form problem solved with value, shape or color?  What about that tricky lighting situation?  Was it successfully communicated with value or with temperature or both? 

Answers to your problems are available from the finest teachers in the world.  Go.  Learn from them.