Category Archives: art

Driving the Bears to Drink

Ken Smith brought this Flaubert quote to my attention (Thanks, Ken!):

“Language is a drum on which we beat out tunes for bears to dance to, when all the while we wish to move the stars to pity.”

I feel this way about paint, lately. Sometimes I am happy enough to beat out that tune for bears to dance to-

and sometimes I fear that I’m beating out thin dirges that would drive the bears back into the woods.

It is very hot and there are bugs everywhere. But- the crickets have started singing already in the evenings. A pleasant noise.

Physical exhaustion for no reason. Seven months without a cigarette.

The world has lost Chris Al-Aswad, who I knew only from his vivid presence on the internet, much too soon.

Escape into Life, the arts site he created, is truly wonderful.

Wishing Cap (Gardenias for Horsie)

Oil on canvas, 8″x 8″.

In my next life

I would like to play the banjo. I’d like to play it well. I shouldn’t push my luck and wish – concerning my hypothetical next incarnation in which I have as much faith as I do in the Easter Bunny – for a voice like Karen Dalton’s as well. I think there are stories about devils and crossroads…

Merge

I will have a piece in this show at the beautiful new CVA. “Merge” opens with a 7:00 pm reception this Friday July 16 (I wish I could say that Joe Cocker is going to be there) and runs until August 28.

Face Blindness

I never would have guessed that artist Chuck Close, known for his enormous portraits of friends, suffers from prosopagnosia- “face blindness.”

Audio of fascinating conversation available here.

First Friday at CORE New Art Space

There will be a First Friday Art Walk reception for myself, Melissa Rackliff, Charlie Taublieb, and Stuart Codington Andrews this Friday July 2 from 6 till 9 pm.

Hope you can join us.

The show comes down Saturday the 3rd at 6 pm. CORE will be closed on Sunday, July 4.

Thank you

Gene Davis, for the kind and creative review in the  Denver Daily News.

Angels Watching Over

First experiment with found objects (or more honestly, junk I never threw away. I have broken more watches than anyone I know. Either my chemistry throws them off or they just stop when I look at them too much.), lumina air dry clay, glass and paint. I would hang a thing like this on my Christmas tree, but am not sure if anyone else would.

Mercy

It is too hot to think clearly.

My Iweb, website designing software for the know-nothing, has stopped working completely. Everything, apparently, is corrupted and I don’t know how to fix it. I know only that I know nothing.

I am also experimenting with Lumina air dry clay and enjoying the hell out of this show when I can catch it online in this cable-free house.

The premise of “Work of Art” (that there are clear winners and losers in this life of art-making) is frustrating and I roll my eyes and talk back at the screen a lot but, still… artists- people making completely impractical things- on a mainstream reality tv show that is gaining in popularity!

I don’t know why that makes me feel better, but it does. The show is interesting and brings me back to the days of classroom critiques.

Jerry Saltz writes thoughtful recaps of the episodes, which are almost better than the shows themselves.

Crows

We have a nest of crows in our back yard for the first time since we have lived here.

Their distinctive caws fill the air from morning till dusk.

Clearly they agree with Hillary Clinton that it takes a village; one huge baby crow flew the nest a little too soon, before its tail feathers had completely come in.

At least four adults hover close and scream at any human, cat or dog in the general vicinity.

My friend, colleague, and show-partner Melissa Rackliff  has an abundance of crows (or maybe they’re ravens- I’m not sure that I know the difference) in her very nice new paintings hanging currently at CORE New Art Space. I have work hanging there, too.

The First Friday Artwalk for this show will be on July 2, from 6 to 9 PM.

Allison Moorer’s new release “Crows” is beautiful. I want to listen again & again.