Martha Graham

I heard a fabulous Martha Graham quote on the radio the other night -- Roy of Hollywood's Something's Happening show on KPFK:

"There is a vitality, a life-force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost. The world will not have it! It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware of the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. No artist is pleased -- there is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a strange, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others."

You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work? That's quite different from the way I've been operating. I also have a tendency to compare my work to others, and it helps me to hear that not only is it not necessary, it's not my job. My job is to focus on my unique expression, and nothing else. How liberating!

New Work

This is my latest painting, the first of six I'm doing for a show in Melbourne, Florida in January. It's 48" x 30".



Detail:



I can't really tell you what it's about yet, because I don't know myself. I know that it has to do with Earth and plants and rain coming down from the sky, or possibly tears coming from our eyes and raining down on the Earth. There appears to be some fiery stuff going on, but I don't know what that's about. I work intuitively, and I'm often not consciously aware of what I'm doing until much later.

Fall Sunset

When I came out of the studio this evening it looked like the sky was on fire.



This is the sort of sunset you see when you live in the city, looking over rooftops, between trees and wires!

Must Artists Suffer?

Check out the dialog on Edward Winkelman's blog about whether or not today's artists are willing to sacrifice their quality of life for their careers as artists.

There are things that I do without, but I don't really see it as sacrifice, because it's so worth it. I would rather have a less lavish lifestyle and have time for my art than have to work a day job.

Mooney's Blog

My friend Mooney has a new blog that is all the rage amongst those of the feline persuasion. Check it out. According to some, the comments are the best part of his blog.

So Long Bots

Sorry . . . I had to turn on word verification for comments, because I couldn't keep up with the spam comments coming from bots. It just means that you have to type in a word that the bots can't read. Anyone is still welcome to comment . . . just not the bots.

Google Logo

What's the significance of the seven pieces of cake on the Google Logo today? Is Google seven years old?

Goodbye Ron!

Today was my friend Ron's last day in Los Angeles, and he wanted to see Long Beach, where he used to live. This is his last-day portrait outside of Engine Company Number 8 in Belmont Shores.



And this is my self-portrait, also outside of Engine Company Number 8 in Belmont Shores.



Look at these great parking meter "shadows" they have painted on the sidewalks there.






I thought this billboard was interesting. It's a collage of junk found in Long Beach on August 20, 2005.



Long Beach is a very artsy community, in a way that the rest of Los Angeles isn't.

Goodbye, Ron. Hope you had a safe trip back to Ft. Lauderdale. I'll miss you. No rattin'!

Charmlee Park

Today we went hiking in Charmlee Park in Malibu. The weather was perfect, and it was an absolutely gorgeous day. We were sitting on a rock in the hills, overlooking the ocean, when a strong wind suddenly came up out of nowhere. Ten minutes later it was calm again. Then I saw lightening over the ocean, and later in the day it rained. Weird weather for September. I was hoping to see if the lightening would strike us while we were sitting on the rock, but it was taking too long to get to us, and we didn't have all day to sit there.

The poison oak is beautiful this time of year, when the leaves change to red:



I'm exhausted from three days of nonstop activity. I need some time off from this time off.

LA County Fair

Ron wanted to go to the LA County Fair. I hadn't been there in years, and had forgotten how crowded and commercial it is.



I didn't last long with the crowds and the heat. The petting zoo was my favorite.



Animals are easy to love!

Ann King Opening

My friend Ron is here visiting from Ft. Lauderdale, and we went to the opening of the Ann King Memorial Show at Topanga Canyon Gallery last night. There were a lot of people there, including many of Ann's friends.



The artwork for the show was chosen and hung by Linda Bolhuis and Rone Prinz, and it looked great.





Ann's son, Trevor, flew out from New York for the show.



Even Ann's dog, Maggie was there. She has a new home with friends in Venice, and is adjusting beautifully to the transition.



Ann herself appeared to be there, as seen in the shadow on her artwork from the window lettering!



The show continues through October 16th.

Study in Contrasts

This is a painting I was working on last night -- 20" x 52". You can't see it very well in this picture, so here's a detail view:



Is it done? I'm not sure yet.

Youth

There was a young squirrel playing on the cats' outdoor cat tree today, running wildly up and down, leaping from platform to platform, swinging on the ropes, and having a lot more fun with it than the cats ever have. This was the best picture I could get from across the yard before he noticed me and ran away. So cute!

Sky Graffiti

I came out of my studio at sunset, and saw this in the western sky. What is it? It looked like a huge luminescent squiggle in the sky. I dropped everything, ran for my camera, and quickly took a picture. A minute later it was gone.

Mold Update

Judy was asking how the mold pieces are coming along, so here's an update. The red onions are developing an interesting orange color around the edges, and the onions themselves are turning a pale green. These pictures were taken from the outside of the canvas, because I don't want to disturb whatever is going on in the inside.



Meanwhile, the oranges were getting a blue mold which has subsequently turned black, and there's a reddish-orange developing along one side.



I think they have another few weeks to go before they're done.

Cover Art?

What do you think? Do you think I can do it? Is my new work with mold worthy of an Art in America cover?

Hi Mom! Hi Dad!

My parents just got their first computer, and they're in the process of learning everything you need to know to read and send e-mail, access websites, and run programs. I'd forgotten how much there is to learn, and how much I take for granted. They're having to learn everything from how to use a mouse to how to open and close windows. They're starting to get a feel for the art of the double-click, and then we'll move on to more advanced topics like scroll bars and pull-down menus. It's really a lot of stuff to learn.

Enzo the Terrible

Look at that face! Who can resist such a sweet little face? Who would think that this cute cat is not only a torturer and killer of birds and mice, but the neighborhood bully? I hadn't posted any cats pictures here lately, and I didn't want you to think that this had turned into a serious art blog or something. Enzo the Terrible is sleeping peacefully on my lap as I attempt to type this post. He really just wants this chair, but has to settle for my lap while the chair is still occupied. As soon as the computer is turned off for the night, the chair is his.

Handmade Paints

I recently heard about Linda Fries, the artist who did the above painting. She's concerned about the toxicity of art supplies, and hand-grinds pigments for her paintings. Fries teaches art and ecology workshops in the San Francisco Bay Area, and has published an Artist Alert! brochure suggesting alternatives for healthier art-making.



Jennifer Wolf is another artist who grinds pigments for her paintings and suspends them in an acrylic medium binder. One of Wolf's luminous paintings is pictured above. Wolf's studio is in Venice, and I have seen her work at Gallery C in Hermosa Beach and William Turner Gallery in Santa Monica.

I'm fascinated with the concept of nontoxic paints handmade from natural materials, but who has the time to grind their own pigments and make their own paints? I really admire artists like Fries and Wolf who take this extra step in creating their art.

Museum of Bad Art

One of my favorite websites is the Museum of Bad Art. The museum has a permanent collection of about 250 pieces, and 20 to 25 are exhibited at a time in the basement of the Dedham Community Theater outside of Boston, "conveniently located just outside the men's room." The website is hilarious, as is their book, and the book makes a great gift for artists. Bookmark this website for when you are in need of a good laugh!

Autumn Light

Look at the beautiful patterns that the sun makes at sunset through the scrollwork on either side of my front door. I love the warm light in fall.

We Fixed Art!

This is cute. A group of artists in the San Francisco Bay Area purchased artwork on eBay (nothing more than $5), "fixed" it, and are now reselling the paintings on eBay. You can see the before and after artwork on their We Fix Art website, with links to the eBay auctions, which end on September 17th.

Overpopulation

A quote in the current issue of Artweek attributed to National Public Radio, August 2, 2005, says, "The BBC reported today that Web logs are being created at the rate of one per second." Wow . . . not quite the equal of the birth rate (approximately five per second), but getting close. I wonder what the blog death rate is.

Five Element Paintings

I'm working on a new series of paintings based on the five elements, and these are the palettes I'm using for each element. I haven't yet figured out what to do for the metal element. Metal is silver and gold, which in paint colors translates to gray and yellow ochre. Yuck! Any suggestions appreciated.

Fly Me To the Moon

Here's an interesting website. It shows detailed technical drawings for the early NASA spacecraft -- Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Skylab -- declassified government documents. They even have printer-friendly versions, in case you want to study the drawings and build your own.

Final Ann King Painting

This is it! This is my favorite of the Ann King paintings, and the one I'm going to put in the Ann King Memorial Show at Topanga Canyon Gallery later this month. It's titled "Wish You Were Here," acrylic and mud on canvas, 40" x 30". Come to the reception on Saturday, September 24th, from 5-8pm. The painting looks better in person, as they always do, and you'll get to see Ann's fabulous work as well as the work of other gallery artists.

Love Hurts

I think it's almost impossible not to fall in love with a good health care practitioner. I recently started acupuncture treatments with a new doctor, Richard Grossman, OMD. He's kind and nonjudgmental, he listens, he's caring, he understands . . . and we talk about my favorite subject -- ME! What's not to love?

But then I think about what it would be like to actually be in a relationship with a doctor. After listening carefully to patients all day, he wouldn't want to listen to me. He'd want to talk about his favorite subject -- him. And I'd have to deal with feelings of jealousy towards his patients, all of whom are in love with him and receive his undying attention. A little different than my dream, to say the least.

It makes me realize how difficult it can be to find this kind of caring attention outside of sessions with paid professionals. It's not something that we often have in our everyday friendships and intimate relationships, and that's sad.

Playing in the Mud

Here's the Ann King painting from two posts ago covered with a thin layer of mud. I'm liking this mud technique more and more, especially when I want a painting to look old and nostalgic. This isn't the last Ann King painting; I have one more that I'm working on, and I think that will be the one that I use for the memorial show.

Sea Glass Paintings

I'm working on some samples for a prospective customer who wants paintings in the colors of sea glass. I thought these two were kind of fun. They are 22" x 30" and 28" x 36" respectively. This is about as close to pastel as my work ever gets!

Another Ann King Painting

I'm still working on a painting for the Ann King Memorial Show at Topanga Canyon Gallery. I think I like this one better than the last one, but it's still not quite what I had in mind. Maybe it needs a coating of mud like the previous Ann King painting to take the color down and make it look old.