"Red Up On"

6 x 8"

oil on panel
sold

One of America's great abstract artists, Ellsworth Kelly, died last weekend at the age of 92.  In 2013, President Obama presented Mr. Kelly with the National Medal of Arts, the highest honor for artistic excellence.  This man was important.

I've roamed thru the Art Institute of Chicago a dozen times, barely noticing those six, large, colorful, geometric panels hanging high on the top floor of the American Art gallery.  They're titled 'The Chicago Panels' by Ellsworth Kelly.  To be honest, modern art doesn't grab me like realism does - only because, often, I don't understand it. And being an artist myself, that's a pretty shallow comment.

There's many important 20th century artists I've never heard of or paid little attention to until I read their obituary. After I read several moving obits about Ellsworth Kelly this week, so much made sense.  This man saw patterns in shadows, shapes and colors in nature and in life which he transformed into sculptures and paintings like no other.

Take the example of 'White Curve', which hangs on an exterior wall in the Pritzker Garden at the Art Institute.

Now look at one of Kelly's own photographs taken in the countryside in New York.

Now I get it.  Now I see it.  The red panel in my painting above, one of the six panels I mentioned, was inspired by the rich, reds of a cardinal he photographed while bird watching.  Now I get it.

By most accounts, Mr. Kelly was a delightful, warm, friendly, humorous, creative man who lived in the moment.  That should always be one's New Year's resolution - every day, every year - to live in the moment and  appreciate the beauty around us.  And never judge or dismiss what we don't understand.  We'd all be better for it.

Speaking for myself, I find it hard to appreciate vegetables and Indian food, hot summers, crowds, crowds who sing, performance art and Donald Trump to name a few - but life is long and I'm willing to learn, except for the Trump thing.

Wishing you a Happy and Healthy and Creative New Year ~

"It's Subjective"

9 x 12"
oil on masonite
sold

A new piece - taken from New York's Museum of Modern Art, a couple looking at Mark Rothko's 'No. 2/No. 13'.

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"Abstract Thought"

14 x 6"
sold

I'm not a great fan of abstract expressionism, with an exception to Franz Kline's work - which seems to have a hold on me when I find myself in a room with his paintings. I think they're handsome mostly - easy to digest. And I've longed to include one in my own painting.

I can't say this one came easy for me - I knew what I wanted - a somewhat graphic, stark quality using the least of color and mostly enjoying the warm/cool whites and blacks. I spent a long day on the first attempt, only to deem it a failure. It wasn't what I had envisioned. It sat beside me for weeks - untouched - and one day I picked it up and started over - this time without a preconceived vision. And it worked. Lesson learned.

I think my favorite features are the three elements - the Kline painting, because I got to play with subtle, jazzy edges of colors on the black shapes ....



... the figure, for it's stark black areas and multi-whites marrying with the Kline.....



....and that far-right, abstract shape - an area I was so sure should be filled with more details, until I realized it wasn't necessary.

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"Blank Stare"

12 x 12"
sold

I really love placing figures in front of a nearly blank background - concentrating more on the form and playing with the edges. I used a palette knife to lay on the off-whites of the enormous abstract painting, essentially sculpting around the figure, pulling some traces of the darker paint as I went. I really enjoyed working this way.

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"Facing the Music"

8 x 12"
oil on masonite

With a lot of abstract expressionism, I see or feel music. Especially with large paintings. This woman was viewing Cy Twombly's 'Winter', part of his 'Four Seasons' series in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

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"de Old"

8 x 10"

oil on masonite

sold

I worked on a painting yesterday in which, in about the 5th hour into it, I picked up a rag and wiped it off my board. It was as if I had no say in it - my hand just did what it did. It would be like spending 5ish hours on making the best lasagna recipe, taking it out of the oven and pitching it in the garbage. Not a good day of painting.

Today was better, it always is. I remember watching this older gentleman in the de Young Museum - he scooted up to every single label of every painting and read them all. Funny thing is he hardly looked at the art. Perhaps he did that the last time he was at the museum.

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