Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Rockwell Kent at the Portland Museum of Art


Rockwell Kent at the Portland Museum of Art


This summer is the one for viewing paintings, prints and drawings from the estate of one of America's most prolific artists, Rockwell Kent. A very talented painter, Rockwell lead a long and productive life as a painter, draftsman, author and world traveler. Through much of his later years, he was not widely exhibited in the U.S. because of his very strong left-leaning political views. Eventually during the McCarthy years, Kent was blacklisted from showing in the US, even though his imagry was mainsteam with the major emphasis being on landscape and portraiture. Finally in the fifties, he left for the Soviet Union where he was very well received. In fact a large number of his paintings were bequeathed to museums in the Russian cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg. As a result there have been only a limited number of paintings available for exhibition in the United States, and those were not often shown because of Mr. Kent's political legacy. Showings of Kent's work have mostly been limted to New England and New York, with large exhbitions being rare.


The Artist in Greenland

However, currently there are several major exhibitions of Kent's work being shown in the northeast. The summer shows include the above mentioned show at the Portland Museum of Art; plus the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Mass. is coordinating a large exhibiton entitled "The Distant Shores; The Odyssey of Rockwell Kent". The "Distant Shores" shows are spread out over three museums, with the other two being the Adirondack Museum and the Plattsburg State Art Museum, both being located in the Adirondacks region of upstate New York.

Saturday, July 02, 2005

Jasper Johns, Fourth of July and Nine-eleven


Flag After 911 -color photograph

The 4th of July is about to roll around again, and along with it the fireworks, parades. barbecues and beach parties; but always on the fourth there are lots of flags. 911 may have changed the way we view the world, but it has not dampened the spirit of the holiday one iota. It is of course the celebration of our independence from Britain, but it is also a joyous recognition of the beauty of having long, hot summer days and a free country from which to enjoy them.


Flag Painted on Side of a Building -color photograph

When Jasper Johns painted a flag on a piece of canvas, and then exhibited it in a New York City gallery, it created quite a stir. Today, something like the above, where the image of a flag is painted on a building, the feeling expressed is always one of patriotism. The act of painting a flag is even listed as proper etiquette while wearing a flag, using a flag in an advertisement or using paper plates or napkins with flag emblems are not. There is even a picture of one of John's painted flags, at the flag website. It seems funny how things can change over time. Johns went on to paint the flag in many ways, all of which seem pretty much accepted today.

Photoshop Flags -manipulated photo

The two above images were done in photoshop using the image of an American Flag as a starting point for computer manipulation. These two images might be able to show us how our perceptions of the world around us are constantly changing. The American flag has continued to evolve as a reservoir for graphic design and image making, and will so whether we like it or not; and also even it falls outside the parameter of good flag etiquette. Hopefully, the flag will continue to a source of positive inspiration, much as it has in the pass.




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Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Between Vermont and Maine


Track and Shack pen and ink 6" X 8"

While living in Vermont I made several trips back and forth to Portland, in order to faciliiate my move back to Maine. There are several different routes available, all of which pass through the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The structure in this picture sits next to the narrow gauge railroad that runs alongside Highway 302 as it passes through Crawford Notch. It is some sort of structure related to the railroad, but I do not know quite what the function of this building is. The tracks were laid in the 1800's to carry ore out of the mountains, but today the main cargo are tourists from North Conway wanting to get a spectacular view of the White Mountains from Crawford Notch.

Sunday, June 26, 2005

View from the Mountain


Camels" Hump from Stowe, VT pastel 4' X 6"

New England is filled with numerous mountain ranges, seperated by spectacular valleys. Eventually my hiking explorations lead me west into New Hampshire and Vermont. I stayed in Vermont for two years working at the ski resorts in the winter and on a farm during the summertime.
Both occupations were good for taking a little time to view and study the mountains. However, if I wanted time to explore the surrounding countryside, I had to wait for my day off, when I could take my pastels and watercolors and head out into the forests.

View from the Long Trail pastel 10" X 12"

In my opinion painting from the mountaintop is a worthwhile investment of time.
All you need is a backpack, some good hiking boots, lots of drinking water and whatever art supplies that you deem necessary for the excursion. I prefer the pastels such as oil pastels or soft pastels, as you can work directly into your sketchbook without having to use water or any other medium for that matter.

Once you have made it to your lofty perch, the main obstacle you will have is to begin work on your drawing or painting. It is best to allow for a lot of time on the summit, so you can spend ample time taking in the view. Upon commencement of the actual piece, there will be many interesting aspects of painting that one will encounter. The most noticeable are the changing color hues of the distant landscape and getting the proportions correct on the landforms.

View from Pleasant Mtn. oil pastel 8" X 10"

Once you have launched yourself headway into the painting process, the challenges and rewards will be many. Most noticeable will be the wide range of color changes that the image goes through as your eye progresses from the brilliant greens and yellows of the foreground to the the deep blues and purples of the background. The result is definately worth the effort.




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Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Just Another Droodle


Crazy pen and ink 8" X 10"

My mind is really in a foul mood today, so I decided to post this abstracted black and white drawing. I did a lot of these, actually to keep my mind from raging out of control too much. This particular manner of drawing and painting is commonly referred to as painting something "out of your head", which is not to be confused with being out of your mind.
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Monday, June 13, 2005

How To Get Rejected from Annuals, Biennials and Triennials


TV Set Still Life watercolor 11" X 15"

This is favorite image for getting rejected from juried art shows. I have used it a half a dozen times and it has succeeded every time. I even placed it in an art auction, one where I had been successful in the past and voila! - another rejection. I guess I could put in my own private Salon des Refuses; perhaps I will keep that idea for future use.

Recently, I went to see the local Biennial currently being exhibited at the nearby Art Museum. Since I had nothing at stake personally, I thought I would enjoy the show more than if I had submitted work to the jury. This was not the case; as far as I was concerned the show was not very inspiring. My thoughts went back to the previous Biennial at the same institution, which to my recollection was a very good show. I was happy to be rejected from that show. (well almost)

Over the years I have seen many such juried shows of local or regional talent, varying in quality ranging from awful to pretty good, at least in my opinion. The really remarkable shows, the ones that stick in your mind for a long time have been outside the venue of juried art salons.

A Summer Painting


Lighthouse and Flowers

Maine has a summer, and sometimes we even have a hot summer. If the rest of the season continues to be like the past week, we could be in for a real scorcher, for the last seven days have been unseasonbly hot.

After posting the winter scene during last weeks' hot weather, I decided to use this somewhat whimsical watercolor that tries to catch the summers' sunshine and the resulting flowers. Lighthouses are kind of a passe` item among contemporary artists, but I decided to attack this subject with an unusal perspective and point of view.
Perhaps this painting works, perhaps not- but it does underscore the importance lighthouses play in the Maine landscape and also it illustrates the attempts painters have made to depict this icon of coastal New England.

Speaking of lighthouses, one of the regional supermarket chains recently sponsored a contest where 200 artists were chosen to paint a ten foot tall plastic replica of a lighthouse. Most chose to depict an aquatic scene, and thus set about the challenge of covering a cylindrical object with a painted scene that could be viewed from all angles. I have to admit at that point in time the plastic lighthouses looked sort of intriquing with all the different displays of sailboats, lobsters, seagulls and whatever else fancied the artist' mind. Now, a year or two later after each individual ten foot light has been purchased and placed on permament display by participating businesses, I am starting to wonder if it was such a great idea, though I haven't heard any complaints from the tourists.
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Friday, June 10, 2005

Cool Picture for a Hot Day


Ice Fishing in America pen and ink 8" X 10"

Summer has hit Maine like a runaway train. After a downright cold and rainy spring, we are now experiencing some very hot and humid weather, something most everybody up here is not used to. With temperatures approaching 90, people in the Pine Tree state, me especially, are overwhelmed by the heat and humidity.

To counteract this fahrenheit explosion, I thought I would post a wintertime picture to soothe the mind at least. Summertime is meant to be hot and sweaty, and it looks like we are in for a good one in those regards. Time to go, I gotta hit the beach.
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