Just Because...

they're beautiful...

It is only when we are aware of the earth and of the earth as poetry that we truly live.
-  Henry Beston, 1935, Herbs and the Earth                                          (Glacier national Park)

"Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth. They do not preach learning and precepts, they preach undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life. " - Hermann Hesse                            (Lewis County, Kentucky) 

   

The love of wilderness is more than a hunger for what is always beyond reach; it is also an expression of loyalty to the earth, the earth which bore us and sustains us, the only paradise we shall ever know, the only paradise we ever need, if only we had the eyes to see ...  No, wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit, as vital to our lives as water and good bread. -  Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire                                                                                  (Camp Joy, Ohio)

So will I build my altar in the fields,
And the blue sky my fretted dome shall be,
And the sweet fragrance that the wild flower yields
Shall be the incense I will yield to thee.
 - Samuel Taylor Coleridge
      (Springrove Cemetary and Arboretum, Cincinnati, Ohio)       

The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself.  --- Henry Miller                   (Shabo Mekaw, Kinneykonick, Kentucky)

“It is a constant idea of mine that behind the cotton wool (of daily reality) is hidden a pattern, that we – I mean all human beings – are connected with this: that the whole world is a work of art; that we are parts of the work of art.”  -Virginia Woolf                                  (Lewis County, Kentucky)

When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief. I come into the presence of still water. And I feel above me the day-blind stars waiting with their light. For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.  --Wendell Berry               (Shabo Mekaw, Kinniconick, KY)

"So, friends, every day do something that won't compute...Give your approval to all you cannot understand...Ask the questions that have no answers. Put your faith in two inches of humus that will build under the trees every thousand years...Laugh. Be joyful though you have considered all the facts....Practice resurrection.”-- Wendell Berry                                                                             (Shabo Mekaw)

 “When it’s over, I want to say: All my life I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms." --Mary Oliver                        (Taylor Mill, Kentucky)

   “The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after all our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal is our only hope.”-- Wendell Berry
 (Glacier National Park)

                                      (James River, Richmond, Virginia)


 “Did you too see it, drifting, all night, on the black river?"


 Did you see it in the morning, rising into the silvery air -
An armful of white blossoms,
A perfect commotion of silk and linen as it leaned
into the bondage of its wings; a snowbank, a bank of lilies,
Biting the air with its black beak?
Did you hear it, fluting and whistling
A shrill dark music - like the rain pelting the trees - like a waterfall
Knifing down the black ledges?
And did you see it, finally, just under the clouds -
A white cross
Streaming across the sky, its feet
Like black leaves, its wings Like the stretching light of the river?
And did you feel it, in your heart, how it pertained to everything?
And have you too finally figured out what beauty is for?
And have you changed your life?”
-- Mary Oliver

What's Going On

You may think I've fallen off the edge of the earth, but no, I haven't. I haven't been able to post, because my already ancient and ailing computer got very sick- it was infected with well over 300 viruses. So, long story short, it survived, but I now have no software. No Microsoft Office, and even worse, no Photoshop. I cannot scan anything, even though my scanner works, because there is no program to receive the scan, and I can't edit photos to make them a reasonable, internet-acceptable size.

The good news is that I will be getting a brand new computer in about a month. In the meantime, I wanted to update you on a couple of things. I have 2 pieces in this exhibit at the Living Arts and Science Center in Lexington, Kentucky.

I've always felt that animals are special, that they have a sort of ageless, wordless wisdom that humans, with all our sophistication, have lost. That's why I began writing my mythic folk tale about Raven and Crane, and why I found the theme of this exhibit so intriguing.

The Living Arts and Science Center is intriguing, too, both because of the historic building it's housed in, and because of the variety of creative and educational opportunities they offer the community.

According to their website, LASC "...annually presents more than 400 art classes and workshops for children 18 months-old to adults, 6 – 8 art exhibits, participatory field trips for over 6000 students, monthly Discovery Night programs, community arts projects, numerous free and low-cost family events, and on-going free art classes for thousands of at-risk, special needs and underserved children, teens and adults." It is a very cool place, so please visit if you get a chance.

Other news and observations:

I don't know how to make the links work in this new interface, so I apologize if they don't. I don't know what "Add mime type" or "MIME type is invalid " mean. Hopefully I catch on soon, so please bear with me.

I've started to make the rounds to some of your blogs again, and am having so much fun catching up on what all of you are doing. I will continue to do this, and look forward to visiting everyone.

I'm thinking that I can email my photos (the ones already on my computer) to my son; then he can edit them, and email them back to me so I can put them into posts. Should work, right? So, expect another post very soon.

Of course, I can't download any new photos from my camera, so I guess you'll have to wait to see what I'm working on now. Unless I figure something else out, which is possible. Anything's possible, right?

What is Art, Really?

Recently I saw a piece on a television news magazine which fascinated me, and has also brought up some interesting questions. It was about a four year-old artistic genius, whose paintings are selling for as much as $28,000.00. There are, and have been, many others. I'm not talking about older children whose work is obviously done with forethought and intention; it's the little ones who are touted as "abstract impressionist geniuses" that have me puzzled. Here is a short video about the aforementioned Aelita Andre, who began painting at the age of 11 months.



She's undoubtedly adorable, but is she really an artist? Wouldn't any toddler, presented the opportunity and access to materials, pour and splatter paint onto a canvas? It's hard to say, as most people don't allow their children to do this, and probably couldn't afford it even if they wanted to. I personally can't afford to buy that much paint for myself, and canvases cost a small fortune. Perhaps she is a genius, if only because her art has the sense of freedom and exuberance that most adults have lost.

A similar story from 2005 was that of 4 year-old prodigy Marla Olmstead, who may have been, it turned out, getting a bit too much "help" from her dad. 60 minutes investigated, and allegations flew:
"Her coach is her father, Mark, who is often present when Marla paints. He can be heard on the tape, directing her, sometimes sternly: "Pssst …. Paint the red. Paint the red. You're driving me crazy. Paint the red." "If you paint, honey, like you were … This is not the way it should be." You can read the entire story here.



There was even a movie about it, which I haven't seen, but I have put it on my Netflix queue.

These are examples of a phenomenon that has occurred many times, for who knows how long, but child prodigies aren't really my focus here. It's the nature of what we call 'ART' that interests me. Can a toddler create art? Is intentionality a prerequisite, or can monkey do it? What about an elephant?


I used to feel bad when I first heard about paintings by the elephants at our zoo, primarily because their work sold for more than mine did. But the ones in Thailand are a completely different story, and I don't feel I'm qualified to comment on whether or not the elephants are mistreated. The question is, are they making art?

Of course, there's no definitive answer, since the subject itself is rather- er- subjective. But here are a few definitions to consider.

Art is form and content. To quote Shelley Esaak of About.com Art History, whose explanation is about as straightforward and succinct as any I've seen:
"Art is form and content" means: All art consists of these two things.
Form means:

• The elements of art,
• the principles of design and
• the actual, physical materials that the artist has used.
  
• 
  
• Content, now, gets a little more tricky. Content is idea-based and means:

• What the artist meant to portray,
• what the artist actually did portray and
• how we react, as individuals, to both the intended and actual messages.

Additionally, content includes ways in which a work was influenced--by religion, or politics, or society in general, or even the artist's use of hallucinogenic substances--at the time it was created. All of these factors, together, make up the content side of art."

Kevin Cornell, of the very cool Bareskinrug blog, has come to believe that "art is not created; rather something created becomes Art. Something becomes Art when it is cherished; when we become attached to something for its uniqueness, for its faults and for its successes. An old fire hydrant, where the paint has cracked in a way you've never seen, where you stood and waited for the bus every day for 14 years, as familiar as family, can be as beautiful and unique and personal as a Monet. Those of us who are commonly termed Artists, are merely craftsmen, like a carpenter, or a plumber, or a journalist... if we're lucky, once in a while we do our job in such a way that it becomes unique, and it becomes loved for its uniqueness. Art is as often a product of accident as intent, and on the whole is mostly serendipitous." (italics mine)

Hmmmmmmmmm...


And then, there's the film "Exit Through the Gift Shop". If you aren't familiar, it's a documentary about a guy who accidentally becomes a famous artist mainly due to the fact that he likes to film- well- everything.



If you haven't seen this film, you really should. It will make you think, it will crack you up, and probably piss you off. It will definitely make you wonder, "What is art?"

What do you think?

Raven and Crane: Jumping Ahead in the Story

Some of you may recall that I began writing and illustrating a story some time last year.  The rough draft of the story has been essentially finished for a while now, but the illustrations have been put on the back burner because I just have so many other things going on.  The first two illustrations can be seen here and here.  The third illustration I've done is from further on in the story, due to the fact that it's actually the first one I did.

The Separation of Raven and Crane

As I worked on this piece, the story began to take form in my head.  Where it came from, I'm not sure; it's almost as if it had a life of its own, and was only waiting for me to put it on paper.  This piece depicts the point in the story where Raven and Crane decide to go their separate ways.  There are many things that happen in between, with illustrations that are yet to be done.  I have just started working on "Crane Creates the Day". 

I decided to share this with you because I've entered these three pieces in an exhibit; if accepted, The Separation of Raven and Crane will be seen out of order anyway.   And who knows how long it will be before those in-between pieces will be created?  Not me.

Friday Featured Favorite: Michael Bailey

I really enjoy sharing quality work from outstanding artists that you may not be familiar with, so I'm excited to finally get back to my Friday Favorites feature.  I'd like to introduce you to Michael Bailey, a very talented realist painter whose technical skills are as impressive as his wide range of media.  He's equally proficient with watercolor and graphite drawing, as well as other painting media.

No matter what the subject or medium, his love of the natural world is what draws me to Michael's work.  You can see the reverence for nature in every brushstroke; the images speak clearly of his connection with the land of the Arizona mountains and deserts.  Michael was gracious enough to answer a few questions about his work and his views on art.

Canyon Light

Can you tell us a little about your artwork and your artistic process?

     The majority of what I do is realistic art. I guess you could classify me as a landscape artist primarily, though I enjoy still life, figurative, and once in a while will play around with some surrealistic/fantasy themes for fun and just to break away from things for a while. I have been concentrating on graphite on paper the last couple of years but have also worked watercolor, mixed media, and am itching to get back to oil painting. The process for me starts with the idea or theme which I begin to explore with sketches and reference photos. Once I have a composition I like, it’s then pretty straight forward from that point, dependent on whether I feel the subject better translates for me as a more highly rendered graphite piece, or if I’m going to paint it. 

Front Range Storm

What inspires you as an artist? Why do you create art? 

      My inspiration comes from just about everywhere, being a realist. I live in the Southwest, so the landscape and the quality of light here are my main motivators. In between works I will try and explore the area for new ideas, sketching on site and taking lots of photos. I’m respondent to dreams also; the next painting I am going to start is an image in a dream I had.

      I create art because I simply cannot stop. The way I look at and feel about things is always from the perspective of an artist. I’m always very subjectively analyzing things as I look at them, composing in my head, thinking about the lines I would use to draw them or the colors to paint them. My right brain sometimes works overtime, which is a good thing.

     

Bridge Partners

What types of themes, ideas, or concepts do you explore within your artwork?

     - I rarely work in a series, though I guess I should to explore a subject more completely, so themes aren’t always a continuous thread in my pieces. The one thing that does show up constantly is light and shadow. I am always trying to depict that dramatic contrast of light and shadow and that I think is because of the light out here. Things are always lit a bit more dramatically here in the desert. Textures also are a big part of my work, for instance I love drawing weathered wood.

 Shadowlock

Are there any artists that inspire you? If so, who would they be, and why?

The Renaissance masters of course, especially Rembrandt and Caravaggio who used light so superbly. My biggest inspiration may come from Andrew Wyeth. His compositions and the use of light and textures always inspire me to improve every piece as each of his works did. There are tons of contemporary realists nowadays who inspire me, Jeremy Lipking, Malcolm Liepke,  Brad Kunkle, Michael Klein, just to name a few. I love how each explores realism and how each are technical masters of their craft.

 Kashmir

For you, what do you think the role of the artist is?

      I believe primarily, and on a very basic level, an artist is a communicator who uses a visual language, and that is the most universal of languages. An artist communicates beauty, or emotions, tragedy, history. He brings life to life.

What’s the best and worst part about being an artist? How do you stay motivated?

      The best part is that you get to do what you absolutely love to do more than anything else. It is said that a person whose career choice is his passion in life will never work a single day. The worst part is the standards you try to achieve with your work are not always at that moment attainable. You become your own worst critic and it’s at times very, very frustrating.

      Motivation for me is learning something new every time I sit at the drawing table or at my easel. When I learn something new about my art I am learning something new about myself and both are improved.

 Divergence

 

And finally, what advice would you give to emerging artists? 

      The best advice I could give is a piece given to me by a successful watercolorist:

     “Brush miles” count for more than anything else in your career. Keep on doing it, keep on improving, learn everything you can about what you do and the passion will grow along with your art.

 To see more of his work, please visit Michael's website:  Michael Bailey Fine Art  and blog:  Crosshatching's

Weird Light, Weird Life

Recently, in the midst of several straight days of persistent rain and ugly grayness, the sun unexpectedly came out. I had all but given up on seeing the sun when a hole in the clouds, I suppose, had allowed it to peek through for a few short moments. 

 The quality of the light was eerie, and impossible to describe in words.   I ran outside with my camera, not wanting to miss the opportunity to photograph the weird light.  After about the 5th shot, the light was gone.

It occurred to me that this two-minute experience was a pretty good metaphor for life. Maybe not as good as "life is like a box of chocolates", but still.  Just when it seems the darkness will never end, the light appears. When you're immersed in darkness, it's easy to miss it; we tend to see what we think we see, and habit is a powerful force. Things can change in a flash, when you least expect it.

If my metaphor is too obtuse, or too blatantly cliche, all I'm saying is this: when the stress eases a little, and you have a few spare moments, grab the opportunity.  I was beginning to doubt that the opportunity to make art would ever come again.  I don't mean to be preachy or over-dramatic, but I need to remind myself that the habit of not not making art can be overcome- I hope.

Okay, I'm going to go make art now. 

My Seven Links

 

 I took it as a great compliment when my dear friend Donna Drozda invited me to be part of the 'My 7 Links’ project.  Luckily, she assured me there was no deadline, so my usual inability to get to all 1,329 things on my list in a timely fashion was not going to be a problem.  I have to admit that when I realize how much time has gone by since the invitation, I feel a bit embarrassed, but I'm going ahead with it nonetheless.  So, I hope those whose blogs I’ve invited will allow themselves the same lee way… and if the time or interest doesn’t fit, no worries.  (I copied some of this from Donna; she writes much better than I do.  I can hear her laughing at me now.)

 

Did I Dream This?  by Donna Drozda

 The idea is to go back to your own posts and find one to fit each of the 7 categories, then ‘pass it on' to 5 more bloggers, and so on, and so on, etc., etc., etc.  The project is described as a way of “uniting bloggers (from all sectors) in a joint venture", and I'm all about uniting, you know?

The following are the 7 categories:

1. Most beautiful post

2. Most popular post

3. Most controversial post

4. Most helpful post

5. Most “surprisingly successful” post

6. Most neglected post

7. The post that makes them most proud

   So, here goes! 

   

   
   

    1. Most Beautiful.   I had a hard time deciding,  but in the end I think I chose "White" 2/7/10 at least partly because we've had virtually no snow (or snow days!) this winter.  On the day these photos were taken, we'd had the most perfect snowfall during the night, and then, in the morning, the sun came out.  The result was dazzling.

    

   2. Most Popular.  I don't know if this post got the most comments, but I appreciated the support of so many wonderful blogger friends.  Where can you find this many people so willing to cheer you on?  I hope they also found some small inspiration in this story of conquered fears: "I Did It" 10/24/10

    

   

    

   3. Most Controversial.  I'm not sure any of my posts were very controversial.  But I know that politics are not popular on art blogs, and despite my best efforts to keep my political opinions to myself, they just pop out every once in a while.  I chose "Every day should be Earth Day" 4/21/09  , because everyone really should know about this.

    

   4. Most helpful.  Many of you told me that this post was helpful, and I, too, often need to remind myself that "Art Comes From the Making" 6/30/11

    

   5. Most surprisingly successful.  I was surprised to see how this post resonated with people; I had feared it might be too whiney, but it was something I just needed to say.  Apparently, I wasn't the only one who felt that way. "Here's How It Is" 2/7/11

    

   

    

   6. Most neglected.  "Interconnections" 11/29/09

   
   

   7. The post that makes me most proud.  I chose "Not an Open Book" 6/15/11.  I'm proud of myself for not chickening out when it came to revealing the very personal subject matter of this piece, and for having the guts to try an unfamiliar form of expression on an important project.

    

   

   
   

   The five bloggers I've chosen to participate in the 'My Seven Links' project are

   Lynne Hoppe

   Kim Hambric

    Valerianna

   Gwen Buchanan

   Lynne Ciacco