Jeff Schaller's Blog

Interview with John Suplee

2012-02-22T02:27:00.000-08:00

I have always admired John Suplee’s American Impressionists Painting. Suplee is a local artist that has picked up where Horace Pippin left off, capturing the change and expansion of West Chester, PA. The paintings are common sights painted with confident brush strokes that wiggle around the contours of his subject, popping them from the bright blue skies that surround them. All of the paintings have a shade of red or orange peeking through these brush strokes. I later found out that Suplee’s favorite color is orange.

If I have already lost you with too much art vocabulary and a dizzying description of eye candy, beware, it is going to get more interesting. For, John Suplee is a man that was born too late. If he was born earlier he would be considered a gentleman, a scholarly man, a man of the arts and humanities…today he can be reached by phone not email. This is where my conversation starts. I had only met John once briefly at an art opening and was given his phone number to contact him and set up an interview. I called him and he was pre-warned of my request and graciously accepted. Like all of the interviews they are self serving. I get to eat and drink in the middle of the day while meeting and sharing with wonderful artists. This one turns out a bit differently, however, in a good way. While asking John where we would like to eat he replied that he didn’t really care for restaurants that had long descriptions on their menu and would rather I just join him at home so we wouldn’t be bothered with the distractions of people. With my self-serving attitude I replied, “That would be great! I’ll stop by Carlino’s and pick up lunch to be there by noon.”

There I was in Carlino’s Restaurant in West Chester with a plethora of gourmet delights. It is a dieter’s nightmare due to a maze of beautifully laid out food to eat in or take out. I wind my way through dried pastas, fresh cheeses, cured meats, prepared foods, wood oven pizza, hot and made to order, sandwiches, cookies, pies, cakes, and the register. Dazed and confused, I needed to back track again to gain my bearings and focus on my appetite. I go with the daily specials, a brief menu with a few commas and short and precise descriptions. I take the tilapia sandwich with panko-encrusted tilapia and a chipotle tartar sauce. For John, I try to play it safe with an Italian marinated chicken breast sandwich. I skip the mixed greens and tomatoes but ask for the sundried tomato spread on the side. Making my way to the register I notice the bakery section and I think to myself, “We need desert.” From there I begin thinking about dinner too. My arms are full. I should be able to convince any gentleman that gastronomy is alive and well in West Chester today.

Before I go into the interview, please let me set the scene. Sitting down at John’s newly designed kitchen island, I proudly serve my well thought out “simple” food. I hand John his sandwich and he graciously thanks me. He opens and inspects the sandwich and reaches for his knife, only to scrape every sesame seed off the top of the roll. Seeds fly across the room landing all around us. Quietly he murmurs how upset his wife will be now that there is a mess. I press record and allow the humor, the wit, and the contemplative answers to ensue.

INTERVIEW

How did you get started making art?
Probably to see things that I couldn’t see without drawing them myself. As a little kid I drew a lot of things blowing up. When I became a teenager I worked on other things that teenagers wanted to see. Around that time, I transitioned into the idea that you could make things that were important that people would pay attention to.

Did you receive any formal art training?
Yeah. When I was a kid, the lady across the road put oil paints in front of me when I was six years old. She painted herself and was a teacher. She was an inspiration. In High school, my art teacher saw some stuff that I made and said you don’t want to take art here in high school. Then he just took four or five of my pieces and put them in an art show. He said I could just come in at noon and use the room if I want. I went to college in New York State, Hamilton College, which I partly picked because of the visual look of the place. I ended up majoring in art there, being virtually the only art major in my class. Instead of just going for an MFA, I’d just continue to work on my own. I studied like crazy. Even today I am just obsessed with searching out other imagery that is not necessarily what the major information streams feed you.

Describe your work in general for the readers?
It’s painting and drawing. I don’t put the drawings out much. I have sort of taken a pause now. But over the last five years I had a big spurt of life drawing. Over the years I have done that and I feel that sharpens my ability to draw other stuff.

What is your medium?
I use acrylic paints. I was working in oils a little before that. I found acrylics was much easier.

How do you choose your subject matter?
There is never a shortage of ideas. I have always had more ideas than I could bring out. The ones that make it into reality are just sort of the lucky ten percent.

Why are you an artist?
Well, I think I am just sort of a loner type to begin with so I am able to tolerate the isolation and find it preferable to constantly being presented with expectations and interactions with others.

What are your thoughts on perfection?
It’s really overrated. There are painters who paint that way. There is a whole new school of classical realism. They have a rock and a feather and they look so freakin real and you think why? I try to keep it somewhere in between.

Tell me about some of your favorite techniques...
Well I find a great stress reducer for approaching an empty panel is to just do a brush drawing and usually it’s kind of a light shade of orange and eventually transfer into a dark shade of orange and I find corrections present themselves. Then I add white into my painting. The advantage is that I have a lot of orange and reds under my paintings.

How do you decide when an artwork is done?
When stuff that I do to it starts to take it downhill. Fortunately with acrylics, when I see a mistake coming I just wipe it. Even if the correction I am making still needs to be made if it starts out wrong I just, what I call, nuke it and take it back to point zero and then re-correct.

Who has been the biggest influence on your life?
The lady across the street, Aldan Knowls. My family, I had one grandmother who was particularly wise. She would take me into Philadelphia to a Thomas Eakins show. Also, while not extensive but meaningful encounters with Tom Bostelle and he’s the one who started me on the idea that the people who can teach you the most art are dead.

You have been quoted as saying “all art comes from other art” What other artists have inspired you?
Oh wow, well there is sort of a period. I think its more a question of a period of time and an approach to reality that is important to me. It goes from maybe 1870 to mid twentieth century and it’s all about the intersection of the physicality of a painting as it meets the visual world. Say if you take the Dutch landscape, they are all flat with a little bit of land on the bottom and then a sky. I think the big kick in the butt came from our intersection of Japan through Europe. Then all of the artists began to get the idea that you could arrange things and you could intensify things and you could paint things that were a combination of what you saw and what you felt. All the European artists began doing that and then all the American artists trotted over there. Lately as I have been studying more and more and just recently began studying the internet finding all these obscure people out there that are hugely talented, some of them dead some of them not dead, I found the reason that the high end art is so lame is that talent is everywhere so its not a rarity. There have been a few people who have been given permission to draw representations by the really huge end art world. Its not that they are so extraordinarily unusual it’s just that they some how sneak under the door.

Besides art what inspires you?
Collecting stuff.

For the beginning artist... what tip do you have?
Network

What are you eating right now?
I’m eating a dismantled chicken breast sandwich, which I scraped all the sesame seeds off.

What is your favorite food?
Steak. My least favorite food is anything that takes a long time to describe. I have this sort of paranoid feeling that there is this vast network of menu writing schools. I am a really poor person to go out with for food.

What does home mean to you?
I get very very attached to stuff that is familiar. My absolute best friend is my wife. We are very happy with our house and our cat.

What was your mother right about?
Hmmm…Being funny.

Money is OK, but it isn’t what life is about. What is it about?
Reduction of stress.

Where did you grow up?
Here in West Chester in the country.

What is the last book you read?
Read…read? Well I’ll put in a plug for a book, I just glanced at by Odd Nerdrum called Kitsch More Than Art.

You collect?
My wife is a non-clutter person so most of the collections are sort of conveniently put out of sight these days. Oddly enough, rugs were the only worthy objects that my family collected. But even that I backed off a bit because I have some rolled up upstairs that nobody sees. I have some Japanese prints. If I had my way they could easily go all the way up the stairs. Postcards too, it’s just because its random eyeball candy.

Something that is important on your nightstand?
I have a little skull cap for when my head gets cold.

Your strangest possession?
A shard of glass left over from the accident scene where my childhood dentist was killed.

Your best birthday?
Maybe my fiftieth, Carol made me a nice big party.

FIRSTs

Play-
You mean drama? I was in some plays. I remember [when I was in school] they took us on a bus trip to see Macbeth in NYC, which was cool.

Concert-
Philadelphia Orchestra concert.

Plane ride-
Germany during a high school trip

Piece of art you sold-
In college I was doing a lot of free association pen line drawings. I remember that one of the professors in the psychology department bought like twenty or thirty of them.

What is your next trend and where do you see West Chester going?
I think in some ways West Chester is rediscovering itself and kind of becoming a new Manayunk. There are places it could be “do-dadded” up but I think the historical architectural integrity is recognized in the west end of town and they are sort of keeping the lid on, which is good. It doesn’t concern me to capture it. My concern is more about warning people then congratulating them.

I finished up with the questions; we finished lunch and our beers. I reminded John I had dessert, cupcakes, that were decorated accordingly. He reached for the carrot commenting that he likes orange. We then proceeded through out the house admiring his art collection, his art and other collectibles. When we hit the third floor, he smiled. This was the end of our tour and we were where he loved to be, the “book room.” Every wall had shelves of books, books were then piled on the floor 3 stacks deep. Random sketches collectively piled in stacks then placed on stacks of books told the whole story. This was a gentleman that loved collecting for knowledge and inspiration. Now let's see how he holds up to the speed questions.

How to Price Artwork and Make a Dollar

2012-02-15T08:01:00.000-08:00

I often get asked about how I price my artwork. This is usually asked by other artists. I also get asked how much my paintings are. This is hopefully asked by future clients. For both of these questions, I go to my son Nicolas and try to get a perspective on worth and value. He is a good judge of value considering he is seven and thinks we get money by going to stores. Actually from his vantage point at about 38 inches above the ground, it is pretty simple. We pick up something from the store, stand in line, hand the cashier a single bill and in return we get a bunch of bills back plus some shiny coins. We end up walking out of the store with "more money" and stuff. I love this concept but I had to explain that it was a "large" bill and I received back smaller denominations of that bill called change. He didn't really care, he just wanted "one" which happened to be a dollar.

Now that Nicolas has a dollar, he is happy. All you have to do is price your work so you are happy. It is really simple math, yes math not psychology! This is not pricing because it has more meaning or because it is a "better painting". (They should all be better paintings or they should not be for sale.) Math is about square inches or square feet. Take a painting and be realistic about how much it would take, after paying for your materials, to part with it. How much would it cost someone to pay you to learn, grow and do what you love? Now you have a price. Divide that by the square inches of the painting and now you have a formula. Take your most common size and make that your base. As you get bigger, take 10% off and as you get smaller, add 10%. Now see if it works and whether the market will bear it.

This brings me back to Nicolas, who wants my change every time we go to a store. I told him that I do work for this money and he should too. So, to my surprise, I find him doing dishes one evening. I had my fatherly proud smile on and was pleased that he took the initiative to do a chore without being asked. Only, I later found out I was being conned by a seven year old. After he had finished washing, drying and putting away the dishes, he asked, "Ok, can I have my money now?" To myself, I thought why should I, but before I could even form the words, he was explaining, "You said if I do work, I can get money." granted, I had said that but I wasn't about to get into the difference between chores and jobs. So, I humored him and asked him how much he should get for the dishes. I have to admit, he knows where the moon is, he told me $100. I thought it was a bit much so he came back with $99. I almost thought I had a deal but I wanted a bargain. He quickly came down to $10 and I countered with $5. We settled on $1. Know your audience, know your market and what they are willing to pay.

Here is another opportunity to see what else my son will do for $1 at our local sushi restaurant. That's Wasabi!

Splitting the Hairs of Perfection

2012-02-07T13:03:00.000-08:00

If you have been keeping up with my life and my blog you may have heard about my attempt to build a shed. Since my last post, I have been to an auction where I bought used lumber, only to find out I needed more. I have visited the local big box lumber store and have bought my share of the Sherwood Forest. There is no one to blame but myself and my grandiose ideas of what a “cool” outbuilding should look like…enter my friend who graciously said he would help. I’m sure David was totally unaware of what he was getting into. David has the construction background to make this happen and the artistic sculptural background to make it look cool. I have the space and the need to build plus a secret weapon to make sure the job is completed; a home cooked meal.

One of the only differences between David and I is our version of perfection. As a painter I capture things to represent actuality or at the very least, a mere illusion of it. I have the license to leave details out while highlighting other parts of the painting to make a perfect composition. Close is usually good enough and allows the viewer to complete the image in their mind. With enough information I can create a sense of light, space, and mood. To me five fingers represent a hand…this does not translate so well in construction. As far as I knew, there were three other numbers on a ruler between five and six; five and a medium size line, five and a bigger line and five with a medium line after the bigger line which is all followed by the number six. These same lines and numbers can be found all the way down the ruler. To a sculptor that combines precision cut steel with carefully aligned holes and screens that attach perfectly to their bolts, lines on a ruler have meaning. To my surprise there are eighths and sixteenths. All along I just thought carpenters had lisps. I was to learn quickly that unlike painting you can’t eyeball it. There are technical terms like a hair; just cut off a hair. These are things so small and fine I didn’t think they mattered. In a painting I wouldn’t paint every single hair.

It is now day three and “we” (I use the term loosely) have the floor in place, four studded walls underneath for a second floor. Up at the house dinner is served; there is enough food to feed an army. My plate is decorated with orange and green vegetables, the charcoal black lines create a diamond pattern on the steak, and my scarlet red wine clings to the glass; it’s a visual delight. Across the table David stacks his carrots and proceeds to cut his steak into eighth inch strips. I’m so happy he will be joining us for dinner next week to finish up my shed.

I need more space...

2012-02-01T08:51:00.000-08:00

I'm sure that sometime during high school or college, you heard these words from a significant other. Maybe it was an excuse to end a relationship. Well this year I am using it to end my relationship with clutter. Space is one of those things you can never have enough of; kind of like money. The more space you have, the more money you spend filling up that empty space until the time comes when you have no more space and less money. I've reached that point and I'm going to put a little space between me and my stuff...I'm building a shed.

Seven years ago I built a very nice studio. It was a perfect relationship. I didn't have too much baggage, just a few basic needs. I needed a place to paint, to lay out my stuff and not worry about putting it away. I needed a space for my computer and an area to contemplate that doubled as a place to entertain. Then it grew and grew. The space I loved began to stifle me. A tad bit of OCD kicked in and everything needed a a place. I needed my space back. The problems started to occur when I bought something, used it for a project, then wanted to save the remaining pieces. Side note: How many artists have pieces of matteboard or foam core that are 4 inches wide and 36 inches long? This is the compulsive behavior that I am talking about! The big gold frame, the tubes of fluorescent paint and the gold and silver leaf that I thought were part of a creative breakthrough, need a place to nest and incubate until they can be used to bring into fruition my next masterpiece! Maybe that's it, maybe it's not clutter. Maybe my studio has become a hatchery! All these pieces and scraps of "good idea" projects along with all the shipping supplies needed to send these creations to people who care, have crept into the house.

Now, my wife says she needs her space...so, I'm building another hatchery for myself.

Diane Cirafesi, De Kooning and Dinning in NYC

2012-01-24T07:48:00.000-08:00

It’s the New Year so we are going to mix things up with artists and interviews… Road Trip! I headed to NYC with local artist Diane Cirafesi, to see some art and eat. Little did I know how appropriate it was that Diane and I were going to see the De Kooning show at the Museum of Modern Art. After that we headed uptown to the Guggenheim to see the weird, yet, awesome work of Maurizio Cattelan.

This isn’t about a dead artist or one that plans to retire after his Guggenheim retrospective; this is about a West Chester local. Diane has lived in WC since she graduated from West Chester University. I won’t divulge her year but she has seen the town grow and change. She thinks that right now is the best the town has ever been. Diane did leave PA for a little bit to find “herself” out west. She then comments that she didn’t find herself out there so she came back here. While out there, she fell in love with the west and brought it back here. It resonates in her painting of the blue skies, the southwest colors and some of the magic that happens on the plateaus. Diane’s art is a connection between her heart and her hand responding to that emotion. The build up of materials in her mixed media work combined with all the drawing marks clearly captures that connection.

After leaving the MoMa (Museum of modern art) we took a taxi uptown to Demarchelier Restaurant, a little French bistro on 86^th St, so I could ask her some questions, eat, drink and debate the vast career of De Kooning. We ordered beer, wine, and the pate de maison just to get things started. Before things really get interesting let me just tell you I ordered the daily special on Friday; Bouillabaisse. OMG! A beautiful presentation of seafood with each mussel placed facing up creating an edible circle that encompassed scallops and a ½ lobster resting on top of it all. I was dining in pleasure while Diane was pulling her hair worried by what I would ask. I assured her I was here to share my enthusiasm for her work with others.

How did you get started making art?
When I was very young I used to go over to Bobby Straus’ house and draw on his chalkboard. I would draw birds or dogs or whatever. The family there would encourage me, my family didn’t.

Did you receive any formal art training?
Yes, West Chester University. At that time they did not have a BFA. It was a finishing school. At that time you could get a BA in Humanities with a Fine Art major.

Can you describe your work in general for the readers?
It is largely figurative. I would call it abstract realism. I like the idea of drawing, and reworking the paper.

What is your favorite medium?
I tend to work on paper with charcoal, then paint, then back to charcoal. I do aspire to the idea of rubbing out and showing the marks of the work that’s still there.

How do you do choose your subject matter?
It’s generally always women. I will see something that inspires me; it might be a book, a passage of a story, something that inspires me on the street, junk that I find.

What are your thoughts on perfection?
I hate perfection.

How do you decide when an artwork is done?
I never decide. I think it is always one huge painting, your whole life.

Who has been the biggest influence on your life?
My daughter, because she really grounded me and if it weren’t for her I probably would be in the gutter somewhere.

What inspires you?
Everything visual. There is always something that is exciting, powerful, and worth looking at. The spiritualities of it, and of course the Catholic upbringing.

Your work has a lot of religious overtones, why?
Because when your raised Catholic, it is pounded into you somehow and it never leaves you. I was young at the point that it hit me that this was a lot of hocus pocus. How could that communion host be the body and blood of Christ? At that point, that is when I considered the philosophy of magic.

What do you enjoy about the Southwest?
The iconography. The religious and spiritual aspects of it. It’s just a mystery and its involved with the same thing that Catholicism is involved with. Same thing if you were in Italy. It stems from the primitive. It stems from the universal, and from what’s within us. I am fascinated by how we come to the point of magic, religion, and voodoo and how it exists despite all logic.

When do you paint?
Eleven years ago I went part time with my job so that I could devote my time to painting. A very dear friend of mine died and I thought, “I am not going to die before I have done what I wanted to do.” Now, I paint Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. During the week I paint 11pm to 1am.

Do you have a tip for artists that are just getting started?
Be honest.

What are you eating right now?
I have the onion soup and a simple arugala salad.

What is your favorite food?
Hamburger

What does home mean to you?
Nest

Your proudest moment?
My daughter

Strangest possession?
Dirt from a church in Mexico. It’s healing dirt that I have had for, probably, 25 years.

What was your mother right about?
That’s evil.

Money is OK, but it isn’t what life is about?
Enjoyment.

Where did you grow up?
Outside Norristown in a suburb called East Norriton.

What is the last book you read?
Communion by Whitley Strieber; its about aliens.

You collect?
Junk and crosses

Favorite time of the day?
Late evening.

At your best, you are most like this famous person?
Francis Bacon

Your best birthday?
When I turned 50 and they had a surprise for me on the rough top of Vincent’s and lots and lots of people came. I sang “Summertime,” which I regret till this day.

FIRST’s

What was your first word? - Beer

Play - I was in Skin of our Teeth

Album - Beatles

Concert - Bruce Springsteen before he was big.

Plane ride - To California to visit my brother.

Piece of art you sold - At Chester County Art Association.

With all my questions answered and still much more to eat, drink, see and discuss; we taxied over to the Guggenheim. Upon entering, our jaw dropped as we looked at Cattelan’s entire body of work suspended from the ceiling. Everything from a few stuffed horses, a statue of the pope hit by a meteor, to a life like replica of Hitler as a youth praying. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, you have until January 22^nd to find out, then the show comes down. As artists we were overwhelmed and walked away with a glazed look, but had a deep desire to create something just as powerful. We needed to decompress and see some more “friendly” art so we headed to the Bemelmans Bar at the Carlyle. A timeless New York watering hole decorated with interior paintings by Ludwig Bemelmans the illustrator of the children’s book, Madeline. I had the “La Poire and ginger” cocktail consisting of Grey Goose, La Poire ginger liquor, fresh lemon juice and simple syrup. Diane kept it simple with a Miller Light. Both came with NYC prices, $21.00 and $10.00 respectively. By the end of the day I realized how appropriate it was to see De Kooning’s work with Diane. I was attracted to De Kooning’s woman series, a series he worked back and forth on for the majority of his career. The layering of paint and sketchy marks used to define his subject accumulated until he knew he had to stop for it to be complete. I’m not sure if he ever could have stopped working on these. This is the same excitement I see in Diane’s work. I guess it is the connection between the heart and hand. There is never rest. After that pontificating moment and a few cocktails and beers I cornered Diane into answering my speed question on video, in the lobby of the Carlyle.

My Best Gift Ever!

2012-01-18T06:36:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again in case you have forgotten…I remind my family members on Christmas Day that it is 25 days until my birthday. It is a way for me to do a quick tally of what I have received for Christmas and then forward the missing items to my birthday wish list. In all fairness, as I get older, there are less things to write down. There aren't that many commercial items that I need or want. I'm really not that guy that has everything because I don't. I'd like a new truck or at least have it fixed but it doesn't seem like a reasonable gift to ask for. Not that I haven't tried…neither Santa or a dear friend has bought me that BMW Z3 I have always wanted.

This year I wanted to rehash an older present/idea that my wife had given me; it was the birthday week. Yes I want another! It was kind of like Hanukkah, with a present every night and there were candles. That is where the similarities stop. Although I have never experienced Hanukkah, I can only imagine it was like this. I did not need seven consecutive days or more stuff, considering I have a bunch of stuff I all ready don't use. Instead, my birthday gift each night consisted of a different event, centered on a thematic meal. Ok, there are some things I don't need in there like the extra calories.

I loved this idea because it reflects my thoughts, lifestyle and art. To package it neatly, it is like my paintings; a mixture of ideas that capture a moment in time. Philosophically stated it has to be that precise, present time it was created. That piece of art couldn't be created before or after it had to be created in that moment of the present. Ok think about that for a second...did anyone hear that tree fall in the woods?

For me it is about breaking up time and turning them into small meaningful events. After all we don’t remember days we remember moments. Some of the events become special and memorable others fall by the wayside of the daily grind. For instance, as a family we took the ordinary dinning experience and turned it into a moment - we all cooked dinner together. The girls made soup, Nicolas made cocktails, my wife made the main meal and I supervised. I’m not sure who will remember it but it went down in my book as A OK!

As my birthday gets closer I thought to myself, how I didn't want a big party. Good thing too because as far as I know nobody planned a big party for me. As of Monday it seems like I got my birthday wish my birthday week started Monday, I saw War Horse with my oldest daughter. There are memorable moments planned for the rest of the week, I’m not sure what they are but my calendar has been sectioned off. Personally I am hoping my wife gives me a birthday month but I don’t see that happening. I believe it's kind of like the Genie saying for your third wish you can’t wish for more wishes. Shhhhhh…I think I hear the sound of one hand clapping.

Excuse me… Mr. Schaller

2012-01-11T07:51:00.000-08:00

The salutation “Mr. Schaller” came from my daughter’s twelve year old friend. It sounded like nails on a chalkboard and my hearing aid was on max volume. No, I don’t wear a hearing aid but when I hear “mister,” I feel like I should. I usually respond to “hey” or, “yo” and of course “Jeff.” Depending on who is in the room, I will usually respond to Dad too. For some reason “dad” doesn’t have the same old age connotation as mister does. I guess it is respectable and nice to hear some kids actually being polite when addressing adults. Another one of my daughter’s friends addressed me as “the famous artist,” I told Briana, my daughter; she has a good friend there.

My kids are growing up and I’m just getting older so I want to capture this special time with them. Once again as I do every year, I photograph them and turn the image into a silkscreen for the back of my paintings. It is a way for me to mark the time and enjoy their smiling faces on the back of all my artwork. I started this in 2004 as a way to date my paintings. Back then there were only two kids, now there are 3 smiling bobble-heads on the back of each painting. Every year I silkscreen the image onto a wall in my studio to keep a record of each picture. I’m sure as they grow older it will be harder to get them to all be in one place at the same time.

After watching and hearing my daughter talk to her friends, I’m sure there will be hair and make up time needed. I can see this simple way to capture a memory becoming a task. But I’m happy right now immortalizing this age on the back of a painting. So for now, I’ll take the pictures as they grow older and hopefully I’ll be answering to grandpa, way later. I’m still getting used to “mister” and even “sir.”

Ode to 2012

2012-01-03T14:41:00.000-08:00

It’s that time again when all the major TV stations, news papers and magazines look back and recap the previous year. People get sentimental and decide to get more fit, lose weight or resolve to do something better for themselves. Well, I’m no different; so let me digress and lament about the previous year. This way I can justify my lack of fitness and the few extra pounds to decide if I did better than I thought. Feel free to skip this blog post and come back next week for my worldly views, rants and random thoughts.

As I look back to the beginning of the year I had such high hopes. A dream project that would take care of my financial needs for the remainder of the year. That didn’t happen, I spent/wasted a lot of time on the project. Let’s make lemonade out of these lemons, because I’m not celebrating with champagne like I thought I would have. Lesson learned: that a business projects, ideas, commissions must have scope and benchmarks must be met if you want success, aka champagne.

Then move into spring when I lick my wounds, gather my pride, and muster up the energy to continue. I look back at the work I did during the spring and one could say it was a little sporadic. In artistic terms, that’s “experimenting.” In gallery terms, that’s “playing,” with a heavy suggestion on figure it out and get back to doing what you do best. While I played, I found Evans Encaustics colored Holy Grail and spray paint to be very exciting and useful in my movement forward. No worries, all these paintings aren’t hanging on a wall behind a collector’s sofa. These early experimentations never made it; they were my little advancements to enjoy.

Fast forward to summer when all I want to do is vacation and relax by the pool. There was no time for that. I had a new public arts project to complete. I had also stopped playing and was seriously committed to making awesome paintings for my October show. I sweated away the summer and completed a 40’x 12’ mural to be installed in Lexington KY at the end of the summer. In between mural drying time I worked on my encaustic paintings for the show. After all they were taking twice as long since I had added all my new little toys to my palette of talent.

Now I was ready for that vacation! Having one of the best vocations in the world, I could combine the mural installation with some southern sightseeing. I packed up the family; we had to leave the dog behind, and headed to Kentucky to install the mural. I put my kids to work for five days. We primed, painted and produced a magnificent mural. I considered that a fun vacation, however, the family had other ideas. So we headed further south to sight see, stopping in Nashville, Memphis, Grace Land, a quick stop in Tupelo to see Elvis’ first house then to Alabama for the Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament. That concluded our summer and I found myself back at the easel slinging wax. To my and the gallery owner, Isabelle’s, surprise, I was pretty well ahead of the game and had completed more artwork than the gallery could accommodate. Wow! Considering all those facebook posts where it appeared I was everywhere but the easel, I had managed to be productive. It is now October and my wife and I are on a plane to Switzerland for the opening of my show. Like I previously stated, what a great vacation… I mean vocation. The show was well received and despite all the newspapers, magazines and news stories about the European crisis, I had sold half the show. I don’t take full credit for being one of the U.S. major exporters; it might be that European culture. My financial worries were over, my credit cards paid off and I can start the year at… let’s just say a more positive number than a negative one.

The year-end review is in… the year consisted of a few steps back than a few steps forward. Sometimes it felt like exercise on a treadmill. You know that feeling like your moving but you look around and it’s still the same scene. Usually the person next to you is panting and all sweaty and gross; he looks like he is working harder but your both in the same spot not going anywhere. I like to put my headphones and jam to a different beat, close my eyes, picture the places I have been and enjoy the moment while thinking of the places I am going.

Enjoy the New Year!

Be Prepared

2011-12-19T11:35:00.000-08:00

No, this blog is not about the season or about being a boy scout. As for the season, I’m feeling a little ahead of the game. The tree is up, the house is decorated, and there are plenty of lights outside. I’m sure my electric company would like to see more. I am behind on the shopping. Ok, I have not started but I have lots of ideas and know what I’m going to get. This knowing part is the good part. I’m partially prepared. So as I wander through the stores and weave between the shoppers that have no idea what to buy, I do. I am on a mission but always on the look out for an opportunity or some sales.

This is a nice segue into an opportunity for a sale. I was walking across a parking lot with a very large painting in tow. I had just removed it from a gallery that was closing. Hold back the tears; the story has a good ending. As I stepped off the curb with the face of the paining tucked to my side, my wife said, “Why don’t you turn it around so people can see it?” My thoughts were if I’m bringing it out of a gallery that is closing because they can’t make the rent, what are my chances of selling it. But it was an opportunity for some unsuspecting people to see my art. I stumbled through the parking lot hoping not to ding cars and cause more damage to my ego. Then it happened; I walked past a black Range Rover. The gentlemen on the phone said, “Hey where did you get that painting?” Stunned, I replied, “It’s mine. I’m just picking it up.” And I continued to my car. Then that sound of opportunity hit me hard like a re-gifted fruitcake. I retraced my steps back to his SUV and proceeded to tell him about this fine piece of artwork I was holding. He graciously told the other person on the line he’d call them back because he was about to purchase a painting. Really?

We walked back to the gallery and completed the sale. I was still in disbelief and wondered if I could screw this up. But the sale continued to happen. He said, “All I have is a check.” To make the story better he assured me the check was good because he was the president of the bank. Really? I thought back, retraced my steps and concluded that this was way too good to be true. So I took the check and told him I’d deliver the painting Monday, making the best of an opportunity.

I drove home in amazement of the whole thing, how it all played out. I thought of all the Christmas presents I’d be able to buy, if I could just get to the stores. I was made aware of all the stores around me because of the large billboards on my drive home. One was for holiday shopping at the mall, another for Google luring me to shop online. The next billboard looked way too familiar, it was a friendly face that I had recently met telling me to put my money in his bank.

Moral of the story, be prepared…because not everything comes down the chimney.

Interview with Darcie Goldberg

2011-12-14T11:29:00.000-08:00

I sat at the end booth at Teca perusing the extensive wine list wondering if we were going to order a bottle or order by the glass. “Red or White?” I waited for my interviewee; photographer and CCAA executive director Darcie Goldberg. She enters; her blonde hair framing her blue eyes, and her golden tan interrupted only by her bright smile. She waves to a few acquaintances and makes her way to the end booth. I am greeted with a gracious hello, the excitement of the interview is in the air. There is so much to catch up on, and so many intriguing questions to be answered.

The waitress stops by to fill the need for libations. I ask Darcie “Red or White?” Then it happens, the most dreaded part of the interview. I thought the world had stopped like in all those new fancy commercials where the camera pans around the actors and everything in the air has come to a stand still… Darcie says, “Oh no thank you, I have to work.” All the surrounding items that have been suspended in mid air come crashing down. The action resumes and I think, “We are artists, I’m actually working right now!”

It was inevitable; it had to happen sooner or later but not to worry. This interview is filled with inspiration, murder, intrigue, and foreign travel to exotic lands. Darcie is just as fascinating as James Bond. She seems to be at the right place at the right time capturing it on a 30 year old Hasselblad camera and the final result is a beautiful 24 x 24 inch photograph captured on a 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 negative.

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

Can you describe your work in general for the readers?

I think its very traditional … black and white photography from film to the dark room. I have a photojournalist approach to my subjects and I only use available light. I feel those are the keys to my approach.

How did you get started in photography?

I always knew I’d be in the arts. I didn’t know how but I always knew I would. After graduating as a dental hygienist, I worked for a dentist then went back to school for photography and decided that was the route I wanted to go.

Did you receive any formal art training?

I went to the Art Institute in Pittsburgh. I worked as a photographer for UPI. That was my first official job outside of weddings of course. I went back, I wanted to get into art therapy. All along the way I’d been doing photography, but I wanted to just do the arts in a different way. I got into Hanuman and finished my masters with a degree in Creative Arts and a specialty in Art Therapy.

Have you embraced the digital era or are you a “purest”?

I try. I have a digital camera that I travel with and use as a back up. I know it’s the future. I am having more and more trouble getting film. I’m having more and more trouble getting through customs with my equipment. I have a really good printer in New York that prints my photographs. It’s expensive but its sweet.

How do you do choose your subject matter?

I like people. I watch. Sometimes I just sit and watch for a minute and look for the perfect light.

What are your thoughts on the perfect photograph?

OH, ok. Lighting, composition, subject matter, I think they all go together but when you take that perfect photograph you know it. You take thousands of photographs a year. I was just in Cambodia and Vietnam and I took thousands of photographs. Out of the thousands I think you will get two really good photographs. It has to do with being in the right place at the right time.

How do you focus on a 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 inch view of the world, with the busyness of it going on around you?

Concentration. That’s when you have to really zone everything out. You have to realize when your taking that photo that that person is allowing you to take that photo and in one click you have to take that photo and in a second its gone.

Who has been the biggest influence on your life?

Oh gosh. My husband. He’s very good at supporting me.

What inspires you?

An adventure. We do so much traveling.

What was your favorite location to photograph?

Uh, the Himalayas, wait, India.

Where would you like to go next?

I am doing a base camp in Everest in April.

What tip do you have for amateur photographers?

Oh, oh. Always travel with your camera.

What are you eating right now?

Tuna. Italian tuna on lettuce. It’s really good.

What is your favorite food?

Chili

What does home mean to you?

Comfort. Family.

Your proudest moment?

When my daughter graduated from medical school. I cried.

What was your mother right about?

I have to think about that one. That’s a tough one. I can see where the wine can help. … She said that I have gypsy blood.

Money is OK, but it isn’t what life is about.

It’s about family. It’s about happiness and it’s about health. And art, art is in there. The Arts give us a soul.

Where did you grow up?

Lake Erie.

How did you meet your husband?

I met my husband at a murder trial. I was a photographer for UPI and he was a lawyer.

What is the last book you read?

I read, The Troubled Man by Henning Mankell.

You collect?

Paintings.

Something that is important on your nightstand?

My reading light.

Your strangest possession?

Strangest possession… Maybe I should be drinking. Hm, my African charm bracelet amulets from ancients.

At your best, you are most like this famous person?

Margaret Bourke White. She was a photojournalist years ago for Life Magazine.

FIRSTs

Play - Alice in wonderland

Big Break – UPI

Album – Steppenwolf

Concert - Rolling Stones

Piece of art you sold - A landscape before I even went to school. It was a black and white photograph.

In between my questions and Darcie’s fascinating stories, our waitress brought us treats from Tuscany. One of the “must haves” at Teca are the Olives Ascolane. These are best described as “little fried salt bombs.” Darcie ordered her favorite, the Insalata Teca: Tonnata, which is a generous helping of salad with a heap of Italian tuna placed on the top. I chose a spicier creation, the Diablo. This is a spicy salamino, capocollo, hot cherry peppers, with scamorza cheese pressed on a warm ciabatta.

I had some insider information on this woman of mystery; during her graduate studies she wrote her case study on a female graffiti artist. Her interview led Darcie on night adventures through the dark, train yards of NYC as her case study worked her trade. This was my opportunity to see if the statute of limitations was up on Darcie and what property she had defaced. What would her “tag” name be… something like “Blonde Razor?” Is she really Banksy? She smiled and said with a little bit of dissatisfaction, “I couldn’t it would have jeopardized my research.” I wanted to dig a little deeper but the conversation was interrupted by our Chocolate Tartufo; three scrumptious balls of gelato with crème filled centers. This Italian dessert would stop any wise guy from squealing in the heat of interrogation.

As with all Italian meals, we finished with an espresso. Darcie drank the rest of her iced tea and I drank the last remnants of my red wine. She got back to work and I meandered my way back to the studio. I’m sure Darcie wasn’t thinking about work and the expansion of CCAA. She was probably thinking of her next photographic adventure at the base Mount Everest scheduled for next year.

A Wonderful Death Before Dinner

2011-12-06T13:34:00.000-08:00

Every night we gather around the dinner table and enjoy the food our domestic goddess has prepared for us. Whatever the entrée, cheeseburgers with hand cut fries or Milenasa with Ensalada Rosa, we give thanks. Then out of nowhere death comes. My son grabs his throat and does a wonderful death spin, looks around to make sure his sisters are watching, then takes his last gasp of air and falls lifeless on the kitchen floor. We chuckle and roll our eyes. It is a wonderful little performance. He lies there for a few minutes then we remind him his food is getting cold. After the third death scene, we have to exercise our parental responsibilities and tell him to stay seated and finish his dinner.

The best part of the dramatic play is that there is limited seating and a select audience. The dramatic scene is never played out in public or with guests. This got me thinking. When is it ok to entertain ideas, appease a few and have the freedom to express and do something unusual? I call it studio time. This is where I succeed and live while at other times it is a death spiral into a nasty mess. Nobody is around to see the performance; maybe I’ll invite a select few to the disaster scene. Occasionally a visitor will turn around a painting facing the wall to catch a glimpse of the dying. But mostly they lay around the studio. Every once in a while they get a look and I think I could revive them. This all happens without an audience. The silliness, the entertaining thoughts and freedom are played out in the privacy of my studio.

Maybe my son will be on Broadway. Maybe my paintings will appear in a gallery. The fun happens before dinner and the show. Ok now I have to go put my pants on and start painting.

A Little bit of pie before Thanksgiving

2011-11-22T11:24:00.000-08:00

This pie I was about to eat was in the works six months ago. I had no idea I was making it but I sure was excited while talking about it and getting ready for it. Little did I know how good it would taste. The recipe started with my wife saying “We should run the half marathon in Philadelphia.” Right off the bat I said we should double the recipe! What is the point of running a half marathon when you can do the whole thing? It’s like making a killer pie-crust and not having a yummy filling for it.

As we all know new recipes require you to read the ingredients and make sure you have everything, then figure out how long it takes. I went down the list of things you’d need for a marathon: two feet; check, two legs; check, health;…well I’m breathing…check, and six months to train. I do have the six months, finding the time to train within those six months was a different story. I gathered my feet and fitted them with a new pair of running shoes, dressed my legs in shorts and set out to train. Running was going well while building up the mileage then came “work.” I was going to Kentucky to install a mural, then travel some of the southern states. Kentucky is home of Bourbon trail and the south is where they fry everything. “This is going to be easy,” I thought. Then, more work abroad in Switzerland came. Cheese and wine and food smothered with heavy cream sauces. Can you see my weakness here? Anything that has to do with not training for a marathon! Through the months I ran but nothing like the recipe required.

Four days before the big day…Thanksgiving, I was in Philadelphia standing at the starting gate, not convinced I was going to run a marathon. I thought I might but I knew it probably wasn’t going to happen. During my test runs my knee wouldn’t let me go further than nine miles. The correct amount of distance for a marathon is 26.2 miles. I did not have all the ingredients just two good legs. But with a dash of determination, a cup of cheer, and a big gulp of pride, I made a wonderful humble pie and ran a half marathon.

I want to be a collector too!

2011-11-16T07:35:00.000-08:00

The other day I was perusing CaFE, a call for entry site for artists, in the pursuit of gallery exhibitions and request for proposals. I came upon a little gem of a show “2010 Collectors Choice.” For a small fee of $35.00 an artist can send three of their finest works of art to be viewed by 25 unnamed collectors. The collectors choose the art and the artist wins because they get to put their masterpieces in front of the eyes of collectors. Maybe it is a good opportunity for some but I’m not convinced.

I had a great opportunity like this once. My work was being rented at a great venue; the possibilities for me were enormous. The Hollywood crowd, who make millions, would see it. It would have been seen by millions of people. My Gosh! If you do the math, that’s billions of people with a net worth of a gazillion dollars looking at my art. I was beaming, I had the same feeling I get when I buy a lotto ticket and the jackpot is more than the national deficit.

To make a long story short, it was seen by the Hollywood elite and millions of television fans. The publicity was great and maybe even priceless, I later found out how much it was worth…the price of a painting. When all the glamour and usefulness of my work was gone, I received part of the leased art collection back. I later came to learn a prominent “art collector” enjoyed one of my pieces and “kept” it for their art collection. I guess I would collect things too if I didn’t have to pay or return the items.

This got me thinking… I was wondering if I could have plumbers come over, pay me $35.00 and I’d let them put a new toilet in my bathroom. Think of all the times I would use it, plus my friends would use it when they came over. Theoretically it could be used over a million times by thousands of people. If I have an open studio, that alone could attract hundreds of people. Then I started thinking what if I worked my way through the yellow pages; next roofers. Do you know how many people drive by my house? These are good perspective customers looking at all the sculptures I have littered through out my yard. They slow down trying to decide if its art or am I the white trash neighbor that is bringing down the value of homes in the neighborhood. Maybe I should skip all the repairs and call a realtor to have them charge people $35.00 to bid on a house owned by an artist whose art work is owned by a famous people with lots of money.

Interview with Janis Galbraith Fitch

2011-11-07T09:10:00.000-08:00

For this lunch and interview I sat down with Janis Galbraith Fitch at the Station Tap Room in Downingtown. When I emailed Janis to set up the lunch she was so excited and told me how she had read the other interviews and was honored. I thought Oh Crap! She knows all the questions and has all the answers rehearsed. Like all interesting people the conversation was all over the place and we shared many stories along with many laughs.

One thing that we shared was that we both had just come back from Cape Cod. I reflected on how quaint and beautiful Martha’s Vineyard was. She had just returned from her third visit to the Cape this summer. Her enthusiasm for the beach, the rocks, the sea glass, and the light could not be contained. Yet, all the pictures were saved on her iPhone that she often shared. I loved her enthusiasm for her passion which is the subject matter expressed in her art. Beaches, beach houses with the blue skies, Cape Cod sun and shadows painted with blues and fuchsias. That’s just some of her paintings. Now place a cow within the painting on the beach! I know…but really it isn’t that odd. She has been painting this unique combination for over 20 years. I’ll let Janis tell it, hoping that her enthusiasm comes across in words. Make sure you smile and think of that warm summer sun as you read.

Janis Galbraith Fitch

Interview Questions

How did you get started making art? 

I always drew. I always drew as a kid. I would draw my dolls, my backyard.

Did you receive any formal art training? Where and what did you major in?  Yes, I went to the University of Delaware. I started as a math major. My dad thought I was going in as a math major. Before I ever had to take a math class I changed to art. My sophomore year there they got a BFA program. So I entered that and there was 16 of us I think and so I got my BFA in drawing and painting.

Describe your work in general for the readers?  Cows, and the beach…and sometimes its the cows on the beach, and bright colors. The cows are not wearing sunglasses, they belong there. I guess its kind of pop. I don’t know how to describe it.

What is your medium?  I use oils because, that's what I was taught in my painting classes at the U of D. But I also think it's because they blend easily, I can get intense colors with them, and I can get a nice shiny surface with them. And the smell of oils is the best.

When did you start placing cows on beaches?  When I lived in Texas. I lived in Texas for 2 years. 1984-1986 I think. Right before we lived in Texas I lived in Pennsylvania and I took pictures of all these cows and I really was homesick. So I was looking at all these cows and I was also looking at these pictures of Cape Cod, I also love Cape Cod. I thought it would be really cool. Wouldn’t it look good if I put a cow at the bottom of this hill on the beach? And there is something about the cows, their black and white; well usually they are black and white and the beach because the colors of Cape Cod are so vivid that they go well together. I’m kind of obsessed with them. I do paint cows that aren’t on the beaches. I get away from the cows and I have to start painting them.

You really capture the sunlight and warm glow of the Cape Cod sun. What tip do you have for artists to capture that? Go at the right time of day. I go around and take pictures, I take a lot pictures in the early morning before there are a lot of people on the beach or cars, but my favorite time is in the afternoon when the sun is lower and it just has that warmth. Cape Cod just looks like that. You have to remember there’s a lot of yellow in your white.

What are your thoughts on perfection?

 Perfection? Um… I have no thoughts on perfection. Obviously I haven’t reached perfection yet because I’m still painting so sometimes you get to a point and you think its great but I wouldn’t say it is perfection.  

How do you decide when an artwork is done?

 I knew you were going to ask that, I saw it on the blog and I was like CRAP! Well I was thinking about it and I will look at my painting and like analyzing it. Like this one I am working on right now that I have these beach chairs and they are looking over the Provence town line and you can see all the monuments and I really love that I changed the sky, it was awesome! And I went back downstairs after dinner and looked at it and I was like Crap! The monument is crooked! I mean little things like that. I wrote it down because I wasn’t going to get everything out that night, so I make a list. And I say ok, monument bothers me. It’s crooked, and I have to remember to put the bright light on the side of this chair. I have all these things, little tasks that I have to finish with the painting before it will be acceptable. So when I can look at the painting and there’s nothing that screams at me that says this is bad, I think it’s done. There’s always the time limit.  

Who has been the biggest influence on your life?

Gosh, I don’t know. I guess everybody has left a mark.  

What inspires you?  

I never really know, usually Cape Cod and cows and I always have to have my camera with me. We’ll be driving along and I’ll say, “Stop Stop Stop!” And it’s just sunlight on a building and I know I have to paint it, and sometimes we’ll pass something and I’ll think I should have taken a picture of that, so 5 min down the road I’ll say Richie can we turn around there’s something I really want to do. 

Do you have any habits or morning routines you do before going to the easel? 

Yes, indeed I do. I wake up, I have 2 cups of coffee; I go to the YMCA and work out for 2 hours. Then I come home and I try not to go on the Internet, so I shower and paint. If I go on Facebook I paint much later.  

What are you eating right now? 

Well I have a ham and brie Panini and its very very good, very creamy, truffle fries, and it tastes like a little bit of garlic but not too much. 

What is your favorite food?

 Probably ice cream 

Your proudest moment?

 It’s not a moment, my 2 daughters I guess, them turning out so good. I’m very proud of them. 

What was your mother right about?

 I was hoping you’d ask this one because my mother is totally right about this. She always said I never feel older than 18, like in my mind, I always feel like I am 18. And I thought yeah right, Well I never feel older than 22. I never liked 18 because I was too shy, so maybe 24. I can relate to everybody that is young. My body is maybe not cooperating. I look in the mirror sometimes and I’m like oh my God it’s my grandmother. But she was right, you never feel older than a certain age.  

Money is OK, but it isn’t what life is about.

What is it about?  Life is about relationships. 

Where did you grow up? 

New Jersey .

Two words you would use to describe your ideal self? 

Happy, Successful .

You collect?

 Sea glass and rocks.  

Something that is important on your nightstand?  

My romance novel .

Your strangest possession?  

I guess my rocks, I guess that’s kind of weird .

An artist whose work you highly respect?

 Edward Hopper.

Two things you did today?  

Drank a __ beer, exercised.

FIRST’s

What was your first word?

Play  I was in Little Abner, the first play I ever saw was Jesus Christ Superstar.

Album  

Donavan

Date  

Bowling

Plane ride  

to France

Piece of art you sold 

A picture of the water and some boats, sold it at a little gift shop in Cape Cod.

You think I would have realized by now that these conversations take at least three hours. This one was no different. We had a window seat at the Station Tap Room, like its name it is situated across from Downingtown Train Station. During our conversation many passengers boarded and disembarked (never really got to use that word.) The food here is awesome, simple yet gourmet along with a great rotating beer selection. We chatted over a homemade chorizo and goat cheese sandwich and a ham with a triple crème panini. I insisted on getting the truffle fries.

I looked at my watch feeling bad that we had to end it and get on with the remainder of the day. Her nerves were squelched form the pint of Weizen Beer (if you ever need a good hang man word.) So I took advantage of the opportunity and played a speed round of questions. She thought I was easy on her.

The Power of Halloween or Lack of

2011-11-01T17:53:00.000-07:00

It started Sunday when I visited the mall. I had been locked up in our house with out of town relatives and the storm hit. Maybe I was a bit unprepared but granted it was October and I was not expecting snow. Without power, trees down and an unforeseen amount of snow expected, it was like camping! Yet, we had a kitchen with an electric stove, a living room with a plasma TV, a bedroom with an extra thick queen bed, and nothing to do but play monopoly. Shall I teach the kids “Greed is good,” or “play fair?” I gobbled up properties with every move, trying to get three consecutive colors. My kids’ luck seemed to alternate between them as they hoarded every third color of the property I tried to acquire. The game continued for four hours until the sun set and our light was dim. Their bank accounts reflected the fading sun as they landed on my properties and paid their rent.

This is not the point of my story, I digress. We were at the mall, partly because relatives had to shop and partly because we had a bit of cabin fever. As you may have noticed in recent blogs, I do not get out of my studio much, nor do I like to. I did not realize that the mall does not follow the Gregorian calendar and celebrate the established day of Halloween. It was Sunday the 30^th of October and the mall was packed with: cute babies dressed as peas, and teenagers in ripped jeans, striped shirts and spiked hair, and excessive fake piercings. Excuse me, but that is not a costume! That is how we dressed when we rebelled in the 80’s. Maybe it was fashion and sold to us. But it didn’t hang on a hook and come in a sealed bag ready to wear. It originated as an expression of creativity. So I weaved my way through Transformers, Harry Potters, and Bratz Doll look-a-likes while thinking of my first high school dance and hearing Depeche Mode in my head. I wondered if the negotiating and deal making we experienced in Monopoly earlier would resonate with my kids. Maybe they would be creative in making a decent life for themselves. I yearned for the days of 100 Grand Bars and Payday as I watched the mall walkers happily take handfuls of Sweet Tarts.

Talking About Art Is Like A Dog Chasing His Tail.

2011-10-25T10:01:00.000-07:00

Every month I gather a few pontificating artists to share their work and thoughts. This group has swelled at times to more than twenty and at the best times has gone down to about a litter of six or eight. The rules are simple: bring your own art and your own bottle if, you like libations. We usually rotate the venue. So every one can compare and learn the inner workings of each studio. In the beginning it was a few hours of sharing work and giving kudos. Once in a while you would get challenged or help in a certain direction if you asked. It was a way to get myself out of the studio and see what was going on with other artists in my area.

When the litter got smaller and the runts left, I wanted more than sharing, I wanted answers. So now the format is: the first half we share, and the second half we converse on a pre-defined subject. Last weeks subject was “production art.” The meat of the topic basically covered how much of the work do you have to make to call it your own. For better or worse Kostabi, Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst aren’t on my email list. The conversation goes around with the debating between painters and sculptors. Plein air artists and photo realists. Then the details come out. Do you have to mix your own paints, or smelt your own metals? Oh, that brought up the concept of a craftsman or a designer. Yet, craftsmen have the image of just a trade with no thought while designers are thought to have ideas yet lack the capability to actually make it. Is it the hybrid that creates a true artist? Yikes, what is a true artist? Someone who makes their living on their art? What happens if you paint a pleasant little cottage with their lights on and an inviting path leading to the door? Are you a craftsman with no thought? Or are you a brilliant designer that figured out what a bunch of people wanted? I’m dizzy and its late, the dog has already fallen asleep. Did she realize she couldn’t catch her tail? Wait…she whimpers and her legs are running in place. I think she is dreaming about a squirrel. I think I’ll dream about every room having a sofa and big walls.

It's a Swiss Thing

2011-10-18T12:36:00.000-07:00

It’s a beautiful fall day, the warm sun dappled the cobblestone road. Shadows of cornices and awnings create angular shapes along the sidewalk as we journey towards the gallery. The sites look familiar and the stores look like they haven’t changed. Each window is carefully decorated modestly to show their wares. All this familiarity and I still can’t figure out what train stop is ours. “There it is.” I quickly press the stop button with my finger. The train passes the gallery with its windows covered to hide the upcoming exhibit. We’ll get off at the next stop.

Here it is, Gallerie I.D., we stand in front of the gallery for my fourth solo show, windows covered, wondering if my artwork made the long voyage. The covering of the windows is a European thing. In the states I would have been freaking out, exclaiming, “What do you mean there are no pre sales?!” but this is routine and I’ve experienced it before so I’m not worried. There are no pre-sales, no political jockeying certain clients selecting that ultimate piece. The windows are covered. The doors are locked. If you want to see the art or, better yet, purchase it, be there at 6:00 when the doors open.

Sure enough like the accuracy of a good Swiss watch, there is a queue outside the door at five minutes to six. Precisely at 6 o’clock the doors open. The windows are unveiled and clients, collectors and the curious work their way into the room. I on the other hand show up twenty minutes after because my stomach is in knots. What if nobody shows up? What if nobody likes my new work? What wine am I going to have with dinner, red or white? Why did I take four years of Spanish in high school instead of French? My fears end as I embark at the right train stop and enter the gallery to see at least thirty people inside. I scan the walls and the labels placed to the bottom right of every painting for red dots. More anxiety fades away as I glance at a few red dots in the main room. I say “ Bon Jour” shake hands and greet people with the traditional three kisses. A little extensive but it’s a nice cultural difference. It goes as follows: place your hand on their shoulder then go cheek-to-cheek, go to the other side cheek-to-cheek, then back to the first cheek, step away and smile.

I can’t put my finger on it but all these things seem to work. Like clock work the doors are closed at 8:00pm. The previous collectors and new collectors head back home. As tradition has it, we go out to dinner; the gallery owner, some clients, my wife, and I. Dinner is ordered and there is wine, luckily I don’t have to make the decision of red or white. I don’t speak French so it is ordered for me. We eat, we chat, and we laugh. We say good-bye: cheek-to-cheek, other side cheek-to-cheek, back to the start cheek-to-cheek.

Billy Basciani Interview

2011-10-04T14:43:00.000-07:00

It was a dark and rainy day, not the kind of day you would expect for the first day of fall. But I promise you that the rest of the article is sprinkled with hints of autumn. I met an artist, Billy Basciani, at Market Street Grill for lunch and shared his enthusiasm for his upcoming show at Sunset Hill Fine Arts Gallery in West Chester. Just as all of these interviews have gone, it was full of surprises.

The first surprise was; that lunchtime at Market Street was busy. But, that is coming from someone who doesn’t usually get out of the studio for lunch much. My ignorance shined through as we stood there chatting away about the art world waiting to be seated only to find out that there you seat yourself. The couple behind us kindly pointed this out when they asked if we were waiting for a “special place” to sit.

Once seated, the conversation quickly went to art. I’m not the pontificating type so it was easy to relate to Billy the struggling artist type, struggling in a good way, struggling to find his voice, his style, something I can relate to. Growing up in Chester County, his protégées and friends, Andrew Wyeth, Bill Ewing, Bo Bartlett, have been the definition of Chadds Ford. He learned by tradition, traditional painting, and by making his own paints, another surprise. To me that’s a little crazy.

The next surprise was that it’s not really a struggle but a journey for Billy. And, to sprinkle the conversation with a bit of autumn, I popped open a bottle of Iron Hill’s “Imperial Pumpkin Ale;” another pleasant surprise in that it had more of a nutmeg flavor than a pumpkin taste.

Let the interview begin…

Billy Basciani

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

How did you get started making art?
I started at a young age. Actually my mother took me, when I was about 7 or 8 years old, to an art class at Delaware Art Museum. They would teach, you know, pottery and painting. So, I was doing stuff there. My first private lesson was when I was about 9 or 10 at the York Lynn Center for Creative Arts. There was an oil painter there. He gave me a few private lessons. I did a few pieces there, some master copies. You know, pick it out of the book and just paint it. My father was friends with Bill Ewing. So he was like, “My son likes painting so why don’t you come check it out.” So he came over one day and saw my paintings on the wall and asked, “Who did these?” He was like, “My son did.” “No kidding!” He said he could give me lessons and that’s when I started studying with Bill Ewing. I was about 12 years old at the time. I started the traditional apprenticeship with him.

Did you receive any formal art training? Where and what did you major in?

Yeah I did, from Bill. Then after high school I got accepted to the Academy of Fine Arts. Then I got hooked up with Chadds Ford.

Can you describe your work in general for the readers?

Lets see, I was classically trained, so my first couple of shows were more traditional paintings with under-paintings and glazes; something Ewing would do. You could definitely see his style coming out. But, I would say for the past year and half I have gone through these changes. More or less getting into more of what’s me. Some people might say that it has a dream like quality. Some may say it’s impressionistic. I say it’s more of a personal impressionism.

Where is your studio?

[After graduating,] I got a studio up at Chadds Ford [but it’s] not [my studio] any more. I am in the process of building a new studio. But I was there. [That studio] used to be Ewings studio, Jimmy Lynch was in there, [and] Bo Bartlett. So it had a major lineage.

Do you paint from photos or do you paint plein air?

No, no photos. I figured if I can’t do it from life, or I can’t do it from my imagination, I make myself figure it out. I really don’t want to let the camera decide. Part of what my process is: is going through it, being on sight, [and] getting the vibes from certain things. Certain things come out that you can’t really capture with a camera.

How do you choose your subject matter?

I let it choose itself. Wherever it comes to me. If I am away on vacation or somewhere else, I always have my stuff with me in case certain things present it self to me.

How did Andrew Wyeth inspire you?

He is a great person, kind and gentle. He would do anything for anybody. Every summer when I went to Maine, he gave me his studio to use. So that was my place to paint for four years. He would come and say a few things but didn’t say much cause he didn’t want to influence it. You know, like I don’t want you to paint like me. I want you to paint like you. He showed me to be yourself, and what comes out hopefully people will look at and notice.

What are your thoughts on perfection?

Perfection? There is no perfection.

What is a favorite technique that you would share with a novice painter?

I’d ask them which one they want to learn. I’d give them all, any of them. If somebody didn’t know and they were asking me what would be your favorite thing, I would say probably, under-painting. Sculpting it on the canvas, drawing in glazes, and adding in colors. Building up the layers, which is traditional.

“How do you decide when an artwork is done?"

I guess it just goes with your gut. When you feel like your doing more damage to it then helping it, you know.

Who has been the biggest influence in your life?

I would say… I am a real family guy. My father gave me my work ethic. “Get up in the morning, you’re not sleeping all day. You’re getting up and going to the mushroom house from seven o’clock in the morning to seven o’clock at night.” My senior year when everyone went on senior week, I was in the mushroom house working. I appreciate that, you know.

What is this Painters Folly…it sounds fun?

What is Painters Folly? I’m not even really sure what it is. Its pretty much a way for some artists to get together sometimes, show our work and talk about each other’s work. I think we’re trying to really reach people that really care about artwork. And explain to them what we do, the process of what we do, and show them. It’s a culmination between teaching people about painting and explaining to them a little about what we do, instead of just throwing a painting up on a gallery wall and telling people what they think it is.

Artists that influenced you?

I would have to say my teacher Ewing. We still get together every once and a while. I used to want to be like them old masters. You know them old old masters. The older I get I’m more into like Gustav Klimt, Dega, Manet, and Monet. It changes all the time. Before, in my prior shows, it looked like maybe three or four artists. It’s more or less focusing down now, it’s more me. It just feels good now. I like the colors, I like the paint, I like to push the paint. You know, I like to just have fun with it.

Do you have any habits or morning routines you do before going to the easel?

Mixing up paint. The white that I use is lead, lead powder. Toxic. Work with it in care. I get up, get out there, and mix up a nice big pile for the day. If I have to get my canvases ready, I’ll do that. Get my mediums, my jars, my pallets, and everything I’ve mixed up for what I need to do.

You have a unique way of signing your paintings that include your initials in a vertical box. Why?

It’s funny in a way. Certain paintings call for it, and other ones don’t. Certain ones call for my full name, now its just Basciani. When I first started I it was Billy Basciani, to William Basciani. It’s almost like a time line. How I have signed it, has changed. Now it’s just like WB with a box around it. But the box thing kinda came. It is almost like an Asian twist, some kind of monogram around it. Like an illustrator thing. Some composition around it is nice. It’s a balancing thing. If it’s heavy on the one side, it balances it out.

What are you eating right now?

Tex Mex salad. It’s really good too.

What was your favorite meal?

I’d say my mum-mums cooking.

What does home mean to you?

Home? Family…friends, people I’ve known forever.

Money is OK, but it isn’t what life is about. What is it about?

I think life’s about finding some peace with yourself. Getting to go out and do this wonderful thing that you love, everyday.

Your best birthday?

Maybe, my last one. My Thirtieth. I had a nice big surprise party.

All my questions were answered and I finished up my gooey awesome Chipotle BBQ Cheddar Cheese Onion sandwich. Little diced pieces of tomato in the sandwich were a surprising treat. Billy wrapped up his Tex Mex salad because he didn’t have the time to eat between my questions. The scenario plays out like any meal out. The waitress asks, “How is the meal?” just as you take your first bite. I mistakenly asked a question every time he went for the salad. We walked back to Sunset Hill Gallery over the red brick, darkened from the rain, avoiding the puddles. During our walk, Billy shared a story about last year’s pumpkin carving in Chadds Ford and how he strapped a light to his head and captured all the pumpkin action on canvas with his brushes. It is no surprise that this starry night event carved out in oil paints is in the show.

“Dare to Dream” is the name of Basciani’s show at Sunset Hill Fine Arts Gallery the show is up until November 4^th. Opening night is Friday, October 7^th during West Chester’s Gallery Walk 5 to 9:00.

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue

2011-09-20T13:30:00.000-07:00

No, I’m not getting married. I’m getting ready for my fourth solo show at Gallery I D. Luckily this does not have anything to do with marriage, because as a parallel this would be my fourth marriage and they do not usually work out. I am hoping this show is a success. The three previous shows have been received with much success and I would like to carry on with that tradition and the best way to describe the show is through a familiar tradition.

Something old: In the original context, this symbolizes continuity with the past. Keeping with tradition, I have filled the show with images of beautiful women. Considering it was the gallery owner that coached me into a subject I only dabbled in, through many conversations and a lot of resistance on my part, I found joy in painting skin tones and putting souls into eyes.

Something New: On this happy little artistic journey you can’t help but become excited about new ideas. The constant desire to make better art and explore the possibilities of composition, light… all that great stuff. My “something new” is a little bit of reflected color produced by reflected light. Be it from the side of the painting that is now painted and reflects onto the wall, or the color, painted on the back of the drawing that illuminates from behind an oil-stick drawing, it’s all new to me.

Something Borrowed: “Borrowed” assumes that you are giving it back and do not have the intention of keeping it, which would be considered stealing. For the show I borrowed images of photographs that contain harsh light, dramatic shadows, and sultry gazes. The glamour shots of the 1920‘s and 1930’s, with their film noir lighting, allowed me to explore the darks and lights while drawing with oil-sticks. My hope was to ignite a bit of resurgence in the genre that I borrowed from.

Something Blue: In the original context, blue symbolizes love and modesty. Here however, blue refers to how I blew my budget on these awesome white frames to frame my new, old, borrowed artwork.

A Rant...with Options

2011-09-12T12:15:00.000-07:00

This Blog post isn’t supposed to be a rant nor is it intended to send any bad vibes. However, this first paragraph is going to be... well maybe a rant. Where is the customer service?

I was recently stuck at the airport because of delayed flights. To help passengers, they handed out a note card with a phone number on it. 150 stranded passengers picked up their cell phones and started dialing. Do you really think there were a 150 operators waiting to take our call? There we stood; 5 people talking, and 145 people on hold.

Because of my delayed flight, I missed my connection, which then put me at my final destination after the rental car company closed. For-seeing this problem, I called the rental car company to inform them that I was going to be late. They assured me that once I was in the system they could not leave until I arrived and had my car. When I arrived they must have put me in the wrong system because the guy I had spoke with was long gone. Where was the help along the way? Nowhere. The great irony and humor I found was that while I waited for the airline, they had sent me an email. The email was telling me about the great service they have and the deals I could get if I booked with them again... Dial 1 for English, 2 for Spanish, 3 if you need to hear options 4, 5 or 6.

Ok, that is half my rant, but I assume you have all been there at some time. I write this because I have customers, clients, and collectors of my own, and always consider how I would like to be treated. I am not a “Prima Donna.” I do not need all green M & M’s waiting for me when I get to my hotel room. I am just another human being that could use some help.

So here is what a little company like myself did. Last year I received a commission; it was a gift from a wife to her husband. She wanted to surprise a man who already had everything with a painting by me for Christmas. We worked out the details, bounced around ideas about his Alma Mater. I did some sketches. She approved them and I was on my way painting. When I completed the work, I sent it out to be delivered before Christmas. I am not sure exactly what Fed-ex did but I made a few calls and assured her it would be there the 24th. Christmas came and went and I had not heard a word. So being the good business owner, I followed up and found out that he did not like the painting. The wife and I had worked so hard together. She felt bad, and did not want to tell me of his disappointment. Now I had a decision to make. Either I let this painting sit in the closet and be considered to be the worst Christmas present ever or I make him a new one. I offered them option 2. By doing this I gained a repeat client and everyone was happy. Granted I had to do some extra work, but, isn’t that customer service?

In the end it became a win win for everyone. He/we donated the first painting to his Alma Mater for a fundraiser, he gets the tax incentives and my painting goes to someone that might never have seen my work. It sure beats the closet and there weren’t even any restocking fees... don’t get me started.

Some of the Best Things Are Things I Don’t Know

2011-09-06T13:55:00.000-07:00

It started with an online call for artists. A place in Kentucky needed a mural. With a budget in mind, this organization was looking for skilled artists. I did not know if I could do it but at least I had the artist part. I and two other artists were selected out of hundreds of others to produce a concept and mock up. I spoke with the owner of the building, another person I did not know, and he described what he was looking for.

The assignment was to design a mural for a place that I had never heard of, somewhere in Kentucky. While I did not have the measurements for this place, I had a photograph of the building, but knew nothing about the building. Due to the area, I figured it had to include a horse; which, again I know nothing about. Despite all my unknowns, I decided to begin.

So I got started with a bunch of ideas running through my mind. After spending many days on the Internet: searching the area, looking at photos, and coming up with some numbers that would fit within the given budget, I formulated ideas for efficient means to tackle this project. The plan was to paint within the walls of my own studio and then install it on sight because the budget given to complete the mural was not large enough to support a two-month stay “somewhere in Kentucky.” My other thought was to work with a paint-by-number horse to avoid creating a horse that was not from Kentucky that I know nothing about. Furthermore, in case I counted the bricks wrong, I would create the mural horizontally. This would help avoid unnecessary complications. Lastly, to keep within the budget, I would include some free labor from my family.

With my completed plan and work, I ventured out to the Unknown and began to learn. I learned: This place in Kentucky, that I had no idea where it was, was called Lexington and was ten hours away. Furthermore, Lexington is home of the Kentucky University. Ironically the University’s school colors happened to match the same blue that I chose to put into my mural. While I still know nothing about horses, I found out that people in Kentucky invest a lot of money in these animals and can tell them apart as well. Another thing I became aware of was that the wall was longer than I realized and not as high as I had planned. However, it was not a problem because it is easier to cut from a work then to add more to a mural. I also discovered that the building, which I was painting on, was a great restaurant. In their hospitable manner, they treated my family and I to delicious food the whole time we were there! Lastly, I learned of my ability to work with my family; and while I am an ok boss, I could use some patience as a father.

Interview with Robert Jackson @ Half Moon Restaurant

2011-08-19T10:56:00.000-07:00

I met artist Robert (Bob) Jackson in his Kennett Square studio, sitting at his easel with his painting upside down. He was filling in the background color of a painting of tight rope walking Oreo’s strategically placed between a tower of crates, while others found their demise in a big tub of milk. Really, I’m not making this stuff up, but Bob is. A realist still life painter, he had the whole thing set up in his studio, and there he sat in front of it capturing every highlight and reflected shadow. His paintings are tight beautifully created scenes of apples or balloon dogs. It is refreshing to see an artist taking humor so seriously.

Since this was the first time I actually met him in person there were a lot of things I wanted to get caught up on. I could have stayed in his studio for hours looking at all the shiny eye candy stuff that a whimsical artist collects for inspiration or to paint. I edged closer to the door not to be rude but for self-preservation and I wanted to talk and find out the inspiration in his art. So he closed the studio door behind us and we walked a few short blocks to Half Moon. The hostess thought he was in for his regular seat by the bar where he later told me he comes in and sketches frequently. We took a seat in the back and ordered two Colorado brewed beers. That’s another place he knows having spent a week out there to paint with another artist. Isn’t the life of an artist grand?

So we sipped beers, shared stories of art and galleries and compared notes on raising girls and boys.

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

How did you get started making art?
I went to school for electrical engineering. I went to Delaware Electrical engineering. Last semester senior year I took a throw away elective. I took painting 101 and thought it was the coolest class I had taken in 4 years. And the only reason I took that was because my girlfriend at the time, who is now my wife, gave me a set of oil paints for Christmas which she probably regrets ever since. So not knowing what to do with it, being an electrical engineer, I took painting 101. The guy was an abstract painter who painted with squeegees. Nothing like what I do, but I loved it.

Did you receive any formal art training?

You know that professor saw how much I liked it and said why don’t you stay and go to grad school with me. I said, “So, pretty practical, I have an engineering job lined up so if I stayed on with you what’s the chance of this working out?” He said at that time, “Those that actually are making a living from art, not teaching, I can count the numbers on my hand.” I said, “What do they do?” He said they get another job and paint on the side.” I said, “I got an engineering job. I’m going to paint on the side. I promise you someday I’m going to quit and be an artist.” And I’ve been an artist 15/16 years now.

Can you describe your work in general for the readers?
I’m definitely a realist still life painter but its very humorous and playful. It’s got a very contemporary slant to it.

How do you choose your subject matter?
I think so many artists have trouble figuring out what to paint. I have a skill but what do I actually paint? I think a lot of artists spend their whole life trying to figure that out and never get there. I used to be just still life and you go to an antique shop and like, “Oh that would be fun to paint” and it’s just for the sake of painting. You get a wine bottle and some grapes or whatever and then maybe 6 /7 years ago, I said, “You know, I’m not going to paint without a conceptual idea behind it. I’m not going to paint for the sake of painting anymore.” And so I come here, sit at the end of the bar down there, have a beer with just my sketch book and freeform brainstorm, you know, and I come up with my ideas before I ever paint. I’m not just painting what I see. A lot of realists still do that. They paint a still life and it’s just a bunch of apples. And everyone jokes that I’m the apple guy, the guy who paints all the apples but my apples are actively engaged in social issues.

Rumor has it you set everything up in your studio. True?
Yes, I have them all there but its all glue guns and strings and nails. Everything’s held into place because I want to see how they reflect off of each other. I want people to have the illusion that it’s happening and so I need to see it to be able to do that. Sometimes I will do things in phases like that painting in my studio right now. That tub of milk is still sitting in my studio. Oh you know I still love traditional art and I like how the shadows play off each other. Does that mean I don’t deviate or exaggerate? Realism isn’t coping reality. It’s all life, especially my stuff. I have apples in a war or things like that.

There is a humor to your paintings, what inspires that?
Humor is a taboo in art. Its one of those things that I thought I’m going to embrace. You know there are certain people, guys like Wayne Thiebaud, who do and it’s always been the “no-no” and I thought I’m going to embrace it. I’m not ashamed of it. Its funny, even in Hollywood, the Coen brothers finally won an Oscar for a dark movie. There’s nothing funnier than Big Lebowski. It holds up for years. I loved True Grit or No Country for Old Men. It’s hard to make humor that you keep laughing at and you look at over and over again. I try to do that with my work. Humor is just a punch line. You go “HA” and then it’s done. You want something that engages.

Where do you get all your props?
Props I get from eBay. I used to roam around antique shops, like so many people do, and consignment shops. Now that I’m based off of ideas I know what I want and its too much of a pain in the butt to go to the antique shop and shop. I just want to buy it and get it. I even prefer buy it now. I want that crate. I’m going to win it!

What are your thoughts on perfection?
Perfection. Oh my gosh! You mean can you ever obtain it? No. I always know when I’m done because I’m pretty deliberate when I am working and I know when I am finished with an idea, a concept. The good thing about artists is that we aren’t like pop singers who already hit it by 22. I think a really good artist hits at 50. I’ve always set that like I’m going to be really good at 50. Even then, it’s not perfection.

Who has been the biggest influence on your life?
As an artist you know you’d like to sit there and go oh its Rembrandt or whatever and in reality it’s the people you interact with. There’s a painter Scott Frasier who’s been my best friend for years, even though he lives in Longmont CO which is all the way across the country. Much to the humor of our wives, we talk everyday. Whether it’s a catalog or an art show that I’ve seen or things we found on the Internet, we’re just, boy, here’s what I’m thinking of doing with this painting. Talking business like, “What do you think I should do with this gallery.” We get each other. And every summer I usually go out for a week and we paint together and spend way too much time in pubs.

Do you have any habits or morning routines you do before going to the easel?
Yeah, I stop at the store every single morning and get the newspaper and do the crossword puzzle before I start painting.

What tip do you have for an artist that wants to paint realism?
Look. I’m amazed at how many painters don’t look or don’t know what’s out there or don’t go up to NYC and look at art. I come from an unschooled background but the schools don’t teach it anyway. So you have to look.

What are you eating right now?
The crab melt which is quite enjoyable

What is your favorite food?
Sushi

What does home mean to you?
You know its funny. The first time I felt at home was when I moved to Kennett Square. You have so long that your moving around in life and you get married and you feel like you are at a slumber party. It felt like the first time I really bought a house that I wanted to be there. I really wanted to raise my kids there. A place I feel comfortable raising my kids.

Your proudest moment?
When the kids were born.

Where did you grow up?
Everywhere. I’m the oldest of 5 kids and we’re all born in different states

You collect?
I guess art.

Something that is important on your nightstand?
My cell phone. That’s the only thing I have on my nightstand. I use it for my alarm and everything.

Your strangest possession?
I have a banjo. I play banjo. That just has that stigma of being an awful thing.

Firsts

Album
Kat Stevens

Piece of art you sold
still life painting.

Another 2-hour lunch had passed. We had both ordered the daily special of crab melt on an English muffin with salad, which came with plenty of extra potato chips. You can’t go wrong with quality and price. We walked back to the studio and followed up more. Again I was like a deer in headlights. And then, I became the curious little rodent, checking out the bookshelves. You can gain a lot of information about an artist by looking at his bookshelves. Then there were the movies. That was another 20 minutes. Bob would pass the easel, pick up a brush and touch up an area. I knew if I didn’t head to the door I would have pulled up a chair and spent the rest of the day there. But, he wanted to paint and I was itching to get back to my studio filled with inspiration that was all bottled up.

I did break out the camera and filmed the intro to my speed round questions. See a little more insight into Bob’s studio and random answers to random questions.

Over Worked

2011-08-17T11:43:00.000-07:00

I don’t really have a 9 to 5 job… it is more like 10 to 6. Ok I’m not going to lie to yoou, I work whenever I can and am almost always thinking about work. But this post isn’t about me being overworked, it’s about a painting I overworked. The hardest part about my job is knowing when to stop. It isn’t easy searching for perfection.

It started last week while working on a new piece for my wallflower series. I had the background all done. It was a baroque wallpaper pattern in silver on white. It was soft and subtle, just how I imagined it would be. I had concocted the idea during my morning run and now here it was before me. I drew the image out perfectly, cropped it just enough to make it interesting. I was excited to start. I painted my darks, roughed in the mid tones and worked my way to the highlights. For all the non – artist readers…I’m just painting. Everything is going great. The wax is flowing off the brush, the birds are singing, the sun is out. All is good at PinkCow Studio.

I continued painting blissfully for a few hours, developing the painting and excited with my efforts. I stopped and had lunch. It must have been something I ate that changed my eyesight. I walked back into the studio to find that what I thought was perfection was really a deconstructed Mr. Potato Head. How could I have been so wrong, so off my game? This is what I do. I’ve made a full time job out of it. I decided to add a few gestural brush strokes, some flicks of confident brush strokes, a bit of panache. French words always make things seem fancy. Nothing…nothing was working. There were some great parts but the face just wouldn’t come together.

I continued on this fruitless journey for 3 days, adding and scraping away, getting closer to perfection only to pass it with another brush stroke in the wrong direction. For everything I love about painting in wax there is one terrible drawback. The accumulation of bad brush strokes leads to a very thick painting. I scrape it away and start again. The only thing that made me stop was that I needed to hang it to show someone. So I called it done. Maybe I just wanted to stop and ease the frustration.

Here it sits on my wall as I write this. It has been a week since I hung it. It has had time to settle in and be admired. There are some beautiful parts and there are some parts that rake on my nerves like talking to a “customer representative”. While eating breakfast this morning I thought I’d write about the painting and after lunch I’ll take the blowtorch to it melt it off and use that beautiful silver baroque wallpaper for something else.

I don’t have a hobby

2011-08-11T08:42:00.000-07:00

I admit, I’m a bit envious of people that have hobbies. The idea of tinkering on a project or scouting antique shops in search of collectables is intriguing. I have dabbled in such tasks as making beer and collecting rare pink elephant bar supplies. This of course seemed more like a means to an end. I have tried to relax and do crossword puzzles but that lasted as long as my vacations did. Boating or collecting cars seems like it would be a nice hobby if you had the money. I really don’t think watching TV counts as a hobby.

After some unscientific research observing friends and family, I jumped to the conclusion that hobbies are related to the amount of time spent at their work. Sometimes a hobby can lead to work. After all wouldn’t we all enjoy what we doing what we love and get paid for it. This is where my hobby, work, passion comes in. I enjoy, No I love to paint and create art. Making ideas come to fruition seems to be my hobby.

The work part comes when I convert those ideas into artwork. Some days the paintings seem to paint themselves with little or no effort. This I consider a good workday. Then there are the nine-hour days of moving paint around hoping to capture the likeness of something. This is a bad day at work. The problem with these days are that they cut into my nights making them sleepless. Looking at that daunting painting of misplaced brush strokes and thinking, if I place a few of those strokes in the right place I’d have a recognizable image instead of a deconstructed potato head.

I guess its better than a day job. Since I’m up at night trying to figure out where I went wrong and what I need to correct, I should watch some TV. That seems like an expensive hobby. So from now on I’m going to call it art-work because after all it is work.

A Client That Needs Improvement

2011-08-02T08:38:00.000-07:00

Ten years ago I met a wonderful art consultant that fell in love with my work. Since then she has been trying to place my art in many of her client’s collections to no avail. For this, I do not blame her. My art is not exactly the type of art that you would see in the “blue suit” corporate world of cubicles. But, to her credit, she never gave up trying. Last October she had found the perfect client, the perfect building and the perfect wall and I of course had the perfect painting.

This client had a building filled with clients that rented office space to some of their clients. Are you following along? One of the building’s clients didn’t like the painting that hung in that floor’s corridor. So, my art consultant’s client moved the painting to another floor to satisfy their client. Still the client was not satisfied and wanted the artwork removed. By now I assume you realize that this artwork is my masterpiece that a trusted and faithful art consultant had placed on that perfect wall.

Last week I received the call that the client’s client wasn’t happy with my painting. There were a few different roads I could take here. 1) All sales are final! 2) But, I am an artist. I have the freedom of expression, they just don’t understand. 3) Laugh and think the whole thing is ridiculous. I chose option 3 and reflected on how the squeaky wheel gets their way and went on a small rant about political correctness. Don’t get me started on teachers not being able to grade with a red pen because it affects the children’s self esteem. So, as an artist and a businessman with a client to satisfy, I told her she was more than welcome to bring her client to the studio and choose another piece.

We arranged a studio visit and I had made all the preparations to impress my client…wine, cheese and sparkling water. Don’t forget the flowers that accented the artwork on the walls. Everyone was happy and all was off to a good start until the client said, “I can’t have anything with a woman or alcohol.” I thought to myself…self, have they seen what I paint? Luckily, I have a big studio and lots of storage. They found something to hang on that perfect wall. As for the grumpy client that received too many red marks on his test papers, I’m not sure if he is happy or if he ever will be happy. But, I signed the painting, in red, and refrained from putting a smiley face next to it.

Interview With Kerry Sacco @ Firecreek

2011-07-27T11:40:00.000-07:00

I thought it was noon but the hostess and waiter at Firecreek in Downingtown both said “good morning.” I was there with artist Kerry Sacco catching lunch. I say catching because Kerry is always moving if she isn’t traveling between her studio in Philly and one in Lancaster, she can be found painting or referring a lacrosse game. After morning salutations we both looked at our watch and concluded it was a good minute after twelve, so we both ordered a pint of Victory’s Summer Love. We were well on our way of catching up on all the art happenings in the area. Kerry is well versed in teaching and displaying at all the local art centers and shows. We go back 10 years when we were both represented by a local gallery and continue to watch each others artistic journey through art crits and open studios.

Kerry has a nack for catching sunlight at the perfect place at the perfect time. All her paintings have an inviting story that leads you in and your eyes dance with every brush stroke. I had one agenda for this interview to find out why her chicken paintings are so awesome! You’ll have to read some of the painting and arty questions before you get to the chicken.

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

1. When did you start making art?
I started when I was a little girl. I was the one in my family that always was drawing and painting.

2. Did you receive any formal art training? Where and what did you major in?
I did. I got a degree from Millersville University. It was Millersville State College at the time. And then I continued my education with Fleisher Art Memorial, I received my graduate in printmaking at Millersville, then Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.

3. What do you prefer Oils or Acrylics? Why?
Oils! Oils…I don’t know, something about the depth that I can get with oils, and I can work on them a little bit longer. I can let them sit, come back to my paints, I can remix a color pretty accurately. Acrylics, I never really gave them a good try. But it’s something about the translucent part of oils that I love.

4. How do you do chose your subject matter?
I usually choose by first impressions, something that hits me. Light falling on something. Cute chickens running around someone’s yard. I look for the basic compositional thingys like good time winding road that kind of stuff. I also use my camera a lot.

5. Describe for the viewers what you paint.
I paint very realistic light filled landscapes that have an impressionist quality to them. I think that when I paint animals and portraits that still comes into play I like light falling on subjects no matter if they are human or a building.

6. Do you paint from photos or do you paint plein air?
Both but mostly from photos.

7. You travel a lot, where is the happiest place you painted?
Oh my god, I was just talking about this. In a little square in a town in Umbria in Italy called Montefalco I sat right in the middle of the square. The people that I went on the trip with were all hanging out they were having their wine and spritzes and I had my plein air easel up and it was like a crystal clear night and all these family’s were coming out and kids were running around playing and I couldn’t believe I was in that place and I was just sitting there painting. Jim (her husband), that’s one of his best memories too, that was a very happy time.

8. You paint awesome chickens, what is it about chickens that you love?
Oh its their expressions, especially roosters, how they can be ridiculous looking or have such command and expression on their faces, that’s why I love them.

9. Do you have a tip for novice painters?
Learn how to draw first. I am a firm believer in that.

10. How do you decide when an artwork is done?
Well, that’s an interesting question because until I taught I didn’t know how to do that. So in critiquing other people’s work, and being a teacher and knowing how to encourage students to go and add a little bit here a little bit more there, punch up darks punch up lights. That’s how I became more comfortable knowing when my work was done. There are paintings that I will have framed and pull out for a show and take it out of frame and redo it. Someone once said a painting is done when it stops in an interesting place. I think that is a loose enough guideline that it can change later on down the road.

11. Who has been the biggest influence on your life?
I don’t know I’m really stumped. I can say art wise, my professors at Millersville, Robert Nilson, Sheba Spharrow. But I don’t know, my mom was a huge influence on me as far as her patience and the way she was a good teacher. Just life things, so I think id say mommy.

12. What inspires you?
Like emotions and tiniest little things can inspire me whether its taking in a sunrise a sunset, seeing somebody do a good deed and you want to be a better person and you want to be like that. Also, music inspires me especially singer songwriters who are poets. So whether or not somebody like bob Dylan or more recently contemporary people that I have become friends with I think that some of them have a harder life than artists traveling out there on the road and singing from their soul. I listen to music all the time when I paint. All different kinds.

13. Do you have any habits or morning routines you do before going to the easel?
Coffee. Let the dogs out and make the coffee or start the coffee before you let the dogs out.

14. What are you eating right now?
Chicken sandwich with avocado.

15. What is your favorite food?
Italian and Thai

16. What does home mean to you?
Home. Home is where the heart is. Home, lets see, it’s a metaphor for safety for me.

17. Your proudest moment?
My lacrosse team got inducted into the hall of fame in October and I was so proud to be a Millersville Marauder.

18. Money is OK, but it isn’t what life is about. What is it about?
Life is about family and friends and being a good citizen.

19. Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Norton in Deleware county.

20. What is the last book you read?
The last book I read was “The Help”

21. You collect?
I collect, now I collect paintings. I collect bottles of wine. Then drink them.

22. Something that is important on your nightstand?
Ear plugs.

23. Your strangest possession?
My dog Buckwheat’s ashes that are on my kitchen shelf in a can.

24. Your best birthday?
I had 2 best birthdays one was 40 and one was 50. 40 I was in Austin celebrating and 50 I had a weekend of friends and family and music and eagles winning a comback victory and food and wine. And it was good.

FIRSTs

What was your first word?
fa-dada.

Big Break
first big break probably was a solo show with DeBottis Gallery.

Album
Jim Crochie Photographs and Memories.

Concert
First concert was Billy Joel at the academy of music.

Plane ride
I probably was 19 or 20 and I think it was California.

Piece of art you sold
I sold a lithograph at a student show at Fleisher Art Memorial.

So I figured out why she enjoyed painting chickens and roosters so much. She smiled and didn’t seem to mind biting into the $13 dollar Left Coast chicken sandwich that she ordered. We discussed why it was named “Left Coast” because of the avocado placed between the bread and chicken. It was great to sit with Kerry and catch up all this time I had known her I didn’t realize how many things we had in common. We talked about the music we play while painting yet love the silence when we drive. How important it is to stop and enjoy the moment, which usually centers on food and beverages. When she shared her enthusiasm for her wine club and food pairings she could even be a sommelier, but I think she would have to give up one of her extra activities the days just aren’t long enough. I did get to ask her five more questions, for which I call the speed round.

ADD Dinner

2011-07-19T13:18:00.000-07:00

Last night we had two couples over for dinner. Every once in awhile I like to add a little more chaos to the work day by cleaning up planning a meal and preparing it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s all worth it. Come to think of it, it wouldn’t matter if I planned it 3 months ago cause I would still be running around getting ready. Why? Because it is right at the end of my “work day” which is always filled with creativity and the proverbial phrase I say to myself, “If I could just finish…” place in there anything from painting to emailing to looking for inspiration for the next day.

But, all that isn’t what this post is about. It’s about introducing the right mix of creative people to each other and seeing what happens. I love this part! There is a book called “The Tipping Point” by Malcom Gladwell which talks about three types of people; connectors, mavens, and salesmen. Connectors know everyone and are willing to share info by connecting with everyone. You’ll know who they are. They are easy to spot on FB. They have the most friends. Then there are the mavens. They are the ones with a strong desire to help others. They are the ones on FB always posting articles and forwarding posts. In my opinion they are the fine line between the squeaky wheel and the creative type with full on inspiration. Finally, there are the salesmen. These are the people with the passion for getting the word out there. They aren’t on FB. They are calling you on the phone.

My little soirée had a musician and his lovely wife who has the corporate gig going, but moonlights as a retro hip blogger and traveler. The second couple, both who are in the field of helping and saving lives by night or wee hours of the morning depending on their schedule are also creating art or searching out the newest musical talent. All have a deep passion and creative edge that keeps the conversation lively moving and often off track. Speaking as one with a short attention span, I think I can speak for the other guys when I say, if it weren’t for our wives reminding us of our main point we would still be talking.

Ok, what was the main point of this post…Oh for dessert we had Victory Storm King Stout Floats with the Victory Storm King Ice Cream with little chunks of chocolate malt. Awesome!

That General Direction

2011-07-11T12:15:00.000-07:00

I gave myself 2 days to work our way home from Gainesville, Florida to Downingtown, Pennsylvania. The one objective was to stay off of Interstate 95. The other objective was to enjoy time with the family while exploring the 5 states that separated us from our home. The actual routes that we were to take were not planned and that was the fun of it. We had a general direction, north and a little bit east. We traveled through the pine groves of Georgia with its scorched underbrush that would make way for the machinery to harvest the trees. As we drove the smell of smoldering ashes thinned and changed to fresh pine as we passed the lumber mill. We continued our journey through lost towns that were once attractions to travelers before the big “95” came. A 12 foot high rusted coffee pot once signaled for tired travelers that need a pick me up. A rusted car perched 10 feet high upon a pole drew attention to the auto repair shop below. The Bob’s Big Boy figure precariously placed upon the A-frame building with its “Antiques” sign caused us to stop and admire someone else’s junk. We thought it was wise for them to keep it instead of making it our junk.

The task of returning home was broken up every six hours with the search of new culinary delights. If there was a big sign introducing the eatery in town, we weren’t interested. We ate, we laughed, we continued on to the Blue Ridge Parkway. This is an extremely well designed route that meanders through the Appalachian Mountains. Each curve revealed a breathtaking fresh view of the mountains. It all led us in the general direction of home.

Why and how could I do this? Well, because during the previous 10 days I locked myself in the studio. While in the studio I worked on seven paintings that had a general direction. I had seven sketches made up of general ideas that I wanted to explore and that was the fun of it. I started with the colored backgrounds; adding circles and numbers, knowing they were intrinsic to the composition. The monotony of the backgrounds drove me to rethink it, which in turn made me dust off the airbrush. The smell of musty dust was overtaken by the smell of the fresh coat of hot wax placed on top of it. It’s my attraction to painting with wax that maintains my focus and causes me to easily finish the composition. There were many steadfast techniques that I could of used to reach the final image but I had the time to push and explore.

In the midsts of the painting frenzy, I stopped and followed another thought that peeked my curiosity. So, I followed the whim and painted one outer edge of the cradleboard a bright color. Then, the “word” that I scrawl across every painting got moved to that outer edge. I had meandered my way to a new fresh and breathtaking idea. It was an unexpected turn in the general direction of finishing a painting.

Interview with Laura Barton @ Kooma

2011-06-28T12:34:00.000-07:00

I met Laura at her home and studio in the borough of West Chester. I have to mention borough because it’s always cooler then just saying, “West Chester.” I have known Laura for about twelve years when we both showed at DeBott’s Gallery. I arrived late as usual and she was patiently waiting outside. We walked briskly into town chatting about graphic design art and clients. We were headed to Kooma for lunch. Laura and I walked and talked for about ten minutes and were totally caught up. I would say Laura has one speed – “GO.” But that has been over used. She has an energy yet an appreciation for the country and outdoors that evens everything out.

This can be best experienced in her paintings. Plein air paintings that capture light and atmosphere with quick energetic, confidant brush strokes.

That’s all I have, I can’t find a seguay into how we ended up at Kooma but we both thought sushi was a great choice. We sat down and ordered the make roll lunch special choosing any tray of spicy salmon, spicy tuna, shrimp and again spicy tuna rolls for $13. I ordered a bottle of Sauvignon Black from South Africa to prime her for the speed questions that always follow questions and light conversation. Let the questions begin!

1. How did you get started making art?
My mother had us finger painting at 2. She was so good. She was a frustrated artist because she started painting again at age 72. All these years I’ve been buying her paints and pencil sets and all kinds of stuff and she hasn’t even touched it. Then she just decided on her own to get back into it.

2. Did you receive any formal art training? Where and what did you major in?
Yes, I have a BFA from Moravian College

3. Can you describe your work in general for the readers?
It’s wonderful! It’s an impressionistic landscape; I guess that’s it for the most part.

4. What is plein air painting?
It’s when you paint on location.

5. Better yet, let’s rephrase that question. You paint in plein air, describe what plein air is.
To paint in the air. It’s when you get into your 96 Geo Prism and you go all over the roads in Chester County and you’re like, “oh oo oo look, I like that!” Then you pull over to the side of the road, and you don’t get hit, and your dog jumps out with you. You get all your stuff put it on your shoulder, make your dog carry your water, find a little spot where nobody is going to bug you and paint what you see.

6. Why do you like plein air painting?
Because it’s an excuse to be outside. Because I need to be outside. I need my nature fix everyday and getting your nature fix and painting at the same time is like a high I’ve never had before.

7. What do you prefer Oils or Acrylics? why?
Oil. The smell. Because I can mix them really well. They don’t dry as fast for me, I can go back into it, or scrape off. I think for how I work they are more conducive.

8. For me the world is too big, how do you focus on something to paint?
Well usually it’s how the light is hitting something, or the condition of the building. So I tend to paint things that are dilapidated or taken for granted or unnoticed. So my eye is drawn to that kind of stuff. I see a little shack that is about to fall down and the sun is hitting it just right and I’m like, “oh oh oh that’s it.” That’s what I am going to paint today.

9. Are you done when the sun goes down or do you finish it in the studio?
Sometimes I finish it in the studio. A lot of times what I will do is I think it’s done out in the field and then I get it home and I look at it. I put it up on the wall in my dining room so I pass by it a million times a day and every once in a while I’ll say “oh my God that’s what’s wrong with that thing.” So I’ll sit with it for a couple weeks, and I might take it back to the studio and rework something, so until it’s framed its not done.

10. Tell me about some of your favorite techniques...
Well, I love using a palette knife. And how I paint is I do an under painting in a warm transparent red color and I get all the lights and the darks that way the shadow the values, then the composition just so and I start filling it in with color. Lately I’ve been using a bigger brush and not focusing on one part of the painting. You know how you blur your vision a little bit and you just go from one part to the other, you’re more in the tactile act of painting then you are in the thinking act of painting.

11. I hate when a viewer asks is it done? So I’ve ask every artist “How do you decide when an artwork is done?"
Because I walk away from it and I don’t want to paint anymore, I just have a feeling about the painting. I just know when It is done. I have a painting in my house I did about 10 years ago, and I was just noticing yesterday and I was like, “you know what, I don’t like that line in there.” If that had sold it would have been done for all eternity, so it is unfortunately in my house, it’s going to get worked on. I hate when someone asks me, “How long did it take you to do that?”

12. What’s your answer?
All my life.

13. Who has been the biggest influence on your life?
My mom. I guess actually it is my parents, both of them. They’ve always been like “Whatever you want to do you can do.”

14. What inspires you? Really gets your creative juices pumping?
You know what actually, there are so many things. Well I get real jazzed up when it’s a nice day out and the light is right and I don’t have to put on ten layers of clothing and I go out paint and paint and paint. For some reason that air just gets me going. New Mexico, Arizona, Utah the light out just is like, it keeps me going. I just love it!

15. Do you have any habits or morning routines you do before going to the easel?
Yes, lots of them. Well, I walk the dog. That is first and foremost. If the dog ain’t happy ain’t nobody happy. Then I make a pot of coffee actually get a workout in have some breakfast. Then I’m off and running.

16. What time are you up?
Probably around 7. I’m out walking the dog at 7:15 then a work out at 8 then eat and drink coffee and then I’m usually in the studio by 9:30.

17. What tip do you have for painting, lets say…light?
I guess I would say forget that its light or forget that you are looking at a peach in the light and paint the color that it is. Like that’s a bright red, or that’s a dark red and don’t get hung up on, oh that’s a peach. Paint the color and the hue, paint all that you are seeing instead of what you think you should be seeing.

18. What are you eating right now?
Spicy salmon roll, which is delicious, a tuna roll, and a shrimp tempura. I love ginger!

19. What is your favorite food?
Right now its sushi. I love Mexican. I love anything fresh, fish I love fish. I was a vegetarian for 13 years and then I became a carnivore in 2002. I’m never going back. I love meat!

20. What does home mean to you?
Well home is how I feel with my husband. That’s pretty much all I need.

21. Your proudest moment?
I don't really think I'm all that prideful. But, if anything I'm proud of is that I work for myself and I've been doing so for 22 years. To know that I can support myself while not having to work for "the man" is a pretty great feeling!

22. What was your mother right about?
I should have taken a business course

23. Where did you grow up?
Ewing, NJ

24. What is the last book you read?
I’m reading right now The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

25. You collect?
Diamonds. I see a feather I like or a really cool rock or a pine cone. I used to collect cows. I used to paint them a lot. And people would be like “oh you like cows and for Memorial Day for grandparents day they’d give me a cow.

26. A smell that reminds you of your childhood? Lilacs

27. Your best birthday?
I’ve had a lot of really best birthdays. Two years ago we went to Death Valley, Sequoia national forest, and Yosemite.

FIRSTs

What was your first word?
Booze! No… My first word…I don’t know what my first word was. My first word was probably "mom." My mom always said that the first sentence I ever said when I was 2 was, “I’ll never get married and I’ll never have kids.”

Album
Beach Boys Endless Summer

Date
Chris at the high school cafe

Plane ride
To Michigan to visit my childhood friend

Piece of art you sold
Summer isn’t over ‘til the fat lady sings. It was a line drawing of a fat lady on the beach in ’84.

We finished the wine and our plate of sushi in sync signaling lunch was over. We reminisced about our past exhibits and how West Chester was changed for the better or worse. We discussed age and getting older, being a gentleman I won’t divulge her age. She reflected on some of her accomplishments like establishing the West Chester Film Festival and being self employed.

We briskly walked back to her studio just in time to let her dog out and get back to work. Not before I got her to answer my speed round questions. Check them out.

Is a urinal really important?

2011-06-22T08:16:00.000-07:00

I guess the answer depends on where you are standing. My brother-in-law was recently at the Philadelphia Museum of Art standing in the Modern & Contemporary Art wing, looking at the “Fountain.” Upon returning to my in-laws house for dinner, where my family and I were ready to partake in libations and some good barbeque; he thought it would be a good idea to get some perspective regarding this little porcelain thing resting on its back placed high upon a pedestal in this prestigious museum. So he began by asking, “Why is there a urinal in the Philadelphia Museum of Art?” My first response should have been, “Every building needs a bathroom thanks to building codes.” But that wasn’t my reply. Instead I exclaimed with great joy, “Oh Duchamp, isn’t it awesome!”

Let the debate begin. Step one: determine the definition of art: Something that is beautiful and extraordinary. If you look at the context and time period, extraordinary would not be a problem. However I knew I would have trouble convincing someone that a vessel a man uses after processing beer is indeed beautiful. First of all he thought it was ludicrous that it needed to be justified. I explained to him that a lot of stuff in museums needed to be explained. That’s why in museums you find a collection of things arranged nicely with little explanations next to them. I brought up many examples to illustrate my point. Score a point for me!

Beauty was still the problem. I know Duchamp. I love Duchamp. Most of the artists in the 21st Century wouldn’t be doing what they are doing if it weren't for him. I use type in my paintings because he describes words as plastic. I was in awe when I first read that. WOW! It resonated, and I got it. I wanted to use that, it’s my own little readymade. This urinal was the pinnacle for art becoming an idea; art was no longer a pretty picture. Artists were born! After that moment anyone and everyone could become an artist. Now at this point in my argument I was straying down a bad path. There was no way I could convince him that the birth of an idea was beauty. My path led me to good ideas and bad ideas, which results in good and bad art. I say it was a draw; he said score one for him.

The next debate is the fountain of knowledge.

Interview with David Oleski @ Wasabi

2011-06-13T12:47:00.000-07:00

I sat with long time friend and artist David Oleski at Wasabi , a fairly new sushi restaurant tucked away in the Bradford Shopping Center. It is modestly designed with low lighting, maybe too intimate for old friends to get together. Once again, a key feature was BYOB. We sat down with a bottle of Gekkeikam Sake and the questions began.

I met David more than ten years ago at the Rittenhouse Art Fair in Philadelphia. It is one of the oldest outdoor art fairs. David’s career has taken him all over the US setting up shop in different towns, selling wonderfully painted still life’s, mostly apples. Our relationship has a good competitive edge, always pushing, questioning, and jabbing each other when the opportunity arises. But we do agree on many things; good food, good art, and making the most out of life as an artist.

How did you get started making art?

Good question. I have always done art. My parents were artists so I was doing art as soon as I knew how to do anything.

Did you receive any formal art training? Where and what did you major in?
Yes, I went to art school. I went to the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland. I started in general fine arts until I realized I should be more specific so I focused more on painting so my degree is in painting.

Describe your work in general for the readers?
Traditional still life with strong colors and bold brushwork.

What is the excitement in using oil paints?
You have plenty of time to work. You have days and days to work and rework a painting. Colors can evolve and become much more sophisticated over several days and there is a perceived value to certain materials.

Why do you paint so much produce?
Color! It’s the most colorful thing there is. Other than a plate of sushi, I don’t know what else has such vivid colors as apples, vegetables, and fruits.

Why is the mark or brush stroke that you leave in your paintings important to you?
It’s the mark of the human hand. Its how we know a human did it. I don’t want to erase the mark that I was there; it’s like footprints.

“How do you decide when an artwork is done?"
Usually if the day is over, I am either finishing one session or committing to another session. Or I feel like I can’t go any further or I feel like I’ve learned enough and I am ok with how it will sit.

What are your thoughts on perfection?
Its over rated. On one hand, there is no perfection and at the same time we are all perfect in our own way.

You have taken a unique approach to selling your art by doing outdoor exhibits? Why have you avoided the gallery system?
I am a control freak. I like meeting the client. I like making sure the client knows who I am. I like that connection. I believe galleries are building a different kind of professional connection than what I build with my clients.

There is a lot more freedom in your approach, what do you enjoy the most about it?
That’s assuming I enjoy anything. No part of it feels like work. The whole time I set things up because I think they’ll be interesting or fun. I finish them and move on to whatever I want to explore next. There is really no part of it that feels like work.

Are you living the dream?
Yeah, I think so.

Do you have any habits or morning routines you do before going to the easel?
There is a ritual of coffee, email, procrastinate as much as possible, look for other things to do, take a break, go for another walk. Spiral and spiral until I get closer to the easel. There is a sweet spot of the day. The sun turns a certain color once it passes noon. I only paint by natural light. In the morning the light is completely different. At a certain time everything lights up. Boom! Go!

What tip do you have for an artist reading this?
Do what you do, make mistakes, make corrections, have fun.

What is your favorite food?
All food is so great. Thai food of course, all Asian food, Greek food, Italian. It’s all great. There probably isn’t a food I don’t love.

What are you eating right now?
Sushi sashimi lunch special.

Why did you choose Chester County as your home?
To be a neighbor of Jeff Schaller. I saw where you live and said, this is awesome I should be your neighbor.

What was your mother right about?
People do like me. She didn’t make predictions. She just says she knows I will do well. Even if I fall on my face, I fell well.

Money is OK, but it isn’t what life is about. What is it about?
It’s about experiences. It’s about adding up to something, building something.

If you were an apple what kind would you be?
At first I’d say Granny Smith because I’m sour, but then I’d have to say soft and crunchy like Royal Gala.

Have you seen the apple and annoying orange skits?
I have seen them but, I’ve never actually watched one.

We had kicked the bottle of sake over our lunch of sushi and sashimi. A reasonable price paid for the 6 pieces of sushi and 4 pieces of sashimi, even though a choice of soup or salad was offered before, I was still hungry. We added the green tea ice cream drizzled with chocolate sauce to the bill. The novelty of Chinese cookies, a good fortune, and the check signaled the meal had come to an end. We cracked open the fortune cookies to see where we were headed. I got, “There is no glory unless you put yourself on the line.” David, well his was empty. I’m not sure who got the better deal.

Now for the speed round of questions.

Hero or the A-hole who stopped traffic?

2011-06-06T14:27:00.000-07:00

I was thinking… I know it’s a bad way to start a blog. I’ll start off by stating it’s been a tough week and I was pulled in many directions. Don’t worry this isn’t going to turn into a self-help session or radical venting blog.

Once upon a time...there is an accident ahead of you. You pull your car over and like a good citizen, you help. Now, the car behind you sees you running to the rescue. Little do they know, the last CPR class you took was in high school. That’s ok, you look like a concerned citizen and a good guy. Now the guy behind him sees the smoke and fire from the accident and sees the problem. More than likely he will understand and wait it out. Now go back ten cars out of sight and that driver is pissed because he is stuck in traffic. See how quickly one becomes the A-hole who stopped traffic?

Don’t worry my CPR certificate expired 2 years ago. I wasn’t in an accident but have been the first guy on the scene and have been the tenth car back.

So Last Minute

2011-05-24T13:49:00.000-07:00

While getting ready for a show the other day I was speaking with an artist. We were talking about last minute things. Now I’m not talking about packing for a 10-day vacation the morning you leave. I always pack the night before, give or take a few minutes before midnight. I’m talking about last minute painting or creating. Every artist has done this. Some call it “finishing touches.” For me personally, there are a lot more than touches that need to be done. It usually starts with “if I could just…” followed by, “make 3 more paintings.” Or “make 20 limited edition prints.” The other phrase I play in my head is, “Wouldn’t it be great if…” That expression could be completed with, “I printed 100 t-shirts for the show.” or, “I changed all my matts to white and reframed everything.”

Here is the best part of the story. It usually is a great idea. When the artist and I discussed this we both agreed that whatever was created was usually good. Better yet, it usually sold. This has happened to me time and time again. The last minute phenomenon happened in high school when I submitted my work to an art show. The entry forms were done way in advance and I had committed myself to many categories. I had everything done except one pastel drawing. I just couldn’t get it together. I finally scraped the 1^st idea and did a quick drawing to satisfy the entry forms. I have to say it was rather sweet. The judges thought so too and awarded it “Best of Show.”

So maybe the pressure of deadlines puts a little more confidence in your stroke. The ticking clock makes your hand quicker while enabling the brush to dance across the canvas. Procrastination brings focus to your mind and an acute tunnel vision for perfection. It’s not the finishing touches but rather it’s the heat of the moment that drives the desire to create.

Yes, I should have wrote this Sunday night and posted it Monday but I’m so last minute.

Judge, Jury, and Thief

2011-05-17T14:01:00.000-07:00

I had the honor this week of being a judge for the Wallingford Art Center’s member show. It is a great art center tucked away on a side road outside of Philadelphia. I actually had my Snap Crackle Pop Show in their gallery last May. OK, enough about the great space. It’s about what’s inside that counts. There was art in every medium and every medium had a 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd prize. On top of that, the mediums were broken down into professional and non-professional categories. So there were a lot of awards to hand out and a lot of work to look at. The good part and bad part about it was that these weren’t monetary awards, just ribbons to make artists happy.

I thought it would be a daunting task but really it wasn’t. It was kind of obvious. I took a quick walk around and saw some stand out stellar pieces. I now knew that I was going to judge all work against these great pieces. The awards were about great pieces and quality. Quality is always in style.

Quality is what played a role in the professional and non-professional categories. I asked the gallery director what were the qualifications for the professional and the non-professional categories. She said it was up to the artist. Oh the pride and ego factor came into play. Fun! Now it was a personal choice and a jury’s bias. My pet peeves are bad frames, crooked pictures, and badly cut mattes. There is no need for this. Tighten the screws in your corners to secure your frames. Use a ruler or something straight to cut your mattes. Use framers corners or archival tape to hold your pictures in place…thanks for listening. This is why not every artist got an award. This wasn’t a time to celebrate mediocrity. Since I am venting, another pet peeve of mine is when my kids play a sport and come home with a trophy because everyone got one.

The awards were handed out and the word quickly spread. I could hear the members and artists talking. “Congratulations!” they would say. “I can’t believe I won!” was exclaimed. Then I eyed a really sweet piece, which I gave first place to. I looked at the price tag, $90 non-professional. It was a steal! So, I purchased it! Luckily, in a world of ethics there were no monetary prizes so I didn’t feel like I was going to change the volatility of the art market.

The best artist is a dead artist.

2011-05-10T08:25:00.000-07:00

It’s Sunday night and we just feasted for Mother’s Day and blew our calorie count with fried snickers for dessert. I preface this blog thought with my eating habits because it’s quickly getting me closer to the dead artist.

I have been told this little fact more than once by gallery owners. Not sure if I should take this as an insult or a goal. I do a quick assessment of my art history classes and recount the more famous artists, the ones that are selling for high dollars at auction houses or don’t even hit the market because they are in museums. Then it occurs to me. It’s a business model. Art becomes a commodity. Once the artist is dead, the commodity becomes limited. As long as I am still alive and kicking I’m making stuff.

Take Van Gogh for instance. Everyone has heard the story about how he never sold anything while he was alive. Once dead he could no longer make the stuff, so his sister in law takes the reigns and starts shopping his art around. I’m sure with a little marketing, a little luck, and a limited quantity she could create a demand. Everyone knows how the story ends. He is everywhere, on umbrellas, totes, handbags, and even has a line of vodka.

Then I think of Patrick Nagel. Believe me it isn’t that great of a leap. He is an artist that captured the epitome of the 80’s. Every Miami Vice viewing house had at least one hanging over their black leather sofa adjacent to the black lacquered side table. He did tons of prints and editions, but I never saw an original. Can’t really say they are hanging in museums. So I googled him and lo and behold he died in 1983 just at the beginning of the 80’s and the end of his career. Now I’m wondering if he has a sister in law or family member that is business and marketing savvy.

I could go on with examples of dead artists. Even artists that created tons of stuff like Warhol. Everyone wants a Marilyn painting or a print now. I’d be happy with a Indian Head Nickel or Kachina Dolls print.

What does this have to do with my artwork and career… nothing. It’s inevitable, I’m going to eat more fried snickers and I’m going to have to pay more taxes.

I'm going to need a bigger stove.

2011-05-03T13:59:00.000-07:00

I am going to continue on the food and eating theme. Last week, I needed a bigger plate so I could fit more things on it. But before you start serving yourself all of this good food you have to make it. So now we go back into the kitchen.

I worked as a sous chef through high school and for a few years during my college summers. Where I worked in our area was considered a “fancy” restaurant. I was the person between salads and meat. I took care of anything that had to be fried or sautéed. Maybe this is the start of my high cholesterol, but I digress. The following remark is not meant as a slam regarding the eating habits of America, but I was indeed busy every time I had a shift. We used to call the busy time, “the weeds.” This was the time when it seemed everyone came to eat. The orders piled in and while I needed a bigger stove more importantly I needed to prioritize.

Prioritizing projects seems to be the cliché of the week. Deadlines, planning, and future events all need to be maintained, stirred, and kept warm. Some projects need to maintain a constant boil. These have to go out right away. I love this stage. Creativity is flowing and things are humming. It’s hot and ready to serve. But…wait, here is a better analogy. The waiter comes back to the kitchen and says the client is still on the salad and not ready for the main course. I curse, and then move the meal to the back burner and turn down the flame to a simmer.

I move some projects or “pots” around to make room for something new. There are things marinating, waiting to be cooked. These are ideas waiting to be created. There are things simmering on the burners. These are projects in the works. Then I find out the customer excused himself to head to the head. Time passes, ideas idle, things get crispy, but never burnt. I think to myself, hit or get off the spot. I have things to make and serve.

I am going to need a bigger plate.

2011-04-26T12:55:00.000-07:00

It’s Easter dinner and I look over the table admiring the abundance of food and beverages. I pile the ham on my plate, drizzle the orange fig glaze. Next, I place a generous helping of scalloped potatoes made with three cheeses that ooze across the plate. Can’t forget the veggies, so I add the roasted asparagus and continue adding different food groups to my menagerie. I can’t help but think that because I am offered so much, I take so much. It’s not gluttony; it’s opportunity!

As in life, the more you do, the more opportunities you have. It seems like common sense or a convoluted mathematical problem. It’s exponential. The more you do, the more people you meet. The more people you meet, the more opportunities you have. The caveat here is to ask someone that is also busy. If you need something done ask a busy person. They will more than likely find room on their plate to accommodate your request.

Interview with Rhoda Kahler @ Jazmine-Authentic Thai Cuisine

2011-04-26T11:20:00.000-07:00

I sat down with ceramic artist Rhoda Kahler at Jazmine – Authentic Thai Cuisine in West Chester for a wonderful and long conversation about art, about life and specifically about her life. Let me preface this by stating that “long” is not a bad word here. The end of a meal is usually signaled by the finishing of the bottle of wine. We did just that and an hour later we were still there despite the lunch crowd leaving and the early dinner crowd beginning to arrive.

Here is a glimpse of Rhoda’s history; she grew up on a chicken farm on a road named “Hatchery.” There are no fast food joints or traffic lights in her town. Her family didn’t have much money growing up so she used anything and everything she could find to quench her thirst for making art. She met her future husband at a sixth grade dance. Fast forward to college, she attended WCU as an art major and stayed and fell in love with the town. Her high school boyfriend followed suit and not long after they decided to marry. Fast forward another 13 years still happily married, she teaches clay at CCAA, has a successful career making ceramics and she can’t walk around town or attend an opening without a past student coming up to say “Hi.”Once our appetizers arrived I started with the questions. We chatted while eating tom yum soup and golden spring rolls.

How did you get started making art?
When I was a kid all I thought about was making stuff, because we grew up on a farm and it was one hour away from the nearest store. I had a Barbie doll and the JCpenny catalog had this awesome wardrobe for all the Barbies. We couldn’t buy them so I made them. I crocheted and knitted and then I got so good I was selling them on the school bus.

Did you receive any formal art training? Where and what did you major in?
I went to York College for two years and went to West Chester for two more years. And got my BFA in fine art.

I could never do 3D sculpture, what do you enjoy about sculpture?
Holding it in your hands. Squeezing it, touching it, wrapping my hands around it.

What inspires you in your work?
Mostly nature. Tree roots, things like that that you come upon. It could even be a dying flower where the stem kind of curves, or a fern frawn that comes out of the ground and it’s all spiraled before it opens up. The human form, especially the female form. It could be the sky or how the clouds form.

What was your inspiration behind the “Alphabet Cities?”
We were in Spain. We rented a car and we wanted to see the white hill towns in southern Spain. It’s mostly farmland, cork trees, olive trees, and winding roads. Everyone in the city just packed into the side of a mountain. It was awe inspiring when you come around the corner and you see the cork trees and olive trees and all the beautiful scenery and then you turn the bend and you see this whole city vertical down the hill. It reminded me of blocks that I collected years ago at a flea market with printing press letters and I had a friend in college who lived in Alphabet City in New York. I had a notebook that I just started filling it with ideas. Clay is a master impersonator of anything you put into it so I use all the things I collect, like if I find an old washer, or bolt or old roller skate, I’d save it.

You are building a new studio, where is it?
My new studio is 1212 Hall Road and we just put a ceiling and skylights and insulation and walled it off and we have heat, now I just have to name it. We are working on it. I still have to paint it. So yeah, Hall Road just outside of West Chester in between West Chester and Downingtown.

Rumor has it you are an awesome teacher. What is it about teaching that you love?
I love working with kids and adults, you give a lot but you get a lot of ideas too. You get inspired. You see something, and you think about things, and you verbalize things, and it makes you stronger.

What is your favorite food?
I love cheeses, goat cheeses.

What is your favorite color?
Green. All my glazes are green, different shades of green. It’s just… I love green.

What are you eating right now?
Tai food green curry.

What does home mean to you?
It is shelter, it’s what contains you, it is your environment, it’s what inspires you, having your friends’ paintings on the wall around you. Mike and I are starting our collection of friends’ paintings hanging on the wall and remembering the friendship and good times. Home is a place to be surrounded by everything that makes you happy.

Your proudest moment?
So far, the WCU show.

What was your father right about?
My father would always say, “laziness is a sin.”

Money is OK, but it isn’t what life is about. What is it about?
Being happy and enjoying who you are.

We had finished the bottle of Norton wine and all the questions yet we continued to discuss our art experiences. I really got to know Rhoda when last year I invited her to my open studio tour and later worked with her at our group show at WCU just this past November. I enjoyed our conversation over lunch and could relate to the feeling of being the black sheep in a family of non-artists.

We soon found out that we were surrounded by other artists when our waiter/part-owner, Josh, informed us he was in fact an artist and that his paintings graced the walls around us. The presentation and flavors of the authentic Thai food found in our $9.99 lunch special were excellent and kudos to Josh for serving it up while displaying his other artistic passion.

I couldn't let Rhoda leave with out hitting her up for a round of speed questions.

The A-HA Moment

2011-04-19T12:34:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had those moments that make you go “A‑HA?” Sometimes I successfully pull that off in my paintings, other times it flies over the viewers’ head. Usually these deep A-HA thoughts come to me in the shower. I don’t know…maybe I shouldn’t ask myself. I can’t even blame the coffee because routine calls for me to shower first. Maybe it is the thought of 24 hours ahead of me to do what I want that frees my mind into random association.

My A-HA moment yesterday came when I reached for the shampoo and didn’t have to turn the bottle over to get the shampoo out. Really! Think about it, all my life I had grabbed the shampoo and turned it over to squeeze out some shampoo. Over the course of many showers and many epiphanies the shampoo would slowly get used up. Finally, you would try to balance the shampoo on the edge of the tub for the next morning, hoping the bottle maintained it’s perfect balance so all the shampoo slid down to the bottom (which was the top then). How many times have I had to wait or shake a bottle hoping the little remnants would slide down and make it out of the bottle?

It’s so simple. Why did it take so long? Really it’s a brilliant idea! Then I thought about it. This upside down bottle is all around me. The ketchup and mustard sits upside down in my fridge. The laundry detergent drains from a spout at the bottom of the container. This concept is revolutionary!

Then I grabbed the soap to scrub down and to continue with this new enlightenment. The soap had changed. No longer was it a square bar but it was curved. As I washed it “fit” over my arms and legs. OMG! When did this happen? At what board meeting did someone stand up and say, “I think we should make the bar curved.”

Fast forward past the shower and past the coffee. The day has started and I’m in the studio at the easel ready to paint. I ask myself what small change can I embrace to make a big difference. I paint with a bigger stroke and less understanding. It is this small change and a step in a new direction. Hoping this new path will lead me to an all-new A-HA moment.

I (Heart) Tomorrow

2011-04-11T14:26:00.000-07:00

I have this quote written on my wall by Ernest Hemmingway “I always worked until I had something done, and I always stopped when I knew what was going to happen next. That way I could be sure of going on the next day. I was free then to go anywhere in Paris to exercise, to become physically tired. Then it is also good to make love to the one you love.” I have a bunch of inspirational quotes written on my wall right next to my easel. I particularly like this one and relate to it everyday. No, not walking the streets of Paris, it is too far away. Nor the second part about “making love.” This isn’t that kind of blog. I love the idea about leaving enough to finish tomorrow.

The thought of not finishing something could drive one crazy. When I leave something to finish up the next day it isn’t because of laziness. Actually, it helps with the procrastination I would find waiting for me tomorrow. Knowing I have something to finish when I stand in front of the easel is like a double shot of caffeine. I don’t have to think, I just have to do. Everything is already planned out. How sweet is that?

Having something planned out for tomorrow is relatively easy. Working hard all day and placing those perfect accumulations of brush strokes is the hardest part. Watching the clock and knowing when to stop is the dilemma. If the day plays out well and doesn’t become a Greek tragedy, I am all set. When I get to that point towards the end of the day when I know where I’m going, I try to stop. The operative word is “stop.”

I can put everything down, turn off the griddles that melt the wax, shut off the lights and close the studio door behind me. I can continue with the evening in luxury, sipping a cocktail and enjoying the company of friends and family. My mind is at ease, free of worries and concerns about what is going to happen tomorrow.

I got to the studio in the morning and read another quote from my wall. “The hardest day was yesterday.” This is a motto from the US Navy Seals. I didn’t write it. My Uncle a retired Sea Bee stole a pencil and vandalized my wall with thoughts of yesterday. I kept it because I thought I could relate…to writing on other peoples’ walls. Which reminds me, next step is to publish on FB.

Artist, Painter, Director, Filmmaker…Dad

2011-04-05T12:18:00.000-07:00

“We” had known about this project since the beginning of the school year. You can see where I am going with this by starting off with “we.” In all reality my daughter, Mia, had a project assigned to her at the beginning of the year. Daughter like father, she waited until the last minute to start and complete the project.

The project: visit a historical landmark in Pennsylvania and write a report which consists of one paragraph at least four sentences in each paragraph, 12pt type, double-spaced…blah blah blah. You must also do an oral presentation, present a slide show, or do a video. This is where I come in and take over, I mean, help out with creative input.

Armed with my iphone 4 with high def video capabilities, we visit the Brandywine Battlefield. But before we go I assign the tasks. First daughter in charge of beverage and snacks for the main actress, son in charge of props, guns and little army dudes, mom limo service to and from film site, and me filming, directing and creative process. Daughter actually doing the project in charge of script, acting out all scenes and allowing me to do my job.

Now I must comment my daughter has a great sense of humor and wrote out a wonderful script; A story about a blue team, us as she refers to them, and a red team meeting on a field in the Brandywine Valley. She stated all the facts, used all her props, and hit all her marks. I transferred all the video takes onto the computer and now face the daunting task of editing and figuring out imovie. It is like giving a six-year-old girl a bedazzler, everything is going to be shiny and sparkle. I’ll work on the editing between my other projects and at night just in time for “our” deadline.

As I worked on this project I thought about how I want my kids to do their best, and how I can do my best, and most of all how we all have different talents and nothing really gets accomplished by one person’s efforts. I am hoping my daughter’s efforts get me an “A” or I’m going to have to schedule a parent teacher conference and let the teacher know how hard my daughter worked for me.