Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Friendlier Paintings


I'm still pushing paint around these bits of paper and loving it. Each little work seems a new challenge, but so far so good-I have hit no brick walls and all seems fluid-sometimes moving at a slower pace, but moving nonetheless.

I worked a bit tonight, which is off my usual schedule-mornings seem to be my better time. I've got five paintings going and each one seems to allow me back to it, to rework and add to it as see fit. This is a big change from my past-I could never seem to find a groove-a way to work that did not feel absolutely stiff and meaningless. I can't say that I'd be much good at showing you the meanings inherent in any of my abstracts, but that doesn't leave them meaningless to me. None of the recent work seems stiff to me-when a painting does, I put it aside to do a major rework on it or paint it over right then and there. The key to my recent love of this painting thing is that it is all flowing and moving. With little time to give to this 2D work, that suits me just fine. there are days that putting the brush down and cleaning up is just the worst, but that also leaves me burning to get back to it. The ring of fire.
This one is called The Faun.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Applying for a rebate


That's what I want for Christmas-a rebate.

This season has almost completely passed me by. I miss so much of what I used to do holiday-wise (Christmas was a huge deal in my former married life), which is now almost next to nothing.

Having ailing parents has not helped at all, either.

I've spent a great deal of my spare time lately dealing with them and their doctors. My Dad developed a gangrenous condition a month back-dealing with the surgery (big toe amputation) and the recovery involved could almost be a full time job for several people. I have to say that the hospital that he is in (Mountainside Hospital in Montclair, NJ) made a lot of this problem easier by getting my mother and I clear information much of the time.

Johnny, the new hound, has been really easy to have around. His demands are few and easily met. He does suffer from car-sickness, though-this is something I never gave even a second thought before, having dogs that seemed well attuned to driving around. I am going longer distances, though-commuting regularly 60 miles to my Mom's and then another 70 miles (on top of that) to Laura's place up in Westchester. Poor guy has probably spent very little time in a car before. BTW, settled on the name Johnny as it seems to fit him but, as usual, he has many names, most of them working well. He just doesn't like it when I raise my voice, so I'm making a concerted effort to not do that at all. He gives me absolutely no reason to raise it as he is an almost perfect gentleman.

Please put up a little corny or kitschy ornament for me and know that I'll be back next year, much like Santa, to hopefully enjoy my holiday a little more fully.

Friday, December 10, 2010

The New Salesman's Dog...


has no name. I thought briefly of naming him "dog". He came with the names Johnny Dollar, Blue Moon, and Buck...ok, so where to from here?

Had a similar problem with the last adopted dog (Skye, who did not last with me for one week because of her health issues) and here we are again. Well, the name ain't so important. This little guy (he's about 55 pounds) has a meaty head with a very trim and fit body. He is slightly off kilter in the head area, as he was purportedly shot in the neck-how and why, I do not know, but can't imagine that it was for a good reason. to me, he seems part beagle mixed with lab or golden retriever, but I'll never know for sure. One thing for sure, like most dogs, he sure likes to get fed and to be petted!

Over this past weekend, I had an open studio, attended by just a few folks-certainly enough people to make it worthwhile, but a paltry few considering everyone who said that they'd be there. It is a tough time of year for this sort of thing-next time I might try one before Thanksgiving, to make it easier on everyone's schedule.
Thanks to everyone who came, especially to Steve, who brought along Anna and Thompson, who both thoroughly enjoyed Liza, the standard poodle I babysat over the weekend, as well as the artwork.
My parent's health has been deteriorating further and, although I'm constantly on the phone with my Mom, I still feel guilty and not "there" enough for them. Dad was diagnosed yesterday with gangrene in his foot (feet have truly been an Achilles Heel for this man, pardon the weird punning-he's always had some sort of issue with his feet-from a rash that kept him out of active duty in WWII to breaking his ankle on a construction job after years of working at the top of skyscrapers) and my Mom has had a running battle for the past month with a fast heartbeat (altohugh she has a pacemaker). S'pose all these problems have done even more to keep me from thinking any holiday thoughts at this time-I just want to hunker down and deny the whole thing, despite the twinkly lights and trees all around me. Humbug? Maybe not, but just count me out of the Christmas sing-along and tree lighting.
BTW, this dog brings up absolutely no memories of my previous dogs, which I suppose is a blessing-he is so different from either of them, which is truly a good thing.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

OOPS!

I did forget to mention-and this is probably too late for ya'll, that I'll be haivng an open studio this coming Saturday, December 4th from 10-5pm. My studio is located at the old Vail Grange Hall-47 Vail Road-if you are using a GPS, punch in Columbia, NJ as that's how it's mapped out.
Sorry for the very late announcement, but my secretary has been on vacation for the past few weeks.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Music and Painting


In any other situation, the background of sound might be an irritant-but the voices of Big Bill Broonzy, Blind Willie McTell, and Fuzzy Wilson act as lubricant. Smoothing out the edges between those times when the brush is actually on the paper and when the action is stalled (when you just have to sit back and think), these voices help, ranging from dulling the frustration to accenting the high notes at the rare times when things are going right.
I'm beginning to think this painting thing is all about stamina: being able to paint and paint-maybe till your arm falls off-but things are actually improving. Guess this observation is a "duh" moment on my part, but I really never considered the fact that the "practice, practice, practice" idea could come into play here. I suppose this was true for me with three dimensional work, but that just seemed so easy for me-and it was easy there to "practice, practice, practice" as I (almost) always seemed to enjoy the results.
More stuff to give thanks for-where's Ian Drury now?

This one is called Driga-it's on a welded stand-as yu can see, it's made offa old log with a lotta help from nature-the hair is strips of cut roofing copper and he only has one ear.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Studio Show


It's almost time for the last few shows of the year: Baltimore (At the Visionary Art Museum) and my 2nd annual in-studio show. Trying to do a little more self-promotion this year and (fingers crossed) hoping that it might work.

Cleaning the studio has so far been a Herculean-type task. Maybe not quite as bad as cleaning out those Augean (sp?) stables, but, then again, I'm being no where near as thorough as I should be.

I also need to "get my ducks in a row" with the websites- http://wmskrips.blinkweb.com/ has seen no action for quite a while (you are looking at it before the update-more than half of those sculptures have been sold or redone!), even though I made mention in the introductory blurb of changing things once a week-HAH! Here you-all can feel free to call me a big fat liar! But now, I'm on the case and changes will be made so that I can skate by at least another year...

Let's face it, folks-I am trying to do too much. My painting has been suffering the past few months because of the short story I've been trying to put together, which has thoroughly zapped both my attention and my time...I'm not so sure that I even like the story anymore. I assure you that I could edit this thing until the cows come home. But I did find a parallel between the writing and the painting-I seem to start off quick, breaking from the gate like a old horse trying to win. But while I'm cruising along, racing to some kinda finish, I realize that the structure of the story-the plot-is not complete or satisfactory (read, trite). Why should I put out a story that makes a reader say "duh" after they've finished reading it? Things are a bit different for the painting-I get lost in the beauty of spreading all that paint and forget that the whole thing needs to have a structure-I wind up with all the interesting but discrete elements-I have thought about making cut-outs like Matisse-rearranging all my little beauties to form a monster collage-but it would make me feel so much better if I could paint my way to this, rather than resort to a sculptor's bag of tricks. Yikes.
This piece uses and old bucket-bottom as a background and the head is covered in what was part of a toy tea set-done in this color, leaving clues of its vintage. The eyes and lips are bits from the box of old traces I bought from a farm auction (the one that Steve missed).

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Hard Times Killin' Floor Blues


Talk about a song stuck in yer head-the title to this blog is the song that has followed me around for all too long-it's from the soundtrack to the "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" (by Chris Thomas who covers Skip James, who is described as a man who might be singing and playing this tune to a warm Mississippi night on an old wooden porch at least 75 years ago...)

It IS a beautiful song, but, jeez, I'm sorta thinking it might be adding to my "downtrending" mood the past few days. The spectre of the holidays is hovering around my head and what with sad memories I have of Christmas/Thanksgiving past(s), this whole time might be a tough one.

It doesn't help that my parents might be seeing their last holiday in the house. Those last few words do not come easily and, yep, I can feel their weight...

Where's that damned dog when I need her?

I sure do miss my Rhonda now.
This one is called "Deaf and Dumb." There's something about it that I really like that goes over and beyond my usual work-I guess that it holds more mystery than the usual...

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Hard(ened) times


I just glanced at the amount of posts that I'd made in the past couple of years. Comparing it with this year's tally, it sure looks like I've been slacking. Of course, I have my excuses-they're somewhere around here....

Well, I tried a rescue dog and she just did not work out for reasons I just don't want to go into here. As I wrote a friend just this morning, I'd sure like a dog right now. Following that thought was "A dog sure would be the most impractical thing I could have right now (well, that is, next to a leased BMW, that is)."

I'll sit on the fence for a while on this one and wait for the dog to come to me. Many offers have been made and I'm sure my friends think me picky (which is very true), but I'm gonna wait for the dog to find me.

My painting has been somewhat constipated lately-there is this feeling when it is working, when the flow is good and unrestricted (mind you, this has little to do with the end product). My sculpture feels as if it's somewhat canned. The fact that the studio is unheated (that's by choice and dictated by my pocketbook) has not helped my creative "flow". I spent most of the day yesterday in the studio and I felt things start to free up, just as I was about ready to call it a day.

There is something to this aging thing-I now have a true drop off point and I call it that becuase it is so dramatic-you know it when it is reached.

My writing has been going pretty well-like everything else I'm trying to do, there has been no concentration but only fits and starts. This is the way I like to work, but I'm having trouble dividing up time lately...another item to work on.

I'll do the Ann Arbor show again next year (they invited me back) and give it another shot. I'll apply once more to JazzFest and I want to try another little show in Michigan. The gallery scene is dead-I feel badly for all of the galleries that show my work-they have that rent thing to deal with constantly and no way of encouraging sales...

I'm having a studio show and sale on December 4th (please tell yer friends and neighbors)-we'll give this thing a shot once again (the first one was terrific)-if nothing else, it's a good excuse to rearrange the studio. A great studio sweep and cleaning is coming sometime soon-I can feel it-When the mood hits, I'm gonna be chucking out and moving stuff like crazy-you know, turning over the new leaf, shaking the dust off (literally)...but for right now, I'll be at AVAM one weekend and the following weekend is my sale...busy, busy.
This one is a favorite of mine. It's called "In the Wall"-or some such thing-I know I (already)gave it a title, but I write from home and can't readily access my work...when I get to the shop later, I'll have one of those "duh" moments when I see the original title. No matter-it's mine and you can't have it!
ps. Writing a short story about a big expressionist painting globbed with paint and some other stuff...

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Food Fer Thought

Via FaceBook-Steve Terlizzi just posed the challenge to make a list of the fifteen artists who most influenced you AND will stick with you no matter what (his words). He said: Don't think about this too long...here's my list (in no particular order):
John Michael Basquiat
Robert Rauschenberg
Georg Baselitz
Franz Kline
Willem DeKooning
H.C. Westermann
Jim Nutt
William Burroughs
Henri Matisse (esp his Sculptures and Cut-outs)
Mark DiSuvero
Joseph Cornell
Pablo Picasso
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Ludwig Meidner
Franz Marc
Gerard Cambon
Guess I could keep on adding, but he said to keep it short and quick...


Did a painting yesterday that took maybe 15 minutes ...it's wonderful (only in my mind, which don't count fer &*%$^#*@), but lacks real contrast. The color all jives and sits well together, but the whole thing lays back and contrast-wise, it's soggy white bread. I am not a person that likes colors too wild in any shape or form, so I guess this work parallels my chosen "palette". But that doesn't mean I have to be satisfied with it. Looks as though I might have to start creating some exercises that will challenge my color choices.
Still looking for a dog. I flip/flop between thinking that my life is too busy for any such critter but then go and meet actual prospects. Saw an English Setter yesterday that was in need of a home-I thought this dog not a good match for me and ugly as well- this makes me question my values. I rescued a stray on Saturday and was all ready to take this dog in (what the dog looked like was truly secondary or tertiary to the goal: a home for the homeless) and then, the owner came and got her. There's two parts to the neediness here-one part being the dogs and the other part is all mine.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

More Stuff About the Hounds


No, it sure as hell is not practical Entertaining the thought of having a dog right now is sure as hell not practical, but a beast that thinks like me would be a great addition to this here family of one. Anyone who owns a dog knows what I mean-I thought getting a kitty cat for a while, what with their relatively low maintenance, but they just don't compare. Meow.


I wanted to name the dog Scout, but it's ridiculous to assume a name before meeting da Mutt (yes, friends, I'm open to dogs of either sex right now even though my preference has always been female -you can read into that what you like, but they are gentler and kinder and more loyal as far as I can tell. I have been looking at a few nice German Shepherd dogs-guess there's a soft part of me that still misses my Rhonda, who was mixed, but looked predominantly German Shepherd-ish. Anyhow, I'm sticking to no name (Noname was the big WHITE Shepherd Jamie found as a stray and brought in to work-I couldn't take him as I was nursing Rhonda through her last days and a new dog would be way too much of a betrayal) and I'll figure all that out when I've adopted the dog.

Just recieved a used copy of The Gift,by Lewis Hyde, which is a book about the artist and his/her role in society. I've scanned it before and hope to get a bit more out of it. Also purchased a new book of essays concerning Francis Bacon and his work. Can you tell I'm hooked? Well, the guy really gave a great interview-or maybe it was just that David Sylvester was such a great interviewer-dunno-they are both no longer with us so I'll have to ask someone else....
The sculpture is "DIY", recently sold to John Krysak, a collector hailing from Atlanta.

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Not Fade Away


Francis Bacon speaks of never losing the mystery behind or in your work-that is, keeping the work not only somewhat foreign and vague to your audience, but also keeping yourself at a distance: knowing, not knowing.


Presently, a great deal of the three dimensional work I'm doing right now seems pretty well stuck. Fastened to some kind of past, it all seems a bit too automatic, too easy. What I hope for are new revelations, some new angles-ones that could throw the radio right into that bathwater.


Meanwhile, the lil' paintings I'm doing on paper seem to bloom and fester. Both lively and challenging, they're nothing more than pushed paint. I keep trying not to look where I'm stepping. This paint still looks appetizing to me every morning- knowing/not knowing.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

"Salesman Seeks New Dog"


It's been a while since I've "penned" anything for this here blog. Guess that's quite an understatement. Thanks to you-all who have stayed with me, checking every once in a while for new material. Sorry to have dissapointed for so long.


Without guaranteeing any degree of regularity for the future, here goes.


I have a new address and that is not insignificant nor was it easy to obtain -moving for me was never a natural act-my parents are still in the same house they bought in 1948- can't say that apple has fallen far from the tree. But leaving the home I shared with my now ex-wife to living with my parents (after not living there for about 35+ years) was not very easy, either.



I plan to move again. This is under protest, but necessary. This place is filled with dampness and is growing a healthy strain of mold, which is giving yours truly a stomachache and a headache on a regular basis. After being blood-tested, x-rayed and GI-tested, I can only conclude that it's a mold problem. The green blue ring around each of my shoes, which reside in the carpeted closet, also serves to support my case. Not good.


Living here for the past few months has been relatively painless (outside of the mold issue) and I've almost starting to feel at home. I'm a bit more settled in than I care to admit (considering I'm gonna have to do it all over again). Here I have a little "project room" (I'm typing away in it right now) and I've been doing some paintings on paper there. I've kept my sculptural work at the studio-not that I'm so concerned about keeping things separated, but more to ensure that this place stays relatively neat and tidy.


I have a decent bathtub and a good-sized kitchen and living room. But nothing ever dries here. The spiders love the moisture-I just wish I liked the spiders. My favorite neighbor is a catbird who calls the front yard home. She always makes me feel welcome here, even if the bird is a bit territorial, scolding if I get too close.


Anyhow, I just returned from FolkFest, the once-a-year show I attend down in Georgia. This year I enjoyed the people there far more than the art. Maybe because I arrived there a bit late (my fault) and got distracted in the rush to put up my booth-I saw some good work, but found the show overall a bit less inspiring/exciting than in years gone by. Maybe I'm getting more jaded to the regional folk art, but I also might be a little less tolerant of all the (folk) art that is supposed to come from the heart, but looks and feels to me as if it comes from the area of the wallet instead. Don't get me wrong-I'm there to make money, too, but there's a certain genuineness lacking in a lot of what I saw displayed there. There just seems to be more artists who have jumped on the bandwagon and are churning out product just to cash in on the folk art phenomenon. Next stop, Wal-Mart. Maybe I'm just a damn cynic...

Conversely, there is still a wonderful, almost primitive ring to a great amount of other work there. Fingerprints abound, real and metaphoric -much of the artwork there defies the process of mass manufacture-it is filled with mistakes, lines that aren't straight, false starts, obvious erasures-everything here says made by man. I have found this also at the Kentuck show, which occurs a little later in the year (October) in Alabama. It is another wonderful gathering of stuff, filled with a strange mix of art and artists, unlike the many shows that most of us know. So unique-I wish that there could be more of these strange and wonderful shows around the country. No, I do not plan to try and start one here in New Jersey, although the cultural aptitude (and attitude) around here surely could benefit.

Presently, I am looking for a new Salesman's dog. I'm not sure if this is the right time to do this, that is, to adopt a hound, as I'm renting space. But my friend Laura and I agree, dogs are life-changers and necessary for one's sanity. I need to have a dog to rest my arm on-a dog would slow me down a little bit and make me take life in smaller bites. I've been baby-sitting a standard poodle lately (me with a poodle? Yup, you heard it here!) and Liza is terrific and lots of fun. For me, it's gotta be a big dog. I DID turn down Rolf and Wolfgang, the two German Shepard buddies who weighed in at 135 and 155 pounds, respectively. The rule is that I must be able to pick the dog up so that , when the time comes, I can care for them in their old age. I know, not the warmest thought, but there are areas in which you need to be more practical.

The job which held my interest is now a bit hard to take-I think that it is no fault of the job or the work involved, but the fact that I feel a need right now to be more "present" with my art.
The Fall and Winter promise to be slower times and I hope to be able to recoup more creative time and still retain the job. Looking forward to the change in season, but not towards paying for oil, which is always on my mind as the thermometer goes down.

Daydreaming of paintings-I feel so close to doing some successful painted work-so close that I can almost taste it-but not quite close enough to lay the dreamed-up works on paper or canvas. There's no stopping the daydreams-it's just I fear that I'll turn to other subject matter if I can't satisfy the dreaming...some hours or days in the painting studio would help. I find no gratification just holding the brush and that's about all I can do after working-well, at least that's where I'm at in my habits. I DO beleive if I have to I can retrain myself and burn just a little more of the ends off all those candles.
That's "Knowing/Not Knowing" just in case you can't read the type on the sculpture.

Monday, February 15, 2010

There's no one home


I'm not living at home presently. More about this later.

I have been negligent in not announcing the fact that I've two new websites:


for sculpture and


for 2D work...
If you have questions on anything, please contact me at handmade@netcarrier.com and be patient as I'm answering emails only once a week or so....

This one is a new favorite-the title escapes me and I'm not in the studio to look it up....sorry! It measures about 20" tall.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

painting


Perhaps it’s just from using painting materials more frequently, but I feel as though my intuitive skills grow with each of the “scrape “ paintings that I've been making- I like them more and more-maybe because I’m FEELING the color and discarding the idea of form …I wonder if I could ever make that happen with sculpture and what form things would take-the difference here is that you have to drive around sculpture, whereas you can glide on the color of these "canvases"-which may be relevant here-I am working on paper-not only is the "sanctity" of the stretched canvas out the window, it's just a helluva lot easier to bear down on the paper- far easier to get more physical and I do SO like to scrape and chisel at my surface. Guess the other idea that I'm choosing to avoid right now is how easy it is to make these little paintings, which , for me, go beyond satisifying: like I'm having too damn much fun AND I really like the product. For right now I'll file this as a superfluous thought and keep painting.

Help. Does anyone out there know where I can get a good quality b&w zerox for use in wet collage/painting that will not bleed?
ps-this is an older work...

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

In response to a letter from P...

Since this is my first time writing for the new year, Happy 2010!
Can't say I've made any major resolutions, but I sure wouldn't mind dropping a few pounds (like everyone else in the new world).

A friend wrote to tell me that although she really loved my work, seeing it along with some other artists (she mentioned two others by name) had caused her to give up making art. This bothers me a lot. Ideally, I'd always be the artist that inspires others to get out there and make things. Someone who set loose a flurry of energy culminating in people doing.
Guess this can't always be so. As much as I feel it a blessing to inspire people (and, apparently, one that I have little control over), the opposite effect is also possible.
I'd urge anyone feeling this way-someone who stops making art because it seems as though others (pardon the metaphor) seem to have all the aces -to question the whys of
their actions. I'm not saying that each and every one of us is meant to make art, far from it-but that those who enjoy creating should be very careful of measuring themselves against others. After all, if it's imitation that you feel you are pursuing, look at all of us who make things-we each have heroes we look up to...and many of us copy. Although we choose to put these heroes on a stratospherically high pedestal, we can't forget that they are only influences, rather than contestants we are running a race with.
Look at the folk artists as a good example to follow-these folks made art in a vacuum, with no one to look up to, with no one to offer a measuring stick. The art prevailed -without the use of comparison and probably, to a great degree, without much comment or approval from standers-by. I love that Bill Traylor just started working one day, quite late in his life. The reason he had-just to make things.
The lesson : Don't sell your creative drive short-let your hands tell you what is meant to be done and not the work of others.