Rachel and I went to see James Rosenquist speak tonight. I was never quite intrigued enough with his work to give it much time, but I am aware of his legacy and impact on American art. He was a good speaker and seemed humbled by his success, giving much credit to simple luck and timing. He answered a number of questions at the end, some of which seemed a bit trivial, but what has resonated with me is his response to a question about what advice he would give to an aspiring artist. He said work hard, pay attention to history, but don't try to emulate other artists. Do something no one else has done. Mostly, he said, just work hard. That I can identify with. It is in my family to work hard. The whole Cornell history is about working hard. Its go time.
The above painting I finished a few days ago. Distant Thunder, 5 1/2"x 7". Sending it to Quidley and Company in Boston. Nice people.
I have started my largest piece to date, 63"x 72". It is a painting of waves. It will be a real task to finish it and finish it well. It going to Santa Fe for a solo show in May. A lot to do
Work hard.

Last Light

A few summers ago I took at drive up to Estes Park in Colorado after a show. It was amazing. It was just an afternoon really and I managed to see so much. I took a number of photos, maybe 100 or so. I have done probably 10 paintings from that day. This piece was at the climax of the drive. The light was fading and I was above the treeline at the summit of the drive when I pulled over and hiked up a hill. Just at the crest looking mostly east was this view. I usually change photos I take to make paintings or crop images together, but this is just as it was. The scale is deceiving because the snow was quite large and the rocks were huge. The sky was unforgettable and the wind was howling. The earth can be so beautiful. I can imagine in winter I could get nowhere near here. The snow would be 10 feet deep and the temperature would be bitterly cold.

But that day, all that was left of the winter snows was this long lip.

Earlier in the day I stopped at a lookout over a valley and the clouds broke just a sliver to allow a stream of light to crease the valley floor. Stunning.

A few others stopped also and after a while we all just looked at each other and smiled. We couldn't believe what we were seeing. Almost no words were spoken and none were necessary. But then after only a few minutes, it was gone, cloudy again and obscured.

Just like life.

New painting

Just finished another painting today. Its called "Shooting Star". It's one I had done a smaller version of earlier this year. That small painting was purchased in St Louis by a couple that had encountered a falling star or meteorite while driving. It went crashing into the woods after buzzing right by their car. It was a perfect fit for a piece. I hope this one finds a good home. 7 1/2" x 9".

Genesis

Here are two versions of the same painting I just finished. In the lower photo the painting is lit with a warm light.

The title is Genesis.

28"x 39 1/4"

I am very happy it is finally finished. I think it turned out well. I really don't remember why I started doing waves. I have always loved the ocean. It can express many emotions and it certainly is the true essence of creation and destruction, a concept that permeates a lot of my paintings. Maybe there is a rhythm to the waves that connects it to our own rhythm. The crashing waves on the shore like a heartbeat. The push and pull of the water like making love. It is about balance. It is about adaptation. It is about equilibrium. The ocean reaches for us and we reach for it. When we get close enough, it literally pulls us in. Maybe that is why I paint waves.

Dog days of August for me.

I am near the end. It can be the easiest or the hardest part of the process. I can be either excited to finally see the culmination of all my hard work or simply sick to death of looking at the same painting for such an extended period of time. Too close to call at this point. I have about 3-4 more days left. I am on day 17 and that is consecutive days with some serious long hours. It has taken me alot less time to do this than I thought. My last piece this big took 6 weeks, but I think the result was worth it.
I don't know much about the working habits of others. I certainly can tell some things just by looking at a painting, but I wonder to what extent other artists put in effort. My temperament is much better when I put in only 5-6 days. I am simply ready to move on to something else by that time. An artist that I know, Skip Steinworth, has told me after a few weeks he is "just settling in". By then I am ready to leave the table and cash in my chips.
I think this is turning out to be a nice piece. My tentative title is Genesis. I like the implications of what that could mean and what this image could be.
I will put the finished painting up on this blog this weekend. It is going to Arcadia Gallery in NY. The gallery is part of the LA Art Show in January and I hope to make a big, uh, splash, with it.. . . . . . . . .

Ideas

My wife listens to books on tape and she recently rented at the Library a lecture series by Felipe Fernandez-Armesto who is a Professorial Fellow in History and Geography at Queen Mary, University of London, and a member of the Faculty of Modern History at Oxford University. It is called "Ideas That Shaped Mankind, A Concise History of Human Thought". She played just a few short passages with me and it led us into a discussion of ideas, human history, and the motivations and curiosities of people. It brought up an interesting question. Preservation of Life. We all have it in common. All living things possess the need to stay alive. Why? Even the simpler organisms on the earth will do whatever they can to maintain their own life. Do humans fear death because it is unknown? Do animals fear death? Is it a concept that they even understand? Do we simply seek to avoid pain? Did we invent God to justify the long expanse of death? Why the need to preserve one's own life at almost any cost. Where does this come from? Is it in the DNA of all living creatures?

Mediterraneo

Here's a photo journal of Matthew's most recent painting, Mediterraneo.
The work is 50"x66"
I took the pictures from my cell phone so the image quality is not the best, but the painting is great. This and other paintings will be in his studio during the McRae open house.