The power of an image

"Painting is the silence of thought and the music of sight."
Orhan Pamuk in his novel My Name Is Red.

I am immersed in the dense mysterious structure and subject of this book set in 16th century Istanbul.  The story centers around the secretive world of the master miniaturists, the painters of the day. They were commissioned by wealthy rulers to paint illuminations of stories recorded by master calligraphers.  The work was painstaking, lengthy, and done by candlelight or available light. When a page was finished it was gilded by a master gilder.  After all the necessary pages were complete they were bound into a book for the commissioner's exclusive use. I am only part way through the book but what strikes me the most right now is the power of an image in the 16th century. It is difficult to imagine from today's perspective with pictures such an ubiquitous part of everyday life.

In a world with little to no imagery, how profound and moving it would be to behold a painting.
It makes me think about the value and power of a great painting.  A painting has the potential to transform and transport, offer solace, and connect with spirit.  It can also disturb, call to arms, motivate and provoke. It helps us figure out what it means to be human.

Another quote from Pamuk:
"All great masters, in their work, seek that profound void within color and outside time."

So true. That brings to mind Mark Rothko's color field paintings... It is powerful to stand in front of such a painting.  You feel it reach inside you.

Pamuk's quote leads me back to the idea of going beyond the limits of time again....
When I begin a painting, I have basic ideas of structure, imagery and palette, sometimes even a vague visual inspiration for the "feel" of the piece. Eventually I reach a point where I believe the painting really begins.  I have to reach outside myself to a place of non-linear thinking in order to proceed. Perhaps that is some aspect of the timeless void Pamuk mentions.  I seek a kind of primal hum where every layer and aspect of my painting works in concert and the piece takes on a life of its own.  To do this requires risk, trial and error, and detours. I must let go of my preconceived ideas about where the painting should go. It is intuitive and there is a lot of tension and fear intrinsic in this process.  But there is pleasure too, and joy in discovery.  The rewards are great, and I have learned to trust it. 

More about time...

It seems to me that memory has to be a factor in understanding time. A smell or a sound can trigger a memory and I am suddenly transported to an earlier time and place. At that moment the past and the present are one, simultaneous.

Then there are the other kinds of memories, not from this life.  Occasionally I have a memory or a dream of something I cannot have known from my life.  I sense my ancestors around me at times. Some call these memories of past lifetimes, but I'm not sure.  Maybe it is something else, a sort of genetic memory. Or perhaps a flaw in thinking of time as linear.

And let's consider stories, lore and mythologies.  From the time the first humans had language, stories have penetrated time and brought the past into the present.

This question of time....It's about perception really. Is what I see what is really there, or is it just an idea? As with the concept of non-linear time, I am compelled to overlap realities in my painting imagery. My fascination is to see what will happen when different stories and points of view are superimposed and forced to occupy the same space.  It's interesting to me to overlap beings with very different senses of time, such as migrating birds or fish with contemporary humans. The overlapping causes the planes to fracture and the space to reorganize into something else, a new kind of unity, altered and provoking.

Without Separation: An exploration of perception

The reception for my show Without Separation was a great success. I traveled through a snow storm to Ashland Thursday with no mishaps thanks to my trusty partner and our new tires!  The show looks beautiful.  The gallery director Chad McGruder did a fine job of hanging the paintings and arranging for the catering.

 

We were delighted that so many people came out to see the show in spite of the challenging weather. I had many in depth discussions about my ideas and the questions I have been pursuing.  Everyone I spoke to seemed to understand and appreciate what I am trying to do with my work, and that was very gratifying. The overall impact the paintings had on people was of special interest to me. For me, a successful painting draws people back again and again.  It challenges the viewer in some way, spurs questions and conversation. I saw that happen repeatedly Thursday evening and I was very satisfied. It is a strong show and a good venue for the work.

 



 

 

 

Musings on the nature of time

I think a lot about the nature of time.The mystics say that it is not actually linear; that past, present, and future occur at the same time, or perhaps in a spiral.  Sometimes I get a hint of that. For instance, time to a redwood tree is very different than time is to a butterfly, or a stone.  Is time measured in the length of a life? But then I consider the migrations of fish and birds, the flow of a river. The collective migration is an organism itself. We don't know when it was born or when it will die.  It just Is. Redwood trees grow together in a grove, meshing their roots in a communal mat, clasped fingers that hold them all upright together as one, growing into the future hundreds of years.One generation of fish gives way to the next, and the next and the next, from the past into the future.
We humans are so egocentric.  We think it's all about us, one life, that's it.

About the new show



I have been thinking about all the various views people, animals, religions,cultures etc. have of their reality and how those views affect their perceptions. It seems to me that our ideas about time also may skew what we perceive. What is real, anyway? What would happen if I showed more than one world simultaneously?
My new show in January has the lastest of my explorations of these questions.  This body of work focuses on the tension and bond between humans and nature.



A Blackbird Perspective

And so it begins...

I have been thinking about a blog for a long time. An upcoming solo exhibition has compelled me to start. Finally. This is one of my New Year's Resolutions, so today is the day that I begin.

My show will be held on the Southern Oregon University campus in Ashland.  The exhibition will be in the Stevenson Union Gallery beginning January 7th and ending February 5th. There will be an artist's reception Thursday, January 10th from 5pm to 7pm.