Happy New Year

Happiest New Year!!!

" On Being Frank" will return to regular programming in 2010!!!!!!!

now enjoy my main man...Barry White

A Child is Born

...and his name will be called Emmanuel. God is with us.

Blessings and Wishing you all a time of Peace and Joy

And as Joseph said to Mary ....................." Its a Boy! "

Wednesdays Final Figure Paintout of 2009

16 x 20 oil on belgium linen



Dear Reader,

I spent yesterday with a group of other expert painters painting a gipsy girl ( not your Paris variety ) for a 6 hour pose at Studio12. Most notably painting along side me were Big Dog Don Hatfield, Silvio my gumba Silvestri, and Robert Sandidge. We drew straws for location and out of 8 straws I drew the last straw.. But no matter, I painted on a bench close up to the model as I did last week. It was okay, but I could not back up. I hope yu like it.




My Gumbah Silvio





Robert really pulled off a real beauty and he and I painted through lunch to get what we were after. Is that dedication or desperation?




Of course, Big Dog was left with an angle nobody picked and pulled off a mini masterpiece. He attacks the canvas much like teenager attacks a Wendy's burger at lunch time.

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Tip....Its a good idea if you are going to invest any time painting a figure that you work out the composition and get a good layout. There are many devises artist's use to get a good composition and I have used just about all of them. If I have my digital camera around , I will " compose " the sitter " and crop in at various angles and distances by shooting the model and then looking at it on my digital screen on the back of the camera. Do I pull back or do I bring in the focal point? I can compare and contrast different compositions and then pick the one I feel captures the mood and feel I want to achieve. I mean, you HAVE to be excited about the pose if you are to invest 6 hours of your life painting it.

A New World Order

warning....please don't read if you are easily offended, the management




A New World Order. Those are scary words for a lot of people, but in many ways the birth of Christ turned the Western world upside down. Many have claimed that Jesus never existed and is only a man of myth. Or at best a Poet Peasant. But many who have studied myth and history have taken notice that the Gospels are not written as Myth and are meant to be taken in a historical context. Dates, events, names and cities are prominent throughout all the Gospels, most noteably Luke , which is the most vivid account of Jesus's Birth.

For a little background , History back in the time of Jesus had an oral as well as a written tradition. A lot of Roman history was written by Tacitus and a secular history of the Jews was written by Josephus. But even with the best of evidence and relevant accounts of an event there are usually differences. And this is key and you should pay close attention here. Lets say you stumbled upon an accident and wondered what happened. If there were witnesses and you talked to each person separately and individually, you would become suspicious if they all said the same thing word for word and with the same emphasis. Our experience tells us that as unique persons, we tend to see things from " our perspective". We would start to wonder ,did they conspire? Were they collaborating? As humans, not everyone's analysis and view of an account is 100% similar. Another way of looking at it would be that as Americans , we see our Independence from England as a good and patriotic event. England would "document" the battle as treason and an insurrection. Events in Bible times are no different. There is evidence where there were battles where each side claimed victory to its people. It was easier then. Now days we have cameras and even then there are differences of opinion. Such as the case of Global Warming. I think you are getting the picture. Arriving at the truth is pretty complicated and often subjective. It can depend on who is writing the account.

So, here we have Luke writing about the birth of Jesus stacking his account with names, places, dates and events. Pretty foolish really, if you are trying to pass a fraud to the people where they can easily disprove your claim then and now. What has happened with archeology and the sophistication of dating and discovery of old manuscripts, historians can and do piece accounts together and considering their temperments arrive at conclusions, sometimes differing with the same evidence. Remember OJ's glove? Well the prosecution thought they had him. But his struggle to put them on left the impression of doubt. See what I mean?

I mean even with eye witnesses there are those that think the Pentagon was hit with a missle and not an airplane on 9/11. Please...no CIA bringing down the Twin Towers here....

So I always find it a little ridiculous when skeptics put the Scriptures through the hoops when 100% certainty is not really possible. Did John Wilkes Booth really assasinate Lincoln and who really shot JFK?

Some doubted that there was ever a census taken by Augustus Caesar of the Palestinian province. And they had reason to believe this until a papyrus was uncovered that showed evidence of a census. Hey, some even doubted Pontius Pilate was real until a monument was excavated with his name on it . ...but I am getting ahead of myself. It seemed that Augustus was disappointed that the Romans were not having babies. Men were staying bachelors ( like today alarmingly ) He even wrote..

What shall I call you? Men? But you aren't fulfilling the duties of men. Citizens? But for all your efforts , the city is perishing. Romans? But you are in the process of blotting out his name all together! ... What humanity would be left if all the rest of mankind should do what you are doing? ... You are committing murder in not fathering in the first place those who ought to be your decendents! ( recorded by Dio Cassius )

A census would not only work to gather taxes but would also indicate the multiplication of its citizens. Some claim that the census date is too early ( 8BC ) to coincide with the birth of Jesus around 5 -6BC. But there was no FEDEX back then and the process was slower in gathering information and it is within reason that the census would start in Rome first and spread out to the provinces next.

Also, the dating process of Christs birth is pretty hard to determine . What we are sure of is that it is not December 25 although there is strong evidence that it was late fall or winter. That it falls during the festival of " Io Saturnalia" is a result of Christianity becoming the official religion of Rome after Constantine declared it so. Many trappings that Christians are fond of are really carry overs from this Pagan Festival. This includes Holly, mistletoe , evergreens, the exchange of gifts , and much feasting and drinking. Things really have not changed much...really.


So what about that star. Dr. Maier claims that the greek word used for "star", aster, can mean any luminous body, including a comet, meteor, nova or planet. Nothing impressed the ancients more than comets and planets. Also , Superstition and omens were a big deal in ancient times and how the stars lined up in the Heavens had a huge impact on decision making. Cicero writes that the Roman Senate, for one, never made a decision without looking for good omens and consulting oracles. Weeks would go by without a decision if the signs were not favorable ( maybe we should return to that practice....hmmmm) . Astrology was serious business and was practiced by the Persians ( Iran ) and the Babylonians. Just imagine what it was like back then. No city lights at night to obscure the Milky Way and other astral displays. Many have wondered if the conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter around 7BC was the star. But data compiled by ancient Chinese astronomers are now giving us evidence that there was a significant comet in 5 BC. In any event it would not be unrealistic to have " Magi" or astrologers seeing this display as a significant event. The rotation of the Earth would give the appearance of the star moving towards Palestine.

The fact is, we all make decisions based on the best existant evidence at the time. No one, and I mean no one would get married if they had to be 100% sure about how it would turrn out in the future. As Kierkegaard famously postulated, eventually we must make the leap of faith.

More to come. What about Mary? And why is Bethlehem significant?

What if Jesus were never born?

Dear Reader,

What if Jesus were never born? What if he had second thoughts in the desert and he was granted a doubting disturbing thought. Okay Jesus, you have your wish. You were never born. I hope this doesnt sound heretical...its a theological hypothetical question. Its not meant to challenge anyone's belief or cave in to Christopher Hitchens.

Last Sunday, I glanced at our Church bulletin and the Star of Bethlehem. It looked like it was missing something. And of course my twisted mind added a helicopter. Then it occurred to me, as Scripture noted, there were those who were told about the birth of this Child King and there were " forces" who wanted this child dead before he was even given a chance to live. Think about that. The story has a Macchiavelian subtext. Kill the child. The stars foresee a " New Star" rising. It is already foretold that this child will change things and create a New World Order. Anno Domini. If this sounds like something out of Art Bell's late night aliens and shadow people....well it has some of that dimension. As St. Paul said...if this is not true than the believer is most certainly the most pitiable of men.

So what if Jesus were never born? What would the world be like? Would it be better or worse? Would we be wiser and more enlightened as men like Richard Dawkins would have us believe. Would the world be a secular Paradise. What would Dante, Goethe , Milton have written about? There would be no Sistine Chapel and no Madonnas. Forget about Handels Messiah and Boccelli singing Ave Maria? No Gregorian Chant or Notre Dame to sing them in. Definetly no Luther to hammer homes some points on a Church Door . Forget about calling someone a doubting Thomas! Would we write more Greek tragedies? I mean...I paint alot of sacred art. Where would I find my inspiration.....? Would I be painting images of Mithras and Neptune on Subway Walls and odes to Venus and Saturn? Would it be eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die? Would we be reciting sacred passages of Nietzsche?

I had the priviledge of working with a first century historian named Dr. Paul L. Maier. Professor of First Century History at Westen Michigan University. If it happened around the time of Jesus...he knows about it. Most of you may have heard about the Jesus Seminar. Not too many people are truly qualified to speak out and challenge these theological pinheads but Dr. Maier went on record confronting these revisionists, even appearing in a documentary providing the " other side". He gave me a book he had written to illuminate the easily confused and embarrassed believer. Its called " In the Fullness of Time" A Historian Looks at the Christmas , Easter, and the Early Church. I will reread the relevant passages tonight about Christmas and post about it.

Now Dr. Maier reads what is called primary references. Those are historical texts in the original or believed to be accurate copies in their original language. He is not a historian who reads the latest book from a televangelist and believes it. He come to his conclusions with the best and most up to date evidence possible.

So stay tuned and Peace on Earth , Men of Goodwill.

The Christmas Spirit and the Card

9 x 12 oil on santa's linen


Well, folks I am so behind the 8 ball with things on my to do list and I just finished my Christmas Card painting and today I need to print them out and send to friends and family. I can't post too long today but so much is going on and I have so much to say. I really have caught the Christmas Spirit. It is soooo good to give. I really like sending out cards and spreading some Christmas cheer.

This month's unusual blizzard left our hillsides draped in a royal garment of white. It was thrilling to drive around and capture the beauty in paint.


______

I guess I became a finalist on Novembers Fine Art Studio Online Competition. It does feel nice to place. The portrait of little " Jude" got the award. I have to say I was a little surprised because my photo of the painting was not too good.


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Thursday Night on SacTown's Left Bank

Okay this was my Thursday, not that anyone really cares. I almost did'nt get out of bed because I was having too much fun reading Nelson DeMille's book " The Gold Coast". Its a later day Gatsby novel about all the Old Money on Long Islands famed Gold Coast having to deal with faded Wealth and Power and the new rich..Iranians, Koreans , Japanese...Mafia...buying up the ruins. Its a great page turner. But I must move on. I get a call from a gal who wants me to be in a show with Don Hatfield and others. At first I back off but with a little arm twisting and about a half hour of my life lost and never to be retrieved again I relent. Its great to be a supporting cast. You get the good crumbs I am told. Hey , better than nothing. I decide to finish a comp for the commissioned group portrait , which I will email to the client today , and then head off to Studio 12 for the Thursday night figure painting class. Boy am I ambitious. Painting during the day and painting at night. What a thrill. I call Studio 12 to make sure its on for tonight and no ones on vacation. I would hate to drive the 40 minutes to Sacramento and have to turn around or visit a sleazy bar. No one answer the phone. I guess I will call later.

Then I get a call from a man that informs me that one of my former students is terminally ill. She does not have long to live. He is inquiring if they can make copies of the portrait I painted of Mimi and give them to her relatives. They are concerned that I will sue. Of course they can make copies. My heart is broken for her but I am glad to have met her and taught her. She is a wonderful soul.

Okay. I get an email from a new client that wants a dual portrait of her Grandchildren. She's excited but adds in her email..what in the event I don't like it. Do I still have to pay for it? This is how I explain to her my point of view. It helps that her husband is in a band....

I understand your concern, but you have to trust your gut that I am a great portrait painter as well as your assessment of all the other portraits I have done.

Look at it this way. A couple asks " Stranger" to perform at their wedding. Of course they have heard a few tapes and hired them. A band would have bad business sense if they played an entire concert and afterwards hoped to get payed when and if the client liked it.

So, what I usually do is ask for 1/2 down and then I start. Usually the client loves it and I get money and they get a portrait they can enjoy and share long after my money is spent.

I often let the buyer make a few suggestions at the time of showing and make some " corrections" if needed. Since you are paying, it is my desire to give you what you want to your satisfaction within reason. I say that because , in the past, women seem to want their faces " adjusted" and this can be tricky. Such as...can you make my lips more fuller etc. But since these are your grandchildren, I don't for see too much of a problem in that area.

So...I am confident that you will like it........

As you can see, I project confidence in order to put the client at ease. She came over that afternoon and gave me 1/2 down. Okay I says to myself. They day is off to an interesting start.

I'm adding this in case you've read this before...I get a call from my friend and Pastor Steve from Oregon. He wants me to be on a Board of Directors for a yet to be announced program. And by the way..he throws out a book proposal and wonders if I want in. Of course I want in. Just spell my name correctly and send the check to the proper address. He's had several books published so I tend to take his dreaming a bit more seriously than some of my ol school mates. He is a great conversationalist so our communication is more a series of get in get out , butt in butt out. You get the picture.


By about 4 I am tired and really am thinking twice about going to SacTown at 6 PM. Right about then I get a return call from Patris who runs Studio12...Frank, I got your call and I am glad you are gong to be here. We are going to have someone famous here tonight she says...she means me. I'm going to talk to her about her standards for fame...meanwhile... She says that tonight they are having a big potluck and wine after the session...you gotta come. Okay...I can resist, really , but I am weakly powerless under threat of Wine.

Of coarse the freeway traffic is horrible and everyone is doing their last minute shopping and I just want to paint. So it turns out that I am late and there are really no spots available. Man this was a waste. Patris saved a little bench for me and as it turns out it was the best seat in the house. Awesome.

But here is the fun part, there were probably around 20 painters and this was the studios Christmas party night. The potluck was a feast to the eyes. Impressive. There were friends that I new. Robert Sandidge ( who won the Sonoma Plein Air Paint out ) was there, as was Daniel Mundy , Marilyn Rose and my new bud Pierre who brought home made Sushi and Lodi's finest Pinot Noir. We definitely had some good wine there. The social banter was jovial. It reminded me of the Victorian Book " Trilby" that I just finished where every one made merry at Christmas time. It seemed everyone could not wait for 9 to start drinking wine. But here is the kicker. Patris, was in a good mood, and started playing her favorite " Journey " CD. There are 2 kinds of people in the world. Those who love Journey and those who don't. That smallish lead singer with the big lungs just bugs me. I met him back in my LucasFilm days and this midget...I'm 5-7 and he's shorter than me, had real attitude. I guess I don't get over little singers with long hair that easily. Soooo....I blurt out...I thought this was a Journey Free Zone......I guess I was in the minority. My perfect day was marred. Boy that voice is like nails scratching a chalk board. But I held my brush high and just zoned in on painting the model. Of course later I brought in my CD of the Ventures playing Christmas tunes and everyone hated it. Fame gets you nowhere with this crowd. Goes to show you there is no accounting for good taste!

At a break Patris corners me and wants to know if I can teach a workshop or class or whatever at Studio12. I respond that I would love to in 2010. She' s happy , I'm happy and I feel the day is wrapping up nicely. Wait...there's still the drive home. Should I or should I not drink more wine....drat...

All in all it was a fun day and the model was probably one of the most beautiful sitters I have painted going back to Art Center. She has a Botticelli face. Afterwards she wanted to buy the painting but I told her that if she modeled for me I would trade a portrait of her for posing. She agreed. This was an eventful day.

So.... showing that I harbor no ill will to Patris's favorite band...here they are... It hard for me not to laugh....sorry

The ghost of Johnny Murcer asked for equal time and I must relent. I can't afford to have ghost scaring my wife.

What Tomorrow Brings ?

This is one of those portraits that I painted for myself as a sample and the subjects mother was so taken with the oil painting that she purchased it from me at the Tour. I am glad it has found a good home...as I was well on the way to over working it and doing my usual Ordaz Overkill.

My model at first said she initially did not like it. She felt I had made her look to old. However , the portrait made her confront the inevitable truth that she has aged. She is a former beauty queen and I guess the pose does not flatter her. Such is the danger of painting the woman folk. They are indeed a strange and beautiful breed.

I can't seem to photograph this image well. The head keeps getting too much orange. I've tried to balance it but I have given up. Here it is for your viewing.

Who painted that at the White House?

I saw this impressive painting behind our commander and chief and I wondered who painted it and where it was located as I did not see it while I had a private tour of the White House back in 2006. I Googled and found this blurb on the White House Website.....

Commemorating TR's participation in the Spanish American War in the Rough Riders, this portrait was painted in 1909 by Tadé (Thadeus) Styka, a polish-born New York painter who also painted FDR's mother, Sarah. He was known for fast paintings, not meticulous detail, and TR's uniform is not entirely accurate. Nevertheless, it's one of the most recognized pieces in the White House collection.

So where was it? This I found out after I googled some more.

The Roosevelt Room is a meeting room in the West Wing of the White House, the official home and principal workplace of the President of the United States. Located almost in the center of the West Wing, and near the Oval Office the room is named for two related U.S. presidents, Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The two arguably contributed more than any other presidents to the design and construction of the West Wing.

It is here where this painting resides and it is off limits to anyone not personally invited by the President.

I would show the image from the official site but the reproduction is terrible. I feel the photo above represents it best as small as it is.

I am uploading some of the pictures I took when I had my private tour of the White House,. The President was at Camp David and I had the place all to myself....so to speak.




The Mimi Eisenhower painting




Good Ol James Polk...




Sargent's Teddy...smaller than I imagined




Another Sargent




The Dolly Madison Room...she liked red...




Bierdstadt




The Prez




The Dining Hall with Lincoln




That's are Big Ben....




The Jackie O painting has an interesting history. JFK had his portrait done but Jackie's had not been commissioned yet. By the time of the presidents assasination the painting was still not painted. Jackie had to pose a few months after her husbands death for this official White House painting. The mood and coloring is eerie.




LadyBird Johnson





The buck stops on those steps leading up to the official Lincoln Bedroom and presidents residence.

Show me the Way or On Being Frank , Frankly

( to get a full import of this post....you need to read the previous self indulgent post )



I was heartened when I read Mary's comment referencing " Its a Wonderful Life". For some , its your typical Hollywood bromide of sappy sentimental Small Town American values. For others, and that includes myself, it reflects human passions of self sacrifice and duty as well as self doubt and self pity. It is Human all too Human. George Bailey's " courtship" of his future wife Mary played by Donna Reed has to be ranked as one of the most unusual on celluloid. But when caught in a moment of financial ruin ( money seems to be at a root of these things ) , steady George gives in to rage, doubt, self pity , despair and takes out his feelings on his friends and family. The moment where he destroys his model building is metaphorical of his dashed dreams. Even his prayer in the bar, of all places, rings true because of its self centeredness..." God, I am NOT a praying man...but show me the way". Of course at this moment he gets slugged by his children's teachers husband and it is at this turning point in the movie where he soon finds himself at the bridge staring at the rapid moving icy river below and contemplates taking his life.

So why has this movie remained so popular , especially since it has so many critics? I shift now to yesterday. We usually take 2 cars to church. I'm given the Sunday duty of seeing my life flash before me as my son Isaac drives me to Church. Jana picks up her elderly father and his girlfriend who can't remember what was said after 10 minutes in her car. As I walk up the steps at CrossRoads Church, Isaac hands me his cell phone, he says..It's Mom. Okay Honey, what's up? Jana says...I had to turn around. The check engine light came on and I don't want to risk driving all the way to church and back. I'll see you when you get home....That's just great I says to myself. The happy faced greeter at the door welcomes me with a broad smile that I want to smack to tomorrow. Thank You God. That's just what I needed to hear. Car problems...especially now. Thanks alot. More money I have to spend....Singing fills the room and for once, I don't sing. I just stand there at my usual place. I'm glad I don't see any of my close friends, I'm not in the mood for fake smiles and cheer. Hallelujah. Hallelujah...ya right Bah Humbug. After the singing stops and Todd, our pastor gets up and speak, I glance over at my small Moleskin sketch Book that I brought along. At least I could draw during the sermon I rationalize to myself.




Pastor Todd has us turn to the Parable of the Sower. Great. How many times have I heard this sermon. So what is the condition of your heart dear Frank you hypocrite? Okay...Go ahead and beat me up Todd. Everyone else is. Okay...time to draw....I open up my Moleskin and I notice there is a piece of paper sticking out of one end. What the heck. As I turn the page to see what it is...it is a torn out picture of Ivan Kramskoy's painting of Christ in the Desert. The word across the top says believing. I had been looking for this lost picture for awhile and here it is! I stare and stare at this painting as Pastor Todd speaks. In the Parable, the Rocky soil is an Allegory for the heart that is hard towards God. It is cold and remote. Distant and unengaged. It is the self centered Humanist. I notice that the artist has painted Jesus seated on a large rock and that there are rocks strewn all around him. What is Jesus contemplating?






Ivan Kramskoy said that this painting came to him in a dream. It was inspiration. He is said to have painted the head from memory from his dream. How astounding! He has commented about this painting by saying, “There comes a moment in every man’s life when he meditates on whether to turn to the right or to the left, whether to sell God for thirty pieces of silver, or to resist the temptation of evil.” But what is evil but when we GIVE IN to self doubt and self pity. When we personify these passions they can ruin us. Kramskoy's portrayal of Jesus is shown to us not as a conquering savior but as a man torn in a moment of anguish. His face has aged contemplating whether to live a life of self sacrifice or a life of comfort and riches. His hands are clenched so tightly that I feel the pain and suffering that is internalized in his spirit. It is dusk. Why did the painter pick this time of day? . Was it because it was metaphorical of the last rays of light, just a glimmer of faith left before darkness would envelope the landscape? Why is he seated and not standing and pacing? Maybe he was standing and pacing and finally he had to sit and wait for an answer. What focus. What determination to get an answer. He is shown alone with his thoughts in this deep psychological portrayal.I am swept away by the power of this painting to re focus my attention. How I wish this painting was on our church's bare walls , not to worship the artist but to meditate on our own condition. I am blessed to be an artist . A painting can be used for a higher purpose. Was this piece of paper with Christ in the Desert put here just for this moment? Clarence...where are you hiding?

My attitude is a decision. I am at a crossroads. What will it be? Maybe I can think about it for 40 days and forty nights like Jesus. I could, but who would pay the bills? I have to make a decision. Will I Believe or Doubt?


In the span of an hour and a half my attitude and spirit has changed. I feel renewed and refreshed. I sing! Thank You God for my challenges and disappointments. Like George Bailey, my focus was off and I was overwhelmed. I was starting to take it out on my family. Mary's ( Donna Reed? ) comment was like having my own angel Clarence. What a blessing. I really do have a Wonderful Life.

I took a chance writing about my moods but I feel it was worth it. It was real and not uncommon. Hopefully you will excuse my slobbering flights of self indulgence. But as I grow, those blue moods do indeed come, but they are like untimely guests at my door.... I tell them, there's no more room for you at this Inn.

blessings

Disappointments

Dear Reader,

I have been remiss in Blogging and was alerted to the impact of Blogs when Jana and I saw the movie Julie and Julia. It's a movie derived from a blog on Salon.com where a gal going through her " I'm turning 30 Crisis" decides to cook everything in Julia Child's French Cook Book in one year and write about it. Needless to say, she gains immediate notoriety and her Blog was an inspiration for this Movie along with Julia Child's reminisces of her days in Paris. I went to her Blog which is still up and read some posts...she sure loves the F-word and I'm not talking French or Frank.

But I've been in a blue mood and really not inspired to Blog as of late. Maybe some of you are like me and memories from this time of year haunt you and pester you and added to that is the lack of sunlight and cold weather. You can also add on top of that bad stack , slow cash flow and Christmas Duty and you have all the makings of a dry martini at 7 in the morning...and I don't even drink those sorts of things. I do however suffer from unrealistic goal setting. I mean, I would love to be a baby stepper but I'm a "put all the food in my mouth at once" kinda guy. At least I'm reminded of that from my parents when they tell Jana what I was like as a child. In fact, most of my relatives have stories about me that they disclose to Jana to embarrass me. I remember my sister telling me after the wedding that she couldn't believe someone actually married me. It's their way of getting back at me for all the property damage I caused at a young age. I'm glad there is no such thing as a retro toddler grievance lawsuit. I do however have learned to cope with these emotions by trusting not on my own understanding of things and trusting in the Rock of Ages. I wish there were no valleys...but we walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death...but I fear no evil. His rod and staff comfort me.

I took this photo of my son Isaac when he used to paint along side me in my Santa Rosa Studio. His little easel is in the upper right corner. As I remember, he was upset that he could not paint something well and he threw down his chair and paints and went into his Jungian Primal Hug. When you think of it, its a self hug in a moment of self pity. But the image is still important to me because it speaks volumes of the frustrations and disappointments that is part of the carry on luggage in Art. As John Lennon so famously quipped, Life is what happens to you while you are making other plans. I won't go into detail, because I don't think it would be interesting to anyone, but when rejection rears its head the artist really does have to brace himself for the voices that will shout in his or her ear. Its those voices from other battles lost that resurface. I've been in this business 25 years and I still have to wear my full armor to carry on and endure. I really can't afford to be too blue for too long. I have a family to support. What makes it hard is that disappointments affect not just me but my entire family. Which leads me to my next significant point.

My son Isaac came up to me the other day and asked me...Why haven't you taught us to paint? I answered that I was waiting for the day that you would ask me. I was not going to make little Frank Ordaz's out of you kids. Frankly, I was hoping Isaac would want to be a doctor or something...at least that way I would be guaranteed of some HealthCare. He came up to me again yesterday, during my blue mood, and asked me again...Dad, my friend Noah wants to take lessons from you and I also want to take lessons". As he asked, my mind raced back in time to this scene and there is a part of me that honestly wants to shield him from a life as an artist. Who in their right mind wants this for their child? He is definitely gifted in the arts and he has taught himself how to play guitar by going on YouTube . Hey maybe that's the ticket....more YouTube How To Videos and he can play and replay Digital Frank over and over again.

This one goes out to you Jana.....

Weekend Wrap or ....Bay , Buying and Blizzard

Well....This weekend, if I include yesterday's Blizzard and Power Outage was mighty eventful. I started my adventure on Friday where I visited my biggest fan in life outside of my immediate family. Almost 100 Norma Yocum has followed my career since I was 12. She is an avid letter writer and I have saved all of her letters to me which are full of her adventures. As a former mayor of Alhambra and involvement in the Soroptimists International she has seen the world and makes friends where ever she visits. She is a constant encouragement to me.

FX ( aka Frank Xavier Doyle ) and I stayed up til 1 Am that evening framing our little masterpieces and by 9 the next morning we were the last to set up at the Landmark Event. If there was a Recession, it became apparent that the affluent folks of Tiburon were not playing along. I ended the day with 9 paintings sold and FX sold 13 paintings. His star definitely shined brightly on Saturday. FX had spotted a sale of small 5 x 7 frames at Aaron Bro's for $7 dollars and my dulled instincts had to admit that it really made a difference. Presentation is important.

The ticket on Saturday was Location Location Location. I painted 4 scenes of Tiburon and I gave one 6 x 9 to FX's wife Leslie as a thankYou for letting me crash this event. The other 3 sold within an hour. I could have kicked myself for not painting more local scenes. I felt that there was a mood of regionalist appreciation during the event and local scenes were the big draw. FX cashed in with his beautiful pastels.




Our little spot was the first thing you saw as you walked into the Old Cottage House. The floors are wavy and rustic and it added a wonderful texture to the presentation of Art.





The Cottage House sits right off the Bay on Tiburon Blvd. facing Sausalito .




The 2 happy warriors at the end of the day...it was all smiles.




This was the view early Sunday Morning looking from the San Francisco Yacht Club toward Bhagdad by the Bay.



The Cottage House is exquisitely landscaped but only a few flowers remanined to tell the story at this time of the year.




Then on Monday , Auburn got a blast of snow from Canada. Our house received about 7 inches and we were without power for most of the day. Other than numerous fallen trees and a large snow ladden branch falling on my neigbhors BMW, we came out of it okay. I took a lot of photos.




Our Hacienda in the morning.

Dock of the Bay

sold






sold


I will be showing small to medium sized paintings at the Tiburon's "Cottage Arts and Garden Center" on Saturday. The address is 841 Tiburon Blvd and the show and sell is from 10 - 4 PM.

The event is called the " Landmark Society Holiday Art and Craft Sale". If you are in the area I hope to see you there! Tiburon in Marin County is one of the most picturesque locales on the planet.

If there is one unifying element in all of my chaotic images, it is that it all says California. The distractions are endless.

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Portrait prelims

oil prelim sketches

I am currently preparing the design and execution ( sounds frightening ) of three portraits. In some ways its kinda the launch of my portrait career. Therefore, I am going old school and painting prelim sketches of the faces, hands and overall design of my proposed triptych. I find that this process gives me a lot of confidence and it is no small matter that many great artists such as John Singer Sargent also made many preliminary color sketches and studies of their subject.

I also will experiment with several color palettes and decide which color harmonies work the best.

Luckily or Providentially the client had large picture windows. I was able to have his children sit by the windows and have their faces lit with natural light. If you look at many turn of the century portraits this effect and lighting arrangement was much preferred to show off the features of sitter. What happens is that you get a nice cool "key" light and warm shadows that are very elegant. Those ol farts knew a thing or two.

Now the not so funny rookie mistake. I get there at the clients residence. The kids are all compliant and ready to pose. I have them each pose with an object that says something about them. Clothes and hair and postures and poses are all worked out and arranged. I shoot this angle and that angle. I learned an old photo trick by shooting my subjects with a telephoto lens. I find that if I'm too close to them that they get a bit self conscious. By shooting with a telephoto, I am several feet away from them, like to the next yard and that way they can feel that I am not violating their space. Its seems to work really well for kids. Anyway....I review all the shots with the Family and everyone seems happy.....somehow...and I don't know what happened...but when I get home to upload the photos it seems that I have erased by mistake ALL the shots on my digital card ( about 150 )...my wife hears a thump as I pass out on the floor in shock.....unbelievable. ;v)

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The New Man

oil on cheap canvas paper...its a concept thang


Dear Reader,

What makes the man? Every culture has an unwritten code. Every micro group has an unwritten template of what is acceptable ( cool ) and what is improper. Take for instance the tribes in Somoa. It is considered manly to be tattooed across large portions of your body. NBA Basketball players likewise are tattooed around their arms and backs. How about clothes? Is it true that the suit makes the man? What is the standard of cool for our young people these days?

Well, I caught a glimpse of what passed for cool in front of me at this summer's Rock of Ages Festival in Napa. This festival is only topped , as far as looks, by JoshuaFest in Quincy. There, it seems it is fashionable to look super " E-Mo". You've seen the type. Young men wearing very tight girls jeans and black dyed hair that covers one side of their face garnished with multiple glittering metal protrusions and blades and tattoos and that " I'm bored look". But at the Napa affair it seemed that the post white gangsta look was the ticket this year.

I was lucky enough to have one of these lovelies sitting in front of me. He posed for a photo and I could not get over his sense of taste. His backwards skater hat was too small for him and it barely covered his fairly large skull and shaven head. Those glasses seemed pretty designer expensive and it was beautifully accented by his random chin vermacilli. I could not keep from chuckling and my son..who sports the " skater " look was noticeably uncomfortable. He could have seemed threatening in a different environment outside of a 7-11 at 1 o'clock in the morning but at a Christian Rock Festival I was pretty sure I could count on this creature to cover my back. I mean...I'm supposed to love him!

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Painting Tip....Tired of just using the same ol colors for flesh...You know what I'm talking about. That Burnt Sienna and Terra Rossa et al. If you are ever REALLY looking at flesh in the sun you will be astonished how much of the blue sky is affecting the values and colors of the head. If you get stuck using a formula you read in a book somewhere you might miss this valuable observation. Its amazing when you discover the lavenders and greens. To get this effect I used Naples Yellow , Purple Madder, Mars Violet Deep ( both of these colors are cool reds ) , Pthalo Blue and a hint of Burnt Sienna....just a hint in the under sides. Try it....

A Field with a View

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This painting requires a steady hand to finish off painting the telephone wires. I think I'm going to wait for the paint to dry before I attempt this. There was a magical row of pigeons on the wire and one decided to fly away as I took this reference shot.


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6 x 9 oil sketches on panel sold


Tiburon will be hosting a small Arts and Crafts Faire this coming Saturday at the Cottage Arts and Garden Center. My bud FX invited me to show and sell some painting along with him. This small painting is a view from Blackie's Pasture. I remember visiting Tiburon for the first time in 1979 when I visited my girlfriends parents home. The view was from a hill facing Belvedere Island. The fog rolls over the island and it was remarkable then and still has me mesmerized after all these years.

RoundUp...Great Post by Matthew Innis at Underpaintings of his trip to Montreal to see the major JWWaterhouse Exhibit. It has to be the mother of all Underpaintings post!