Burn out. You go go go and then you feel you have no place to run and hide. The world keeps moving. Keeps wanting. But you can't stop and rest. You have obligations. The smallest things are suddenly like massive hurricanes of all consuming proportions. You snap . Its wrong. But you find yourself getting sucked into the vortex. Talking kinda helps. But despair and exhaustion want to play with you. And they want to take you into overtime. Plans fall through. People dissapoint you and you dissapoint them. You are walking on a tightrope but you can't see what is at the other end. You start to lose your hope . You forget the promises. You listen to the wrong voices. In fact, you find yourself talking with yourself. Then you feel a gentle touch on the shoulder . You hear " Though you are faithless, I remain faithful. You hold on.Trust.
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Well, I'm shipping this off to my Dad today. Pardon the pun on including the indian nickel as a substitute for the real medallion worn by Red Cloud. But I find the juxtiposition ironic and interesting. But ... that's just me.
I keep looking into his eyes and wonder what he was thinking.
The painting is coming along nicely and the medallion the chief is wearing needs to be finished. Part of me wants to be authentic and research what the image on the large coin looked like. But I think I will have a little fun with it and paint a large buffalo nickel instead. I think my dad will enjoy this painting.
I have used my usual limited palette using Utrecht paints. Utrecht white , Yellow Ochre , Cad Red light , Cobalt Blue , Ivory Black and Viridian. Thats it.
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A big shout out to my good buddy FX. Soon to be councilman of Tiburon and soon after that to be " Da Mayor"! Congrats big guy. He has already appointed me as his honorary right wing advisor..... ;v)
My Father , who is 82 , has been bugging me for some time now for a painting of a native American Chief holding a peace pipe. He bribbed me with a little cash ... soooo .... I gave him a great deal and I have always liked Red Cloud , so I picked him as my subject. I found a a black and white photo on the internet and decided to colorize it. I also will add color to the background with a patterns that are lifted from his buckskin shirt. What you see is about 5 hours worth of work.
Lately, I've been working on several large painting at the same time. I added one of Murphy's painted subjects onto the painting on the right and soon I will add another one of his characters on the left. I'm making a little bit of progress.....
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So its Cruise Night in Auburn , which is every 2nd Friday during Summer and I decided to do a little plein air of a car parked right outside the Gallery. In drives a smokin cherry hot rod and it's deep red color grabs my attention and I decide to set up right outside my door. I painted until the light changed and then I came indoors to finish the surrounding elements .... when no sooner did I paint and turn around ... when the owner of the car drove off with my inspiration. Hopefully he'll be back .... I have a partially finished painting to sell him.
15. I really like the attention to detail. I admire different styles and I am not just committed to liking one approach to my painting. There is a resurgence of the Flemish style , and although I would not say this painting falls wholely into that category , I admire the planning and arranging of the elements to create a sense of unity.
16. I like the classic treatment given to the arrangement and execution of this floral painting. Even the obligatory fallen hydraenga petal works for me and the wilted flower enhances the total effect.
17. The more I look at this painting the more it grows on me. The attitude and the posture of her feet as well as the girls gaze to a distant object gets me to wondering what is happening in the dynamic between the painter and the painted. The composition is very sophisticated.
18. This painting reminds me of Repins painting of Tolstoy. It has a pensive mood that is quiet and open to contemplation. I love the yellow orange band on the old mans hat.
19. This artist had several pieces that caught my eye and the light above the sitter creates a an interesting play in concealing her eyes , yet we still sense what she may be up to. I admire the thick gutsy application of paint.
20. This artist has really captured the look of a student of John Singer Sargent. The colors are spot on and the staging and expression , the tilt of the head , are alluring.
21. I like the way the artist has handled the expression on the boy as well as the expert handling of the hand on the baseball. This is not your typical jock image and I especially like the touch of using the jersey as a piece of drapery.
22. The technical skill set needed to execute this painting required a keen sense of anatomy as well as a tonal understanding of color. Bravo.
23. This painting is one of my favorites and I just love looking at it. The reflections are aces and the artist has turned ordinary objects into objects of art. The red tones remind me of some of Merrit Chase's paintings.
24. Again , you just gotta love the technical skill set of some of the entries. Many hours of careful rendering went into this piece. I just wish the artist made the background a little more interesting.
25. This painting is sweet. Its probably a plein air and the artist has succeeded in recreating the sense of light on this country road. I also really like the immediacy of this piece.
26. This painting is all about mood. Really well done. I just wish there was a center of interest ... like a hunter shooting at a duck or something ... okay ... I'm joking .... but you get the idea.
27. The detailing on the dress is pretty cool....
28. Just plain sweet paint handling and a strong warm vs. cool juxtaposition. I don't know whats going on but ... it harkens to a sense of alienation in an urban transport zone where routine and loneliness prevail .... maybe .... .... okay .....I'm now in my Philip K. Dick mode .... time to sign off!
Wow.... can you believe the level of competition? I think its kinda unfair to judge a landscape vs. a still life vs. a figure. They are all so different. But , being that I have those constraints ... I hope to give it my best shot. All these paintings are winners and at the end of the day , as my ol art teacher used to say ... the artist gets the biggest payoff by having created something of value and worth and ultimately make this planet a better place to live in. Give yourselves a pat on the back!
Well, this is the week I look at the paintings I like and write a little about them. So without further adieu .... here we go.
1. I liked this painting right off the bat when I saw it. I am especially attracted to the sure handedness of the brushstrokes and mood created by the composition in creating movement from left to right. It's a small painting with a big heart. Me likee!
2. This pastel caught my eye with a strong diagonal statement created by positioning the canal leading my eye towards the sliver of light racking down the hill across the far side of the walking path. This is one of those images where I would have liked to have seen the original. Part of me wants to see the payoff of light a little brighter....
3. I'm a sucker for paintings that hold my attention with a lot of activity punctuated with a direct alla prima approach. This artist's attention to detail without being over detailed allows my eye to move and discover new things in the painting. I wish the signature was smaller ....
4. If you have been following this competition for sometime now , it becomes clear that the most Popular picks don't usually make it to the finalist round ( sorry Facebook Fans ). This painting is an exception. The lighting and design of the elements are just gorgeous. The reflected light really works for me as well as the translucent quality of this turning leaf. This painting not only works as a statement of color sensibilities but there is a narrative here that is open to interpretation if one so desires to go there. I like that the leaf , having fallen from the tree , is now held captive and elevated by these thin branches ... they look like hydrangaes.
5. There is a timeless quality to this painting of rural america. One can impose their own feelings and thoughts to what the walking man is doing. Is he looking for work or is he lost? It's really up to one's own imagination. This artist loves to tell a story and this is an instant where their painting skills enhance the story line. Every element in this painting feels right to my eye. Very nice.
6. Here is another example where I would like to see the original oil painting. But what I see I like. The artist has crafted a well designed narrative as my eye goes directly to the girl and then moves to the globe and then up around the rice paper lanterns and then down again to the hand holding the violin. The starry night behind the multi paned windows adds to the romance and enchantment of this piece. Also , the reds in the painting are counter pointed by the off green in the globe and the tans in the ottoman. Well down and well thought out.
7. Here is another painting that caught my eye . My eye goes right to that juicy orange and the artist has deftly placed a compimentary colored object right next to it to emphasize the attraction. This style is very appealing and working in a total tonal range from darks to lights really gives this composition immediiate impact.
8. I am on the fence with this painting , but I still like it. This artist gets a big shout out from me just for the sheer technical skill in handling the paintings on the wall and all the objects on those tables. Also , by limiting the palette , the lighting feels just like it supposed to look inside a restaurant. Was my eye supposed to go to the waiter at the left or the one moving out of the right frame. Again , as a portrait artist , I wish the faces were a little more finished... but again that's just me .... and since I'm the judge ....
9. I really like this painting alot. The cools work with warms of the flesh just right and the modeling is confident and not over worked. Young children are so hard to paint and have them feel fresh and winsome and this artist not only captures the personality but also takes this portrait into the dimension of having the audience participate in the young girls thoughts. Very nice ....
10. This painting is so different from all the others as it is a celebration of color and pattern. Flat lighting lends itself to playing with patterns and shapes and I enjoy getting lost in all the intricacies of this floral.
11. This still life has the opposite energy from the one above. It is quiet and contempaltive. It is very well executed and the grey light adds to the serene timelessness of the painting.
12. What I really like about this composition is how the artist works the cool blues to accent the warm light from the lamp. Check out how the cool blues are triangleated around the perimeter of this painting. That's not by accident ( at least I hope not ) . Also , the attention to detail on the china and especially on the cloth is pretty darn impressive. Again , I wish I could see the original.
13. The warm light on these boats and the surrounding buildings are simply intoxicating. I love the expressive brush work and this painting makes me want to be there sipping a nice cabernat.
14. Wow. What a great mood . Again , I wish I could see the original. My eye is led right into this scene by the walk path and the greys are just bank! Living along this coast , the trees look that way as a result of the wind.....
If you so choose , pick your favorites from this list . They are numbered .... but you need to tell me why.
Okay... that's it for this segment. I will post another batch on the 17th ( I have already done the post and you'll just have to wait and see ) and I will pick the winners this week!
As some of you know , I have the privilidge and honor to judge the painting entries for the month of July for the Boldbrush online competition. The competition offers anyone a chance to enter any painting they choose for that month for a fee of $14. The top prize earns $1000. Hey , in this economy , who in their right mind passes up a cool grand just by submitting an online entry? Hey , as my buddy and successful artist , Tim Solliday said .... these prizes get your name out there. So dive on in , the waters is warm!
Judging can be a pretty tricky thing. I don't know of anyone who is totally happy with all the selections an artist judge makes. So much is visceral and subjective. But , I will try my best to be fair and hopefully follow the judging guidelines that are posted under the competition rules.
If you follow this Blog, you will have the opportunity to view and appraise some of the competeing images that I feel are worthy of consideration. I have already selected about 25 paintings that have immediately caught my eye. Heck... let me know if I should add to my list . You'll see my top 25 in my upcoming posts.
Also, for a bit of clarification that I was not aware of. The monthly judge only picks the top 3 and the Finalists . The media picks ( pastel, watercolor etc. ) are selected by FASO as well as the top 15%. So if you don't see your painting selected in the top 15% ... well ... it was not my decision.
I'm finaly making some progress in finishing the Traveler. 30 x 40 . I have the painting on an easel at a corner in the Gallery. I make assessments on it while I work on other paintings. Its a painting I plan to enter for the Portrait Society of America contest.
I thought about leaving the Gallery soon but I feel like I have so much to say. My brain is reeling ... dizzy with all the input that I have allowed to enter it over the weekend. I should install a gate keeper APP for my brain. Can I handle all this sensory input that I subject myself to? I'm sure Apple will come up with some device soon.
Years ago, while at ILM ( LucasFilm ) we were treated to a special screening of Blade Runner at the Corte Madera theater. It WAS the theater to see a new release as George Lucas had personally installed a beta system of THX Sound. As I remember ( I could be wrong ) Bill George , a master model maker at ILM as well as several other employees had worked on the movie and were able to get a pre release cut. From the very opening of the movie to the end , I was mezmerized and bedazzled with what I had seen. The storyline was original and the visuals were like nothing that I had experienced since Star Wars premiered. The movie explored what it meant to truly be human using the creations of the Replicants by the Terrell Corp. as a metaphor.... it asked a philosophical question.The movie brought together some seasoned talent such as Ridley Scott the director , Syd Mead as Visual designer , Vangelis as Soundtrack Composer , Harrison Ford as Lead Actor and it was written by some fiction writer named Philip K. Dick. Who was this Philip K. Dick?
That same day ( I'm very very obsessive compulsive ... at least that's what my old ex girlfriends tell me ... Jana just says I'm just an excitable man ? ) I went out and bought the book that the movie was based on. The original title was called Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? first published in 1968. As usual the book was nothing like the movie. But what I discovered was Philip K. Dick used SciFi as a vehicle to create a world where different assumptions of realities could play out side by side .
What was humaness?
Here I found a a writer that I preferred over my early hero Kurt Vonnegut. I soon went back to the bookstore and bought several more titles from PKDick. Again and again I was enthralled and taken in by his use of SciFi to challenge the decadence and loneliness and corruption of the world we have created as humans. Are we crazy or does our environment , which we create , isolate and enslave which leads to mass psychosis? And how does Art play a role in the mass hypnotism? Is Art the solution as the Romantic's proposed? Does it give us meaning in a world that seemingly is cold and has no meaning?
Which brings me to why I am writing this blog entry. Fast forward about 25 years and as I was at my local used bookstore the other day it dawned on me that I should see if there were any Philip K. Dick books on the shelves. By the time I left the used bookstore ( so long Borders! ) I had purchased" Man in the High Castle" and "Martian Time Slip". Okay stay with me .... this is going somewhere and has something to do with Art ....! PKD ( Philip K. Dick ) won a Hugo Award for Man in the High Castle and so I decided to read that first. The premise blew my mind and it was like being waterboarded into a world that was suppressive and suffocating . What if Germany and Japan had won the war and America was now in servitude to the cultures of Germany and Japan? What would be their attitude towards our culture and art? Okay ... my brain is starting to hurt ... so who was this writer who came up with so many mind altering Jungian archetypes and scenarios that Hollywood has subsequently made 10 movies out of his short stories and novels most notably Minority Report , Total Recall ( being redone as I type ) , Next and Adjustment Bureau with Matt Damon? Was this guy on drugs ? I mean , his concepts are just plain weird and really really out there ... I love it.
Well, PKD called himself a philosopher who happened to be a novelist. His idea was to create alternate worlds in order to have characters play out their assumptions and worldviews . That way , the reader could look at Reality in a new way and make a prognosis. But the author himself , I find fascinating and repelling at once. What attracts me to his writing? My wife thinks his writing is just too damn weird and psychologically off beat. There are no real hero's in his work from what I have read so far . In fact , the characters in his books are more like survivors. They wash up on shore .
There are those artists who get so into their world so deeply that they themselves become a player in the world they create , whether they be musician , writer or painter. Familiar names come to mind of artists who were notorious as much for their Art as well as their Lifestyle which was an extension of their Art. Names as Vincent Van Gogh , Mondigliani , Picasso , Ernest Hemingway , Goerthe , Jim Morrison , Lord Byron , Madonna , Lady Gaga. May I be so bold as to suggest we add Philip K. Dick to that list. An avid reader of Philosophers ( Spinoza was one of his favorites ) and ingestor of mind altering drugs , Mr. Dick has now reached cult status as a result of Hollywood clamoring to make movies of his novels and short stories. He displayed at times a split personality . Alienated and Connected . Some say it began when his twin sister died shortly after birth. But one thing is for sure , by the time he died of a stroke , PKD felt that the Feds were spying on him , he felt that God was communicating with him through a Pink Beam , he believed that he led a double Life as"Thomas", a Christian persecuted by Romans in the 1st century A.D. . And these are just a few. He wrote down his gnostic interpretations in his journal that he named Exegesis.
To make sense of this and put him is some context, I thought of the Hindu concept of Divine Madness in Avadhuta. In essence , the enlightened one will act in a way that outwardly seems crazy and insane but what they experience and feel makes perfect sense to them. They operate on a level as if they are under a spell or influence of some higher voice. Insight is given in PKD's novel , The Transmigration of Timothy Archer ( if you read any PKD , start with the Man in the High Castle and not this book ... ) which is a very loose portrayal of his real life friend , Liberal Episcopalian Bishop Pike . In real Life , Bishop Pike sought out a medium to perform a seance to communicate with his son who had committed suicide. PKD uses the character Bishop Timothy Archer to explain how an idea , no matter how ridiculous to observers , can take a hold in a man's mind where it can become so powerful and potent that the host body essentially dies and the IDEA in essence lives existentially in the host body. This concept can be applied to artists who get so wrapped up in their work , method artists if you will , that they loose sight of accepted social mores and conventions and start acting out by the principles and standards that THEY CREATE. Kierkegaard tried to explain something like this in his essay Fear and Trembling in which Abraham hears a voice that is God's and he believes this voice which tells him to sacrifice his son Isaac. On the outside , his action seems barbaric and irrational but to Abraham , this voice is as real as his own.
As you can see, what one believes to be true can socially seem to be truly radical and irrational . It was this tension and drive to make sense of the contradictions in our world that Philip K. Dick wrote about in his many works on paper. And it because of his originality and inventiveness to explore altered consciousness or lack there of which makes PKD so irresistible to filmakers which are in constant need of new ideas to explore and film. However , I find that the artist who goes ALL IN with his Art is always in danger of being consumed by his creations to the neglect and dissertion of his loved ones. I mean .... Does Art give me the right to forsake all in the name of Art? Paul Guaguin is an example of an artist who emotionally and physically left his family for the sake of Art. In fact , some of my art hero's , upon reading about their personal histories, were train wrecks when it came to their family life. Their children hate them. He loved his paintings more than us , they would say.
Luckily , PKD's children , as a result of 5 marriages , are able to reap the financial benefits of their late father. For most of his life , PKD was dirt poor. So in some way there is a happy ending as PKD is now in death more famous and read than he ever was in Life and his daughters are custodians of his collected works.
check out part 1 of a documentary on YouTube about Philip K Dick.....
Greetings all. I am now adding many of my Fine Art paintings onto a new website at http://ordazart.com
Events
Paint with Frank Ordaz next year in September 2012 in the South of France at the Maison d'Alinor .
Explore Medieval Villages and discover the enchanting beauty of rural France. Lodging AND meals at an elegant 18th century stone farmhouse. Painting Demos on location and in studio. Individual and group critiques and lessons. Tour of prehistoric cave , medieval villages and Renaissance chateau.
September 26 - October 6 , 2012. $2795 per person/double. Book plane flight separate.
415.933.9799 or call me at 530-906-0716
See this amazing farmhouse ... our base camp at www.maisondalienor
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