Back At The Easel

Some paintings take a lot longer than others. That’s just the way it is. In my case, it usually has less to do with “artistic progress,” or “conceptual seasoning,” or some other such notion, than with my distracted state of mind, or the inevitable intervening demands of life. We all do what we can.

But wait! Oh, yeah. There’s also the weather. I cannot remember so much rain, in such an unbroken cycle. The plants out in the garden could not be happier, but we’re still waiting for the plaster guy to come back to give our old home another stab at watertight redemption.

As the torrential rains have continued to pummel the city, I’ve worked on the painting a bit inside, in my “indoor studio.” Tuesday it dawned on me: The Sun is shining! And so out I went and splashed away.

So here we are, so far. Our kitty Hoppers is indeed a young cat of few words, but he seems to generally approve of his rendering.

Grateful to know that you are out there. Thanks.

"Jade Vine," Latest

"Jade Vine," Third Sitting

Jade Vine 40″ X 40″ As of 3/15/2009, Third Sitting

I find myself in a bit of a race with the jade vine flowers. When it’s time to start dropping down in clusters and to burst out in unreal technicolor, it’s time. And there’s just no talking reason with them.

They do put on a show, for sure, but it’s as if they’re in a hurry to go back wherever it is they come from.

The painting as of the second sitting is in the post below. Sometimes painting is definitely not easy. When the “groove” isn’t there, for whatever reason, I can think of few things one might sit down to do that might feel such a battle and so personal, so challenging and relentless. That’s how it was yesterday. And yet I challenged myself a bit, and forced it. Usually I don’t. But the blooming vines gave me a reason, and besides: there’s always that hope of “click”…

And our cat Hoppers helped. Some time into that bleak sitting, he graciously leapt up on to the bench, near the painting’s center, and commenced to stretch out and relax.

I was so happy to have him there. We do love the boy. He is definitely a trip. Now, at least, the painting had an anchor.

Today, thank God, was different, and better. Everything about everything, about the day. And for that I am grateful.

Thanks, folks.

"Jade Vine," Third Sitting

Jade Vine 40″ X 40″ As of 3/15/2009, Third Sitting

I find myself in a bit of a race with the jade vine flowers. When it’s time to start dropping down in clusters and to burst out in unreal technicolor, it’s time. And there’s just no talking reason with them.

They do put on a show, for sure, but it’s as if they’re in a hurry to go back wherever it is they come from.

The painting as of the second sitting is in the post below. Sometimes painting is definitely not easy. When the “groove” isn’t there, for whatever reason, I can think of few things one might sit down to do that might feel such a battle and so personal, so challenging and relentless. That’s how it was yesterday. And yet I challenged myself a bit, and forced it. Usually I don’t. But the blooming vines gave me a reason, and besides: there’s always that hope of “click”…

And our cat Hoppers helped. Some time into that bleak sitting, he graciously leapt up on to the bench, near the painting’s center, and commenced to stretch out and relax.

I was so happy to have him there. We do love the boy. He is definitely a trip. Now, at least, the painting had an anchor.

Today, thank God, was different, and better. Everything about everything, about the day. And for that I am grateful.

Thanks, folks.

The Only Treasure There Is

An extremely rare pic of Alan (snapped on the sly) with his friends Winnie and Piglet. He greatly enjoys the company of both, but has an especially tender spot in his heart for little Piglet. Whenever Alan sees him “he is always smiling right back,” and “looking at him makes me happy,” says he.

As I’ve mentioned before, Alan is a huge fan of Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, and especially Piglet. So I tend to keep an eye out for them as I bounce about the Internet in my occasional rambling searches for the next Great Image.

So I was charmed to come upon a photograph of the original toys loved first and so well by a young Christopher Robin Milne in the Chelsea section of London, England. Here were Pooh bear, Tigger, Kanga, Eeyore, and Piglet, all having somehow come to rest far from the Hundred Acre Wood (but not far from Central Park!) in New York City, in the central Children’s Room at the Donnell Library Center on 53rd Street:

Thanks to WallyG on Flickr, http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/2259021991/

When my brothers and sister were all children (and we were, honestly!) long, long ago, we grew up on A.A. Milne’s The House on Pooh Corner, and When We Were Very Young, brought to life in a wonderful way by the amazingly suitable illustrations of E. H. Shepherd.

More recently, I gave the books to my niece and nephew, the one-of-a-kind Alianne and her unstoppable brother Thompson.

Remember this?

Us Two

Wherever I am, there’s always Pooh,
There’s always Pooh and Me.
Whatever I do, he wants to do,
“Where are you going today?” says Pooh:
“Well, that’s very odd ‘cos I was too.
Let’s go together,” says Pooh, says he.
“Let’s go together,” says Pooh.

“What’s twice eleven?” I said to Pooh.
(“Twice what?” said Pooh to Me.)
“I think it ought to be twenty-two.”
“Just what I think myself,” said Pooh.
“It wasn’t an easy sum to do,
But that’s what it is,” said Pooh, said he.
“That’s what it is,” said Pooh.

“Let’s look for dragons,” I said to Pooh.
“Yes, let’s,” said Pooh to Me.
We crossed the river and found a few-
“Yes, those are dragons all right,” said Pooh.
“As soon as I saw their beaks I knew.
That’s what they are,” said Pooh, said he.
“That’s what they are,” said Pooh.

“Let’s frighten the dragons,” I said to Pooh.
“That’s right,” said Pooh to Me.
“I’m not afraid,” I said to Pooh,
And I held his paw and I shouted “Shoo!
Silly old dragons!”- and off they flew.

“I wasn’t afraid,” said Pooh, said he,
“I’m never afraid with you.”

So wherever I am, there’s always Pooh,
There’s always Pooh and Me.
“What would I do?” I said to Pooh,
“If it wasn’t for you,” and Pooh said: “True,
It isn’t much fun for One, but Two,
Can stick together, says Pooh, says he.
“That’s how it is,” says Pooh.

— A. A. Milne

Here is the author with his son Christopher Robin, and Pooh. The bear, back when it was only a stuffed toy, was made by England’s Farnell & Co., bought at Harrod’s Department store, and given to the boy in celebration of his first birthday.

With Edward Bear (a/k/a Winnie the Pooh)

And though their working relationship was apparently not the smoothest, the wisdom of entrusting Ernest Howard Shepherd to give Pooh and his friends form, and bring them visually to life, is far beyond doubt.

Pooh and Piglet send regrets, as forwarded by Ernest Shepherd.

As I looked at these rather worn, tattered old toys, I couldn’t help but wonder “What makes these things much more valuable than gold or any kind of precious stone, no matter how vast in quantity, exquisite, or rare? Why might these tiny figures well be considered national treasures, belonging not alone to the Americas, or to their native England, but to the world? What can begin to explain the number of people that must make the trek to the Children’s Room in that particularLibrary, often with children of their own? And then just stand there, quietly, or whisper in hushed and reverent undertone to their loved one?”

“What first breathed such life into these humble toys (see how very small Piglet stands?) those many years ago, when even the oldest now among us ‘were all very young?’

Piglet, close up, on the small side but confident with Eeyore at his back.

And what is it about them exactly that touches people so, and always has, each new generation after the next? How can they remain so perenially fresh when everything else is always changing?”

And the answer that occurred to me, with a singular clarity, was simply this: Love.

One of my favorite Calvin & Hobbes Sunday strips, October 1993. (To view larger, just click on image and return to browser using back arrow.) It says so much. The great Bill Watterston, as his idol Charles Schultz years before him, undertook a long and bruising struggle in fighting to get a strip into the newspapers. He says it was the talking tiger that finally opened up that door. The rest is history.

Which in turn got me to thinking: Did you know that, without the gift of that vision you carry in your heart for those that you love, they might feel themselves more as these tattered old dolls than truly alive and filled with potential? In a sense, it is your love that fills their sails and sets them on course for each day’s journey.

Yes, you. You don’t have to be perfect to give good love. Look into their eyes, you’ll see. The important thing is to never give up. Love is never just for others, though that toxic notion is indeed commonplace.

And: are you consciously aware of the ones in your life that are giving you life, perhaps imperfectly, but as best as they can?

Just some food for thought. The problem with the word “love,” in probably every language, is that it means so many different things that it can come to mean nothing at all. And, it’s often reduced to the simply romantic, or even sentimental.

Yet these simple stuffed animals helped bring home to me, once again, the greater force, energy, and pure power behind that mystery we call, in shorthand and because we must call it something, love. There is nothing known in all of Heaven and Earth, nothing even close, to be called its equal. As poetically expressed by ee cummings:

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

“This is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart.” Now, that is an immense physical force, none the less ancient or reflective of sublime rhythms because it might be reduced to theoretical calculations and equations in Physics.

And the real wonder of it is, it’s inside you right now. With every beat of your heart, every breath you take. It extends outward through your voice, and spreads with your touch. Why? Who knows?

But what of it? Well, that is very much up to you. Why not celebrate it, yes, even now?

____________________________________________________

I wound up creating for Alan a desktop wallpaper, and called it “Love Gives Them Life”:

Please feel free to download and enjoy it, if you like. I’ve also added a variety of other images there, because I enjoy facing a new image on my computer quite often (as long as I’m going to have to be sitting in front of the damned thing, anyway!):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25009018@N02/3357984697/

Thank you. I know it’s not easy, sometimes. So, again,

Thank you.

The Only Treasure There Is

An extremely rare pic of Alan (snapped on the sly) with his friends Winnie and Piglet. He greatly enjoys the company of both, but has an especially tender spot in his heart for little Piglet. Whenever Alan sees him “he is always smiling right back,” and “looking at him makes me happy,” says he.

As I’ve mentioned before, Alan is a huge fan of Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, and especially Piglet. So I tend to keep an eye out for them as I bounce about the Internet in my occasional rambling searches for the next Great Image.

So I was charmed to come upon a photograph of the original toys loved first and so well by a young Christopher Robin Milne in the Chelsea section of London, England. Here were Pooh bear, Tigger, Kanga, Eeyore, and Piglet, all having somehow come to rest far from the Hundred Acre Wood (but not far from Central Park!) in New York City, in the central Children’s Room at the Donnell Library Center on 53rd Street:

Thanks to WallyG on Flickr, http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/2259021991/

When my brothers and sister were all children (and we were, honestly!) long, long ago, we grew up on A.A. Milne’s The House on Pooh Corner, and When We Were Very Young, brought to life in a wonderful way by the amazingly suitable illustrations of E. H. Shepherd.

More recently, I gave the books to my niece and nephew, the one-of-a-kind Alianne and her unstoppable brother Thompson.

Remember this?

Us Two

Wherever I am, there’s always Pooh,
There’s always Pooh and Me.
Whatever I do, he wants to do,
“Where are you going today?” says Pooh:
“Well, that’s very odd ‘cos I was too.
Let’s go together,” says Pooh, says he.
“Let’s go together,” says Pooh.

“What’s twice eleven?” I said to Pooh.
(“Twice what?” said Pooh to Me.)
“I think it ought to be twenty-two.”
“Just what I think myself,” said Pooh.
“It wasn’t an easy sum to do,
But that’s what it is,” said Pooh, said he.
“That’s what it is,” said Pooh.

“Let’s look for dragons,” I said to Pooh.
“Yes, let’s,” said Pooh to Me.
We crossed the river and found a few-
“Yes, those are dragons all right,” said Pooh.
“As soon as I saw their beaks I knew.
That’s what they are,” said Pooh, said he.
“That’s what they are,” said Pooh.

“Let’s frighten the dragons,” I said to Pooh.
“That’s right,” said Pooh to Me.
“I’m not afraid,” I said to Pooh,
And I held his paw and I shouted “Shoo!
Silly old dragons!”- and off they flew.

“I wasn’t afraid,” said Pooh, said he,
“I’m never afraid with you.”

So wherever I am, there’s always Pooh,
There’s always Pooh and Me.
“What would I do?” I said to Pooh,
“If it wasn’t for you,” and Pooh said: “True,
It isn’t much fun for One, but Two,
Can stick together, says Pooh, says he.
“That’s how it is,” says Pooh.

— A. A. Milne

Here is the author with his son Christopher Robin, and Pooh. The bear, back when it was only a stuffed toy, was made by England’s Farnell & Co., bought at Harrod’s Department store, and given to the boy in celebration of his first birthday.

With Edward Bear (a/k/a Winnie the Pooh)

And though their working relationship was apparently not the smoothest, the wisdom of entrusting Ernest Howard Shepherd to give Pooh and his friends form, and bring them visually to life, is far beyond doubt.

Pooh and Piglet send regrets, as forwarded by Ernest Shepherd.

As I looked at these rather worn, tattered old toys, I couldn’t help but wonder “What makes these things much more valuable than gold or any kind of precious stone, no matter how vast in quantity, exquisite, or rare? Why might these tiny figures well be considered national treasures, belonging not alone to the Americas, or to their native England, but to the world? What can begin to explain the number of people that must make the trek to the Children’s Room in that particularLibrary, often with children of their own? And then just stand there, quietly, or whisper in hushed and reverent undertone to their loved one?”

“What first breathed such life into these humble toys (see how very small Piglet stands?) those many years ago, when even the oldest now among us ‘were all very young?’

Piglet, close up, on the small side but confident with Eeyore at his back.

And what is it about them exactly that touches people so, and always has, each new generation after the next? How can they remain so perenially fresh when everything else is always changing?”

And the answer that occurred to me, with a singular clarity, was simply this: Love.

One of my favorite Calvin & Hobbes Sunday strips, October 1993. (To view larger, just click on image and return to browser using back arrow.) It says so much. The great Bill Watterston, as his idol Charles Schultz years before him, undertook a long and bruising struggle in fighting to get a strip into the newspapers. He says it was the talking tiger that finally opened up that door. The rest is history.

Which in turn got me to thinking: Did you know that, without the gift of that vision you carry in your heart for those that you love, they might feel themselves more as these tattered old dolls than truly alive and filled with potential? In a sense, it is your love that fills their sails and sets them on course for each day’s journey.

Yes, you. You don’t have to be perfect to give good love. Look into their eyes, you’ll see. The important thing is to never give up. Love is never just for others, though that toxic notion is indeed commonplace.

And: are you consciously aware of the ones in your life that are giving you life, perhaps imperfectly, but as best as they can?

Just some food for thought. The problem with the word “love,” in probably every language, is that it means so many different things that it can come to mean nothing at all. And, it’s often reduced to the simply romantic, or even sentimental.

Yet these simple stuffed animals helped bring home to me, once again, the greater force, energy, and pure power behind that mystery we call, in shorthand and because we must call it something, love. There is nothing known in all of Heaven and Earth, nothing even close, to be called its equal. As poetically expressed by ee cummings:

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

“This is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart.” Now, that is an immense physical force, none the less ancient or reflective of sublime rhythms because it might be reduced to theoretical calculations and equations in Physics.

And the real wonder of it is, it’s inside you right now. With every beat of your heart, every breath you take. It extends outward through your voice, and spreads with your touch. Why? Who knows?

But what of it? Well, that is very much up to you. Why not celebrate it, yes, even now?

____________________________________________________

I wound up creating for Alan a desktop wallpaper, and called it “Love Gives Them Life”:

Please feel free to download and enjoy it, if you like. I’ve also added a variety of other images there, because I enjoy facing a new image on my computer quite often (as long as I’m going to have to be sitting in front of the damned thing, anyway!):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25009018@N02/3357984697/

Thank you. I know it’s not easy, sometimes. So, again,

Thank you.

“Jade Vine,” Third Sitting

Jade Vine 40″ X 40″ As of 3/15/2009, Third Sitting

I find myself in a bit of a race with the jade vine flowers. When it’s time to start dropping down in clusters and to burst out in unreal technicolor, it’s time. And there’s just no talking reason with them.

They do put on a show, for sure, but it’s as if they’re in a hurry to go back wherever it is they come from.

The painting as of the second sitting is in the post below. Sometimes painting is definitely not easy. When the “groove” isn’t there, for whatever reason, I can think of few things one might sit down to do that might feel such a battle and so personal, so challenging and relentless. That’s how it was yesterday. And yet I challenged myself a bit, and forced it. Usually I don’t. But the blooming vines gave me a reason, and besides: there’s always that hope of “click”…

And our cat Hoppers helped. Some time into that bleak sitting, he graciously leapt up on to the bench, near the painting’s center, and commenced to stretch out and relax.

I was so happy to have him there. We do love the boy. He is definitely a trip. Now, at least, the painting had an anchor.

Today, thank God, was different, and better. Everything about everything, about the day. And for that I am grateful.

Thanks, folks.

"Jade Vine," Second Sitting

Latest Work in Progress, Wet on the Easel, and a Poem

Jade Vine 40″ X 40″ Oil on Canvas First sitting

Yesterday I painted like a madman, and it felt great. It was one of those sensationally beautiful Florida winter kind of days, sunny, crisp, and cool enough to wear a sweater. I had to go outside; there was really no helping it… That “itch” to head out and paint has been following close as a shadow lately, and getting closer. For me, that is an excellent thing, maybe the best thing. And so everything came together, miraculous in a quiet sort of way. It is always a sweet experience to give in to a blessing…

There is no explaining it, really, and so I give you one of my favorite poems, by the sublime, drunk, and utterly cantankerous Charles Bukowski :

the click of miracle

at the quarterhorse meet

at Hollywood Park

around 5 p.m.

if you are sitting at

ground level

in the

Pavilion

the track appears

to

be

above you

and

in the strange

shadow-

sunlight

the silks

are

so

bright

the color

is

like

fresh paint

on

canvas

and

the faces of

the

jocks

look

heroic.

it’s a

grand

time

then

a perfect

and

peaceful

photograph

dream-

like.

such small

moments

keep

people

alive.

such small

moments

so

large

when

it

all

comes

together

and

holds.

__________________________________________________________________

About halfway, to wherever!

This is a fairly large canvas at 40″ square, so I had quite a session. I set up my easel and supplies just next door, in the backyard of the Mission facing back towards our house.



After two or three hours it occurred to me to put down the brushes, as paint was flying everywhere anyway, and squeeze globs of color directly from the tubes on to the canvas. I was looking for nice chunky texture in the canopy above. The last hour and some my fingers danced across the canvas, playing with the color, allowing a creative freedom the brushes (though willing) could not give me. I was a mess. My hands looked like a psychedelic rainbow. It was fun.



The painting will live up to its name. Though no flowering blossoms are to be seen just yet, they are present, in force, and ready to burst into profligate color day by day. They truly know no shame. Thank God!

The thin, textured “stringbeans” hanging down are blossoms, ready to “happen.”

Most of the green you see above the ground in the painting, including the wildly twisting branches, is the jade vine plant. This one, a gift from us to our former neighbor and “forever friend” Vivian Howard about ten years ago, always produced flowers as if there were to be no tomorrow. Maybe it knows something that we do not, and maybe it doesn’t. But in either case, now seems an excellent time to follow its lead, and seek out and express our passions as never before. The good news is: never have we had so little to lose. Nor so much to gain.

Note to self: trade in constant “busyness” in every waking moment for time to breathe: to savor, anticipate, and appreciate. The drama is all around, and I mean everywhere, all the time, and of every conceivable type, shape, size, etc., etc. So the question is: what kind will you choose to “tune in” to? Do we not make such choices every day? Are we not always free to “choose again?”

O.K., got it. I’ll add that to my list. : ) Sigh…

Thanks for stopping in. I do appreciate it.

Vine in bloom, March 2008.

Just For Fun.

Up in Alan’s Tower, I

God knows, for better or worse, there is nothing like the Internet. This morning I “stumbledupon” this link: http://youshouldhaveseenthis.com/ and first thought “What the Hell?” I had rarely seen such a challenging jumble of apparent nonsense, but actually recognized some of the links as ones I had really enjoyed. Be warned: this site could swallow up as much time as you might give it. Yet I’m not sure that would necessarily be a bad thing…

So, as happens sometimes, I checked out a few of the links and cannot be sure exactly where the last hour or so has gone. I found this one such a cool and “feelgood” experience I felt to share it on an easy Saturday afternoon:

Best Wedding Toast Ever (Amy’s Song)

I have no idea what many of the links are about, but I also randomly checked out a couple of others and quite enjoyed these:

31) Christian The Lion

77) Prison Inmates remake “Thriller”

30) David After The Dentist

36) Where The Hell Is Matt

These are just for fun. You might find them rewarding, as did I. There will be no quiz given.

May they lighten your heart and being a smile to your face!

Up in Alan’s Tower, II