Happy Autumn Holidays

Happy Halloween and Happy Thanksgiving too! Tonight I plan to meet friends in downtown West Palm for Moonfest. I’m going as a kid dressed in pajamas and carrying a teddy bear. Time keeps rushing by. In a couple of weeks, I’ll be putting up the Manalapan Library father/daughter show. I finished my book The Schreibers The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far From The Tree, ordered it, and excitedly open the package when it arrived this week. I just have to make a few changes, but for the most part it’s fine.

In addition to working on the book, I finished a painting I’m submitting for Loxahatchee Visions, the Second Annual Juried Art Contest of Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge inspired artworks. The entries of original art (no photographs) will be on display and for sale from mid-November until January 8, 2012 giving novice (up to age 18) and adult artists a chance to win cash awards. The Visions contest exhibition will be open daily 9 – 4 in the refuge, and on Sunday November 20 at 1:00 p.m. there will be a Reception and Award Presentation. I would love to win an award, but will be happy to exhibit my work.

I also finished an 11” x 14” oil painting for A Unique Art Gallery’s November Exhibit. Chris Oakes, one of our resident artists, is getting his Masters in Fine Arts from Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), and as part of his program he’s curating a show, The Sign of the Times, in the gallery. At our Second Wednesday Open House on November 9, 2011 we’re having a reveal. The exhibition will feature a unique art sales format in that the original artworks will be covered by brown paper and tied with twine with only the artist’s name and the price placed on the brown paper. An interested patron will have to look at other artwork the artists have hanging in the gallery to guess if they want to take a chance to purchase the piece before they are uncovered at 7:00 p.m. The exhibit is a fundraiser with 50% of the sale price benefiting the Cancer Alliance of Help and Hope, so we are hoping for a large turnout and lots of sales.

This past month, I was completely focused on putting my book together, preparing for my father/daughter shows, and finishing the paintings. I cut back on writing, covering the gallery, attending openings, and other assorted demands. Perhaps as a result, I’m actually ahead of schedule. I was able to start painting “Homage to Georgia O’Keefe,” a 24” x 30” collage style work. The beginning of a painting is always the best part for me. I begin a work feeling excited, eager to see my vision take shape. It’s not until the piece is almost done that I start to feel bored and doubtful. Since a painting this size generally takes at least a month to complete, here’s to a busy and happy November. Wishing everyone the same.

The photos above I took at A Unique Art Gallery's October Open House. Steve Lorenti's Hulk Pumpkin made it unto the first page of the Accent section in the Palm Beach Post.

Making and Taking Pictures

The past four weeks the art scene has been relatively quiet. There have been several openings, but nothing compared to Season. I’ve been extremely busy, however, so I dread when things fully gear up. I’m hoping that I can keep up, but I feel like a juggler. I’ve already starting preparing for my two Father/Daughter solo exhibitions this winter – small works mid-November to mid-February in the Manalapan Library and large works January in FAU.

The two shows inspired me to self-publish a book “The Schreibers: The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far From The Tree,” a compilation of the paintings in both exhibits – 21 of my oils and 20 of Dad’s pastels. David Willison, a photographer, printmaker, and fellow member of the Artists Association of Jupiter has made several books for A Unique Art Gallery – a portfolio of members’ works with artists statements, a catalogue of the art in our “Small Works” exhibit, and one for “The Gray Area,” our black and white photography exhibit. He convinced me that I could use Book Smart on Blurb.com to do my own book.

To get decent photographs of our paintings, I treated myself to a Nikon D3000. Next I bought a tripod, and for the last couple of weeks I’ve been taking pictures, putting them into the computer, and working on Book Smart. Thanks to David and my friend Carrie Pasquale, I learned about things like settings, aperture, and ISO, all previously unknown to me. I still have a ton to learn. David is teaching a class on photographing your artwork at the Lighthouse ArtCenter. The class meets from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. on Saturday mornings. The class started in September, but I imagine people can still sign up for it.

I wish I were more excited about using the camera since photography is currently all the rage. There’s been one interesting photography exhibit after another for months. In September “Photo Now” opened at the Lighthouse ArtCenter, and just this week I wrote about “Wild Florida” in the Examiner. It’s a wildlife photography exhibit at the Boynton Beach City Library. I keep meeting really talented art photographers and artists who are doing fascinating digital work. Again, I wish photography would inspire me as a medium because I feel like oil painting may go the way of frescoes. Murals are still happening, but I doubt they are done using damp plaster. People are painting digitally now rather than with paint. Still, I love using a brush to draw, and I’m just not ready to give up my oils.

Above are the paintings I’ve chosen to put on the cover of “The Schreibers.” On the left is Dad’s pastel of Rockport and on the right is my oil painting.

End of Summer

September 1st is coming up soon. It’s hard to believe that the summer is practically over. Time is going much too fast. I remember when I was young and mature adults said the older you get, the faster time passes. Now I understand what they were talking about. Still, even when I was a kid and time took forever, I hated to see the end of the summer. This summer was wonderful. I took it easy, had time to travel, cut back on the writing, and painted at my leisure. I dread the fall and the even faster pace in the winter once “Season” is in full force.

I was away for the past five days at Wright by the Sea in Delray Beach where I gratefully enjoyed the beach, sun, and pool. We were so lucky that Hurricane Irene missed us. But I returned this morning to find a zillion emails on my computer with news about upcoming exhibitions. September already sounds like a busy month. Press releases are out for shows at the Lighthouse Art Center, Palm Beach State College, FAU, and several of the galleries. Talking about FAU, I’m attending an opening reception tomorrow August 31, 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. for John Rachell’s “Garden Portraits” a one-man show on the Jupiter campus in the atrium of the Student Resources Building.

I recently wrote an article for the Examiner, “Artists triumph over disabilities” in which I talked about John. He’s a fellow artist at A Unique Art Gallery whom I met nearly two years ago when he had work in a show at 1608, a gallery on S. Dixie Hwy in West Palm Beach. I loved his work, wrote about him in the Examiner, and was pleased when he joined the Artists Association of Jupiter. I’m hoping that his opening tomorrow is a huge success. The work will be on display through September 30, 2011.

FAU’s Kathyrn Yates, who organized the exhibition, invited me to do a father/daughter show there this winter. I’m already trying to decide which pieces to put into the exhibit, and think I might include “The Journey” pictured above, a collage painting of my experience in Australia. It’s practically done, but I have to work on the finishing touches. I just finished “The Taos Pueblo” which is only 9” x 12” (also pictured above) much too small for the FAU atrium, but perfect for the Manalapan Library. I’m planning a father/daughter show there at the end of November until mid February. Indeed, the upcoming months will be busy and exciting, if they don’t become overwhelming. I’m trying to psych myself into remaining cool, calm, and relaxed.

That reminds me. I am also planning an Unleashing Creativity Workshop at A Unique Art Gallery in Jupiter on September 24, 2011 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. I gave myself the summer off and haven’t done a workshop since last May, but Susan Lorenti, gallery director, encouraged me to start up again. Using relaxation techniques, participants access the unconscious to release creative juices. Most artists don’t need help to free their creativity, but lots of other people do and even artists have periods of blocking. The workshops can prove to be helpful and inspiring. Now I just need to practice what I preach. Stay calm and relaxed in spite of the summer ending.

Being in New Mexico

Late Tuesday night I returned from a much needed ten day vacation in New Mexico with my sister, Jan. For years I’ve wanted to go there, so months before the trip I was excited when we put together the itinerary for Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Taos. Before I left, everyone I spoke to who had been there told me how much they loved it. Still, I was amazed by the magic in the air. What a place! If you’ve never been to the southwestern state, think about going. For artists and art lovers it’s heaven. I never experienced anything like it before except maybe in Florence, Italy. Art, art galleries, and museums are everywhere.

On the Turquoise Trail, the scenic drive from Albuquerque to Santa Fe, we stopped in a small town called Madrid, which was filled with beautiful art galleries. There I discovered Joyce Dant a New Mexican landscape artist whose work I adored. If I could have afforded one of her oils I would have bought one on the spot. She is someone I will follow. Madrid was the taste of what was yet to come in Santa Fe.

The museums in Santa Fe were a pleasure. Highlights were the American Indian Museum of Art and Culture and the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, and perhaps the most unusual was the International Folklore Museum. In the Indian Museum I discovered Tony Da, an amazing potter and painter who is actually quite well known but new to me. Indian art is everywhere in New Mexico. Jan suggested it may be the energy emanating from the many pueblos up and down the Rio Grande that has created the artistic scene and may explain Canyon Road.

Though Santa Fe has hundreds of galleries, the largest concentration is on Canyon Road which runs for blocks and is lined on either side of the street with one fabulous gallery after another. There are no shops or boutiques and very few restaurants, just paintings and sculpture. We spent hours exploring the galleries and taking photos of the street. Between the museums, fine art galleries, and abundant Indian art sold on the streets and in shops and studios, I don’t know when I have seen so much art in one place. It was inspiring. In fact, when we visited Georgia O’Keeffe’s home, studio, and Ghost Ranch and a few days later visited the Taos pueblo, home of the Tiwa tribe, I took many pictures that I may have to paint.

I have been working on a manuscript for over a year called The Fabulous Art Scene, A Guide to Fine Art in Florida’s Palm Beach County. I am really excited about the book and the art in Palm Beach County and on the Treasure Coast, but we have a long way to go to match the art community in New Mexico. Still I will remain in Florida and continue to publicize our art and artists with hopes that someday our region will be as impressive.

The photo above right is an adobe in the Taos pueblo. I can’t wait to paint the turquoise door and the bright blue sky against the light brown structure. The photo on the left is of a flower that reminded me of Georgia O’Keeffe. I think I will paint a collage style oil in homage to her.

Photography is Hot

It’s been a month since I “quit” my job. Of course I didn’t really quit. I’ve been painting, writing articles, and attending openings as much as usual, but since I published my desire to quit, I have been feeling much better. When I was a psychotherapist I encouraged people to express and explore their emotions to work out conflicts, depression or anxiety. The acknowledgement to myself and out loud to others of how overwhelmed I was feeling was a form of therapy. I’m still working but not nearly as hard as I was before, and that feels right.

Besides it’s summer, the season to sit back and enjoy the long, hot days and the light until night. Things definitely slow down in the summer including the art scene, which is affected by the end of “Season.” In spite of that, a lot has actually been happening in the art community. Photography particularly has been sprouting up all over the place.

The Palm Beach County Photo Salon opened an excellent new show, Florida In and Out of View, on June 25^th in the Kimbell Center in Hobe Sound’s Jonathan Dickinson State Park, which runs until August 15. The day before InFocus opened at the Palm Beach Photographic Centre on Clematis Street in downtown West Palm Beach. I didn’t get to the InFocus reception, but I was happy to hear that Melinda Moore received the award for Best in Show. She opened a solo show of her art photography, Creative Focus, in Palm Beach Gardens City Hall on Wednesday, June 29th. InFocus is on until August 20^th and Melinda’s solo show runs through August 25^th.

Meantime, the Artists Association of Jupiter (I’m a member) has put out a Call for Artists for a juried photography exhibition, The Gray Area: Black, White and Somewhere In Between. The exhibit, which award winning fine art photographer Barry Seidman agreed to judge, will take place from August 5 to September 1, 2011 in Jupiter’s A Unique Art Gallery. Photographers are asked to submit black and white works no larger than 11” x 14.” Go to www.artistsassociationofjupiter.com, click on Events, and scroll down for submission information.

Our winter show, Small Works: Big Ideas was a huge success. Not only did we have a substantial number of submissions, but the show attracted many people into the gallery, and quite a few pieces sold. As a result, we are excited about the upcoming photography exhibit. Susan Lorenti, David Willison, and I put together the Call for Artists; so we have an investment in its success and are hoping for similar achievement. For the Gray Area, artists must submit their photographic work by July 16, 2011. I’m glad that the gallery decided not to have a Second Wednesday open house in July so we can devote our time to the task of dealing with submissions and preparing for the show in August.

Members of the Association are excluded from submitting work which suits me fine. I’m not a photographer, but I do use my photographs as inspiration for my paintings. Right now I’m working on a large canvas (36” x 48”), a collage style oil painting of Australia. I am completely excited about this piece. It naturally has kangaroos and koalas, but also a didgeridoo player, the Sydney Opera House and my own aboriginal painting within the painting. When I paint landscapes I transport myself back into the place and how I felt at the time. So far working on this painting is pure joy. I loved Australia and would return in a second if I could afford to go. Right now I have my photographs, and soon I will have a painting too.

Above photos I took in Australia. On right a black and white pic of a koala and center in Ayers Rock Resort.

I Quit?

This past month I have found myself wanting to quit my job. Of course I don’t really have a job in the true sense of the word. No one is paying my salary, and I am my own boss. Though I do sell my artwork now and then, I would literally starve to death if I depended on sales to remain alive. And the monies I earn for my writing, a more reliable steady income, would virtually leave me destitute if it were my only source of revenue. Still this low paying position of artist/writer takes up an inordinate amount of my time. For the thirty years that I practiced as a mental health professional, making a fairly decent income, I never worked as hard.

So truth be told I am just plain tired, exhausted really, burned out. I want to quit. Quit painting? Or writing? I don’t think so. What I want to quit is the business of being an artist – the marketing, networking, dealing with exhibits and galleries, going to openings, writing query letters, “building a platform.” Too much of my time is spent outside my studio dealing with other people and negotiating with the art/writing community, knowing and getting known, developing a reputation, tooting my horn so to speak. God, I’m sick of it.

The recluse, hermit, monk within is going insane. I want to stop complaining and being a grouch. Like Greta Garbo, “I want to be alone.” I want to retreat to my cave and paint pictures just because painting gives me pleasure. Or writing novels because I love the characters and stories I have created even if no one else ever reads the work. I want to stop thinking about what might sell, or how much I should charge, or about being more “cutting edge.” I’m tired of feeling competitive and of being self-critical when I spend too much thought on comparing myself to others. I want the time and space to express myself creatively, just because that’s what I want to do, without the pressure of earning a living, of having a job. And since I’m earning so little money anyway, why not quit?

I am officially giving notice to the world that I resign. For now, I am without a job – no more covering the gallery, running workshops, writing articles, or attending meetings, art openings, or writing groups unless I want to, and right now I don’t…

Who am I kidding? Next Friday night, June 3, 2011, is the opening reception for “The Art of Association.” It’s a collaborative exhibition of three local art groups: the Artists Association of Jupiter (AAoJ), Artists of Palm Beach County (APBC), and North County Art Association (NCAA) at the Lighthouse ArtCenter in Tequesta. I’m in AAoJ and APBC, so five of my paintings are in the show and two of my Dad’s. I wouldn’t miss the opening for anything. And there is a fabulous 3D photographer, Art Siegel, whose work I got to know at the “Vivid Art” exhibition in 110 East Atlantic Avenue, Delray Beach. I just have to write an Examiner article about him.

Let’s face it, being an artist/writer is not a job. It’s my life. I can’t quit. I’ll just have to find more balance, meditate more, find time to relax, listen to what my unconscious is telling me. Above left is a photograph I took of a Buddha at the Morikami encircled by a wire fence. My painting of him “Buddha at the Morikami” on the right, free of the fence, is more than halfway done.

Altered States

“Season” has come to an end. Today Sunfest begins in downtown West Palm Beach, a celebration of the “Season” being over, a time to party because the snowbirds have returned to the north. In recent years the mobs of people have made it feel less celebratory for me. I imagine many of them are in fact out-of-towners. And unfortunately, I’ve finally reached the age where most of the musical groups are foreign to me. The only group I’m eager to see is Earth, Wind, and Fire, and they won’t be performing until Sunday evening.

In truth, this past month I have been enjoying guests visiting from around the country – family and friends from New York, Chicago, Boston, and California. When my friend Ronna was here a couple of weeks ago, I took her to the Norton Museum of Art. She’s heard me talk about it a great deal in the past and was curious to see the museum I have proudly espoused. Not having been to the Norton in a few weeks, Ronna’s visit offered me the opportunity to see the latest exhibits, but first I showed her the Dale Chihuly room. Ronna was excited by the current exhibit of his fabulous glasswork and paintings in the Museum of Fine Art in Boston, and his ocean themed ceiling installation at the Norton was a treat for her.

Though she was impressed with the permanent collection and the Fabulous Fakes exhibit of jewelry designed by Kenneth Jay Lane, she had no desire to see the Egyptian Treasures. Instead we concentrated on exploring Altered States: Jose Alvarez, Yayoi Kusama, Fred Tomaselli and Leo Villareal which began on April 2 and runs through July 17, 2011. Made up of collages, paintings, and installations by this select group of artists, the exhibit offers a transformative experience. The psychedelic colors and peacock feathers used by Alvarez, the detailed works by Kusama, and the intriguing drug filled collages by Tomaselli transport the viewer to an altered perception of reality.

Two years ago when I was in Sydney, Australia I had the good fortune to see an exhibit of Kusama’s work. At the time I found her paintings interesting, but her installations were unforgettable. Mirrored rooms filled with tiny lights created a feeling of being in outer space and witnessing infinity. I hoped to someday see an exhibit of her work in Florida. The Norton show includes several of her paintings, but perhaps the most impressive piece is her sculpture of a standing, nude, Barbie doll-like figure with a brown wig and covered with polka dots.

The installation at the Norton is by Leo Villareal. “Firmament II” welcomes the viewer’s participation, and the Norton has helped by providing wide comfortable chaise lounges to recline on while one views the changing lights above. Fred Tomaselli is quoted as believing that “art is obligated to transport the viewer… to the sublime.” Villareal’s piece has the power to do just that. Ronna and I must have remained on the chaise for at least a half hour where together we were transported to the heavens.

Later we took a long walk at MacArthurs Beach State Park where I showed off the natural beauty of my chosen state, and Ronna took a picture of the two of us on the boardwalk leading to the beach.