Month: June 2013

The Minotaur Revisited…once again

My blogging friend Phil Cooper recently posted a wonderful sculpture by Michael Ayrton depicting the Minotaur. Although Ayrton seems little known here in the States, he is a master at depicting the pathos of the myth (follow this link for images); follow this link for Phil’s wonderful work .

The presence of Phils’s work and that of Ayrton come at a moment when I am preparing to write a final short paper comparing Minotaur depictions, recalling  ancient depictions,Ayrton, Blake, Picasso, Remedios Varo and others, I was inspired once again to try to depict the complexities of the unfortunate beast. The following is a link of previous attempts, here.

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Theseus and the Minotaur


colored pencils, charcoal

I imagine I will continue to find inspiration from the Minotaur time and again. Each time I feel I am closer, but I’m still floundering

I’m going to close with a video clip of Jorge Luis Borges’ deeply moving SHORT story The House of Asterion. It is a-maze-ing!

Until next time, take care, LG

 

Argle Bargle

IMG_4011In honor of today’s extraordinary, dream-come-true , heady Supreme Court ruling AND Grumpypotomus Antonin Scalia’s strange and archaic rant, I quickly cobbled together this silly water color.

Argle Bargle  right back at you Scalia!

For my friends outside the US, the link that follows explains the Argle  Bargle reference,Argle Bargle link.

Well now David and I will not be the strange marital exception in California, Prop 8 is dead, DOMA is dead, and dinosaurs like Scalia have to die out sooner than later.

Hoorah for justice. 

Until next time, take care,

LG

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Our wedding cake , prior to the passage of Prop 8 , July 3rd 2008.

Hosting Grief

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Last week I stumbled upon a half-finished watercolor painting from a nearly a year ago. I had completely forgotten about it. It pleased me and I was determined to finish it, which I have just a moment ago.

The subject is a phrase my wise friend Rosa has used, “Hosting Grief”. I won’t take the liberty of speaking for Rosa, but I understand this phrase to be that moment when sadness, grief and mourning become more habit than genuine experience. The  destructive mindset bent upon a wearying darkness, a mindset I am often  way too familiar with. With this painting I wanted to poke fun at my own melodrama, Grief’s headdress tickles the crap out of me, I would certainly wear such a confection if I could .

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Hosting Grief

watercolor on paper

18 by 24 inches

(clicking on the image enlarges detail)

My love of Egyptomania was indulged in this painting; that I happen to be taking a summer course, a survey of the art of ancient cultures, notably Egypt and Greece, only fueled my imagination.

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A final detail,  tarted up by Instagram.

My regular solution to Grief follows, one of my beasties is sure to make me chuckle with some ridiculous antic, in this case Viola looking at the world upside down.

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Must close, but until next time, be well and avoid hosting Grief,

LG

Desert Blooms

IMG_3984I was out of the studio yesterday for a wonderful reasons, two friends who we have loved for years, Victor and his incredible wife Claire, were in San Diego for a conference. We know are friends from our time spent in Pittsburgh, David and Victor were in the same doctoral program. As lovely as Pittsburgh is, and it truly is, they do not have cacti. San Diego has them in abundance, and this weekend they were showing off. I snapped a few images, I’m not a botanist or a photographer so I must be forgiven for the quality and lack of identification. All I can do is create a memento of a lovely time with dear friends.

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I love the wee little bees

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Sometimes I wonder where my ideas come from, but some are rather

obvious.

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I’m going to miss my friends, such a bright memory that I will treasure.

The following is a wonderful image taken by Claire, I just love it.

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Until next time, take care,LG

Out of the Hermitage :the completion of the Temptation of St.Anthony of the Desert

At long last I have finished my painting of The Temptation of St. Anthony of the Desert. I have some shading to tend to, a few details that need enhancing, but for now, I’m out of the Hermitage.

2The Temptation of St.Anthony of the Desert

oil on canvas

36 by 52 inches

2013

It is satisfying to have chronicled the painting from the first roughing out until completion. I haven’t posted play-by-play images, as that would be dull as dishwater given the progress I made, but I have stashed them in my library.

3scrubbling in, first day

Given that I may very well be the worst photographer ever, I am going to post individual images of details.

4Randy Blue Fauns

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Fury/Siren

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Bearded Siren

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Albino Boy

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The abbot, an attempt at self portraiture, not sure if it is successful or not.

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A detail of my trusted mechanical pencil; the bane of every art instructor I have had. There is a serious resistance to mechanical pencils amongst the art establishment. I developed a fondness for precision instruments when  I worked in interior design. Habits fall off slowly.

The “L” is not a signature but a reference to 50, my age right now.  A memento mori.

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Bearded Prickly Man

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Iguana Boy

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A wee little red devil who unfortunately doesn’t photograph well.

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source

In finishing this painting there is a personal symbolic value, I think i’m ready to start venturing out of my own hermitage. I have for the last year been squirreled up with my dogs, my paint, and my thoughts. Essentially a recluse. As I gear up towards moving to a vital city, attending a school that is both exciting and intimidating , I’m finding myself more and more venturing forth. A small step in tackling my anxieties is taking a yoga class with my sister-in-law this afternoon; silly how intimidating that feels, but I’m going forward. Wish me luck.

Until next time,

take care, be well,

LG

Post Script: On the themes of hermits,  the hermitage, and creation of art and one’s self ; this morning’s New York Times ran a piece about a Brooklyn artist having had spent his life practicing his craft in isolation was “discovered” at 64 by a major gallery, the show a whopping success.  A fairytale story of course, but heartening.  His work is rich and he has clearly dedicated his life to Breton’s ideals.  The paper quotes the artist, Rafeal Leonardo Black as saying “Everybody writes poems at 15 ; real poets write them at 50.”

Encouraging words.

iggy