 Drawing 04·17·2019, pencil on paper, 20x16 inches Currently my studio time is 90% "getting ready" and 10% making original art. I much prefer doing the latter, but the former is necessary. Exhibiting new art is very important to me; I want to interact with viewers. The batch of drawings and paintings for the AVA Gallery exhibit are almost ready. I am framing drawings now, and I continue touch-up paintings on canvas that are now stretched on wooden stretcher bars OR mounted on wood panels.
The drawing I show today was executed two days ago. It is a good one. It will mostly likely be shown at Bromfield Gallery in Boston. I will not be delivering work to Bromfield till June 3 (by that time many new drawings will have been made; this one may not make the cut).
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 Drawing 04·04·2019 (state 1), pencil on paper, 16x20 inches As good as yesterday's drawing is, I believe it can be better. There is a thrust of darkness that begins in the upper middle and moves diagonally to the lower portion of this drawing. The clarity of this thrust gets a bit vague in the lower portion of the the drawing. I believe, if I enhance this movement it will enhance the drawing. The proof will come in the doing. I will post its final state tomorrow.
FYI: I have been busy framing works for the first of my Spring/Summer exhibitions. I deliver works to AVA Gallery (Lebanon, NH) on April 26 (opening on May 10). I will neglect my new paintings till the older paintings are framed, cleaned-up, varnished, ready to go to AVA. I will continue to make drawings. Making Art is ingrained in me, rewarding to me as necessary to problem solving life and living. Art to me is an indicator of Life; I cannot stop doing it. I believe my recent drawings are excellent, perhaps the best I have ever done. This reward of quality keeps me involved, day by day, relentlessly.  Drawing 03·12·2019, pencil on paper, 16x20 inches I apprenticed for four years with a wonderful artist, Seymour Leichman. One of Seymour's first decrees to me, his apprentice and art student, was this: "A work of art should be an announcement, a performance, similar to one by a great actor on the stage; it should speak clearly and grandly, it should exude quality and strength of purpose." Today I show you two announcements, both with clarity and purpose. My first announcement is yesterday's drawing. It is a head-on classical composition. I enjoy its insistent compositional motion which forces the viewer to wander left, right, up and down; this is grand classicism, reminiscent of Pablo Picasso's best work (e.g., "Guernica"). My second announcement is a reproduction of the postcard for my upcoming exhibitions this Spring and Summer (see below). 2019 Spring & Summer Exhibitions – Announcement Postcard
 "The Doctrine of Liberty" (2019 No.1, state 11), oil on canvas, 66x59.5 inches {"I believe there is a golden thread which alone gives meaning to the political history of the West, from Marathon to Alamein, from Solon to Winston Churchill and after. This I chose to call the doctrine of liberty under the law." -Anthony Sampson, "The Changing Anatomy of Britain", 1982} I am beginning to wake up earlier than usual. My anxiety is increasing. I have begun to worry about my upcoming exhibitions. I need to plan well. I need to get all my ducks in a row. There will be an overlap in two exhibits: AVA Gallery, Lebanon, NH (April 29 thru June 14) and Bromfield Gallery, Boston, MA (June 3 thru June 30). The overlap in timing is nerve-racking because I want to show my most recent works at both galleries. During the last week of the AVA show I will swap a few pieces out, moving them to Bromfield. The best of my most recent work will be at both Bromfield and AVA for their openings.
I will begin to plan both shows today. This will relieve some of my anxiety. Trying to insure my best work is seen everywhere, whenever and wherever it is shown, is a big anxiety maker. Yesterday I nicely brought the painting, "The Doctrine of Liberty", to near-conclusion. This is reassuring. However, making art is so important to me, so imbedded in my psyche as necessary to balance and quietude, that I get anxious when I think about giving up the making of art in order to mount an exhibition.  "Seriously?" (2018 No.11, state 12), oil on canvas, 49.8x62.5 inches {"All higher humor begins with ceasing to take oneself seriously." - Hermann Hesse, "Reflections", ed. Volker Michels, 1974}  Drawing 01·05·2019, pencil on paper, 16x20 inches All my images annoy me. There is much work for me to do. The problems are apparent. The problems are overwhelming. Great effort is required. In 2019 I have three exhibitions; two major, one minor. I feel urgency. My acute and insistent need to get it right is not solely due to my upcoming exhibitions; mostly it is due to my sense of not feeling successful. My images have not achieved the depth and profundity I know is possible. The end for me may not be fully achievable, but I believe consistent work will bring me closer to fulfilled significance.
 I am in New Hampshire... so a friend took this photo. He wished to show me two of the front windows of One Brooklyn Bridge Park Gallery in Brooklyn NY (thanks to ChaShaMa). The poster is new, adding a great way to advertise the show inside on a day like today, bright and sunny; day-time reflections hinder passersby from seeing the exhibit through the windows. After dark the interior lights allow clear views of the works of art on the walls through the windows. The interior light remain on all night.
                              The One Brooklyn Bridge Park exhibition of thirteen paintings and thirteen drawings is up and running! (Thank you ChaShaMa!) Please visit. Here are images of the show. Remember, the gallery is open only during Fridays and Weekends. Below I post the front of the announcement postcard again, as reminder of gallery's hours and location (facing Brooklyn Bridge Park).   Photo of my Studio on March 4, 2018 I am getting ready for my solo exhibit at One Brooklyn Bridge Park. I have had to conquer a few problems to be ready. The major problem is shown in this studio photograph. Three of my most recent, and most important, paintings required mounting on wood panel. No one I know has done this, i.e., mounted large canvases like mine on wood panel. I had to ask a lot of questions and invent the mechanism. Basically it is plywood with 1x2 inch wood bars as reinforcement. The plywood was sealed with multiple coats of shellac, then I glued the canvas with wheat paste to the panel. This is an archival method of mounting the canvas: it will not damage the canvas and the canvas can be removed without damage. Mounting was neither quick or easy. The three works that required such mounting are seen in this photo. Why did I mount them, rather than stretch them in the traditional manner? Because I painted these canvases on the wall you can see on the right in the photo. I paint on canvas while tacked to wall. In these three canvases I painted too close to the their edges to stretch them using traditional wood stretching frames. I like the result. Now I need to retouch all of them around their edges. The other ten canvases in the exhibition have been stretched in the traditional manner. Thank you to Chashama for supporting this upcoming exhibit from March 16 through April 8, 2018. If you go to the Chashama Current Events Calendar you will see this event's announcement and the description of the exhibition.
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April 2019
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