Happy Thanksgiving – 2012

As has been my custom on the Thanksgiving holiday, not only do we give thanks for everything we have, but I like to share works of art with you. Sometime the paintings have a theme to them, and other times they have been included just for being both masterful and magnificent treats to look at.

For Thanksgiving in 2009, I covered the art of James Bama, an American artist born in 1926. As a younger man he was an illustrator, but he moved to the west and began a second career. His works are most often described as photo-realistic. I love his work, and he was my first choice for a Thanksgiving tribute. You can find my post on Bama here: Happy Thanksgiving – 2009.

in 2010, I mixed the modern with past with regard to the subjects. The artists however, are definitely in the present. I went with Steve Hanks and Alfredo Rodriguez, Tim Cox, and Martin Grelle. It was an eclectic mix of trappers and hunters, frontiersman and Indians, and people caught up in the Gold Rush of the mid 19th century. Steve Hanks was included for the sheer beauty of his famed watercolor paintings. That post can be found here: Thanksgiving 2010.

Last year, I focused on a single artist – Robert Duncan. Duncan’s works bring memories of when we were children. It was a kinder and gentler world when I was a kid, and Duncan’s works capture the essence of those innocent days. Though I didn’t grow up on farm, there were farms nearby. The paintings are displayed in a video accompanied by the classic music, Sunshine on My Shoulder, by John Denver. You can find this post here: Happy Thanksgiving 2011.

This year, I’ve decided to bring forth, in honor of Thanksgiving, a number of paintings made by a number of different artists. I hope you will enjoy these works as much as I do.

Leading off we have a quartet of great pieces of art by Alfredo Rodriguez. While these paintings are not specific to the holiday of Thanksgiving, they do represent how the artist feels about being grateful, and appreciative. The first one (above) is called They Are Coming Duke. A man and his dog are watching for the arrival of their family. Note the continuity of the stripes on his pants despite the folds and creases, and the intricate work done for the dog’s fur. Below, a lonely old-timer prepares his food. This one is called First Meal of the Day. I love the rich color of his shirt, the hanging powder horn, and his gun belt which seems awfully close to the fire.

Directly above we have a third classic by Alfredo Rodriguez. He calls this one Counting His Blessings. As you can see, this isn’t about food, instead we have an old prospector who has just discovered that his panning for gold has brought for some dividends. Is it the same prospector as the one in First Meal of the Day? Might be. While you ponder that – check out the wear and tear on his boots. The last Alfredo Rodriguez painting (below) is called Grateful Hearts.  This one portrays simple homesteaders about to sit down for a meal of a cooked bird.

Next out of the chute is a portrait. The (above) painting is called The Pearl of Sante Fe.  The artist – Carrie Ballantyne. As soon as I saw it, I knew that it would have to be, make that – must be – included in this Thanksgiving post. There’s something about the way the hat, the braid, the scarf, the drop earring, and the woman’s expression that just captivates. Note the lack of a background.

Trees, Flowers, and Women – The Bounty of Mother Nature aka Heide Presse

When it comes to thinking about the classic film, The Shawshank Redemption, I’m pretty sure that the last thing you think about is trees. After all, this is film about men in prison. Nevertheless, a tree played a key role in the film. The day before Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) escapes, he extracts a promise from Red (Morgan Freeman):

ANDY (turns back)

Red, if you ever get out of here, do me a favor. There’s this big hay-field up near Buxton. You know where Buxton is?

RED (nods)

Lots of hay fields there.

ANDY

One in particular. Got a long rock wall with a big oak at the north end. Like something out of a Robert Frost poem. It’s where I asked my wife to marry me. We’d gone for a picnic. We made love under that tree. I asked and she said yes.

(beat)

Promise me, Red. If you ever get out, find that spot. In the base of that wall you’ll find a rock that has no earthly business in a Maine hay-field. A piece of black volcanic glass. You’ll find something buried under it I want you to have.

RED

What? What’s buried there?

ANDY

You’ll just have to pry up that rock and see.

Well, Andy made his escape and eventually ended up in a Mexican coastal city – you remember the name don’t you [Zihuantenejo]? Eventually, Red got his parole from prison. Then he made his way up to that hay-field in Buxton.

Well that particular big old oak tree may not be the prettiest tree you’ll ever see, but the way we got to see it in the film made the tree special. It was no wonder that Andy Dufresne brought his future wife there. Yes, trees are special – especially to me. I grew up in Long Island and we had trees across the street and up the hill behind our home. Not huge forests mind you, but enough to walk through for about an hour. But then I grew up and got my parole from childhood. I went to work and lived in Manhattan, and trees became less important to me.

The Mill and the Cross

Of all the shows and clips and films that I’ve ever watched that were made by and performed by Monty Python – there is one line that for some reason I’ve never forgotten. It is when three red-robed, faux-16th century pseudo-clerics bounce into a modern day room making the announcement that “Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.”

In Monte Python, the inquisition would show up at the most inopportune times and in the most unexpected of places. The point being that the Inquisition itself was really just a smaller and more immediate and local version of a religious war. No one, with all the certainty that they might muster, ever wanted the terror of religious persecution to come knocking at their door.

Well that Inquisition is at the center of Polish Film director Lech Majewski’s film called The Mill and the Cross. Actually it is the 16th century artist Pieter Bruegel who is at the center – and even more specifically, it is his painting called The Way to Cavalry that is the subject of the film. But it is not just that simple.

As my film discussion/review colleague, Didion of the Feminema website has just done a post on this film, and two others here, with the aim being to bring to our attention the fact that not every film is about super heroes, cops, drugs, warfare, comic books, cartoons, or sex. Some films don’t depend on a narrative plot or on dialogue. In fact, this film’s methodology is innovative and new. It crosses film with art, and art history, and that’s just the starting point. In her view this is so cutting edge that it is worthwhile to invest your time to watch these films.

Basically the film is how Bruegel created his painting but it is not told in the way it might be if it were a TV documentary, or a historical drama, or if it was a lecture in an art history course in college.

Through animation, cgi effects, green screens, and other modern day marvels of film technology, as well as a stupendous amount of imagination and live actors – we are transported back to 16th century Flanders. We meet Bruegel played by Rutger Hauer, his wife Mary, played by Charlotte Rampling, and his patron played by Michael York.

Happy Thanksgiving 2011

As I’ve done over the past few Thanksgivings, I am happy to present a look at some excellent art. Now in the image to the right, Norman Rockwell gives us a look at his famous Thanksgiving meal. This painting was created way back in 1943. That’s nearly 70 years ago. Yet it seems as though this painting is even more beloved now than it was back then – but I’m guessing about that. I only know that I loved it when I first saw it – and still do. Actually – this is encore showing on my site of the painting.

Rockwell died a little more than 33 years ago in 1978 but this image has long been associated with the American holiday, a day when we can remember back to our younger days, and a day when we can give thanks to all of those who came before us and pushed their way across this country when the way west was uncharted, as well as unknown, or those who came even before the settlers of what would become our western states. Those folks would be the Pilgrims.

A newer work of art, albeit from a period that even predates the Rockwell, but one that is similar in nature and theme is a Thanksgiving Dinner memorialized by artist Alfredo Rodriguez. Rodriguez’s style is classic realism and his art is rich in details, so much so, that any of his works are immediately identifiable as his, and unforgettable.

Rodriguez’s Thanksgiving Dinner (above) lacks the background depth that we usually associate with his works. But as it can bring up thoughts of Thanksgiving holidays with a large family gathered at a table, we can just imagine our own holiday dinners, or we can feel the nostalgia of knowing that all across the country today, and all across the country going back a few hundred or more years – similar scenes were to be found in millions of homes.

This year, I was fortunate enough to find an advertisement in the November/December issue of Art of the West magazine. The painting below was the focus of the ad for the artist . The painting is called Fishin’ at the Bridge, and it was created by Robert Duncan, whose gorgeous paintings are at once all about families, nature, and of gentler times. This advertisement led me to look up the artist on Google.

Robert Duncan, on his website has said,

 ”I decided years ago to paint the things that I cared most about. That decision has brought me a lot of joy and satisfaction and I’m especially grateful that my family has been such an important part of all of this.

I grew up in the suburbs, but every chance I got, I would sneak out to nearby fields to watch the birds or play in the creek, and the summers I spent on my granddad’s ranch really taught me how much we all need Nature in our lives. But change is all around us. The family farm is disappearing at an alarming rate. Development and sprawl cover fertile fields by the minute. I want my grandchildren to be able to walk through a field and hear a meadowlark call. We don’t all have to live on a farm, but to pass by and see the cows grazing or just to know that there are wild places being kept wild makes our lives better. In a way, my paintings are a call to think about the things that have touched our lives and hope that we might all be willing to do our part to save these things for future generations.”

So to honor Thanksgiving 2011, have a look at the video below which displays the glorious art of Mr. Duncan.. Thanks to Mr. Duncan for his brilliant, wonderful, and nostalgic art, which is presented via a video accompanied by the classic and nostalgic music of Sunshine on My Shoulder  co-written and recorded by John Denver. The song was released as a single in 1973.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Varenna, Italy – Photos, Video Screencaps, and the Art of George Guzzi

Recently I picked up the July issue of International Artist magazine because I was immediately able to identify the cover image (which is on the right –>). It was an artistic rendition of the harbor view of Varenna, which is a small lakeside town on Lake Como, Italy, by the American painter, George Guzzi.

I recognized it because a) I’d seen it in a Rick Steves travel video, b) because of that video, I traveled there myself just last fall, and c) because I like the work of the artist George Guzzi who paints with acrylics and who uses a palette knife.

It’s not often that I can illustrate one of my columns with images captured from a video, artwork, and my own photographs all of which are about the same topic, or in this case, same place. It makes for an interesting three way look at beautiful travel destination. As I hear on TV all the time – it’s all good.

But this was not my first exposure to Lago di Como. I first took notice of it with the works of artist Howard Behrens. So much so, that I wrote an article about his artistic works which you can glance at here.

In the world of cinema – A Month by the Lake, Ocean’s Twelve, and Casino Royale were amongst the most prominent films shot in the Lake Como region. It has also been said that American actor George Clooney has a home in the area. They say that he has a villa in Menaggio, which is directly across the lake from Varenna.

But I have to say that the clincher for me to decide to visit Lake Como, came from the Rick Steves’ DVD: Italy’s Cities which included a separate 1/2 hour segment called Milan and Lake Como. For Como, the specialty, or focus was Varenna and Bellagio. I stayed in both of them, as well as Milan.

You reach Varenna-Esino by train in a few minutes more than 1 hour from the Central Station in Milano. When you arrive you are above the town of Varenna which numbers between 800 and 900 permanent residents. Walk down the hill towards the lake. Go around a few turns and in about 10 minutes you’ll come to this small harbor.

Below – from the Rick Steves’ video:

Below – my own photo:

Below – and another by George Guzzi entitled August in Varenna:

The Art of Winter

Winter Windfall by John Buxton

Winter hasn’t quite left us just yet. Some areas are still dealing with temps that would have to climb to get to freezing. Old man winter still has an icy cold grip on some parts of the country.

This morning , Thursday, March 10th, as I looked at the weather maps, I noticed some astounding temperatures in degrees Fahrenheit:

00° – Bismark – North Dakota

02° – Pierre – South Dakota

29° – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Los Angeles – 55°, New York – 40°, and Chicago – 32°. But whatever your local temperatures might be, if you are living in the Northern Hemisphere, you know that Winter is really on its last legs. It will punish some of you with more severe weather, but it definitely won’t last.

To celebrate that fact, I’m going to share some art that will show winter phasing itself out but with some remnants stills visible. Others are indeed wintry.

Speaking of which – our first painting (top left) is called Winter Windfall by John Buxton. It shows some woodland Indians who have discovered a broken cart and some supplies. Evidently, the cart couldn’t navigate the stream. Someone’s misfortune turned out to be someone else’s windfall. Just look at the details in the tree shadows and the ripples of the water in the stream bed. This painting was the Winner of the Patron’s Choice Award at the 2009 Quest for the West show at The Eitleljorg Museum in Indianapolis. John Buxton lives in Pennsylvania, and this painting is from his historical vignettes series.

Thanksgiving 2010

Thanksgiving 2010

In America today, we celebrate the holiday of Thanksgiving. As has been my custom for a few years, on this day I offer my thanks to the explorers, pioneers, settlers, and frontiersmen and women, who long ago sailed across the seas and then trekked overland to build their futures in the land we call America.

While many of us will spend today watching football, and then carving a roast turkey and sharing a meal with our families, like the family to the left in the classic Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving painting from 1943 …

… we can be thankful for this day off from our work. But we are fortunate that there are many others who will do their jobs today to make our holiday enjoyable while we give thanks.

On this day I set aside my film reviews and my looks at Japanese bikini beauties which are my usual topics. But my way to say thanks is to share some beautiful art with you. On this day, I offer a look at some of our best artists who portray both the Old West as well as the modern day West of America. Though many of us live and work in cities, there is the charm and the allure of living in the west where there are more opportunities to see trees and mountains, wild life, and much of the bounty that nature provides us with. Let’s get started.

Steve Hanks - Road Less Traveled

Our first artist for today is Steve Hanks. He has been called the best American watercolorist. His topics are often women and children, but he has also been drawn to the sea shore. Rather than simply conveying a specific message in each painting, Hanks gives us a chance to explore our own memories and emotions. Hanks describes his works:

“My paintings speak to the vulnerability that we all feel from time to time. They evoke nostalgia, transporting us back in time. All art is an escape to somewhere you want to be or a feeling you want to have. People see different things in my paintings because we all have different backgrounds and feelings.”