In the Dark Marches of the Night

Ooops! Here it is late Sunday night and I've just now remembered that the blog is waiting.

"Dreams of Destruction"
Photomantage

This has elements from a dozen photographs.







This past week I worked on a couple of paintings, but nothing to show here for it. A big part of the week was spent with PhotoShop. I've been working to restore, repair, and clean up old family photos. Kris's wife, Michelle is getting everyone involved in an Internet genealogy site that has me busy trying to find photos of family dating back into the 19th century. Some of those are really tough to fix because many of them weren't very good to begin with and the damage is so extensive I have little to work with. It is an exercise that is teaching me a lot, and perhaps will be a source of future income. PhotoShop is tricky, but everyday I'm more confident and acquire new skills that make the work faster, easier and most importantly... better.

The use of PhotoShop also opens the doors to doing creative composits by borrowing elements from a variety of photos. I've long been a fan of Salvidor Dali's surrealism, but that's just not the way I like to paint. PhotoShop makes possible some pretty incredible surealistic images. This week's images were done this past week, and I hope you like them.

"The Titan"
Photomontage

This one seems simpler, but the same number of photographs were need to supply all of the elements.

"Katchina's Lament" (2008)
Oil on canvas

The People came up out of the earth assisted by the Katchina, who still play an active role in pueblo survival. The Katchina represent spirits, some of whom were ancestors, who are able to put a "butcher's thumb" on the scales of our existence. When the Spanish arrived in the 17th century they brought with them Christianity, and did their very best to surpress the native religion... harshly. Over the centuries the Pueblos have become outwardly "Christian" while quietly retaining the Katchina cults. $400






"Sunrise" (2008)
Oil on canvas

The influence of oriental art on my painting are pretty clear. "Sunrise" hung in our breakfast area, until I traded it for a year's service from a young personal chef. So, if you visit Corazon this year before the lad goes off to complete his college education, you might 'eat' a portion of this painting.






"Joesph" (2008)
Oil on Canvas
The color on this image is a bit washed out. The original is more vibrant, and maybe later I'll post a better photo.


Joseph with his colorful coat is exiled from his father's land, empty and desolate to most objective witnesses. Leaving that 'paradise', Joseph enters a new astounding world of sophistication, color and luxury. After a time, his mind wanders back to his youth. In this painting, can you tell whether he is facing Egypt, or the fields of his father?

$200





"Badlands" (2008)
Oil on canvas

This painting hangs just inside the doorway of Corazon, and Natalie probabaly will give me a hard time if I go to sell it. However, everything is for sale... well, just about everything. Say, $300 for a pretty little landscape that is pretty conventional?

As you can see, the sky is the main character in the play. As children we imagined we saw clouds forming into horses galloping in a fantasy land, or an Indian's profile, or a clown juggling candlesticks. The sky still remains one of the most interesting things I see everyday, and few places can equal New Mexico for really, really great skies.



"Cerillos" (2007)
Oil on canvas

This one is deceptively simple: land and sky. It sold almost before the paint was dry. Maybe I should paint more like this one. What do you think?









During the past week, I laid out the work plan for 2009 to David who is in charge of the Corazon grounds. Once we get the debris of winter bagged and dragged, we hope to get an early start planting this year. Last year the farm got planted too late and we never got any etible corn, but tons of pumpkins. Hopefully, the farm will produce better this year. The real focus will be on the upper level... in the English and Contemplation gardens. We want to plant several new honeysuckle vines to completely cover the walkway, and many more annual flowers for color. I'd like to upgrade the gravel walkways through both gardens, but that might not happen this year. I'm trying to conserve my limited funds to use in late July/August for kitchen renovations. We want to replace the counters, but must also replace the cooktop and sinks at the same time. The counters alone will run thousands, and in these uncertain times we may opt to scale back. At the very least I'm hoping to replace the kitchen windows with modern double panes... probably around $2K. Given the fiscal constraints, I'm trying to do as much of the labor as possible myself. Day before yesterday, I raked up all the pine needles, cleaned and got the water off the pool cover, and topped off the pool. Then I raked and generally cleaned up the lower level in preparation for planting this years farm. I just poop out too quickly. I'm still recovering, though there's more to be done. The lads didn't show yesterday to bag and dump the debris... not uncommon here for workers to be on a schedule that bears little resemblence to that time concept in the rest of the country.

No new stories written since "Sound O'pipes", but I'm working on a little thing with the working title, "Door to Darkness". Maybe I'll get it written this week. Tomorrow we'll share a Birthday dinner with our neighbors, both of whom also have birthdays this week. I never would have believed that I would live this long... Oh well.

I don't know how to add active links here, so if you're interested you'll just have to copy the site address here and paste it into your browser window. In addition to the short stories at Writing.com I have a flicker site where examples of my photographs and paintings can be seen. It is: http://www.flickr.com/photos/75778940@N00/

Paintings

Here are some paintings from the past three years. Elements drawn from Southwestern cultures have remained prominent, though my serious work has been drifting back toward the abstraction that I'm better known for. As my hearing deteriorated it became more and more difficult for me to edit the RGAA "The Palette", so I'm no longer involved in that. Even attending the RGAA monthly meetings is an exercise in futility, so I'm working more independently than at any time since moving to Albuquerque.


"The Potter" (2006)
15.5X19.5 Oil on Panel

This painting was actually the first in the series. It now hangs in our upstairs office. Want it? $300 will put it on your wall.













"Moon Maiden 1" (2006)
11X14 Oil on Panel

I'm fascinated by nocturnal scenes, and mystery of the night. The moon and the jug resting on the maiden's round head with the hairdo of the Indian maiden are all tied together. There is more intense color and the shadows don't fall where they should in a realistic depiction. This was intended to underscore the unreality and dream-like quality of the painting. This is one of my favorites, and so the $500 asking price seems reasonable to me.








"Moon Maiden 2" (2006)
16X20 Oil on canvas

A maiden went to the river to fetch a pail of water, and caught sight of the moon's reflection. She fell in love, and determined to be forever with her lover grabbed hold of it and was carried away. They never found the body, and this painting is priced at $400










My intention is to post several of jpgs of paintings from the 2006-2008 period until we all either get tired of the process, or I've posted all of the images I have available. The prices do not include the costs of shipping and handling, so if you want a painting expect to pay a bit over the listed prices.

The New Era

I'll be 68 on 09MAR. Where does the time go? These days its common for me to lose track of the time and the date. I'm finding that my vocabulary is growing at a slower pace, and the more frequently I'm unable to call up the word, or name, I'm looking for. Thank god for circumlocutions.

Though the past year has been difficult for most of the world, the World of Corazon has actually been pretty good. Last year we made significant progress in getting the grounds in back of the house in order. We put in a large kitchen garden down on the lowest levels, and had oodles of squash and pumpkins. Our corn was uneatable, but for the first time there was one eatable apple. We replaced about half of the fencing on the pool level, and got the lawn restored. The big project was to completely redo the balcony/deck outside the Master suite... and it is sweet. I spent much more time out of doors, and in the pool. This year, we'll be focusing on the next round of upgrades to the English and Contemplation Gardens on the street level. That will mostly consist of planting new plants, vines, and shrubs plus heavy mulching to keep out the unwanted from our flower beds. The irrigation still needs more work, but that'll probably be on the 2010 list.

This year we hope to make the kitchen renovation our big project. Whether we'll have enough money is open to question. One major element is to replace all of the counter-tops, the sink & its hardware, and the cook-top. We expect a new electric cook-top similar to our old one to cost something on the order $2500, perhaps another thousand to replace our three lobed sink with two lobes mounted under the counter. That would leave the counter-top replacements. Can it be done for $5K, or less? Doubtful given how much counter space we have. We also need to replace the double wall-mounted ovens, and the kitchen windows with new double panes. The lowest priority, though still important is to replace the pulls and install pull out shelving to the lower cabinets so we don't have to get down on hands and knees to find a pot, or pan, or whatever.

This year we don't expect to do much traveling, mostly due to the costs. We over spent traveling toward the end of 2008 when we traveled with AmTrak to Missouri and California to visit family. We have tentative plans to attend my nephew Matthew's wedding in September, but I fear for the cost. Mostly, we're hoping and expecting to host for many of our relatives and friends. That's easier for us, and staying at Corazon as our guests for a week or so is a pretty inexpensive get-away for most folks. This year we'll have the services of a cook and masseuse available for our guests, and the amenities get a little better each year. Put us on your calendar, and let me know when to expect you.

Painting remains one of my primary interests, and I'm spending a fair amount of time out in the studio. Sales are already better than last year, and I'm happy with the production so far. I intend more abstractions this year, though the customers still have a clear preference for local landscape paintings. I'd also like to do more sculptural work, both stand alone and as real dimensional wall hangings. Tools, materials and experience are all hurdles for that. Nothing was accepted for this year's MasterWorks exhibition, though I'm committed to helping hang the show late this month. I currently have one painting student, and very much enjoy the teaching.

Another of my New Year's Resolutions was to become skillful at using PhotoShop Elements to clean, repair and otherwise manipulate old images. There has been some progress there, and hopefully by the end of the year I'll be pretty good at using the software. Time sure flies by quickly as we age.