Hartford: Day 6 & 7

kicking it Ill-Istration style... which means no relaxation, always thinking of the next piece, the next direction, the next series.

The weekend is chock full of events, like Saturday's trip to the Norman Rockwell Museum and studio. I loved seeing the originals, and heartened to see the full bodied paint, as thick as deKooning in many places... that guy knew his medium. touring his studio was very interesting. Liked the paint-tube carousel he had on his desktop, and more importantly, his library and book titles... wrote a pile of them down. Many, if not all, out of print - look on AbeBooks.com

Then off to the Clark, which houses some wonderful pieces, Bouguereau's Nymphs and Satyr is so huge and fleshy... what a triumph of painting! Focused in on a gem by Carolus-Duran: Portrait of the Artist's Gardener... more life than many pieces in the room.

Sunday is a lazy morning - I slept a full 12 hours, 9-9... very tired from being "on" all week. I wolfed down some breakfast, then back to the room to begin my reaction paper on Gary Kelley and to work on a drawing called "Pillow Rider, 1960". The paper is moving along, but I don't have the photographs I need to support my observations. I'll need to hunt down one of the shutterbugs that shot every one of his slides as he talked... I was typing notes, can't work the keyboard and camera at the same time.

Pillow Rider 1960 is derived from a photo of my sister-in-law's aunt, or second cousin - Platinum Beehive, black brows and lashes with a smooth Winston-Salem in her left hand... Trying to get cheesecake photos in a hotel room? Who knows, but it is a time capsule piece, and I love it.

Tonight, the San Francisco critique takes place, after a BBQ sponsored by the Avon CT Marriott (a wonderful staff and very nice rooms). I expect to be chewed up, as usual, since my work isn't among the ultra-realists, but screw'em, I'm being true to myself and being interested in the marks I'm making. I put a nice black matte around the piece, so it won't look like a red-headed step child... or not so much.

Quote of the day:
"This school (MFA) is like an island. If you're not bringing it, it ain't here..."
--Ron Spears

Q and Chad assembled the totem... honored to have chinatownBaby as the cap piece. Chad thought it was appropriate since he's wearing a little hat.

Pillow Rider 1960 is graphite and charcoal on Strathmore 400 medium, 18 x 24 - click to enlarge