A Prized Mystery

Delaware based artist J. Gordon is this week's guest blogger for the Artist as Collector Series.

Jason Ward, Untitled, 2011
Oil on canvas
24" x 24"
©JasonWard

I received this piece as a trade from Jason before we left the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts where we studied together.  

I enjoy it for it subtlety and sense of mystery.  Both are qualities evident in all his work.  A classically trained artist, his paintings encapsulate that which I'm drawn to most in an artwork, regardless of medium.

J.Gordon  is a painter working with mixed media. He is also a curatorial associate the the DCCA.

"Our thoughts stem from our experiences, that which we take in through our senses, and these present us with so few facets of the full range of phenomena our intellects tell us are present.  It is not hard to imagine that their exists an infinite range of phenomena beyond what we are aware of.  As an artist, my interests lie amidst these sentiments.  That so much of what we believe know is like Plato's shadows on the wall,  vague shifting forms that are only projections of a deeper reality outside of our experience, hints at an infinite mystery that I find beautiful, humbling,  and deeply moving."

J.Gordon      
         

A Painting of Someday

Philadelphia area artist, Katee Boyle is this week's guest blogger for our Artist as Collector Series.

Abstract Swirls

Water color on paper

18 x 24"

©2013Jag Deshpande

collection of Katee Boyle

I have been graced with a painting titled Abstract Swirls by Jag Deshpande.  This framed watercolor on paper hangs in my house situated between two windows that face East

and welcomes the morning sun before the rest of my home sees the light of day.

Each day starts with passing by this painting and not one day has gone by where I

have not stopped, even for the briefest of moments, to be thankful for it's beauty. To me, this piece of art is delicate and dreamy and strong and powerful in one full swoop.

Somedays, the transparent yet vivid marks from this water color serve as a gentle light that is guided by a map of thoughts. It is a sense of direction that reminds me a story of the past, a

guide for a road to travel in the future.

Somedays, the gentle movement of the artist's strokes creates a calming dance in my soul before the frantic morning activity of my children has me spinning off balance.

Somedays, the paint swirling in delicate circles creates a sound that breathes life on to the surface of the paper; marks moving gently across my wall, a full orchestra of uncluttered

vibrations.

Somedays, I simply stand back and enjoy the beauty of it's colors and the spectrum of strokes from the artists tools. For me, it is stopping to smell the roses.

I don't expect to ever know the artist's perspective on what he painted and why and quite frankly, I have never thought that important about art. I am of the opinion that it is not my business,

nor anyone else's why an artist creates. If a piece of art commands just one reaction, it is beauty, it has meaning. I read a comment that Jag wrote about his work and it really made my smile,

"I have been enjoying abstract for the last few years. It is very easy for common folks to find faults in realistic painting, not so with abstract. They just don't say anything".

Jag's work is alive, non-discriminately waiting for the viewer to discover what it means to them.

Katee Boyle is an artist, illustrator and co- founder of BizziGirls, a Social Marketing organization in Southern Chester County that supports local causes and businesses. 

Off the Rack - Artist as Collector

Delaware based artist David Baldt is this week's guest blogger for our Artist as Collector Series.

©2013MichaelGrimaldi
Oil on Canvas
Collection of D. Baldt

My favorite artwork that I have purchased is a painting of a revolutionary war soldier's jacket by the artist Michael Grimaldi of New York City. I bought the painting years ago from American Artists at the Armory Show on the Drexel University campus in Philadelphia. I went there only to browse the selected pieces of art for sale that the collected galleries had brought in from out of town. I was surprised to see a few works by Andrew Wyeth there, which I love for their blend of stark realism and unspoken emotion. At one point as I moved through the show, I thought that I was seeing another painting by Wyeth as I walked up to it, but instead I found the painting to be by Michael Grimaldi, someone of whom I had never heard. The subject, a revolutionary war soldier's jacket hung on a thin wire hanger on a nail against a wall, looked to me to be as technically perfectly executed as a Wyeth. The canvas seemed overlayed with actual glowing fabric. Why such an important historical relic set on a thin wire hanger, I wondered? And the jacket was very like one that I once saw Andrew Wyeth wearing, while he was limping down a second floor hallway in the Brandywine River Museum.

This painting has brought into my home incredible technical artistry and ethereal imagery, as well as the revolutionary war history of the Brandywine Valley, Andrew Wyeth and his legacy and his eccentric love of costumes.

The price for this work, an oil about which guests have asked me if it is a Wyeth, was approximately the same price as one of the Wyeths being offered at show, divided by 1,000. 

Dave Baldt

Dave Baldt is a painter, sculptor, collector and an art board member living and working in the Brandywine Valley.

Back into the Sphere of Contemporary Culture

New Jersey based painter Ethan Sherman is this week's guest artist for our Artist as Collector Series.

Smooth
Acrylic, oil and spray paint on wood
16" x 13"
©2012NickRepasy

I recently acquired "Smooth" by my good friend Nick Repasy at an art auction during an opening reception at the Mason Gross School of the Arts.  I have a cyclical understanding of it because I was present when Nick purchased the printed portrait on wood from a second hand store. The process of taking a painting that somebody else made, owned, sold (or donated), and then re-making it can be seen as an amalgamation of numerous contemporary and historical metaphors for society and culture as a whole. 

The artist began with a black and white image; a dated portrait of a youth and time long gone. Color is a primary "update" for nostalgic media and the soft grain of spray paint on the image is reminiscent of hand-colored photographs from the turn of the century.  When addressing a found object, in this case a finished painting, one runs the gamut of formal and symbolic ideas already present in the work. The haze initiates a divide between the figure, foreground and background while simultaneously placing all of the formal considerations of the work on the same plane. This brings the viewer to consider the textural application of the acrylic and oil paints and their formal or subjective qualities. Spray paint is the strongest medium that suggests a delinquent approach to painting and materials, especially when used to extenuate a stylistically classical portrait.

This work recycles a once relevant image back into the sphere of contemporary culture for digestion by an audience that is subject to an infinite amount of personal and social ideologies. 

The most interesting part of the work to me is its inherent simplicity. It now hangs in my studio. 

Ethan Sherman's work currently
at New Brunswick Art Salon Fall 2012
Alfa Art Gallery, New Brunswick, NJ

Ethan Sherman, a recent graduate of the Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University  also studied at Pont-Aven School of Contemporary Art, Bretagne, France.  Currently, Nick's mixed media paintings are on view at the Alfa Art Gallery in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Soul of a Woman in her Collection

Painter and designer Delona Seserman is this week's guest blogger for the Artist as Collector Series.

Soul of a Woman
Acrylic, charcoal, spray paint on canvas
48" x 36"
collection of Delona Seserman
©2012Alice Swager

I acquired Alice's painting a good few years ago after not seeing my best friend for almost 6 years. Our friendship goes back to preschool years , back in Romania . We went through so much together  ....and when I saw her painting  '' Soul of a woman'' for the first time , a feeling of love, compassion, hope and peace  embraced me . I felt that the rich chromatic palette of blues , red and oranges outlined by black lines and pointed by  '' white tears ''  of white dots captures the very feminine soul ..... the love for her man , the motherhood's  cradle , the dedication and strength that we, as women are gifted with . 

 Alice had always said that '' the soul of a woman is infinite....because the love she has is so complex...this soul is a miracle and one day ...when men will understand this completely ...the whole world will change " .

  

As an artist  I admire  the balance Alice  achieved between cold and warm colors : vibrants tones of yellows, oranges and reds are surrounded by peaceful blues .....I see a flame representing the woman and the '' ocean'' of life's waves she has to navigate for her loved ones.  

 

Alice has a FB page Chaotic Diversity Art.

Romanian born artist, Delona Seserman is a painter, designer and owner of Adris Group an interior design company. Now based in Delaware, Delona's passion for color and compassion for other's defines her work personally and professionally.

From One Fan to Another- Artist as Collectors

Betsey Regan is this week's guest blogger for the Artist as Collector series.

Nude
©JohnKochansky

John Kochansky was a Monmouth County (NJ) artist who passed away in the early 2000s.  
He painted for years and then suddenly turned to photography. His subject however, always remained the female form.  


Many saw him as a brash misogynist.  But I always thought he adored women and that's why he acted out both in his art and his personal relationships.  I maintain not to exploit but to revere.
He was a larger than life figure in stature, personality, and his use of materials. This caused him to be either loved or reviled within the venerable echelons of the Art Alliance in Red Bank, NJ of which he was a longtime member. That's how I acquired this piece, I believe we made a trade. I was one of his fans.   


New Jersey artist, Betsey Regan is a painter who recently had a solo exhibition at the Watchung Art Center , Watchung, NJ of her latest work, all completed during winter 2011-2012. She continues to work on her series concerning sheep, lambs, and other beasts of burden.

Betsey (middle) and friends at Watchung Art Center
photo by Stacy Smith

Best Made Plans... artist moms and summer!

School officially ended for my boys over a week ago, but last week they were busy with friends visiting for the week, and all four going to Lacrosse camp. The week was filled with camp, Disc Gold (totally cool and a whole sub culture I had NO IDEA about- we went to a fun course at Anson Nixon Park in Kennett Square), fishing, swimming, and lots of soccer. Yesterday was their first weekend that was NOT planned. At least for them.

I got up early, meditated and did my yoga by the pond. Then sat down at my trusty Powerbook and went to work on my calendar planning my day, blocking out studio time, appointments and other commitments. Wouldn't you know it- as we are making crepes for breakfast (ooh la la, Nate has a kids cooking book and they both were into it) One of our smoke detectors go off which of course means they ALL go off- and we can't get them to stop! Needless to say this went on for an hour, drove us all crazy and finally an officer from New Garden came out- we need new ones, thank you very much (rather find out this way, don't ya think!?) Now of course, it is WAY past my 9 am goal of getting to work in my studio... Which by the way.... I inherited a solid door and horses from neighbors moving out this weekend and decided to move my painting upstairs. The light is better and open. I will still work downstairs for printmaking and papermaking but I like being UP. I can also move the easel and big canvas I am working on OUTside to the deck to work from life and for better light. and yes we even had some sun yesterday!

Anyway, I would love to hear from other artists (of all kinds!) that also have young children and how they make their time to work....what do you do?