Art, Nature & Soul #116

As a young adult I was at a self help seminar/convention, when the speaker asked a prying question about who I was. I stood up, a 20 year old and stated unequivocally & unapologetically, “I AM.” My artwork is an autobiographical, I AM”, on every level.

One of the Chicago Art Galleries I was at 20-25 years ago told me, “some people won’t buy your art, if they know you’re gay.” Being an adult at this point who had already dealt with rejection, including family & friends, muchleess strangers. These days, with social media now, they like you and what you stand for until they find out I’m gay, then its unfriended or snoozed, by some. My awswer was,” that’s on them.” I put together an exhibit of decorative contemporary abstracts, each had one letter in them and when arranged a certain way spelled out, “A Queer Boys Story.” Had a solo exhibit there, was interviewed by “ The Chicago Reader” who compared me to Jasper John’s at the time. 4 sold at the exhibit, others were donated in the years that followed hospice, art league extensions etc. I don’t need to shove my life in yours 24/7/365, but I won’t hide & I do live outloud.

Recently, many FB friends, have posted the question, given the current climate, “ What’s wrong with people? What’s wrong with the World?” In my head it’s always the same old answer, repeating itself over and over again and so now I’ll share that. Several other religious Fb friends & family state this over and over again and I’ll paraphrase. You can be the best person on the planet, it doesn’t matter how good, how caring, how giving, how much service & community you provide and give in the world, if you don’t believe as I do, having submitted to the dogma that I have and agreed to those terms, your bad, an evil person, not a good one? You’re going to hell, even if I have to create that hell for you. Do we all see the problem here? Obversly then, you can be a bad person, the worst one on the planet and as long as you’ve complied to the terms, no matter what evil you put out there, you’re forgiven and therefore we/they except the outcome. WTF boys & girls, wake the actual fuck up. The most basic point of all religions is to show empathy & love in the service of wprld community, not your isolated one. If your dogmatic rules omit people because of their particular differences, you’re the problem and always have been.

Now on to the painting. What a blast from the past. Back in the day, mid 80-90s, when Don & I were exploring the lgbtq+ community in the area, & we ended up on the rocks several times. Pre internet you'd pick up the Windy City Times, Gay Chicago or Pink Page's, rag’s at the clubs to find out what our resources were and where to connect. Horizons was also an lgbtq+ organization, that grew into Center on Halsted, with the financial backing of the community, as well as our personal financial contributions over 5 or so years. The book, A Place For Us, Gay Life at Chocago’s Belmont Rocks" by Owen Keehnen, is a series of interviews on what the Belmont Rocks meant to us (lgbtq+) and a history as well. One of the interview-ies is by someone we knew back then. The good, the bad, the ugly. It and my memories, have inspired this painting and brought me back in so many ways. HIV/Aids took its toll and so many were taken before their time. It’s been turned into a memorial garden now, with a Keith Haring sculpture. I want get over there and see it, as well as the Obama Center & the Anne Frank exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry.

An FB friend recently asked, "Serious question, to his FB friends. If you are outraged by what's going on politically and socially, what kinds of activities, social organizations, and other activist activities do you participate in? (Beyond posting stuff on Facebook) Drop links and suggestions?" -K.M.

My response was, "My local Unitarian Universalist Society, Indivisible, Mobilize, the HRC Human Right Campaign, are my primaries. We’ve participated in 5 rallies or protests thus far. Also some of my artworks speak to the issues and have been in current exhibits art shows. My husband and I marched in this years PRIDE parade as pride is a form of protest these days. We’re also looking at the ACLU, Trevor Project and the Matthew Shepard Foundation"

We are all responsible for what we put out there and the world we create.

Your questions & comments are welcome,

Richard

Once Upon A Time 36”x36” oil on cradled wood panel

Art, Nature & Soul #90

I started doing more architectural pieces over the past decade as I had decided to paint my life as it unfolds. Meaning simply, whatever is happening in my life, happens on canvas, the ultimate diary of my life. So rather than seeking things to paint, I seek a life well lived and paint it. With that the many museums, marquees of the many concert & theater venues have become part of my subject matter.

We had went to the Goergia O’Keefe, My New Yorks exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago the end of July 2024. I’m always inspired and influenced seeing others artworks. When I think of O’Keefe, I think flowers, however these were geometric abstracts based on her time and views while living in NY in the 1920s. Her vantage point was either looking up at these immense strutures & towers or looking down and across at them from her apartment. Her line were crisp as many abstract artists are. I’m always playing in the lost and found edges areana, more as a life statement on connectness.

Several weeks later we had booked a architecturial tour down the Chicago River and out onto Lake Michigan with the pups toward the beginning of August 2024. Besides my cell and its camera I usually travel with my ipad and 35mm cameras to capture lots of photo references. While I plein air paint when I can, I usually paint more in the home studio, which atthis point is my entire home, lol. While its true plen air painting is all the rage these days, I’m more concerned with observation, memory, emotion and conveying these things in a matter-of-fact way, as well as with a certain kinetic directness.

I took near 100 photos of the city and had lots of ideas from which to paint. Many were expected compositions, however one stood out above the others. It reminded me of a piece from the O’Keefe exhibit entitled, CITY NIGHTS 1926. While hers was symetrical, my photo was more asymetrical as I like. While it wasn’t my favorite piece from the exhibit, there was something attractive in its simplicitiy, it’s line & blocks of color, that I admired, not at all how I paint. Like I said earlier though, I’m inspired by and influenced by a great many artists, both living & dead. I tend to utilize parts and then translated them ala Sperry. With this in mind This photo of the new Millenium building, The Mather, plus the London Gurantee building, provided the subject on a decent sized, 24”x36” canvas, I intended to use for scale.

Of late I’ve been more mixed media for my representaional works too, where oils had ben the standard. I use mixed media on my more abstract & comtemporary artworks, until several years ago while at the MONET exhibit at the AIC I learned and observed the many months of layerying he’s built up on his paintings. I loved the sophisticated use of color and especially how our eye averged the colos and texture from a distance. I thought about how most plen air artists, including myself tend to paint a piece alla prima, in one sitting of 1-4 hours. Then they may tweak a detail here or there in the studio, how different the results, I thought.

As stated I like to work quickly, to convey energy & movement in my art, and since my abstract & comtemporary works are mixed media have been experimenting around with it in my more representational works too. I love the fusion of media and had decided to apply the same process to this Chicago piece as well. The synergy was incredable.

I layed down an acrylic base coat of Indian Yellow, then layed down a coat of titanian white with a pinch of blue added. afterward I began blocking in shapes of the buildings in oil, utlizing both palette knife and scratching tools. I like to keep it loose as I’m not trying to illustrate an architecture, but paint the buildings according to my emotion of the day. I work quickly and added some detail, the refelction of the Mather Building tower as reflected in the new Millie builing as juxtaposed by the reflection of the Lonondon Guarantee Buildiong was key for me. I let it dry over night and in the second sitting added some ebony pencil for line, did more sgraffitto for movement and depth. Allowed it to dry throughout the day and went beck in with oil pastel and a final enhancement of oil in the pure color form.

Hope you enjoyed this journey and as always your questions & comments are welcome.

Richard

Photo translation into mixed media painting

photo capture from a boat on the Chicago River

Art, Nature & Soul #79

I do a fair amount of what I call color studies, mostly in a square format. It’s a place where I allow myself to play with all the design elements…

contrast, balance, emphasis, proportion, hierarchy, repetition, rhythm, pattern, white space, movement, variety, and unity & the more obvious space, line, form, color, and texture.

I do not usually put them on my website except for the occasional blog, to illustrate an idea. Sometimes they’re plein air, other times from a photo, memory or my imagination. It gives my a place to try out a new technique as I’ve mentioned before I strive for a more organic vision & typically avoid a more static or contrived patterns.

Mostly these stand on their own, as completed works, that said, they’re also sometimes studies for larger artworks. They can serve as gateway purchases for the new collectors, although I’ve also had a customer do a 4 seasons composition of more local themed pieces. They also make wonderful accent pieces that can be hung or set on a bookshelf easel. However they move you, I hope its to a happy place, a memory or a place you’d like to be.

~Richard

A selection of 10”x10” & 12”x12” from 2023