Ganges Under Glass

Ganges has been laying around the house for a couple of years now. I postponed having him framed because I knew it would be expensive. Larger works cost more to frame, and let's face it, Ganges is a big ol' boy. This work is actually 16"X20". After matting the frame was a good size.


What was the inspiration for this drawing of Ganges? Let's go back a bit and review. A few years ago I read Dan Brown's "Angels and Demons". In my opinion its a better read than "DaVinci Code". It didn't get as much attention because the story isn't as controversial and scandalous. But, its a much more exciting and adventurous tale. Just as the works of DaVinci were the star of "Code", the art of the sculptor Bernini was featured in "Angels". The basic premise is that Bernini's many angel sculptures that are sprinkled all over Rome help our hero, Robert Langdon, solve the murders being comitted by a serial killer.



One of the most exciting scenes involves a fight to the death between Langdon and the villain in the Fountain of the Four Rivers. Bernini sculpted four anthropomorphic male figures to represent the major river of each of the four continents known to Europe at that time. There is the Nile to represent Africa, the Danube to represent Europe, the Rio da Platta for the Americas and Ganges to represent Asia. These four figures support an Egyptian obelisk that is crowned by a dove. The Post-Reformation symbolism meant that the power of the church (dove symbol) triumphs over every continent in the world (the male river figures). Each of the male figures holds another symbol to help identify him and attach him to his associated river. For instance, the head of the Nile was unknown at that time so the male figure has a cloak pulled over his head and hides his face. The American figure shows non-European features (some suggest it is a native American figure, others say it has Negro features) and includes piles of coins around him to represent the riches of the New World. Ganges is holding an oar to represent that river as a major transportation and trade route through Asia.

I chose to paint Ganges simply because the photo reference I had showed great compositional elements. There are two strong diagonal lines in the work. The reclined body and legs move upper left to lower right and the direction of the oar crosses the opposite direction. The two lines intersect at the center of the mid-point of the work. The right leg of the figure is extremely foreshortened and almost thrusts out of the picture plane. I thought this was a great artistic challenge for me and enjoyed working on the drawing.

I originally planned to do more finishing work on this drawing. But, I started having artistic arguments with myself. I often get too fussy and picky with my works. I sweat over every detail. I started adding the classical columns in the background, then I worked more on the stone. So I asked myself. What is the main focus of this drawing? Well, its the very dynamic pose and action of this beautiful classical figure, of course. So, I realized that if I kept scratching and smudging around on the other stuff in the drawing that I would just distract from the central theme. So, I saw that I had pretty much completed the figure. So, I followed Maestro DaVinci's saying, "... a painting is never completed, merely abandoned." So I stopped and put him away.

I hope everyone enjoys this piece as much as I enjoyed making it. Some of my friends have already perceived Ganges' oar as a phallic symbol and have given me quite a bit of harassment about that. Personally, I never even saw it that way until some of them pointed it out. So, I suggest that they may be reading too much into it. They should remember that sometimes an "oar is just and oar."

Alex Ojeda in eFortSmith Magazine

Its always a pleasure to share good news. Its even more fun when the good news is about a good friend and their artwork. I just heard that the photography of Alex Ojeda will be featured in this month's Entertainment Fort Smith magazine.

We've been looking forward to this for a few weeks now. Alex consulted several of us a while back to help in his selection process. I was very flattered that he asked my opinion on his photos. He wanted his friends to help him pick 10 pieces to be featured in this month's issue. Of course, Alex never takes a bad picture so it was not an easy decision.

As you see from this sample magazine page, the subject of this series focused on commercial signage. These four images are just a sample of a much larger collection that included faded signs in disrepair found along the highway all the way up to the most elegant lights of Times Square and Broadway. Alex does a great job at making these very static images convey a very tangible sense of mood and character. The seedy old motel signs give us a nostalgic reminder of what glorious things they must have been in the days right before mass air travel led to their demise. The neon of Broadway glows with the radiance and hauteur of the stars that grace their stages. Of course, I'm partial to the black and white, and monochromatic images. Alex has a fine sense of value, balance and composition. In my opinion, its these photos where those qualities show up best.

I hope everyone will take the time to look at this months issue of Entertainment Fort Smith. Its easy to find locally. There are usually free copies at most local restaurants and newsstands. For convenience I'm including a link to this month's Entertainment Fort Smith web page. I'm also including a link to Alex's photography web page.

Congratulations, mi amigo!!

Randall Good on NPR

On Monday I took one of my regular pilgrimages to Blue Moon Art Gallery in Hot Springs, Arkansas. I consulted with my favorite art gurus Pat and Dishongh Scavo. They've updated me on the latest news about my favorite artist, Randall Good. While I was there I acquired my fourth piece of work by Randall. Its a large and dramatic drawing of "The Fallen Icarus". As some of my frequent readers know I've collected a couple of drawings and a couple of small watercolor studies of Good's mythology subjects. Three of the works are in the Icarus series.

My last trip to Blue Moon was in March. Randall just happened to be at the gallery. He had just been interviewed by a local NPR station about his work and the exhibit at Blue Moon Art Gallery. Dishongh and Pat told me on Monday that the radio station had just recently given them a copy of the interview and it is now posted on the Gallery's website. I am including a link here for those of you that would like to hear Randall himself speaking about his work. I'm sure you will hear how knowledgeable he is about art history. He's a very articulate speaker but also a very accessible artist. I'm sure you will enjoy the interview.

There is more exciting news about Randall and his work. His work is currently showing in New York and getting quite a bit of positive notice. Also, several of Randall's major works in oil have recently been acquired by an admiring collector. I'm very happy for Randall and Blue Moon for their success. But, its sad for those of us that love to see his work at the gallery won't be able to see those paintings any longer. The up side is that Randall is always working on new drawings and paintings and the gallery will soon have more beautiful things of his to show us. I'm particulary interested in a new breathtaking series of angel subjects he has started.

I will have the new "Fallen Icarus" drawing framed some time this summer. Its a large piece and I want some special things done for its presentation. I'll be sure to post a whole article of it when its ready. I will also be attending the next Gallery Walk event in Hot Springs on Friday, June 6th and visiting Blue Moon Art Gallery then. I hope many of you will make plans to attend also. I hope to see you there. For more details about the event be sure and contact Pat or Dishongh at Blue Moon via the email links on their website. If you see me be sure and say hi. I will be the guy standing in the Randall Good shrine at the back of the gallery staring hypnotically at the inspiring imagery. Just shake me out of my trance and shake my hand.

Be sure and check out Randall's NPR interview. I'm sure you will enjoy it. Leave a comment here if you feel inclined to share or drop me an email.

Now Public News

I was recently contacted by a fellow blogger that wrote an article for Now Public News. He had seen my Memorial Day photos on Flickr and asked to use some of them to illustrate his article. I was very flattered. Click on the links in this post to view those articles and photos.

Remember Their Sacrifice

Yesterday I attended a Memorial Day service at our National Cemetery. We were honored to even have a Pearl Harbor survivor with us in attendance. After the ceremonies I walked around taking pictures. It was a beautiful day for it. I used the time for personal reflection while I looked over the cemetery. So many of us see this holiday as nothing more than the beginning of summer. Its the start of the picnic and grilling season. I too often confuse the holiday of Memorial Day with Veterans' Day. But yesterday as I walked around I tried to focus on the differences between the two holidays. On Veterans' Day we celebrate and show thanks for our service men and women. On Memorial Day we honor the sacrifice of those service men and women who lost their lives in service to our country.

I was very moved by this simple grave marker. We think of the tomb of the unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery because of its size, the daily ceremonies and Presidential wreath laying that we see on TV. This little marker reminded me that the Arlington tomb is merely a symbol of all the many unknowns that have lost their lives in service. This soldier will never have a flower or wreath placed on his grave because his family doesn't know where he was laid. No doubt his mother and father knew their son was lost in action but never heard more about him. The could remember him but never visit his grave. This simple flag placed by his marker will be the only tribute he ever receives. It was heartbreaking to see not just this one, but row after row of unknown grave markers. It certainly puts our American freedoms into perspective. To see more of the Memorial Day photos I took yesterday, please visit my Flickr account.

Caravaggio Rocks

I'm currently reading about the Italian Renaissance artist, Caravaggio. I've always admired the dramatic pictures that he made. He created emotional religious scenes, lusty classical themes of pagan gods and most of them included beautiful young men as featured subjects. I always put him in the same classical category as Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael, etc. As a matter of fact, he was almost a contemporary of those guys. Lived just slightly afterward. What I'm just beginning to learn is that he had a rock star personality that rivaled his artistic talent.

The painting featured here is obviously an interpretation of Bacchus. He has the toga, the grape leaves wreath on his head and the obligatory cluster of gapes in hand. All that's missing is the bloated, gluttonous physique. However, I personally prefer this younger more muscular figure. I've seen this painting in art history books, encyclopedias, the Internet, for years. But, until I recently read a biography of Caravaggio I didn't know the whole story. This painting is actually a self-portrait. The drunken Bacchus in this picture is the face of Caravaggio himself.

It seems that Caravaggio was a real wild man of the art world. He got into a lot of trouble during his lifetime. He was always drinking, feuding, and brawling. It was only due to the fact that he had influential patrons that respected his work that he was able to avoid a lifetime of prison. He did spend his share of time in jail. It seems that he was always pulling a knife on someone, throwing rocks at them, you name it. It sounds like he was the Russell Crowe or Naomi Campbell of the art world. It didn't help things that he was frequently intoxicated and sick from drink.

I regret that because of his undisciplined personal life that Caravaggio died way before his time. His painting career lasted only 15 years. But I've been so glad to hear that this guy was a "real" person. There is no way to force him into the idealized role of academic Renaissance artist. He was perhaps one of the most original, talented, and creative of his time. But, he was just a regular guy.

The Man, The Myth, The Pseudonym

Last week I signed my latest painting with my pseudonym, "Gemini Art." Its the second or third piece I've attached that signature to. It was a surreal experience. Since the creation of this blog and the establishment of my web gallery I feel as if I've developed to distinct personas. Don't misunderstand me. I'm not admitting to any type of multiple personality or dissociative disorder. There's no pathology going on here. I just have two major parts of my life that are compartmentalized from each other. For the most part I have a mainstream, conservative, "bread & butter" career. But, for recreation and a very meaningful hobby I am an amateur artist, art critic, blog author and an increasingly openly gay man.

While I am dedicated to my daily professional career which I have enjoyed for almost 20 years now, it pigeon-holes me into being little more than a bureaucratic drone. I follow the rules, I enforce the rules and never breathe a whisper that might resemble self-expression or individuality. So, I guess Gemini Art has become my personae that represents everything that is "not that". (Read the works of Jung if you don't get the personae and archetypes I'm talking about.) As Gemini Art I can give my personal opinion freely. I can admire and appreciate beautiful artwork (and beautiful men) without fear of persecution. I can be imaginative and creative. As Gemini Art I experience that incredible lightness of being that I have observed in other gay people but had never experienced for myself.

I've questioned a few times if its "normal" or emotionally healthy to subdivide my life in this way. After long reflection I recalled that some of the most admired creative minds of our time have lived and worked under pseudonyms. The first that comes to mind is Samuel Clemmons who wrote under the name Mark Twain. A juvenile Ben Franklin had the audacity to write as a middle-aged woman named Silence Dogood. Even Stephen King has written under a pseudonym.

What can we learn from this? I believe that most creative or intellectual people use pseudonyms for two reasons. First, they use the name to protect themselves from persecution. Secondly, they use the pseudonym to hide a personal history that might not be as prestigious as their writings suggest. For instance, Clemmons wanted to be known for his literary work, not as an uneducated river boat pilot (he had great contempt for the public education system). Franklin knew that his scandalous words would get him in trouble as a teenage boy. As a puritanical and respectable widow of a minister, he was given more credibility.

Am I suggesting that by assuming a pseudonym I am hiding from persecution? In my profession and locale, YES! Am I suggesting that I'm hiding a less than adequate academic background? NO! My masters degree is just as good as the next guys, and most of my friends would probably say that, if anything, I'm too smart for my own good. Am I comparing myself to intellectual giants like Sam Clemmons or Ben Franklin? No, but I guarantee you that Gemini Art is a helluva lot more interesting than the other guy that lives in this skin.