After a long and (for me) painful absence for conservation, Andrea del Sarto’s The Sacrifice of Isaac is once again on display at the Cleveland Museum of Art. del Sarto’s unfinished masterpiece from 1527 is on a massive wooden panel. The painting’s unfinished state opens a window into the artist’s studio, and shows us his working method. The…
Yesterday’s storm highlighted–as if it was necessary–once again that this is the Winter From Hell. Our furnace stopped working during the wee hours and the high today is in the low teens. It could have been worse. Yesterday’s terrific winds might have downed trees and disrupted power. Hopefully, that was winter’s last hurrah. I can remember winters with colder snaps and worse snows, but the unending string of heavy storms we’ve experienced makes this winter one of the worse if not the worst I’ve seen.
We drove through the snow to the magnificent Holy Rosary Cathedral in Toledo for my son’s confirmation. The eighth-grade class from Keith’s school–St. Paul’s in Norwalk–along with several other schools were confirmed together in solemn ceremony. The Toledo archdiocese is currently without a bishop but the presiding priests performed ably. I had never been to…
Here is some recent work. Saturday was a light work day because of family functions. The top painting is titled “Explain,” and I think it’s far enough along now that you can get a sense of what it’s about. The lower painting–“Jane With Her Hand on Her Hip”–is of, well, Jane (It’s also about blue,…
“You mock, dude!” Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) was a lively philosopher and prodigious writer known for his biting wit. Russell was deeply involved with the social issues of his day and spent time in prison for his efforts–for his pacifists views during World War I, and again for his anti-nuke protests in his 80’s(!). He was stripped…
I updated the Oil Paint Brand post with new information and a rating for Michael Harding paints.
Here is some work from this morning. The bulk of the day was given over to removing three rooms of carpet from our basement. We got water in the basement during that sudden thaw 10 days ago (we’re back in the deep freeze now, though). It was only an inch or so but enough to…
The French language film Inspector Bellamy (2009) brings together two greats of French cinema: Gérard Depardieu, and Claude Chabrol. Inspector Bellamy was the 50th and final film directed by Chabrol. Inspector Bellamy is a stately-paced whodunit. The renowned inspector Bellamy (Depardieu) and his wife (played by the wonderful, Mary Steenburgen look alike Marie Bunel) are vacationing…
Here is a short–one paragraph(!)–story I wrote:
The large (42″ x 68″), unfinished painting is titled Conversation. The smaller (36″ x 48″) painting, Whispers, was finished yesterday. Two paintings of people talking while outdoors? A coincidence (I think), although I have been surprised in the past on discovering groups of paintings that share the same unplanned theme. A few years ago I was surprised…
Direct flights between Cleveland and Trenton NJ began this month. This means I can fly to Trenton for an over night stay at our property there. Trenton, which is on the Delaware River (think Washington crossing the Delaware and the Battle of Trenton) is ideally located for trips to New York and Philadelphia. Trains frequently run to both cities. I used to commute regularly to New York from there on the trains. I met my wife on one of those trains. Anyway, I plan to visit the galleries and museums there with more frequency.
Sigh…time to retire some old brushes. I hang on to things too long: brushes, paint, oils, mediums, friends. But too frequently I’ve reached for a brush while in the middle of a painting session only to retrieve one of these old boys–far past their useful lives. So I’ve retired these tired old brushes. I won’t throw…
Frequent readers might have noticed the dwindling number of reviews of Cleveland galleries. I’ve been exploring the Cleveland art scene–such as it is–for two years and my early sense of discovery has long since dissipated. The NE Ohio galleries, like most of those outside the major art markets, are dedicated (speaking broadly) to academic art. By that I mean art produced by university and college professors and administrators–the ‘academy.’ This is not the place to get into a discussion about the quality of art produced in that environment, except to say that the quality is uneven and somewhat predictable. The short version is that I’m starting to see repeat shows of artists I’ve already reviewed or chose not to review. I won’t say there will be no more Cleveland gallery reviews, just that I no longer make regular visits to the galleries (I still visit the museum every week).
Here is recent work. The lower painting is from something I saw earlier this winter during my last trip to New York. In the upper painting, “Whispers,” I am using zinc white. Lead white is my preferred white but it is getting scarce and expensive. A 225ml tube of Old Holland cremitz white is $200–on…