Gabe Lueders and Dave Selden have been friends since high school, and artists since birth. This is a new means of collaboration for both, separated by many miles; Gabe is in Iowa, Dave in Oregon.
I’ve been adding texture to this piece and contemplating a finish, if any. I feel like a wax or oil might accentuate the light effects that are possible with the alternating textures, but I’m not entirely sure. I had thought of painting at least part of it, as well, with red, white, or black. Thoughts?
I have aquired a few new cd’s that are worth mentioning.
Interesting enough, Bonnie and Johnny both do covers of Bruce Springsteen songs.
Johnny Cash - American V : A Hundred Highways
The 5th album in the american recording series is good and sentimental since it was released more than a year after the death of the legend. His voice is older and raspy but it sounds like it has been around for a thousand years.
Tortoise & Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy - The Brave and the Bold
Will Oldham is a genius! I did not like this album when I first heard it but in true Bonnie form it gets better every time I listen to it. I don’t understand how this man can take a song like “Daniel” by Elton John and turn it into something I can not stop listening to. Genius!
Deadboy & the Elephantmen - We are Night Sky
This is a band that Josh turned me on to. Worth checking out. Speaking of covers he does a cover of a Bonnie song.
I worked out two new flowers tonight, bringing the total to 7, I think. I’d been on hiatus for awhile with this project, so it felt good to go out there and knock a couple out. I have been sketching ideas for other flowers, and I think I’m most happy with the smaller one with 9 small flowers, one I sketched out a couple weeks ago. The stems are made of pop rivets, a tool I haven’t used in awhile. Pretty fun. I think I might expand on this idea again in the near future. I like them all massed together. Might try some small circular flowers.
Here’s another large circular flower. I got a little Jackson Pollock with the solder. It was really flowing for me today for some reason.
I have been working lately more on a yellow cedar wall piece, adding texture with the crooked knives. Hopefully I’ll post that this week; it’s almost done.
I was watching a really interesting show on PBS, How art made the world, it was about how imagery of death has played an interesting role in art.
One of the things that stood out for me was how much time people actually think about it in their lives. They did studies that actually showed that people will spend more time looking at a work of art that depicts death in some form over other images. It was interesting to think about the pyschology behind it, such as: Are we all infatuated with our own mortality? Is that why we like to watch violence so much? How many movies can you think of where someone does not die? Just something to think about. The decorated skulls from Jericho were pretty cool too!
Gabe sent me this amazing video last week with the following note attached:
Dave,
Here is a copy of the film that Phil and I made last fall. It is a little rough and drawn out but it has its moments.
We are thinking of editing it down to 15-20 mins and putting an introduction at the beginning that will explain the concept better. And then maybe submitting it to the Lost Film Festival. You should check out their web site www.lostfilmfest.com. They came through DSM and did a showing at the Art Center. It was cool, mostly underground films.
I hope things are well with you and Sarah. Talk to you soon.
Your Artistically like-minded friend,
Gabe
I love this blog. Click the thumbnail above to download Gabe’s movie. It’s a 51 MB Quicktime movie.
One artist that has always inspired me is John Singer Sargent. I like the images is selects and his mastery of skill in painting. His brush strokes are impressionistic and his scenes a usually have an amazing sense of depth. It is inspiring for me to one day achieve.
When I look into is his painting I feel as if I am where he is, seeing
things through his eyes. I like to see how he paints and and what interests him. These are the things that make work come alive. When you can see the artists interest in life.
I think that there have been quite a few artists that have attained this mastery of skill. But what is rare, is to see such a mastery of skill taken to a whole new level. I think that is one of Picasso’s greatest achievements is that he studied traditional styles of painting and mastered them. And as his work progressed so did his interest in exploring new possibilities.
Fear of failure and comfort can be limit the the exploration of an artist.