Art, Emotion and the Events of Life

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well the past week or so has been quite busy for Martha and Rod.

 

Early in the week we got Martha’s submission in for the upcoming Bird themed juried art show at the Icicle Arts Gallery in Leavenworth, WA. Her fanciful and imaginative takes on the theme are so colorful they just make one smile and wonder.

 

In the same couple of days we got her submission in for a show at the Arts West Playhouse in West Seattle for next year. We’ll keep our fingers crossed on that. And while these submissions were going through, Martha was busy all week teaching her ‘Fruits and Flowers’ class as a guest instructor at one of the local elementary schools. She loves doing those guest artist gigs in the schools and the kids really love it too.

 

On Thursday April 11^th Martha was featured artist at the Nature Consortium in West Seattle for the West Seattle Art Walk. It was a lot preparation for days ahead and the event was the day after we got the call that Martha’s dad in El Salvador had passed. The event went well. Martha was surprised at how many people came to the little and seemingly out of the way venue on the art walk.

 

The next day we were able to settle in and do some traveling down memory lane regarding her Papi by going through the old photos from when she and her brother were little growing up with her dad Lito  and her mom Taty.  Having posted a few pics from that era on Face book a number of folks commented on her dad’s movie star good looks in those days. In this photo of Papi Lito and Martha's brother Mike he really does look like a 1940's Latin Movie Star. When we visited together a couple of years ago I saw that he still had the painting I had done of him on horseback modeled after an old black and white photo from the 1940’s. Wish I had a photo of that to share.

 

And, while Martha had been teaching and preparing for her show in Seattle, I finished the hard copy acrylic version of the ‘Peace Dove Crying Over a Burning Monk’. This I finished by  attaching it to a repurposed ¾ inch plywood board that had a thin vinyl like shelving material on one side which I had torched to make it fit the content of the painting. In burning the board the shelving material bubbled up in such a way as to really create a great texture and patina. Where the wood showed it took on a really great reddish color and tone. The original hard copy acrylic painting I think I will hold onto for awhile and look for a non-profit Free Tibet organization to offer it at an auction to raise money for the Free Tibet Cause. The prints of the acrylic painting are available on my web site sales of which will go toward continuing to create Free Tibet and Peace Art to support the cause of freedom for Tibetans and other non violent peace causes around the globe.

 

Also, in the early part of the week, I submitted seven photos and a video to the ChelanDouglas Land Trust’s juried art show and reframed my painting of the old Cherry Creek Ranch House that was on the Land Trust land till it had to be torn down for safety reasons in the fall of 2011. The painting will be submitted later in the month. People who have seen the black and white photo of this deer in Land Trust submission really liked it.

 

Saturday, between reminiscences about Lito, I finally put together my submission for the Bird Fest show in Leavenworth. Seven photos some natural and some digitally altered to create digital paintings. It took awhile and only a few hours later did I realize I forgot to include one of a Kingfisher in a tree by the Columbia River. Oh, well next time.

 

On Sunday I was pleased to find on the front page of the Wenatchee World News Paper one of my photo images with a link to my ‘Arts In The

Valley and Beyond’ blog. That was a surprise that made that moment if not my day.

 

Well, enough for now and onto preparation for another of those life events – the wedding of my youngest son down in CA. Wow! Where did the time go?  And with these thoughts today I am pondering the words of both Paul Cezanne who said, “A work of art which does not begin in emotion is not art” and those of Henry Moore who said, “To be an artist is to believe in life.”

 

Have a very artful day.

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Artful Kissing, Endless Art and West Seattle Artwalk

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, all’s well in the art world of Rod and Martha. Well, all except that I am just now having to start this blog over again due to some strange April Fools day computer glitch which failed to save the blog as I was midway through writing it a just a bit ago.

But, that being said and now out of my system, I have to say things are going well artistically and otherwise. First off, as many readers may recall, Martha is to be the featured artist at the Nature Consortium in the West Seattle Art Walk on the 11^th of this month. And, as we will only be able to fit so many medium to large pieces in the car to take over there, Martha has been eagerly working away with inspired energy on a wonderful series of smalls for the show. Those include a great collection of 10x10’s and an emotive 16x20 piece titled “Lost in the City”

And for that show, I have been in communication with Oleana Perry the coordinator of the show who has signed a Latin music duo for the event.  Oleana just wrote to me that ’Madeleine’ is an amazing Latin band…” and for this show, “ she is teaming up with Amy Denio who plays all types of music – either way they are a Powerhouse!”. I for one am very excited that this is all coming together and I plan to bring a few small pieces as well. This should be a lot of fun.

Meanwhile other art projects continue. Martha finished her 30x30 acrylic on canvas as yet untitled painting of a Native American girl with a horse.  And, in the oil studio upstairs she has been working up a new series of bird themed paintings for the upcoming Bird Fest show in Leavenworth. Some really colorful and classic Martha Flores inventiveness are evident in these oils. And, while Martha has been busy working on those projects I have been busy as well.

For me, as some readers may recall, I was expecting a metal print of  the digital painting “FreeTibet” which has since arrived and which I posted a photo of on the Rod Daut Art face book page. Well, that photo on face book went viral getting more views that anything else I have ever posted there. Readers will also recall that I have been working on both a digital and acrylic on paper versions of a ‘PeaceDove Crying’ over a self-immolating monk. The large print of the digital version arrived just as I was putting the finishing touches on the acrylic version and the photo of me with the two works also garnered a bit of attention on face book. Along the lines of these works I have continued with the theme of non-violent protest both in a general way and in a specific piece titled “Land of Our Own” featuring the double image of a Palestinian teen aged girl involved in Non-Violent protest over the building of the Wall which was destroying her families generational olive orchard near the town of Budrus which was featured in the documentary of that name.

Taking a bit of a break from heavier themed works I have recently completed a mixed media image of John Lennon and Yoko Ono inspired by the line drawing from their Double Fantasy Album. Along a similar them I have been working on an acrylic on canvas board paining of a man and a woman kissing with the image of woman as seen from the back superimposed over the faces of the two lovers kissing. The running title of this piece is ‘n-lessly’. This is a bit of a private joke between Martha and I inspired by the words of a song on one of our oldies CD’s. Maybe some cleaver reader out there with a good recall for song lyrics will hear the line in their head and get the joke. We shall see.

While artwork continues so does the ongoing job of getting future gigs and shows. To that end we sent off an application for Martha to be featured in yet another West Seattle venue one that schedules more than a year in advance… that being the ArtsWest Playhouse. We shall see how that goes and I will keep our readers posted.

And, always planning ahead and endeavoring to make the best use of time and gasoline, we will be stopping by the Pottery Store in Seattle while we are out there on the 11^th to pick up supplies for us and for our good friend Terrie Johnson.  Terrie we are so glad to know. He has helped us in so many ways including firing clay works for us and he just did a great job helping us Raku a mask for one of Martha’s students from the local emergency housing facility. Thanks Terrie. We are so happy he will participate in the Bird Fest Show with us and he is doing some great bird themed works for the show right now.

Well, that is probably enough for now as I need to get back to redesigning our house and finishing up the Artful Kissing piece aka ‘n-lessly’ and Martha needs to prepare for her ‘Fruits-n-Flowers’ class she will be teaching next week.

When it gets hard to think and create under the weight of life’s burdens consider the words of Stella Adler who said, “Life beats down and crushes the soul and art reminds you that you have one.”

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