Art Happenings Now- a page to share what is in the works- I am excited about joining Biafarin and Cafe as well to showcase my artwork. I am in the process of getting more engaged in the community and have signed up for Artist’s League of Rockwall.
sketch of horse
I have just recently participated in the Paint Rowlett Contest and won a third place and purchase award for my laughing gulls. I have been in this competition for the last few years and have previously included sketching and oil paintings. The sketch of the horse won an honorable mention in a previous ceremony.
Original ink on paper of laughing gulls-sold -paint Rowlett
Painting specifically for a contest is a whole new way of creating. I love the difference in how the inspiration develops into original art.
Window of Hope 2024 Pastel on paper- 12x18To Check out the exhibition. Art Happenings Now- what is currently in process for my art, etc.
My artwork named ‘Rise from Turbulence: Window of Hope‘. It is now being showcased at Cancer – 2024 exhibition. A show organized by Gallerium and powered by @Biafarin platform.
The pastel is a new pastel but the original inspiration was from a cross-country trip to California in 1989. I have two previous pastels of the same area and still have not captured the image I remember.
Often a picture takes a while to form, much like learning certain processes. Self-taught in most of my creative endeavors, it has taken many years to perfect my vision, technique and the ability to capture perspective.
Painting is on hiatus lately, in fact today I tried painting a cardinal Christmas ornament and it was a futile attempt. I believe the in-between time of mental block or lack of creativity is when we are in the valley of the learning process.
First we receive the information, next we digest it, when using the newly found logic, it is awkward and what is usually second nature becomes difficult because of the learning process.
Only after the knowledge and technique becomes second-nature does it turn into instinct instead of learning, this is when we have accomplished understanding.
Playing Chess: Learning Curves:
I have been playing chess and have been losing terribly to even players with smaller ratings and yet I lose miserably. I believe it is because the knowledge of new moves and understanding has to be perfected in the mind before it becomes second nature.
FIrst you question, then you experiment with what you think is the answer and only after the answer is engrained in your instinct is it actually a learned process.
The Process of Falling Down, Learning, Repeat
Some of the best lessons are learned from failing, trying again, failing again and only then realizing the process. I have been growing Milkweed from seed, first I failed with the seedlings until I learned what was killing them, than I failed the secondary plants that grew from the seedlings-I am just now realizing the process and understanding the why’s and how’s of gardening from seed, milkweed can be quite finicky.
Learning is a process, it can’t be rushed, it must be met with patience and a desire for the final outcome. Once we understand our failure, only then can we find the greatest success.
Today I remember why it’s difficult to pick up painting. Many of the images I’m working on are from a while ago, they’ve been slowly forming and the original inspiration is a bit foreign at the moment. Today I got back to the canvas.
I tend to start painting by pushing paint instead of painting from inspiration, it is obvious to my subconscious when I am not painting from the right place.
An image becomes clearer when my strokes become autonomous, I don’t have to think about what goes where. Compositions tend to create themselves.
Today, was hit or miss for a while and I fell in and out of the zone. I worked on several paintings and finally got my stride but I realize I have to have my space in order before I start, getting into that subconscious state is interrupted by chaos and disorder, something my writing often benefits from.
I am continually exploring and learning about the creative experience and how the brain processes. As long as I’ve been doing this, it always intrigues me with periods of block and then intense inspiration.
A painting about a suicide in a field. I wanted the sudden disturbance of the birds to be a warning. I am still working on finishing this piece.
From a Canvas: Back to Painting – I wouldn’t trade being creative for anything but there are parts that can be a curse. If you approach it with the wrong attitude, it can be frustrating. I am writing a book about the process of finding happiness and contentment when brain chemistry has a mind of its own.
My biggest obstacle is knowing where to start. Do you write poetry, prose, paint something or go disappear and photograph for a while. The problem is the desire to do which doesn’t always align with inspiration.
Pastels Just Beginning Again
Sometimes the image happens. There isn’t always a clear and perfect image in mind and that’s okay. This pastel is of the city at early evening. I wanted the lights reflecting in Lake Ray Hubbard to show movement.
Creating without inspiration is like painting a wall. Push the paint back and forth, end up with a solid color with no intricate shadows and detail; not exactly creative.
When the inspiration meets the desire, suddenly the paint does its own thing, you can be in another room if it weren’t for the hand being your vehicle for painting. The photograph finds its own light and models itself a composition that was already in place before you found it.
This painting sat on my easel for quite a while. I just recently finished it and it will be a news item soon. I have had a very intense and productive pastel series in recent months.
Even more interesting is how words create their own, without thinking of the right word or seeking a rhyme-it just writes itself. The feeling is euphoric and being unable to get into that feeling is where depression, mental block and so much frustration begins.
Allow the Inspiration to Grow
The way I handle this process is to realize you are exactly where you need to be at any given time, what needs to be written, painted, etc. has not formed yet. The panic you feel is you’ll never have that amazing feeling again and a hopelessness grows.
Realize depression, anxiety and frustration are all part of the process of discovering the next work and it will be already developed because through all the empty moments, it was slowly developing itself.
If you consider yourself just a lightning rod to the inspiration and a humble steward to explain that which might be as simple as a flower or something that could potentially change the world or at least the world of an audience that receives it, you may find hope in the darkness.
I believe creativity is a great burden that we are given to explain things in a different way-there goes my humility, but I do feel we have a responsibility to be true to the vision, honest with its execution and without preconceive intention.
That which we create is no longer ours, it is the property of the viewer. The audience, will discover it and make it their own from their own experiences, I don’t believe the creative needs to explain their intention unless the viewer wants more background, art is in the viewers eyes.
It’s been a long time, I feel like I’ve been knocked down, floundering on a canvas, this is my moment of getting back, picking up my tools and describing what has been developing for far too long.
What I loved about this pastel is that the image was almost directly from memory but it was so clear. I saw it and created it quickly. I don’t often get that satisfaction to create with spontanaety.
Sunflowers are a favorite flower of mine. I have raised them for many years, they are very photographic and bold. I need to do a post on sunflowers-photos and paintings. Standby.
This is a large pastel inspired by the image of a single light illuminating an upstairs room at a nearby townhouse in Rowlett-actually the scene was pretty much unchanged only simplified.
I felt a feeling of haunting when I first saw it. I wanted the viewer to question the scene-who’s in the room?-there is a mystery about a window in the darkness. The sunflowers brings your attention in and lead your eye along the fence.
Sometimes images create themselves and all the artist does is capture what they see-parts of the scene are simplified or exaggerated for the effect and to control the eye of the viewer and how they perceive the scene.
What the Artist Sees and Shows the Viewer
What is obvious to the artist is not always what the viewer will see-they make their own impression from the image and hopefully a hint of what the artist inspiration remains in the final rendering.
Below is the second in the series, again a very large pastel. Each of these include plants that are my favorites in the garden, the sunflower and the passionvine-each are symbolic in their own right and although I don’t often paint flowers, the ones I choose tend to be significant to me-either I have them in my wildlife garden or they have a symbolic meaning to them.
Passionvine is Another Favorite Flower
The passionvine represents Christ, although there is nothing specifically religious about the bottom painting, I like the passionvine for its uniqueness and symbolism.
I still feel like both of these will probably be revamped as paintings. My initial image of the bottom pastel was originally darker and the passionvines stood out larger and more vibrant. I kind of got lost in the clouds, I will paint probably a smaller version of it with larger flowers, a less awkward smaller house and a late evening time frame.
The following images are more sunflower paintings that have been created since this initial group of paintings.
Spider web February 1, 2019-I celebrate the intricacies of nature and artists creating beautiful things Artbygordon copyright 2019
Random acts of creativity: Picture the most euphoric state you can imagine; the birth of a child, flying down a ski slope or a rollercoaster or the view of an awe-inspiring sunset and realize how transient that state is. This is what creativity is for me.
It is when everything aligns naturally and suddenly the strange riddle you’ve been deciphering becomes completely discernible. The riddle is inspiration-I equate it to craving something to eat but not quite able to decide what you are craving.
Honey Bee January 19, 2019-I love how light isolates and creates a moment in nature- Artbygordon copyright 2019
Photography: I have experienced this state of clarity in each medium I work with. My photography used to be, a love of landscapes which weren’t always available to shoot depending on the quality of light and time of day.
I would find an abstract pattern in nature but the image never quite meshed. In a landscape, you can plan for shapes and composition allowing lines to create depth and dimension for the viewer but how do you explain objects and make them have interest to the viewer.
Redbud February 1, 2018-I celebrate the intricacies of nature and artists creating beautiful things Artbygordon copyright 2019
So many attempts failed because I was missing the crucial aspect of the image-it wasn’t the shape, it wasn’t the color, instead it was how it interacted with light.
you just know you’ve captured something beautiful and the excitement is that transient state of seeing what’s invisible and showing it to the viewer.
Artbygordon 2019
Duck January 2019- This is from a series of images that shows loneliness and solitude-Artbygordon copyright 2019
As I continue to see nature beyond the larger scope of a landscape, the isolated image becomes more clear. I find myself noticing, even in the flattest, blandest afternoon light how something evokes an emotion or at least interest from a chaos of details.
After I shoot a landscape or an object, sometimes you just know you’ve captured something and the excitement is that transient state of seeing what’s invisible and capturing it for the viewer.
Honeybee on winter jasmine: Original Photography by Artbygordon 2019
Isolating Light – Light separated glistening white blooms of winter jasmine this morning. The image was beautiful as a whole but it was difficult to simplify and accentuate details that could explain what originally inspired me.
Finding light amidst darkness and chaos is a privilege I never take lightly.
Artbygordon 2019
This is a problem the artist often has with separating the ordinary from the extraordinary. We are bombarded with details and often a beautiful image of nature can be quite overwhelming to the viewer.
It is the artist’s job to separate light and shape from the background where the viewer is often left with a chaotic mass of line, form and color. The essence of beauty is often just simplification of the whole.
I have always been a landscape artist but often a flat afternoon light does not offer anything dramatic, this is why I have learned to not only see light but to isolate it and allow it to be the main focus in my photography and art.
As a painter, in the past, I was more impressed with the whole or the peripherals to evoke mood. Now I tend to see shapes and how light accentuates them creating drama.
Light becomes its own object in an artwork and much like you don’t paint water, you must paint that which interacts with the clarity of water, light is not easily defined, it is more it’s reaction with objects that is important.
Because of a growing passion for photography, I have learned more about seeing objects and painting objects. Much like writing teaches us how to think and explain our experience such is photography to the artist, it teaches us how to see and describe the intangible.
Yesterday I made a trip to Daingerfield Lake; it was a wonderful trip with my brother and nephew. Lately I miss the electric hour and either capture the sunset or afternoon light but we had two things, time and shared interest.
I haven’t enjoyed photographing quite like it, it’s amazing to share seeing with others, I love the solitude and introspection but having family to share that passion was an incredible experience for me.
The light as the sun dipped into the horizon created a spectacle on the landscape. The blues were cold and rich, the green reflections were charged with depth and intense green color.
Almost 400 photographs later, I was able to capture Lake Daingerfield in a way I’ve never seen it before. Usually we kayak and fish but this time it was solely a photography trip and a memorable one at that.
To complete the perfect trip, my son called from Oklahoma, although I wished he were with us, it was the next best thing. We will definitely get back for more photography and kayaking, it is truly a beautiful lake to visit.
Daingerfield State Park is 150 miles east of Dallas. Texas. It is a small intimate lake for kayaking and offer a wide variety of fishing opportunities including pickerel which is what we go for.
The artist’s eye – This image is from a night of camping with my son at Lake Murray-we both played on the cold, hard rocks and watched the moon rise-it has become his favorite painting. Artbygordon 2013
I just started a new painting about the night sky, just did a simple underpainting of trees in the front yard with a moon and star-filled sky.
The more I get back to painting, the more I find myself seeking a graphic element, simple and more abstract. In the past it was more about mood and peripherals and now it is about the shapes and how they interplay.
Photography of light and simple shapes-probably an evolution that is effecting my paintings. I enjoy the contrast of light and shadows and the simplicity of objects. Original Photography by Artbygordon 2018
I’ve been admiring too much abstract images I guess. I’ve also been seeking how light interplays with objects in my photography, which seems to be a principle in the new/old series.
I am getting back to several images of water-they all were somewhat complete but I was never completely pleased with them. It is amazing to me how much an image literally plays itself out while you paint.
There is the first obstacle of pushing paint around, overcomplicating what you see and over-explaining a simple principle of light and shadow.
The droplets on the rose are perfect example of how it is not overcomplicated creating reflection and light-it is a very subtle, simple rendering that delivers the best image.
When the subconscious overrides the conscious and truly sees and renders simple the image as it is-this is when the hand and the brain tend to work independent of consciousness, the lines, forms and subtle detail seem to create themselves.
The Terns Artbygordon 2013: An older painting and the beginning of seeing things in shapes and abstracts
To show the progression of recent paintings, I need to go back to previous series. This is where the shape is becoming a bit more important than the feeling and depth of the water.
I feel like I am getting back to full circle, the paintings in the new series will have more detail in the water, more sharper contrasts of light and I will get back to the reason I loved the night sky and water.
The next post will be about the night sky with the newer images. I am excited about the new series and see my vision truly taking shape.
Turner Falls Oklahoma Original Oil on Canvas Artbygordon 2018
Back to the Canvas- got back to the canvas yesterday and found my purpose for water. The problem with water or even capturing images realistically is seeing and capturing the basic element of the image.
To Truly See: Getting back to Details
After you’ve truly seen and conveyed the basic idea, the essence of water with temperature and depth, then you can stray from the reality of the colors and even the perspective.
Intention: What is the Basic Premise
It all depends on intention, my intention is always to see the depth and clarity of water first, after that I can express the place or time and I’ve succeeded in the whole reason I started painting water in the first place.
What has happened recently is a loss of conveying the details. Waterfalls end up looking like flows of hair or cotton and the water clarity and depth instead takes on a nondescript study of color.
Petit Jean Arkansas: Original Oil on Canvas Artbygordon 2018
The Shift: To Truly See
There is a point where I can push color back and forth without truly seeing but with any luck there is the shift, where the subconscious remembers what it knows.
This is what happened yesterday, suddenly the brush moves with little consciousness from the artist-it’s like all the forms and strokes are already there.
It is almost an out-of-body experience because the hand the brush, even the colors and the forms tend to paint themselves. I’ve experienced this with writing too and it is an amazing place that no artist wants to leave.
The Fisherman: 2018 Original Oil on Canvas, Artbygordon-work in progress
New Elements in Recent Works
I’m not sure if it’s because of shooting so much graphic photography but recently I have more intention on form and contrast of light. The actually scene is secondary to the relationship of the elements and the contrast of light.
There are many ways to show depth and perspective, this is just one more option and I’m really beginning to see a shift in my work overall as elements supersede or at least complement mood.
Lake Texoma: Original Oil on Canvas Artbygordon 2018
2019: A New Year – A new year, an unblemished calendar but what to do? How can I make 2019 a special, productive year?
The question definitely has to do with my readers but at the same time, I can’t deliver meaningful content unless I know what my readers and subscribers are wanting or even expecting.
I have decided to break my posts into specific columns so you will have an idea of what to expect and there will be a constant theme going through my content although varied as it might be.
I used to create the blog on Blogger and than share it with multiple network channels but I am trying to localize all the content through the website.
Here are a list of the upcoming posts and what I envision for the year.
Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge original photography by Artbygordon
The Artist’s Window: It’s how the artist sees the world, how we find light and what makes the ordinary extraordinary from an artist’s view.
Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge original photography by Artbygordon
Depression for the Layman: How to live with depression and tips and tools to live a good life despite the illness. I will be putting all the pieces into a book with other self-help books in the works.
Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge original photography by Artbygordon
From A Kayak: I’m trying to bring this back; it might be a view from a tree, a view from a platform-it’s just going to be different places in nature.
The Grackles 2017 Artbygordon
ArtbyGordon: New Series, new subject matter and my reactions and thoughts on art and being creative. Artbygordon and life creatively will merge into this catchall for living a creative lifestyle and breaking the boundaries of the expected.
Remnants of the Garden Artbygordon
Gardening: From the beginning to end of the garden and different aspects of life woven through a life filled with nature and gardening. On a practical note: all the winners and losers, maintaining order in a chaotic garden and other thoughts on life and creativity.
2019: A New YearRoad to Hagerman Artbygordon
Travel and Writing: This will be the travel side of my blogging. I will highlight at least one place through each month-it could be reviews on food, venues, concerts-anything travel with a little bit of nature added in for color.
The Reluctant Military Dad: This is a new piece of the puzzle-it’s about being a single dad and letting go. It’s about my son in the military and the aspects of a dad watching his son become something great.
General parenting insights and topics about raising kids in today’s world-being a step dad to my oldest son and all I’ve learned on this journey of parenting.
The next thought, what my readers are wanting and what to add to the blog-I would love to hear what people would like to read about.
I am excited about 2019 and feel my brand and its scope is growing. Please be a part of the Artbygordon newsletter to get up to date news on series, appearances and latest writing and photography.
Original art in oils and pastel, celebrating nature
