Garden, Forest, and Paint

On a recent morning in my garden, I was struck anew by the tenacity of life bursting forth from winter's grip. As I turned fragrant soil, uprooted stubborn weeds, moved long-legged perennials, and as earthworms and milipedes scuttled away - I had to marvel at life's abundance.

Two local painters who also study the natural life of the North Country are Lee Ann Sporn and Meg Bernstein - both of whom have been subjects of previous posts in the blog. (Click here and here to read some of these.)

Now, the two have mounted a show together in the Cantwell Room of the Saranac Lake Free Library. They have spent the last year visiting the Debar Wilderness area, together and individually, and painting their observations of it.

Each artist works in both watercolor and acrylic, and though each has a distinct style, they harmonize. Lee Ann's watercolor pieces are in the tradition of botanical illustration - she is a biologist, after all, and her paintings are enriched by her careful examination of life's pathways and mechanisms. Her acrylic pieces, however, feature a looser approach: still clear, but more exuberant - perhaps a bit more playful than scientific.

In this exhibit, she pairs the watercolors and acrylics of similar subjects together; for example, above is her acrylic rendering of a jack-in-the-pulpit cluster; below, she depicts a single plant in watercolor. My photos do not do justice to the originals, but perhaps you can see how the watercolor features precise detailing, while the acrylic, though still carefully observed, has looser lines, a greater sense of playful energy.





Meg's pieces take the energy and playfulness even further. Her acrylic paintings remind me of a time I saw original oils by Vincent Van Gogh; the paint swoops with its own ideas, thick and sensuous, leaving luxuriant brushstrokes to hint at the hand behind the work. It's thrilling to see, and inviting to ponder.

Meg's pieces in this show are all landscapes; trees commune with clouds, while colors dance from water to mountain to sky and beyond. The watercolors, too, share the force and vibrancy of our lush North country.






Life is: celebrate! Enjoy art, and make some of your own! For inspiration, dig around in a garden, or walk through some woods, or go see Lee Ann's and Meg's work in Saranac Lake. Or - all of the above!

Bursting Barriers

This is the cover of a new book: "Rethinking Acrylic: Radical Solutions for Exploiting the World's Most Versatile Medium", by Patti Brady. -The world's most versatile medium? Some artists might quibble with that subtitle, but Brady uses acrylic in so many ways, it seems plausible...



Acrylic paint is a modern invention, part of the post-war plastics revolution (click here to read a previous post on that topic). While more traditional media such as oils and watercolors have been studied for centuries, we have had only the last few decades to play with acrylic paint. And yet, with creative minds and adventurous spirits, chemists and artists alike have pushed this new substance in exciting ways.




One of the most adventurous artists I know is Meg Bernstein, of Saranac Lake. Meg has embraced multiple media through the years, from fabric and beads to watercolor to computer art - and, always, acrylic. Her landscapes move with fluid, harmonious shapes and colors, leading the viewer to a fantasy world recognizably related to the Adirondacks, but brimming with previously unimagined possibilities. Meg also steps easily from the representational to the abstract; sometimes her paintings blur that line. Recently, Brady's book has been inspiring her to lots of new experiments.

Meg is a teacher and mentor to many artists, both formally at Paul Smiths College, and informally as an inspiring friend and advisor. Several years ago she took me under her wing, and taught me more about art than any three people I had ever known before; I continue to seek her guidance whenever I am perplexed.

Like now. I LOVE the ideas set forth in Brady's book - she uses color, texture, shape, and line with abandon, flinging forth materials and letting them take her where they want to go. She creates innovative surfaces for ink-jet printing, and incorporates these into larger pieces. She pours, drips, scrapes, carves, slathers, and crackles her way through her art.

So does Meg!

But I have trouble achieving the joyful release of their work. I have generally created representational art - which I still enjoy - but I am trying to increase my fluency with color, shape, and texture through acrylics. I am striving to break my own barriers of ideas and intention, to let the medium itself direct my work to a greater degree.

Meg is a master at this - when I see her work, I am encouraged - and challenged! And fortunately, she maintains a permanent (but always changing!) display at the Adirondack Artists Guild here in Saranac Lake. And, together with Lee Ann Sporn, she has a show opening at the Cantwell Community Room of the Saranac Lake Free Library on May 27th. (Click here and here to read earlier posts about Lee Ann's work.) When that show is up, I will write about it here.

In the meantime, I will continue to experiment, explore, and try to relinquish a degree of control in my work. It's not easy - but what of value is? Through this journey, I am relying on Patti Brady's new book, and on the dazzling work and solid insights of Meg Bernstein.

Collateral Perception

War lacerates us all. None emerge unscathed. Combatants, civilians, leaders, bystanders, families, animals - all living things feel war's impact.

Georg Olsen, my father-in-law, had barely begun to shave when he landed at Utah Beach on June 6, 1944; of his original company, 3/4 were dead or severely injured before the Allied victory, but Georg was amongst the few to emerge physically whole.

After the war, like so many others, he got an education through the GI Bill, but he did not talk about his battlefield experiences for several decades. When he did open up (about 50 years later), it was evident that they had shaped his whole life.

Soldiers today are encouraged to confront their memories and feelings more promptly. Here in Saranac Lake, local artist and merchant Greg Moore has mounted an exhibition of photographs he took while deployed to Iraq with the New York National Guard, in 2004. (For NCPR's coverage of the war at that time, click here.)

Media coverage of this seemingly interminable conflict has varied, and it is too easy for the average American to "tune it out" most days. We tend not to think of it, of the 4,000+ American service people killed there, or of the hundreds of thousands affected both directly and indirectly.

It is also easy to forget that Iraq has been the site of tremendous history, architecture, and culture for thousands of years.

If you see Greg's show, however, you will remember. The imagery is accompanied by excerpts from his diary - so you feel the immediacy. It is almost as though you are there - except, of course, you are standing in the comfortable, elegant Cantwell Room of the Saranac lake Free Library, and no one is trying to kill you.

The words and pictures bring you to graceful arched doorways and gleaming domes. You see mighty towers and crumbling walls. But most of all, you see the people: bright-eyed children, soldiers watchful and tense, and soldiers lifting children in their strong arms.

I urge any who read this to see the show, and to bring a friend or a loved one. We, as Americans, need to see these things, and we need to read about the experiences behind the pictures. We need to step back from politics and abstractions, and to stand, however breifly, in the boots of a soldier, writer, and artist.

Winter Treat

Have you ever gazed upon an Adirondack lake, on a windy summer's day, and seen how the deep, cool darks cavort under the sun-sparkled surface? It's a visual oxymoron which generates powerful tension.

The exuberant painting above, titled "Blossoms", captures that electric energy. Saranac Lake artist Margo Nagle (who is also my mother) uses luxuriant acrylic paint to describe flowers growing at the edge of a windy Adirondack lake. My photo does not do justice to the nuanced color and complex texture of the original. But I hope you can see how the warm pinks of the blossoms are echoed in flecks of the darkening water, while the leaves twist and dance in the fresh air.

This piece is part of the 28th Annual Paint and Palette Society Winter Show currently hanging in the Cantwell Room of the Saranac Lake Free Library. The show includes thirty-four pieces by eight local artists (myself included) in a range of media. Watercolor, oil paint, and soft pastel are showcased in addition to acrylic; Louise Plosilla also paints with enamel on copper, and Jane Harris uses a technique called tinsel art, with which I was previously unfamiliar.

The Paint and Palette Society is a small group of Saranac Lake artists who have met regularly to learn and paint together since 1955. This current exhibition features a wide variety of subject matter and of style. There are still lifes reminiscent of the Dutch Masters, landscapes both rural and urban, pieces bordering on the abstract, and more.

If you have previously seen Paint and Palette shows, you know what a treat they are. If you are unfamiliar with the group, you owe it to yourself to become acquainted. This show hangs through January 4th.

All Manner of Riches

Look at these two images. Can you see what they have in common?

They are both artworks on display as part of the Traveling Cover Art Exhibition of the Arts Council for the Northern Adirondacks.

I have previously observed that the North Country is fantastically rich in art of all kinds, and for proof (should proof be needed), I refer you to this show.

The two examples shown above only hint at the show's diversity.

On the left is "Navel Orange", a colored pencil piece by Matthew Paul (photographed by Mike Robbins). You may not be able to see it in this reduced image, but one of the navel oranges is ... well, expressing individuality! I urge you to take a look at the original if at all possible.

The image on the right is "Untitled" by Jodi Samuels Downs, executed in fused glass (also photographed by Mike Robbins). It appears abstract - quite different from Paul's almost photorealistic oranges. But it is every bit as charged with feeling, as potent a commentary on the world. The richness of color, the energy of line, excite wonderment. Again, you must see it in person to appreciate it.

And - good news! You can!

Go to the Cantwell Room of the Saranac Lake Free Library, a gallery and meeting space downstairs from the main reading room (and, with an elevator and a ramp, fully wheelchair accessible). Displayed on the walls there you will find not just these two works, but more than thirty.

These pieces were all submitted for consideration as cover art for the 2008 - 2009 ACNA Arts Directory & Cultural Events Calendar. Looking them over, I felt great sympathy for the judge(s) - each piece is so striking, each artist's voice so distinctive.

All media were accepted for consideration. From wood and stone, to pottery and weaving, to pastel, photography, and intaglio printing - creative vision spurts out in an astonishing number of ways.

How ingenious people are!

And how fortunate we of the North Country are, that ACNA gathered such an assortment of riches, and made them available for our delight.

If you cannot get the the Saranac Lake Free Library by Dec. 4, when the show closes there, its next stop will be at the Ticonderoga Historical Society in Ticonderoga, NY.