Grant Wood's American Gothic and Music Man Sets

Here's a funny picture.  I did it on the wall of the piano teacher's house for our CYT show, Music Man.  It took me an hour to paint it, and I had a few handicaps as I worked.  I painted in the dark during a dress rehearsal with a small light we rigged on the side of backstage.  As I worked, I received all kinds of helpful advice from the backstage crew (thanks, guys, I love ya.)  Actors ran on and off stage all around me, and at one point the house-movers moved the house with me IN IT!

 Okay, I know, it's kind of goofy, but what can you expect with all that going on?  Didn't finish before it was 10:00, the witching hour - the point that we must all clear the theater or turn into pumpkins.


By the way, when Grant Wood painted this, it was because he noticed a home in Iowa with this Gothic architecture (it's still there somewhere, I forget where.)  By the way, all you young 'uns, I didn't really FORGET this useful fact, it's just that my brain is so, SO full of wonderful things, that to let any new information in, I sometimes have to let a little bit out!  Besides, you need something to look up on your own!

For American Gothic, he recruited his sister and his dentist to portray a father and his unmarried daughter. Funny things is, the father looks like MY doctor!  They both look a little unhappy about their state, don't they?  Looks like dad wants to marry her off as much as she wants to go!

I was planning on coming back in the next day to paint the pitchfork and a few other unfinished details, but it got nixed because it wasn't feminine enough for a lady's house.  So, it's now buried under a coat of white paint and a mountain landscape that took me all of ten minutes.  For seven shows now the director and I have been almost of one mind; usually I'm much harder on my work and wanting to change things when she's pleased!  So... I don't mind an hour of fun painting work unused - that's show biz!

This picture shows me holding my own 'pitchfork,' my tool of choice, a paintbrush.  It's a rare pic you'll find of me without a smile; I was trying to match the sobriety of my two characters.  Nice shirt, huh?  I have about six more just like it!  ...and a robe, and some jeans, and a couple of  unfortunate dresses...

By the way, I did paint the frame straight on the wall; it just seems we can't take a straight photograph! You may also note the wall below American Gothic is a little drippy.  Yep.  Had to paint over my mess.  When I start painting, the stuff flies all over.  I get into concentration mode and don't think about things like that.  Minor details!  Had to paint the floor beneath it, too.  What?  I could have used a drop cloth?  That would have been too easy!  Besides, it would have tripped up the actors running in and out as I painted!

Tomorrow night is opening night.  I finished even the touchups tonight - the normal wear and tear on sets that the backstage hands inflict when they're moving them around.  I have only two things left that I can think of.  We have a pianola that plays itself and I need to glue some sheet music onto the roller inside it (gonna slap some paint on the back of the music and slap 'er down.)  I've decided to use some extra flute music I've got arranged by my good friend and great Christian music arranger, Camp Kirkland!  He won't mind.  Do you mind, Camp?  It's an honor... really! :) Then the last thing I have to do is paint paneling on the front door of a house.  That will likely take a half hour simply because I'll have to do a lot of measuring again to get the panels all the same size and straight.  I'll post some pics of our show very soon.

Give me a comment on your thoughts on my Grant Wood.  Thanks!

Quote for the Day

If you ask me what I came to do in this world, I, an artist, I will answer you:  “I am here to live out loud.”  - Emile Zola

Optical Illusion

This is a really cool optical illusion.  Stare at the center for at least 30 seconds, then look away and see what happens.  After you look away, whatever object you look at will seem as if it's moving.  Cool!

Cathedrals

Since I've been thinking about Monet's cathedrals, I pulled up some pics we took in Europe this summer.  This picture is of my daughter and son in front of the Strassbourg Cathedral in Strassbourg, France.  It's the biggest cathedral I have ever seen!  Gorgeous!

Parts of the cathedral here and there were under construction - methinks that a building this big must always have some part of it under construction!  It is really breathtaking in its beauty and size.  The six of us had separated at this point, and close to the cathedral, there was no phone service.  I'm surprised we're not still all individually wandering around Strassbourg looking for each other!  No small wonder that there was no phone reception next to this billion-pound structure!

Here's one of the intricate entry doors.  You have to just stand in awe of the amount of detail work has been put into this cathedral!

What makes the picture for me, though, is my son, Noah, sitting on the steps.  He cares not about the intricacies of the statuary, he's just happily exploring his new purchases stashed in that nice, pink bag!

Once inside, a hush comes over all who enter.  The beauty of the church is breathtaking, and the stained glass windows are shining.  Here's the rose window.


 I used to work in stained glass.  It was a lot of fun, but requires a room of its own due to flying glass shards.  Something about four kids nipped that one in the bud.  The interesting thing about that is that I have four brothers.  We all live in different states.  Three of us, we found, unbeknownst to each other, were working in stained glass!  How many families do you know like that, anyway?  I may or may not go back to glass when I grow up... life is awfully short with so many things to explore, isn't it?

 Below are more windows - this cathedral was loaded with them.  I seem to remember reading that these are some of the oldest stained glass windows in Europe; however, I'll have to check on that one.  When you're doing a lot of touring, everything tends to blur together after a while.

Stained glass windows were called the 'Poor Man's Bible,' as most couldn't read.  The pictures clearly told the Biblical story for everyone.








My daughter and her gargoyle friend.  He's watching over her and I'm not sure who looks more contemplative!






My four guys.  It was a great trip.

There was an ancient building facing Cathedral Square which we enjoyed whilst eating our lunch.  I put it down toward the bottom of my blog because I wanted to do a BIG pic for you to see!  Love it!

One last picture of this beautiful cathedral.  I never did get it to entirely fit within one of my photos!

This was inside a different cathedral, but I really enjoyed the interior, particularly because of Noah's reaction.  He was enthralled with the idea that people are actually buried inside of cathedrals!   I have another photo of him where he's just sitting in the front pew contemplating.

 This was yet another cathedral.  I particularly loved the mosaic on the column.  I believe this was St. Sebald's Church in Nuremberg.  They had brought live, cut trees into the building and propped them up all up and down the sanctuary - it really was a sight to behold! There were also floral arrangements festooned everywhere.  This is one of the traditions they observe for a particular festival.  We asked a number of people what the festival was about, but nobody really knew, even though trees had been cut and tied up to decorate buildings in many of the public places.  Hmmm...

Monet Quotes

I LOVE Monet!  His colors are gorgeous!  His painting, 'Impression Sunrise,' was how the Impressionists got their name.  An art critic condescendingly referred to this group of rebel artists as Impressionists, pulling that word from the title of Monet's painting. The name stuck!

Claude Monet said these two things:

"Color is my day long obsession, joy and torment."
 

I know that to paint the sea really well, you need to look at it every hour of every day in the same place so that you can understand its way in that particular spot; and that is why I am working on the same motifs over and over again, four or six times even."

Four or six times!  Monet did the Rouen Cathedral thirty times!  Much more than four or six, Claude!  And I am glad you did! 


These are two examples of the Rouen Cathedral.  Monet actually rented rooms across from it so he could paint it over and over again.  It took him two years to do this series.


Below you'll find one of Monet's haystacks.  He was primarily concerned with capturing the light at any given moment and painted furiously with this goal.  There are 25 haystacks, again, all done at different times of the day, differing atmospheric conditions, etc.  These he began during harvest time, and his painting on the stacks continued through the winter and into spring.

By the way, I got these images from www.AllPosters.com.  You'll find some really nice art reproductions there.

One of many haystacks painted by Monet

I'm Featured on the National CYT Blog!

Christian Youth Theater, CYT, is the largest youth theater in the country, with companies all over the United States.


Today they featured me and one of my classes! Check it out on their blog. I'm featured today, October 15, and they'll run another story once we're done with our sets.
 

Check out  www.cythouston.org ... if you live in the Houston area - and come on out and see the big show!

Robert Henri Quotes and Comments

I love to read! And I don't mean a Kindle. I NEED books! Books that feel right when I turn the pages. Big books with big, colorful illustrations. Books whose textured pages smell good. Glossy magazines. Books I can dog-ear, write in, highlight, underline and draw in. Books with encyclopedic information. Books with almost no text at all. Books I can drop in a tub ('Rats! Did it again!) No, you'll not find a Kindle in my hand.

Anyway, the following quotes are by Robert Henri, 1865-1929. I gleaned them from two books, The Art Spirit, by Robert Henri, and Artist to Artist, Inspiration and Advice from Artists Past and Present, compiled by Clint Brown, both books are very encouraging books to me.

“Art is simply a question of doing things, anything, well… when the artist is alive in any person, whatever his kind of work may be, he becomes an inventive, searching, daring, self-expressive creature… He finds gain in the work itself, not outside of it.”

“You can’t know too much about composition. That is; the areas you have to fill, their possibilities, but you must, above all, preserve your intense interest in life. You must have the will to say a very definite thing. Then, the more you know your means the better. Great works of art should look as though they were made in joy. Real joy is a tremendous activity, dull drudgery is nothing to it.”

“Your education must be self-education. Self-education is an effort to free one’s course so that a full growth may be attained. One need not be afraid of what this full growth may become. Give your throat a chance to sing its song. All the knowledge in the world to which you have access is yours to use. Give yourself plenty of canvas room, plenty of paint room. Don’t worry about your originality, set yourself just as free as you can and your originality will take care of you. It will be as much a surprise to you as to anyone else.”

I like that one. As an art teacher, I tell my kids that it’s my job to stuff them with facts, knowledge and skills. In doing so, I’m freeing them and giving them the tools to be the creative, thinking people that they’re meant to be. I recently met a quite talented but untrained artist. I could see she could be very good, but her work was unimaginative and uninspiring. She said she didn’t want to take art classes because she didn’t want to be told what to do or be stifled. Little did she know that she had stifled herself and denied herself the very thing that would give her art the freedom to soar! I felt sorry for her.

Next quote:

“Those who have lived and grown at least to some degree in the spirit of freedom are our creative artists. They have a wonderful time. They keep the world going. They must leave their trace in some way, paint, stone, machinery, whatever. The importance of what they do is greater than anyone estimates at the time.”

Amen, Robert! And I also believe that artists really do enjoy life more than others – our senses are opened wider and we receive much more.

“When the artist is alive in any person, whatever his kind of work may be, he becomes an inventive, searching, daring, self-expressive creature. He becomes interesting to other people. He disturbs, upsets, enlightens, and opens ways for a better understanding. Where those who are not artists are trying to close the book, he opens it and shows there are still more pages possible.”

“Artists must be men of wit, consciously or unconsciously philosophers, read, study, think a great deal of life, be filled with the desire to declare and specify their particular and most personal interest in its manifestations, and must invent.”

“Do not require of your work the finish that anyone may demand of you, but insist on the finish which you demand.”

I’m guessing most serious artists don’t need to hear that one. I’m very hard on myself and my work.

“There are pictures that manifest education and there are pictures that manifest love.”

‘I like your work and have only to ask you to go on your own interesting way with all the courage you can muster.’

I like it! I’m sending my students off at the end of the year with that quote!

“It’s the wrong idea that a master is a finished person. Masters are very faulty, they haven’t learned everything and they know it. Finished persons are very common – people who are closed up, quite satisfied that there is little or nothing more to learn…I have met masters now and again, some in studios… running a boat, playing a game, selling things. Masters of such as they had. They are wonderful people to meet… they do not say ‘I am only a carpenter or a gardener, therefore not much can be expected from me.’ They say or they seem to say, ‘I am a Carpenter!’ ‘I am a Gardener!’ These are masters, what more could anyone be!”

Well, this unfinished person is going to bed. If there are any other unfinished persons out there, let me know what you think. Good night!