Commissions have been in focus these last several months, keeping me occupied and us in food and shelter. Of those commissions, a good number have been portraits. Portraits: always the most challenging of paintings. Many painters won’t attempt them. But why the challenge, you ask, when you paint people so prolifically? Yes, I answer, but painting people as “personality studies” is different than people as “paying patrons.” It can be a different frame of mind. Confidence and boldness is replaced by timidity and inhibition. In the one case the model is anonymous, one who will never see the resultant painting; in the other (s)he will, as well as a host of relatives and friends, with their analysis of whether the mouth is just right or, or, or. Many fine painters have done their poorest work when they’ve come to portraits.

Grandchildren and Friends, Oil on Canvas, 36×48. Each individual painting can be viewed larger by clicking here, and scrolling down to Scott and Carolyn McOwen.

It was one Scott McOwen of San Clemente, California who first talked me into doing a portrait of his wife and granddaughter in the same painting, many years ago. I was reluctant, but in fact pulled it off adequately. Recently, after some six years, he contacted me again, now with more grandchildren and grand ideas. He said that of all the artwork they own, that portrait is the most meaningful. Now he wanted a painting with his six grandchildren as well as six children from other parts of the world where he has philanthropic involvement. “That will be a challenge,” I said, “I don’t know if I can do it,” to which he responded, “That’s what you said last time.” In the end we came up with the best way to approach it: 12 individual paintings on 12″x12″ canvases, which can be hung together, in any checkerboard that looks good, or separated. Moreover, the collection can be added to as children increase, either in the family, or the international involvement. The above is the result, at least in one of the ways it can be presented.

Emma, Oil on Canvas, 12×12

Another thing you might not know if you’re not a painter is that children can be the most challenging to paint. Old people with a lot of wrinkles and facial landscape are a whole lot easier. With smooth skin the nuances are much more subtle, and if you’re not careful you can get all hung up in “likeness” and forget about making a nice piece of art. (Besides, with old people, their parents aren’t around to judge.)

Claire, Oil on Canvas, 12×12

And of children, babies can be the most challenging. It’s for this I was happy that the McOwen family was so pleased with the result. As it happens, the McOwens have requested canvas prints so all of the families represented have their particular set. It’s been a happy solution all around. 

Solzhenitsyn, Oil on Canvas, 12×9

Here we have a portrait, but not commissioned. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn didn’t even know me, but after reading so much of his material I felt I knew him. Besides, his face was a landscape! How many hours did I spend reading his Gulag Archipelago, his Cancer Ward, his essays and speeches, and a full biography of his life? He was a giant of a man and Time Magazine should have commissioned me to paint his picture for a cover, if they knew me, or if they still used paintings on their covers. (But if they had I might have frozen up and painted something smooth and wooden.) As it was, a buyer came to our show at the house last year and picked this one up for a good price.

Miles Davis, Oil on Panel, 12×12. Click on image for price info and larger view.

Speaking of people I know but who never knew me, here’s one of my friend Miles Davis. Well, at least we’ve spent many an evening together over the years. I had to search awhile to find a photo of him not playing his horn. I didn’t want an icon, I wanted just the man. This one I still have (just in case Time is ever interested).

Mechelle and Beau, Oil on Canvas, 18×18

Okay, we’re stretching things again when we define what constitutes a portrait. In this case I know the woman, not the man. More to the point, I know Mechelle’s parents, who commissioned the painting and gave it as a wedding present. The moment is their engagement, from a photo taken on a camera phone by on-lookers who were privy to the surprise. Once again, it’s a challenge between mechanical “likeness” and art. In this case, it’s the story as much as anything, with a definite center of focus.

Judy Stoner, Oil on Canvas, 11×14

Speaking of paintings done for love, here’s one commissioned by a happy husband of his beautiful wife as a present to her for him to hang on his wall. Did you follow that? It was a surprise gift to her, but for him. Her part was to choose the frame. I’m told she was very moved, said that no one had ever thought to do such a thing for her (and he was glad to hear that). Now it adorns his office for many to admire, particularly him. 

Kimono Trio, Mixed Media, 36×36. Click on image for price info and larger view.

Finally, and once again it’s a question whether this constitutes a portrait, here’s a piece from a photo I took in Japan. We were there early this month, visiting our son and his family. He does cryptology for the Navy (and that’s all he can tell me). Anne and I spent an enjoyable two weeks, admiring the place and the people. The above was from a chance encounter of three who were trying out the kimono look for the day. What this rendition doesn’t reveal very well is the abundant use of gold leaf, on the clothing and even sparkles in the hair. Would I have the boldness to do that on a commissioned piece? (Maybe, if the client set me loose.) In a future e-gallery we’ll share more pieces with gold leaf addition. It can take art into a whole new visual appreciation, particularly in certain light.

Upcoming Show

I mentioned the annual “show at the house.” It’s something of an “inventory sale” with some very good prices for very good art (of course). The date is coming up. Consider yourself invited. Here are the details:
Saturday, Nov. 8 (4:00-10:00) and Sunday, Nov. 9 (1:00-5:00)
Hyatt and Anne Moore Studio/Gallery
33752 Big Sur Dana Point, California 92629
(949) 240-4642

About Getting a Portrait

Anyone interested in a portrait, for themselves or as a gift (or a gift to selves), or a commission of any kind, feel free to contact us. There’s time to have one for the holidays. Then there are birthdays, or anniversaries, or even engagements!  Of course, any time a portrait is presented makes its own holiday. For more examples, see the website under Collectors/Personal and scroll around. The portraits are labeled for easy browsing. Contact us at moore@hyattmoore.com.

Facebook

As a Post Script, I’ll just mention that I now have a Facebook account. It’s put us in touch with a lot of old friends. If you have such an account and want to include us as friends, you’ll know how to do it. (At least I think you will; I’m not sure myself yet.)

Websites

As usual, both Anne’s and my work is viewable on our websites at www.hyattmoore.com and www.annesprints.com. Feel free to visit. And feel free to jot a note here.

11 Comments

Once again, Anne will be the featured artist at Sandstone Gallery in Laguna Beach for the month of September. The most festive time to see it will be tomorrow evening, during the First-Thursday Art Walk. These events are always very social, the sidewalks overflowing with locals and tourists, pouring into and out of the numerous galleries that line the streets. The pieces below are just some of those that’ll be on display . . . all the more impressive in person, handsomely framed, well lighted, and with the artist present.

Parallel World, monotype, 19×25, click for more info

Some of these pieces are the same as were featured during the summer-long Laguna Festival of Art. That season has now passed for another year. It was a productive time for Anne, full of high reviews, and a number of people are now happy owners of her work. It’s the color that attracts, and the shapes, and most of all, the intrigue of texture and detail and mystery of how this art is made. People always appreciate the explanation from the artist herself. But even then, it’s a mystery.

Unfinished Sympathy, monotype, 13.5×8

Don’t let the sizes shown here deceive, limited as they are by width of margin. If you’ll note the dimensions listed you’ll see some are considerably larger than others; often the smaller ones here are really the larger pieces. That’s another reason why you really need to see them in person.

Unexpected Consequences, monotype, 12×16

This one, Unexpected Consequences, is also featured on the home page of Anne’s website. For that, and a brief introduction to printmaking in general, click here.

Infused with Grace, monotype, 17×12.5

Again, these pieces of art are best viewed in frames. Such can be as fancy or as large as you like. Anne’s normal selection is a handsome single mat affair, with thick mat board so the bevel cut shows up well, then a simple black frame. The postage stamp-size rendition at left doesn’t do justice, but gives an idea. The overall dimensions with the frame are 26.5×20. Don’t let the color shift between the two photos throw you off either. These things can happen in the photographic process, taken at different times and under different lighting situations. The true colors of the art are somewhere between these two renditions. Quite beautiful, really.

A worthy link

But don’t just take my word for it. Ask another “objective” observer. Photographer daughter Acacia Bergin, whose website we’ve directed you to before, just posted a blog with a quick overview of our art and home. Click on “Art in the Genes” to check it out.

Lecture and Demo Coming Up

On a Sunday afternoon a week from now, your friend and Anne’s husband will be featured at the San Clemente Art Association as a lecturer/demonstrator. They’ve been advertising it actively and I’ve been told it could be a full crowd. But I’ve asked if I could invite my friends too, and they welcome it heartily. I still haven’t planned the content, but on these occasions in the past I’ve at least begun a large painting (large, so all can see) and interspersed it with commentary of how I originally got started in all this, and the discovery of disciplines that have carried it to date. I’ll also show some originals and have sign-ups for classes and the like. Details below.

Classes Starting

PAINTING. Being September, and the beginning of new things, we are both taking reservations for new students. I call mine “coaching,” being intended for people with at least some experience in painting, and because it’s individually tailored. They are two-hour sessions, on Mondays, either mornings, early afternoon, or late afternoon.

PRINTMAKING. Anne’s classes are tailored to the time people can make them. Students always go away with a piece of art they can frame.

The cost is $60 per session.

If you’re interested, contact us at 949-240-4642 or moore@hyattmoore.com.

Shows

Pressing Matters
Featuring Anne Moore
Sandstone Gallery
384 North Coast Highway
Laguna Beach, California
September 3-29, 2008
Reception: Thursday, September 4, 6:00-9:00 pm

Lecture/Demonstration
Featuring Hyatt Moore
San Clemente Community Center
Ole Hanson Room
100 N. Sevilla (corner of Del Mar)
San Clemente, California
Sunday, September 14, 2008, 3:00-5:00

4 Comments

There’s a show this evening in the city of Orange and you’re invited. I know it’s short notice, particularly for those of you a thousand miles away, but I thought I’d at least share a few pieces that will be on display. There will be other artists featured as well. Gallery on Glassell in Old Town, Orange has been carrying my work for a number of years. For a look at their current selection of my work, click here. Or, better, come by this evening.

Flamenco Evening, Acrylic, 36×36. For this and all to follow, click on picture for larger view

The Evening in Santa Fe show is an annual event at Gallery on Glassell. In years past they’ve featured a flamenco troupe. In fact, that’s where a lot of my flamenco material has come from. It’s only fitting that so much of it has found its way back to those gallery walls…until they find a home more permanent. The above is a slight departure from previous flamenco paintings, style-wise. Done in acrylic with a soft touch and rarely a hard edge, it’s a study in textures and layers as well as the movement of the moment.

Lady in Red and Cleole, Oil over acrylic, 48×30

All the paintings featured in this e-gallery were created this year. For a person who considers himself primarily an oil painter, there’s quite a bit of acrylic here. Sometimes I use them both in the same painting, something that works if done in the right order. Oil paint goes over fast-drying acrylic fine. And those random backgrounds of the water-based acrylic can be so delicious. It’s more a process of “discovery” than “control.”

Cleole is life size, full-bodied and bold. Is she dancing? Running? Somebody suggested praising. Whatever she’s doing, she’s comprised of oil paint coming out of acrylic, with some of her foundation drawing left in. To make a set I also created Lady in Red, the same size and style as Cleole, but shown small here to conserve space. Click, and then click the resulting picture for larger views.

Forest Red, Acrylic on canvas, 30×24

Sometimes images just suggested can have a lot more intrigue than those carefully plotted out. It brings the viewer into the creative process, to finish the painting in their mind. And as such, it can be finished in many different ways. In this one, once again, the background went down first, with no particular thought of what would happen. Then the image started to come out, first the one and then the second. The challenge was when to stop. And once finished, what to name it? Naming suggests what the artist was thinking. But what if he wasn’t thinking anything? It can be limiting too…what if the viewer wanted to go in a different direction altogether? So, “Forest Red,” could have been, “Two Women,” or “Foxy Shoulders and Her Drippy Friend,” or “This Fog’s like Pea Soup.” (Feel free to contribute further titles in “Comments,” or anything else.)

Flamenco Textures, Acrylic on canvas, 48×48

For the life of us we can’t remember where we saw it, but both Anne and I were looking at a picture and saw in the background the abstract shape of what could be a dancer. Taking that as inspiration I got a big square canvas and started drawing it in. The drawing in this case, and not uncommonly, is done directly with the brush, and that a large one…even a house brush. Again, on paintings like this the challenge is knowing when to stop. There can be a stronger sense of purpose and design right at the beginning. Maybe that’s why I sometimes record the progress with a quick digital image. In the end I did give her a face, though it was still more a design and an imaginative moment. This one is also in the Gallery on Glassell show, though the dancer never was.

Speaking of shows, the Festival of Arts in Laguna Beach, where Anne is exhibiting her art, is on for just two more weeks. Even with the thousand mile distance, you still have time, but just. Don’t miss it. When you go, pick up a Directory of Exhibitors for all the art, for a blurb about Anne, and for our page ad. Or click here: festival-directory-08-blog1

CURRENT SHOWS

EVENING IN SANTA FE
THIS EVENING ONLY, Saturday, August 16, 2000
Gallery on Glassell
115 N. Glassell
Orange, California 92866
(714) 744-9844

Festival of the Arts
650 Laguna Canyon Road
Laguna Beach, California
Through August 30, 2008
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 p.m
(Anne is normally on site Fridays through Mondays)

2 Comments

Perhaps it’s because of a show at another church this weekend, this e-gallery is featuring the cross as an artistic motif. It’s an enduring symbol, a thing of simple beauty really, though with a gruesome history. The Romans found the beam and crossbar efficient enough for their methods and the symbol became one of warning. Since then it’s become more a symbol of mercy. And by current trends, even oddly hip. But it’s not any of that which brings out the theme this moment, but rather a couple of artists who have encountered the cross personally, exploring a few approaches to this classic emblem.

Portals of Silver, acrylic on canvas, 40×60 (Click on picture for info)

The cross in this first example is a subtle inclusion, more of a design element among several. This large piece was featured in an e-gallery a year ago (click “PDF Archives” at right, No. 29, Aug., 2007, page 3.) Perhaps the painting’s mix of symbols from the wider world speaks of an internationality . . . these are things for the viewer to interpret. For me it was more about aesthetic design. By the way, that silver is metallic paint, giving it another dimension, particularly as the light changes during the day.

(The painting is still available.)

Behind the Skies 1 and 2, acrylic on canvas, both 24×24

We leave the subtle to the more specific in the examples above. That is, unless the titles keep things “only suggested.” In both cases, and others to follow in this series, they could almost be from photos of distant constellations taken by the Hubble space telescope. The inference is not unintended. The cross is not just an earthly symbol.

Both of these paintings have been purchased. For interest, see enlargements here: Behind the Skies 1 and Behind the Skies 2. (When there, notice the “larger view” option.)

Behind the Skies 3, acrylic on canvas, 16×16 (Click on picture for info)

Here’s a recent addition to the series . . . a series that could go on infinitely, which is another aspect of its deeper meaning. When you think of it, it’s a perfect symbol, a basic nexus between whatever needs to be intersected, like heaven and earth, God and man, right and wrong. Its four extensions cover the compass and conceivably go forever in divergent directions, yet they meet. And that meeting makes all the difference, is the meaning, is the message. In painting these I use any color, but red is never left out.

(This painting is available, as are all those to follow.)

An unlikely painter’s apprentice (click for larger view)

I painted Behind the Skies 3 last month, in June. With the warmth of an evening, the door was open and suddenly I had a little help. A June bug flew in and landed itself right on my canvas, soupy with wet paint. Rather than whisk it away or try to carefully lift it off, I let it crawl around a bit to see what designs it would contribute. In the end, you can’t see what parts he (she?) made and what parts I made, but I couldn’t resist taking a photo of the process. I don’t think it was necessarily because I was painting a cross, but I will call it help from above . . . even if that “above” was not behind the skies. (Or was it?)

Cross Section 1, acrylic on paper, 4×4, in 15 inch frame

Besides making these crosses on canvas, recently I’ve explored smaller versions on paper. It’s just because there’s so much that can be done with it, and because they could serve many with bits of beauty . . . and for those who relate, an identification with a larger meaning. Either way, a cross conveys a simple elegance, regardless of its symbol. Here is a four-inch square original on paper, set off in a mat and frame system I bought off the shelf.

Cross Section 2, acrylic on paper, 4×4

The above and the three below are more variations on the same theme, not yet framed or matted though shown here in a field of black. By the way, these pieces are not yet on my website. Anyone interested can contact me directly. The price of these small paintings before matting and framing is $90 (a good price for an original piece of art, if I do say). If you’re interested, send me an e-mail here.

(Above) Cross Section 3, acrylic on paper, 4×4

(Above) Cross Section 4, acrylic on paper, 4×4

Finding Intimacy, monotype, 11×9 (available)

While on the subject, here are a couple more pieces on the same theme, created with ink on paper by Anne and her press. Again, these show degrees of obvious statement in one and subtlety in the other. The hidden calligraphy is design motif only (though who knows?) The Asian aspect is mainly for beauty, but once again, internationalizes. After all, we’re one, under the skies.

In Memorium, monotype, 17×15.5 (sold)

CURRENT SHOWS

Canvas
THIS WEEKEND ONLY
Newport Mesa Church
2599 Newport Blvd.
Coast Mesa, California
Saturday, July 26, 3:00-10:00 pm
Sunday, July 27, noon-2:00 pm
Check here for their press release.

Festival of the Arts
650 Laguna Canyon Road
Laguna Beach, California
July 6 thru August 30, 2008
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 p.m
(Anne is normally on site Fridays through Mondays, except July 26)

15 Comments

Fives, Monotype, 15×14, Click on images for larger view

The long anticipated show is upon us and you’re all invited. The Festival of Arts in Laguna Beach, California is a prestigious event that’s been going on for 75 years. Every year hundreds of artists compete for a place to show and only a few new ones are accepted. After years of both of us applying, this year Anne was accepted. It’s about time they saw the light, says me. But the judges change every year and from one time to the next one can be “almost in” to “not even considered.” (Sounds like life.) But we’ll take this: Anne is in. She’ll now have a “full time job” for the summer putting in hours, and if things sell, producing new work. Show details follow at end of this blog. Anne’s hours will vary. We know she’ll be there Mondays, being the printmaking demonstrator that day, and weekends. Other than that, call her for times when you might see her there (phone below), or come any time.

Another Paradigm Shift, Monotype, 18×24

Shown here are five of the pieces Anne is displaying at the outset of the festival. Of course they’re much, much better in person, at full size, and in their large frames with spacious white, double thick, beveled mats. Nor do these representations give the comparative sizes. Take it from me, every one of them is extremely beautiful, exquisite in detail, inspired in design, and marvelously crafted. (And I’d say the same even if didn’t derive every other happiness from the artist as well.)

Holding to the Promise, Monotype, 19.5×14

We’ve attempted to explain many times in these e-galleries the mystery of making monotypes. At this point, maybe it’s just best left as mystery. “Mono,” as you’ll remember, means one. Consequently, while they’re called “prints,” as indeed they are, they are not reproductions of some other original. They are originals. And there is only one of each. Thus you’ll see at the bottom of each piece the title and the numbers 1/1. That is, each is the first print of an edition that has only one in it. Compare, for example, my Last Supper with Twelves Tribes. The giclee print on paper is now up to 197/550, with the original not for sale at all. So Anne’s monotypes are completely one-of-a-kind, and there’s no other one like them.

Continuing the Quest, Monotype, 16×12.5

Also, as we’ve explained before, Anne’s monotypes are an evolution out of her earlier linocut prints. These are reproducible, and remain popular. So Anne will have some of these available for viewing (and sale) at her booth. She will also have more monotypes, not framed, but shrink wrapped and ready for however the collector wants to frame.

Reigning Vestment, Monotype, 15×10

A lot of times, Anne will pick up some oriental motif or Asian calligraphy and integrate it into her designs. Most of the time there’s no communication intended, except the visual appeal. They just make such beautiful shapes. She’ll sometimes do the same with Arabic numerals. They’re design additions, and part of the apparent randomness that often constitutes the most inspired creation.

Two artists, same motif, different scale. Click for larger view.

Sometimes I look at Anne’s work and think, “This is so great, it should be huge.” So, with permission from the artist, I use one of her pieces as point of departure for another. They come out different, being in a different medium, not to mention size. But any similarities are intended. Above, Anne poses between prints in her Festival of the Arts booth, and in another photo I lean against a friend’s wall where my larger take on the same image hangs and defines the entrance. For info on the larger version click here.

Refreshed Website

Check out Anne’s new site. Actually it’s the same, but with a new look. www.annesprints.com

CURRENT SHOWS

Festival of the Arts
650 Laguna Canyon Road
Laguna Beach, California
July 6 thru August 30, 2008
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 p.m
(for the times when Anne will be on site, call 949-240-4642 or 949-290-8643)

The Last Supper with Twelve Tribes
In a rare showing, the original painting will be on display as part of a “refreshed” show of Hyatt’s work.
Calvary Chapel Capo Beach
25975 Domingo Avenue
Capistrano Beach, California
July 6 thru August
Open weekdays

25 Comments

The model, momentarily dozing. Same with her doggie under her chair.

Every year about this time the San Clemente Art Association sponsors a plein air competition. Though painting outside on location is not my usual way, and has multiplied challenges, it’s a good way to stretch oneself. So I entered. The 150 or so participants have a week to paint, anywhere in San Clemente, and will submit two pieces for a judging this coming Saturday (6/21/08). During that morning and afternoon, participating artists will display work for sale in booths at the community center. Anne and I will be there and I’m hereby inviting all who can to come by. It should be a good outing. The competition has brought in some good artists from out of the area as well as local. And, of course, San Clemente is a lovely coastal town, with great beaches, hills with curvy streets, and heritage Spanish architecture.

Painting a Model Outdoors

Besides the week of painting around town, the whole thing started with an event called a “Quick Draw.” Those who entered this part of it had two hours to make a painting, starting with a blank canvas. This year the subject matter was expanded from any view that could be seen from the community center, to a still life or a model. I chose to paint the model. The photos below show stages of the painting as I progressed.

The two-hour painting, shown in four stages of development. Click twice for larger view.

Most of the 75 or so who participated chose to do a landscape; maybe 15 chose the still life, and as many concentrated on the model. In fact, there were so many I could hardly find a place in the semi-circle for my easel. But as I wanted a close up anyway, I sat on the grass, low and in front of others. What with a bit of sun screen for the crossed legs, it worked just fine. Taking quick digitals of my progress is something I’ve been doing lately, just because it’s so easy. It provides a record and sometimes fellow artists like to see the progression.

Summer Hat, Oil on canvas, 16×12. Click for info.

In a sense this is a plein air painting, since it was done out in the open, but in fact such are normally landscapes. There’s another name for this kind: “ala prima.” Quoting directly from my computer dictionary, that means, “essentially, the whole painting is done in one session. Detail isn’t as important as seeing . . .” and then it drifts off. But so does the painting. As some artist has said, “I don’t finish my paintings, I abandon them.” But knowing when to abandon them can be tricky, and too often it’s done far later than it should have been. In this case it was finished when the bell went off. I must say I was pleased with it, and have received a good bit of acclaim for it, particularly as it didn’t place. But it’s another example that making good paintings and winning contests aren’t always the same thing. So be that.

Another Perspective, Monotype, 9×11. Click for info.

Another Perspective by Anne

Meantime, while I’m painting away outside, Anne has been quietly preparing for her big summer show. We’ll be featuring more of her work in future e-galleries, but for now I just wanted to display one. Another Perspective is a study in rich color, intriguing layers, a motif with more than a hint of esoteria (that one’s not in my computer dictionary), and handsome design. It’s a piece one could look at for a very long time, and all along receiving, well, other perspectives.

This Saturday’s Show

Once again, we want to invite you to come by this Saturday if you read this in time, and if you’re anywhere nearby. I’ll be showing quite a bit of work, including the above ala prima, some 20 recent plein air pieces and a smattering of studio work. There will be many other artists showing as well, and just a lovely day to be out in San Clemente. (Details below.)

CURRENT SHOWS

Seventh Annual Paint San Clemente Art Show and Sale
One day only
Saturday, June 21, 10am-4pm
Community Center on Avenida Del Mar

Paintings by Hyatt Moore
Calvary Chapel Capo Beach
25975 Domingo Avenue
Capistrano Beach, California
A “refreshed” show, as some pieces have been moved out and others added.

New Work at Gallery on Glassell
115 N. Glassell
Orange, California
(714) 744-9844
Fifteen new pieces, most of them large, were delivered to this gallery this past week in preparation for an August show. Meantime the gallery is open and the paintings available. For selection see Gallery on Glassell on my website.

15 Comments

Since we started this theme, I still have a few more paintings to show before moving on to other explorations. Not that this one will ever be done; the “women from the back” motif has enough intrigue to last any life time. Once again, the paintings here had their genesis in the National Portrait Gallery in London (see e-gallery, Women from the Back, a New Genre).

Portrait Gallery Muse, Acrylic on canvas, 48×48. Click on images for pricing info, etc.

It would have been nice to get her name, but in fact I don’t remember seeing her face. Maybe it was the green top that caught my eye, or the long “V” of her stance, or the mottled “carry-everything” purse, or more likely the mystery of her mind as she contemplated the paintings on the wall. Actually I don’t remember thinking any of that. It was just a moment in time, every one of which could make a painting. And then the painting itself draws us back to what may have been the meaning of the moment or the aesthetic worthy of our eyes. She moved on and so did I but what was birthed between us was Portrait Gallery Muse, a big canvas of acrylic drips and rectangular shapes and one young woman and two men long since gone but still remembered, thanks to, well, painting.

Gallery Study, Acrylic on canvas, 40×30

But that muse wasn’t the only “looker” in the gallery that day. It was also the destination of a whole class of uniformed school girls on a field trip. Some were drawing, copying the paintings in sketchbooks, others taking notes, some laughing together in little groups, and one or two taking it all in alone. It’s from one of these that came Gallery Study, another exercise in what can happen when you’re not sure what will happen. Here (back at the studio) the paint fairly took over, running away with itself in colors and textures I never saw coming. But I figured I could always cover what I didn’t want and in the end I decided I wanted most of it. Once again, I never saw the face of the student in Gallery Study and I don’t remember the painting she was studying. In mine that became more of the same texture that makes up the wall and floor. But it’s a mood, another moment, and a reminder that many things can be worth stopping and looking at long.

Crossed Contemplation, Acrylic on canvas, 36×36

As I’ve said before, the people is these museums can be more interesting than the paintings. And they’re infinitely more valuable. (Try putting a price on one.) The girl in Crossed Contemplation is the same as Gallery Study, I think. Then again, who knows? (These white people all look alike.) It’ll be obvious in all three of these paintings that while I was somewhat accurate in representing the figures, I took all manner of liberties with the backgrounds. For Crossed Contemplation I wanted something red. How that would work, I didn’t know, so I did something I don’t always do; I made a series of thumbnail sketches.

Preliminary thumbnails. Click for larger view.

These quick miniatures are about three inches square on plain paper with limited colors, done to get an idea of how to proceed with the full size painting. Thumbnails can save a lot of time in redoing things later . . . a redo being a rare thing anyway, once the big investment is started. Personally, I sometimes favor these little pieces for all their fluidity, clear design and calligraphic stroke. Can you tell which one I chose to make the final painting? Or was it something other yet?

Once again, in the painting we have the looker contemplating a subject which is contemplating back the looker. That might be something of a stretch, but hey, it’s art . . . anything can happen.

BLOG BUSINESS

You can read or revisit earlier issues of this blog by scrolling down through the “e-gallery” section of the website, or clicking “Recent Posts” in the top right column. Eventually older issues will be archived, much like the past years’ editions of the pdf e-gallery are now.

Speaking of great websites and blogs, see Acacia Bergin’s. Acacia is our third of four daughters and, besides being a writer’s wife and a mother of two, is a fine photographer, in Seattle. Here’s the link: www.acaciaphotos.com

Feel free to comment on this blog. Do include where you’re writing from. Also share this blog with a friend. One can easily sign up by going to the link at the bottom of the column at the right, or just clicking here to receive it by e-mail.

CURRENT SHOWS

Recent works by Anne Moore
Heritage Christian Fellowship
190 Avenida La Pata
San Clemente, California

39 paintings by Hyatt Moore
Calvary Chapel Capo Beach
25975 Domigo Avenue
Capistrano Beach, California
Through June, 2008

11 Comments

We left off last time with my introducing a new genre I’ve called “Women from the Back.” I showed a couple, along with the drawings that preceded them. In the future I’ll show more, and paint more. Sometimes these are by design, starting with intended photography, sometimes they’re more random in their beginnings. Such was the case with Movement in Cadmium, shown below.

Movement in Cadmium, Acrylic on canvas, 70×63, named for the colors and flow. Click on picture for price and larger view.

I wanted to paint something big. I didn’t even know what it would be. I took a bolt of canvas I keep around for such occasions, cut a big swipe, and stapled it to my studio wall. I got out my acrylics, mixed up a batch of warm color and started covering. I added water to keep it moving . . . and to let any random drips happen as they would. The idea is to keep things sort of under control and sort of not. It was after all that when I went to my collection of accumulated resources to see what I might paint. I found a tiny photo of seven dancers I’d come across some years before. Of the seven, four fit the shape I’d established and I was off and running.

The canvas stapled to the wall, in process with le peintre.

And wah-LAH (okay, voila), it was more “women from the back.” As seen in the photo with moi, it’s of pretty good size, too big in fact to fit in our van. That can be a problem, and often determines how large I paint. At present the finished piece is hanging at Starbucks Coffee across from the mission in San Juan Capistrano. Next month it’s headed to a gallery, that is unless to someone’s living room, dance studio, or with all this French, a private chateau.

Moving from French to Spanish, another fairly large canvas that appeared from nothing last month was San Juan Vaquero. It’s from a photo I shot at the Swallows Day Parade this year in San Juan Capistrano.

San Juan Vaquero, Oil on canvas, 46×50. Click for details.

The scene is pretty much as it happened, but the streets in the painting are back to earthen, and the horse is more like a Palomino than whatever-it-was, for the sake of color harmonies. The size was determined by a frame I already had, cut down from a larger version that wouldn’t fit in the car. (Amazing how these practicalities influence our lives.) The frame turned out to be a perfect match for the painting, as shown in the picture below with the finished assembly propped up in one of the rooms in our house. It, too, now hangs at Starbucks, not a block away from where the horseman trod and I took the photo. It also will move into a gallery in a month. That is, unless it finds its way first into someone’s villa . . . or rancho . . . or just nice house.

Framed and ready, the day the vaquero left our house. Click for larger view.

Blog Business

For inquiry regarding any of these works, or others on the websites, e-mail or call 949-240-4642 (Pacific Standard Time).

Feel free to comment on this blog. Do include where you’re writing from, just to add the interest. Also share this blog with a friend. One can easily sign up by going to the link at the bottom of the column at the right, or just clicking here to receive it by e-mail.

Current Shows

Recent works by Anne Moore, just a little while longer
Heritage Christian Fellowship
190 Avenida La Pata
San Clemente, California

39 paintings by Hyatt Moore
Calvary Chapel Capo Beach
25975 Domigo Avenue
Capistrano Beach, California
Through June, 2008

ZONTA Newport Coast, Show for women artists
245 Fischer Avenue, Suite A8C
Costa Mesa, California
Sunday, May 18, 1:00-4:00pm

Starbucks Coffee
An ongoing yet ever-changing presentation, inside and outside the store
Across from the old mission, San Juan Capistrano, California

18 Comments

Something more grew out of making those drawings and paintings shown in the last e-gallery . . . of the fellow classmates viewed from behind. I’d done a few before, but this seemed a new theme, something I can only call, “Women from the Back.” In a sense it’s two views . . . the person in focus, and then what that person is focusing on.

Anne and I were in England last fall, visiting daughter Allison and her husband Vernon. Of course I had my camera and took pictures of all the usual stuff, but I had my eye out for more material on this new series.

(Left) Pencil in sketchbook, 8×5. (Right) Portrait Gallery 1, oil on canvas, 40×30. Collection of Rick and Erin Johnson, San Diego, California

The National Portrait Gallery, London

One of the places for such photography was the National Portrait Gallery in London. The place was filled with great paintings, as well as, to my eye, great people to be painted. I had my pocket camera out. At one point the guard politely told me, “No photography.” I wanted to explain that I wasn’t taking pictures of the paintings (not that that would have mattered . . . I wasn’t using a flash). But I put my camera back in my pocket . . . for awhile. Mysteriously a number of images materialized, some of which have already morphed into paintings. Others will in the future.

Once again, the first started with a drawing, this time a small one in the sketchbook. From there I went on to make two paintings. The first quickly found a new owner. The other, large as life, took a whole new direction and has received quite a bit of attention, including from galleries. At the moment it’s still in my possession (presently part of the Calvary Chapel show).

Part of the intrigue is who is looking at who (whom?). And what is each one thinking? She: “I’m alive; you’re a painting.” He: “Oh? Look behind; you’re about to be a painting too.”

Portrait Gallery 2, acrylic on canvas, 68×51

Bournemouth Beach

On that same trip we went down to Bournemouth on England’s south coast, Vernon’s family home. The beach was beautiful that day and once again the camera came in handy. A number of photos have since become paintings. But we’re keeping these blogs short so I’ll only show one here. That, and its preliminary sketchbook study.

Bournemouth Blond, pencil in sketchbook, 4×5

Bournemouth Blond, oil on canvas, 20×26. Painting available. Click on image, and again for larger view.

Keeping Score, A New Monotype Release

Yet another show is coming up to include Anne’s work. This one is for Zonta International. New to us, Zonta is “a global organization of executives and professionals working to advance the status of women worldwide through service and advocacy.” Somehow they discovered Anne and invited her to show her art . . . along with others . . . at their 60th anniversary event. See below for specifics. This new piece, Keeping Score, will be part of it. Clicking on the image will take you to Anne’s website. While there check out her many other new pieces.

Keeping Score, 7×8.5 Monotype print

Blog Business

Feel free to comment on this blog. Do include where you’re writing from, just to add the interest.

Also feel free to share this blog with anyone. One can easily sign up by going to the link at the bottom of the column at the right, or just clicking here.

Current Shows
Recent works by Anne Moore, just a little while longer
Heritage Christian Fellowship
190 Avenida La Pata
San Clemente, California

39 paintings by Hyatt Moore, for one more month
Calvary Chapel Capo Beach
25975 Domigo Avenue
Capistrano Beach, California
Through June, 2008

ZONTA Newport Coast, Show for women artists
245 Fischer Avenue, Suite A8C
Costa Mesa, California
Sunday, May 18, 1:00-4:00pm

17 Comments

We’ve been grateful for the response to the first blog, published two weeks ago. It was about drawing and how that’s generally the basis for painting. It’s not always so, and almost never in the process of Anne’s printmaking. But continuing that theme, this issue will display a number of recent drawings that went on to become paintings, and one example of Anne’s work, which involved no drawing at all. Read (view) on.

Rachel Waiting, Charcoal on newsprint, 24×36

Rachel was a fellow student. I didn’t really get to know her, but did appreciate the posture as she and others sat outside for an informal lecture. This is a pretty rough sketch, on flimsy paper, two sheets taped together. It was only to get me going; a painting shortly followed.

Rachel Waiting, Oil on canvas, 27×36

These drawings and paintings were done under the same instructor mentioned last time. I was on more of an “independent study” track. I asked what I should paint and got an outburst: “Don’t ask me what you should paint; you’re a professional . . . you decide.” It’s the kind of double-edged comment that can truly help, an encouragement on one side and a conviction on the other. Again I opted for what was right in front of me, literally, another fellow student. Sandy was fine with that, herself an art teacher (of children) and concentrating at her own easel. Originally from Germany, her braid added particular interest. First came the drawing, then later the painting, more or less from the drawing. (See both below.)

Sandy Drawing, Charcoal on Rives BFK paper, 29×21

Sandy Drawing, Oil on canvas, 37×26

“Living the Promise”

I put that in quotes because it’s the title of one of Anne’s new prints. But it makes another statement as well, one that I like . . . something about living great lives. Not that there aren’t challenges, sometimes massive, but we enjoy contentment mostly, the exploration of beauty and the pursuit of new ways to express it.* But I don’t know if all that’s what Anne had in mind when she titled this particular piece of art. It’s one of many new pieces coming through her hands lately, and off her press. We highlight this here as it’s the one to be featured in a show at the Wells Fargo Bank in Laguna Beach. That’s actually one of a number of shows coming up for her . . . to be described more in e-galleries to come. Here’s the print.

Living the Promise, Monotype on Rives BFK paper, 12.5×10

*Speaking of a life of peace among challenges, I spoke on the topic last Sunday. If you care to listen to it, go here.

Blog Business

Feel free to comment on this blog. By the way, names of commentors with websites show up in blue, inviting a look there. Also, include where you’re writing from . . . it just makes things more interesting.

Feel free to share this blog with anyone. One can easily sign up by going to the link at the bottom of the column at the right, or just clicking here.

We’ll probably publish every couple of weeks. It’s a quick break for art, of which the world always needs more. And we’re grateful for your interest.

Current Shows
20 pieces of recent work (monotypes) by Anne Moore
Heritage Christian Fellowship
190 Avenida La Pata
San Clemente, California

39 paintings by Hyatt Moore
Calvary Chapel Capo Beach
25975 Domigo Avenue
Capistrano Beach, California
Through June, 2008

Upcoming Shows for Anne Moore
“FRESH FACES” featuring new artists juried into the Laguna Festival of Art
Wells Fargo Bank, 3rd floor
260 Ocean Avenue
Laguna Beach, California
April 8 thru June 5

ZONTA Newport Coast, Show for women artists
245 Fischer Avenue, Suite A8C
Costa Mesa, California
Sunday, May 18, 1:00-4:00pm

20 Comments