Abstract Art

Tic-Tac-Toe Paintings

  Tic Tac One, 36" x 36"

Recently someone challenged me to paint the theme "Tic-Tac-Toe," and I made three attempts.  The above was the first.  Since I often use the symbols X and O in my paintings, I didn't think I'd have too much problem taking the theme a step further into a more literal expression of tic-tac-toe.  But I found it quite difficult to be both literal and my usual loose, expressive self. 

In my second attempt, I was much looser, but still a bit too literal:

  Tic Tac Two, 30" x 30"

My last attempt was a very large painting that took a tremendous amount of time and energy, but still seems too static:

  Tic Tac Three, 48" x 48"

I am going to pursue the tic tac theme further, and will keep you posted on the results.

Art Centers

At our last local artists' meeting, someone brought up the topic of having an art center in town.  The Ithaca, New York regional area is home to many visual artists (as well as musicians and writers), yet there are very few places to exhibit locally.  We do have a couple of not-for-profit spaces that show art, but one is tiny and hardly ever open, and the other, which isn't much better, will be lost soon due to the sale of the building it is housed in.  We don't have much in the way of for-profit galleries, either. 

My response to this issue has always been to ignore Ithaca as a place to sell art.  It's lovely living here and making art, but not a good place for marketing.  When the tourists come through, they are looking for a photo or painting of a waterfall or gorge, certainly not my non-representational abstracts.  The artists who cater to this market have a better chance to sell.

Establishing an art center takes money, and it's unclear where we would get the funding.  There is an art center at Corning, New York, which is supported by Corning Glass.  Check out 171 Cedar Arts.  They offer classes as well as exhibitions. 

We have Cornell University in Ithaca, but they have put their money for the arts into the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art.  They occasionally show a few Ithaca artists' work in a summer exhibition.

Taking a look at art centers on the internet, I came across the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, which opened in 1956 as a non-profit visual arts organization in Winston-Salem, NC.  When an industrialist willed his 32-acre estate to the gallery, they increased their scope to 11 southeastern states.

Most non-profit organizations function due to the sweat of many volunteers.  It takes that plus gifts and grants to make a success.  Artists usually do not have the money or the time to fill these slots.  What we need is a wealthy art lover to get such a project off the ground. 

It's true that artists often start and manage co-op galleries with group funds and energy, but how many actually make a profit for their artists? 

For now, I'll pass on putting my time and energy into starting an art center in Ithaca. 

 

Early Abstract Paintings

  Crossroads, 36" x 36"

Over the years, my sister Laura and her husband have collected a lot of my art.  When they moved to Ithaca this year, I got to see it all.  It's always instructive to see what I was painting earlier in life, such as the above piece from 1989.

"Crossroads" was painted when I lived in San Diego, and I believe the piece below was also:

  Outland Paths, 60" x 60"

I see that I loved line then, and that love has carried over into my present work. 

For a short period, I included bits of text into my paintings.  This one was painted when I lived in Alexandria, Virginia:

  I Love Ice Cream, 40" x 40"

Looking back, I'm not sure what was going on in my head, but some of the phrases included (as well as the title phrase) are "believe," "now," and "before we judge."

Looking over work from our past is a bit like revisiting our earlier selves. In it we see the signs that led to current directions in our art.