Art Reflections: Boston

On a recent trip to Boston, I encountered some wonderful architecture. The city itself is really a work of art and a wonderful place to visit.  I recently posted about "Inspiration" related to the paintings of the members of the Aphasia Institute. In Boston I was inspired again by two very different art-related sites.

Artists for Humanity originated in Boston and is making inroads in other areas. Here is their mission:

To bridge economic, racial and social divisions by providing under-served youth with the keys to self-sufficiency through paid employments in the arts.

" Since 1991, Artists For Humanity has empowered and employed Boston teens in an intensive program of arts, creativity and enterprise. AFH partners youth with professional artists/designers to design, create and sell art products. With fully equipped, staffed studios in Painting/Murals, Sculpture/Industrial Design, Screen-Printing, Graphic Design, Motion Graphics, Photography, Web Design and Video, youth and mentors collaborate on creative projects, many specifically commissioned by clients. In the process, young artists develop entrepreneurial skills, and introduce audiences to their voice, vision and virtuosity. Artists For Humanity apprentices have produced fine art and creative products for Boston's largest firms and organizations."

 I visited their brand new shop in the Faneuil Hall and purchased a great tote for carrying art materials.

What a joyful group they are!

How industrious!

And talented!

Visit their website at http://www.afhboston.org/
Visit their blog at http://www.afhboston.blogspot.com


On a more serious note - I also visited and was very affected by the beauty of the Holocaust Memorial.

 "The design utilizes uniquely powerful symbols of the Holocaust. The Memorial features six luminous glass towers, each 54 feet high. The towers are lit internally to gleam at night. They are set on a black granite path, each one over a dark chamber which carries the name of one of the principal Nazi death camps. Smoke rises from charred embers at the bottom of these chambers. Six million numbers are etched in glass in an orderly pattern, suggesting the infamous tattooed numbers and ghostly ledgers of the Nazi bureaucracy. Evocative and rich in metaphor, the six towers recall the six main death camps, the six million Jews who died, or a menorah of memorial candles."  

The pictures I took there don't really do it justice.

Two very different and unique experiences in Boston and two very close together on the "Freedom Trail" near Faneuil Hall.

 Go to my website

Picasso

You have until August 26 to see a fabulous exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario:

 The galleries are beautiful and  the paintings are exciting.  The audio commentary is extremely helpful and there are some charming sections in which the narration is by a group of children attempting to make sense of it all.

 One of my favorite pieces is a self portrait of "himself" licking an ice cream cone on the beach

A joke might put things in perspective:

Artist Pablo Picasso surprised a burglar at work in his new chateau. The intruder got away, but Picasso told the police he could do a rough sketch of what he looked like. On the basis of his drawing, the police arrested a mother superior, the minister of finance, a washing machine, and the Eiffel tower.


As Picasso said - "Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life" - so go and get cleaned up!



 Go to My WebSite

In the Beginning - The Art of Embarrassment

There is one school of thought that suggests that all old and embarrassing pieces of art should head for the dustbin. If the painting is on paper, then it is even better if it is torn in little pieces first, so that it will definitely never again see the light of day. Another school of thought suggests that such pieces should be retained as a  record of one's beginning as an artist and subsequent development. Supposedly this sort of review and comparison will build one's self esteem and provide encouragement to forge on.

I began painting in 2004 at a  a local  four-day watercolour workshop where I fell in love with paint and water. Here is my very first painting-it had paint and it was wet! Love the purple! This must have been the beginning of my interest in abstracts.

Undaunted, I carried on in my "home studio" known by my family as the kitchen table to produce this painting of a famous rock formation in New Zealand.

I have discarded paintings, washed them out in the sink to start over again, and cut them up to use as colour test sheets. I have kept quite a lot and they do show progression in my work. The danger in reviewing them, however, if you are in the painting "doldrums" is the thought that enters your mind that you are devolving instead of evolving. That's when I throw them in the sink!

Go to My WebSite