Category Archives: Art

It was only a year ago when we were celebrating my first project that was specifically designed for children, about as far as one can get from the titillating stripteases typical of my oeuvre, and as such one of the most exciting and intriguing projects I’ve ever completed. ‘Once Upon A Watercolor’ was a literal, and artistic, return to my childhood. When I was a kid I absolutely adored art of all kinds, but I was especially drawn to things of vibrant color – paint and crayons and markers and pastels. The most pleasing sight to me was an array of artistic media arranged in rainbow order. That love for color has never left me, neither has my love for the whimsical and charming.

I did my best to bring all of those happy components into a project that was born from the atrocities of the ‘PVRTD’ book of photography from the previous year. The winter that followed found the world falling further into disrepair and deterioration, echoing the dim themes of ‘PVRTD’ in stark, gray-shaded fashion.

I wanted something saturated with watercolor whimsy, light-hearted and frivolous, with just the slightest little lesson hidden among its prettiness. I wanted something I could show my niece and nephew and all the children of my friends, who had all started to grow up too quickly. Mostly, I wanted to return to play, to exploring, to painting without a care in the world how awful or amateurish it might appear. That winter, painting color on paper kept me sane, and seeded the idea of a children’s story. There were no grand illusions that this would be some classic work of art that stood up next to the likes of all those classic children’s books that had occupied my childhood. This was a private love letter that threaded all the names of the kids I had come to know into a silly story about a summer party, to be released at a very similar Flower Party that would unknowingly be the last big party we would throw for quite some time.

Taking away all serious intent freed me up to be as frivolous and fun as I wanted to be, a much-welcome change of pace from practically all of my previous projects. That may have been one of the very first sparks that signaled the realization that I was taking things way too seriously. Leave it to the children to lead the way.

{See ‘Once Upon A WaterColor’ here. Also see ‘StoneLight’, ‘The Circus Project’, ‘A Night at the Hotel Chelsea’, ‘A 21^stCentury Renaissance: The Resurrection Tour’, ‘Bardo ~ The Dream Surreal’,  â€˜The Delusional Grandeur Tour: Last Stand of a Rock Star’ and ‘PVRTD’.}

My friend and amazing artist Paul Richmond is putting on quite a show this weekend, with a live male figure drawing featuring him and fellow artist Briden Schureren dropping trou for some anatomical inspiration. Whether it’s painting or drawing or even sand sculpture I suppose, viewers are invited to indulge in whatever art form they wish with a live model via Zoom in this unique event. Given the current state of the world, typical live figure drawing is mostly on hold; this posits the socially isolated safety we crave with an intimate technological sitting thanks to cameras and computers. Both Richmond and Schureren will be posing, turning the artist into the figure model and putting a fun, and courageous, twist on how these things are usually done. In such difficult times, this is a way to support a working artist, and if you are struggling yourself there is a sliding payment scale, so contribute what you can afford. Visit Paul’s website here for all the details.

In the spring night, whispers on the wind…

The calls of peepers, baying at the moon…

Somewhere the sound of water

The sound of life

And you can almost hear the plants growing.

There was talk amongst the pansies,

And chatter between the crocus,

That something was coming…

Something was in the works…

A hint… a mystery… a new…

Swirls of color,

Rainbow divine,

Palette of spring,

Floral design…

A New Project

Conceived in Winter

Born in Summer

~ J U L Y   2 0 , 2 0 1 9 ~

Today is the opening of the ‘Chromantics’ art exhibit at the OVADA Gallery. As a tribute to that, and as a way to celebrate the opening in the only way I can from such a distance, here’s the poem on color I wrote and that Mr. Watkins was kind enough to select for display. If you’re lucky enough to be in Oxford right now, by all means check out this show. It’s open until April 28, so there’s still time.

ColorBleed

By Alan Bennett Ilagan

From the very first time

He saw a box of crayons

Spilling their treasure across a tabletop

He knew they would hold his heart

And save his life.

Abundance of riches,

These limitless hues,

They gave happiness to all

Without explanation or reason

Inspiring wonder

With their primal evocation.

Give me your pigments,

Your shades

Your saturation.

Show me how you subtly shift

Between scarlet and cinnabar

The delicate gradations from sky to powder

Blue.

Rainbow dust

Ember rust

All your glorious gradations

Hombre undulations.

Pathway to expression

Relief and release

In every prismatic shard

This is light,

This is life

Swirled into water

Ground into dust

Imbued into oil

Elemental and fine.

Color bleeds our passions

When our voices and words

Are rendered silent,

When our sounds and songs

Become quiet

When our fingers and hands

Can no longer feel

Color allows the heart to speak

Allows the mind to reveal

Striking at the very heart of darkness

Obliterating the indistinct

Telling our story when the world

Seems hellbent on stopping us.

Color finds the way.

A new art show curated by Albany sensation Tommy Watkins opens across the pond next week. ‘Chromantics’ is a show celebrating the use of color, something that appeals to all of us who love a little pigment, especially yours truly. Mr. Watkins also opened up the show for a few written pieces on the subject of color, so I sent one in and was lucky enough to be featured. While I sadly can’t make it all the way to the opening, if you’re in the area give it a look.

Watkins was an Albany institution whose work touched many and reached far beyond the typical insular circles of an art scene. He also supported and encouraged fellow artists with their creative endeavors, and I’d see him out and about on 1^stFridays when he wasn’t busy putting on a show himself. The best artists are those who get out and spread their inspiration and enthusiasm, sharing their love for creative expression and genuinely thriving off such interactions. Check out the write up with all the requisite info below:

This April the Cornerstone Arts Centre in Didcot will be splashing its walls with a bright and colourful array of art works as it hosts the Chromantics exhibition. A selection of artworks from OVADA’s Associate artists pair together for a dramatic collection of colour and creativity.
This playful arrangement of striking work, including paintings and sculpture, set out to challenge the audience on what contemporary art can be. Curator and artist, Tommy Watkins, invites you to explore this unique exhibition and meet the people who are shaping Oxfordshire’s art scene.

The title of the show comes from a fusing of the words ‘Chroma’ and ‘Romantic’ as a poetic way to say ‘To be romanced by colour’. This show hopes to highlight the special chemistry found when pairing different styles of art into a cohesive body of work. These artworks revel with the brilliance of summer and extol the crispness of a spring day, but most impressive, is that this show has brought together over fifty artists, demonstrating the strength of the creative community in Oxfordshire. With inclusion being the guiding principle for selecting artworks, Watkins was resolute when saying;

“My goal with this show was to bring many different creators together and let us admire the unique and special traits we all have as artists and even more so as people. I see a chance here for us to appreciate and celebrate what makes us all individuals and at the same time emphasise how we are so much stronger when we come together as one.”

To add even more emphasis on unification Watkins has opened up the exhibition to include three poems from international poets and included artworks from a group of young artists through ‘The National House Project’, a charity that provides support to young people, enabling them to develop their own local housing.

As the first off-site exhibition for OVADA Associates, Chromantics demonstrates the organisation’s artist-led ethos. This event is the first formal collaboration between Cornerstone and OVADA and we can expect to see great things ahead with these two innovative organisations in collaboration. Cornerstone Arts Project Manager, Jessie Coller expressed her excitement by saying, “Cornerstone are delighted to be welcoming OVADA artists to our gallery with their stunning work. As a thriving arts centre, we are committed to supporting local artists and building relationships in the Oxfordshire area and we are thrilled that our conversations with OVADA have culminated with this fantastic exhibition.”

To discover more vibrant events, programming and art opportunities please visit: www.ovada.org.uk and www.cornerstone-arts.org

We also encourage you to explore the great work taking place over at www.thehouseproject.org

Launch event: 6th April 2019, 5-8pm
Exhibition runs: 3rd – 28th April – 28th 2019 (see Cornerstone website for times)
Venue: Cornerstone Arts Centre, 25 Station Road, Didcot, OX11 8RJ, UK.

Poets: Alan Ilagan, R.M. Engelhardt, Jasen Ward

Exhibiting OVADA Artists: Wendy Aldiss – Kate Aries – Didi Baldwin – Juliet Bankes – Lisa Bates – Betsy Bell – Sarah Birch – John Blythe – Luis Rafael Borja – Joshua Browitt – Sue Chamberlin – Aileen Creegan – Clare Crombie – Jan Crombie – Robin Danely – Phil Dobson – Elizabeth Gascoigne – Emily Gong – Julie Gooddy – Ellen Hausner – Mary Haynes – John Hazell – Katie Hellon – Deborah Hudson – Ala Jazayeri – Elaine Kazimierczuk – Gabriele Kern – Monica Lewis – Rebecca Lyne – Andrew Manson – Adriana May – Jacqueline McLaurin – Kieran McLean – Miranda Millward – William Milne – Jeremy Morgan – Naomi Morris – Christopher Neal – Sue Perstitious – Lucy Phillips – Jezella Pigott – Deborah Pill – Marina Price – Roger Pugh – Catalina Renjifo – Melissa Rodd – Marigold Short – Alex Singleton – Matt Smart – Brigitte Stepputtis – Katie Taylor – Gill White – Sarah Wills-Brown

Please note that works in this exhibition are family friendly.

It may not be groundbreaking, but hopefully you’ve noticed the bit of redesigning that’s gone on here since the blog was dark this summer. All those florals and fall-like patterns on the header, slider and outer regions of this site were created from the enchanting offerings on view at Avalon Rose Design. This is my first purchase of graphics from anywhere, proposed by webmaster extraordinaire Skip (Mr. M.) Previously I thought I could get away with finding what I needed with a simple Google image search. But where’s the honor in that? And where’s the support to creators and artists? Anyway, I found Avalon Rose Design and fell in love with the antiquated and vintage-like images they have. It was exactly the look and feel I was going for when trying to make things a little prettier here. 

The way they’re put together may be rudimentary at best, but that’s all on me, as I basically had to teach myself the most basic maneuvers in the nightmare that is Photoshop. (As most of my photos likely attest, I hardly ever use it.) I just wanted to share the source material in case you want to make something similar. 

As for these designs, give the repetitive intricacies of making such beauty, I’ll likely keep them to a minimum as far as revamps go – perhaps with a seasonal change for when winter arrives next. We’ll see. No promises = no expectations = no stress. Besides, these are so nice I’d like to leave them up for a while. When you find a lovely set of curtains you don’t put them up for a few weeks only to take them down again. 

Malena Valcarcel is a Spanish artist who transforms used books into the works of art you see here. Utterly enchanting and wonderfully whimsical, this is a glimpse into the way art causes us to pause, to examine, and to thrill at the world of possibility. More about Malena here. 

One of the first things I noticed was the fallen.

Not the stone pagodas or the pebble seas or the granite bridge.

The fallen blossoms.

They laid there in various states of decomposition, and from a distance I thought they might be litter.

It turned out they were the remnants of the flowering stewartia, in the midst of its high-summer blooming period. A rare time for a tree to be in bloom, this made the occasion all the more solemn. I was quickly won over by such an anomaly – a tree that dares to bloom when most have finished. We have a seven-sons’-flower tree that pulls a similar trick. We value them more when they wait until such a fine point in time.

“Where is beauty to be found? In great things that, like everything else, are doomed to die, or in small things that aspire to nothing, yet know how to set a jewel of infinity in a single moment?” ~ Muriel Barbery

This is ‘The Garden of the Heart of Heaven’ as designed by Kinsaku Nakane. Inspired by the Zen temple gardens of 15^th century Japan, it arrests time in the ways that only beauty and art can manage.

“The camellia against the moss of the temple, the violet hues of the Kyoto mountains, a blue porcelain cup – this sudden flowering of pure beauty at the heart of ephemeral passion: is this not something we all aspire to? And something that, in our Western civilization, we do not know how to attain?

The contemplation of eternity within the very movement of life.” ~ Muriel Barbery

I followed the stone path to the source of the fallen flowers, tracing the pretty mottled trunks into the sky, and found a few at the height of their beauty. In the dappled sunlight, with their downward-turned petals, they made a shy show, as if it was best to hide their beauty from the world.

Sometimes that is the case.

As their fallen brethren would attest, the world is not always kind to pretty little things.

This is the sort of thing I love: a recreation of a work of art by another work of art. Here we have the original Matisse painting of a Woman in Purple Robe, whimsically echoed in an abstract floral homage. It’s magical. I especially love how the skin tone in the painting is almost perfectly-matched in the double gerbera daisies. It’s a brilliant illustration of how art can continue to live on in unique ways, and how it might multiply in joy and happiness with each passing iteration.