Everyday Beauty, A Visit to the Masters of the American West at the Autry Museum in Pasedena

George Carlson's
Witness of Time, oil on linen, 42 x 42 in.($65,000)which won best in show and was
purchased for the Autry's permanent collection.

It's been far too long since I've written but I'm back and plan on posting again on a regular basis.  Lots of exciting things are going on but the most recent involved a trip to the Autry Museum in Pasadena, CA for the Masters of the American West exhibition.

I started the day meeting my friend and one of my favorite travel buddies, artist/ veterinarian Kathy Jonokuchi.  Today we hopped in her Prius and hit the 101 to the 134 with NO traffic.  I think there was a giant cultural event going on today that emptied the freeways....It involved some deflated footballs and a bunch of guys hitting each other repeatedly.

Some of us with George.  L-R Dorene White
George Carlson, Me, Diane Nelson Gold

                                                We skipped that and met up with a number of friends at a Pasadena home where we were treated to an amazing collection that included numerous paintings from artists in the show.  The collection even included original cells from Disney animations signed by Walt Disney.

My personal favorite, also George Carlson
Basalt Cliffs, oil on linen, 42 x 42 in.($62,000) 

As a special treat we got to meet some of the artists and their families.  If you're a football fan think of meeting the big guys on the Patriots or Seahawks team in the home of a personal friend.  This was the artists' equivalent sans drama.

The sweeping canyon vista George Carlson painted that you see at the top of this blog was stunning and the perfect choice for best in show.  George is an outdoorsman from Idaho and has an obvious love of the land.  He was also a sculptor for 45 years which shows in his masterful control of the paint.

I personally enjoyed Basalt Cliffs more than any other painting in the show because of the variety in the brushwork, the negative shapes and color harmonies and the almost abstract composition punctuated by the aspen that are the focus of the painting.  I was mesmerized and spent a lot of time with it.  George has a sensitivity and refinement that I enjoyed. It's very different from my bold, assertive approach. I'd like to add a bit of this to my own work.

I found myself viewing it next to Aaron Westerburg  at one point intrigued by the same area and asked him what he saw. The work around the top of the aspen to the right was what I was specifically curious about. 

He noted that the play of yellow paint on purple background (both neutralized and grayed down) made the area look more three dimensional due to the play of complementary colors with each other. The visible surface included exposed linen from the underpainting up to thick paint throughout the piece but he left more underpainting showing around those branches where he carved them out of the background than in some other areas. The branches looked layered and dimensional also because of scumbling and transparent layers. Beautiful brushwork.

Daniel Pinkham, Renewal
oil on linen 30"x24" $18,000

• Renewal, oil on linen, 30 x 24 in. ($18,000)

• Renewal, oil on linen, 30 x 24 in. ($18,000)

• Renewal, oil on linen, 30 x 24 in. ($18,000)
  
  

Daniel Pinkham is a painter who my mentor David Gallup considers one of the best living representational painters.  He is from an old North Carolina family and is related to Robert E. Lee.  His colors are pure poetry and the sense of wonder he brings to the canvas is something I enjoy.  I also like the tension and interest he adds to his compositions with things like the beautiful little evergreen in the foreground of Renewal.  Imagine the painting without it and, while beautiful, it becomes somewhat ordinary.  Also note the negative shapes, the variation in the whites, the mood....He's a natural storyteller with words and it shows in his paintings.

Geological Illusions, oil, 38x34, $32,600

The last painter whose work I spent a lot of time with was Len Chmiel.  He has a wonderful family that includes four daughters and has a passion for making wine.  I enjoyed the traditional California coastal piece and alpine stream in the show (you can see them by following the link just above) but fell in love with his very abstract painting Geological Illusions.

I am happy to see work in the show that bridges abstraction with realism.  In my mind it's a contemporary, fresh approach to the realism that is very much what these painters do.  You can feel the love and skill these painters have for the paint and the passion they feel for the land.

Here are a few photos from a post on FB by Marian Fortunati that illustrate the skill with and love of the paint George Carlson has. 

So what a day.  I thought some of you would enjoy a glimpse into the appreciation we have for fine art.  I am constantly refining my eye and enjoy looking for the next surprise whether it is a striking vista or a stroke of the brush.

We have so much love and respect for each other and for the leaders in our field.  Collectors, artists and appreciators alike enjoy seeing the world through eyes that spend years looking at the land and playing with the paint.   This was a yummy, satisfying day right down to the smell of paint in one corner of the museum where a newly hung painting had just come fresh from the easel!  I stood in a corner to take a whiff of it and anchor my experience in yet another sense....I believe I covered them all.

 "When love and skill come together expect a masterpiece."  John Ruskin

BTW, I've been working on some little sketches that are intimate, everyday works on paper that I'm now selling on Etsy.  My shop is MarygailSketchbook.  Pieces in the shop have already been featured in four treasurys and I'm enjoying the little production line I have set up for order fulfillment.  There are some nice valentines waiting for you!  Check it out.  You can help support the arts and the artist with your purchases!

• Geological Illusions, oil, 38 x 39 in. ($32