ok, yeah... it has been a heavy few months. but that just  means you're living life. the day back i fucked my knee up in aikido, training with (6th dan) gary snyder. the next night gary and i work on the Pinan katas and then went out to the brooklyn studio and looked at paintings. First of all, i must say, gary is one of the most talented martial artists i've been  in contact with. Having said that, i will go on to say that his understanding, in regards to painting, is an understanding of the finest connoisseur. he said he saw 20% weakness and 80% strength in the work. fair enough. of particular note, he mentioned his  criteria for looking art... a fascinating evening. and much appreciated.

 a few weeks later the dealer, bjorn ressle came out. we shared a bottle of cote du rhone and looked at the work. we'll see what happens... bjorn wants to get some of the big critics out for lunch and to the studio. both lilly wei and bob morgan were mentioned. as usual, we'll see what happens...

the openings of chelsea have been pretty pathetic. not only is it summer (when nyc closes shop) but it's just an uninspired mix of student art and general crap. enough said... having said that, the  action/abstraction show at the jewish museum is truely incredible. i mean that-- truely incredible. i met the artist/author marjorie welish there 2 weeks ago. marjorie is a true new york intellectual, old school, hard core intellect. but as for the exhibit-- major works by major artists... the single greatest rothko i've seen in the flesh-- an incredible piece (untitled, 1961), a dark, brooding piece, of strong painterly notion and intent. fine minor works by newman and a singularly sublime piece by reinhardt. yeah, beautiful...

and now i'm coming off several really good days in the studio. 

right now, i can't complain...

ok, i'm back on this... life throws many difficulties your way, as an artist, or as anybody... so, you deal with it and then get back in the studio and do your work. 

it's been a heavy couple of months... more to  come.

yeah.

nyc... a couple of martinis in the burbank airport and then i'm on the plane, trying to study japanese. reading some paul thoreau and waiting to get home. the line for taxis was brutal, especially having to hear the conversations around me... so be it. back in the new york groove.

with a tan...

so while floating in the pool with a cold beer and looking around me at the water under the sun, i was thinking about the small moses piece at the blake gallery that was really my favorite. i wish i could remember it's title. in any event, sometimes you just wish you walked around with 4 grand in your pocket... water, motion, etc.

checked out bergamot station, some strong stuff going on... at ruth bachofner, barbara kerwin and gary edward blum made for a really impressive pairing. blum's work has that full-on originality that rarely comes about-- he's working the representation of the abstract that my friend, wess dahlberg has so eloquently operated in for the last few years. blum goes a bit too far for me though. his hand and his eye are sure, but i'd appreciate just some straight abstraction, the representative just a bit too much. but nicely done, really well done...

barbara kerwin's work has gone from the sculpturaly minimal to a take on the grid and it's potential. she works in encaustic, now adding acrylic and it's flat opacity, for a more complex visual give and take. the wax rests in relief on the surface almost quivering there in it's armature. this is sensitive, poetic stuff that one should expect from an artist of her stature.

at frank lloyd gallery there was some great porcelin sculpture by cheryl ann thomas. the pieces were modest sized and very powerful, given their scale. modestly priced as well. like i said, you just want to walk around with 4 grand on you when you check out the scene... thomas somehow manages to give the work the look of fabric layered upon itself, or indeed, carelessly tossed into a corner and left behind. this is a work with the handsome incidental quality i really relate to. to be honest, this is probably the first time i've seen porcelin as a medium of real power in contemporary art-- outside of the utilitarian or decorative. very refreshing...

bobbie greenfield presented david shapiro, the show consists of a few paintings and works on paper.... tough, organic labors-- gesture, soft line, earthen palette. startling compositions in horizontal formats that really seduced the eye...

6 ribeyes on the grill and i ate 2 of them... life is good sometimes.

last night was in laguna beach at peter blake gallery, checking out the andy moses show. good crowd, great area, beautiful night and beautiful women. the art? well... moses is working the landscape/seascape horizon line, i've mined this myself, still am. when he ties it together with a signature sharp white pinstripe across the center it all comes together. when he eschews the sharp line it tends to blur. maybe thats the point, who am i to say? but i'm saying it... he's capable of making some really strong work. his use of blue and of black is poignant and indeed, sublime. when he strays off into the neon and electric things go awry. but that holds true for any painter.

all in all quite a night. the perfume of weed permeated the back gallery and the patio, the women tottered on high, high heels and there were a few tussles with a rather sad band of hipsters, one of whom got dumped on his ass, another chased around an alley by a 52 year old painter. good fun for all, except maybe the hipsters in their outfits and bruised egos.

earlier in the day i was at the studio of robert kingston. he had a few pieces in there, a new large one that was looking good and 2 smaller pieces that, though very minimal, were powerful, intense works. i mentioned to him that perhaps the smaller proportion lends itself to a pared down composition-- his scale rarely changes-- the larger works offers the appropriate arena for grander gesture and content...

from kingston's studio i drove (endured traffic) east to alex couwenberg's home and studio. then alex and i took off for laguna. i reflected that it was a pretty cool to be cruising to an opening in the black mercedes of another painter. success is a sweet energy...

spent the day in the pool and working with pastels, charcoal and graphite. trying to hit the color i'm surrounded by out here-- flowers, olive trees, eucalyptus, sky, grass, life, etc.

it was a good day.

flying to LA in the morning... i guess the reason i still love NYC is that i leave it as often as i can. 

maybe...

last week was a good week of work in the studio-- still working drawings and still really excited by them. there is a certain intimacy to the act of drawing that is so different from painting. right now, i'm still wondering where these works lead, or, indeed, if they lead anywhere. 

flying between LA and NYC always has an affect on my art. what will happen now??  soon enough i'll be sitting under the orange tree again trying to bring it all together. we'll see...

well, its been a while... life. 

as for the nyc art world, the best thing that happened was the benefit for non objectif sud at gary snyder project space. a fine salon show, of smaller works, the notable standout being a modest sized piece by michael brennan. i must say, no bullshit, this small work by brennan was one of the strongest works i've seen this year. a very,very powerful painting-- hard edged precision met with (seemingly) spontaneous brushwork. just a gorgeous and profound statement.

in the studio i'm working drawings in pastel and charcoal. layers and layers of each, some rubbed out, some layers sanded away, etc... perhaps i'm actually searching for a monochrome or just stumbling upon one. i'm not sure... i do know that i've been seduced by the sheer space and scale of these drawings, not to mention the practice of making them. this is a new adventure for me, one i'm just going to ride out and see what happens. for good or ill...

ok, it's late enough. late enough to try to sleep...