Gabriel Phipps

Showing at John Davis Gallery in Hudson, NY.

Claude Carone

Another Martin Bromirski directed find. Martin is having a show at the John Davis Gallery in Hudson, NY. Claude Carone is one of several great abstract painters showing at this gallery.

Studio Happenings

38" x 44"

Confession: I've not painted since Spring (other than commissioned work). I finally scheduled a week for studio work. I only had a couple hassle-free days to paint, but I jumped back in with the larger shaped panels (which I had back-burnered well before my hiatus). I believe this overly-pestered panel is in its final incarnation, perhaps even finished. It teeters close to becoming an indulgent mess, but this JPEG confirms for me that someone of the human species was at the helm.

And more to come.

Magic Powder Room

IKE!

Ike winds knock out power, but I'm working on samples for a client-requested glow-in-the-dark night sky (star-gazer ceiling), so I can keep working.
I finish my samples, light candles, and prepare for an electronic-free evening. I go out and buy ice cream and cottage cheese as a faith-offering to Indianapolis Power and Light. I do yoga for the first time in years. I get an art idea from the light fixture as a lie in the corpse pose with my glasses off. Life is good.
A few hours later I try to eat more ice cream. It's starting to melt. I decide to paint some doodles by blacklight.

I drink wine and go to bed. No power until noon the next day. I plug in my powerstrip and push start the computer. Crackle, crackle, pop, shit! The computer is fried.

The power goes back out an hour later and I start to get annoyed. (It's on now).

Will know in 3-5 business days if computer is deep-fried or just lightly sauteed. Being without power and without my computer should not be this disrupting.

Mind-Blow-Blips

Blythe Hager, "Visitor"

3' x 3'

I can't shake this image. I first saw it online, then happened upon it in an auxillary display, then came across it online again. I know Blythe. I know this scene. It's a very interesting area next to a nearly obsolete train track. Once a year the state fair train runs on this track. This all enhances the experience for me, but regardless, this is an outstanding painting. The skin/chair tones against the snow are amazing. It is by far the best painting I've seen in person this year.

_________________________

I was recently invited to participate in a survey of local artists and venues, with the main question being: What five Indianapolis artists should everyone be keeping an eye on? I kept thinking of artists who have the potential to do some great work, but who could just as easily sit on their thumbs for the next five years. What excites me is the potential production of a mind-blowing work or body of art, regardless of an artist's career trajectory.

The survey is certainly legitimate, and my selections gave a nod to both one's career track and their sublimity-achievement potential; it was a compromise of sorts. But it helps me realize priorities. I want to classify or distinguish certain artists and certain work. Everyone is capable of a highly charged artistic experience, and the products of such moments can be very special. This work happens everywhere, and yet in artistic production terms, it's very rare. It's often outside/beyond the framework of one's own artistic intentions. It's often lost, or only very locally appreciated.

I'll be presenting such work here in some sort of categorized way. (I'm just so freakin' non-verbal and illogical right now, not to mention the grammatical struggle....and I can't even spell anymore)_________________

In summary, this is a very exciting painting by a local artist.

Swan Song-Summer 2008-audio

Swan Song-Summer 2008

Who painted this? If you know please contact me.

Catalogs

I love show catalogs. Here's the cover for Craig McCormick's show of photography, which is currently at the Harrison Center. Whether a catalog's book format is the primary focus of one's intentions, or serves an auxillary function to a show, it's so effective for organizing ideas. Craig's show had several very different groups of work. I really like the work. I enjoyed the show. But I didn't fully appreciate it until I sat at home and could flip through the groups in their designated "chapters".



I really appreciate the offering of a catalog. It's usually quite an upfront investment for the artist or gallery, it's usually quite reasonable for the viewee, and it's such a great way to re-experience a show one has seen.