Tale of Two Self-Portraits

Recently, I took two of Gary's paintings to hang in my office at work. Within the first few days, some co-workers came into my office and noticed the new pieces immediately. Two colleagaues really loved the surrealist paintings and asked if Gary had painted them. We chatted about the subject matter and I told them their titles, "St. Francis" and "Electricity." I hadn't seen these paintings in a couple of years and I was reminded how much I have loved these older works.

I came home and told Gary about how much I enjoyed his surrealist work. We started talking about how his work has transitioned since then. St. Francis, a self-protrait, has always been one of my favorite paintings. Recently, Gary painted another "Big Self-Portrait" which has also become a favorite of mine. And we started talking about how Gary's self-portraits have evolved from St. Francis to Big Self-Portrait, same subject matter but two totally different treatments, both equally interesting.

Gary said he had emerged from a period quietness and stillness when he was painting the lovely and serene San Francisco Bay Area landscapes. During this time he really concentrated on his art of painting, and working the light. The result in Big Self-Portrait is stunning. In St Francis, I love the narrative and the beautiful and fanciful imagery. In Big Self-Portrait the artist's portrait is painted in striking colors and simplified shapes. Each color and shape impart in the artist's face shifting emotion and powerful serenity. For me the external interest and beauty of St Francis is now internalized, richly and expressively in the emotions of the artist's face. Once fanciful and light, is now grounded and evocative.

Another recent work, a large print called "Woman with Calla Lilies," is equally as stunning. The subject of the print is enigmatic. Her gaze is steady, strong, and yet, soft. To me she has the same mysterious expression as the Mona Lisa. Tonight I saw Woman installed at the opening night of the new CSP show at the Adobe Art Gallery in Castro Valley. I thought it breathtaking. There was a good crowd at the show and everyone was commenting on how much they liked the show. As we mingled with other CSP members and other gallery visitors, I overheard many attendees comment on how much they liked Woman. She seems to have the same affect on everyone - from the moment that she comes in your sight, she draws you in closer for a longer and deeper look.

I can't wait to see more...

Kavita

Conversation on creativity w/ Jon Kerpel

Last Friday night, I was went to Autobody Fine Art Gallery on opening night as an artist exhibiting in a group show dedicated to the upcoming Earth Day. Artists participating had a wide range of creative expression in various mediums. I was immediately drawn to the many totem and temple style sculptures that were built from wood, glass, rocks, plastic and found objects. These were assembled to resemble a religious alter on some and a oversized Victorian Finial on others. I was introduced to the artist, Jon Kerpel.

Once I shook his hand, he and I realized we have met before and this was the first time viewing each others' art. Jon took a lot of time with me to explain some of his creative process. He pointed to one of his first pieces that explored this new direction in his sculpture. It was a small, white, wood, 6" square box with an opening on one side covered in non-glare glass, which gave it the look of a shadowbox. But, because the glass had a frosted look, the item inside , a polar bear made of plastic, was hazy and trapped in this artificial world. These constructions abandoned the a typical Joseph Cornell approach of creating found object sculptures of meaningless objects grouped together in an abstract manner. Jon had a well thought out vision and message regarding our disappearing environment, and animals. This added a dimension to his work that may resemble Pop Art and combined it with the rough nature of the found objects used to create these alter/temple structures, and backed it with an environmental message.

Jon went on to tell me that part of his creative process is 'the hunt' for found objects. He likes to walk along the shore of Alameda, and also out at the Alameda Naval Base. He picks up whatever he thinks looks cool without any intent or purpose for artistic placement in a sculpture. He just collects, and then uses these objects as ideas pop into his head during construction. Most of the time he has no idea why he picks up certain items or how he will use them. One example of this: Jon said he had a number of large sheets of non-glare glass in his studio for several years that he could not give away due to the nature of the glass making anything placed behind it very blurry, and rendering it useless for framing artwork. In these new works, Jon said the glass was perfect for the first time, because it did add a certain level of sophistication, and the message of his art can now be interpreted with many different meaningful descriptions.

The creative process for Jon is a lot of trial and error, grouping together non-traditional materials, with little meaning on their own that has a greater message when combined as a whole sculpture. His work relies on immediate creative inspiration from the objects arround him. His inspiration comes from anything,..including items that he can not find any immediate use. His found objects have become his dictionary for communicating to the public.

It was my pleasure to spend as much time as I did with Jon and hope he has continued success.


A summary of my conversation with Jon Kerpel, a found object sculptor, at the new opening of "future/tense" at Autobody Fine Art Gallery. (Friday, April 9, 2010)

Delivering Artwork to a Gallery

This week I am delivering "White" to the Autobody Fine Art Gallery.

Inspiration for artists comes from all places, and the painting "White" is no exclusion. I had started this painting while I was going through a period of down time, or uninspired images. I had not drawn in my sketchbook for months. I forced myself to just keep painting and printmaking. For subject matter, I choose the iconographic skyline of San Francisco. So,....I just started painting, like any old easel painter would, with no direction, no message, or intent. I simply painted the SF skyline as everyone sees it on every sunny day. The painting sat half finished in my studio for months because I was unable to work on something so unattractive. To use the metaphor, "a lightbulb went off in my head," was kind of an understatement. I travel throughout the bay area and remembered the special moments when fog changes the natural landscape into a beautiful and expressively quiet place. These moments when the landscape changes from its regular, sunny, eye catching view was what stuck with me the most and gave me inspiration. It was only natural that I should choose to paint a landscape in various shades of white and grey. It was like a mathmetician working out a solution to a hard equation. The result was a long process of mixing various shades of white tinted by blues, greens, reds, yellows,..etc. to differentiate the sky, land, and water. Through trial and error, and multiple layers of paint, I managed to complete the picture. The alternating shades of white replicate the dead quiet beauty and calm feeling of cold and fog. This simple process of getting back to what I view as beautiful, even amongst the most mundane of subject matter, transformed this small piece from totally uninspired to actively working on an idea.