Deep Into Artlifewest Gallery

Wander This World

2012-01-07T20:23:00.000-08:00

WTW: 16" x 12" watercolor on Arches 2012
To view enlarged, right click image to open in a new tab.

Rewind to 2010. One day we will look back on that year and wish we were still so free and easy. Meanwhile, this memory came from a panorama of digitals taken while waiting for the tow to pick us up, me and the rock-buggy. It was, as you can figure out, a very long wait since they were coming from a faraway town veering into the empty, meandering desert, aka, the middle of nowhere. But there was a lot of ground to cover, strange vibes, the bizarro oxymoron of a huge cattle corral next to the tracks leading to a decrepit slaughterhouse in the heart of the Central Valley, aka Breadbasket of the World. You might have seen some of the photos from that trip, I was calling it Breakdown in the Badlands back then.
In reality, this is another part of a decade long series that begins with Transmontane, We Come with the Dust and Go with the Wind, All Things Must Pass and includes Hell for Bad Cows, Oranges Everywhere and many more. And yes, there really are many more to come because the one thing that keeps me in this state filled with self-proclaimed fruits and nuts is the scenery, ancient because it became what it is today before we were even a thought in our parents' child minds. What it was - is not what it is - anymore, but there are still plenty of parts around the 'hood where distant night drums carry spirits. I wonder what those spirits are feeling when they see what the white man has wrought? Rather than presume what spirits feel, feeling what we really feel is being open to receiving the spirits' messages. It is an ominous beat with an uplifting bridge.

When the jeep started a little rattle under the hood, I was told I'd thrown a rod and was especially irritated because I would not be able to finish listening to Johnny Lang's, a rockin', then 17 year-old Minnesota bluesman's CD: Wander This World. A full year and a half later, I hear it all the time and love it still. Genius with heart.

... I'm like a ghost some people can't see
Others drive by and stare
A shadow that drifts by the side of the road
It's like I'm not even there

And I'll wander this world, wander this world
Wander this world, wander this world all alone

Well I've never been part of the game
The life that I live is my own
All that I know is that I was born
To wander this world all alone, all alone ...

graces & granite

2011-11-10T22:04:00.000-08:00

graces & granite watercolor on Arches 16"x12"

My friend took the photo, I had rights because it was my camera. It said I am the image of old California, still here. It also said, Paint me. I liked it that the image verbalized itself so well, and I agreed completely. Granite's name was changed when it blew away in the dust and became a place equally as humble. Tomorrow I start on a third, the red barn, and the crow flies quickly to False Spring as well. The height of my trip is seeing something to paint that meets an interior criteria, speaking and showing all of its special details that point undeniably to what we lost in the rush of the NWO. So be cheered this place still exists. It is amazing how people lived and the funky variety of ways of life before everything became illegal and mandatory.

Things you may not have seen ...

2011-10-15T00:07:00.000-07:00

Ticket Depot for the Shambhala Express

Dogs of the Desert #1.

Or you may have seen.
Or things you might not have had an opportunity to see lately.
I found them in my stack of CDs while searching for a request and have put together a little exhibit for people who are new to the gallery and people who just want to see them.

As always, for larger view, right click on image to open in a new tab.

Reflections

beavertails

workshop as seen from the kitchen in late afternoon

One-hundred and twenty-eight Novembers

All things must pass

I used to be shining and new

2011-08-27T23:25:00.000-07:00

This goes back to 2008, the holidays, my visitors and I were exploring back roads and happened upon a so paintable scene, I'd passed this view often, but the presence of high-bouncing, familial DNA vibrations offered sudden new ways to look at known situations, places and truths. That's only one of the reasons we gravitate to one another, but possibly the most important one. The brakes were slammed on and everyone pulled out their digitals and started shooting, coat collars turned high, snapping in mittens. My product of that moment became known as Agave. Su wrote a poetry piece in a comment that so perfectly captured the essence of that image, it came back to me often, until one day this August, wandering back roads again, looking for paintabilities, I found the psychic partnership just waiting to be connected. Most amusing was the presence of an Indian Blanket, Gloriosa Rudica, a daisy subspecies. I heard her say: You ruined me last time. This time, let's do it right. She heard me say: If I had been a male, no problemo with the wheels, you know boys and cars ... but this time, I think you will be satisfied I am one of you.

I used to be shining and new ...

16" x 12" watercolor inks and gouache on Arches
Aug | 11

click to enlarge

Don't marry a technique

2011-07-27T21:37:00.000-07:00

... because when you overdo it, which one day you surely will, you will never be satisfied with the content. That was the lesson of early July. It is a bummer to put aside many long hours of work for maybe ... well, maybe never again. And when you are not satisfied, and look at the lesson lying there on your drawing table waiting for you to acknowledge it, its best to go all the way back to the beginning, Open your soul as a vessel, which rebuilds confidence while narrowing the field to a field you feel most comfortable wandering through. A home in which your heart beats and breaths are in sync.

Indian Blanket Rock Garden

Here is a first, as far as I know, a painting I up and quit, don't like and then posted. Online. There was much promise, hours and full days spent running back and forth up the hill, down the hill, looking at the real thing and running back to lay it in. And when one glistening afternoon as a shaft of bright sunlight landed square on the full work, instead of the Indian Blanket clusters (Gloriosa Rudica), it had become a portrait of ah, rocks.. I'm only showing you an early phase because the later phase was not photographed, I had about 3 - 4 days left simulating dirt, which was coming out nicely, a mottling of Van Dyke and Antelope browns, but it was too late for the Indian Blankets. I put the whole thing into the back of the closet, you know those kind of places for "someday" - Someday it might not be there and I will have forgotten about it kind of places?

Right away, I moved on to more familiar territory. Much father down the mountain is a valley we call the Flatlands. Every spring, thousands of sheep and their lambs are pastured on the other side of the fencing shown. Other times the occasional herd of cattle lease the land. Most of them time it is fallow and it is old enough to have grown mature Sage and unattended wild oats, cheat grass and weeds, all of it indigenous to the Transmontane region: desert thousands of feet above sea level mixed with mountain forests, heavily sprinkled with old growth Oak carpeting the canyons, the foothills and the flanks until, high up, where the top meets sky, it is all Alpine. You'd need a helicopter to get up there.

Crow Alley

People whip past these scenes as if they are not there. Its like the upscale train Woody Allen stared into from the window of a dull grey commuter car filled with empty cheap seats, his train to nowhere. He saw people in the next train whooping it up, toasting flutes of champagne, much laughter and celebration, jeweled women in evening gowns. As the train sped past him, he saw lovers, people dancing to a hot band from the Roaring Twenties. In this territory, I get to be him and them, simultaneously. The watcher and the celebrator.

Crows and Ravens circle slowly above the mountain tops, waiting on a thermal, floating noiselessly through the air and playing chase with each other. In this unnoticed and seemingly invisible location, they have a entire runway for smooth landings complete with happy hour perches. To stand beneath lifts of feather is to be a silent air flight controller, unnecessary of course, and awed with every perfect arrival and departure. I don't think those passengers in fast cars would be interested. We have a long way to go to help them to see and sense the forces of Nature and none of it is simple when so few care at all about the world in which we live together.

Fortunately, every day is another lesson.
A great day is a day with lots of lessons.

Bee Flowers with Glacial Erratics: a family portrait

2011-06-23T22:56:00.000-07:00

12" x 16" watercolor on Arches

There is a place that inspires imagination and then anything else that was on the schedule evaporates like dew on a summer morning. What is a schedule anyway but a map for the longer days, to be a good map it should be elastic so you will revisit it another day and another, knowing something inspiring will take you high ... and higher still.

The Lambs Make Their Way through Mist and Fog

2011-05-08T23:01:00.000-07:00

12" x 16" watercolor on Arches block

The wonderful friends of my other blog know this photo from frequent mentions of Oaks and sheep which so deeply stirs the collective unconscious memory of the one mind's concept of Livity, it fell onto the paintbrushes resting in my hand.

As a side note, they are also the recent escapees, reformed now that they discovered in addition to fog and yellow fungus on bark, our dogs are Sheepdog-Border Collies disguised as unruly family pets.

This is a gift for Jah little yout, Zion, Jamaican American, age 4 months, his first art.

Love is All

2011-04-18T19:16:00.000-07:00

Love is All

aka Patterns
(see drawing above)
aka Copper & Gold
16" x 12" watercolor inks on Arches

Bitsy had another life before she met my brother and sister in law, they rescued her from a shelter. Bitsy is one lucky girl, especially with three kids to play with her when she isn't napping with her better, her rightful, loving Mother.

(click HERE to view enlarged image in a new tab. Once there, click the plus "+" sign to view detail.)

How to grow your ears

2011-03-27T23:32:00.000-07:00

How to grow your Ears

12" x 16"
watercolor inks, graphite
on Arches block
03.11

food wagon at the Sphinx

2011-01-30T12:30:00.000-08:00

Chemical Skies

While we wait for the Sphinx and Pyramids to reveal their long awaited secrets, our newest exhibit comes from sorting through hundreds of CDs to liberate works unpublished on the blog and gallery. Exhaustive sorting is rather like a combination of robo signer and meticulous consumer, sometimes having to re-review and study from every possible angle. There are mostly digitals here, just as Chickory's having gotten a new camera expanded her already prolific range, the timing on these works tells me that is exactly how many of these came about.

There are titles, but those are for my filing purposes, you will have better ones because you will see things differently, please feel free to suggest your own. I'd be very interested to hear your thoughts.

We'll see how many images I can get into a post without having to make another. The desired outcome is to have the images show up without taking all day for them to open. In most cases, you should be able to click on each individually to view a larger version by right clicking the image and selecting view link in new tab, I said most, not all. A small few of these images are higher resolution reposts. I'll be doing the same sorting and culling over the next few days and will put up the most interesting of whatever I find. Following this project, the plan is to present an upcoming exhibit on the Art of Others, a few favorite works from our artist community who thoughtfully keep me updated. Stay tuned.

Lenticularia

In summary, I will just mention that to date, no better filing system was devised in my selection/review process and if you are also as technologically challenged as this indicates, we are doomed to shuffling our ways into whatever lies ahead. One love.

Work is never done, watercolor on Arches


Inca Spiral cropped detail from The Peruvians, washed watercolor on Arches

2084 AD

Allen's Female at the Outdoor Cafe

Cat Stevens Live

TV in Every Room

Showoff


A Saw Zaw Kind of Love, watercolor on Arches

Happy California Cows, watercolor on Arches

Proud Marys workin' for the man ...

Goodbye to all that

Sod Fog


Little Harbor, outside the capitol of Arawaka, watercolor batik on Arches

Babylon, What Else

well bp - poetry of shame and sorrow

2010-05-16T09:47:00.000-07:00

well bp
we have ourselves a little problem
your obsession with profit
and how no one will ever stop them
a mental illness that's what I see
a damaged mind
and the love you don't receive
the thing is we don't even need
this oil
it should be left where it belong
to do whatever it does
on earth
where mother nature sings her song
the song you cant hear
its transmitted through the love
all the little people know
that's what keeps them all above
thinking thoughts of innocence
humble people sincere
the ones your ilk try to dominate
murder and starve with skill
well your little escapade
is coming to an end
you probably don't realise yet
but you picked fools for friends
the people are combining
they know something is wrong
they couldn't help but listen
they see you're finished
it wont be long
so as nina says
own up and walk away
and join your place within
the people
that's the only way.

..peace..

by ..neil.. a.k.a. ..peace..
poet and friend
---------------------------------------------------------------

A cap of lead across the sky
Was tight and surly drawn,
We could not find the Mighty Face,
The figure was withdrawn.
A chill came up as from a shaft,
Our noon became a well,
A thunderstorm combines the charms
Of Winter and of Hell.

Emily Dickinson

Farm in Fog to False Spring - the transition

2010-04-16T21:13:00.000-07:00

False Spring
watercolor inks on Arches
24" x 18"
2010

False Spring aka Farm in Fog came to be after seeing it in person on a chilly February afternoon, in light rain and grey mist. I pulled out the digital and began the first phase of my system: Photos, thoughts, more thoughts, stare at photos, bring back the memory and feel again how it felt emotionally and physically finally masking off the Arches paper and get down with my friendly plain old Number 2 pencils.

As the drawing developed I became enchanted with the chimney, you'll note it is a corner arrangement likely opening into a kitchen fireplace for warmth and cooking, with another, maybe smaller fireplace in the sleeping quarters. There was no propane tank to be seen anywhere in the real life version. I so like the idea of one corner chimney for two separate, but similar needs.

The stages of development shown here are in order, there are many more photos, but these are the most "postable" of the total group that define each of the phases involved. I like the second stage very much, before it is placed in a specific geography, it could be Nantucket, that could be an ocean beyond the shed, it could be a "lonely somewhere" Edward Hopper might have thought to sketch. Its always like that after the drawing part, before more saturated color and background details are applied giving it life and a place uniquely its own.

My favorite time is when the unexpected occurs which is typical of watercolor no matter how often you work with it. You get to know a bit about how to control it if it is your main medium, but its always got something new to show you. There are a lot of artists who like to know their medium's limits, which is good, it allows them to preview mentally their statement. Personally, I prefer the way watercolor insists you solve the situation at hand, relentlessly, you must surrender to it and rule it simultaneously, knowing ultimately it will have its way and you will be okay with that.

There is something else about choice of medium that should be mentioned. Whatever "medium", and we will use that term meaning vehicle for expression, you or I use, does not really matter. Its just another way to say the same things said frequently in a more descriptive language - as in music or literature, poetry, philosophy, film, theater, three dimensional art and so forth. It might be that whatever is closest to you at the moment you get serious about what you have to do to survive within the journey of our common humanity is the medium of your surrender and most frequent use, since through it you have learned to speak a nonverbal language that communicates on a higher plane than common words strung together for conversational coherence.

Now its starting to look something like the original intent, but there is more to be done. Its good to put it aside a few days and do something else unrelated, so that when you return you are seeing it new all over again and forced to revisit your mind's eye. What can you do to satisfy all the criteria remaining true to the original vision while adding your own take to the mix? The days and hours spent focusing on other things, issues, people, chores, studying Nature, wildlife, walking, collecting rocks and feathers, reading, have their impact too. Sometimes you don't see it until revisiting the completed work, months, sometimes years, far into the future. Suddenly, you will remember other things that were happening at the same time you were painting. Its unavoidably another part of the image, the you part, the artist and the events, near and far, that took place while you worked.

You'll know instinctively when your task is finished and the criteria met. I usually place it on the mantle and live with it for a while. This is usually when a different title occurs because a transformation has taken place. The ending of the transformation is almost as good as the middle which is as good as the beginning.

Finally, off comes the masking tape and it's slowly X-acto-ed from the Arches watercolor block, signed and dated. Simultaneously another one has already begun. It is most productive to have several going on at once, then you can paint while the others are drying.

out of the archives

2010-01-28T00:52:00.000-08:00

From the Eager Passenger series.

18" x 12" watercolor on Arches

teardrop

2010-01-04T23:04:00.000-08:00

Watercolor on Arches
14" x 20"
2006-07

A repost on request. Thank you Chickory.

Many goodies live in the archives, but since I did 65 posts in June 09 alone, I wouldn't be in a hurry to recommend sifting through the monthly lists. I'm probably the only one who knows the names of the works well enough to know that for which I would be searching.

Any time anyone wants a repost, you've got it. Just let me know.
It does none of us any good to have these works sitting in the archive trunk unseen.

Rasta Soon Come

2009-11-21T17:35:00.000-08:00

An Exhibit for our Rasta

Meeting the Force head on, answering the call to serve Livity:

Above: click to enlarge in new tab

Arawaka

And Jah provide the bread right side view

And Jah provide the bread porch view, because everybody has a porch to gather under and talk about God.

Below:

The Flag of Arawaka

Outside Woman, Outside Man and hey, maybe he'll fall in love, too?

the People in the Hills

2009-11-03T15:34:00.000-08:00

Prismacolor pencil and ink in sketchbook
2003 B.D. ... Before Dogs aquired them.

It never had a title of course, as a sketchbook drawing, until Ras turey and I started talking on the blog about Winston Rodney aka Burning Spear who made an early album titled Man in the Hills, 1976, Island Records. Hypnotic.
Here's a 1999 vid.

First Prize awarded in North American Regional Hound & Hen Folk Art Blog Show

2009-10-27T22:33:00.000-07:00

The North American Regional Hound & Hen Folk Art Association of Deep Into Artlife West Gallery and Blog proudly awards the prestigious grand prize for supreme conceptual inspiration to ...

chickory

on this day of
October 27, 2009

For the artwork titled:
In the Night Garden
[Click to see larger]

photo: google images

malvina's nightmare

2009-10-14T20:29:00.000-07:00

Elay Ballet

24" x 18"
watercolor on Arches
9.09

Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes made of ticky tacky,¹
Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes all the same.
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.
And the people in the houses
All went to the university,
Where they were put in boxes
And they came out all the same,
And there's doctors and lawyers,
And business executives,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.

And they all play on the golf course
And drink their martinis dry,
And they all have pretty children
And the children go to school,
And the children go to summer camp
And then to the university,
Where they are put in boxes
And they come out all the same.

And the boys go into business
And marry and raise a family
In boxes made of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.

Malvina Reynolds 1962

the man and his minolta

2009-10-07T18:14:00.001-07:00

HD Crankcase | 2003

Boron Rat Rod | 2003

Study in Warm and Cool | 2003

Monument to Bikers who saved a town from flood | 2003

Parked at Lancaster toy & hobby | 2004

Santa Paula Hangar | 2003

Our gallery has, for however long, become truly our gallery evidenced by the high demand for POA's photography. Over the next day, I will be posting more of his work, especially his beloved engine digitals, as I uncover them hidden deep within the CD files ... and we all remember that I'm not exactly the most obsessive filer. However, there is a plan at work for our gallery exhibits.

One of the reasons I like his work so much is he has the eye. I learned long ago to shut up and listen when his eye is speaking. He sees, much in the same way Susana's young son Sage sees Nature. This is an extremely rare quality and I cannot explain where it comes from. You could suggest twenty reasons and none of them would be the one that defines the origin of this gift.
I'm not the only one praising POA, in his day gig as a finish carpenter/cabinet maker he's achieved the reputation of Cult Hero. Although, that isn't really what he's best at doing. His highest achievements are a weird ability to solve three dimensional problems in an attack and persist fashion. For example, when the dryer broke (horrors!) he ripped it away from the wall and adjusted the tumbler with his automatic screwdriver and it worked. I would never have done that. I would have spent three bureaucratic, frustrating, "leading to nowhere" days on the phone with Whirlpool and hung a clothesline.

Bull in Silhouette

2009-09-24T10:04:00.000-07:00

The Fireteacher likes this one better. Click to enlarge. He's been busy since before sunrise, taking digitals and trying to contact Fish & Game, very concerned because the Elk and Deer herds here are too tame. Yesterday he reported he saw a photo in the local news of a Doe with an arrow through her throat standing next to her Fawn. It would be extremely rare, more likely impossible, for an orphaned Fawn to be adopted by another Doe or another herd.
Twice in less than a week, I have witnessed the entire Elk herd crossing the street en mass. Everyone ambles into the road and meanders back and forth until the Bull arrives to move them along.

The stark composition of this photograph is brilliant, the glow in the one I'm using as our header is sent from Heaven. It feels sinful to live where these animals graze and produce and take their survival for granted. Nothing is safe anymore, is it.

elay ballet no.2

2009-09-20T11:17:00.000-07:00

This is a repost of last week's entry which was lost in the uploading of another photo file. Sigh. Disappointed our comments are gone. Its almost as if we are not to ask the questions that weigh so heavily on our minds.

To the left is the rough colored pencil sketchbook concept of the painting I am doing as this is all unfolding. The painting never comes out as planned because you cannot plan watercolor. It flows on its own like beautiful rivers of living color.

I apologize for the missing comments. The question of recentering oneself in the NWO is a valuable and little discussed subject deserving far more attention than it receives.

Where did your favorite picture go?

2009-08-26T11:51:00.001-07:00

Here I went to the trouble of reducing nearly 70 images, thinking surely this page would open faster which it does NOT. I've taken the next logical step of limiting the posts to 25 and archiving the remainder. There are two more steps available if that doesn't work, one is the slide show option and the other, which I don't want to do because we'll lose the comments, is line everything up postage stamp size. You'd get to click on a postage stamp to see it bigger. There is even a third option, continue to limit the amount of posts until the page opens with a satisfactory speed.

Just want to let you know I am working on it.

Big, I mean the largest made, 140 lb, cold-pressed, tried and true stock from France is about to arrive so, heh, I'm thinking we'll need more room pretty soon. Awrite! Now if I could just have a word with

the brush manufacturers ... their global best does not meet artist standards. We do not want to pick off Sable fur from the paint area, please OR have a stray strand interfere with our intentions.

UPDATE: Okay, I've just chosen the third option. We're down to 15 posts for this page. It seems to work. Next job ahead is to add year created to all post labels. Sounds kinda obsessive doesn't it.

UPDATE 2: Adding pages so the images stay large. We'll see how it goes.

the Watusis

2009-08-19T10:39:00.000-07:00

August 16th, Sunday, 2009, was about as perfect a day as it gets, containing within a sunlit space in time the full range of emotions underscored with plenty of "We are on our own now" Polaroids. As a wrap from God's film crew, my friend the Radical Rascal, pulled over alongside Heaven and the Watusi Longhorn came rumbling up from the wash to greet us.

The Watusis 2006
24" x 18" watercolor on Arches

Ears

2009-08-06T22:53:00.000-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
12" x 16" | 09 . 2009

A few months ago, I dreamed I grew dog ears. When I woke up, I felt some bumps on my head. Within a few days they'd filled out nicely. It seemed perfectly natural, different, but fine. Same color as my hair, soft and rather fluffy.

Big Bad Dog on cardboard in poster paint

2009-08-01T18:54:00.000-07:00

Naive they call it, or Folk Art, art from untrained artists. I'm fascinated with this work. After all my years of training, I can't do this. Again, Ovation TV, ran a documentary on three of them on July 21st. Offline then, I lapped it up hungrily. Its Bill Traylor who has stolen my heart and soul. You'll want to pay special attention to his biography. Video recommended.

William "Bill" Traylor (April 1, 1854(?)–October 23, 1949) was a self-taught artist born into slavery on a plantation near Benton, in Lowndes County, Alabama. By 1939, [leaving the plantation at age 85] he had moved to Montgomery, [35 miles away] where he [homeless] slept in the back room of a funeral home and in a shoemaker's shop. During the day, he sat on the sidewalk and drew images of the people he saw on the street and remembered scenes from life on the farm, hanging his works on the fence behind him. That year, he met Charles Shannon, a painter, who, with his friends from the New South, brought Traylor art supplies [a set of poster paints in primaries and brushes] and bought his drawings for nominal sums.
During the next four years, Traylor produced between 1200 and 1500 drawings.... continues at Wiki link.

Bio briefs quoted from Wiki with my additions in brackets. See his photo and artworks.

Late Day, Grey Sky

2009-07-05T12:18:00.000-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
24" x 18" 2003

Years after the work, it occurs me this is exactly how it looks when the wind carries smoke from distant wildfires to the rest of the southwest. The sun shines through it, orange, and the cheat grass takes on a wierd brightness.

The Boyfriend

2009-07-01T23:55:00.000-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
12" x 12" 2005

He calls to me from outside my window. Summer or snow. Just to please him, I want to sprinkle entire bags of seed everywhere.

His subspecies has a lifespan of over 10 years, so I know its the same goodlooking guy every time.

Hope and Trust

2009-06-30T22:27:00.000-07:00

Hope and Trust

Watercolor on Arches
16" x 12" 2009

I did one similar to this in 2003. I think I might have torn it up. Lately, it seemed to want to exist. When that happens, what can you do?

Flickers and similar birds

Reverend Albert Wagner

2009-06-25T22:45:00.000-07:00

You won't want to miss Reverend Albert. I have nothing but the highest praise for his craft and life. So here you go:

Reverend Albert Wagner

works of Albert Wagner

I am simply blown away by his blues. You are either born with this skill or you are not. It cannot be taught. Only tools can be taught and not even how to use them as you end up using them in your own way anyway. Albert was born with it. Like babies born to women in the fields, those great, great grandchildren who grew up to become our blues greats, Albert uses a lot of blue. These guys lived the life - all the way. They paid heavily for it and trod on in spite of it to leave a real, a genuine, an authentic and truthful contribution to the Human species. Score 1, Reverend.

This summer, Ovation TV is running ONE BAD CAT, a documentary created by his close associates and family members, I highly recommended it.

I searched for links about him that showed as much as the documentary, which turned out to be very difficult since galleries want to talk more about themselves than show you what they've got. The links above should be considered an introduction to be expanded when you get to see the documentary. The documentary gives you the scale of his works in context with his everyday life.

I hate TV, but make exceptions for blues and SOTUSs.

downsizing

2009-06-25T17:16:00.000-07:00

Whenever I get the time, which could be tonight, it could be this weekend, I will reduce the image sizes in all the posts. The graphics have become too ungainly for dial-uppers to view. On dial-up myself, I know what I am seeing, an intolerably long wait, hawing and humming, thumb twiddling, etc. Its no big deal, all you have to do is click on the image and a bigger view will come to life.

This is an example of what to expect:

Macaroni Pond

Watercolor on Arches
14" x 20" 2007

Update: 08.08.09 reduction program complete. A Herculean effort.

Mysterious Present of a Secret Past

2009-06-19T23:31:00.003-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
12" x 9" 2006

Cowboy Nam Vet. Industrious and laid back in one breath. Shovel wind chimes.

Free Parking

2009-06-19T23:25:00.001-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
16" x 12" 2007

I Survive Hawk and Feline, Coyote and Pig

2009-06-19T21:26:00.000-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
24" x 18" 2006

Minibunny, land owner

Spirits Upstairs

2009-06-18T21:24:00.000-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
16" x 12" 2003

Burning Tree Kitchen

2009-06-17T18:33:00.000-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
16" x 12" 2004

Indian Wonder

2009-06-17T18:28:00.000-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
16" x 12" 2003

We come with the dust and we go with the wind

2009-06-16T18:16:00.000-07:00

Washed watercolor on Arches
16" x 12" 2005

Woody Guthrie : Pastures Of Plenty

The Integration of the Plums

2009-06-15T22:24:00.000-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
24" x 18" 2005

This just slid over here from the blog almost as if it was planned. It wasn't. But since its slovenly easy, I will do it again.

Jake, in context

2009-06-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
20" x 14" 2007

Dog days over on the blog...
Blush carpet and puppies don't go together all that well.
Will put up a bigger one when I find it, sigh. I know its around, somewhere ...

Detail from Jake, in Context.

Sheep's Cathedral

2009-06-14T22:07:00.000-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
16" x 12" 2008

Glacial Erratics blown in from the tempest. When the ice melted, they were left behind, scattered solo or in cathedrals. They only appear permanent.

A Season is a Work in Progress

2009-06-13T19:18:00.000-07:00

Watercolor and gouache on Arches
16" x 12" 2009

Crimescene of the Chukar Shooting

2009-06-11T17:16:00.000-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
20" x 14" 2007

Placid is only in the eye of the beholder.

How to get to The Depot for the Shambhala Express

2009-06-10T23:10:00.000-07:00

Weeds first. Colors After.

Then it takes on a life of its own through the One Mind.

Glow

2009-06-10T22:43:00.000-07:00

Winter in wonderland, 2007

Leaves were falling ... Just like embers
In colors red and gold they set us on fire
Burning just like a moonbeam ... in our eyes

Somebody said they saw me
Swinging the world by the tail
Bouncing over a white cloud.
Killing the Blues ...

© 2005 Rowland Salley

Light Show in the Living Planet Ballroom

2009-06-10T22:37:00.001-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
16" x 12" 2005

Reincarnations

2009-06-10T22:24:00.000-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
12" x 9" 2006

Originally titled Transmigrations

leash the bowline between two palms

2009-06-10T12:54:00.001-07:00

Watercolor pencil and inks on Arches
16" x 12" 2008

Caballero y Caballera

2009-06-10T12:37:00.000-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
16" x 12" 2003

The comedians of the Animal Kingdom. These are the Acorn Woodpeckers who store acorns in old oaks to see them through the winters. When they return and discover the tree gone or a robbery has occurred, the whole region is alerted by raucous anger. I sprayed clean the cement walk to the house and as I recoiled the hose, I turned to see the Caballeria body surfing on the wet.

Ashes to Ashes

2009-06-10T00:27:00.000-07:00

aka Here Comes the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss
Watercolor on Arches
24" x 19" 2005

These original Weedpatch, New Deal dwellings are rehoming the illegal farmhands - again. Must be a little drafty ...

Oakie Budding

2009-06-10T00:17:00.004-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
24" x 18" 2003

Not only did Oakie then unfurl his glorious lobbed leaves, he did so on a bubbling carpet of many colors.

The Long Goodbye

2009-06-09T17:28:00.000-07:00

Watercolor, carpet and toy Beetle
16" x 12" 2004

Happy Trails to you until we meet again ... happy motoring rides off into twilight time.

LA Postcard

2009-06-09T17:16:00.005-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
18" x 24" 2002

El-lay ... the neighbors had this funny dog who kept escaping. We fell in love. It didn't matter in LA, nothing but money matters in LA. We left. I miss Floyd.

How We Talk if We Talk at All

2009-06-09T17:10:00.000-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
16" x 12" 2005

C'est la vie.

War Train

2009-06-09T17:02:00.000-07:00

2003, Photoshopped from a digital taken by my friend, the Fireteacher, radical rascal.

... the very last words poor Georgie cried were Nearer my God to Thee ...

Runoff Creek

2009-06-09T16:54:00.001-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
20" x 14" 2007

This little body of flowing water has no name, is not on the map and is unknown to the town. Perfect for sneaky dumping. I have suspicions I am not the only one who knows this.

Gloryland

2009-06-09T16:38:00.001-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
16" x 12" 2008

They call it a survival tank. It is a ruralist's water tank. Someone in the middle of the last century wrapped it in animal print. The whole time I worked on this piece, I was listening to Paul Simon's Graceland.

Roller Coaster

2009-06-09T13:16:00.000-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
9" x 12" 2006

Always safe, with Visible in my head.

IQ Test

2009-06-09T12:57:00.000-07:00

Watercolor, India white and newsprint on Arches
24" x 18" 2003-4

The Taoists

2009-06-09T12:22:00.001-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
16" x 12" 2006

Cullen and Mofusa, Cavadaii Porcellus, Cavys, Cochon des India or Guinea Pigs.
At home, the Guys, but they live the essence of the Tao. "What is, is."

Mofusa transformed into a Guardian Angel, thus spawning the Mofusa Memorial Park where wildlife visit, drink and feed. Wild Pigs, Elk, songbirds, Flickers, Rabbits and all the spring babies play and hide in Oak stumps and tall grasses. Cullen is seven this year. The one-eyed king.

Inside Agave

2009-06-08T23:39:00.001-07:00

The drawing under the paint is often just as meaningful as the finished work.

la Libération

2009-06-08T17:03:00.000-07:00

Watercolor and newsprint on Arches
16" x 12" 2004

HAITI 29 April 2004

la Libération = release

Translated from French.

Release is mud cookies? Rice farms decimated? It is illegal to remove the dying from the streets? Looting? The rum bar abandoned ... she sleeps in the sun enured to that taking place beyond the garden wall.

Left: Oua Oua! trans. woof woof
(Haitian Schoolboy)

Watercolor and newsprint on Arches
18" x 12" 2004

The Brief Window of Opportunity

2009-06-07T23:54:00.000-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
10.5" x 10.5" 2009

I am hungup on authentic things, things that last and were loved in the creation so much so they were painstakingly constructed to extend through generations of others who would love them too. And then, you live forever through other people's happiness.

This one was done specially for Stacy. Indeed it is political, done at the time everyone was realizing our brief window of opportunity was closing fast, if not already closed, as the first 100 days morphed into more of the same. Even as I write these words, it grows dorsal fins with stealth radar.

The Plane of 911

2009-06-07T23:25:00.000-07:00

Watercolor and Conte crayon on Arches
24" x 18" 2002-3

I dreamed I walked around a crowded city with this piece tucked under my arm explaining 911 was a plane of consciousness. When I woke up, I painted it. What you see is the dreamed work.

I don't know how often, if ever, this happens to other artists, if they dream a work in its entirety without adding embellishments from the outside mind? When I talk about art this way, of course I mean all creative efforts we know as the Arts.

Agave

2009-06-07T14:23:00.001-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
12" x 16" 2009

DesmondSuSu writes:

I used to be shining and new My presence could get some hearts pumping through some jealousy flowing around and about but never heavy, just jibes from the crew. Gliding along pretty country roads to destinations of simple pleasures: the harvest picnic the easter service the village dance the drive on the days where there was nothing to do. My rear filled with laughing people delighted to feel the wind on their faces Lovers loving up front. The privacy of the cabin their aces. Cool water washing me down smooth polish would create a shine Now - Well strangely I'm no less content despite the rust and numerous dents The sun and moon still do their thing Still catch the breeze and her gentle me-anderings. Life as a pick-up is different now and some days to pass time I pretend I am a cow.

02.23.09

---------

Michael contributes his survivalist tip: ...Agaves, when they are small to medium sized, are quite handy for sewing. Just snap the spine at the top of the leaf and pull down; needle and thread all in one neat package. Nature loves us. 02.27.09

Dogs of the Desert, a series

2009-06-07T11:37:00.000-07:00

Regazza Molta Bella

Watercolor on Arches
9" x 12" 2006

Afghan Cocker Spaniel

Prayer at the Shrine of the Joshua Yucca

Watercolor on Arches
12" x 9" 2006

McNabb Shepard and Border Collie

Little fog soon come

2009-06-06T23:57:00.000-07:00

Prismacolor(TM) pencils and ink in sketchbook
10" x 14" 2004

Evermore

2009-06-06T23:52:00.000-07:00

Watercolor inks and newsprint on Arches
24" x 18" 2003

Ferris Wheel

2009-06-06T23:42:00.000-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
12" x 9" 2006

I hated going through the Eisenhower Tunnel. The whole trip depends on trusting everyone else to maintain their cool. An iffy proposition at best.

Masai on High

2009-06-06T23:33:00.000-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
9" x 12" 2006

Lovebirds are indigenous to Tanzania. When they are overcome with happiness, they let loose entire operas.

The Peruvians

2009-06-06T23:28:00.000-07:00

Washed watercolor on Arches
16" x 12" 2005

spiral
spirit
spiritual
Cultural DNA

The Detainees

2009-06-06T22:39:00.000-07:00

Watercolor inks on Arches
14" x 20" 2006-7

Oranges Everywhere

2009-06-06T21:49:00.000-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
16" x 12" 2005

The Joads' fantasy ...

Mirage

2009-06-06T21:39:00.000-07:00

Watercolor inks and Prismacolor(TM) pencils on Arches
16" x 12" 2006

Hell for bad cows

2009-06-06T13:19:00.001-07:00

Watercolor and graphite on Arches
16" x 12" 2007

Stories from Rancho Shady Glen

2009-06-06T13:04:00.000-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
16" x 12" 2008

Words from my Father: "Everybody has a story."

Work is Never Done

2009-06-06T12:16:00.000-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
16" x 12" 2003

This is posted for NOTA, the self-professed boards fan. I will put it up in a higher res as soon as I sift through the cds.
love, Outchon

Update: here is the original.

Ticket Depot for the Shambhala Express

2009-06-05T23:08:00.000-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
12" x 16" 2009

Shambhala ... By definition Shambhala is hidden. It is thought to exist somewhere between the Gobi Desert and the Himalayas, but it is protected by a psychic barrier so that no one can find the kingdom who is not meant to. Tibetan lamas spend a great deal of their lives in spiritual development before attempting the journey to Shambhala. Those who try to get there who are not wanted are swallowed by crevasses or caught in avalanches. People and animals tremble at its borders as if bombarded by invisible rays. There are guidebooks to Shambhala, but they describe the route in terms so vague that only those already initiated into the teachings of the Kalacakra can understand them ... continues at link.

Rawandan, Evariste Ahimana

2009-06-05T22:32:00.001-07:00

Watercolor and newsprint on Arches
24" x 18" 2004
... on the 10th year observance of the Rwandan genocide:
Doing Violence to the Truth

They Hate Us for Our Glowfish

2009-06-05T15:59:00.000-07:00

Watercolor, newsprint and produce stickers on Arches

24" x 18" 2004

Teardrop

2009-06-05T11:59:00.000-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
14" x 20" 2006-07

Balance in Chaos-continuing

2009-06-05T10:42:00.000-07:00

When all around us is failing, we can reach inside into that deep well of our core person which we know and love and is the sole element that sees us through our storms.

I am finally making our gallery. Part one, the format, is the easy part, Part two, locating all of the wonderful and appropriate poetry and songs that have been contributed over the past year in reference to many of these artworks, is underway. It is merely a research effort and these things should be included shortly with the particular works they were designed to accompany. This is a happy project I always meant to do, said I'd do and now feels like the best time.

Graphics are composed of so many hundreds, thousands, more pixels than tiny little thumbnails or icons, waiting for them all to show up was getting unbearable on the blog. Yet the blog's traffic is growing. This gallery page had to happen. I'm relieving the blog of most of its graphics burden and making us a new place to play at the same time. If you just want to look, that is why I am online, if you are moved to comment, that is always welcome as are back-links. If you must critique, please feel free. All I ask is that you critique logically and avoid posting anonymously.
Let me know when this page gets too slow for you. At some point, it will also become too graphics heavy. I can make the images smaller and you will still be able to click on them to get the bigger picture.

I don't expect the gallery to get nearly the traffic as the blog. In other words, if you don't visit frequently it doesn't matter to me at all. By its very nature as a gallery, the program here is a fairly static one.

Train Don't Come Here No More

2009-06-05T00:59:00.000-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
16" x 12" 2009

Outside Woman Outside Man

2009-06-05T00:45:00.000-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
18" x 24" 2000

Outside Man, Outside Woman.

With pure awareness
and no self consciousness
you ever so gently pull my hair
away from my face
and hold it securely behind my head.

Looking into your eyes again
I realise I have not see you
for a very long time
I forgot how clear and knowing
you are
and look how you bathe me with the purest love and acceptance.

Nervously I touch my pinkened lips and widen my staring eyes
self consciousness and floundering
being who i am.
oh outside man remind me of love
remind me of love.
Written by Susanna, January 2, 2009

"The more I allow the man to look at me, the more I see god in him--or he is god--and the woman--us--one, nothing without the other." Jj, January 9, 2009

All Things Must Pass

2009-06-05T00:34:00.000-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
16" x 12" 2004

Ventanas

2009-06-05T00:13:00.000-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
36" x 24" 2002-3

The Eager Passenger

2009-06-05T00:03:00.000-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
16" x 12" 2008

Jake is an ongoing series, a favorite model.

The Flag of Arawaka

2009-06-04T23:57:00.001-07:00

Watercolor on Arches
16" x 12" 2005

Arawaka

2009-06-04T23:46:00.000-07:00

Watercolor and masque on Arches
24" x 18" 2005

Work in Progress

2009-06-04T22:57:00.000-07:00

This gallery-blog should be coming together over the next few weeks. Thank you for your patience.

Talking to the Sun

2009-06-04T21:58:00.001-07:00

Watercolor inks and guache on Arches
16" x 12" 2009

Transmontane

2009-06-04T21:28:00.001-07:00

Watercolor inks on Arches
16" x 12" 2005