October 16

I arrived a week ago. Three artists have left, four arrived today. We now have a classical pianist, a music producer, a folk musician and a sound artist to add to our band. And they all brought instruments. The Center hosted a happy hour that rolled into two. Good conversation all around - everyone is gracious and curious, And, as with the all the artists I have met, their commitment to their craft is admirable.

So this past week - I have been up and down hills with a sketchbook, struggling to find that love affair with the countryside. Really, it’s not about the landscape - it’s how the paint moves within it’s own landscape. Why do I keep forgetting that??

One of the most difficult things of all is not to have a painting be a depiction of the event but the event itself.

• Grace Hartigan, American Abstract Expressionist painter, member of The New York School

I have stood in my studio, painted some so-so oil studies of rolling hills and found myself bored with the work and myself. I am rather delighted. It means I am looking to move beyond the familiar. And funny, I have come back to my original intention. That darn “line” inquiry.

I am in love with the drawing on this book cover. I bought this book several months ago and I stare at it constantly. I am a big fan of Philip Guston’s work and was intrigued that he did drawings for his friends’ poetry books. ( Guston was also member of The New York School -a group of experimental painters and a circle of associated poets who lived and worked in downtown Manhattan in the 1950s and 60s.)

Guston Link:https://www.google.com/search?gs_ssp=eJzj4tTP1TcwLc6NTzFg9OItyMjMySxQSC8tLsnPAwBrrwi1&q=philip+guston&oq=Philip&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqCQgBEC4YJxiKBTIMCAAQIxgnGOMCGIoFMgkIARAuGCcYigUyBggCEEUYQDIGCAMQRRg5MgYIBBBFGDsyCQgFEC4YQxiKBTIGCAYQRRg8MgYIBxBFGDzSAQg4MzY0ajBqN6gCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Guston referred to these drawings as “poem-pictures.” I am rather embarrassed that I am too dumbstruck to describe the feeling these few lines give me. It’s like I have a crush on this drawing. The brushwork is fluid - loose and easy - yet there is tension in how it sits on the page. It’s not easy to make a line sing like he does.

So coming full circle, I am back to last week - on my first day - when I told the group I wanted to have a better understanding of how to make a powerful line like Philip Guston. I guess he has been in my back pocket all along too. And there’s still Frank Auerbach with his gutsy marks to channel. Geez, how can I resist anymore?

Enough BlahBlahBlah. Here are a few pictures from an early. morning walk. The Center shares the hillside with Highland cows and sheep. Enjoy your day.