The Artful Mind artzine

PROMOTING THE ARTS IN THE BERKSHIRES SINCE 1994 ANNIVERSARY ISSUE MARCH 2020

THE ARTFUL MIND

CHRISTOPHER R. MALCOMSON Photograph by Tasja Keetman

Carolyn Newberger and Philip Gerstein April 1 — 26, 2020 Opening: First Friday / April 3 6 - 8pm Q+A with the artists Sunday April 19 2-4pm GALATEA FINE ART 460 Harrison Ave #B-6 Boston, MA 617. 542. 1500 galateafineart.com

THE ARTFUL MIND DECEMBER / JANUARY 2020 • 1

THE ARTFUL MIND ARTZINE

MARCH 2020

“Painting from nature is not copying the object; it is realizing one’s sensations.” ~ Paul Cézanne

RICHARD MICHAELS BERKSHIRE ARTIST IN OAXACA INTERVIEW BY H. CANDEE ... 8

A CONVERSATION WITH CHRIS MALCOMSON PHOTOGRAPHY BY TASJA KEETMAN INTERVIEW BY H. CANDEE ... 16

GAIL DOWNY VISUAL ARTIST INTERVIEW BY H. CANDEE ... 25

LUIS DE LA O Blue Tree 2020

Bruce Panock Panock Photography www.panockphotography.com

bruce@panockphotography.com

VISUAL ARTIST PADME LAKE... 31

RICHARD BRITELL JASON AND HIS GRANDMOTHER

CH

7. / FICTION ...30

Instagram @brucepanock

Contributing Writer: Richard Britell Photographers: Edward Acker, Tasja Keetman, Sam Backhaus Publisher Harryet Candee Copy Editor

Marguerite Bride

Layout Proof: Jeff Bynack

Advertising and Graphic Design

Harryet Candee

CALENDAR LISTINGS and ADVERTISING RATES, please call 413 - 854 - 4400

artfulmind@yahoo.com issuu.com instagram FB FYI: ©Copyright laws in effect throughout The Artful Mind for logo & all graphics including text material.

Copyright laws for photographers and writers throughout The Artful Mind. Permission to reprint is required in all instances. In any case the issue does not appear on the stands as planned due to unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, advertisers will be compensated on a one to one basis. All commentaries by writers are not necessarily the opinion of the publisher and take no responsibility for their facts and opinions.

2 • MARCH 2020 THE ARTFUL MIND

MARK MELLINGER

Beach Scene Pastel

Eleanor Lord "Troposphere

WWW. ELEANORLORD.COM

100 North St Pittsfield Painting - Collage - Construction 914. 260. 7413 markmellingerart.com markmellinger680@gmail.com

Ephemeral oil and wax medium on wood panel 6 x 12” 2020

Ghetta Hirsch Spring Rivulets oil on canvas 24 x 30” 2020

website: ghetta-hirsch.squarespace.com instagram: @ghettahirschpaintings Text or call for STUDIO visits: 413. 281. 0626 THE ARTFUL MIND MARCH 2020 • 3

MATT CHINIAN

Jennifer Pazienza

MATTCHINIAN.COM HTTPS://WWW.INSTAGRAM.COM/MATTCHINIAN/

“Did you see that” at The Arts Center of the Capital Region, Troy, NY THROUGH APRIL 5, 2020

4 • MARCH 2020

THE ARTFUL MIND

Jennifer Pazienza and Sam Black Collaboration https://www.instagram.com/jenniferpazienza/ www.jenniferpazienza https://www.instagram.com/wheremyheartlies/

Morgan Bulkeley

MISS EXPANDING UNIVERSE

Fall and Hug 15”x11”, 2019, oil on carved wood panel

Smooth Morning Poop 12 x 9" 2019

Subscribe to WORM HOUSE: Website: www.morganbulkeley.com Howard Yezerski Gallery, Boston, MA

the only source of real news in the world. www.missexpandinguniverse.com ashley.yang.thompson@gmail.com

GEOFFREY YOUNG

Owl

Philip Knoll

2019

Watercolor, Color Pencil on paper 43 x 43 inches

Bernay Fine Art 325 Stockbridge Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Gallery phone: (413) 645-3421

To contact the artist: theknolls3@gmail.com

“DEXTER GORDON”

Huge thank you to Morgan Bulkeley and Geoffrey Young for being supportive, inspirational and great friends the 17 years that I have lived in the Berkshires.

Feb. 11. 2020 12 x 12” colored pencil

THE ARTFUL MIND MARCH 2020 • 5

j. thompson

unfurled.

“My best regards to Artful Mind and it’s lovely readers”... Jody Lampro

34 1/2 x 40 1/2

the berkshires * sarasota 413*281*2746 j o z blu. a r t

Photograph by Sam Backhaus

JOE GOODWIN

Paul Graubard, 2020 Aurora Equinox 12” diameter acrylic on canvas on panel 2020

A wide range of art works by Joe Goodwin is now on display at CASABLANCA located in Lenox, MA Studio visits can be arranged via email: joe@jgoodwinstudio.com

www.jgoodwinstudio.com 6 • MARCH 2020

THE ARTFUL MIND

Paul Graubard and Karen Chase will have a two person show this September at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts in Pittsfield.

Hope to see you there.

THE ARTFUL MIND MARCH 2020 • 7

Templo de la Compania, Zocalo, Oaxaca, Oil on Canvas, 50 x 70 cm 2018

RICHARD MICHAELS Berkshire Artist in Oaxaca Interview by Harryet Candee Richard, tell us exactly where you are?

Richard Michaels: Tracy and I live in the city of Oaxaca (the city is the capital of the state of Oaxaca). It is 5,000 feet above sea level, 6 hours from the Pacific coast, Oaxaca is a one-hour flight south of Mexico City.

How best can you describe your personal connection and offerings Oaxaca gives you?

Richard: For me that connection developed over time: In 1995 Tracy wanted us to take a 3-week prehoneymoon excursion to Mexico City, Oaxaca, and the Oaxaca coast. The arts of Oaxaca had been calling her for years. While thoroughly enjoying the adventure, I did not know if I would return. Tracy on the other hand said she didn’t want to leave, while swinging in a hammock overlooking the ocean.

In 2010 Tracy went back to Oaxaca for a month.

I joined her for 10 days. During those days I caught 8 • MARCH 2020 THE ARTFUL MIND

the Oaxaca bug. The art, pace of life, climate, and warmth of the people got to me. More than simply “art” it was the way art appreciation and understanding saturated the culture. An example fast forwarding 7 years: A young travel agent visited me frequently as I painted a church on a corner of the Zocalo. One day she asked what I thought about the small group of people I had just painted walking in the distance. I said I felt so so about it. I asked, “What do you think?” She said “they detract from the painting.” I removed them. Immediately my eye moved freely throughout the canvas again! The people of Mexico from 5 to 85, have grown up with art in their bones, developing discerning and appreciative eyes.

Following the 2010 trip by a few years of increasingly longer visits, Tracy said she wanted to live in Oaxaca. And she didn’t want us to live in an area dominated by other Gringos, but in the midst of

Oaxaquenos. While it became full time for Tracy it was back and forth between home in Great Barrington, work in NYC and family in NJ for me. I was passionate about teaching and coaching, was a Founder and Director of Coaching for Transformation and loved the Berkshires. Finally in 2017 I made a deeper commitment to family, art and the change in lifestyle Oaxaca represented. In 2018 we sold our house in Great Barrington and I joined Tracy full time minus family and friend visits to the US. What spiritual connections with the heartbeat of Mexican life have you made so far?

Richard: The spiritual connections are interwoven into the streets, public and exhibition spaces and people talked about above. Although spiritual connection exists in many places it is also a rare commodity in this day and age. And of course, not a

RICHARD MICHAELS Orange House Foothills of Monte Alban, Oil on Canvas 80 x 60 cm 2019

commodity at all. Yet something many of us seek.

I spent time in Tlahui in the Mixteca, two and a half hours northwest of Oaxaca. It is on a slope reminiscent of San Francisco but my guess is twice as high.

Walking up and down its steep slopes, a ceremony Telmo’s dad, Don Gregorio, performed on a high peak before a festival, took me into the heartbeat that has been part of the region and the human race for millenniums many of us don’t cross path with.

A similar experience in one of the visits Tracy and I had with Sonia and her mom Rosa and family high in the mountains five hours from Oaxaca. The village of Josaa, was celebrating and Rosa and others in the village cooked for hundreds of people and danced till well after 3:00 am.

In both the above experiences we were welcomed into families as honored guests, not as foreigners or intruders.

Above I mention a few other villages and cities outside of Oaxaca. Those experiences also touched the stillness and majesty and mystery of nature and ancient traditions.

Now I come full circle to acknowledge the spirit

so rich in the music in the streets, colors, art, murals, and pace of life and warmth of the people in Oaxaca.

It stands alongside the rarefied locations mentioned.

What do you feel a little timid about, or fearful of about living so far away from the Berkshires?

Richard: My transition from the Berkshires to Oaxaca was gradual between 2010 and 2018. It had time to ripen and grow. So by the time I took the leap it did not feel “far away.” Even though very far away from growing up in New Jersey, then New York State, then Pennsylvania and before moving with Kripalu Center to Stockbridge and then to Great Barrington for over 20 years where Tracy and I lived. One hurdle is speaking Spanish. Fortunately I feel comfortable here but it would be an improvement to speak more of the language!

Your paintings tell me you are very inspired by the landscape, the blue skies, people, nature…

The painting of the corn rows with a sunburst is beautiful. What were some of your thoughts that went through your mind during the time spent

painting this landscape?

Richard: I was drawn by the dramatic contrast of darks and lights, shadow and sunlight. And the powerful geometry of the fields moving towards the wide-open sky. The interplay between the warmth of the light- oranges, yellows, white, pinks or mauves and coolness and mystery of the darks- deep blues, greenish blues, purples, browns and dark grays. My attempt was to convey that experience of nature, as well as simply that visual experience on a rectangle of paper kept me following the trail of what the painting might become.

Sometimes nailing it with the colors and their interplay, and sometimes struggling, losing it, and staying the course.

Maestro Fortino Lazaro Peralta, from Casa de La Cultura in Oaxaca was a great help. I am learning to paint with acrylics from him after exclusively working in oils. His ability to see fine subtleties of color and skillfulness with techniques to convey that was of immense value.

Continued on next page...

THE ARTFUL MIND MARCH 2020 • 9

Richard Michaels

Have you seen something new within yourself that puts a new perspective on things since starting a new life in Mexico?

Richard: The sunlight in Oaxaca is very brilliant. It affects my painting. There are many sunny days making it easier to build momentum. There are many bright colors in the built and the natural environment. I am inspired by them. The contrast between light and shadow is strong and compelling for me.

People of all shapes and sizes in colorful apparel are integral to scenes on streets and public spaces.

So I have been including them in my work and studying drawing.

My interest and ability in seeing and feeling color seems to be creeping in the right direction. When I relax about results this happens more naturally.

When I get attached it often falls apart. My love for painting is growing. Philadelphia Architect Louis Kahn used to say- “What does a building want to be?” Painting is like that, what does a painting want to be? What do I want to paint? Hopefully we, as artists and creators of whatever type move in the direction to which we are drawn?

Reflections at this point on the journey: Beauty is that which absorbs the mind. It is that which naturally focuses the mind. In so doing one sees more. It is a doorway. A doorway into nature, a doorway into 10 • MARCH 2020 THE ARTFUL MIND

Sunset Over Field Outside Oaxaca Acrylic on Paper 40 x 50cm 2019

one’s own feelings and into the mystery and beauty of life. We all have different doorways that cause us to feel more alive. Sports, music, reading, nature, fine art, crafts, conversations with a friend or loved one, work one loves. It increases passion, play and connection with life. Following what attracts our attention is an entry. Following that in ways that are uplifting and brings moments of inner harmony.

That is one of the purposes of art, whether it is conventionally “beautiful,” or outside the box and “thought provoking.”

When I step in front of a canvas, or notice a scene or object that I feel motivated to paint, I have to forget all that I just said above, and see it as it is with fresh and curious eyes. Then perhaps on the journey of creating “the painting,” I may re-experience those things I said above. In creating art I, and we, are continually engaging with the process of seeing and feeling. A deep process, a simple process and when I come down to it, one in which I just need to follow the Nike adage- “Just do it.”

Can you describe the art community in Oaxaca?

Richard: Oaxaca is known throughout Mexico for its arts. People visiting Mexico often prefer artwork done by Mexican artists. However, the story does not end there. The art community celebrates artists and teachers the world over. I most often paint plein

air. in the streets, the town squares, fields and mountains around Oaxaca. I’ve had people purchase paintings of street scenes that included their houses as well as those who have stopped their cars as I painted a scene they were simply drawn to and later returned to purchase it. And sales are very gradual!

I have been exhibiting in Galeria 910 since 2012 invited by one of my first artist friends in Oaxaca, Vicente Mesinas, one of the Directors of the Gallery and painter who exhibits in Oaxaca and internationally.

Tracy has studied printmaking in Taller La Chicharra, as well as with Burro Press, and with other artists. In early 2018, Tracy was invited by artist and printmaker, Alan Altamirano, alias “MK Kabrito.”

That resulted in Tracy and I having our first joint show in February and March of 2018. Friend, political cartoonist, printmaker and painter, Dario Castillejos asked if our opening and exhibit was announced in one of Oaxaca’s major newspapers.

We shook our heads in the negative. He got on the phone and two days later we were being interviewed. To our pleasant surprise, it turned into a 2/3 page feature on the first page of the Cultural section of “El Imparcial.” So many of the supports to my and our work has come from the fun, co-creation and generosity of those around us. Each of us have pieces at La Chicharra and in a local coffee shop.

Do you still have active roots in the Berkshires?

Richard: I do. I relish the time to reconnect to my art teachers, colleagues and friends in the community. I lived in the Berks longer than any other place.

It holds great memories, connections and meaning for me.

What have you given up for this life-altering change?

Richard: I look at it as a moving towards something more than a giving up. Because time and circumstance were right. That said, I miss the regularity of connecting with my Berkshire friends. The list could be long, so I will mention a few. Bizen, Main Street Great Barrington, Monument Mountain, the Clark Art Institute, Baba Louie’s. Front Street Studio, Deb Koffman Gallery and other galleries. The hills and mountains of the Berkshires. My Chiropractor! Guido’s and the Coop. I best stop now!

What were some of the adjustments you had to make to blend in with the Mexican community?

Richard: I am grateful how people here embraced me for being from the US, being an artist, being Tracy’s husband, being interested in them, loving their culture. So the adjustment was an opening.

Tracy, here longer and more regularly than me, was a huge open door. Mexicans value family and community, they also value welcoming diversity. Being a coach and teaching coaching, the Directors of The Oaxaca Learning Center invited me to teach coaching to their staff in 2014. The people from the US, Canada and elsewhere who came to Oaxaca before us gave to the community and loved the community here. That unseen, but felt sense, creates an opening and good will.

Tell us about a typical day for you?

Richard: Wake 6:00 - 7:00am. Spiritual practice and light exercise. Morning check in with Tracy and walk the dogs. Breakfast at home or a local restaurant.

Arrive at office/studio. The activities below vary with the day: Painting on my own, at Casa de La Cultura, or Face Club (Portrait Drawing). Intercambios or Spanish Lessons. Coaching clients. Comidathe big meal between 3:00 and 5:00. Men’s group.

Shopping and laundry work into the schedule.

Family time, friend/neighbor time, calls to family.

A light meal or snack. News, FB, etc. Winding down with an art or spiritual book, journal or being distracted by the internet.

Do you prepare and cook American style food at home now, or is it now Mexican cuisine?

Richard: We usually don’t cook comida, the midday meal. Occasionally one of us cooks fresh veggies or pasta or salad. Our diet varies between traditional Mexican or US cuisine or “Health foodsor the great chocolate or carrot cake here.”

Are you aware of some political issues in Oaxaca?

Richard: The teachers and occasionally other groups have demonstrations and sometimes blockades to advocate for their needs. They are peaceful and infrequently a hassle with traffic.

Richard Michaels Sunflowers and Lilies Oil on Canvas 80 x 50 cm 2018

You’ve had great teachers in the Berkshires. Do you still follow thoughts and processes from these art educators?

Richard: YES!... Margot Trout: “Your style is none of your business.” My paintings fall somewhere between impressionistic and realistic. You can’t produce a good or satisfying result if you try to be someone other than yourself. Another koan or power pack mantra: “What had you want to paint this painting?” Margot, once told me the objects I painted looked fine, but they didn’t look like they belonged in the same painting.She often said: “Paint one color next to another.” And, “Paint colors in relationship to each other.” That translates into don’t “try” to paint water, paint one color next to another, don’t “try” to paint glass, paint one color next to

another. Don’t “try” to paint a tree, paint one color next to another. Ironically that leads to a more natural, accurate and vibrant capturing of what you see and what moves you. “Pay attention to the darkest darks and the lightest lights in what you are painting.” She taught us not to outline shapes but to mix the major colors we see and place those spots of color in relationship to one another. When those colors meet there is a living relationship and not simply a copy of something.

Margot was once giving me a critic on a painting of the edge of two studios and the alley between them. She pointed to one color and said, “That color holds the whole painting together.” She had no way of knowing that when I mixed that color I knew it Continued on next page...

THE ARTFUL MIND MARCH 2020 • 11

Vicente Mesinas, Richard Michaels and Tracy Roach

did not look like what I was seeing, it exaggerated it, but it felt right. So, yes this may be confusing given what I said Margot taught above. But the deeper lesson in that moment for me was Margot intuitively picked up on when I was in a flow and that flow gave me the natural way to what was needed by the painting Kate Knapp: From early in my years painting, I was drawn to the freedom and looseness I saw in Kate’s work. I spent hundreds of hours in Kate’s classes over the years.Through her critiques I learned to look at my work and its composition and see what might literally be there but was counterproductive to the life and strength of the painting itself. This was a jumping off point for transposing.

Painting with colors that were not necessarily what they were in the scene or still life but worked in the rectangle of the canvas to a result which was more alive and flowed together more naturally and successfully than without taking that leap.

While down here in Mexico, I often send Kate a body of work and her critiques continue to affirm or have me look at something I may not have seen.

As with Margot the line between student, friend or colleague has less rigidity. As friends and colleagues, I am still always learning in our interactions.

Steve Dietemann: Steve challenged me. He said, “The world doesn’t need another beautiful painting.” He had us paint ordinary things. Use a limited palette, push the envelope. In Steve’s work I found the bold forms and colors of archetypal natural scenes teach me about simplicity and use of color to evoke strong sensations and feelings.

Steve’s architecture in the Berkshires embody 12 • MARCH 2020 THE ARTFUL MIND

Tracy’s paintings in background of local gallery, Taller La Chicharra, Oaxaca

free thought and freedom and creativity in the use of materials.

His writings question the way we think. Steve has been a teacher and friend over many years.

Have you met great art teachers / mentors / maestros in Oaxaca that you can tell us about?

Richard: I have met a number and will comment on a few and the art scene here: Josue Vasquez teaches classes with the human figure with live models. And a weekly free drawing class of portraits of the members of the class called Face Club. While Josue’s work is built upon a method that exercises one’s ability to see and record what one sees in new ways, there is an underlying system of proportion guiding. His colors and the multitude of mediums he uses makes for powerful and compelling art. His partner Selene supports the class and I find equally produces work and skill that expands the learning.

It is open to short term visitors.

Alan Altamirano and Taller La Chicharra. A gallery and working studio featuring various types of printmaking, Alan offers and hosts a variety of weeklong workshops with various artists in the month of December. It is open to people who do not live in Oaxaca or Mexico. Alan was also a key in initiating Oaxaca Grafico, a gallery featuring prints opposite Santo Domingo. Other printmakers noted below exhibit there.

Fortino Lazaro Peralta, who I also mention in my work under his guidance teaches painting classes at the Casa de La Cultura. They are open to people who are here for a semester or longer.

Ivan Bautista and Edith Chavez of Burro Press produce exceptional work. They sometimes hold work-

shops.

Dario Castillejos has been awarded honors as the top political cartoonist in Mexico and his works have also been published internationally. Dario sometimes leads workshops in drawing.

Vicente Mesinas is an exceptional artist and his painting and prints can be seen at Galeria 910. He does not generally teach art, however has taught me monotype and on occasion created a set up for individual instruction in print making in Galeria 910.

An art center to put on your radar for viewing and potentially for workshops is “Casa,” in San Augustin Etla. Those workshops require application and requirements I am not equipped to outline here.

To go there and view the art, incredible architecture and surrounding mountains make it easy to see why it is an international center. It was founded and guided by Francisco Toledo.

Do you have an end note you would like to share?

Richard: I am grateful to Harryet and the Artful Mind. I enjoyed it monthly over the years I lived in Great Barrington. I feel honored to share my art and story in this issue. I understand another artist from Mexico will also be in this issue. Art is an international language, a language of the soul and one of the powerful ways of the transmission of the depths and soul of human experience. Hurray that there is room for all of us from beginner to intermediate to masters.

Thank you, Richard!

MARGUERITE BRIDE, LADIES IN JAZZ SERIES, NINA, WC

MARK MELLINGER, NEOGOTHIC

MARGUERITE BRIDE

MARK MELLINGER

ORIGINAL WATERCOLORS

I live in two separate worlds. One verbal and one visual. What they have in common is an attitude of pushing into the unknown; of allowing unconscious elements to take form within consciousness. I couldn’t live without both.

Art came first, but after a while I began to feel self-indulgent and isolated. I wanted to address problems of mans’ impact on the environment. I went through careers in art, photography, carpentry, ecology and microbiology before landing in psychology at 30. 10 years ago, when we found a loft in Pittsfield, I returned to my first love, art. It’s not like riding a bicycle. I had to start from scratch. I feel I’m just now catching up to where I left off 50 years ago.

I’m not satisfied with a piece for a long time. I’ll put it away and work on something else. I’ll look at it upside down and in a mirror, trying to get a handle on what’s wrong. It’s a very solitary meditation. I might gesso over everything except some small bits that are working; then start over from those. The viewer completes the process. It’s a collaboration.

It’s a thrill when someone “gets” a piece, but I’m OK when they don’t. The connection with the viewer should be as rare and special as marriage. www.markmellingerart.com markmellinger680@gmail.com

Faces have always posed a real challenge for me.

However, I decided that it is time to work on perfecting this skill…and I found that it was great fun.

Four new portraits (Ladies of Jazz) were recently added to my “JAZZ VISIONS” collection and all are now on exhibit (24 of them) at 51 Park Restaurant and Tavern in Lee, MA. A tavern just seems like the best place to display these paintings. Take a look at my website to see the other faces I have done (just type “Faces” in the search box) Do you have special occasions in your future?

Anniversary? Wedding? Graduation? Retirement?

Selling a home and downsizing? Don’t forget, a custom painting of a home or other special location is a treasured gift.

Now is a great time to commission a house portrait or favorite scene you would like captured in a watercolor. Paintings (or even a personalized gift certificate, then I work directly with the recipient) make a cherished and personal gift for weddings, retirement, new home, old home, anniversaries… ..any occasion is special. Commission work is always welcome. Be in touch directly with me…it is guaranteed to be a fun adventure!

Fine art reproductions and note cards of Berkshire images and others by the artist are available at the Red Lion Inn Gift Shop (Stockbridge), Lenox Print & Mercantile (Lenox), Good Purpose Gallery (Lee); and a variety of other fine gift shops, and also directly from the artist. The artist gives group lessons in watercolor technique in her home studio.

Contact the artist and/or visit her website for more details.

Marguerite Bride – Home Studio at 46 Glory Drive, Pittsfield, Massachusetts by appointment only. Call 413-841-1659 or 413-442-7718; margebride-paintings.com; margebride@aol.com; Facebook: Marguerite Bride Watercolors.

KATE KNAPP’S STILL LIFE

FRONT ST. GALLERY Pastels, oils, acrylics and watercolors…abstract and representational…..landscapes, still lifes and portraits….a unique variety of painting technique and styles….you will be transported to another world and see things in a way you never have before…. join us and experience something different.

Painting classes continue on Monday and Wednesday mornings 10-1:30pm at the studio and Thursday mornings out in the field. These classes are open to all...come to one or come again if it works for you. All levels and materials welcome.

Private critiques available.

Classes at Front Street are for those wishing to learn, those who just want to be involved in the pure enjoyment of art, and/or those who have some experience under their belt. Perfect if you are seeking fresh insight into watercolors, and other mediums.

Front Street Gallery – Front Street, Housatonic, MA. Gallery open by appointment or chance anytime. 413-528-9546 at home or 413429-7141 (cell) www.kateknappartist.com

Singing has always seemed to me the most perfect means of expression. It is so spontaneous. And after singing, I think the violin. Since I cannot sing, I paint.

Georgia O'Keeffe

THE ARTFUL MIND MARCH 2020 • 13

JD LOGAN FINE ART “Berkshire Inspirations” • Original Acrylics • Digital Inkjet Prints • Commissions

Visits to my Housatonic, MA studio are available by appointment Email: info@jdlogan.com Facebook: JD Logan Contemporary Artist Instagram: JDLoganFineArt

“Resist”

www.jdlogan.com

In Sicily the great Greek architectural remains are immersed in the astonishing natural landscape of the Mediterranean. The relationship between the ruins and the vegetation, including its luxuriant wildflowers, has inspired writers for centuries.

“The book The Garlands of the Gods is magnificent . . . in how it presents for us today a book that illuminates with great botanical accuracy the peculiarities of the Mediterranean vegetation in Sicily, illustrated with great elegance by Susan Pettee.

I believe that this book would be of great interest not only to the ever more numerous tourists who come to Sicily in search of the roots of the cultural landscape but also to scholars, naturalists, landscape historians.” Prof. Giuseppe Barbera, Università Degli Studi di Palermo.

(The University of Palermo has purchased all the illustrations from Garlands of the Gods for its permanent collection.)

Garlands of the Gods is available from local bookstores in the Berkshires and from Amazon.

Other works by Susan Pettee will be on view at TKG Real Estate, 137 North St in Pittsfield, during the month of March. Reception at TKG, Friday, March 6, 5-8 PM

14 •THE ARTFUL MIND MARCH 2020

j. thompson

Crimson Tide.

60 x 72”

the berkshires * sarasota 413*281*2746 jozb lu .ar t

THE ARTFUL MIND MARCH 2020 • 15

A Conversation with Chris Malcomson Interview by Harryet Candee

Chris. You seem to have done many things. Who are you?

Chris Malcomson: I am a maker and it was a total surprise to change careers and take up the journey of painting in 1990. This was an amazing thing to do as for thirty years I had been a respectable consulting engineer based in London. I worked with architects hearing their ideas, designing the structures and seeing the buildings through to completion. I have a need to paint and gradually I have come through to realizing that what I want and hope to offer is some peace, beauty and tranquility through my work.

I wonder if you could explain your creative process?

Chris: My painting now takes three forms. I always carry a small notebook, which I use to catch the Muse. It is a place to jot poems, ideas and drawings to which I might add watercolor. The second are small more formal watercolors, these are pleasing to do in our Studio in Puerto Rico as they dry so quickly. Lastly are larger abstracts on canvas or paper, which go up to about five foot square. For 16 •THE ARFUL MIND MARCH 2020

Photographs of Artist by Tasja Keetman

many of these I have used a fixed form, which allows concentration on color. Currently I am developing a new series, which considers symbols.

In what ways has your previous career as a Consulting Engineer influenced what you now create?

Chris: I worked on many large Contracts. The work varied according to demand. At first it was hospitals followed by universities. All the time there were other large and small contracts, the largest a thirteenacre building with a new lake beneath part of it. Then inner-city redevelopments, which were the most difficult. The last one was a five-acre site which had sixty adjoining properties whose foundations were way above the new underground service road.

This had to bridge a Victorian railway tunnel that carried about 180 trains a day. There was only 12 feet between the foundation and the top of the tunnel!

The building process initially involves the design of a structure that accommodates the architect’s ideas at a cost the client can afford. Preparing all documentation and drawings needed for pricing and building and the supervision of the work as it is being com-

pleted. In England the design team prepares the detail drawings which is different to America where much of this work is done by the builder.

Training as an Engineer included draftsmanship and the preparation of measured working drawings.

You become very familiar with paper and ink. It requires attention to detail and the ability to negotiate with the rest of the Design team and the Builders who all have their own agendas. Emotionally it helps with patience and dealing with change. But “enough is enough” and eventually I was in a position to take myself off to Chelsea Art School.

What did attending to art school lead to?

Chris: After all this time of being responsible it was wonderful to just settle down and paint. Chelsea had excellent teachers. I had previously done quite a lot of life drawing in the evenings, I think it is a key to many things and it had helped me learn to see. Before I went to Chelsea I had done little apart from holiday watercoloring. I was introduced to oil painting which led to an interest in abstracts. Whilst there I met Will Ramsey who was starting the Affordable Art Fairs.

Chris Malcomson Puerto Rico 5, 7”x10”, watercolor on paper

He offered me a stall in the very first one and I was totally taken by surprise when people loved my work and bought it. This was my introduction to the idea of selling work and helped my confidence. Extra confidence leads to a greater want to take risks, which is one of the great things you learn from painting. On leaving the School I took a studio in an old warehouse with some hundred other artists. It was so helpful to be with other people sharing ideas and comments.

What led you to immigrate to the states?

Chris: I painted and painted. I became surer so when a friend suggested in 2004 that I should apply for an Artists Residence at Fundación Valparaiso, Mojacar, Spain I was surprised when I received their invitation to come as I did not think I was good enough. The next studio was empty for a few days but then Virginia Bradley appeared so, never missing an opportunity, I asked her if she would like to go for a swim.

It certainly was not love at first sight. It took at least twenty-four hours and led us to marrying some six months later beneath a Christmas tree on Christmas

Eve in Vermont. Virginia is another painter (www.virginiabradley.com) and a wonderful companion. So, this London bachelor sold his flat in Notting Hill Gate and moved to America.

What was it like growing up in England?

Chris: I was born in Liverpool and when Hitler started to bomb all the British ports I was evacuated, like so many other British children, to safer parts of the country. At three and a half I went to my grandmother and then a year later to a boarding school in the Lake District. This is a most beautiful area popularized by Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter. She spent her childhood holidays at Wray Castle close to the school. The school had a large estate and we boys did the maintenance. I learnt to garden, chop trees, throw crab apples and walk up some very steep hills. I learnt to use my body and the love of nature. There is nothing like the call of a curlew on a lonely moor or the song of lark ascending.

Each morning we had the option of a cold bath or a swim in the lake, once we swam through November. Ever since then I have loved swimming and

most days swim wherever I am. We were being brought up to run an Empire little knowing it was actually being passed on at the time to others! At thirteen I went to a Senior boarding school. I had a difficult time there but two teachers inspired me. In History Freddie Leg acted out as he told gripping stories whilst in English Rider Salmon encourage me to write poetry. My first poem was about the evening stillness of a fishing heron beneath a Scotch pine, probably my first conscious moment.

As a craftsman who has delved into glass engraving, mosaics and pottery, what elements of these have you brought into your abstract painting?

Chris: I have been very fortunate in the people I have met in my life and what they have taught me.

I trained as an Engineer at Loughborough and connected with Graham Bigg through whom I met many artistic people in Beryl Pogson’s group. She, an expert on Shakespeare and the work of Maurice Nicoll, filled in some of the many gaps in my education and inspired me in many ways. The Group worked together on various projects. We did a set of engraved THE ARTFUL MIND MARCH 2020 • 17

Chris Malcomson Signs 1, 24”x 21”, oil on paper

glass windows, some ten feet high, based on the “Virgin and the Unicorn” tapestry. Another project was to rebuild two small pavilions adding a glass mosaic floor, about ten-foot diameter, based on the Labours of Hercules. I met my first wife, Jane Marx, there.

Apart for sharing the creation and bringing up of three children she introduced me to so much like Giotto, Leonardo and poetry. Also, I met Ean Begg who became one of London’s leading Jungian Analysts and through him was introduced to more Jungian ideas and many of the practitioners. This part of my life was incredibly inspiring and many of the things I learnt during my six year with Pogson’s group have stood me in good stead for the rest of my life.

You divide your time between the Berkshires and Puerto Rico. How did you end up with a studio in Puerto Rico? Does changing locations change your painting style? Has the recent earthquakes affected your Puerto Rico studio?

Chris: The immigration people here have been most helpful and nice to deal with but it takes a while to 18 • MARCH 2020 THE ARTFUL MIND

get a green card. Once you apply you cannot leave America. Virginia and I wanted to go on holiday so we decided to go to Puerto Rico. We loved the island and its people and on our second visit Virginia found a small Modern Movement house which had been on the market ten years and was therefore reasonable.

We were a bit impulsive to buy it but it has been a success. There was enough room on the main roof to make studios for us both and it has a wide view of the sea. As I said before it is ideal for watercoloring particularly as the kit you need is so small. We know the house has survived the earthquakes so far even though we are only six miles from the epicentre and our local town has been evacuated.

How would you describe the gallery scene in Puerto Rico? Are you involved in the arts when you are there?

Chris: Even before the Hurricane and the earthquakes the island has had more and more financial difficulties since we arrived there about thirteen years ago. Originally there were several art galleries but when we last checked only two remained open. We

showed at Acueto which is one of these. We have made good contacts at both the Universities in Ponce and Mayaguez and had a joint show there. We get invited to see the local art and last summer went to a show in the Arsenal in San Juan, which was excellent.

How do the seasons in the Berkshires effect you?

Chris: What a question as I look out at snow and a thermometer at 11oF. The Berkshires are so lovely in the summer and autumn. The culture. The swimming in the lakes. The people. The winding roads. I now understand why it is called New England I’m intrigued with the overall process of what you paint and how you paint. What are the steps you take in creating a painting?

Chris: Much of my studio painting has been experimental both in techniques and materials. I use oil as the colors are so more vibrant than acrylic and vary between using canvas or paper as a foundation. Expense is always a consideration and the framing needed for paper is a snag with its use. After I left

Chris Malcomson Delaware, 66”x62” oil on canvas

School I was painting large with acrylic on paper with much texture. Then I returned to using canvas.

I began to experiment with less texture leaving the weave of the canvas exposed but then had to deal with shadows that each weave creates. This changes the colors. So now I am much more relaxed and use either.

I always need something to start a painting. Sometimes it is wanting to use a particular colors. It may be a shape or a phrase. My paintings have two main reasons for their creation. The first is to try to transmit to the viewer the feelings I had which stimulated me to start the painting. The second is to create something that will bring some peace and tranquility into our busy lives. Sometimes ideas come in a flash, hence the notebook to jot them down and sometime I need to ponder. Pondering for me is thinking about possibilities then tucking them away in the back of my mind and visiting them occasionally. There needs to be a space for ideas to come in. Activities like walking, swimming and showering provide this.

When I paint I try to stand out of the way. This starts with priming either the canvas or paper then

choosing the colors. Normal I will initially use acrylic. I use a medium that makes it dry rapidly forcing me to take the risk of working very quickly.

Usually I use too big a brush as this does not allow me to be fussy. Doing this gives me energy but can lead to mistakes and the wonderful challenges they create. The upper coats, of which there maybe many to achieve the richness of color that I want, are in oil as the blending and slow drying give a chance to be more subtle.

What threw you into Abstract painting? Were they any early influences involved?

Chris: I am not sure I was thrown into abstraction.

It just gradually grew on me. When I first started there at lunchtime. I loved the romanticism of the Pre-Raphaelites and was amazed at the gateways created by William Blake but got to abstraction through Ben Nicholson and Barbara Hepworth and, like it is for so many people, Rothko took me to a different place. However, it was only when I got to Chelsea that I really had the chance and encouragement to explore.

Chelsea has a very good library with the most helpful librarians willing find what might inspire you.

A friend suggested that I got the catalogue for the 1989 exhibition “Abstraction-Geometry-Painting” This was a big influence as it showed the work of many artists and talked about the connection between the paintings and spirituality.

What artists can you name that interest you?

Chris: I suppose that I have been seeking and searching all my life. I am told that as a child I would only sleep with a painting of the Virgin above my bed, which is a bit strange in a secular family. The catalogue introduced me to Malevich and the Russians, the Bauhaus philosophy and the Abstract Expressionists. When I saw black paintings by Ad Reinhart and Barnett Newman side by side at the Pompidou Centre I cried. I found Soulages, we share interests in prehistory and calligraphy. The light shines through his earlier paintings and now his totally black paintings.

All of these people were reaching what I would like to reach in my own work. Continued on next page...

THE ARTFUL MIND MARCH 2020 • 19

Chris Malcomson Can I Reach, 18”x 16”, oil on paper

Chris Malcomson Signs 8, 24”x 21”, oil on paper

Let’s jump to the ‘Gods Series’. Are you interested in mythology? This series uses recognizable symbols applied to atmospheric, ever changing abstract backgrounds, why this mix?

Chris: Through the Jungian influences in my life I am very interested in Archetypes and the mythologies that represent them as well as Alchemy and its representation of the Journey. I did a series just before the “Gods” that were circles on unpainted board.

I wanted to experiment with the contrast between the paint and the board to add contrasting textures. This was followed by the“ Gods” as I wanted to explore them. Perhaps Zeus is the most painterly as the others veer to being more representable, but it was a fun experiment. Viewers liked them as they are more accessible than pure abstracts. I would love to see them hung in a public space.

Are you good at marketing your art?

Chris: No, I’m not a great marketer and, though I have some talents, I have never been good at making money for myself. My paintings are made to enhance 20 • MARCH 2020 THE ARTFUL MIND

spaces and do not make an immediate impact. Sales were simpler in London. I would do one Affordable Art Fair each year and make enough money, in four days, to cover the cost of an entire year’s painting and studio fees. The whole market is changing with the internet. Virginia and I are joining this world.

As far as artistic challenges are concerned, can you explain what some of yours might be?

Chris: It is always a struggle to feel my way into a painting. Rothko’s appeal is that he offers accessible doors/thresholds for us to move into different parts of ourselves. I would like to offer not “ways through” but paintings of perhaps the other side.

Paintings that allow you to stand and move into another part of yourself. This was the basis for my “Stripes” series. I selected a fixed form with “as it were” a light gap through. This allowed me to experiment and play with colors which try to generate emotions of stillness.

Looking at the ‘Signs’ series, your most recent

body of work, what is the journey you have taken after leaving the previous ‘Stripes’ series? Can you tie your answer up with a connection with ‘God’ series?

Chris: When we moved to Great Barrington nearly three years ago there was a lot to do both altering the house, sorting the garden and building the Studio so it was sometime before I could get back to painting.

I felt that I had gone as far as I could with the “Stripes” so I did a triptych, each about four feet square, painting rapidly and with gusto. It was inspired by Dante. Inferno/Purgatory and Paradise. It was fun and made a space to think what to do next.

I was thinking a lot about shapes inspired by the shape of an Icon in a Dick Temple catalogue. Having Icons on the walls of the house is calming and they are a reminder of the Other. I realized that the shape itself did not represent anything. For instance it was not a cross that has so many connections. So I have been working on this “Signs” series producing symbols that do not have associations. Someone suggested they could be used as a help in meditation

Chris Malcomson Puerto Rico 23, 7”x10”, watercolor on paper

which was great as it meant that they were achieving what I had hoped for. I have always had a yearning for meaning which I think is explained by Rumi’s “Love Dogs”, translated so well by Coleman Barks.

In it a neighbor questions a man’s praying every day.

“Do you get an answer” he queries. Rumi explains the yearning is the response Is color part of the symbolism you work with?

How would you explain your use of the color red?

Chris: Sometimes you just work with the materials at hand. Daniel Smith produces a remarkable range of quinacridone oil colors which are mainly in the reddish spectrum. I use these frequently as they achieve the richness I am searching for. So many of my paintings are red to burnt sienna.

What is the atmosphere like in your Great Barrington studio? What key ingredients are necessary for your studio process? What music do you listen to when you work? Do you need solitude?

Where is the most relaxing place to think at your

home in the Berkshires?

Chris: There are different needs depending on what part of the process I am in. When I am priming canvas, using a six-inch brush, I play flamenco and paint with gusto. When I am thinking about what to paint, the colors and how to do it, I need to be alone in silence. Once that is sorted, my brush works with the current rhythm. At the moment I am playing Dora Previn’s “Mythical Kings” and some of the last Beethoven Quartets. Generally, as I have said, ideas come when there is a space like being in the shower, swimming or walking.

gle. The enthusiasm for my work here in the Berkshires has been very encouraging.

What keeps you returning to the studio and continuing to pursue painting? Is there an internal struggle in your studio process? Do other’s opinions matter to your process?

Chris: I am a maker. I need to be making in some way to have meaning. At the moment, one of the ways I am enjoying being creative is by painting, so I go to the studio. Sometimes, of course, I do not know how to resolve a painting, and this is a strug-

I think, the more you know about an artist, the more likely you would want to live with the artist’s work. This may not be true for everyone, I understand that. What is your opinion?

Chris: I do not agree. There is the idea that we could be many people in one body so there is possibly a separation between the maker and their life style. I don’t think that I admire Caravaggio’s work more Continued on next page...

What do you think makes you a valid artist?

Chris: Thank goodness I have never thought if myself as an artist. I think of an artist as someone who can touch the invisible so that when you walk into a place, and you are stopped in your tracks, you know there has been an artist there. Examples of when this has happened to me are seeing Bellini’s Daphne, Michelangelo’s David and the recent shows of work by Helen Frankenthaler and Brice Marden.

THE ARTFUL MIND MARCH 2020 • 21

Chris outside of studio in autumn, Berkshires, MA

for him being a murderer on the run or some artists’ sexual or drinking habits.

Chris, do you have children?

Chris: I have three children who mainly live in London. Hettie is a musician and a Professor at Southampton University. Nic, who has worked with computers, programming for and supporting others has now changed careers. He trained as a therapist and is working in a unit for overstressed Doctors and Surgeons. Bim works with The Royal Ballet and other Schools as a choreographer and teacher. Jane, their mother, was an exceptional woman as you can see from her children. Originally training in Dalcroze Eurhythmics she went on to be a writer, astrologer and therapist.

You are also a poet. How does poetry affect your art making? When do you write your poetry? I wonder what you have recently added into your small notebook. Is it still by your side?

Chris: My life has been hugely affected by being involved with men’s work in the 90’s. At a Robert Bly lecture I was asked to join a men’s group, this became “Wild Dance” and now time has passed I can confess that when we named the group we were 22 •THE ARTFUL MIND MARCH 2020

Photograph by Tasja Keetman

thinking of the Hokey-cokey!! Two of us took on organizing Bly’s work in England. We would gather about a hundred and twenty men together for three days. No drinking and no fighting. There would be two leaders. We would start with drumming; with such a large gathering this was quite something.

Then poetry. Initially I only knew Bly as a men’s leader and his book “Iron John”. It has taken many years for me to fully appreciate what a service he has done by his translation work bringing so many Eastern poets to our attention, and all this apart from his own work. The first weekend he led with James Hillman . It was like being with two giants who both had a gentleness with the men who were often vulnerable. Typically, the men who came were late thirties or early forties, married or about to be, fathers or about to be, and not knowing that their aloneness was a common experience. It was wonderful to gradually see the sharing, and sometimes the tears. These weekends amongst other things opened the door to poetry for me.

As I said before I was encouraged at school to write poetry and I have carried on doing this ever since. Often they come as a couple of words, or a line, in one of those spaces I have talked about, and then they are jotted into my notebook. Throughout

my adult life, Eliot’s “Four Quartets” has been my favorite poem. It- has held my spiritual hand and given me so much pleasure in his phrasing. My enthusiasm has been enough to encourage me to read the poem at a couple of the poetry reading.

Have you and Virginia ever showed your work side by side in a gallery?

Chris: We have enjoyed showing together a number of times and the work looks good together. Thankfully she no longer makes eight-foot by nine-foot paintings made up of heavy four-foot by three-foot panels of mounted ply, like the one she sold to the Philadelphia Convention Center. We took thirty-two of these to one exhibition!

How is life while living and loving a fellow artist?

Chris: It is terrific. We have been so fortunate to find each other. When we first met at the Residence in Spain, we decided to tell each other everything we didn’t want the other to know about ourselves. Taking this risk has stood us in good stead. We have both had things to work through and it is amazing that we can now discuss and critique each other’s paintings. This is particularly helpful when a painting gets stuck. We are still surprised that we have

Chris Malcomson River Series 17, 8”x5”, watercolour on paper

Chris Malcomson River Series 6, 8”x5”, watercolor on paper

found the Berkshires. What a great place to live.

Even more amazing is that the path that led us here was started by a plumber in Puerto Rico!! Another story.

What are your most valued philosophies on life that you follow?

Chris: I was brought up at Junior Prep School on King Arthur and Chivalry together with ideals of honesty and duty. Then going to a Quaker school, I come from a long line of Quakers, this was reinforced by the idea of silence and community. University was freeing. Loughborough had people from all over the world and familiarity does overcome prejudice. We had fun. Meeting Beryl Pogson drew me into the ideas of Ouspensky, Nicoll, Jung and Shakespeare. We spent a year each studying the Synoptic Gospels and St. John. My wife and I went to workshops in Transpersonal Psychology and she then trained in it. As you can imagine all of this has influenced my life and I try to reach out to it.

Does artmaking help to make sense of your life, assist in clarifying the unknowns and straighten out the cobwebs in your life?

Chris: Painting offers my life so much. The pondering of what to attempt, the planning of color, the organization of how to do the work all add meaning.

There is the challenge of trying to stand out of the way whilst I paint allowing complete concentration and absorption. The amazement when, sometimes, you achieve the result you were trying for. But the best are the mistakes. They often produce results that are better than what you intended!

What has been a wonderful vignette image you can recall from your life that brings you much happiness and at the same time, a sentimental feeling?

Chris: There have been memorable days. Seeing a horizontal rainbow over the desert during a business trip to Iraq in the middle of the Iraq-Iranian war. A visit to the monumental ruins of Babylon. A trip to

Christ church in Philadelphia where so many of the signers of the Declaration of Independence are buried. The incredible thing these ordinary men did setting up a completely revolutionary experiment reduced me to tears.

Days on beaches, Tina Turner, Beethoven, and Bach. Chamber concerts. The magic of people.

Growing vegetables. AND the best is having learned so much from my children and two amazing wives.

Do you feel you have done almost everything in your life you wanted to do so far?

Chris: I am grateful for having done so much in my life. I joke that I have booked, in my next life, to be a woman dress designer www.chrismalcomson.com e: chrismalcomson@mac.com Phone 302 530 7160

THE ARTFUL MIND MARCH • 23

CAROLYN NEWBERGER, ACORNS ON THE FOREST FLOOR WATERCOLOR, 10 X 13” 2020

PAWNS JAANE DOE Jaane Doe announces the release of her new music single PAWNS… The embryonic journey for this musical creation began in the Fall of 2017 and has now come to fruition! The theme of the piece is metamorphosis, transcendence and success through positive energy and hard work. As chess players know, the PAWN can become a Queen if the tragedy of the game is just right. This anthemic song begins with a beautiful piano prelude and builds into a compelling musical statement in the Folk Rock Genre. Written and produced by Jaane Doe, this is her first official release since BURNS LIKE FIRE in 2007. “The work of an artist, whether visual or musical is a snapshot of where they are in time, and shares the perception of what is inside, and their vision of the world around them.”

Accompanying the music single is an enchanting music video which stars Jaane Doe in her Directorial Debut of this unreleased Narrative Short currently in the Film Festival submission phase.

The piece incorporates the talents of many local actors, and musicians along with the natural scenic beauty of the Berkshire mountains.

For more information, and updates visit: www.jaanedoe.com www.facebook.com/JaaneDoeMusic https//issuu.com/theartfulmindartzine/docs/artful_mind_august_2019

Join The Artful Mind this spring!

Get the message out about your upcoming show! artfulmind@ yahoo.com 24 • MARCH 2020 THE ARTFUL MIND

DESIGNS BY JENNIFER Awarded Best Of Houzz 2019

PHILIP GERSTEIN, UP-RISING, ACRYLIC AND MIXED MEDIA ON WOOD PANEL, 30 X 24” 2016

THE COLOR OF SEASONS: NATURE AND ABSTRACTION IN THE PAINTINGS OF

CAROLYN NEWBERGER AND PHILIP GERSTEIN OPENING APRIL 3, 6-8PM Galatea Fine Art, Galleries I and II, April 1-26, 2020 As painters, we approach nature from seemingly opposite directions, across the line that is supposed to divide abstraction from realism. Carolyn enters the forest with paints and watercolor notebook in her fanny pack and a folding stool on her back. She records in images and words the hidden treasures that she finds. In a studio, Philip finds form, rich texture, and emotive color as he creates vibrant abstract canvasses.

Though the seasons of nature inspire both of us, Carolyn finds her inspiration within the living forest. Through distillation and interpretation she moves in her paintings from realism toward abstraction. For Philip, as form and color emerge, he finds nature revealed within, drawing inspiration from ancient Chinese landscape painting and the rich achievements of 20th century abstract painters.

Both of us search until we find that living vibration, the pulse of life, clearly heard emanating from beneath the layers of paint before solidifying into form. Hung together in pairs, our paintings converge and contrast, evoking nature in its many interpretations -- and creating a vibrant dialogue of form, color and emotional impact. © Carolyn Newberger & Philip Gerstein Galatea Fine Art is located at 460 Harrison Ave #B-6, Boston MA. Q and A with the Artists Sunday April 19, 2 -4 pm. Galateafineart.com

Designs by Jennifer Owen of Great Barrington, MA has won “Best Of Service Award” on Houzz®, the leading platform for home renovation and design.

The boutique interior design studio was chosen by the more than 40 million monthly unique users that comprise the Houzz community from among more than 2.1 million active home building, remodeling and design industry professionals. Congrats!

Recognized as a fabric guru with an eye for color, Jennifer has achieved accolades for her unique sense of style and vision. She has been featured on the cover of House to Home, Lifestyle Magazine of Fairfield County, featuring a home in Westport; East Coast Home Design Magazine; Shippan Designer Show House, (benefiting Stamford Museum and Nature Center); Weston Designer Show House benefiting Connecticut Humane Society. They feature her definitive style of design, transforming spaces to uplifting, functional environments, “simple elegance” at its best!

A native of the West Midlands England, Jennifer grew up with a mother who was a passionate knitter and a talented seamstress, with a love to decorate and a relish for fabrics and yarns. This led to many inspiring visits with her to the fabric market.

Hence Jennifer’s passion!

Her client base extends to Fairfield County, CT, Westchester County, New York City, Long Island, and Berkshire County. Jennifer has a showroom and office based on Railroad Street in Great Barrington, MA. Jennifer is a member of IDS (Interior Design Society), with extensive training in interior design, IDPC (Interior Design Protection Council), member of Better Business Bureau, Metropolitan Museum, NYC, Museum of Natural History, NYC, Museum of Modern Art, NYC, member of Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, member of Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, and a member of A Women’s Creation Circle in Berkshire County.

Designs by Jennifer, LLC - 6 Railroad Street, STE 17, Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Office: 413528-5200; Cell: 203-253-3647; www.designsbyjenniferowen.com

“untitled” 2019 acrylic on wood 48x48”

GAIL DOWNEY ARTIST INTERVIEW BY HARRYET CANDEE

Tell us about the art you are presently making and where you are artistically taking the exploration?

Gail Downey: Presently, my thrust is an attempt to replicate feelings, strong emotions and energy that I feel from the natural world. For years I painted nonobjectively and while I am now making somewhat representational work, I still try to employ my non-objective experience.

How has art making developed your sense of intuition and creativity?

Gail: It has taught me to trust my impulses, and I am constantly reinventing what I want to say with paint.

Did you begin art when you were a child?

Gail: I started making art very young. When I began taking classes I had to learn with the older kids, because there were no classes available for my age group.

I was shy around them, but like the fly on the wall, I watched everything they did, learning from the techniques I saw them employing. From those early says I’ve always found a comfort and a joy in the smells wafting from art classes and studios.

How would you describe yourself as an artist?

Gail: I can be a little hyper-sensitive, but I’ve learned to deal with it and grown a bit of a shell over the years.

As an artist I would say that I’m a bit of a perfectionist and kind of like a train - trying to keep going and working through the problems that always seem to arise whenever I am lost in a piece. I find that even in failure I take away lessons.

When you settle down into yours work space, what are the five most important things you have next to you? Don’t say your cell. Lol… Gail: Ha, ha...these days I actually do need my phone while working! I use it to try to get back to feelings

that I’ve been experiencing on the hikes I’ve been taking. Otherwise (in no particular order): I need my Cheap Charlie pellet stove. I give it 40 minutes after firing it up to go in. I love my smart speaker. These days I’ve gone from listening to jam band music to political podcasts. It must be the season. My rollie chair (they will have to pry it from my dead butt when I skip out from this mortal coil) Water (that’s not frozen, as it often is before I turn on the stove). I am very mean to my brushes, so I need to keep a healthy supply on hand.

Have you the opportunity to do some amazing traveling? Tell us to where you most enjoyed and why.

Gail: Traveling fuels my work. I love hiking. In the last few years I’ve swam in cenotes in Mexico and chased cows squirting diarrhea on my bike in Ireland.

It’s hard to pick any one place, sometimes just hiking up the mountain behind our house is transcendant.

You attended Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. What was your life like as a student?

Gail: I loved Pratt. I worked hard, but we also found plenty of time for fun. Brooklyn in the 80s was a bit of an adventure. Learning from, and meeting, such great artists, while being around all of the art that the city had to offer gave me constant exposure to new ideas.

What do you like to work with in terms of tools, mediums, paint brushes, and what are your favorite techniques you apply?

Gail: Over the last decade I have moved from oils and encaustics to acrylics, having also discovered the wonders of metallics. With acrylics you have to move fast, changing the whole process and making it possible to create art at a faster pace. I have also been enjoying the wonders of gold leaf of late. These days I also love working on wood (cradled panels). Sanding

is a big part of my process, as I find it can impart light, air and depth to a piece of art. Over the years I have also created sculptural canvases, working with screen, wax, shaped canvas and wire to blur the boundaries of the traditional western canvas. I think it’s important to keep yourself flexible to avoid falling into too many ruts.

Does making art for you relate to worldly affairs?

Gail: I used to listen to music while painting, using its rhythms and melodies to propel me, but now I find I take the world into my studio as I listen to Pod Save America and paint a lichen with snow on it. Does the world intrude into what I create these days? I guess I’ll have to leave it to others to decide that one.

How is the best way that you promote your art?

Gail: I am possibly the worst art promoter in the history of humanity. I do put finished works (as well as works in progress) up on Gail Downey Art on Facebook. My website (gaildowney.com) truly needs to be updated, but if you want to see what I was up to a few years ago that’s where to go. Any day now I plan on updating the site (it’s convenient, as my husband is also my web designer).

Outside of your art, where do you get most inspired?

Gail: I find so much inspiration just being out in nature and traveling. When I hike up a mountain I feel so in touch, so present. Then, I take that experience back to my studio and try to make sense of what exactly about it made me feel that way, before hopefully get some of that emotion onto the canvas. gaildowney.com Thank you!

THE ARTFUL MIND MARCH 2020 • 25

FRONT ST. GALLERY

Painting by Kate Knapp Painting classes on Monday and Wednesday mornings 10-1pm at the studio in Housatonic and Thursday mornings 10am - 1pm out in the field.

Also available for private critiques. Open to all. Please come paint with us!

Gallery hours: Open by chance and by appointment anytime 413. 274. 6607 (gallery) 413. 429. 7141 (cell) 413. 528. 9546 (home) www.kateknappartist.com

Front Street, Housatonic, MA

Susan Geller Photography

Monet’s Lilies, Giverny, France “Congratulations, Harryet Candee!

26 years of Creativity and The Artful Mind” Love, Susan Geller Photography

geller.susan@gmail.com 26 • MARCH 2020 THE ARTFUL MIND

Sam Bittman, Jeff Kent, Daniel Klein, Bob Lohbauer, Matt Tannenbaum Photograph by Edward Acker

For information on the work of the Third Act Project, and how to receive our monthly newsletter, visit our website at www.thirdactproject.com Or email sam@thirdactproject.com THE ARTFUL MIND MARCH 2020 • 27

Caracol. Luis De La O

LUIS DE LA O ARTIST INTERVIEW BY HARRYET CANDEE

ure, though I have been reimbursed for my work in some economical way. But I have more the desire to draw; to create and capture images that make environments stand out and breathe new life.

Where in Mexico do you live, Luis?

Luis: I live in San Francisco de Campeche, the port city known as the hidden treasure of Mexico. This state is known for it’s colonial buildings, religious architecture, military, and it’s walled-in historic center in response to past pirate attacks. It also has archaeological sites of great importance such as Edzna, Jaina Island and Calakmul.

How would you describe your career?

Luis: From an early age I began to carry out several projects, each term or realization of these have given me joy to see all of my clients satisfied. I have fully enjoyed my work in the arts since it has given me the opportunity to visit many cities throughout the country and allowed me the opportunity to study different techniques, textures, and materials indigenous to each location.

When we do what we really like, we don't feel it as a job. Life has given me great opportunities and I appreciate everything I have experienced and what is to come.

Tell us about your main job?

Luis: My passion was always drawing. I have dedicated over 27 years to the design and construction of residences, school buildings, banking, commercial, restaurants and gas stations in different parts of the states of 28 • MARCH 2020 THE ARTFUL MIND

What is the main subject you reflect in your murals?

Luis: Definitely nature in all it’s senses. I believe no plant or leaf is the same as another; each form is unique and unrepeatable as every drawing that is reflected. This is what I portray in each of my murals.

Mary Poppins sillouette mural by Luis

the Mexican Republic, such as Ciudad Juarez. Ciudad Camargo Chihuahua, Cdmx, Puebla, Michoacan, Villahermosa, Tabasco, Veracruz, Chiapas, Merida, Quintana Roo, Campeche, and other locations around Mexico.

You are also a master muralist. Is this something you do for the love of art, or is freelance work that generates income?

Luis: Love is the main reason. My love for drawing led me to start painting murals in family members home.

Through recommendations, I have gained a clientele outside of family and friends. Mainly, I do it for pleas-

Where have you studied and what was your specialty?

Luis: I studied architecture in Campeche. Alternately, I had technical drawing, mechanical drawing, architectural drawing schooling as well. Given to me from an early age, craft-making and learning about the artistic composition without scolding but with patience that all my relatives had given me ... I am very graphic when explaining something, and I am always seen with a blank paper and a pen.

Where do you like to spend your free time?

Luis: I am a cinephile at heart! I also like the sea, nature and to visit new places. I like opera, pop, theater. I am very bohemian, always enjoying good wine and deep

Luis painting mural in the home of Jeff and I, Tree of Life, Quintana Roo, MX

conversation with pleasant company. I also enjoy dancing. I believe you must live today as if it were the last day of your life. Always look for the positive perspective of things.

uniqueness. From north to south, east to west— everything changes, and that to me is beautiful. I am 46 years old and what time I have left here, I want it to be even more wonderful. I love sharing my time with friends and family, and make art.

What positive affects does art have on your daily life?

Luis: Art keeps my mind occupied, relaxes me, and keeps me very calm in all aspects of my life.

Tell us about the mural you painted of the Tree of Life in Isla for us?

Luis: It is one where flora and fauna are represented and surrounds you while resting. It was made for thebedroom wall where it can promote warmth and generate a sense of nature to stark white walls. I was very happy with the results. I received many positive comments throughout the time creating it and after it was finished. The fact of just being in Isla Mujeres surrounded by many beautiful things makes you see a different world where I appreciate the sea breeze, the colors and the crystalline ocean. If I have days like that in a wonderfully amazing place, and also do the activity that I like, it is doubly satisfying. I have completed five murals on this island at the request of relatives. I feel they want a more pleasant view in their living space.

Each mural I create are completely different from one another. I never repeat my work.

If three wishes were granted to you, what would they be?

Luis: Good health since this is invaluable and the engine of every day life. Being healthy helps us to achieve more as difficult as it may seem. I have learned that nothing is unattainable. Love .. It's not just a feeling ..

It's an art. It inspires us; gives us strength, makes us vibrate and makes us feel alive and powerful. Art gives

Who is your favorite artist?

Luis: Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, better known as Leonardo da Vinci, the Florentine polymata of the Italian Renaissance. I admire him for his extensive knowledge since he was so many things: a painter, anatomist, architect, paleontologist, artist, botanist, scientist, writer, sculptor, philosopher, engineer, inventor, musician, poet and urbanist.

Sewing machine sillouette mural by Luis

us peace and much enthusiasm. To give me whatever is necessary to live, travel and enjoy all the beautiful things that surround us.

Aside from the murals you create in people’s homes, what other venues in art interest you?

Luis: In addition to the murals, I work with recycled materials for furniture designs in houses and offices.

I also do window dressing in stores.

Tell me, how do you see yourself?

Luis: I am a very simple person with strong values. I seek to wake up each day with a smile giving my best to those around me. I appreciate every moment where ever I may be. I am naturally curious to learn about different cultures and their customs so I can appreciate the beauty of each place I travel. Here in Mexico, each state is very different with many elements that add to their

Who is your favorite musician?

Luis: Michael Joseph Jackson! "The king of pop," better known as Michael Jackson. He was a singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, actor and American philanthropist. He mixed rock with pop, revolutionized dance music and helped many charitable organizations. I identify myself with the positive that was always in his life; always looking to unite people.

He had a “child-like’ soul, and I believe no one should lose their of childhood essence.

If and when you travel the world, and I know you will, where will you go? What kind of art would you look to experience?

Luis: I would like to go to Greece, Rome and the Vatican. I would like to learn more about Classical, Greek and Roman paintings and architecture. I would also like to visit the Roman Colosseum and the Sistine Chapel one day.

Thank you!

THE ARTFUL MIND MARCH 2020 • 29

JASON AND HIS GRANDMOTHER CHAPTER 7

Clocks By Accident I may have been only thirteen, but I knew something about arguments and the use of logic. The reason was because of my brother. You may remember that I mentioned that he was two years older than I, and was so smart that they had to get special tests for him, because the regular ones were too easy. Once they tested his reading speed and it was one thousand two hundred words per minute. That was his speed because that was as fast as the machine could go. I didn’t believe it however, and I tested him myself with a Readers Digest, at the kitchen table.

He would read the Reader’s Digest like another person would look at a picture book, then he would answer any sort of question you might put to him about what he had read. Having read so much his head was full of all sorts of ideas, and just recently he read The History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell.

After reading something like that, he would ridicule me by showing me how stupid I was because of the numerous dumb things he thought I believed. So, like Jimmy, I decided to criticize Bluto in the same way my brother would criticize me. I said, “Tell me Mr. Sacco, do you believe in God, since you say there is a higher law about the soda machines, if there is a higher law of the soda machines, the source of the higher law would have to be God wouldn’t it?” At work, and actually all the time, I called Bluto Mr. Sacco.

At first Bluto reacted as if he had not heard my question but then he pulled in to a parking spot and turned the engine off. He turned in his seat to face me sitting there on my soda box. I could see in the glare in his eyes, and the long pause before he started to speak, that he felt my question was a direct assault on his theories.

And it was a serious threat, because if there is no supreme being, or if you can’t prove there is a supreme being, then how could you formulate all of those theories about higher laws. My brother took it even further telling me that some people thought that if you can’t prove God exists then there isn’t even any reason to look both ways when you cross the street, since nothing matters.

“See this,” Bluto said holding up his fist. “I believe in God because of this.” Mr. Sacco’s fist, I would like 30 • MARCH 2020 THE ARTFUL MIND

to point out, was not the same as your ordinary fist. It was a fist that had many times got jammed in machinery, or cut on other people’s teeth, and its scars, dents and discolorations were hardly concealed by its covering of oily hair. But Bluto was not talking about his fist, he was talking about his wristwatch as it turned out. Seeing that I had no idea what he was driving at, he said, “Imagine that some men are wandering in the desert and they have been lost for many days. They come upon a wristwatch, and one of them says, “Look — a watch.

Somebody has been here before.” Then one of the other men says, “No, perhaps that watch came into being by accident over billions and trillions, or an infinite number of years.”

Then the first man says, “Listen you moron, first of all the earth has not been around for an infinite number of years, and also, so what if the watch came about by accident, even if I grant you that, what about the expansion band, and don’t you think it is pretty odd that over this infinite number of years the band says “Speidel” and it is spelled correctly, and the watch says “Bulova?” No, there is a watch here, so obviously there were people here.”

Bluto went on, “Now, see that squirrel over there, just the claw of its back foot, is more complicated than a wristwatch, just its eyeball makes a wristwatch look like child's play, and the squirrel's brain is in another category of complexity compared to tinker toys like a wristwatch. So, the squirrel proved that there is a higher power, because it could never have come about by any series of accidents.”

Fortunately for me, I had heard the wristwatch argument about God from my brother one time because he was making fun of the fact that I thought God knew everything that a person did. But my brother drew the opposite conclusion and used a dog as an example instead of a squirrel: a dead dog. Jimmy said, “Let’s assume God had to make the dog, since dogs are so much more complicated that wristwatches, but why don’t the dogs have, ‘Made by God,’ printed on them someplace.

And if God did make the dog, why, after he spent so much time and energy building one, does he let it go out and get run over by a car? It makes no sense.”

That was my brother’s argument, and I turned it on Bluto’s squirrel argument, and he never expected a retort from a thirteen year old. “Look Mr. Sacco,” I said, accidentally using the patronizing and condescend tone my brother always used with me when he wanted me to see how stupid I was. “Look at that other squirrel over there.” I pointed to a dead one that had been run over by a car.

“If God took so much time to make the squirrel, and the poor squirrel’s eye is more complicated that a wristwatch, why is it that he doesn’t take care of the little thing, instead of letting it get mashed up in the street by a Buick?”

At that moment, Bluto’s face suddenly became transfigured, and his voice had a tremor in it. He spoke in a way that I could see that he was not putting me on, but really deeply felt the truth of what he was going to say. “God loves the squirrels, every God damn one of them, but God hates cars to death, and God hates the Coca Cola Company as well," he said.

When he said that I had the feeling that I was getting a look at the real Bluto, the one behind the character that was inventing arguments about everyday things just to be contrary. The question of what Bluto really thought bothered me a great deal and sometimes kept me awake at night thinking about it. I wondered if Bluto was just playing a role like a character in a movie. Just because someone loses their temper and yells, screams and bangs the steering wheel with their fist does not mean that they are really upset, and doesn’t even prove that they believe what they are saying.

Bluto could have just been acting. But when actors act they do it for many reasons; for an audience, for money, or for fame but for Bluto there was nothing.

Why would Bluto choose to act like a deranged political fanatic? No, I thought, Bluto is not acting; under it all is something real.

The next thing I wondered about was the logic of the arguments. For example, he was insisting that the Coca Cola Company wanted to damage my teeth. But, obviously he realized that they did not want that to happen. Cigarette makers don’t want people to get cancer, that is not the purpose of the product; it is an unfortunate side effect.

Car makers don’t want people to have accidents.

He was putting it that way just to exaggerate the idea all out of proportion. But though it was just a distorted exaggeration, the truth remained with its unmistakable conclusions. It might be an accident but Coke destroyed teeth, cigarettes killed people, these were bad things and it was a simple truth and completely obvious. Only Bluto noticed it, and only he talked about it. If he had expressed his ideas to anyone other than an ignorant thirteen year old he would have been laughed at, or people would have thought he was crazy.

Bluto was correct, but the fact that he was passionate about it had nothing to do with the Coca-Cola company and teeth, and everything to do with baseball bats and smashing things up.

Meanwhile, at school things were going from bad to worse. My plan to alienate Jason by expressing contempt for the cars he loved came to nothing, and I think the reason was that he simple didn’t believe me and assumed I was only playing a part and acting like Bluto; making up arguments for no reason.

After all, what normal boy doesn’t love cars? To not love cars was unthinkable, unless of course I was some sort of freak. In a way I had to agree with Jason about that. What kind of future was there in the modern world for a kid who did not want to drive a car?

When I ran into Jason on the playground the next morning before the bell ring he acted like nothing had happened. I had expected that morning would hold the solution to my biggest problem in the world but as luck would have it, it was the beginning of a series of unrelated catastrophes that began to strike that very morning without warning, the first of which happened even before the first bell rang.

The start of these troubles was a miniature pink telescope Tom Doctorovitch brought to school that morning. All the boys were over in the part of the parking lot behind the teacher’s cars where the bicycle rack is, and they were fighting over the telescope and trying to get a view through it.

—RICHARD BRITELL: FROM THE BLOG NO CURE FOR THE MEDIEVAL MIND

French Dancer

collage

Roselle Kline Chartock Artist and Writer roselle.chartock@gmail.com Chartock’s work can be seen at Hey Day located on Main Street in Great Barrington, MA

THE ARTFUL MIND MARCH 2020 • 31

SUSAN PETTEE THE GARLANDS OF THE GODS In Sicily the great Greek architectural remains are immersed in the astonishing natural landscape of the Mediterranean. The relationship between the ruins and the vegetation, including its luxuriant wildflowers, has inspired writers for centuries.

“The book The Garlands of the Gods is magnificent . . . in how it presents for us today a book that illuminates with great botanical accuracy the peculiarities of the Mediterranean vegetation in Sicily, illustrated with great elegance by Susan Pettee. I believe that this book would be of great interest not only to the ever more numerous tourists who come to Sicily in search of the roots of the cultural landscape but also to scholars, naturalists, landscape historians.” Prof. Giuseppe Barbera, Università Degli Studi di Palermo.

(The University of Palermo has purchased all the illustrations from Garlands of the Gods for its permanent collection.)

Garlands of the Gods is available from local bookstores in the Berkshires and from Amazon.

Other works by Susan Pettee will be on view at TKG Real Estate, 137 North St in Pittsfield, during the month of March. Reception at TKG, Friday, March 6, 5-8 PM

• Advertising • Calendar • Press releases • Editorial The Artful Mind Dedicated to all the ARTS FInd out more! artfulmind@yahoo.com Read the issues online ISSUU.COM 32 • MARCH 2020 THE ARTFUL MIND

FULL MOON, 6”X6” OIL AND COLD WAX MEDIUM ON WOOD PANEL

SLIDING MOONLIGHT 5”X7” OIL AND COLD WAX MEDIUM ON WOOD

GHETTA HIRSCH Since the beginning of the new year I have been attracted to the colors and patterns of our Berkshires skies. I find myself looking up beyond our Greylock mountain range at night.

Yes, I have painted my seasonal landscapes as our snow is always magical at this time of the year. I love how pastel blue and pink tickle my eyes while the ochre and yellow of the dry grass bring back a feel of our warm summer. Our mountains turn into a sleeping green mauve or eggplant blue. One feels secure watching this protective horizon. However, this winter I have been craving more light. Did we get more grey days?

Perhaps my foot injury has limited my outdoors exploration and I miss the time spent watching nature as I take my walks?

So I have turned my attention to the skies.

In fact I started a Moon Series and look at my collection of ten finished paintings with a feeling of calm and a sense of accomplishment. I have followed the moon interaction with our surroundings. Some evenings I just watched the moon from my home. I have used small wood panels, palette knife and brushes, and I continued to use different mediums to add texture to the paintings. “Full Moon” is hinting at the mystery of a sky I was observing in January. ”Sliding Moonlight” is highlighting the light against the trees rather than the moon.

We had a full moon on December 12, January 10 and February 4, but it is interesting to note that our moon looks full a day before and a day after these dates as well. The moon in February was called “Snow Moon” or “Supermoon” as it is one of the largest we will have this year and its light was very strong. I hope that these paintings will give you the same feeling of introspective serenity that I am experiencing despite my physical limitations.

Aside from The Moon Series I am preparing a twoperson show for April and laboring on much larger canvases. You will find a photo of one of them in this same issue of The Artful Mind. Please note that I will be exhibiting April 4th at The Three Stones Gallery in Concord, MA with an Opening Reception on April 18th not too far from our Berkshires, as Concord is right on Route 2 if you are driving to Boston.

Ghetta Hirsch - Studio in Williamstown still open for visits; text or call 413-281-0626. Website: ghettahirsch.squarespace.com; Instagram@ghettahirschpaintings

JOAN GRISWOLD

BERKSHIRE DIGITAL Since opening in 2005, Berkshire Digital had done fine art printing for artists and photographers.

Giclée prints can be made in many different sizes, from 5”x7” to 42”x 80” on a variety of archival paper choices. Berkshire Digital was featured in last summer’s issue of PDN magazine in an article about fine art printing. See the entire article on the BerkshireDigital.com website.

In addition to the printing services, Berkshire Digital does accurate photo-reproductions of paintings and illustrations that can for use in books, magazines, brochures, cards and websites. We also offer restoration and repair of damaged or faded photographs. A complete overview of services offered, along with pricing, can be seen on the web at BerkshireDigital.com Another service offered is portraits of artists in their studios, or wherever they would like, for use in magazines, as the author’s picture in a book, websites or cards. See samples of artist portraits on our website.

The owner, Fred Collins, has been a commercial and fine art photographer for over 30 years having had studios in Boston and Stamford. He offers over 25 years of experience with Photoshop enabling retouching, restoration and enhancement to prints and digital files. The studio is located in Mt Washington but drop-off and pick-up is available through Frames On Wheels, 84 Railroad Street in Great Barrington, MA (413) 528-0997 and Gilded Moon Framing, 17 John Street in Millerton, NY (518) 789-3428.

Berkshire Digital - 413-644-9663 or go online to www.BerkshireDigital.com.

EDWARD ACKER PHOTOGRAPHER

Time Flies D Get Pictures EdwardAckerPhotographer.com 413-446-8348