Modernist Painting

To get some stimulation, I am taking a course on modernist painting taught by the local artist, Charles Emerson. Each week, he assigns us to paint a painting using the aesthetics and painting method of a specific master. The first one above is after de Kooning. I learn to play with the paint, mixing them on canvas, texture them, utilize "accidents", and use bold brush strokes and marks. The second one is after Francis Bacon. I cannot paint his excruciatingly painful picture. Instead, I made this "Dick Chaney smile" using his technique. But I also use Mark Rothko like background. It is pretty wicked looking. I can not imagine who will hang a Francis Bacon in his/her home. Art and decoration are definitely different. Francis Bacon said (I am para-phrasing) in his BBC interview that abstract art can not be more than miracle and decorative, and it does not include human emotion so essential to all great art. His art certainly has plenty of that.

Utah Trip (1) - Arches National Park

After a 4 hour drive, we checked in at our Moab motel, and were eager to explore the area. The highlight of the day was hiking to the Delicate Arch. The hike is only 1.5 miles each way with an elevation gain of slightly less than 500 feet. We timed it so that we would see the beautiful arch under the light of the setting sun. We stayed near the arch for 40 minutes or so, just to soak in the evening glow and ambient. The last picture is interesting. There are these moggles with strange but beautiful green. They look fabulous in contrast with the red stones. We were told that they have something to do with the uranium deposits below. The first atom bomb used the uranium produced here in Moab.