It’s been a couple of seasons since we had the pleasure of John O’Hern’s company in our little corner of the planet. As part of his east coast travels, he came to the studio to interview me for the American Art Collector Magazine. John is one of those rare humans who has a thriving curiosity, the intellect to follow where it leads, and a profound peace at the center of his core. The combination makes for stellar conversation and his rapier like wit always keeps me on my bog-Irish toes.
I’m so grateful to John for his continued support and to Joshua Rose, the editor of AAC for profiling my work in this issue. The magazine is my go to source for the latest from artists and galleries and I’ve found something new and important for my work in every issue.
The February issue will be out soon, if not already, but here’s a peek at the first page of John’s article…
When I decided to paint this wonderful old truck that now lives out it’s final days on the farm just over the hill I had no idea that it had one more curtain call in its life of serving show business.
The painting was on exhibit for the show in York last November and I was surprised when a line formed of people telling me that they knew the truck, knew of the circus, were IN the circus and each had a fountain of memories about the good old days in which that truck played such a big part.
Since then, many of the performers have been in touch. They have a Facebook page which archives the history of this small town summer circus which was started by Dr. Charlies W. “Doc” Boas who was a professor at York College, here in PA. (Some of their anecdotes are posted below)
The painting is now on exhibition at the Granary Gallery on Martha’s Vineyard, which you all know is where a good portion of my creative energy and inspiration comes from.
Recently, I’ve made a conscious decision to step outside of my Pennsylvania studio more often and paint what I see in my own backyard. The truck is something we pass daily as it rests in the iconic fields of corn and so the muses called.
So, with the synergy and symmetry that lights my way these days, it was no surprise to read from one of the circus alumnae that this very truck was on the ferry over 3 decades ago bringing the Circus Kirk family to the Vineyard. The first circus to play on the island. My friend Ted remembers the dancing ladies !
A great big thank you to all the members who have taken the time to write and share their stories with me…
here are just a few…
From Charlie Boas (son of the founder) –
It ran for ten years in the 60’s and 70’s. It was the creation of my father, Dr. Charles W. “Doc” Boas. It was staffed with almost all college and high school students and usually only played in the summers. It was based outside of East Berlin, PA in Adams County. Most of the youth who worked for the show mark it as a major event in their lives, and my dad is sort of a revered cult figure. Dad passed away in Stewartstown about ten years ago. The truck you depicted is sort of an icon, toiling away in a field outside of York. Your painting gives it a wistful quality which I find to be bittersweet. The circus was a big part of my life during my formative years and sometimes I feel like that part of me is indeed out to pasture. Incidentally, one of the big adventures we had on the show was the time we loaded the whole show on the ferry and played a date on Martha’s Vineyard. What a great audience, and what fun to take all the trucks on the ferry. I recall it took two or three loads to get them all over. We were the first circus ever to play there.
Thanks for making the painting, and thanks for letting me ramble.
From Jeffrey Gabel –
In 1971, I was fresh out of college and my first job in show business was with Circus Kirk, a student summer tented circus out of East Berlin, PA which is 15 miles northeast from Gettysburg in rural Adams County. In addition to performing as a clown, I drove the stock truck in your elegiac painting “Out to Pasture.” I also painted the circus logo on the truck. It’s amazing the truck has survived because it was already ancient in 1971 as was the entire fleet of Circus Kirk vehicles. Everyday, I loaded the truck with five ponies, one obstinate palomino horse by the name of Golden Rocket, his arch enemy Bama the Lama, Munch the Wonder Goat, a the mongrel dog act, and Pork Chop the trained pig. Talk about a menagerie! And those poor animals had to suffer my jerky driving because I learned to drive a stick shift on that truck so my shifting was anything but smooth. What stories I could tell you about the adventures in that truck, traveling the highways and byways of rural Pennsylvania and Ohio. And the breakdowns!
we have been off the snow storm track for the first part of this winter so all those marvelous nor’easters are blowing right by and leaving six or seven flakes on the ground just to tease…
today… an inch !
I’ve begun the serious work of narrowing down the best compositions for the winter’s hibernation. The list…the short list…is over 30 paintings. When I count out the weeks, the days, between now and the big summer show at the Granary Gallery… July 17th for those who might wish to know… the realist in me, no pun intended, might anticipate 12-15 solid pieces, one of which will be another very detailed 8 footer. So… the pressure is on !
With my supply of ready-to-go panels dwindling I can’t wait for the weather to warm up before putting some more in the pipeline. The newly roofed garage is cleared out enough to provide ample workspace and though it is not insulated or heated the space heater and afternoon sunshine warm it up enough to work. At least that was the case until this morning.
The snow means no sun and the temps are well below freezing. Even though I keep the adhesive next to an iron and use said iron to smooth and secure the canvas to the panels…and even though I have Finnegan laying at my feet and the Koln Concert vibes warming up the rest of the garage…it was too cold for this artiste. I got one more panel wrapped and fled to the warmer studio.
A couple weeks ago I finished a painting which featured this compost pile…and uncharacteristically I’ve gone back a couple times since to tweak the light and shadows…not quite satisfied that it was singing.
Yesterday morning…as Finnegan and I made our way to work through the back gate… I passed the compost pile…
and just that little bit of snow, almost an inch ! , gave a place for the raking light to…well…rake. I’m going to go back one more time…with today’s snow falling outside and the fingers warming up…and see if the muses were right.
This blog entry isn’t about painting…because not much of it got done the last week and a half or so…because I was watching from my studio windows as the most excellent roofers put a new lid on our old log cabin.
Under the direction of Mike Fleet, from Allied Roofing, carpenter Chris and his crew worked brilliantly to repair, restore and renew the old rotten roof. I can’t tell you what a pleasure it was to have competent craftsmen on the job. Not only were they skillful and hard working…right through two snow storms and the coldest temps of the year…but they were polite. Yes, they were thoughful, had good senses of humor and were kind spirited and boy was that refreshing.
It’s a small cabin with a roofline that looks a lot like the Weasley’s house…not a square edge to be found. Didn’t even slow down these guys. All four of them hustled and made it look easy.
We all have contractor horror stories… and believe me I have become jaded…but these guys have brought me back from the dark side. They’ve earned my respect and recommendation…and a place on the blog to show off their hard work.
Today it’s the Gutter King’s turn…they showed up and got right to work…
as Pat is fond of saying…”We may have to build a shrine !”
You may remember that some time back I showed you a photo of a hubcap that had just arrived at the studio door. Well today’s the day that I begin working on that project.
Some months ago I received an email from a fellow by the name of Ken Marquis inviting me to be a part of a recycling adventure that he had begun…Landfill Art. The basic idea is that he is sending out old hubcaps that have been rusting along our highways and letting artists have their way with them. There is a gallery of the ones returned so far on his website and he plans to publish a book showcasing all 1,041 and then choose 200 for a traveling show.
His selection of artists has an unusual scope as well…
“The goal of this project, is to include at least one professional artist from each of Pennsylvania’s sixty-seven (67) counties, at least one from each of the 50 US States, and to include a number of international artists. In addition, I have always been a believer inthe 80/20 rule. My goal is to have 80% of the project be completed by professional artists and 20% fulfilled by nontraditional artists. These nontraditional artists are mentally and physically challenged (ie, down syndrome and autistic artists), politically oppressed artists (ie, Cubans), young artists (ie, 25 NYC third grade school children) and incarcerated artists.“
So, today it’s my turn. I’ve been pondering this for months now and at first thought I’d do some form of teacup composition…aka roadside diner theme. But after I did a quick sketch I picked the hubcap up and looked more closely…and saw my reflection. Shazam….new idea. Waded through the mounds of leaves to the old studio, now the prop room, and brought down the old gas station mechanic’s uniform that hangs there.
A fun little side trip was discovering the trail of stink bugs that followed me back into the studio….and right back out onto the porch where I dug dozens of them out from each of the many pockets …ugh.
I also found an old cap with a Shell logo on it that I forgot was up there…and an old pair of lock pliers…
So, now I’m thinking of painting the reflection of a mechanic fixing to put this shiny sphere back on the good old chevy.
Not sure if I need to gesso first or just paint right on the metal. That will be today’s adventure…along with trying to fit into the overhauls !
I was taking the first look at the newest addition to the studio library, STAR WARS Art: Visions published by Abrams, (the cheap version). It’s a stellar collection of Star Wars inspired art by contemporary artists.
And it occurred to me that I had done a Star Wars painting too…
While it wasn’t commissioned by George Lucas, that little McDonald’s Toy version of Yoda has been a constant muse since the very early days of the saga and sits ever vigilant by my easel watching… and whispering…
Kudos to the artists whose work fills the new book…I’ll enjoy dipping into that this winter…
It’s a pleasure to be in the company of these three strong and seasoned artists for this upcoming show. And it’s in our backyard so those of you who live nearby can hopefully join us for the festivities. The show opens this weekend with two receptions, Saturday from 5-7 and Sunday from 2-4. The next weekend, November 21st at 2pm there will be a panel discussion with all 4 artists and the weekend after that, November 28th a gallery walk, touring the show with the artists.
I’ve got a trailer full of originals packed for delivery and for this show I’ll also have studio prints for sale.
The show is at the York Art Association, 220 S. Marshall St. York, PA 17402 – 717 755-0028.
