Sleeping Bear Dunes and a Cycling Salamander

An old friend a few years ago said in a very secure succinct manner, bloom where you are planted. Over the years this simple phrase has been a guiding light for me on this perilous journey called life. When we feel discouraged and just plain doubting the choices we have made we contemplate the bloom.

The book, Living and Sustaining a Creative Life, Essays by40 Working Artists, Edited by Sharon Louden, introduces us to artists living and working in all parts of the U.S. The common thread that weaves its way through the book is that place is just one factor in the production and distribution of our creative output. We all know some areas are better known for their concentration of recognition in the arts. To help artists in less fertile art rich communities, the rise of guilds and arts and cultural organizations surround the artists with the energy of a supportive community. Sharon Louden shares with us the wide range of areas where artists are planted and the struggles these artists have endured to bloom.

Greening of the Dune by Joel F. Ellis
26x32 oil

 I like to tell the stories of the Great Lakes, the dunes and water ways and how they impact our lives. As Spring finally opened the skies to sunshine and warmth we recently went on a brief journey from the center of Michigan to the dune coast to find beauty in white Trillium carpeted forests, earthly sounds and astounding quiet nights. We found little communities of people opening their shops and getting ready for a couple of months of festivities.

In Empire, one of the small villages, at the base of Sleeping Bear National Park, we came across Heather Caverly and her exquisite gallery of fine art, Sleeping Bear Gallery. The works here range from realistic to tantalizing contemporary paintings, drawings, and sculpture. The artists in the gallery reflect their own bloom in the great lakes.

Farther north in Michigan’s wonder land near Charlevoix, we find the eclectic Cycling Salamander  art gallery where gardens welcome visitors to Nature’s delicate blooms amid whimsical sculptures. Inside the gallery we are amazed at the variety of artist’s expressions. Where we live and the times and events that shape our place are the influences that make the artist’s work meaningful.

Yasmin's Dune 10x20 oil by Joel F. Ellis

As the Michigan motto goes – If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you.

Joel

www.joelellisart.com

A Gem from Art and Fear

When my daughter was about seven years old, she asked me one day what I did at work. I told her I worked at the college – that my job was to teach people how to draw.   She stared back at me, incredulous, and said, You mean they forget?    -Howard Ikemoto

That quote from Art and Fear (David Bayles & Ted Orland, The Image Continuum Press) comes to me each time I am around young children.

Most people feel uncomfortable about others looking at their work and making a judgement about the outcome of their efforts. We folks in the arts put our work out there and we expect feedback and hope that our efforts will be appreciated. The sweet visitor to my studio was our four-year-old grandson. He walked in with confidence and said, Whatcha working on? Need any help?

He watched me for a bit then as he walked around the studio he stared at a recent painting of a favorite lake. Do you want to touch it? I asked. His small fingers gently followed the lines of the trees.  Then with a sure opinion he said, I like it. And he left the room.

Just for fun, or maybe because of a hidden slice of fear, I Googled how to critique artwork and sure enough a lot of important sounding stuff came up, not in four-year-old language, but the dreaded academia talk. The Google search discussion was informative and helpful but not the straight forward honesty of a four-year-old.

In Art and Fear, the authors discuss the role other people’s reaction to our art and how we proceed to on the creative path after critiques. Here is the gem paraphrase a reaction to criticism: when we the artists react negatively to casual critiques, we are giving others a lot of power over our work.

We have to continually evaluate our art at the time we are working in the studio. After a painting session we take an important few moments away from the studio then come back to the piece in progress with a fresh view. We might see it better  if we had the eyes of a four-year-old. 

Joel

www.joelellisart.com

Van Gogh Flowers Inspire

       Why would an artist paint or sculpt a subject like flowers if they were using the real deal as the model? You have the beauty sitting right in front of you. Why not snap a photo and be done?

Japanese Iris in a Vase,
16x12 oil on canvas board

     

       For me studying the flowers in close detail gives me a chance to soak in the emotions of seeing its beauty and express that emotion in my response. Also it’s fun and challenging and at the end of the experience you have preserved that flower for years to come. Just think of all those wilted former sparks of joy and how they are not with us except in our memories.

       Recently I looked through some paintings that needed a little touch-up help and found a painting of a pot of Japanese irises that just might be improved. After several weak attempts I turned to an expert on the subject of flowers, Vincent Van Gogh. His potted flowers are just the inspiration I needed.

       The day that this entry was written Scott Kelly just returned from one year in the international space station. One of his many experiments was growing flowers in space. He remarked that the flowers brought him closer to his home, earth. Most earthlings feel a special wonder to the flowers that  can speak to us saying, I love you, or I’m sorry, or Welcome Spring.

       Here’s to a new season! Be sure to celebrate Arts Advocacy Day, Monday March 7.

Joel

Joel Ellis Art, www.joelellisart.com

Three Poppies, 20x24

Dreams of Henri Matisse and Lascaux Cave Artists

     Henri Matisse once said, “What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter.” We can give two thumbs up to his dream but the real world is full of the stresses of things and events that keep us off track and we question where all the beauty has gone. Yes, I am talking about the evening news and all the human drama.

     As artists we can’t live in a pure and unspoiled world. Some of the most profound art has been created in the some of the most troubling of times. The true test of the creative soul is challenged to the max but great art can and must continue to keep the human spirit alive and looking to a higher level of the human experience.

     When we artists step into our studio or the great outdoor studio of nature we have tricks to push the troubling or depressing subject matters out of our creative environment. For me pleasant music or the perfect tea flavor help to keep the depressing subject at bay.

Lascaux Nights, 36x48 acrylic, by Joel F. Ellis
"I imagined these cave artists working
  with  limited use of tools and light
to impress expressions of their life then, exhausted,
 coming out into the vast starry night." 

     Keeping the creative juices flowing has always been a challenge to artists. Think about the cave dwellers of the Lascaux region in France. The massive painting surface was the home of cave bears that could not have been too happy about the invading dweller/artist living in their former home.  That kind of commotion could really provide the stress of their times, an angry mad bear at the artist’s door.

 Let’s hope we can keep the angry mad bear away from our studio door and create art that has balance, purity and serenity in this New Year.

Best to you,

Joel

Cezanne: art in harmony with nature

Some of the sales of Joel Ellis Art in 2015.

St. Joseph River Headwaters
Sold through the Joel Ellis Art special sale, Gallery 4
An important place to those who know this river.

Cézanne often stressed that he painted from nature and according to his sensations, seeking to realize a “harmony parallel to nature.”

There’s no necessity to understand his works, as he only wanted people to appreciate and love his efforts. As we artists work at our crafts we try to keep in mind the audience, the viewer, as a partner in the total experience of seeing and feeling the impulses that propel the creative outcome.

All this fancy talk just to say we hope you give us a chance to complete the cycle--- our interpretations transformed from nature and presented in our message to the viewer. That interpretation could be a still life, a portrait or landscape and even an abstract that forms our efforts to create a visual harmony in nature.

Traverse Morning
Sold from Gallery One of Joel Ellis Art
(We love this painting. So glad it has wonderful new home.)

Thank you to all who purchased paintings from Joel Ellis Art this year from galleries and the online website. Each painting purchased is a confirmation of the work. I am humbled by the support. As the holiday season is upon us our wishes go out to you and your loved ones and may we each seek harmony parallel to nature in the up coming year.

Garden Wall Blossoms
Recently sold from LAAC PreHoliday Exhibit
(Buyer said the painting spoke to her)

Best wishes,

Joel

www.joelellisart.com

Michigan Autumn Renewed

It all started with a trip to visit a gallery that has carried my work for years.  The day was sunny and bright and we thought we might get a little beach time. After a few hours of driving and straining to see the traffic I turned myself in to Helene and had to confess not being able to see with much confidence for the last few months. That meant no driving or at best very little.

Autumn Dune Eve, 12x16, oil on linen

After many hours watching Northern Michigan pass by in a blur I knew the decision was for the best but what would be next on this journey of surprises? The eye doctor was soon contacted and the testing began in earnest.  Bright lights, eye drops and eye charts revealed double cataracts, one far advanced and needing to be corrected soon.

The date was set and we tried not to think too much about the pre-surgery scary medical stuff, all of what could happen and think of the positive good that is expected. The twelve hour fast before going was hanging over our heads so we watched a movie, The Verdict. This classic Paul Newman movie turned out to be a big mistake because the film was about a patient dying during surgery.  With much trepidation we arrived for the big event. The staff moved through their process and soon the drug put me to sleep.

A few hours later with a big metal-looking patch on the eye and a bag of eye drops we headed home. The patch had little holes in it so I could sneak a peek at the world through the new eye.  It was beautiful and bright with much more depth and clarity then before the surgery. Just how would this brighter world of better sight affect my art?

For one thing my paintings on our walls seemed new to me. The subtle colors danced and played on the surface giving a new life to old friends. So, how would the work be affected when I got back to painting?  A few days later, the paints went to canvas with remarkable ease. When the painting was completed, the vibrant colors became a celebration, a gift of good vision. 

 

To see some of the Joel Ellis Art paintings, please check out the website: www.joelellisart.com . We are also having a sale of selected paintings from the Great Lakes series, most of these selections are $190 or less which includes shipping in continental U.S. Quick and easy purchases using the Buy Now buttons through the PayPal system accepting most credit cards. We are very happy with the initial response from friends and collectors of the art. In any case, we hope that as the season for improving home and office environments and thoughts go to quality gifts, that folks will consider original, one-of-a-kind, art as a lasting and exceptional gift.

Touch of Gold, 15x20, oil on canvas, Great Lakes series

Here’s to clear vision,

Joel

Art Provenance

       Looking at a piece of art that is appealing to us, we may have many thoughts about the history and why it appeals to us. Do we really know the history? Do we dare to ask the question, is it real? In the book Artful Dodgers: Frauds and Foolishness in the Art Market Bernard Ewell, is called into legal situations to help in the process of appraising top dollar art works from around the world.

       When asked how to be certain a work of art has the correct artist attached to the work his safest answer is to ask the artist. Obviously this is not always possible. So the next step is the detective route. The art appraiser has to look carefully at the art itself for style, materials used and craft of the materials. The appraiser studies the provenance, or history of the art piece, which includes previous ownership, galleries and printed references. Sometimes the appraiser’s decision on the authenticity of the work may tell the current owner that the piece of art is not what they had hoped for.

Recent purchase at a flea market.

       I received a recently purchased fine portrait from a flea market for a very low price. Many of the questions ran through my mind as well. I like the painting very much. The figure is well executed and the signature is clearly signed. In pursuit of its history, its creator and yes, possible value, I began my detective work. The painting is not American because the size is metric. It was produced sometime in the last 40 years –the canvas is secured with rusting staples not tacks. I began an online research of this intriguing work.

       You would think the possible masterpiece would be easy to identify but not so. After many hours of online searching, my masterpiece is still speaking only to me from the unknown artist’s brain and hand conveying this moment in the artist’s life and times.

       As we look at the art that we choose to live with us, we are caught up in the rush of the history and art movements taking place in the strange art world. We may wonder what changes are next and who will be remembered to represent that moment in the art timeline.

       And what about the very fine portrait from the flea market? Its provenance and artist are still a mystery. There are only a few guide lines for collecting art.  The one I like best is - if the work speaks to you and you think about it after you first walk away, it’s time to return for the art that will give you comfort on this very curious and interesting life’s journey. 

Third Coast View 30x40 acrylic by Joel F. Ellis

     And Please don't forget, you can buy new original art from an artist you know, check www.joelellisart.com . 

Joel