Not much of a Blogger

I haven't blogged on here since 2009. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

Seeking Collaborators

I am currently looking for other musicians to work with and had recently posted an ad on craigslist hoping to meet some decent guitar players. So far I've met a couple of promising guys, but nothing has clicked just yet. 

Hopefully though, it will happen.

Calling all angels...

I would like to present some of my work here and share a bit of its history and meaning for me. What follows will be thoughts and ideas about the work as I perceive it now and when it was created. I may not always remember all of the details, but will try to as honest as I can in regards to what I do remember.

The reason I mention being "honest" is that as I intend to always tell the truth, I know that our memory can often times be clouded by emotions and feelings that overwhelm the true actions, occurrences and events so that as we recount them, they may have been altered slightly. I also mention about being honest, because sometimes the things that inspire us are not always the things we wish to share with other people for one reason or another. Whether it be shame, something intimately personal, something frightening or perhaps just insignificant to us at the time, it may provide evidence of the creative process that may be important to me later or to someone else now.

This piece I am presenting now is called Calling All Angels. 

I painted this in 2003 on a piece of luann panel. It is roughly 19.75" wide by 31.5" high. I chose luann panels after a friend of mine, who is a talented artist, suggested I paint on wood as it was relatively less expensive than canvas. As such, it allowed more creative freedom, because the fear of wasting expensive canvas was no longer an issue. It was painted using acrylic paint and oil stick.

This is the second in a series of paintings of mine that depict this somewhat deliberate androgynous character, who is intended to represent the concept of a person, but is no one person in particular. In later blogs I will present the earlier incarnations of this figure and the inspiration(s) behind it. Several people have mentioned a resemblance to Picasso and though I am flattered, I am not trying to emulate his amazing style or works. Rather, I see this style as a type of cartooning dressed as figurative abstraction, if I were to pin a genre on it.

Many of the paintings is this series, which I unofficially call the "communication" series after a comment by an onlooker that they all have something to do with communication, are based on snippets of over-heard conversations, song titles, thoughts that popped in my head, things I felt or were dealing with that I wanted to illustrate.

In this case, there is a beautiful song that I like that is indeed called Calling all Angels which is written and performed by Jane Siberry (as a duet with K.D. Lang). I think I first became aware of it as part of the soundtrack for the film Until the End of the World, but have since heard it in another film or two perhaps. 

Anyway, the idea that came to me was - sometimes we are seeking some sort of spiritual or even human interaction or intervention to create some significant impact on our lives. Something to shake us awake, to save us, or to make some sense out of our lives. And I wondered that, as a Christian, if I am given a direct line to God, in my relationship with the Christ, than do I need to call out to the angels? Are they not here with me? Am I not capable of responding myself? Am I my own angel? In those times when it seems no one is answering my prayers, is there something that I should be doing? Should I be answering my own call? Am I missing something?

To represent this, I painted the figure with an expression of loss or even exasperation, or one of seeking something bigger than itself... and yet there is a slight sense of disappointment or fear even. In the figure's hands are a child's toy phone of two tin cans strung with a string, one can in each hand as if ready to make or receive a call from itself. On its back are two anemic wings, as if unsure of its potential, strength or resolve. 

I wanted to embody the sense of potential power in what might appear to be a frail and weak outer shell. And I think this is how we are as humans, weak and frail with the potential of great power. But then the question remains: "from whence does this power come?" Does it come from within or through us from outside ourselves? I wanted to leave that question open for each and every individual to contemplate and see if they can answer it for themselves.

Please let me know if you have any thoughts or comments. Thank you.

Who, What, Where, When & Why?

My name is Glen. I am a creative being. I live in Atlanta, Georgia. Right here and now. I was created this way.

http://glensutton.com