All Manner Of Things

One of my grandfather's most repeated phrases was - " Be Still ."  He was an orderly man, adamantine in his approach to his daily structure. I always noticed the manner in which he would grab his pants at the crease just above his knees and slightly raise them as he sat down.Toast and marmalade in the morning, soft butter. Newspaper, hat and scarf .Vests. Long periods of silence and a novelist's eye for a yarn .

     
There is a point we seldom recognize in our own fast flying days, when our own routine and perculiarities become the framework of daily living. In approaching painting, I am not always certain if this is a good thing . Repeating oneself, or relying on the comfortable and familiar will eventually extinguish. There but for the grace of God go I . . .

Off to Addis Ababa this week, sketchbooks in tow. Unless the powers that be at customs decide they want to retain some drawings for themselves, I will post some sketchbook pages upon returning.

The Boatman Is Waiting

Returning from New York, New Jersey, Baltimore . From the tall Brooklyn brownstones, to the sleepy cornfields of Egg Harbor,down to the old quarters of Arcadia, this winter certainly has it's captives. The frozen landscapes and cities look as if they will remain that way for some time to come.

Paintings in progress - a knot of humanity on the edges of some plangent terrain. A few new ideas to explore from some random sketches. Prints to run. The ox is in the furrow, for certain .

A quick few weeks before departing for Ethiopia.

Ground To Cover

"The winds must come from somewhere when they blow,

 There must be reasons why the leaves decay;

Time will say nothing but I told you so . . ."

                                                                     - Wystan Hugh Auden 

The calendar turns, and sifting through the flotsam of another

annum, tactical plans are floated for the river ahead. Atlanta

Juried Printmaking Exhibition in January, returning to Ethiopia in

February, and a busy run through October - (announcement to

follow. . .)                

Reason Holds The Reins

Returning from the frozen north and the earliest winter I can recall in many years. Final strings to tie up for a major exhibition in October of 2011. It's ink and paint, not blood and soil but at times I must admit, it sure feels that way. 

The Sky And The Ground

Evening, and I will be taking leave shortly, along the trail that leads backwards to Baltimore. A 23 hour drive, with a detour in Richmond. I'll take the coat off the nail, bring the sketchbooks and nutbread.

Rowing Onward

Diverted by the tasks of assembling a new website(markrenner.net) to coincide with the release of a new recording. . .and trying to settle down to focus on painting and finishing another recording before February.

Sketch is a part of the detail from a forthcoming painting,which may or may not resemble it at all.

Measured Response

A few other glimpses from the Glasgow sketchbook.The days here have been more bearable and I am hoping to put away the paints on friday and take the sketchbook for a little exercise .

Along the Way

A recent painting completed for the Grand Prairie Invitational.

While Asleep

Working on several things at once. Time away has dashed my routine. As promised, a quick study from the sketchbook- near the Barras on a Saturday morning. . . 

Last night I dreamt of a painting.It is not often that I am given visions or ideas while sleeping, however the image was still in my mind at 6:00 am when I awakened. Unlike Blake, my work has never been informed by the mystical,(or Dante or Milton for that matter). I have no idiosyncratic polemic to expel.Yet sometimes you take what you've been given, so I will attempt to map out this nocturnal impression on canvas.

Good days ahead. . .

On We Go

Returning from 3 weeks in Caledonia, refreshed/ renewed and pushing toward the rushing current that leads to year's end.

An early November release date for Enduring the Going Hence, the next recording , and increasing backlog of work for a forthcoming exhibition, more than a few years inthe making.

Will scan some sketchbook pages from the Scotland visit if I can pound some life into my tempermental scanner.

If you find yourself in the Richmond, Virginia area in the next few months , I have a print included in the 2010 Harnett Biennial of American Prints .

http://museums.richmond.edu/exhibitions/index.html

Oil the Harvester

I will have two paintings in the forthcoming Grand Prairie Invitational
opening later in the month...have just returned from
Baltimore , where I recorded 2 songs for a forthcoming
project.Will be leaving for Glasgow in another week-
music, assault on the sketchbook and . . . vacation.

Cast Your Bread

A relatively productive summer.Imprisoned most

days by the soaring heat , there has been little

to distract from painting and the odd print.

Incessant labor, bringing fruit  . . .