Maharba Arts - Music, Film and other Visual Influences

I was influenced by Blaine Kern’s work before I was 10 years old. He has been the premier float builder for New Orleans Mardi Gras parades since the 50’s. He is referred to as Mr. Mardi Gras and employs many artists and craftsmen at several locations in the United States and Europe. If you look up a web site regarding Mardi Gras and see pictures of giant parade floats; it is probably the work of Blaine Kern. I met him briefly in the 70’s as he was campaigning for some kind of political position. I told him that I admired his work.
http://www.kernstudios.com/

In the late 70’s the Neville Brothers were very accessible. I was living in uptown New Orleans, first on Soniat Street, then on Bordeaux at the old Free School. The Nevilles also lived in the neighborhood and played at Tipitinas or Jimmy’s most weekends. I’ve spoken to all of them at one time or other, through parties or shopping at the local grocery store on Prytania Street. They were always gracious and easy to approach. I’m always proud to see them perform and always encouraged when I hear them. Hey Pokey Way!
http://66.70.148.219/index.html

I was looking for some images of Duke Ellington when I ran across the work of Susan Dysinger. The content and style of her work is always something that I look for. She is a printmaker, and graciously explains all of the techniques that she employs to create her images. The shapes, the colors, the lines ….it’s all good. I’m an instant fan.
http://www.susandysinger.com/

In my opinion, Wee Keng Hor is a photographer who produces images that define the word, ‘pensive’. He has traveled and photographed. His experience is well documented and he is open to sharing his knowledge. Keng Hor is a practical artist and looks for resources that are readily available and important in content.
I have recently started taking pictures of plants and animals at the zoo. Wee Keng Hor has some practical advice for taking pictures at the zoo and offers some very good examples.
http://web.singnet.com.sg/~weekh/

I discovered a self portrait of Lucien Freud at the ArtDaily web site and was immediately impressed with the intensity that was displayed in the painting. There are numerous examples of his work at various web sites. He tends to use warm colors to portray his figures. There is a special clarity in the paintings that I enjoy. Sometimes the strokes are loose, other times the technique is very smooth.

The web site at http://homepages.pavilion.co.uk/lincreasey/freud.htm quotes Freud, "I remember everything I've done because it was done with difficulty."

Somodevilla is a photojournalist who caught my attention when I spotted one of his photographs in the online version of the USATODAY. It was a picture of Andrew Young crying while being comforted by Jesse Jackson at a groundbreaking ceremony for a Martin Luther King memorial. There are other figures that line the foreground: each holding a shovel and together creating a special kind of design that adds drama to the scene. I like Somodevilla’s portraits. Many are close-ups that display details of faces and give the viewer a special peak that goes beyond the surface of the subject.
http://www.somophoto.com/index.html

My son gave me a book entitled, Frida Kahlo by Frank Milner. It is a wonderful picture book that highlights the life of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo and also includes many color reproductions of her work.
Her life was complicated. Many sources refer to her bisexuality but most reference the bus accident that caused severe trauma to her spine and pelvis. The accident is considered one of the turning points of her life.
She married the famed artist Diego Rivera and they lived a very interesting life. Her life is reflected in her art. The book has some great examples of her portraiture. I am especially interested in how she uses the background to tell the story of the person that she is portraying.
I will always refer to this book to see how she treats foliage and uses it to create patterns that compliment the central figure.

While thumbing through some of my newly acquired used art books, I was delighted to discover Wendell Minor Art for the Written Word. Wendell is an important American artist who is responsible for illustrating over 2,000 book covers. It’s easy to find web sites that feature or reference his work.

I find that his compositions are very balanced. It is always interesting to see how he achieves the balance in each composition. There is always some mix of surrealism, drama, nostalgia and mystery in his paintings. I am especially interested in how he treats negative space.
http://www.minorart.com/home.htm

The first time I met the couple was at an Omaha annual Art's Fair. Looking down the row of tents, I was attracted to their paintings from a distance. They were abstract and textural with earth tone color schemes that sometimes included metallic paints. They were bright, decorative and as Elaine referred to them, 'Happy'.

I saw Guiteau again at the same Art Fair the following year. I was impressed not only with the quality of his work but also of the volume . He graciously allowed me to take a photo and answered a couple of my questions regarding art and travels.

After hurricane Katrina destroyed most of New Orleans in 2005, many people resettled in Texas. My parents also relocated and I helped to move some of their household to Houston. By coincidence the Houston Art Fair was being held at the same time that I was there and once again had the pleasure to visit briefly with the Lanoues. I talked to Guiteau for about 30 minutes as he described his life as an artist in Houston.

I like their style of painting. It is almost cubistic. There is a lot of geometry with an exciting use of color and texture. The Lanoues are spiritual people who successfully express that spirituality on their canvases.

http://www.howardalan.com/artist/lanoue/index.htm
http://www.rose-lanoueart.com/page5biograhy.html

Working in Omaha, Nebraska and streaming WWOZ radio, I heard an interview with Veronica Leandrez. She started a series of portraits depicting some New Orleans women as Goddesses. Hurricane Katrina, a goddess in her own right, interrupted Leandrez's work and forced her to continue in Spain. She returned to New Orleans to exhibit her completed works at the Nadine Vorhoff library at Tulane University.
Her announcement is both cleaver and appealing. It arranges small details of the portraits to form a creative array of faces that I find interesting. I can only appreciate her devotion to the city and how she celebrates the characters of New Orleans.
http://www.veronicaleandrez.com/

I've been listening to NPR on a regular basis for almost a year. The news stories are delivered in an easy to listen format. I am especially interested with the area that deals with visual artists and musicians. The interviews usually lead me to learn about an artist that I am not familiar with. NPR is a wonderful source for the artist. The web site offers program schedules and archives from past presentations.
http://www.npr.org

There was a portrait painting at the Skutt Student Center (Creighton) that drew my attention. It was colorful and abstract but well proportioned. The eyes were not detailed and the figure looked mysterious. It was a painted by Dan Boylan. Later that week I saw another portrait in the same style at the aVENue gALLery in Dundee, Omaha. That portrait, also by Boylan, was about 5 feet tall and very beautiful. When I look at Boylan's portraits it's like looking at human spirits which is very interesting to me.
http://www.danielboylanpaintings.com/

The aVENue gALLery in Dundee, Omaha is a natural influence because it is the neighborhood gallery and I visit it every week. Most of the time I just look through the windows from the street to discover interesting paintings. It is a convenience that I have appreciated because this venue is more accessible. The owners have been very gracious in answering questions and the ambiance is friendly. I find the mother/daughter team to be interesting and relate it to me and my son.
http://www.avenue-gallery.com/index.php

There was an article in the Omaha World Herald on June 20, 2004 that caught my eye; it featured a photo of Simmie Knox as the artist who painted the official portrait of former President Clinton. How could I not be impressed with seeing something like that. I had not heard of him before reading the article but he was very well known. He had already painted the portraits of other celebrities including Thurgood Marshall, Muhammad Ali and Hank Aaron. The list is much larger. Knox said of portraiture, ..."there is nothing more complicated."
http://www.simmieknox.com/

I met Liz at Metro College in 2004 in a Life Drawing class. Mike Giron, also from New Orleans, was the instructor. Liz was also taking the 'Business of Being an Artist' course and participated in arranging the annual student art exhibit. Liz has traveled quite a bit and it is reflected in her art. She gave me the best example of how to use the World Wide Web to promote my personal art activities.

http://www.artelk.com/index.html

Visited friend and neighbor John to check out his photos. John is a thoughtful person and it shows in his work. He likes cars and photographs a lot of old autos and houses. I'm glad that I can see them in person understand the context of some of the pictures. His web site is a good store front. http://WWW.lightformsphotography.com

Reading Jill Carroll's stories on the Christian Science Monitor site led to clay Bennett's cartoons. While flipping through the images I came across on that was similar in thought to the painting that I was currently working on entitled, "Destiny". Both paintings presented the viewer with the familiar game of tic, tac, toe. My idea was to show that "0" could not stop "X" from winning and that "0" was responsible for limiting "X"s options. In other words, "0" (to some extent) "X"s destiny.

Bennett has some very interesting illustrations regarding social situations. http://www.claybennett.com/pages2/tic_tac_toe.html

It's interesting to visit Chapin's music again. The double disc Gold Medal Collection is excellent. He tells a story in a song better than most musicians that I listen to. He has a way of tugging at my gut and rendering my emotions raw.

I met Harry in New Orleans during the late 70's. He gave a small intimate concert where some of the audience were able to sit on stage with him. He posed for several pictures with my friend and was gracious for the support. He died a few years later in 1981 and I understood that we had lost a very natural and caring human being.

I need to learn to tell a story in a painting that way Harry did in his songs.
http://www.harrychapin.com/

..can't stop listening to Lila Downs, especially the album, Border. She is featured in the movie, Frida. The web site is visually inspiring and informative. http://www.liladowns.com/

I don't remember hearing about John Lewis or his music before. I like his album entitled, Evolution II. The cover painting is by Samuel John McKinney.

The web site, http://www.jazclass.aust.com/lewis.htm reveals a lot of who he was and his impact on music. Follow the link, http://www.jazclass.aust.com/jazgal.htm to discover some visual art that is associated with the music. I read the following quote on that page, "....it is essential that you think while you play (to maintain direction and discipline over your intuitive creativity), so that a coherent piece of art, like a visual painting, can emerge."

I think that it is a challenge to maintain that direction of thought throughout the process of creating a single painting.