How do people keep up with this stuff?

(please check out the Eli Phant and Rabelais sites - both places are very much worth a visit)

I don't know about you, but as you can see from the above invitations, I've been busy. Busy enough not to be able to post any of this stuff to the blog. I suppose this is very bad of me and not at all business savvy, but, man, there just wasn't any TIME. I had a hard enough go of it just finding time to add this stuff to the robsullivanart.com website, which, to me is a little more important, as it showcases my work, and not my written diatribes.

So, yeah, I was right out straight with these shows. I am happy to say that they were both successful in terms of my expectations. A lot of good people got a lot of good artwork for not a lot of money, and that's totally cool. Plus the food, the drink, and the excellent conversations with new people was worth doing this alone.

Just prior to the Rabelais opening, I was really spreading it thin. My post as adjunct faculty at Maine College of Art was solidified, and a syllabus had to be written, plus my MFA application had to be made, and, of course, the paintings had to be done for the show a week before, since a family vacation was planned for that last week in August. Somehow, I managed to do all those things. I will be the first to admit that I have poor skills when it comes to this level of multitasking, but when the pressure is on, it gets done somehow.

So, right after a wonderfully relaxing vacation, totally unplugged from the world out on an island in the middle of Casco Bay, it was suddenly not summer anymore. The kids went back to school and I went back into the front of the classroom at MECA. I am teaching the juniors (and a few seniors) in the illustration department, and the course is all about the narrative in illustration. Lots of stories, lots of preliminary work, lots of good stuff is already happening. But, man, was THAT sudden!

And tomorrow, I start my Continuing Ed @ MECA class of outdoor painting - which we will take indoors in a few weeks, taking a study from the outdoor session and making it into a "studio work." I've taught the same class at Sanctuary a few years ago, and got good results.

Maybe I will blog this stuff, maybe I won't have enough energy. I don't know right now. I'll give it a shot. But I think the world would rather see some new paintings from me than read stuff. Nevertheless, Studio Berehaven has served me well this spring and summer- it was more like a second home to me, I was there so often - and any new and excellent stuff that comes out of there will make it onto this blog at some point in time.

PS - Both these shows are still up if you want to see them in person! But, the Eli Phant show may come down soon, and work was taken that was sold. Nevertheless, the store is worth a visit, like I said. And there are PRINTS there! Yes! Also, the work at Rabelais is going fast! Two works were sold to a buyer from San Jose, sight unseen!

Show Review = Good!

"Biography" oil on panel, 6" square.

The "minumentals" show was reviewed in the Maine Sunday Telegram! Here's an excerpt from the article by Phil Isaacson:

I conclude with a few thoughts about the tiny (6- by 6-inch) paintings of Rob Sullivan. Called "minumentals," they can be seen at Art House, a new venture on Pleasant Street in Portland.

Their size and the familiarity of their subjects remind me of the work of Robert Kulicke, who was the inventor of the now ubiquitous narrow-faced aluminum frame and not by coincidence, a talented painter.

Once each year, back in the '60s, he would offer paintings similar in size to Sullivan's at a very low price. Their sole subject was a single pear, and people would line up in front of his shop on Madison Avenue to buy one. Not acquiring one was one of the few disadvantages of living in Maine.

Sullivan's subjects are a touch more home-like than Kulicke's, but the idea is much the same: a satiric ennobling of the everyday object. Get it down in paint, and it acquires status.

The results are charming. They include a croissant, a folding knife, a piggy bank, a hand container for coffee, a rubber duck, a cupcake – you get the idea.

Look at the painting; it's deft and handsome.

{here's a link to the entire article}

It's fair to say that I'm very happy about this, and that Mr. Isaacson "got" the show. Not that there's much to "get"- I wanted to keep it simple, elegant, and, well... fun. I enjoyed the comparison to Kulicke, a fine craftsman and multitalented individual.

Drew at Art House told me last week that Mr. Isaacson was in to review the show, and I have to admit, I was a bit nervous about it. I think most people who paint representationally are wary of art critics. One's laundry is hanging out there for all to see; there are no tricks, no abstractions, no heavy symbolism or editorial comment to hide behind. It's solely one's skill on display, and if you don't have the chops, it may get pointed out to you in print. Yikes.

That said, it's good to keep one's skill level high by painting and drawing as much as possible. I was in the studio this week, in fact, and I revived something that I had let sit idle for a while. I will post it when it's dry! Here's one of Robert Kulicke's: "Four Wedges of Watermelon on a Glass Plate in a Grey-Tan Background." The frame is made by the man himself.

Well where have YOU been?!?!

Look, just chill out and have a pint ("Pint of Stout" oil on linen panel, 6" square). Let me fill you in, okay?

First of all, if you hadn't deduced it from between the lines here, my corporate day job was stifling my creativity BIG TIME. Frankly, the whole thing was getting me really, really down to the point where I had kind of gone into a shell art-wise and personality-wise, and it was becoming more than a bit noticeable around house and home. I stopped blogging because I had nothing to add, Berehaven-wise. It hurt to even be reminded of that, frankly.

So I stopped pre-holiday 2008/09, I see. Yeah, Christmas was fine: there was money for presents and New York City extravagances and the like. And I was so unhappy. But, I ain't no quitter, so despite my lack of desire for basically anything at this point, I stayed on at the office. Steady paycheck & insurance - this is our lot in life, right? The cliches are right: money is no substitute for happiness. Or staying true to oneself, for that matter.

Some bright moments during this time: My 15 year wedding anniversary, for one. Me & D. celebrated sans kids, and we enjoyed it immensely. Despite everything else, we're doing okay There's a lot more ahead of us, and plenty of love to keep it going. The other thing was a 25 year reunion with my elementary school buddies. You read that right. We were all pretty close growing up; it was a Catholic school that went from K to 8, and most of us were neighbors or pals of some sort. It was an absolute blast, and I love every one of those people.

Then, as February of '09 drew down to a close, and as the economy bottomed out so hard you could hear it like a thunderclap in a snowstorm, my company had a round of layoffs. I knew it in my bones that I was done. Sure, part of me felt afraid - afraid of what to do next, afraid of the end of our savings, health care, etc. But then there was that part of me that was like William Wallace getting his guts pulled out at the end of Braveheart: "FREEEEDOOOOOMMMMM!!" I even preemptively packed my things and wiped my hard drive clean. When I got the last bit down off my wall, the CD came in, looked around, and said, "Well I guess you know why I'm here." Yup.

The severance was okay, not great, but whatever - it was my first brush with the corporate life and perhaps my last, unless the REALLY right job comes along. At the moment, as we all know, that obviously is not happening. We're surviving, but happier - and let me tell you why...

I'm painting again. A LOT. For about 40 days (7 weeks, with weekends off), I 9 to 5-ed it at the studio and produced 28 new paintings. I was hoping for 30, but I didn't factor in some of the prep time, so there you go. I decided to go full on, alla prima, and plop a new still life every day on the stand. It was GREAT. What a catharsis of energy release! I created a theme, too, using my practical illustrator's sensibilities (heh). I decided to create a series for everyone. That sounds grandiose, but it's really the opposite. I chose items for the home, or from the home, that were interesting enough to keep me interested, and fun enough for others to find some connection. And since they are all the same size - small, at 6" x 6" - yet painted with true affection and attention to the singular object, I titled the series "minumentals" (lowercase intended).

Rather than describe it to you, you can see them at my website... www.robsullivanart.com. WHAT? A website? Well, I've been talking about it for friggin' months, already - isn't it about time? Damn right, it is.

Also, this idea was also designed with a show in mind. And guess what?! Yes! - the work is now up at Art House gallery in Portland, and will be there until June 27th. The opening went very well, and 10 pieces have sold (see my site for current availability) thus far. There is another mini-reception on First Friday, June 5th. I'd love to see you there!

And what else? Well, you know how much I loved teaching. Okay, if you don't remember - I loved teaching! It was just difficult, because NHIA was so far away. Well, problem solved. I am now faculty in the Illustration Department at the Maine College of Art. There is, of course, a story behind it, but the most important thing right now is that I'm teaching again, period. The chair and my co-faculty are just wonderful. I am looking forward to September with huge anticipation.

All right, that's a lot to digest, and now that no one is reading this blog anymore due to my neglect, it may have been superfluous. Whatever - I don't care, because I have made up for the time lost with painting! Yes!

Me, after the last of the minumentals went off to the gallery:

Reasons For the Figure

This is Reasons For Drowning, oil on panel 14" square. I did this for the Baroque/Classical group called Initial Ascent, and it is on the CD cover of the selfsame album title.
Here, I think, is an example of how the nude can really help convey emotion. It was imperative that the dark melancholia that pervades the music of this album come across on its cover. That was my assignment. Were just the landscape and sky depicted by themselves, I think it would fall short. There would be too much room for interpretation. It would be too open-ended and vague. The nude, pronate woman nails the whole thing, however: the vulnerability, the stillness, the very fact that you are unsure if she is alive -- it is an allegory that we can connect with, because of the nature of the figure.
Too often the nude is exploited for the easy thrill/shock via sexuality. This is akin to fast food; you can taste salt and fat and sugar easily - but where is the actual food? I this instance I would ask a John Currin (use Google image search, but beware): where is the actual art? Humanity needs to be lifted up again, a la the Renaissance. That is: artists need to depict the human figure in a way that elevates it beyond the base qualities of worldly existence. This has yet to be fully explored in a 20th/21st century context. There are a bold few who have done so, but it is not enough. It should really be a new movement. Too often has the figure been denigrated, in both low and high arts. The Divine that is in the Human Spirit can be captured in art. Why are we not seeing it? We need to see it, to have hope again.

Thawing Out

This is Evendim, oil on panel 9"x12". It's in a private collection somewhere. Yes, another Tolkien name, but the scene depicts the headwaters of the Fore River, at the end section of the Fore River Sanctuary here in Portland. This is what it looks like this time of year, generally: some ragged edges of snow still waiting to melt off and freshen the brackish waters.

This winter seemed particularly long. I'm just beginning to thaw and feel the urge to paint outdoors. I'll be sure to post my successful plein air attempts here. That way, when winter returns, we can all look back at those paintings and remember that there really is a warm season in Maine!

Where Is This?

Well, I think most Portlanders know that this is Back Cove. I mean, where is this painting? This is Anar the Golden, oil on panel 9" x 12" (I was giving things a lot of Tolkien names at the time). I sold it 2 years ago, along with a number of other paintings in a number of shows at Jameson Gallery (in its previous incarnation). This very low-res picture is the only thing I have of it. I don't know who bought it.

I've learned a couple of things from this period. One is to catalogue everything immediately. There is a whole series of pieces that I sold in one shot, and I have no reproduction whatsoever. Thankfully, I know who has them, but it would be a disturbance to him, and an expense to me were I to borrow them, take them out of their frames, photograph them, and re-frame them. I should probably do this anyway, but it could have easily been avoided. Other pieces, like the one above, are just plain gone, in a private home or office, or who knows where. I really wish I had some good photos or slides of these for my portfolio. Yes, it could have been worse, I could have lost them in a fire, like what happened to Martha, but for me it was too much rushing to get the pieces framed and into shows that robbed me of the time to properly record them. It was my fault. So the other thing I learned is: finish before the deadline, not on it.

If anyone has seen this painting, or one like it, let me know. I may need to stop by and photograph it. I'll bring a bottle of wine for your troubles.