Hey, Hey, Hey... OPA!

This piece was juried in to the Oil Painters of America Eastern Regional Show at Walls Gallery in Wilmington, NC. Typically I mail these to the galleries for the shows but I think I may drive this one out there. Greeeaaat excuse for a road trip. The fact I love the country between here and there doesn't hurt either, especially the western side of NC.

I also noticed a couple of other Tennessee artists got in. Jeff Jamison and Tarron Parsons, both personal friends and fabulous artists. Congratulations guys.

City-fied

Went downtown with Anne Blair Brown this morning to paint industrial/cityscapes. It is out of my comfort zone again but I think she and I have a plan to do this at least once a week. It would be good for me because for me it is a compositional challenge due to the fact there is just sooo much stuff and I need to filter a bit better. I tend to want to paint it all because it all looks like so much fun to paint. Little signs, telephone poles, fences, cars and trucks, architecture, etc.. I also kinda' let Anne feel out the spot because I was dying to try and just jump out and make some sort of composition with whatever I had to work with. It's tough. I always have a great deal of admiration for the guys and gals who can step up to something that you can't see anyway a painting will come out of it and they knock off a masterpiece.

Before we did this, Anne e-mailed me a couple of links to William Wray's and Randell Sexton's websites to get a feel for some urban work and if you haven't seen their stuff you need to take a look.

Next time I do this though I am going to try and ad the cars and maybe a person or two so it doesn't look like the day after some biological holocaust.

Finally, A Break In The Weather!

We finally had a break in the month long heat wave. I think we had near to over 100 degrees for over a month and last week we finally got a cold front that lowered the temps to the low 90's to upper 80's. Compared to what we have had I almost had to put on a fleece jacket and ear muffs. We gathered up a group that consisted of Roger Brown, Beverly Evans, Jason Saunders, Anne Blair Brown and myself and rode the backroads in Maury county and painted for two days and that was the first outdoor painting I think any of us had tried in awhile due to the weather. We had a small map that Jason had from his gig as a Bethel volunteer fireman and he navigated with "left here, right here, OK left here." We saw some unbelievably beautiful painting country in the area between Columbia and Mount Pleasant and need to get back ASAP.

When I paint with other very capable artists and see how they do what they do I always come away questioning my techniques and methods. I have found that every artist I know seems to have a different way of getting from point A to point B and after watching them I am tempted to try some of it. Use a different panel, different brushes, different palette, different method, but I have gone through all of that and it brought me here, where I am right now. Eventually I know it will change again because as an artist that constant search for more knowledge and skill will have an impact and pique my curiosity to the point I will change, bend and flex as I acquire my new skills and knowledge. That's what keeps this journey sooo exciting. What in the world will I be doing a year from now?

New Book

Landscapes of Kevin Menck by Kevin Menck | Make Your Own Book

Designed and printed a new book of my images through blurb. Easiest thing I have ever done. It's amazing the different venues and the ability we have now to promote our work that 10 - 15 years ago I would have killed for. The printed version of this was a little dark and saturated but I'll work on some color correcting and hopefully will be able to print a stack of them to use as a handout at a few galleries in the future. When you view it though, hit full screen. For whatever reason the image size I have it at now in the blog is the only one I could make fit. Just because the technology has zoomed along doesn't mean I have been zooming along with it.

100+

For those of you who follow my blog I assume you can tell I haven't been blogging and that is due entirely to the heat we have had here in Middle Tennessee. It has been unbearable and because of it I haven't painted outside. At all. I tried Saturday with Plein Air Nashville and the Chestnut Group at a paint out we had in Hartsville getting prepared for the Land Trust show we are having in October. I tried three paintings and failed three paintings, two being scrapers. The third will never see a frame. All I was thinking about while painting was to hurry as fast as I could to get out of the heat. I was miserable. The paintings got not one ounce of my mental attention, the weather had it all. And it showed. I can't remember the last time I left the field that frustrated and demoralized. Whipped...drained....exasperated.

I have painted in every weather situation I can think of and even as much as the wind frustrates me, the heat shuts me down. I noticed on the news that this weather is to continue for the next week so my blog will be a little sparse.

The piece I have posted is the second attempt at a commission with the first being the July 19 post. After it was done it was a little large for the space at 18x24. Fortunately it sold to someone else and the piece above is the second at 12x16. We shall see.

The Land Trust of Tennessee

I think I have mentioned this before but it bears repeating; thank you to anyone who has donated property to the Tennessee Land Trust. It is a gift to all Tennesseans, now and into perpetuity, and hopefully if my DNA produces an artist or two in my family tree generations from now, they will be able to stand and paint the same farms and fields I have had the pleasure to paint these last few years and the same vistas the indians experienced. That's phenomenal to me. Every time I find an arrowhead and hold it in my hands I try to picture the guy that turned that arrowhead in his hands. How much time did he devote to his craft? Was the arrowhead I happened to be holding in my hand one that he was exceptionally proud of or one he would consider a dud? One that he would show everyone or one he lost control of and threw in the field I found it in? While I am holding that arrowhead I feel an incredible connection to whoever that indian may have been and all we have in common. Dedication to craft, sacrifices made to further that craft, and that unexplainable "fire in the belly."

I mention the Land Trust because lately the Chestnut Group has been painting Land Trust properties for the fundraiser they have on October the 9th at the Glen Leven mansion in Nashville (which is also a trust property). The paintings above are all from the the Daniel's property in Watervalley and were painted with the Chestnuts last week.

A Little Studio Time

Painted in the studio a bit last week. This painting was a commission piece and I had some illustration work to get out so I didn't get a whole lot of field work but hopefully if I can beat the heat this week I will have more field work to show.

The piece above is a 18x24 and it looked huge in my studio and then I took it to the gallery and set it under a massive Roger Brown painting and it looked soooo itty bitty.....

Tennessee Shakespeare Festival

My family was in Bell Buckle Tennessee Saturday evening and while we were there we attended the Tennessee Shakespeare Festival's production of "The Two Gentlemen of Verona." It's the actual Shakepeare play but it is set in a small town in Tennessee in the sixties country music industry. It is very clever, hilarious and very well done. The stage is on the campus of Webb School and apparently they stay on campus and live there while the play is going on, I think a couple of months.

So if you would like to see Shakespeare with a southern accent, take a bottle of wine, a couple of glasses, and go see "The Two Gentlemen of Verona" at the Webb School in Bell Buckle Tennessee. You'll love it.

Busy Busy

Above are my students from my Thursday night class and the demo I did during. The lady you see in the photo wearing the white shirt and shorts has taken a few classes and workshops around town and has developed a bit of a moniker. It seems that everyone refers to her as the "brownie lady". I know a couple of her past instructors and the first thing they would ask is,"Has she brought brownies yet?" Well she did Thursday night and believe me it is a well deserved moniker. They were awesome. I had also picked a mess of blackberries on the way to class so my dinner Thursday night was brownies and blackberries. Life of Riley.

These are more haybales I got done this week on the Natchez Trace, 11x14 no less. It has been a good haybale painting season this spring. I have haybale paintings stacked to the roof around here and I am going to have to have a haybale clearance sale. Make me an offer.

And, I have re-posted this painting because after I got out of the heat I could actually take a look at it and add a few things that I didn't in the field because all I could think about was getting back in the vehicle and in some AC. When I say the heat affects my work this is what I mean. My concentration is on getting out of the heat and not the painting I am working on at the time. A recipe for disaster.

Social Aggression

The two donkeys above are two of the most "social" creatures I have come across.

I have access to a farm in Leiper's Fork and it's where these donkeys apparently live. I take my class out on Thursdays and we had a group of six that got together recently to paint there and invariably these two characters roll up. They lick palettes, nose through equipment bags, put their heads through open windows on vehicles, and try desperately to obtain whatever beverages we may be drinking on that particular outing.

Also, here in Tennessee, the heat is on. It has been miserably hot and has cut into my paint time. I actually went very little this past week relative to what I normally do and I went with Jason Saunders Friday morning and it is the hottest I think I have ever been while painting. My life was actually saved by a three scoop chocolate waffle cone at the Mount Pleasant Cafe. Tragedy averted.

Frustration

I had a student ask me if I ever get frustrated while I'm painting.

"Heh heh, who me?"

I told them yes and I am sure we all do, it's just that I have learned to approach it differently now than when I started. I have learned that if you can see through it, calm down long enough, there is usually a very significant lesson to be learned.

I remember an incident for me about three to four years ago as I was standing in the middle of a vast cornfield trying to paint. It was mid day, sun was bright and it was getting hot, but the biggest issue I had that day, the one that REALLY sent me over the top, was this slimy, slippery quality to my paint application. Wouldn't adhere to the canvas, just slid. I lost it.

Now, I could have picked up my Open M Box and thrown it like a javelin. Or probably gotten pretty good distance with a "shot put" technique but I went with the tried and true "hammer throw" namely because I was clear headed enough at that point to realize the chemicals I had assembled on my palette would spin off harmlessly in an arc away from me. It was pretty good distance too for someone in hunting boots and blue jeans. Had I had on those little tight athletic clothes and shoes they wear there's no telling how far I could have pitched it. Point is, after I calmed down and had that moment of clarity, I saw myself standing pathetically in this vast cornfield on this vast planet and realized how small this all was so I went over, dusted it all off, stood it up and really thought about why I got frustrated. Analyzed it. Really tried to get to the bottom of it. I was using Liquin as a medium at the time so I thought I could try the next painting without it. Maybe that was it. Bingo, it got a little better. Lesson.

So now when I get frustrated I see it as a lesson. There is something there that is causing the frustration and if I keep my wits I might be able to analyze this and figure it out. Another lesson.

They say pain is the body's way of telling you something is wrong. I feel that way about frustration when I paint. I need to analyze what I am doing and try to fix what is causing the "pain". Sometimes it works and others it doesn't but it is much better than flinging an Open M Box across a cornfield.

June in Tennessee

Everybody is in the hay right now in Tennessee. All the hayfields are being cut and rolled so I am again this year making the effort to paint them while I can and once again I will say they are some of the hardest subjects I paint. Trying to get them to look right in perspective, to get them to lay on the ground, to have weight and to draw the ellipses correctly are just a few of the drawing problems. And for whatever reason, for me, they are incredibly difficult to judge and paint the values right. Maybe it's the Benedryl.

I was also invited to paint with Jason Saunders and his students during his workshop. He has developed such a reputation as a teacher and instructor he has people attending from all over the country. Had a lady from Michigan at this one who had driven 9 hrs to be there. In the class I teach, if I get someone from the next county over I get pumped.

Quick Flood Update

I wanted to post one more time about our recent flood. It seems that everywhere I go now to paint I am confronted with "Bridge Out" or "Road Closed" or "Detour" signs. Everywhere. The damage is so widespread it leaves me speechless on most days by the time I get home.

I typically take the Natchez Trace out of Nashville to get to 90% of my painting areas. Leiper's Fork, Fly, Watervalley, Hickman County. There is not one community along the Natchez Trace that has not been gutted. As a plein air painter I spend a lot of time riding the back roads and every low spot or dip in the road or creek or gully I have seen has been completely destroyed. What used to be meandering little creeks are now giant cavernous ravines. And the amount of gravel that has been piled up in yards and on farms is astronomical. Where did all that gravel come from? One of the most shocking sights for me was the Totty's Bend Bridge in Hickman County. I know if you have never seen it it won't have the impact it would for someone familiar but the Totty's Bend Bridge had drift on it! The water actually got over it! I have posted a picture with the river in the distance but I don't think you can tell that that bridge is probably 40 feet from the water! I NEVER thought water could reach that bridge. Yet there it sits, closed, with trash all over it.

I have to say, the road crews have done a very good job getting us back to some sense of normalcy and convenience but I would guess there are areas that will never be the same. It is just a miracle that more people weren't killed.

Classes at Leiper's Creek Gallery

For those interested, I will be teaching a landscape class again at Leiper's Creek Gallery starting June the 17th. It will be conducted mostly outside if the weather co-operates and will be Thursday evenings from 6:00 - 9:00. To sign up contact Kay Keyes Farrar at dkisfarrar@charter.net.

Lindsey Lohan Yellow

I have a color that I can't do anything with. It has the palette personality of Lindsey Lohan. No matter how many chances you give it, it just can't be controlled and doesn't get along with any of the other colors and generally makes a mess out of every situation it is exposed to.

It's Cadmium Yellow.

Anne Blair Brown gave me a little last week and I have tried to use it a couple of times since and for whatever reason, the colors I get with it seem to be muddy, garish. The greens get very yellow ochre or too warm maybe? Not sure if it is a technical issue or the other colors I have on my palette or even a personal matter due to my familiarity with what I use and it being something different. Just can't get anything I like with it. I have also added Alizarin Crimson and have started using it a bit. The thistles above are an example of a color that looks better with the AC than just Cad Scarlet. I am also considering adding a blue of some sort as long as I can find one that doesn't become a "Brittany Spears Blue".

Back in the Groove...But Out of My Comfort Zone

I got some painting done this week. Painted with Cathleen Windham on Tuesday evening in a rain storm and had to fend off hostile donkeys but got the barn above done. Then Anne Blair Brown took me out of my comfort zone this morning. She challenged me to a swap of palettes and technique. I would be Anne Blair Brown for a painting and she would be me. Her palette had a couple of extra colors on it but the biggest issue I had was her painting method. Anne underpaints and she infuses her paintings with a lot of luminosity by the color she uses in her underpainting. When I would try to underpaint I lost my values. Once I got my color down my values were off and as a value painter I just lost it. Came unravelled like a cheap suit. She on the other hand nailed a couple of nice one's with a strictly three color palette. That's either a statement on her ability or my methods.

Ultimately, I think it's good for us as artist's to get out there and try something else from time to time. Out of the comfort zone. If I think about it though, I have been out of my comfort zone every second I have been doing this.

Back in the Saddle Again.....Kinda'

This is the first painting I have done in over a week. The week before I only did demos. I did two for a day long workshop I did for the Chestnut Group and two for the student body at The Webb School in Bell Buckle. I also slipped off with Jean Gauld Jeager after the Chestnut workshop to paint in the Glen Leven garden. For the last two weeks, that's it.

This painting was done with Plein Air Nashville Saturday morning at the Mount Olivet Cemetery and I have to admit I felt a bit rusty, clumsy. There is a "groove" or rhythm to this. You have to do it on a pretty regular basis for it to stay intuitive and less trying and from time to time life will knock you out of your groove. Hopefully this week I can get back into my groove.

Aftermath

The amount of damage caused by our recent flood here in Nashville and surrounding counties is overwhelming. There is debris and mud everywhere you look.

The photos I have posted were the few I took while it was taking place. My first incident started right at the end of the Harding Art Show when I went to my truck to get trash bags to cover my art and as I rounded the corner of the school saw my truck sitting in the artists parking lot in knee deep rising water. I ran, jumped in the water and then wading to the truck got in and drove back through the water and out, the whole time talking to my truck. "Alright, you gotta start. You gotta get us outta here. Let's go sweetheart."I then got my truck parked, ran back in the school and got keys from Helli Luck to get her vehicle out but within 10 minutes the water had risen so high and fast I couldn't get close. The rapidity with which the water jumped up was stunning. And the speed with which it fell was just as stunning. It was all over that evening in about an hour and a half. When that was said and done we lost around 7-8 vehicles in the parking areas.

The next morning was the deluge that created most of the flooding and damage. The street scene is from my driveway early Sunday. After the rain that morning I got out to see how much damage had been done and was stopped by an ocean of flood water right down the street from my house. I knew at that point this was very, very bad. I had never seen anything like it and hope never to again.

Right now, in the aftermath, the worst part for me is driving through these areas every day and seeing the possessions of their lives, from antiques to their children's toys to beds and furniture thrown out in these huge debris piles by the road. HUGE debris piles that contain everything. I mean EVERYTHING. Most don't have flood insurance so I think this catastrophe is just beginning for most and you almost feel guilty for being able to go about you life in the midst of this. Again, I hope I never see anything like this again.