Nothing inspires me more than to see the art and design of Antique Warbirds. Yesterday, at the Commemorative Air Force Museum in Camarillo we were blessed to have the worlds only flying B-29 Superfortress land and taxi up to the museum, along with an excort of seven other WWII era Warbirds. It was a sight to behold.
In today's Color Exploration class I set up a still life with the overall harmony in green. This is the 20 minute demonstration painting I did in reference to the still life constraining myself to the secondary color of green.
Harmony in Green
14"x14" Acrylic on paper
In 1991 I traveled to India for the second time in my life. I traveled to the ashram of Bhavagan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, located in a little village called Puttapharti, (Approximately 100 miles North of Bangalore). During my five week stay I was put to work with an international collaboration of artists, writers, and poets to create an installation for the soon to open Sai Museum.
One of the artists I worked with on a daily basis was a Yugoslavian named Radhe Terzic. He gave me this greeting card with an image on it. The story goes as follows...
Radhe was sitting alone in his studio when he fell into a trance. He was consciously aware he was in the trance, when he observed his hand move to pick up one of his paint brushes and then move to his palette. Over the next 30 minutes the brush he was holding moved from palette to canvas a number of times, mixing and blending with colors unknown. In amazement his hand never moved to clean the brush. It just kept moving back and forth, up and down, back and forth...
In the end, this was the image that was produced on the canvas.
The Abstract Expressionists, Surrealists, of the Late 19Th, early 20Th Century (Matisse, Klee, Picasso, Kandinsky, Miro, Dali), dabbled in what today is termed "Automatic Painting". Where they would place themselves in a trance in front of their canvas and watch they channeled the 4Th Dimension move through their body and limbs. This extraordinary approach to creating something that was unusual, and unique served to open the minds and arts of contemporary society and continues to serve as a conduit for heightened creativity of 21 Century artists, writers, and poets.
In what seems an end, the veil is thinning, and opens our minds to a new beginning.
A few years ago I flew SIC (Second in Command) of Aerial Photographer/Artist William B. Dewey in is Cessna 182. Bill was commissioned to get some photos from the air, of some land for sale, in Santa Barbara. On this journey we flew up above and around my studio, (It's skylight has black plastic in the shape of an inverted "V"). These were the sheds for Santa Barbara's original Dairy, "The International Dairy", est. in the 1870's.
Ten plus years ago I painted my first Plein air Nocturne in watercolors, out on Santa Rosa Island. It has been in the collection of the Santa Cruz Island Foundation ever since. My painting, "A Ghostly Night at the Ranch", is now on exhibit, hanging with paintings of Richard Diebenkorn, Carl Oscar Borg, and Meredith Abbott Brooks, at the Museum of Ventura County. The show is titled, "Island Treasures": Artworks from the Santa Cruz Island Foundations. It runs from Dec. 2, 2012 to March 3, 2013.
An artist never knows the journey his creations will experience once they've been unleashed upon the world.
I Had a good turnout, and sold the show piece!
A full page Ad in the Montecito Journal, and the Montecito Journal Glossy is bringing in the curious and collectors. Now it's time to hustle the paintings. Time for James to work his magic!
All my paintings were hung around the gallery at eye level. Above my paintings were master works by Dead Artists such as Cotton, Payne, and Parshall. I am lucky to be the third living artist to show at James Main over the last eighteen years. John Comer, and the late Joseph Areno were there before.
I know some day, my paintings may move up to that higher level on the wall, but hopefully not too soon.
Moonrise, Carpinteria Marsh
9x14 oil 2012
Solo Exhibition featuring recent paintings by Thomas Van Stein
Compositional Elements influenced by the artwork of Late 19th, Early 20th Century Japanese Masters
December 6, 2012 through January 13, 2012
Artist's Reception: First Thursday Art Walk, December 6, 2012 5-8pm
James Main Fine Art and Antiques
27 E. De La Guerra Street Street
Santa Barbara, California 93101
805.962.8347
www.jamesmainfineart.com
http://jamesmainfineart.squarespace.com/thomas-van-stein/
Flower Fields, Carpinteria
10x8 oil 2012
Solo Exhibition featuring recent paintings by Thomas Van Stein
Compositional Elements influenced by the artwork of Late 19th, Early 20th Century Japanese Masters
December 6, 2012 through January 13, 2012
Artist's Reception: First Thursday Art Walk, December 6, 2012 5-8pm
James Main Fine Art and Antiques
27 E. De La Guerra Street Street
Santa Barbara, California 93101
805.962.8347
Setting Moon, Carpinteria Beach
9x15 oil/board 2012
Solo Exhibition featuring recent paintings by Thomas Van Stein
Compositional Elements influenced by the artwork of Late 19th, Early 20th Century Japanese Masters
December 6, 2012 through January 13, 2012
Artist's Reception: First Thursday Art Walk, December 6, 2012 5-8pm
James Main Fine Art and Antiques
27 E. De La Guerra Street Street
Santa Barbara, California 93101
805.962.8347