Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Plein Air Dividends...

While the act of painting en plein air guarantees neither consistent success... nor comfort, it does support growth opportunities for those willing to endure the at times cruel weather and the elements. Add to those things the additional discomfort inflicted by the insect terrorists such as black flies, mosquitoes and midges, who... in the warm months punish the outdoor enthusiast far worse than the the winter cold. One often wonders why one seeks to place themselves in such circumstances.

From an artistic point of view, the answer is quite simple. Nature has such wonderful lessons to teach us not only about painting. It presents first hand lessons about qualities attributed to humankind such as  nobility... perseverance... loyalty... cooperation... conflict resolution and tolerance to name just a few. Many of these attributes present themselves to the outdoor artist through observing birds... forests and flowers in their natural habitat. One gains a substantially more objective view regarding our own own plights... in our daily lives and problems. Somehow... one always returns more grateful for the gifts of life... of sight... smell touch and taste. All of these senses are heightened... while simply listening... and seeing Nature in its rawest form.

A huge dividend in my own plein experiences over a lifetime... has been the copious and enriching opportunities to meet unique people, most of whom I would never have encountered, except through my painting experience and encounter in their realm. I am the richer for having met them... no matter their circumstances... or their social standing. Whether "simple" or "well off"... "educated" by standard social measures... or by the "school of experience", each offers me insights into life. All seem willing to invite me into their lives and is most often the case... no matter where I go, I am always welcome to return - and I do! Here is such a recent story of this past week that I can share with you.

On my ritual daily walk, I pass an old homestead which certainly has seen better days. But it has always beckoned to me to paint it. This past winter... on a very cold day during that "Thirty Day Challenge"... I did undertake to do so at the end of a bitter day. Mid way through the hour or so that I was painting... the owner emerged from the front porch of the house and ambled slowly towards me. He asked if I minded his "having a peek"... and I offered a welcome to him to do so. Over the course of the last half hour, he recited his entire personal life history... family history and that of the house.

As it turned out, he was related to two of my Narrows Lane childhood pals. Their mother was his aunt. Sydney (and I'll exclude his last name to protect his privacy) had lived his entire life in this home which had been his mother and dad's.... his grandparents and his great grandparents. He now lived alone in the home after his mother became blind and too physically challenged to remain in the house. He had to place her in care at a nursing home. He sees her only occasionally.

By his own reckoning... he was a "failure at numbers", but he was proud of the fact that he could take apart and repair his aged farm tractor as was needed - no problem! He lives totally alone... from bottle to bottle, with only his mongrel bull terrier for company. He heats his one room in the lower storey of the Victorian era wooden home with wood that he draws from his 200+ acre woodlot that surrounds his aging home. His housekeeping has been lost in this imposed state of bachelorhood. Time has passed him by and the life he grew up in and knew has all but disappeared here... and in most other parts as well. There is an Wyeth Olson - Kuerner ambiance here... and I bask in it and in learning about his past... and present lives.

Back to the present. Sydney had asked back in February if the painting was for sale, but both of us knew that my customary asking price for such a sketch was not within his means... or needs. But today, as I passed, he suddenly rushed out to ask if I still had the sketch.He blurted that he REALLY needed to have it. I learned that he had been charged multiple times for DWUI and had lost his licence to drive any motor vehicle (including his tractor). On the last occasion, he was ordered by a judge at trial to serve a term of sixteen months for his ongoing refusal to stay off the road and public endangerment. Fair enough! He was to report for his jail time on Friday of this week and had been given time to set up arrangements for his dog and house.

The dog has a new home across the road with neighbours. But his family have told him that the house will be sold... and likely be gone before he comes out of jail. Everything he owns and has around him to say that he is a person... will likely have disappeared by that time. The only benefit as I mentioned to him frankly , was that he would be sober finally and have another chance to finally start afresh. Needless to say, those words presented a  very shallow sense of hope for him. He was simply overwhelmed by despair... in a word - hope-less!

What seemed to give him some sense of solace was in having my sketch. I guess he felt that in a small way he could still maintain a piece of "Who" he had been. I reflexively offered the sketch as a gift, but he countered that he couldn't accept it that way. He wanted to pay. .. and asked if I'd take $60.00 and something of value from his house. It was a request for Dignity... and I knew it. I said that I would accept those terms, but provided  that I would choose the pieces from his home. I didn't want any of his family articles of worth... just a remembrance of the short time we had spent knowing each other. I chose a small sealer jar and a small oval litho print in a small metal frame. We shook hands... and he seemed very pleased that we had worked out a mutually fair trade.

I shook hands with Sydney... and said my reluctant and sad goodbye at his front door. He will never likely know that I got the better of the deal in the transaction. I have in my heart a memory of being able to add comfort to a fellow traveller. And yes... many years ago now... I too lost everything... except my gift to paint. I feel deeply blessed for that gift... and every day that I wake to a world filled with opportunity for Joy... and the opportunity to share my gift... I feel blessed. I am deeply honoured that Sydney cared so much for my gift too! It goes much beyond $$$$$ and prizes.

"What goes around... comes around!"

I am deeply blessed!....




"Long Afternoon Shadows at Sydney's Sunlit Homestead" - oil on cradle board 10x12 inches


Good Painting to ALL!!!

10 comments:

  1. Ahhh, Bruce...This painting is so beautiful and even moreso now that I know a bit of the family history of the home. I feel so bad for this man who cannot leave the booze alone. I am one of 5 siblings and the only one who isn't addicted to liquor. It is heartbreaking to see what the rest of them do to themselves and to my mom. I do so hope that the next 16 months become eye opening and involve much soul searching for this man. I am so glad he will have your painting to always remember his family home.

    On the plus side, I hope that beautiful place goes to a family who will begin their own history in the house and property and pass it through generations as the original family did.

    Please don't quit blogging. You also like to write and I love reading your blog.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good morning Sherry!... Thank you for visiting and for adding your own experiences and feelings so openly!

    Life is "a long and winding road"... for all who travel it. It is about peaks and valleys and choices. I hope that for Sydney as well... but he has to respond... however and answer for how he has conducted himself. Consequences come along with choices!

    I hope that his home is intact for him when he re-enters life on the outside.

    I won't quit blogging for as long as people like you and a host of others gain from my efforts... however small. Iwill remain at it... if you promise to keep painting! HA HA! Gotcha!!

    Good Painting!
    Warmest regards,
    Bruce

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've been trying to paint since I was super wee, Bruce. I don't think I'll ever stop. I just wish I had more time to give to it too!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi again Sherry!... It doesn't matter when... or how often that one paints Sherry. Creating with joy and freedom shearly for the passion and pleasure it gives... is a remnant of our child within... or for many in the past. (Too bad!)

    If one continues to honour that child... and allow her to come out and play... "She" will remain beautiful... happy and always anxious to find time... whenever... with no fear of being judged.

    That's how I view the creating of art Sherry. It's simply... another "voice."

    Good Painting... and Playing... Wee Sherry!
    Warmest regards,
    Bruce

    ReplyDelete
  5. How many times have you passed a home and said, "if only those walls could speak." I think this home spoke to you through it's unfortunate occupant. Had you taken its picture and painted its image in your studio, you would never have heard its voice.

    It was really wonderful of you to gift its owner...not only with your painting...but with your time.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Wendy!... Every home has unique stories and memories embedded within their walls. Too often they aren't passed forward as the house changes hands. I always try to meet owners and find out interesting facts... even the sad ones are important to remember as well!

    My time and my paintings are extensions of "Me" and my observations and discoveries. In a very many cases ... they remain as the only record of many of the houses... mills.... cheese factories... sugar shanties and the other interestiong buildings that I have discovered and painted.

    Good Painting!
    Warmest regards,
    Bruce

    ReplyDelete
  7. This makes me happy and sad at once, but your perspective is the most rewarding part of your stories.
    I hope the house will be there waiting for him but most probably, it won't. People struggle so and get lost in life and like so many, I count myself among those who could have been, but managed not to be. So I've been blessed many times over
    The painting is joyful and will bring some comfort to his painful circumstances.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Good Morning Mary!... Thanks for your visit and thoughtful comments!

    "Getting lost in life" is not a foreign phrase to any of our lives really. Life for us all is about peaks and valleys... triumphs and losses. For some however... the ability to overcome the deadening effects of such changes cripples their self esteem and desire to move forward and learn from the disturbance. I feel for such peopole greatly... because within each of them... I see my Self!

    But by the grace of God... and may Art walk "I"... I never forget that... nor do I relinquish my small effort to reach out. That can be painful at times... but it is who I am!

    Thanks for taking the time to include these understanding and supportive words Mary! We travel parallel... "You" and "I".

    Good painting!
    Warmest regards,
    Bruce

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Bruce, that was a generous gesture. I hope this enforced change will be the spur that Sydney needs to start down a new road in life. If so, your painting will be a reminder of that turning point. If not, at least it will be giving comfort in the short term. Either way, you will have the knowledge that you have had an impact on someone's life with your art and that must be very gratifying.

    All the best,
    Keith

    ReplyDelete
  10. Good morning Keith!... Nothing need be added to your words in your comment. As is always the case... "We" are on the same page... and in the same book... gratifying and encouraging to know!

    Thank you for visiting and supporting my thoughts!

    Sunny days of painting and success at your show Keith!

    Warmest regards,
    Bruce

    ReplyDelete