"Take Five..."

Take Five!... and come "tip-toe thru, my Easter tulips... with me!"

In day-to-day usage in the English language, the phrase "take five" idiomatically suggests taking a short break from any activity. In the world of jazz music it can suggest a similar break as well. However, it can also suggest increasing the standard 4/4 meter, from four beats to the bar, or measure to five beats. This time signature is commonly called quintuple time.

Whether or not you are a jazz aficionado or not, you will likely recognize the Dave Brubeck Quartet's all-time best-selling jazz single "Take Five" from 1959 (written by group alto saxophonist Paul Desmond) which makes use of this quintuple meter. It was the theme song for NBC for many years and played many times daily, thus ingraining it into the America fabric of society. It has been used creatively and successfully as a "cover" by many recording artists right up to the present time,  retaining its rightful place as a jazz classic.

"Take Five..."

"Take five"... for me lately, has been a break away from my easel to take care of necessary business in preparation for our quickly-approaching May opening. Much still remains to be accomplished to be fully ready for that event. Our season is a very short six month window... when tourists come to the Thousand Island region en masse.

Like the Canada Geese visitors are active... and often too noisily present during this short period of time. But usual custom dictates that both take flight and disappear almost simultaneously... and the village goes suddenly to sleep for the long winter months.

I decided to loosen up  and keep my palette completing a smallish oil... knowing that by accomplishing this task, I would be taking care of business and quenching my increasing artistic thirst with this one small creative act. I must confess that I find the smaller oils a bit constricting and less enjoyable than the big brush painting formats, or the plein air outings... but time was the deciding factor. Here is the result produced. This small painting was my "take five"... from the business-oriented tasking... and it was indeed refreshing!.. Can you feel my joy?

"October Opus on Stone Street, Gananoque" - oil on gessoed masonite panel 7x5 inches

Music has been such a constant... a friend on my entire journey. I have many to thank for this gift of music... but none more than my Mom and Dad. Music was always present in our home... in many genres and with many instruments, including the willing family voices to make that music.

With Easter celebrations on the horizon for us this weekend... our family will circle up on Good Friday here at Islesview to share the Easter Blessing of being together. My Mom and Dad's presence will be indeed felt... as if they were still at the table. This was a tradition which they created. We learned the importance of maintaining the "family gathering". Together as a family... we will "take five" from our busy and separate lives.

Thank you both... Mom and Dad... For the Music!!!

                               "Thank You... For the Music" - oil on canvas 14 x 11 inches
                                                        GIFTED to Andrew Sherman

Whatever your faith, or spiritual underpinnings... one need only look to those recent events in Brussels to realize that despite our own perceived trials and tribulations, there exist those in other parts of the world less fortunate than ourselves at this time. I feel required to remember their plight and to add them to my own thoughts and prayers.

Let us all "Take five"... and give silently give thanks for the many seemingly small, yet rich blessings that we receive daily.

Resurrection in Rockport... and yes... we do expect to have this much snow by Good Friday. Do remember this quiet offering of sacrifice...

I would like to close out today's post with another piece of music from any other genre that I subscribe to daily. I can honestly say that this particular piece is likely my favorite piece of music. I listen to it... whenever the world seems unfair... or that life has deserted me. I listen to it ... whenever I really need to... "take five". Enjoy!

Happy Easter!... and Good Painting... to ALL!!!

Tapping Into Spring's Energy...

I have resumed my desk jockey job... making necessary preparations for our Spring Opening in early May. Painting is definitely on the back burner for at least another week. By that time... by the weather god predictions, this year's annual maple sugaring run will be on the down turn... if not ceased.

I did not follow my annual bush visitation routine at all... and for that I am a bit disappointed. However... I did take the initiative to complete a related portrait piece that had been too long in the "Idea" bucket. I managed to dedicate a block of time to seeing it to completion... and I am satisfied to have that painting marker for the 2016 sugaring off season.

Judging by the very warm reception that the "Ken" portrait on birch panel... and his own Horseshoe valley Sugar Bush Face Book page have received, I decided to share a medley of my own past sugaring off favorites for those who might enjoy a Sherman re-viewing of Ontario bushes that I have frequented. Enjoy the flow...

Sweet Spring!... and Good painting... to ALL!!!

AWB... on location in late autumn at McFadden's Bush, Oro-Medonte

The finished painting  SOLD

 "The Real Team Canada" - Smail's Bush, Groveton - oil on canvas 5x7 feet   SOLD

  "Sweet Dreams" - demo 16x20 inches  SOLD

 "Three Bucket Maple" - water color on 300 lb Arches paper  GIFTED to Andrew Sherman

"Smail's... Under Steam" - water color on 300 lb Arches paper  SOLD

"January Thaw" - Ego's Bush 10th Line Oro-Medonte - 20x24 plein air canvas

"Sap's Runnin' " -oil on birch cradle Board panel 10x12 inches  SOLD

"Team Canada... Too" oil on canvas 36x36 inches  SOLD

"Before the Run Begins at Lalonde's Bush" - oil on panel 11x14 inches  SOLD

"Afternoon Recess, Drummond's Sugar Bush, Kemptville" - water color on 1/2 sheet 300 lb Arches paper  Gifted to Joan Sherman

 "Sugar Moon" - a wood cut 8x8 inches on litho paper  Gifted to Lisa (Sherman) Shamray

Monotype and ink experimental piece  SOLD

"Entrance to Ken and Rene McCutcheon's Bush" -oil on canvas 20x24 inches  SOLD

"Canadian Bucket Brigade" - oil on canvas 18x14 inches  SOLD

Spring Fever...

Scarcely days ago... I posted that I was taking a much needed hiatus from this blog because I needed to man the machinery that drives the business side of our artistic lives, During that brief respite, I have indeed joined with Deb to carry out that mandate... and we have gained much needed ground on getting that monkey off our backs. Both of us have increased our share of the new inventory of offerings greatly.

Each morning, I carry out my usual morning ritual - I commence my day with my brisk three kilometer walkabout of our village. Needless to say, I seek the solitude here just to reflect and plan my day... which generally speaking, comes easily because most residents here have flown the coop southward to escape the winter cold.

This morning was hardly the norm. As I stepped to the end of our driveway, I was immediately greeted not by the usual quiet... or the River constantly grinding its icy teeth. I was overcome by the cacophony of birdsong all about me. It literally froze me in my tracks!

Most of this new din came from seemingly endless skeins of trumpeting Canada geese everywhere I looked overhead and along the length of the River. Noisy... exuberant... no... joyous migrants anxious to gain their summer breeding grounds. You know these are migrants by their elevation and their unwillingness to hold formation. Spring beckons... and their raucous music belies their need to respond to an inner drive and instinct that has guided their kind each spring for millenniums.

I dawdled along slowly... drinking in all of these new sights and sounds. Everywhere... spring was bursting forth in a single breath. As I passed through the hardwood and pine stand on Riverview Drive... two pileated woodpeckers were verbally going toe-to-toe in an obvious territorial dispute... adding an even higher decibel level to the unending goose strains.

In the final leg of my walk... silence again seem to return- momentarily. The soft chatty voices of a chickadee band followed me... all the time "chickadee-ing" me along the cedar hedgerows. At the parkway crossing into the east gate of the village, I paused to check traffic. A new voice! It was the first plaintive spring trill of a male red-winged blackbird... a certain harbinger of spring's return.

I decided to take a ride into the countryside briefly... to check out a neighboring sugar bush site to see if the sap was running. They were hard at it... so I took a couple of quick photos and was in the act of leaving... when again the sky was suddenly filled with at least another hundred Canadas.

As I approached the van to leave... there on the lawn were three American Robins - my first of the season. If one ever doubted before that spring was in the air... this single sighting was the clincher. I headed straight home to share my discoveries with Deb.

She had announce during our morning coffee ritual that her pal, Mr Chips had re-appeared on our patio and resumed his sentinel stance... glaring inside. At the side door... daffodils and tulips were burst three inches out of the soil... and had been out for nearly two months, due to the lack of snow coverage.

Well... the end of my spring epiphany... and this growing "Epistle... according to St Bruce". I will close out this unexpected post with a couple of photos that I wish to share from my morning adventure. I will offer a sneak preview of a piece that will be completed later this evening. It is one of several paintings that I have been working at... paintings that have been on the back burner for too long.

Happy Spring !... to All!!!

My heart soared to nearly the height at which they were flying!!... Pure joy... on the ground and in the air!!!

Drip!... Drip!... Drip!... Sweet Spring ... dropping in!

Just  underway... wood at the ready... voices in the woods. Snow cover light!

 "Ken McCutcheon... Sugar Daddy" - oil on raised birch panel 16 x 20 inches

A tribute to a true "man of the land"... a steward... a gentle soul.. a father and husband beyond compare. I salute "You" Ken!! Thanks for the many "sweet" memories and springs that our own family is blessed to have tucked away! Let the Spring Games flow... long and hard!

This is both a portrait of a man...a portrait of a truly unique Canadian cultural activity...and at the very same time a portrait of a way of life.

Work... in Progress!

Not quite the same ring as "work in progress"... my title today intends to intimate the fact that for the next several weeks... I shall be "away from this desk"... taking care of business. That business is our combined push to ready ourselves to open the rapidly-approaching summer season with fresh inventories for our frequent summer visitors and for folks dropping by and discovering our Paint Box Gallery - the best kept secret in the Thousand Islands!

There is much to be considered and done in preparation for this early May Grand Opening. We are a splendid team, I think. Each of us brings our separate strength and passion to be integrated into a stronger... more cohesive and visually appealing milieu. We each value and respect the artisan-ship of the other and the absolute need for a fair and equal division of labor. We are both blessed... to"be on the same page."

I am deeply involved in the painting and designing "department"... whereas Deb competently handles the business preparations and affairs... plus the production of her own unique artisan quality gift cards, line of funky jewelry and stained glass. When we aren't actually in our basement studio... cranking tunes and working... we are planning together. There is no room for a quick trip south... but that is our own personal choice because...

"At The Paint Box Gallery... Art Matters!".... above all else!!!

In a strange sort of way... our lives parallel those lives of the many species of birds that visit our feeders. Suddenly, from out of the blue really... their activity levels and behaviors have changed drastically. They seem more frenetic... even aggressive at times. And yes... it is that annual "he-n'and she-n' time - Love is in the air! HA HA!!

I have made the tough choice to take a temporary ... but absolutely necessary hiatus from blogging. I shall miss the activity because I love writing (almost) as much as painting. But, as I often mention in my posts... that to become a successful "working" artist one must be willing to make sacrifices of time... money and preferred activity to support business goals.

I will leave three of my most recent projects as a "sneak preview" for what will (hopefully) be unveiled in a few short weeks!

Stay tuned... now back to my easel!

Happy Spring!... and Good Painting!...to ALL!!


Here is the framed donation piece created specifically for the silent auction and fund raising dinner in support of our local Lansdowne Medical Center. Organizers reported a bidding duel between two individuals that put the considerable asking price in the coffers of this state-of-the-art medical facility. That warms my heart to be joined with the legion of generous supporters of this community venture... and asset.

Bravo... and kudos to the organizers under Leslie! Ironically... Leslie is a post mistress who with her husband and children operate a sugar bush. How "sweet"... it is! More... crossing over... HA HA!

"Winter Fest Lansdowne...or... Painting the Town Red" - triple oil 7x5 inches framed

And finally...these next two pieces will form equal parts of an autumn thematic venture.

"Alone in the Park, Gananoque" - oil on canvas 14 x 11 inches

"Into the Light, Gananoque" - oil on canvas board 14 x 11 inches

Sugar Moon...

Our "sugaring off " friends, The McCutcheon Family commenced their 2016 maple syrup making activities last Friday in their large bush. The whole family was out together in the bush... setting taps for their kilometers of plastic lines in readiness for the much-anticipated annual run.

This year's strange winter and spring offer no firm guarantee for a lucrative spring run... and yet they are out there... the bush filled with their combined spirited laughter and antics as they alternate between hard work and horse play. This rite of spring flows in their veins as surely as the sap flows skyward from the dormant trees' roots to the outspread and still leafless arms of the maple hardwood canopy. It's not only about money!

It is no coincidence either that their operation commenced on Friday. The Saturday sky bore the full moon of March... often referred to by farmers and syrup makers as... "the Sugar Moon." Old timers... who still have connection to the Mother Earth and her many cycles and mysteries use this moon as a bench mark to commence their sugaring off.

Perhaps... it is pure synchronicity... but I do not feel so. My former student... actress... teacher... consultant and now poet, Lois Lorimer and I again line up with a common subject. I would like to share another favourite poem from her collection Stripmall Subversive with you - her deeply personal... language-rich and thought-provoking poem "Sugar Moon."

When paired with my nocturne painting depicting that same event and theme... the soulfulness of her imagery is further heightened and magnified.

Sugar Moon

First time in twenty years
moon closest to earth
and you not here

It's bright all right.
You would have loved
this Sugar Moon,

named by Algonquin
as the sap rises,
before the equinox.

After midnight,
saturated with loss
I get up, let the dog out.

Put a coat over grief
enter darkness
where moonlight

spun like sugar
reminds me you'll
miss maple syrup time.

Some call it Death Moon,
but I prefer Sugar, stirred
in memory into the Milky Way.

                                             "Sugar Moon" - oil on canvas 22 x 18 inches

The peace and soulfulness in this painting is visually obvious. However... on a deeper personal and hidden level, this painting was gifted to a very special friend who had tragically lost a daughter. It meant a great deal to her at receive it as a token of my support and friendship. It continues to hold a special place in my heart for too many reasons to express... sweet memories!

Wishing the McCutcheons and all other syrup-ing folk a very full and Sweet Spring! And to each of my readers and blogging friends, I wish each of you....

Happy Spring and Happy Painting!!!

Two "Voices"...

One can hardly dispute the truth that creative individuals possess a second "voice"... that manifests itself outwardly through their individual craft... or medium. Most (fortunate) humans possess a capacity to express themselves (in differing degrees) through vocalizations that describe their own inner feelings and needs. The artist is blessed to have a second "voice" that they carry, I believe from early childhood (if not birth). That gift is life long friend for them... one who forever travels with them through life.

Children discover this friend early on in their journey and form an intimate relationship with him... or her. They share a bond that bears no need for others... just materials and encouragement from adult caregivers who value them. They are content just "to be"... alone together sharing the passion and freedom they jointly feel during the act of creation. That relationship... in most cases continues unabated throughout childhood until... we are forced through peer or other pressures... " to grow up". Most make other choices... while some refuse, or decide to remain on that path.

Today's post paradoxically blends, or knits together the journeys of two different individuals. One is my own. The other is the magnificent journey of a young woman that I was blessed to meet in my grade seven classroom over forty years ago. I easily recognized "Her" then... as a "gifted" young woman... possessing a special "voice". Even then, her voice was dramatically more seasoned and mature than those of the other young people who shared seats with her in that classroom. Her spirit was lively and her language rich and expressive. In my own terms... "She" was an "old spirit" - it seemed that she had been here before!

Her poem "Splunder", penned on "foolscap" in that classroom stopped me in my tracks. I still remember it vividly... word for word and carry it among the numerous ordinary blessings in my heart purse. It continues to warm my heart when I recall it. Today, I would like to share another of her more recent poems from her anthology Stripmall Subversive. "Snowball Prohibition" was the one poem in particular in that collection which inspired my painting for this post.

I think that our collaboration on a similar subject and view on early childhood does much to support my theory that artist's explorations and journeys do in fact "cross over" and run in parallel. Life is created in many different stages... written in varying chapters that can be related in strangely similar events and occurrences.

"Voices" can be conveyed by different mediums. In this particular case, one is a conventional word poem... juxtaposed with a painted one. Both evoke and recall very similar responses of joy and happiness to a common childhood memory.


Crossing Over...

At the conclusion of my last post, I mentioned that I was struggling with a gnawing conundrum in regards to my recent snowman canvas. I feared losing the essence of the child-like freshness and spontaneity by pushing forward using my usual approach to finish. I was stuck - mired in a state of uncertainty... afraid to risk.

I chose to apply an experienced woodsman's approach to solving the problem of being lost:

"When lost in the woods... sit down... think and clearly plan...rather than respond automatically."

Analyse and plan, using the combination of knowledge regarding the terrain around you... the terrain you have passed through and common sense. Then, with a clear head... new knowledge and a refreshed spirit... press forward.

I decided to re-read Lois's poem. Its precisely crafted and rich language reminded me that she could hardly have written this during "one go". Inevitably, she poured over it dozens of times... dropping in... and casting out new thoughts, finally arriving at this gem. She would call that process editing in her art form. In mine... it could be called balancing values... or in my own words... pushing n' pulling.

Looking up to the canvas on my easel, I suddenly felt my earlier trepidation and fear dissipate. There were many areas that could be  polished... without losing any of the original spontaneity. there were even a few new subtle additions come to mind. I owed it to myself to bring it forward to match the level of excellence to justly sit on the same page as Lois's tersely effective gem. So... onward!

                        " A Time When Play... Was En Plein Air" - oil on canvas 20 x 16 inches


Before placing that poem within this post, I must deeply thank you Lois... for affording me permission to use your poem in conjunction with my painting in today's post. Much continued success with your writing and personal life. Stay well...and be happy!

If you might be tempted to look more deeply into Lois's work... you can find more information and a contact to connect you at www.loislorimer.com

Snowball Prohibition

In the school yard, recess-born,
snow boulders press
against each other like standing stones.

Prevented from throwing,
children roll these monsters
that will never lift to air.

They push and grunt
their Sisyphean task
until the bell rings.

Abandoned, the hulking
colony broods in a silent circle
at the soccer pitch.

\
They long for progeny
for small white comets
that bear no malice,

just wish to be formed
in frozen mittens
delivered by tiny hands.

In concluding today's post, it was refreshing for me to revisit and borrow from my previous experience and discoveries.... that the Arts are indeed unified in purpose... function and in their basic structure. Both of these forms display poetic form through very similar devices. Their basic elements of construction can be seen to be comparable. One employs brush strokes to achieve the same color and expressive character that the other achieves through specific parts of speech that evoke a sense of action... descriptive detail and symbolism.

One can easily find these same functions achieved in music with form (tone poems)... and variations of note... tone and syncopation. Not only do these seemingly different disciplines cross over interactively... each can be employed effectively to support and inspire works in the progress in the other. And this can continue to occur centuries later.

I truly hope that today's post encourages each of you to examine your own sources for inspiration with a new eye to including other disciplines in the Arts.
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It hardly seems possible... but today's post marks my 500th since deciding to take on this challenge. Thank you to all who have supported and encouraged this journey.

Good Painting... and Playing... to ALL!!!

Work in Progress...

"Everything... is a work in progress."

The term "work in progress" is dispensed profusely... almost on a daily basis in the blogosphere... I have used it myself on occasion. I can't say what the term means to others, but in my own painting process it simply means, "I am thinking... preparing to proceed."

In most cases this occurs in the studio part of my painting activity. Most often that can be attributed to the fact that the projects undertaken in the studio are usually larger in format... perhaps more detailed and most certainly embrace a personal thought or element within the canvas. Hence... the need to lay the brushes down and sip a coffee... and just look.,.. and think.

The current canvas on my easel is such a critter. I am pulled in so many directions at the moment. I could easily "Shermanize" it... satisfying my usual need and preference to "get it down in one go." But not in this case. I feel a strong affinity for the loose... playful and child-like rendering of the subject at the lay in stage of things.

 It feels akin to the kind of image that might come from a child in terms of the application of colour. And yet... the structure denotes complexity as well. The ambiguity of facial likeness creates the possibility of the children being... anybody. The sum total for me is complete joy at this moment. The question is... Do I proceed further... or has what I wanted to convey... fully said!

Still thinking... Stay tuned...
Good Painting!... to All!!!