Saturday, December 29, 2012

Year's end work

    High Storm


    Acrylic, ink and pastel on panel
    20" X 48" w/ Aluminum bar frame
    $1440 - Origional
    $750 - Full size limited edition print
    $400 - Full size open edition print

    This piece was a fun adventure. The image was an idea, then took on a life of it's own - 
    dictating the direction and elements it needed. One needs to be led now and then

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Isaiah 5:20-24 - Darkness for Light

New Work - Christmas Eve


Based on Isaiah 5:20-24 
 20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
 21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
 22 Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:
 23 Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!
 24 Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
This is probably the most abstract of my metaphors on Isaiah - and will probably become a trend. There are many graphic elements; lines, curves, color elements that have little to do with the metaphors contained in the painting.
The metaphors include the three pairs of color patches that represent verse 20 i.e. the red and white representing Evil and Good. Verse 22 is abstractly shown with the dark wine color running from the top outside corners down through the middle of the grey/black crossing bars. Verse 24 is indicated with the fire and "flowers" with rotting roots.
Isaiah here is speaking to the house of Judah at Jerusalem (actually all occupants of the city). They are wicked enough to be spoken of as the chaff and stubble with roots of rottenness and the blossoms as dust. 
Many of my earlier Isaiah works had no written mention of the scriptural metaphors, others started to have notes. Here I have written a portion of the scripture to help viewers understand both the written and visual metaphors.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Our children are being killed... are we allowing it?

I would have posted this next April 20th as my daughter Tami was a survivor of the Columbine High School shootings on that day.
This week, it has become time for this posting........

Lloyd


COLUMBINE STUDENT'S FATHER 12 YEARS LATER !!

Guess our national leaders didn't expect this. On Thursday, Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton, Colorado, was invited to address the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee. What he said to our national l
eaders during this special session of Congress was painfully truthful.

They were not prepared for what he was to say, nor was it received well. It needs to be heard by every parent, every teacher, every politician, every sociologist, every psychologist, and every so-called expert! These courageous words spoken by Darrell Scott are powerful, penetrating, and deeply personal. There is no doubt that God sent this man as a voice crying in the wilderness.. The following is a portion of the transcript:

"Since the dawn of creation there has been both good & evil in the hearts of men and women. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds of violence. The death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joy Scott, and the deaths of that heroic teacher, and the other eleven children who died must not be in vain. Their blood cries out for answers. 

"The first recorded act of violence was when Cain slew his brother Abel out in the field. The villain was not the club he used.. Neither was it the NCA, the National Club Association. The true killer was Cain, and the reason for the murder could only be found in Cain's heart. 

"In the days that followed the Columbine tragedy, I was amazed at how quickly fingers began to be pointed at groups such as the NRA. I am not a member of the NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own a gun. I am not here to represent or defend the NRA - because I don't believe that they are responsible for my daughter's death. Therefore I do not believe that they need to be defended. If I believed they had anything to do with Rachel's murder I would be their strongest opponent 

I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy -- it was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame lies! Much of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves. I wrote a poem just four nights ago that expresses my feelings best.

Your laws ignore our deepest needs, Your words are empty air. You've stripped away our heritage, You've outlawed simple prayer. Now gunshots fill our classrooms, And precious children die. You seek for answers everywhere, And ask the question "Why?" You regulate restrictive laws, Through legislative creed. And yet you fail to understand, That God is what we need! 

"Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist of body, mind, and spirit. When we refuse to acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we create a void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to rush in and wreak havoc. Spiritual presences were present within our educational systems for most of our nation's history. Many of our major colleges began as theological seminaries. This is a historical fact. What has happened to us as a nation? We have refused to honor God, and in so doing, we open the doors to hatred and violence. And when something as terrible as Columbine's tragedy occurs -- politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA. They immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that contribute to erode away our personal and private liberties. We do not need more restrictive laws. Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. The real villain lies within our own hearts. 

"As my son Craig lay under that table in the school library and saw his two friends murdered before his very eyes, he did not hesitate to pray in school. I defy any law or politician to deny him that right! I challenge every young person in America , and around the world, to realize that on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School prayer was brought back to our schools. Do not let the many prayers offered by those students be in vain. Dare to move into the new millennium with a sacred disregard for legislation that violates your God-given right to communicate with Him. To those of you who would point your finger at the NRA -- I give to you a sincere challenge.. Dare to examine your own heart before casting the first stone! My daughter's death will not be in vain! The young people of this country will not allow that to happen!" - Darrell Scott


Saturday, December 15, 2012

Back to Basics

My wife has often expressed, when she looks at my work that her favorite works of mine are those that include geometric patterns. Take note: you should always listen to your wife!

Trying to be objective I have to admit that she is right. As an architect, that is how I have been trained. I love expressionist art's freedom and dynamics; yet whenever I try to express myself this way I'm often unhappy with the results. Yes, things have been trashed!. The problem is that I'm just not comfortable with being spontaneous - I tend to the tedious; I have a pile of sketches waiting to be worked on; when I get to a certain point in a work I usually photograph it and in PhotoShop go through the pains of "what if you tried this... or that". "Sentience" started out as a very loose, large piece. It was on the easel for quite some time, being glared at. It finally was painted over and became a work of geometric expressionism.

I've been working on a series of smaller pieces (12"x16") as a lesson in self limitation. The series still has more to come; but it will be interupted now by a work based on Isaiah 5:20-24 - and will probably be the most non-representational work in the Isaiah series. Attached are the three small pieces completed: "Que"; "Looming Darkness" and "Moon Rising at Giza".

More later....