Category Archives: Art

The Hole Picture

Pigeonholing is essentially term that describes an attempt to classify in a mutually exclusive way. Put another way, it is like trying to make something discreet as opposed to a continuum. In that way it becomes somewhat limiting.

This can be frustrating for creative types. For example, in the case of my writing, I never considered the relevance of genre while writing “Dawn at Last”. However, once the marketing of the book started, it seemed like something I needed to do – had to do for online purposes. When you think about it, every database is a process of pigeonholing. That’s true with every social media site as well as places like Amazon and Fine Art America.

It took a long to find the right hole for the book, and I’m actually very comfortable, or perhaps relieved, to be classified as an author who writes literary fiction. That’s because it not only fits my style, but it is also a style that is very broad in definition . . . after all, it’s all about the characters, unusual and somewhat unpredictable ones, and the plot is secondary, though still important.

Similarly, in art I put I put myself in the abstract hole right out of the gate. That seemed very straightforward at first, though lately I like to think of my style as “abstract-figurative”. That’s because most of my art includes the female form and some also includes other mysterious creatures such as birds.

The Invisible Nest

Whether in art or writing, there is something I try to convey about the selfless aspect of life. That seems to be such an amazing part of the natural way of things, yet for most it seems so hard to see or comprehend. I try to make it easier, but without preaching . . . more subtle. In the context the abstract term makes a lot of sense. After all, this selfless aspect of life is so full of mystery . . . invisible, non-physical, imaginary yet very real.

Perhaps that is the most frustrating dichotomy. Someone we have been taught that the term imaginary means “something not real”. One again there’s the discrete . . . zero/ one . . . yes/ no. Buddhism talks about a life force that moves through sentient beings. As such this force fits the description of imaginary or non-physical . . . but it is not separate from the physical, just selfless.

This is one reason why I seldom have faces in any of my art. It’s funny how in our culture this is offensive to some, kind of “dehumanizing”. I see it so differently though. For me it is an attempt to move beyond the individual and convey the importance of the selfless reality – something much bigger than ourselves.

That’s one reason. On a more pragmatic level I don’t like the fine detail that can go into the painting of faces. I’m actually in awe of that kind of art when I see it, and if I had a mind to I could easily go down that stream. I know because that’s what I did when learning to draw, and as wonderful as it is I found it too easy in a way . . . simply technique and detail.

That is by no means a knock on any of those skills or that style. In fact it is more of an admission that there are so many out there doing it that there is no real need for me to join that flock.

Accepting The Flaws

Again, being pragmatic, I have decided to try something with faces, yet still continue in my style. In doing so there has been this deeper understanding how even in a portrait, what makes it special is not the image but the underlying emotions. It’s there in every fine piece of art . . . the 4th dimension or is it the fifth?

So after all that, without further adieu, I’m putting my first face out for public display. This picture is called “Perfectly Flawed” and if you understand any of what I’ve written above, I think you will have a better appreciation of both the words above and the visual message as shown below:

Sharing Dreams

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Putting some music to my art has been a dream of sorts for awhile now.

I’ve been thinking of asking one of my daughters to help me with this, as she recently finished a media course in university and loves it. She’s got some skills that I don’t have and it would be a wonderful kind of collaboration . . . another dream.

No, I’m not going to go into my rendition of “I Dreamed A Dream”, though Les Miserables is my favorite musical by far. Oddly enough – perhaps by serendipity – I made a new online acquaintance yesterday. Her name is Tamra Hayden, who is a Broadway performer, including playing the role of Cosette in Les Mis.

Aside from her beautiful singing, she has also been involved in an amazing new app that allows person to develop their own music to go with their pictures. She has graciously offered to help me with this app . . . how nice is that?

The poor dear though . . . helping me with any new app can be like tutoring Jethro Bodine in playing Mozart . . . more of a nightmare than a dream, to be sure!

Here are some links to Tamra’s singing and to MusicalMe Images. So without further adieu, here’s a glimpse of both . . . and Tamra, if you are reading this, a great big bouquet to you!

Here’s a demo of MusicalMe:

Now here is a little background on how Tamra’s dream became reality:

Finally, it would be a shame not include some of her exquisite singing . . . I’ve always been fascinated by the magic of the theater, and especially the amazing vocal talents . . . enjoy! This original song of hers is called “The Great Unknown”:

Finally, in many ways this song reminds me so much of the plight of my main heroine from Dawn at Last. Her name is Donna Belauche. This picture is for her, in fact it is called “For Donna” and if you have read the book, I think you will understand.

Peter’s Square Route

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It’s time today to write something Alice might appreciate in Wonderland. In other words, this won’t be my usual post, nor will it be short, nor very linear for that matter!

The other day I picked up yet another book on Leonardo, a biography of sorts, and I bought it unexpectedly on impulse . . . sort of. I say “sort of” as while it wasn’t a planned purchase, I came across it in a thrift shop on the same day one of my daughters was enjoying her European adventure near the town of Leonardo’s birth.

I’ve been a fan of his since I was a child, long before I understood how mischievous and cunning he was, including some possible double meanings in some of his art?

Anyone who has followed this blog for a long time will probably recognize my fascination with circles and curves – there is a tie-in with Leonardo in this regard too – I’ll come to that in a bit.

It really hit me in a big way, a nice way, almost ten years ago – there are no lines in nature – everything is curved. Such a simple and astounding truth when you think about it. It’s lines that are the illusion.

There is also a lot of history to this illusion, some of it tied to Freemasonry. Their primary symbol shows a compass and an angled L-square along with the letter “G”. Even today there is mention of the question of the “center point” within a circle, and the problem with measuring the circle completely remains unsolved.

I have no intent to mention all the spiritual aspects to the symbol of the circle in so many cultures, ones much closer to nature than today’s western civilization. However, this mysterious spirituality is something I do consider sacred, mainly through experience as well as a great deal of thought and meditation.

While I do take much of this seriously, today I’ll keep it on the lighter side . . . the humor of it all. For example, take that task of measuring the rim of that circle – the circumference. In order to do that, mathematicians try to find a numerical relationship between a line and the circle – the line being the diameter. However, it never works out. Computer models go around the clock using advanced math, taking Pi past a billion decimal points and the clock keeps ticking . . . you can’t measure a circle with a line!

When you understand the futility of that it is really quite funny. After all, if you think you can measure the curves with a line, then the opposite should be true. Ever try measuring the diameter with a protractor? Of course not – just seems silly – and yet they try the opposite, and all in such earnest!

Now back to Leonardo, who some claim was a Freemason. Oddly, there is this symbolism that is prominent in one of his most famous pieces, “The Vitruvian Man”:

Vitruvian Man

So there is the circle and the square, but the absence of the letter “G”. I have my own theory on that matter and it concerns a possible “cover up”, which will remain private for now . . . I prefer not to expose all my private parts!

However, I do like to ponder his mischievous ways, and his many questions about religious teachings . . . so I wonder. Is it possible that there are two men depicted in this art? After all, there is a biblical connection. In the gospels there is a frequent reference to two brothers. One is called Simon, whom Jesus often refers to as Peter. The other is Peter, whom Jesus often refers to as Peter.

So there you have it . . . identical twins . . . and on that note, I’ll just stop there, for now, though you may want to “think twice” about the prominence of The School of Athens in the Vatican.

The Beautiful Game

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The other day I watched a documentary on the situation in Brazil. There is a lot of news coverage around here these days concerning the plight of so many underprivileged in Brazil, and in the context of the World Cup, which starts tomorrow.

It was a depressing show. So much poverty and obvious corruption . . . and this is in one of the world’s booming countries?

I’m not going to make this post a political one. It’s certainly not for lack of caring, but more because there are millions out there doing just that.

Instead, I’m posting a new creation, something that reminds me of the hot and colorful images one often sees of Brazil, usually around Mardi Gras days.

It’s the first in a series I’m calling “Sum 14”, short for Summer 2014.This series is all based on a rather large base picture, from which I take smaller components and turn them into separate pieces . . . it’s much more than just cropping . . . you will see that by looking at the larger picture through this link, on one my Pinterest boards, “My Original Art”.

So given the events unfolding in Brazil – the World Cup – it seems only right to call this first in a series “The Beautiful Game”! Here it is, and perhaps in what is often the case with art, it is my expression of a hope for a peace, this time at an event in Brazil. I’m not at all optimistic about that, but at least the picture is somewhat cheery:

New Art Just Recently Released

Got a Light

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I’m really tempted to write about the sky actually being all water, but it seems not many want to hear about that, so perhaps another time?

This post is mostly about what is now a little nostalgia, the beginning of my art endeavors in earnest and in play . . . especially in light of the circumstances . . . now that would be an interesting title for book, and not a science fiction one either!

That beginning was almost a decade ago now, and part of what got me going included some trial and error with various things around the home. While I’ve mentioned several times how I do various things with leaves, there was one particular image of an orange that really had me going. You can see it here, with the peels, the fruit, and the white fleshy stuff:

Now I mention this picture for a couple of reasons. One concerns the 3-D aspect that I was playing with at the time. I’ve always been terrible with a camera but had some success with my scanner . . . this is a scanned image. The pieces of the orange were loosely composed on the scanner glass but because of the bulkiness of the pieces (compared to a flat sheet of paper), I couldn’t close the lid down for scanning.

So I improvised. I made shells out of boxes to block out the surrounding light, much like the scanner cover would if I could close it. I lined the inside of these boxes with white paper or aluminum foil or other materials for different effects. It was quite amazing, and still is, and the basis for so much of my art. By the way, I often used the same technique with the leaves.

To kind of show you a bit of where this led, shown below are two more pictures. The first is shows the details of what I saw in this orange picture, and so I drew that into the scan . . . between the two images there are several more variations, too many to post. So here is where this orange picture took me . . . this is far from a finished piece . . . quite blurry, but it gives you an idea of the process:

To give you an idea of where this picture sits now – and it’s still not complete – here it is shown in more detail and with some leaves layered in as well:

Finally, now for the second reason for my bout of nostalgia.

A few days ago a very kind and helpful lady suggested that I take a look at Etsy. I’ve done that and while I thought it was more for crafts than art, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by some of the artists on there. One in particular caught my attention. She does this amazing thing with photography . . . in a mini-theater. It’s kind of like what I’ve done with some scanning, but so much better. You really have to see her work to appreciate her technique.

She is becoming more and more popular and I think you will quickly see why by taking a look at some of her art. As a picture is worth a thousand words, here is a link to her Etsy shop – it’s called “Theaterclouds”. Her name is Elly MacKay and if you’re interested she explains her technique really well . . . just follow the link.

Some Blues, and Black & White Too

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It’s Monday. I found out on Saturday that it’s a long weekend Monday – I knew it was coming but I thought it was next weekend – so it came early this year!

It’s raining, but I’m in a good mood so I’ll spare you a link to some rendition of “Moody Manitoba Morning”. Instead, here’s a link to my favorite performance of “Rainy Days and Mondays”.

Somehow this song never really gets me down. The same goes for doing art, such as my long weekend enjoyment shown below. I’m calling it Black & White, and I suppose there’s some inner humor in there, as no matter how hard I try, my view on anything never really comes out that way!

Have a great week and enjoy the music. By the way, when it comes to art, I never want to quit. 🙂

“Black & White” by Lawrence Grodecki

Soft Touches

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I’ve just released another new work on Fine Art America. While it is still “in my style”, it is also somewhat different for me. Perhaps it’s the lighter, almost paste shades?

Here’s a peek at it, and if you would like, use this link to see more abstract art on Fine Art America.

Soft Touches – A new Introduction by Lawrence Grodecki

My Fine Flippin’ Friends

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In the past few weeks I’ve had this remarkable surge of creativity, with so many projects that I’ve sat on for a long time finally coming to an exciting conclusion.

It’s been a very satisfying journey and yet it feels like I’m only getting started. As such, It’s all I care to blog about these days, though it does seem a little narcissistic. In my defense, it is not that I crave feedback or attention or anything like that. More often than not, I think of my art as not really about me . . . it’s about the pictures . . . and it is simply nice to have them viewed.

Last night I thought this post would be showcasing five or so recent pieces, but by the time I went to bed there is one that really stands out on its own and I want to present it that way.

The piece is called, “Being Flippant”. It is so wonderfully simple. Also, it is one of those that can be comfortably viewed in the original way (shown first) or flipped over (the second image below).

That’s it for now. I hope you like it, and thank you for all the recent comments.