Bryn Du Mansion "Colors of Joy" Art Show Review

Martin’s Impressions of his second Bryn Du Mansion Art Show:

We attended the Artist Reception on Wednesday evening, September 30, 2009. Like last year, it was a large show with a wide range of art and artists. There were 64 artists and over 200 works included in the exhibition. Opening night welcomed hundreds of guests and the event was catered with wine and refreshments. Sales were down last year with only several paintings with red dots on Opening Night. This year many more sold.

My impression of this year's show was very similar to last year's show, with the new one being a little more abstract and crowded. People seemed to really come out this year. This show was hung by the students from the Visual Communications Through Art C-TEC program and their instructor Jennifer Evans-Kinsley. They also created the promo and name cards for the show. Art in the show was selected by Lyn Logan-Grimes, Art Coordinator of The Works, in Newark, Ohio. And again, the event was sponsored by the Village of Granville.

I enjoyed many pieces, especially seeing the work of friend Jane Heller. Again this year was also Amy Nelson, who had several of her large, dreamy, expressionistic landscapes on view. This year I had 4 pieces, two large canvases and two small encaustics on wood. They were split up, with the large 72" square, "Hopewell/Orange" on the large wall of the solarium. It was featured in the Newark Advocate review of the show. Click her to see review:

http://www.martintimko.com/index_files/Page484.htm

October 3, 2009, we were docents for the show. Again there were a lot more visitors. I'm glad they encourage their artists to participate and talk about their work. It was great being invited to show at the Mansion (again this year).

Martin Timko 10-4-2009

New “Field of Gold” Series

I started another series this week (last week of Feb 09) called “Field of Gold.” I started with four small (5”x 7”) on paper. They were fun and fast, I can usually do two or three a night. But they all need framed, which slows me down. I have a bunch of frames around the house, so I’ll gather them up and use them.

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The small paintings are basic landscapes with a field of grass/wheat done in gold metallic paint and a brooding sky above in browns, gold, and beige. I introduced an image of a solitary fence in the foreground. But, the paintings are still abstract.

Last night I painted two larger stretched canvases in the series. Both were 16”x 28” x 1.5” The fence is more detailed and the paintings are getting a little too realistic. Already I have the urge to drop them and go back to the “Vestige” series, like the black and white one featured on my web site, MartinTimko.com.

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I do like this series though. I like using the gold metallic paint. When the paintings are hung, they take on different reflections as you walk around the room. Brush strokes come and go. There is a simmering quality to the paintings. They are very difficult to photograph - they are much more interesting in person.

They remind me of the once strip-mined pastures back home in Eastern Ohio. I used to hike into the hills and come across old forgotten fields. Every so often in the tall grass would be dark wood posts with strips of black barbed-wire. There were often abandoned trucks, drums, or bits of steel, all rusted black.

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I was told the hills were strip-mined long ago and instead of being reclaimed (like they are today) the fields were smoothed over and used for pastures.

Martin Timko
3-6-9

My Art and Carl Jung:

I was online today looking for info to get re-certified as a LSW, a licensed social worker. I let my original license expire years ago after graduating from OSU with a Bachelor of Science in Social Work. I was reading over sample questions and one about the Swiss psychiatrist and founder of analytical psychology, Carl Jung.

Jung was always an idol of mine. His concepts always seemed more real and practical than say, Freud, who seemed to say we are all doomed/controlled by our subconscious. Jung’s ideas promoted personal balance and harmony, things that we can change, and also a common human synchronicity. He agreed with Freud about the power of the personal unconscious mind, but took it further by saying we are controlled by a deeper collective unconscious as human beings. He believed these universal truths are found in our mythologies, religions, and feelings. Unlike Freud, Jung thought spiritual experience was essential to our well-being. His work seems more sociology than just individual psychology. His ideas explain why we are still interested in cave paintings and mark-making of ancient cultures. Ancient art contains common ideas which are still meaningful to us now.

I’ve always thought Jung’s idea of the archetype is interesting too. An archetype is a model of a person, ideal example, or a prototype after which others are copied, patterned, or emulated; a universally recognized symbol. Jung believed most folklore, mythologies, and religion were collections of these archetypes (like the idea of the hero, the earth mother, the child, the self, wise old man, the trickster, etc.) Followers of Jung use the idea to explain the appeal of film and music. Look at “Wizard of Oz,” for example. It is full of archetypes, the wicked witch, the good witch/fairy godmother, the lost child, the wise old man/wizard, etc..

Anyway, from what I’ve read of Jung, I think we all develop archetypes in our childhood, then later in life when we experience a similar person, we project our early feelings of the archetype to the new person. I think it explains love or hate at first sight.

An example of an archetype in my art would be “The Great Wave off Kanagawa,” by Katsushika Hokusai. One of my earliest memories as a child was a trip with my family to the National Gallery in D.C. I remember I was allowed to buy a postcard in the gift shop of my favorite painting. This woodcut of a big blue wave is what I bought. I kept it for years and years, till I lost track of it. In my 20’s when I really started painting, the first canvas I did was a big blue wave, even though I had forgotten all about the postcard. I projected all my ideas of art onto the new wave painting and I loved it, not really knowing why.. The original woodcut is the archetype for all future blue waves and in my mind, I will always project those early ideas onto new wave images without realizing I’m doing it.




Katsushika Hokusai 1820.............. >>>>Martin Timko 1984

I don’t know, maybe I have too much time on my hands lately.. But I think there are reasons we do certain things. There is a reason I paint, though I may not fully understand what it is. To me painting isn’t “fun.” It’s more like exercising. It feels like I’m working something out for myself. So, what does a big blue wave mean?

I guess to me it means something of beauty, something called “art”, something people put in a special place with marble columns and stairs, something people admire.. I think it represents something dangerous, something bigger than us. I call it a big blue wave, Carl Jung may have called it Neptune, Poseidon, Calypso, etc, etc..

Martin Timko
2-20-09

Staying Alive – Unemployment, Ice Age, and Art:

I’m alive… So many things have been happening lately, just getting around to updating MartinTimko.com and blog.

I was always told growing up, “If you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything at all.” Over that last several months, I’ve taken that saying to heart. I really don’t fully understand what’s happened - I still don’t feel like talking.

I decided I would try to sell off some of my paintings on Ebay and eventually MartinTimko.com using PayPal.

I started a series called “Vestige” in black and white. I remember reading something about Franz Kline. He was floundering and disappointed in his art. He decided to only paint using black and white, and concentrate on the composition, not the color. This lead to his signature style of large scale black/white monolithic paintings he is known for.

“Vestige,” is a 16” x 28” acrylic on canvas. It is also based on a collage I did long ago. This original series of collage and works on paper were done also after reading Kline and the Abstract Expressionists would sketch out on paper, or collage, for ideas for large canvases, to save time and money.


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The new paintings have no collage, but they look like they still are torn and random. They are fun to do and very quick. I usually get one or two done a night. Since losing the studio, I’m working from home. So, this series is working out.

The paintings I’m selling on Ebay and MartinTimko.com/paypal, are a series called, “Moon Dance.” I’ve always loved painter Fritz Scholder. I don’t claim to be a great painter like him, but his work does influence me. Since I like working in series, two or three new paintings pop-up every night. The first several were painted on wood panels, 12” x 12”. Now they are on canvas, 10” x 10”, 11” X 28”, and 16” x 28.”


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Martin Timko
2-10-09

Bryn Du Mansion Art Show Review

Martin’s Impressions of the Bryn Du Mansion Art Show:

We attended the Artist Reception on Wednesday evening. It is a large show with a wide range of art and artists. There are over 60 artists and over 200 works included in the exhibition. Opening night welcomed hundreds of guests and the event was catered with wine and refreshments.

My first impression was Granville’s respect for art and devotion to its community. The art represents all levels of art making, some very young artists, some seniors. There is painting, sculpture, photography, ceramics, and works on paper in the exhibit. Whole families were involved – creating the art itself or volunteering and organizing the show. Granville seems like a real “Artist Community”, it really caught me off-guard.

I enjoyed many pieces, especially seeing the work of friend Jane Heller. We met Jane over twenty years ago and we were happy to find her again organizing the show and showing her landscapes in the solarium.

Of my work – It is strange to walk through a group show then come upon your own stuff. If I had a say, I would have hung my pieces a little differently – a little spread out, tighter to the wall. But, they are right-side up – as an abstract painter, that’s all I can wish for.

The real star of this show for me was the Bryn Du Mansion itself. It was like stepping back in time 100 years. Granville should be commended for showcasing this place and using it for the benefit of the community. Stop urban sprawl and support centers like this. For anyone who’s never been to a function at the mansion – try to stop into the show, and donate a few bucks to the mansion. The exhibition and parking are free.


Martin Timko
9-24-8