Busy

"Before you can do things for people, you must be the kind of man who can get things done.  But to get things done, you must love the doing, not the secondary consequences. The work, not the people. Your own action, not any possible object of your charity".
~Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead

E Pluribus Unum up close.

The E Pluribus Unum

     The E Pluribus Unum upclose. 

Believe it or Not - I'm still at it!

Well, "when life gives you lemons.....make lemonade".  Life really didn't hand me lemons - it handed me twins.  So the painting's progress creeps along at a mind-numbing pace.  I do say with optimism, "at least we  have a pace." 

I basically am able to devote one day in which I can squeeze about an hour and half's worth of work toward the painting.  It starts with tremendous planning the night before where I stage baby gear, painting supplies, and Captain Chaos' stuff by the front door.  At 7 am the next morning my Mother faithfully collects me, the twins, and my painting supplies (because we have only one car left and it gets everybody ELSE to work and school and back ).  Then she shuttles us to her house were the painting is.

Next, I spend the day rocking, feeding, changing the babies and only stealing little moments of productivity while they sleep simultaneously.  Simultaneously is the key word and that is quite a remarkable effort of patience and focus in and off itself.

So, even though the composition is coming together, I have been stuck on some perspective issues and will have to make some changes from what is shown here.  But basically what is starting to form is the E Pluribus Unum escorting Liberty on the shoulders of "man"  up large stairs where she will pose elevated on her own base.

I have some details to add, a horizon, and then solve my perspective issues.  After that,  I can lock in and get to work!  Slow but sure.  It's going to be a crazy year with twins on my hip, but I am determined to keep going, especially now more than ever...... "in keeping those brushfires of Freedom ever burning".

The First Stages of Liberty

First stages of Liberty pointing to the Creator of all the heavens and the earth.

Slow but sure and baby steps.......Liberty is starting to emerge, but the rest of the composition still needs to be drawn in.   I promised myself this is one painting I would not rush, and yet, it's definitely frustrating me that I can't make greater strides.  

As the painting moves along, you will begin to see that Liberty is being supported by a group of people who are the E'Pluribus Unum.   In that group there are two other personified virtues, who are Faith and Justice. All the people in the painting are as classical as possible - for three reasons. 

•  For one, I did not want to date the painting by one period's fashion over another's. (Also, classical drapery of the human form is by far more aesthetic than what we are all running around in today -*Andre Leon Talley - I completely agree, "there is a famine of beauty"*). 
• Secondly, the concepts of the painting are precious, grand, and profound; and therefore, the painting is serious. The artist is reverent.  It is not avant garde'.  (Besides, when man was in need of an artistic renaissance or a cultural uplift - he looked to the first -the greats - the Grecians).
• Thirdly, because the concepts of the painting have been labored over by many great minds from the beginning of Western Civilization - I wanted to project a timelessness as much as possible.  A part from painting everyone a la nude-I felt draped fabrics were the most appropriate. 

Part 1

I know it doesn't look like much yet, and I am honestly feeling very vulnerable for revealing this early stage. Because, In fact, I am still working out problems with the composition.  But none the less,  here you see the scaffold that I am climbing up and down as well as the cartoon emerging. There is a ton of work ahead, so if it doesn't appear to make sense - don't worry in time it will!  All I can tell you is, in person, it already has presence and I like that.

Actual canvas size shown here is 11 ft. tall x 6 ft. wide

Preview of Alice and Wonderland paintings

I have some catching up to do.  While I have been nimbly juggling full time college for some new techie skills, full time family, and painting desires....I am starting to slip on documenting my paintings.  So, in the mean time I am posting this photo of my Sister-in-Law, and of course, Captain Chaos, who was dragged to the last art show.  In the back ground, you can see one of the Alice paintings.  There she is presented with a choice "eat me" or "drink me".   Expect in my version the choice is accompanied with a known ramification:  the eat me tag threatens - "the bigger the government the smaller the citizen";  while the drink me tag promises - "the smaller the government the bigger the citizen". (Inspired by the quote from Dennis Prager.)  I hope over Christmas break I will get a chance to finalize, photograph, and post what I have done so far with explanations - in the mean time Merry Christmas and God Speed - Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvg/video?id=8266686&syndicate=syndicate&section

See the link above for the clip on the funeral services for this Polish World War II Veteran, who survived a concentration camp and became a well respected American citizen.

God Speed - Mr. Wojciechowski! I actually had the honor of being commissioned to paint this painting of a polish cavalry horse for this amazing man.  When I was introduced to him, he told me his incredible saga; from the first day he encountered the Russians invading Poland on the front lines, to working with the Polish underground to usurp the Natzi's, being captured and hauled off to Aushwitz, to surviving and meeting his wife in a displaced persons camp (who escaped a death march herself at the age of 15).  Finally, immigrating to the States and contributing to the enhancement of all that he came into contact with.   At the end of the meeting, his daughter, who was present, gave me a pin of the Polish Underground Symbol - which is forever attached to my favorite hat. 

All I can say, is we must not take the horrors from WWII lightly. We must make sure every generation understands not only the preciousness of liberty, but the wickedness big government can easily enforce.