A little something I had to get out before I could sleep last night. A quick pastel sketch based on some old photo work.
A quick pastel before bed time.
I went to bed with visions of rainbow dust motes dancing in my head… and possibly my sinuses.
Cheers,
R
I haven’t been painting much since my move back to the home studio (read as “the basement”). I’ve been doing a lot of sketching however. Last night I finally decided to drag my sorry arse off the couch and work. This adaptation of an earlier sketch is the result. I think I may leave it as-is and move forward with some other work in this vein. This is the stuff that comes out when I let my mind wander while I’ve got paper and pencil in-hand. Plus I’ve got a thing about crows.
There’s some deeper significance somewhere I’m sure…
Kakaaaw!!
Cheers,
R
ps: sorry for the awful photo quality. I need better lighting in the new place.
I like to sit on my couch and doodle at night. Most nights. Well… some nights at least. Especially when I can’t get down to the studio to work. Sometimes I know exactly what it is that I’m going to be working on. Sometimes I have no idea until it gets going. This is one of the latter. I sat down with my box of pencils and my trusty sketchbook and started making marks.
About 30 minutes later this guy showed up. I’m not sure what he’s all about. Maybe it’s a subconscious nod to my perennially distracted state. Either way I’m calling him, “One Man Murder”.
One Man Murder (sketch)
So there you go.
Cheers,
R
It’s that time again, boys and girls.
Fitch Open Studio 2014, December 6th, 6-9pm
Every year the good souls at the Fitch Building open up their workspaces to the public. We clean (sometimes), buy refreshments and lots of finger foods. We slog 20lb bags of ice up four flights of stairs. We even dress up a bit… occasionally. If we get around to it. There’s a lot of other stuff to get done…
All because we love having people come in and share in what we do. If nothing else it’s a fair enough excuse to throw a party.
Here’s the numbers:
Saturday, December 6th
304 15th Street
Des Moines, Ia
6-9pm
Artists can be a bit eccentric, but we’re a generally friendly folk. Generous and trustworthy by nature.
And what most people don’t know is that if you buy a painting or give one of us a hug you’ll have good luck all the rest of your days.
So come out on the 6th and hug and artist… OR buy a painting. Your call.
See you there.
Cheers,
R
This weekend someone infected a school… a town with fear. Another piece of our children’s innocence was stolen away. While the threat of violence toward the school may or may not have been real there was an incident early today. A series of shootings in that town and it only served to lend credence to the threats. Time will tell if there was a connection between the two.
People began pulling their children from school before anything had transpired. Eventually the school closed down because of a lack of available police presence due to the shootings this morning. Prior to today’s incidents and to the closing I encouraged my children to attend school although I said I would not force them. I may be a lot of things, but I am their father first. Their peace of mind is important to me. BUT I did encourage them to go citing the fact that we are surrounded by dangers every day. The threat of peril is omnipresent no matter where we are or how safe we think we might be. The illusion of safety is only that.. an illusion. We did not stop going to theaters after the tragic events in Colorado. We do not stop travelling even though planes crash and hundreds perish. We do not hide in our homes because people die of virulent disease. We persist. We continue to live our lives. It is by vigilance and good grace that we make it from one day to the next. If we give in to fear we give in to paralysis and to those who would inflict us with fear. We give them their victory and encourage others to follow suite.
AND ultimately we open ourselves to the same fear that caused those violent individuals… those cowards… those desperate people who hide behind masks or screen names to become what they are.
Today I reminded my sons that courage is not the absence of fear. It is persistence in the face of fear.
Fear is the mother of violence
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZ-bq4E2AKc
Cheers,
R
Edit: I found out that the paintings will be staying state-side at the owner’s Memphis home. Still I wouldn’t mind a trip to Memphis in the next few months. It’s been nearly 20 years since I’ve been back. I wonder if the Pink Palace Museum is still as cool as I remember?
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Almost finished and soon to be shipped off to St Thomas to live. Maybe I can arrange to take a little trip to varnish them once they’ve had time to cure.
One can always hope…
Machan commission, “Someone’s Island Paradise 1&2″ (unfinished pair), oil on linen, 14″x24”, 2014
Cheers,
R
Here in Iowas we’ve got lots of things. Among them we have: Corn, a few groovy little cities, marriage equality, a vibrant Arts scene, open spaces, pigs, amazing people, and wind. We’ve got wind in spades. As such we’ve been putting up a lot of wind farms. They’re enormous, towering things. They’re really kind of beautiful. They’re no match for our skies though. We get some amazing cloud formations. Big Midwestern storms. They’re something to see. Especially as they drift away into the East leaving the most amazing light, the smell of fresh rain, and rolling thunder in their wake.
Robert Reeves, Windmills, Oil on linen, 72×24, 2014
I got a few nice shots of one such formation floating away like a vast, weightless mountain range over a newly-erected wind farm not far from the city in which I live. Quite beautiful. Quite lovely.
Sorry for the less-than-awesome photo quality. I’ll get some good-quality shots and repost in the future.
Cheers,
R
Edit: I found out that the paintings will be staying state-side at the owner’s Memphis home. Still I wouldn’t mind a trip to Memphis in the next few months. It’s been nearly 20 years since I’ve been back. I wonder if the Pink Palace Museum is still as cool as I remember?
__________________________________________________________________________
Almost finished and soon to be shipped off to St Thomas to live. Maybe I can arrange to take a little trip to varnish them once they’ve had time to cure.
One can always hope…
Machan commission, “Someone’s Island Paradise 1&2″ (unfinished pair), oil on linen, 14″x24”, 2014
Cheers,
R
Finally got a composition I like. The hardware for the stretchers just arrived Friday. If the client approves I start painting asap. Got one more to nail down for these folks, but I think I’ve got an idea they’ll favor.
Time to bust out the oils.
Cheers
R
Here’s another in a series of paintings based on some photo experimentation I was doing a few years back. This one is of the area around Nolen plaza and the giant umbrella sculpture by Claes Oldenburg here in sunny Des Moines.
Robert Reeves, The Big Umbrella (unfinished), latex paint on maple panel, 2014
Damn, but I do love me some house paint. I don’t know what it is about using latex paint on wood panels that makes me so happy. Is it the immediacy? It dries so quickly that I can accomplish a lot in a short period of time, but acrylics do that too. Maybe it’s the buckets of paint and letting myself be a little sloppy. That certainly appeals to the little kid in me. But maybe it’s the Summers spent painting the rental units my parents owned as a kid.
We had a couple of old houses in different parts of town that my parents rented out for several years. One had actually been my grandparents’ house during their time in Iowa… I loved that house. It wasn’t anything fancy and it certainly wasn’t big (barely a 2 bedroom), but it was cozy and inviting. I spent a lot of my childhood there hanging out with my grandmother. She taught me a lot about living simply, kindness, and most of all Patience. Lessons I didn’t know I was learning at the time. I’d wake up and my Dad would have brushes, rollers, paint, and ladders all laid out for me. He’d send me off with his instructions and a few bucks to pick up some lunch. I’d grab my super awesome Sony Walkman cassette player, a few of my favorite mix tapes, and hit the road. Now I’m not saying I loved every minute of it. I didn’t. I really didn’t. It was hard work in hot weather. It was dirty, sweaty, and potentially lead-based. It was the last thing a teenage boy wanted to be doing with his Summer. Looking back though it was nice to be my own boss for a few days. Listening to tunes. Scraping away the old and making it new again. I may not have loved it at the time, but I can see where it’s gotten me.
*sniff*… Dealing with some feels here… Who knew I could get so sentimental over something I used to dislike so much?
Going to have to hit the Woodsmith’s store later. I’m out of panels and I’ve got so much more painting to do.
Here’s to the long Summers of our youth. Pray we don’t forget them.
Thanks, Dad.
Cheers,
R
Finished! Sorry for the grainy image. Had to bring it up to my living room to get a halfway decent shot.
Robert Reeves: Oil & Dust 