"Out of the Closet"

Self-portraits...an interesting proposition. It takes more than a bit of courage (or outright balls)to paint or draw oneself and then put it up for the perusal and assessment of the general public. I suppose that there are a lot of ways to look at the process. Is it a bit of ego, public soul searching and revelation, catharsis, masochism, or just artistic tightrope walking? I've done my modest share, but I decided to go all out and over the top with this one. At 72"x30", it's full sized. (The bone man is scrunched into a 5' 7" tile border, so he will need some chiropractic adjustment at some point.)

My opinion is that a self portrait is overtly about the artist and how he sees himself, but once hung on display becomes much more a mirror for the viewer. We tend to recognize bits of ourselves in it and our lives, and in the process may be either fascinated or repulsed by what we see. The best self-portraits that I have seen are endlessly fascinating. My own visual appreciation of them usually includes a large dose of self assessment and comparisons with the elements that I find an affinity to. Sort of like going to a party and checking out how cool or lame one's clothes are to the rest of the company. We hope that we are in the top 1%, but are often brought a bit closer to
reality in the process.

Well, we are a pretty comical species...so lofty, and often so childish.

For your perusal and contemplation..."More And Less Than I Appear". Acrylic on muslin over wood panel, 71 7/8" x 30"

"Light Lunch"

It's been quite a while since my last post. Why haven't I posted? Who knows? It's certainly not because I have nothing to say...that would be a rare event for sure. However, here is my latest painting, "Light Lunch". Done for an upcoming show/fundraiser titled "Just Sweet". Since I did a self-portrait with a batch of blindfolded crows included, paintings with crows as elements has become a bleed-off from all that research. Besides, they are fascinating creatures. I'll be posting some of the work done between "Four and Twenty" and "Light Lunch" in the near future Including the self-portrait, but this will help me get back into the swing of posting. 12"x24" Acrylic on canvas

Pandora & The Pie: "I'll Chance It!"

I've always been fascinated by the nursery rhyme "Sing a Song of Sixpence". When I was very young I was always puzzled about what it meant and completely baffled by the line that stated (nonsensically in my mind) "When the pie was opened the birds began to sing." Right! It seemed quite logical to me even at a tender age that having been "baked in a pie" in such a crush, 24 blackbirds would come storming out of the open pastry in a mad dash for the open skies and freedom....(More like Pandora's box!) "the birds began to sing"..."Dainty dish"...indeed! More like a whirlwind. And there's no reversing the course and getting them back in the pie either.

I got to musing about the effects of cutting open the pie of creativity and the irreversible results. Not always a whirlwind to be sure, but definitely it doesn't just sit there and sing to me...well, it might sing to me, but maybe from a trapeze, the high wire, or a trampoline at the very least. I make the first cut when I set out to create a painting or other work, and when it's completed, and I put it out there to be seen by all, that second cut opens the pie and whatever ensues is out of my hands...much like the blackbirds. The piece is scrutinized if I'm lucky (to be sure, being ignored is the most ignominious fate). Sometimes it will be appreciated and enjoyed, other times it is judged and relegated to some classification niche for mental "ease of handling". Sometimes it might be taken as an instigation and bring on a whirlwind of critiques and dissections that attempt to lessen its power. Hopefully it doesn't just sit there and sing its dainty song. But...that carries the weight of the unknown.

I'm pretty sure that if I knew the final result of my attempts at painting, I would soon give up the chase out of the boredom of predictability. Equally, if I knew how the piece would be taken, what doors would open or shut in my face, what soul travelers I would have the pleasure of meeting, or even what mental cubbyhole I might find myself in the "Art World" I'd probably get tired of the exercise pretty quick. So....pass the pie and the knife please...."I'll chance it!"

For dessert, "Four & Twenty Blackbirds (When the Pie Was Opened...)" (An original painting by WB Eckert, acrylic on canvas, 30"x 25", custom frame) Please direct all inquiries to WBEckertStudio@gmail.com .

Camouflaged

This new piece has been sitting around finished for a bit, but I didn't really know it...or would that be "I really was not ready to admit it"? In that sense it was right under my nose, camouflaged. It's a bit different than most of my other pieces in that it's not a running narrative type of image. Most of my work has a story to it (if they don't have one at the inception they certainly do by the time they are finished). This one doesn't...or at least it's not very obvious to me. This one is sort of an observation without comment if you will.

It's funny how I can look for something till I am totally discouraged and give up in exasperation only to notice that it's been right there in front of me all the time. (I'm very familiar with that one.) I think it's really the same with life and everything around me. It's all made of the same basic "stuff" and exists in the same "sea of ether", (the space that's between each and every bit of "Stuff" in existence), but somehow I manage quite efficiently to sort it all out and make sure that the limits of everything are carefully delineated in my mind. There are times when I stop to realize that there really are no limits to anything... my physical body, my life force, trees, animals, my keyboard, all overlap and spill into one another. It's just very convenient to look at everything as if it's all separate in some way. After all, if I can't have a determination as to where I stop and you begin...well, that might just change my whole outlook and way of acting! No wonder that my usual way of looking at things tends to get me into a lot of trouble, while simultaneously causing a great deal of trouble for those around me!

It is a tough nut to crack since I've all spent most of my life buying into the concept of individuality and separateness. At times and with a bit of effort, it is possible to see past the camouflage I've carefully constructed...if for no other reason than to occasionally scare the selfishness out of myself...and see the marvelous continuity and interplay that I am a part of and is in turn an integral part of myself.

So having finally admitted it done...I offer "A Carefully Camouflaged Whole". (An original painting by WB Eckert (Acrylic on canvas, 24"x 24" [...with a custom frame, not shown, that appropriately establishes it's limits]).

The Early Bird?

Another study. This was a nice surprise. I was working on another piece and was pretty burnt out. I had been painting for most of the day and it was getting difficult to see the subtle color variations that I was looking for in the piece. I wasn't ready to quit painting for the day so I did a quick sketch, picked up a small 9x12" canvas and thought I would explore some color ideas for another painting that is coming up. It was a good call, the small piece worked a nice turn and surprised me. When I showed it to my wife, she agreed and suggested that if I had another canvas that size I should do more of the scene. This is the result.

I suppose I can take a lesson from this for those times when I quit before I'm really ready to and think that I have nothing left. There is usually something left, but I'll never know unless I keep going that extra bit. Good advice to myself...maybe I'll remember to try it a bit more often.

"Morning Patrol" (Original painting by WB Eckert, acrylic on 2 canvases, 9x12" each.)

The Rhythm Method

I seem to be getting getting a rhythm to my work discipline...a very good thing. It hasn't been easy, but I'm making surprising progress and it feels great. The whole process puts me in mind of all the rhythms around me that make things work...the seasons (California excepted of course), patterns of the day, cycles of plant growth everywhere, the comings and goings of all the myriad types of birds that frequent all the thickets around the house, and of course the murmurs and rants of the sea.

I truly enjoy watching the flight of pelicans up and down the beach, they have their own rhythms. They are regal and confident in their flight. They never seem to be in a hurry and appear for all purposes, "unflappable" as they coast along. They have a near perfect aplomb and are perfectly attuned to the sea...readily apparent when watching them coast along the breaking wave crests. In fact, their attitude signals the feeling that they might have invented flight and are quite assured in that respect. My kind of bird.

Celebrating the heartbeats of mother nature and the perfectly pitched attitude of the pelican ...

"Pulse" Acrylic on canvas, 36"x18". This work is available, so if you are interested, please feel free to view more information at http://WBEckertStudio.1000markets.com or inquire at WBEckertStudio@gmail.com)

I Told You So

Well, i did say that i was sneaking up on a showing and i did. i really dislike the phrase, "I told you so!", it usually follows some personal catastrophe that one is supposed to feel could have been averted if only the "expert" warning had been heeded...Anyway, this time it's all good. I'm showing some of my new work at a local coffee shop, seven pieces that i haven't shown before, and i was afforded an entire wall for them! Life is good. The only thing better than having a wall to hang my paintings on, is a wall to paint one on. One really great upshot of getting these items out there is that i'm tremendously inspired to get more of my backlogged ideas down on canvas and paper. This is a VERY good thing!

So, i'll be posting some of the new work, and i'll do that starting with "Interwoven"...this one meanders like my thoughts, but it's all tied together. the birds theme is very far from being exhausted...so for my first offering...(all of the following until i say "uncle" are available, so if you are interested, please feel free to view more information at http://WBEckertStudio.1000markets.com or inquire at WBEckertStudio@gmail.com).

"Interwoven" acrylic on canvas "36"x24"

Sneaking Up

Well, it has been a while. i can actually claim that i have been working, if not posting. i decided a while back the i would hold off on the posting till i had a number of pieces to post and i have (not in small amount helped by the fact that i am just a procrastinating genius of sorts). i'm slowly sneaking up on my goal.

i decided to post this one since it's already up elsewhere. i've been doing birds lately while pondering other things...these are pretty idealistic birds but they seem to fit where my head is residing these days. This is my latest. i did it as a birthday present for my wife...it had the desired effect...complete surprise and delight. i like it when that happens.

"whisperflight" acrylic on canvas, 15"x30", Private Collection)

Balancing Act

more peppers...

although these seem to be leaning right, they are most definitely liberal peppers! this turned into a bit of a balancing act of sorts. although i feel that the peppers lean a bit towards the abyss outside the picture frame, they seem to have achieved a precarious balance. when i was posing my spicy subjects, despite my better compositional judgment, all the positions that looked balanced seemed rather dull, so i went with this one...at the time that i finished it, i didn't think that i liked it, but viewing it the next morning proved it a hasty call.

teetering for your perusal...."Peppers On Glass" original acrylic on canvas

Things That Bump

so it's raining outside and dreary, but it doesn't bother me, in fact i wish it were raining much harder... it does put me in the mind of bright color though, probably the need to balance it all out. sameness seems to demand contrast, even of the violent sort, while raucous turmoil and intense and unrelenting contrast beckons some sort of soothing consistency...sometimes things that bump in the night are needed and even welcome, even in the day.

i'm not sure where this came from, i can see roots in "starry night", but it did offer a refreshing contrast to the rainy day outside...in stark contrast to my obsessively worked out pieces this one was free and easy...all the incredible life and movement that is going on in the night (and all around us any at time for that matter) that we are scarcely aware of...

"Night Movements" original digital print.

Spicy

i like peppers, i like how they taste, i like how they make other things taste, i like how they look. i prefer the twisty ones the most. i've noticed that many stores seem to prefer peppers that look like storybook peppers...uniform and uniformly "pepper-like". i think that i prefer the "Mapplethorpepper"...suggestive and sensually twisted...visually spicy!

what i did with three of them one afternoon...
"3 peppers" original painting, acrylic on canvas 8"x10" study on stretched cotton canvas ($125)

Arc Flight

i thought i'd post my latest painting. this has some of my favorite arcs and swoops (and the arm and hand movements that go with them), and the animal whose movements i love to trace with those forms. it's been quite a while since i've painted dolphins, and this is a completely different approach to the subject for me. i may go this way for a while and see where i wash up.

for your pleasure..."Arc Flight" acrylic on canvas

Rachel

people and images...i surely find people the most challenging of all images to make. it's not all that difficult to take a good photo of a person, but to capture a bit of their personality...for me, that's a tough one...

my favorite person, wife, partner, and, pleasurably, my favorite model...rachel... "rachel deep in thought" and "piece of mind"

A Star Is Born ... Every Day

sometimes it flat out amazes me to see something that i am very familiar with and think i "know so well" in a new context. my first reaction is one of awe at what i'm looking at...its beauty, color, shape, complexity, whatever the overwhelming sensation may be. if i examine it at length, i may come to realize that it is a very familiar thing that shines in contrast to a foreign environment. a star is born! i find myself overwhelmed by the sensation and fail to see what i am really looking at...the "same old thing" in a context that showcases its special traits.

in light of this observation it's surprising that we should be so anxious about being in unfamiliar situations...the very places where we might shine.

so....."punk'd out in orange" and "a star is born"

Something New, something older...

i'm defintely not an advocate of forgetting the past. i have often been advised that it's good for an artist to destroy all that clinging old work so that we can work a fresh slate...i'm not there. i'm always fascinated by old works. i have a sort of detachment from them in that it's not too long after they are completed that they don't feel like mine. they are fascinating and yet seem foreign to me...like looking at someone else's work. good, bad, or ugly that's the way it is.

at times i revisit old works and re-invent them, or re-do them in another media...or return to the path that i wandered off on when i did them originally. this is one such piece...the sketch was done on a plane flight, and i worked the solution over a period of time...now i'm looking forward to a second journey for it on canvas. "Guilt:Formal"

Breaking Camp...

Most of the work that i've posted recently has been photographic in nature, but i thought i'd post something a bit different this time. i just finished a commission that i procrastinated myself through for way too much time...having just "broke camp", i'm understandably pretty excited!

without going into gory details, this is an original portrait of a young man on a 1927 Harley Davidson based on a black and white photo of the subject supplied by the client ...done in acrylic on canvas, 30x40". "Shaw's Ride", SOLD

The Little Bits

it's amazing how often we miss the beauty of the little insignificant parts...shapes, color juxtapositions, words, inflections, sighs...in our mad "appreciation" of the grandeur of everything...

here's to those bits...."colors bumping" and "little bits of time"

Glory Daze

time passes and so does the sheen.

i guess missing the sheen is normal, but letting it become the defining element of our thinking is less than invigorating to one's creative life. when that becomes the focus, all endeavor seems to lean to recapturing what we thought was the more successful time of creativity (or would that be notoriety?). we all(exceptions are entertained)love to be noticed and noted. in fact, creativity seems, like happiness, to be much less satisfying if not shared. there is definitely a thrill and satisfaction from the work done, but put all the results in a place where no one else can see and laud or critique, and i doubt that any of us "creative types" would continue. that's the "fak" jack! (yeah, i know that feeling insular and above it all is a great pose...a lofty perch above it all in the pecking order, but it's not a very original delusion.)

so, what's left? no faded glory that's for sure! like the rust forming under metal that has been repainted in an attempt to restore the old glory...often, like the experiences of life, the bubbling, dented, weatherbeaten, crusty layers add a new glory...and for me, i think i'll try to capture that...there'll be enough time to reflect on the "old glory" when i'm pushing up daisies!

so...for reflection and introspection..."Once Upon a Star" and "Glorious in Retirement"

Special-ness & Success

in a crowd of 6.7 billion people, "special" is a pretty astounding word to use when describing one of us, yet we all believe that each one of us is special...(smoke that one for a while!)... and just what what is "success" among this number of strivers for the brass ring...and who or what calls the shots that determine the outcome?

of the millions of sperm that are sent on their mad dash for survival/success in a single act of intercourse, only one will be successful...of all the eggs that are fertilized only a certain number will see the light of day of birth...of those, many newborns will not live to see puberty...and still the number of "successes" are astounding considering the odds.

once reaching adult status, very few are "successful" considering the standards of the world...whether by fame, monetary status, or power...and then how many of us attain the status of "truly memorable" ... those whose ideas or accomplishments are credited with steering this vast human ship through the uncharted waters of history..?

pondering this is a good reason to reach for that additional beer or two...and ponder "beating the odds" and "chosen".

Fracktured Flickers

while working on these images i got to thinking about how i physically "fit" in the world.

i tend to think of my personal self as insular and totally inclusive to my own "place" in space and time...but experience, science, and "spirituality" seems to hint to something quite different.

how did i know what that other person was going to say before they said it? where do "my" body's atoms and molecules end and the outside's begin...exactly? why does it seem to me that "prayer" or positive "vibes" or energy is effective in the world?

at times these considerations seem to fracture my concepts of just what or who my self is...

does it matter, or is the only practical consideration the skin i'm in?

so..."cat branches" and "boy through water"