Desmond
Paul Desmond wrote that he wanted to be known as "the John P. Marquand of the alto". I have no idea who Marquand was, but I'll bet there was some self-deprecating humor involved, because that's how Desmond expressed himself. Of course, he knew how good he really was. And, he was the wittiest, smoothest alto player I know of, and he had his own sound. His musical quotes abound in his beautifully constructed solos, often making "in-jokes" if you happen to recognize them and their titles. I have never tired of listneing to Paul Desmond.
Why do I bring him up? A few days ago I was working on four different small projects, jumping rather effortlessly from one to another - two were gifts in watercolor, one was a small abstract done to fit an already existing mat and frame, and the last was part of a great job. All of these were united by a fair amount of thought; there was almost none of the visceral type of painting that is fun and cathartic and also a bit out of control in a scattershot way. I try to combine the intellectual and visceral in my art-decision making, but this time the intellect was way ahead, and that was fine.
On some level, I was trying to approach the art in the way Desmond approached his music - with wit, thought, and individual flair. The fact that he was the best at what he did, and I am somewhere down that food chain isn't relevant. It's just that my approach was toned down and controlled, but still a lot of fun. And, since I have a good knowledge of the history of drawing and painting, I am able to incorporate different aspects of what I know. Just like Desmond did.
This was a good week. I presented an illustrated poem as a special events gift to a woman who was being honored at an organization. I worked hard on the lettering and felt that it was better than adequate, and worked well with the overall design. My hope was that she will be very touched by the gift, as the poem is a favorite of hers. Two days later, two of my abstracts sold, which was most gratifying. Both of these pieces look like they were done from a visceral place, and to some extent they were, but there was plenty of conscious decision making in them too. It felt great to sell them to a person I know appreciates them . One of the two pieces was not toally abstract: collaged into the art were some comic figures from the early 1900s, sort of a "Desmondism" of my own, as if to say, "yes, they're abstract, but these little cartoon people seem to be saying otherwise".
Why do I bring him up? A few days ago I was working on four different small projects, jumping rather effortlessly from one to another - two were gifts in watercolor, one was a small abstract done to fit an already existing mat and frame, and the last was part of a great job. All of these were united by a fair amount of thought; there was almost none of the visceral type of painting that is fun and cathartic and also a bit out of control in a scattershot way. I try to combine the intellectual and visceral in my art-decision making, but this time the intellect was way ahead, and that was fine.
On some level, I was trying to approach the art in the way Desmond approached his music - with wit, thought, and individual flair. The fact that he was the best at what he did, and I am somewhere down that food chain isn't relevant. It's just that my approach was toned down and controlled, but still a lot of fun. And, since I have a good knowledge of the history of drawing and painting, I am able to incorporate different aspects of what I know. Just like Desmond did.
This was a good week. I presented an illustrated poem as a special events gift to a woman who was being honored at an organization. I worked hard on the lettering and felt that it was better than adequate, and worked well with the overall design. My hope was that she will be very touched by the gift, as the poem is a favorite of hers. Two days later, two of my abstracts sold, which was most gratifying. Both of these pieces look like they were done from a visceral place, and to some extent they were, but there was plenty of conscious decision making in them too. It felt great to sell them to a person I know appreciates them . One of the two pieces was not toally abstract: collaged into the art were some comic figures from the early 1900s, sort of a "Desmondism" of my own, as if to say, "yes, they're abstract, but these little cartoon people seem to be saying otherwise".
posted by Rich Sigberman at
4:08 PM
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