a thousand different aspects

"To many people a place is merely a place. It may be viewed under a thousand different aspects, but it is seen only as the same place. And yet, if we inquire into the psychology ...... we find, not an inherent sense of realism, but a quintessential sense of symbolism." - J.Hullah Brown, Water Colour Guidance

For reasons that at first were not apparent, the view from the Brooklyn Heights apartment, facing south-west (more or less), really interests me. Throughout the day there is a dramatic range of color, illumination, and shadow, all played out upon groupings of architectural forms, masses of trees, and distant points, which is really kind of fascinating to watch. The hills over in Jersey are sharp-edged and solid sometimes, misty and ethereal other times. The buildings, with just a little imagining, could be Roman ruins. But why imagine? It's all really splendid as it is.

I want to keep working on this same view, seeing how it gives me so much to work with. It changes all day long, so there's always something new going on. And I don't have to go somewhere to do it. It's right outside the window. And the tea pot is only a few feet away.

'accuracy' is relative

"But the accuracy of artists working as artists is the expression of feeling with precision. For them, 'accuracy' is relative, and 'realism' is only a wish to be objective, because there can be no general agreement in the arts as to what is real: each artist has a different way of explaining it."
- Lynton Lamb, Preparation For Painting

This is as close as I've come to identifying with abstract concerns. But it becomes obvious to any working artist --- painter, sculptor, whatever you like --- that even representational art is a form of abstraction unless we enslave our talents to pure surface copying. The simple act of interpretation into paint is a step into the abstract. This watercolor was done recently of a view out of Tracy's window overlooking the BQE with Red Hook to the southwest. Eliminating the smaller elements in the scene, I got down the larger, most important elements to create a balance without oversimplifying.

Bullock Online Website Update

The link to the right will take you to my website, Bullock Online, which is up and running again. This is an ongoing project, but I expect the general layout will be completed by October, with a full-service sales feature so my work is available for purchase. In the meantime, this blog is still the best place to see my work.

The web site's host and their design-your-own-website software has been less than inspiring, I'm afraid, but I am looking at alternatives and am confident that something great will work out soon. The ability to design one's own website without knowing HTML code is quickly becoming a commonplace feature, and offers increasingly sophisticated results. In the meantime, there are a few frustrations that I am just stomping my way through. No direction to go but forward, right?

In A Shot In the Dark, after falling into a water fountain, Detective Clouseau says, "Ah, it is all part of life's rich pageant." That's how this all feels sometimes.

a far green country

Gandalf: End? The journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path, one we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass. And then you see it.
Pippin: What? Gandalf? See what?
Gandalf: White shores ... and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise.
Pippin: Well, that isn't so bad.
Gandalf: No, no it isn't.
- The Lord of the Rings, 2001

This is just a short announcement that Itty Bitty Walsch, Tracy's sweet little kitty, has said "so long" and journeyed on to those elysian fields. It's unusual to post an announcement on here that is not about my artwork, but Itty was great company and, at age 22, had earned the right to aid - or interrupt - anyone's attempt to read a book or work on a drawing. She is missed. Say "hi" to Cortez, Itty.

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Two Brooklyn Water Towers, Part 2: facts and relativities

"There is a right way and a wrong way to study, and it all centres (sic) around the fact that what you aim to learn is perception and expression. What you are to express you do not learn; you grow to that .... Your perception and appreciation must be trained, and your mind stored with facts and relativities. Then you are ready to recognize and to convey the true inwardness you find in conditions commonplace to others." - David Parkhurst, The Painter In Oil, ch. XIV, 1898

Continuing with the 11 x 13" panel painting of the water towers begun in May (based on preliminary sketches done in March), I have completed a second under-painting in burnt sienna. This further develops the sense of form and provides an opportunity to correct minor mistakes from the first layer. Each under-painting helps modify the sense of space and form. Instead of a third one, I will start with local color. To make sure I have all my facts straight, I will go back to look at the water towers again and do a few more sketches and watercolor studies to refer to when painting in oil.

These towers are on top of the Watchtower building and visible from the Brooklyn-side approach to the Brooklyn Bridge. The vantage point provides views of water towers and architectural elements that will give me more material for other paintings. My sketchbooks are already full of them and it's just a fraction of what is there. These views provide a lot of material for complex compositions and are fun to work on.

idleness

[^ Still Life with Stones and Flower Pot. watercolor. 4x6". 2010 © Bullock Online 2012]

"Idleness is the enemy of the soul." - St. Benedict's Rule for Monasteries, ch. 48

So I've been assembling a portfolio for clients and publishers and it's been endless. I had a conversation recently with someone who told me about a Japanese theatre philosophy that was all about the here and now. There is no "soon", no "when the curtain rises". This is it. Whatever it is you're doing --- the practice, the preparation, the getting ready --- that is the thing you do, the end product. That's what counts. Whatever it is that you're preparing to do, you're doing it. There is no "next time".

Not that she or I completely accept this as Truth but there is something to it and it got me thinking. All my little watercolors, studies, and informal pieces, are what I have to start with. They're what I have. I've run out of time.

I just did this watercolor painting of rocks. I liked the composition and their sizes, colors, and shapes. The rough paper was difficult to work on but it turned out alright. It looks like what I saw, so that's good. It will go in my portfolio along with others from the past year.

So, thanks, Tracy. I owe you.