Some Art o' Mine

Thought it might be high time I posted some of my pictures here. One of the things I dabble in is sketching and oil and acrylic painting. First up are a couple small fruit studies 4x6 tomato (acrylic on canvas), 5x7 pear (oil over acrylic on canvas board):



Here's a bowl of tomatoes I did about 4 years ago. 12x16, acrylic on canvas, if memory serves:


A nude copied from a figure drawing text book. Artist escapes me:

Ditto:

Copied from a Cezanne, one of my heroes (oil on paper):

Don't remember what the inspiration for this was. From a drawing book, I think. And then I oiled it as an experiment. I think it works (oil on paper):

Cezanne again (oil on paper):

From a model in Arvie Smith's studio class. The first nude oil painting I really like. 20x20, oil on canvas:

A still life I set up myself. (In progress, oil on canvas):

Cezanne yet again (oil on paper):

I'm only out to please myself with all of this, but if others like it too, that's even better. I have no theories, no particular schools or "-isms" that I throw in with. I like Degas, Cezanne, Maillol, Toulouse-Lautrec, Vuillard, Bonnard, Gauguin, Matisse, Picasso, and many more. I guess that makes me a follower of Post-Impressionists, but as with all my artistic interests, I consider myself a generalist, if anything.

Hope you enjoy!

~CD

Nowwe Spynninge

Okay. This is probably going too far, but I bought the CD that accompanies the Mordicai Gerstein kid's book version of "Beauty and the Beast." It's basically the soundtrack from the little film version--a 30 minute animated one narrated by Mia Farrow. The CD is fun for a couple reasons: one, it has the book's text (narrated by Farrow over the musical soundtrack--basically what you'd hear if you closed your eyes while watching the film), good for playing in the car for the boy; and, two, it has a track with just a fully orchestrated musical score by Ernest Troost. It's a good listen, though it's a bit heavy on the Renaissance Faire elements (it's for a fairytale, afterall). The main motif is a very pretty melody that feels like something Henry VIII might have written. Troost, by the way, has had an interesting career composing for TV shows, specials (esp. for kiddies), and B movies (Tremors is the most recognizable). He's won a number of Emmys too. Fun.

~CD

Art, Food, Art

Three good things to note.

First, "Plover" recently responded to this blog (entry from 4/10/09) offering me the name of French painter Andre Lauran's wife, also a painter: Veronique Veron. Lauran passed away in 2008; Veron is still living. Here's an example of her work nabbed from the Web:

Thanks, Plover.

Second, K and I went with our friend N out to dinner on Saturday night to Gruner (put an umlaut on that U) on 12th and Alder in Portland. We all had an excellent dinner. Appetizers: Pickled deviled eggs, juniper cured Chinook salmon, shaved radish salad with pumpkin seed oil, charcuterie sampler. K: mixed grill--herb stuffed quail, duck boudin sausage, spring onion, green lentils, pancetta mustard sauce; N: grilled golden trout, herb salsa verde, green beans, toasted almond, yukon gold potatoes. J: (special) beef tokany with potato dumplings. Desserts: Dutch baby pancakes with blueberries and something like sugar dusted ebelskivers with apricot filling. Everything was excellent--food, service, atmosphere. The cuisine is east-central European, that is, it contains elements of German, Austrian, Hungarian, Italian, and Czech cooking. Thankfully, the decor is sleek and modern--not a beer stein in sight (although waitresses in Heidi get-ups would always be welcome.) Highly recommended. Visit: http://www.grunerpdx.com/

Third: If you're in Portland, go to the Northeast Community Center on (about) 38th and Sandy and view Jane Erskine's paintings. She's there all month. More about it and her here: http://www.necommunitycenter.org/necc_artist_lobby_display

That's all for today, Ciao,
~CD

Rob Ramage

Yesterday evening K, Ian, and I went to Portland's First Presbyterian Church on 12th and Alder downtown and attended the reception for a show by artist Rob Ramage: Earth and Mind, A Bilateral Balance. Rob was one of my fellow classmates in Arvie Smith's studio figure painting classes. His work in this show is all landscapes--pastel, monotype prints, and oils. It's a wonderful show and in a pleasant space. While you're there, check out the church's 110 year-old sanctuary--all beautifully carved would. The pipe organ is massive!:

Here's a link to Rob's website: http://robramage.com/
Here's a link to 1st Presby: http://www.firstpresportland.org/

~CD

Stirred but not Shaken

Another one of the movies I picked up for cheap at my now defunct neighborhood Hollywood Video store was On Her Majesty's Secret Service, the black sheep of the Bond canon--by turns underrated and overrated by fans and critics alike. When I first saw it on TV in '70's, I was already a Connery fan and therefore found this interloper--George Lazenby????--wholly inadequate to the part. As the years went by, the film grew on me a little, mostly due to a gradual warming appreciation of its other characters (Diana Rigg was so hot and Telly Savalas so evil), its awsome sets and locations, its fashion and decor (Bond's first real forays into genuine grooviness), and its rather good musical score. I began to see, too, that the film was gaining in reputation--some fans "in the know" were calling it the best of the Bonds. I wasn't ready to go that far, but I was willing to cut it some slack. Now, having watched it again the other day, I have to say it's a pretty mixed bag--far from "best" but certainly not a failure. I can see better now what was really going on. Connery had bailed on the series after You Only Live Twice (a lesser Connery, I'm afraid) and the producers were faced with the task of replacing Connery and freshening up a series that was beginning to lose some of its luster in the age Swinging London. They chose George Lazenby because he wowed them in interviews and looked great, but he was clearly a mistake. He looks the part okay--he's handsomely ugly in a Clive Owen sort of way--but he can't act. Period. He acts just as you would expect a male model (which he was) to act: he's well built and impressive in action sequences, but whenever he speaks he sounds like he's delivering an endorsement in a TV ad. Part of it, too, is the horrible script--it's certainly the worst writing of the 60's Bonds. But at the end of the day he had to fill Connery's shoes and he just couldn't do it. So, here's a list of the likes and dislikes of this film (in lieu of a belabored review that I don't want to write and nobody will want to read):

Likes:

• Supporting cast: Diana Rigg, Gabriele Ferzetti, Telly Savalas, Joanna Lumley (though she's fleeting).
• action: ski chases, car chases (on ice, no less), and some of the stunts and fights.
• aerial photography (really fab).
• groovy clothes (though, I realize, this is subject to change).
• groovy sets and decorating.
• wonderful Swiss locations.
• groovy cars (though edging into late 60's early 70's muscle-mobiles which I don't find nearly as cool as the trim mid-sixties roadsters).
• music (no lyrics?? s'okay, two of my other faves don't have them either--Dr. No and FRWL [well not in the opening credits anyway]).
• an emotionally vulnerable Bond (quite a risk, that, but it works and it was a good attempt to freshen up the character even if it didn't stick).
• and no gadgets! thank God.

Dislikes:

• Lazenby--acting, and even more so, his jaunty Aussie swagger (sorry for the bigotry); I find him irritating to watch; about half the time he doesn't look comfortable--in fact, he looks like what he is, somebody who's crashed the party and is trying a little too hard to act natural.
• Bond leering at a product-placement Playboy (he wouldn't bother).
• bad puns and "witticisms" (they should be groaners not cringers).
• the uneven pacing--revamping things with lovey-doviness is fine, but don't let it become a thrill kill (really, a lovers montage???).
• the plot with the international babes, infertility, etc. --well, I suppose it's more creative than just stealing an atom bomb.

So then, how does it all balance out? I'll rank it 8th in the series, which I'm beginning to think is too generous:

1. From Russia With Love

2. Goldfinger

3. Casino Royale (Craig)

4. Thunderball

5. Dr. No

6. Quantum of Solace

7. Live and Let Die

8. On Her Majesty's Secret Service

9. Man with the Golden Gun

10. You Only Live Twice

11. The Spy Who Loved Me

12. Diamonds Are Forever

13 + all the rest that I can't really be bothered with trying to rank...

That's my list for now. Always subject to change, of course.

Ciao,

~cd

Now Spinning: Perfecto!

My quest for a perfect cinematic easy listening experience is over as I've now discovered Easy Tempo: A Cinematic Easy Listening Experience, Vol. 1! Get this: it's all Italian cinema music from the late 60's and early 70's. And I'm not talkin' Rota or Morricone or Delarue. I'm talkin' Plenizio, Ortolani, Trovajoli, Cipriani, Piccioni, Martelli, Ferrio, and de Angelis--yes, that's Guido E Maurizio de Angelis.

And the films? La Gatta in calore, La famiglia Benvenuti, Mark il poliziotto, Bora bora, Tiffany memorandum, La morte accarezza a mezzanotte, Sesso Matto, La Polizia incrimina, la legge assolve, Big Guns, and my favorite, Confessione di a commissario di polizia al procuratore della Repubblica (how it runs trippingly on the tongue).

Dio mio, there are 10 volumes in this series. It's a fantastic compilation (from what I've heard so far)--by turns jazzy, rockin', dazzy, even stringy in spots. Pinging cymbals, runaway bass lines, and wah-wah pedals to the metal. All of it 100% mind-blowingly groovy. This is the perfect soundtrack for riding around in that '67 Alfa Romeo Spider you've been keeping wrapped up in your garage.

~CD

Recently Viewed: Shadowing the Third Man, Double Rainbow

Caught a wonderful film on cable TV the other day called Shadowing the Third Man, a documentary by Frederick Baker discussing that film from a "behind the scenes" vantage point. Interviews with Carol Reed, Guy Hamilton (a real treasure), Orson Welles, Vincent Korda, Daniel Selznick, and Graham Greene open up fascinating viewpoints into the making of the film. Rare stills, archival footage (esp. of Anton Karras playing the zither), and shots of a "bombed about a bit" 1948 Vienna spice up the mix. Look for it--it's well worth watching. Here's a particularly good IMDB review of it http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0429086/, and when you get there, read the other reviews, especially "Did the Third Man Change Your Life?"--what a testament to the power of the film! It certainly has changed mine. I can't think of a more a perfectly realized work of film art. ***1/2

Of course you've already seen this, but I have to throw it on here anyway--the guy freaking out over the double--almost triple--rainbow:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGqtxdKjqbI. But have you heard Double Rainbow--the Song!?:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX0D4oZwCsA

Now I hear someone parodied it with the KFC "double-down" sandwich. I suppose it's only a matter of time before KFC uses the parody themselves to sell the sandwich. Hopefully the double rainbow dude, as he's now known, will see some cashola at the end of all this, but I doubt it. Perhaps, there's a book deal in the works? A film? A documentary about the making of the film about the making of the video? Title: Shadowing the Double Rainbow: How a Viral Video Saved KFC and Changed Advertising Forever.

~CD

Gizzi Listening

Almost two years ago I wrote about my search for music by Claudio Gizzi, the man who composed the score for Andy Warhol's Blood for Dracula. Nothing has come up as far as available recordings (other than the anthology album Delirium of the Senses, which contained only one Gizzi track [I wrote about it 7/21/08]). But I have located some interesting stuff via Google and Youtube. Here's a clip of the opening credits of the film, with the incomparable Udo Kier as Dracula applying make-up to his undead face; the music is the film's main theme, a beautiful piece called, I believe, "Old Dracula"--so beautiful it steals the show, I think. The exploitive, campy film it's embedded in (though a fun time) hardly seems worthy of it!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjqD3aLnPrY

And here's an interview with Gizzi by Chris Alexander (Fangoria) in which the composer discusses that piece and his inspiration. What a breath of air this is! I like it when artists talk directly and ungaurdedly about their art, their craftsmanship, and their inspirations:http://chris-alexander.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=144:exclusive-interview-composer-claudio-gizzi&catid=47:interviews

My favorite bits:

CA: With BLOOD, you created one of the most gorgeous pieces of music ever used in a horror film....that overture...haunting. Was that composed while staring at Udo Kier's face in post production or was it composed before the film was edited?

CG: Effectively this theme for Dracula (especially in its version for solo piano) is one of the most complete and efficacious things of my career. This is a demonstration that the simplicity and power of melody makes it superior and the most important thing in the musical world. I remember that this theme was born spontaneously by the magnificent images of the titles of the film while they were being shown on the screen. Udo’s sadness, composure and elegance in front of the mirror really struck me and guided me towards this musical experience…)

CA: Have you recieved letters and love for these scores over the years?

CG: In fact, I received a great number of messages of approval and enjoyment from all over the world, especially from the U.S.A. There were also some people who wanted to have the score and to some of them I sent a score that I had written and signed. I hope I have made someone among my admirers happy....Basically, music is a wonderful, universal language which unites us and creates friends.

And here's an oddball video of some freakazoid named "King Baldwin" playing "Old Dracula" for us: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0W2FzWNU6eU&feature=related

And, because I can't help myself, here's a link to a slideshow about overlooked vampire movies that Twilight fans should track down and see. Hell, I should track some of them down too, since I hadn't heard of a few. Naturally, Let the Right One In is featured, perhaps the best vampire film I've ever seen. If it were my list I might add Romero's Martin, the Vrdolak segment from Bava's Black Sabbath, and Dreyer's Vampyr. Drink up!: http://www.salon.com/entertainment/movies/vampires/index.html?story=/ent/movies/film_salon/2010/07/02/vampire_movies_twilight_fans_should_see

~CD

The Wild Boy

Several posts ago, I featured a children's book version of Beauty and the Beast retold and illustrated by Mordicai Gerstein. Some days ago, I ordered a copy of another book written and illustrated by him called The Wild Boy (1998), a retelling of the story of Victor, the wild boy of Aveyron. It has arrived and is as marvelous as I had hoped it would be. Here's a taste:

The frenzied energy of the drawings, their emotional wallop, and their essential grasp of the story's mystery draw me to this book. These stories of people who are confused with animals--psychically, spiritually, or physically--always fascinate me. (The Elephant Man, Raging Bull, The Wolfman, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Lycaeus, the Yeti, etc.) If you've got a kid who's between 2 and 5, get this little book. It won't disappoint.

~CD