Elephant Ear Kalanchoe at Rosedon: thumbnails and a start

This tree is so odd in its growth.  Branches and leaves come out in unexpected ways.  The leaves grow in dense clusters off of a whorl of stems. The warty trunks are a strong contrast with the felty leaves. 

Here's a start of the painting.

Kalanchoe Tree at Rosedon

Kalanchoe Tree at Rosedon, 2012, oil, 30X24


I thought I'd show you the location of the warty trunk tree with the fuzzy leaves.  Here you see how it sits two tiers down in the terraced garden at the back of Rosedon.   I'm still working on this piece  and am thinking about developing a series based on this tree.

"Art is not golf" - Tina Weymouoth

Tina Weymouth  is a former acquaintance of mine from my RISD days.  I think she transferred in as a painter.  Whichever her major, she quickly integrated into our class.  I found her warm, engaging and worldly.

A few months ago I looked Tina up on the internet, wondering about her as a fellow artist and what she might be doing now.   I found the following quote from her:

"Art is not predictable.  Art is not golf, as great as that may be.  There are 360 degrees of choice to make."

 A few months later, I'm still thinking about these words and their sentiment.  She always was a visionary. 

  As I remember it, 40 years ago, Tina came back from a RISD winter session term in New York City and told me in so many words, "The painting world is done.  If you want a career you have to go in another direction."  This was simply shocking to me at he time, obviously, as I never forgot it.  While at RISD, I was exposed to and had to get my head around making conceptual, installation and performance art which were all coming down the pipeline at that time after abstract expressionism.  I found those new methods challenging and engaging too.  I am a very practical person and it's probably a good thing that I became an art therapist and psychotherapist for most of my working days. Perhaps it's narcissistic that I stick to making 2D art because of what it does for me. I've been thinking a lot about the other genres there are in visual art and challenging myself just a little bit about staying with painting now that art is my new day job.  

I learned from my internet search that music, especially playing bass guitar was always Tina's muse.  Joseph Campbell, the Jungian analyst, said that you should try to "follow your bliss." Tina's success in music was perhaps because she was doing just that.  Shortly after RISD, Tina, Chris Frantz,  and David Byrne  formed the Talking Heads. Then Tina and Chris went on to form the Tom Tom Club.

Looking her up again today as I thought about blogging about her quote I find that there's a screening "Stop Making Sense," a Jonathan Demme film about Talking Heads tomorrow at The City Winery in New York.  Tina and Chris will be there.

Old Warty Tree with Smooth Fuzzy Leaves

Today I began studying  for a painting of the Kalanchoe Beharensis Crassulacea Madagascar - a.k.a. Elephant Ear Tree.  I was struck by it when last in Bermuda where it stood gnarly and full in the midst of the garden at Rosedon Hotel.  Here's the watercolor sketch.

 

 

 

 

Elephant Ear Tree, 2012, 12X9, watercolor