Speed of Life

 by Gregg Chadwick Gregg Chadwick Ponte del Castelvecchio (Verona) 48"x36"oil on linen   In Japan the first dreams of the New Year, hatsu-yume 初夢, traditionally provide markers for the dreamer's upcoming year.  In that spirit, perhaps the first artwork sold in a new year provides inspiration for the months to come. My painting Ponte del Castelvecchio (Verona) is the first sale of 2023. On this first day of the new year, I am busy packing up my Verona painting for shipment to its new home.  I think back to the genesis of the painting. I was perched above a Renaissance era bridge in Verona watching a light rainfall and the swollen river rushing by. The smell of rain filled the air. Swifts darted across the milky sky. Like gauze stretched across a stage set, the mix of rain, bus exhaust, and a distant sun breaking through the mist cloaked the moment in a spell of timelessness. I thought of the late Russian emigre writer Joseph Brodsky and his idea that water is th...

  In Japan the first dreams of the New Year, hatsu-yume 初夢, traditionally provide markers for the dreamer's upcoming year. In that spirit, perhaps the first artwork sold in a new year provides inspiration for the months to come. My painting Monk Station is the first sale of 2022.   I was honored that Saatchi Art included an artwork of mine in their new Seeds of Optimism collection. "Manifest a happy and bright new year with a joyous artwork by one of our top artists from around the globe." Curated by Bethany Fincher - Assistant Curator at Saatchi Art  In my new interview with Art Squat Magazine , I discuss my Saffron Road series: "Twenty years ago in Thailand, I woke up at dawn and spent the morning quietly and carefully observing the saffron robed monks on their morning pilgrimages. On my return to the U.S. later that week, I began to paint Buddhist monks, privately at first - as a form of meditation. Only later did I grasp the dharmic sense of responsibility inhe...