Speed of Life

Gregg Chadwick Elephant Song 30"x24" oil on linen 2023 "Elephant Song" depicts an African Elephant in its natural environment.  The title refers to the low frequency method of elephant communication. Elephants sing using the same physical principles as humans - using their immense larynx to produce very low notes. Pitched below the range of human hearing, these infrasounds can travel long distances and enable elephants to connect with other elephants in hearing range.  "Elephant Song" will be featured in the upcoming Beastly Ball benefit for the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association. The event is held each Spring at the L.A. Zoo and this will be my third year participating. For 60 years, the nonprofit Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association (GLAZA) has funded exhibits, capital projects, field conservation efforts, education and community outreach programs, and more at the Los Angeles Zoo, an international leader in the preservation of wildlife and care of ...

  Gregg Chadwick The Greatest Of Wanderers 54"x54" oil on linen 2021 Happy Earth Day! Earth Day is held each April 22nd to demonstrate support for environmental protection. I remember the first Earth Day that was held when I was an elementary school student. That day - April 22, 1970 - resonated deeply with me and I continue to support environmental actions across the globe. Today, Earth Day now includes a wide range of events in more than 193 countries. The official theme for 2023 is Invest In Our Planet. I was honored that last week Omni Presenti featured my painting "The Greatest of Wanderers". Dale wrote that "This is truly one of my favorite pieces on our website as I have a personal love for elephants. L.A. artist Gr egg Chadwick is a master at layering and mixing color as seen in this large 54×54 oil painting , creating a beautiful and ethereal background for this majestic animal."  #endangeredspecies  and  #nature  paintings in the  #fragileeart...

Gregg Chadwick The Water Carrier's Dream oil on linen 2017 The Water Carrier's Dream is part of an ongoing, globally inspired series of paintings that considers our place as humans in the larger natural world. The elephant is both a symbol of resilient strength and also, because of the ivory trade, has become a symbol of the possible extinction of numerous animal species. Water as well is a symbol of life. The bucket the woman carries is part of an effort to make clean water safer and more accessible from local, community owned water facilities in Tanzania. The train entering from the distance brings the painting into the present day.

Gregg Chadwick The River Dreams 16"x11" oil on linen 2009 I learned tonight about the death of  W.S. Merwin. I had a chance to chat briefly with W.S. Merwin after his wonderful reading at the Hammer Museum on October 29, 2009. We spoke of elephants and mystery and nature. Inspiring memories. The poems of W. S. Merwin’s mature career were often Delphic, haunted, and bleak. They seemed to have been delivered unto him, and he transcribed them by lightning flash. https://t.co/Z4biUog5VT — The New Yorker (@NewYorker) March 17, 2019 More on W.S. Merwin: W.S. Merwin Profile Paul Holdengraber In Conversation with W.S. Merwin Poem for Merwin 

by Gregg Chadwick Gregg Chadwick Calvino's Elephant 30"x40" oil on linen 2011 Private Collection, Arcata, California "In fact, the elephant recognizes the language of his homeland, obeys orders, remembers what he learns, knows the passion of love and the ambition of glory,  practices  virtues “rare even among men,” such as probity, prudence and equity, and has a religious veneration for the sun, the moon, and the stars." From “Man, the sky and the elephant” pp. 315-330 of The Uses of Literature by Italo Calvino, Harcourt, Brace Jovanovich, New York, 1986. An Open Letter to the Chief Executive Officer of NBCUniversal   Dear Stephen Burke, As Chief Executive Officer of NBCUniversal you oversee the vast and important array of news, sports and entertainment networks that make NBCUniversal a leader in global media. In many ways the world looks to you and NBCUniversal for not just entertainment but inspiration. With this in mind, it comes as ...

Gregg Chadwick The River Dreams 16"x11" oil on linen 2009 I am reading WS Merwin's recent book of poems - The Shadow of Sirius - and thinking deeply about the mystery of our place in the universe. I had a chance to chat briefly with WS Merwin after his wonderful reading at the Hammer Museum on October 29th. We spoke of elephants and mystery and nature. Inspiring stuff. Professor Stephen Yenser is doing an amazing job with this series of poetry readings at the Hammer. And Mona Simpson's favorite writers series is also top notch. Tonight, YiyunLi, author of A Thousand Years of Good Prayers , will be reading. More on WS Merwin: WS Merwin Profile More on the Hammer Museum: Watch and Listen More on elephants and why we must protect them: Elephant Reflections - new from UC Press Photographs by Karl Ammann and Text by Dale Peterson