Speed of Life

Gregg Chadwick The Source of Words 48"x38" oil on linen 2009

Gregg Chadwick Sea of Spring 春の海 (Haru no umi) 36"x48" oil on linen 2009 Japan has been a continual theme in my life and artwork. At age 10, I began my artistic dialogue with Japan before I even exited our arriving plane in Okinawa. On that journey I sketched the new world around me and have continued to do so over the years. My latest body of work was inspired by an artistic pilgrimage to Tokyo and Kyoto in March and April 2009. At that time, I was privileged to be in Kyoto at the height of the cherry blossom season. Young geisha in training (maiko) and full geisha brought their own color and timeless beauty to the city. The word geisha in Japanese means arts - person ( gei - sha). The flower and willow world of these caretakers of Japan's traditional arts seems to be as fragile and impermanent as the cherry blossoms that bloom so quickly then fall each year. Gregg Chadwick Gion Night 85"x37" oil on linen 2009 Gregg Chadwick Karyūkai ( 花柳界) 85"x...

One of a series of four new pennies honoring the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth was released today. The design was sculpted by artist Charles L. Vickers for the United States Mint. On the reverse side of Vicker's new penny is a low relief of a young Abraham Lincoln sitting on a log reading a large book. It seems that Lincoln has found his true calling in the realm of words as he takes a break from his rail splitting duties in Indiana. Vickers has created an inspiring image that speaks as much of our time as Lincoln's. With high school drop out rates at 20% in California it is nice to be reminded daily that the mind needs to be exercised as much as the body. Lincoln's story is inspiring and as a nation we are fortunate that President Obama understands Lincoln's legacy. Sculptor Charles L. Vickers' story is inspiring as well. Vickers served with the 101st Airborne Division before heading off to New York in pursuit of his dream to become a professional art...

This weekend! Sunday, May 17, 2009 Now in its 30th year, the Venice Art Walk & Auctions has raised millions of dollars for Venice Family Clinic – largely through the Silent Art Auction, which offers great deals on original and limited-edition works by the biggest names in the Southern California art scene. Gregg Chadwick American Memory (Bobby and Teddy Kennedy) 10"x16" oil on linen 2009 (Larger View at: American Memory ) My painting is up for bidding on Sunday, May 17, at Westminster School, 1010 Abbot Kinney Blvd., in Venice. More at: 30th Anniversary Venice Artwalk 2009 Venice Art Walk & Auctions

Update; January 26, 2010 The statue is of Tawaret the goddess of protection during pregnancy and childbirth. Temple of Haroeris and Sobek, Kom Ombo , copyright by Gary Jones . The Egyptian god Sobek seems to be the inspiration for the giant statue on LOST. I was leaning towards Anubis but the crocodilian snout gives it away. (Anubis was probably a bit too close to Stargate anyway.) Gary Jones' masterful photo of the Temple of Haroeris and Sobek in Egypt shows Sobek in detail. The light in Jones' photo is stunning - mysterious and beckoning. Caroline Seawright writes of Sobek: "Having the form of a crocodile, the Egyptians believed that he also had the nature of a crocodile. He could be the strong, powerful symbol of the pharaoh, showing the ruler's might. He could use this force to protect the justified dead in their after life, and be the protector and rescuer of the other gods... yet he could also use that power to savage his enemies and the sinful decease...

Is this painting of Saint Anthony tormented by demons the earliest extant painting by Michelangelo ? Keith Christiansen, a curator of European painting at the Metropolitan Museum in New York is convinced the work is indeed a Michelangelo. The painting in question would have been painted when Michelangelo was a young (12 0r 13 year old) apprentice in the established Florentine painter Ghirlandaio's workshop. Michelangelo's earliest biographers including Giorgio Vasari and his former student Ascanio Condivi describe how a young Michelangelo was inspired by an engraving of Saint Anthony tormented by demons by the 15th century German artist Martin Schongauer. Michelangelo freely created his own version of the composition providing richly invented colors and a Tuscan landscape in which the action takes place. Carol Vogel in the New York times describes how Met curator Christansen's detailed examination of the painting convinced him that the work was Michelangelo's earlie...

And what they sing so lovely and so meaningless may urge itself upon you with the ache of something just beyond the point of being remembered the trace of a brave thought in the face of sadness. - Craig Arnold, from The Singer Gregg Chadwick A Balance of Shadows 72"x96" oil on linen On the small volcanic island of Kuchino-erabu off the coast of Japan, American poet Craig Arnold became lost and searchers have now concluded that Craig vanished over the side of a cliff into the unknown. It is sad whenever a life is lost but even more so when an artist in his youth leaves so much undone for us to only guess at. We are left to carry on in Craig's artistic spirit. More at: Craig Arnold - Facebook Tribute

In Alex Eliot's marvelous essay in Frederick Franck's book, What Does it Mean to be Human? , Alex recounts his journey to the Greek region of Karoulia and his encounter with the "very holy fellow" Simon. Like many of his fellow Orthodox monks from Mount Athos, Simon retired to a cliff side residence in Karoulia. Perched high above the water, these monks spend their later years in solitude with the meeting of the sea and sky as their constant companion. Alex was invited by a fisherman from Mount Athos, who spoke of Simon as a holy fellow, to make the journey with him by sea to visit the monk. With the fisherman's boat bobbing in the waves below, Alex climbed a series of steps carved into the rock face with only a series of chains spiked into the cliff to hold onto. The fisherman had said, "If those chains will hold you, it is as God wills" for Alex to meet with Simon. At the end of his climb, Alex explains that he lay drenched in sweat gasping like a be...

Author Wil Wheaton talks about writing, the sweet smell of bookstores and his Star Trek days as well as his excitement about the upcoming Star Trek film. See Wil Wheaton at UCLA today. General Info Dates Saturday, April 25 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Sunday, April 26 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Location UCLA 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024 Tickets Tickets are free! Tickets will be available on April 19 through ticketmaster.com. They are needed for indoor panels and speaker sessions. More... Parking Parking on the UCLA campus is $9. Free shuttle bus services will connect the outlying UCLA parking lots with the main festival entrances. More at: L.A.Times Festival of Books Website

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Springsteen and the E-Street Band cover the Ramones' "I Want to be Sedated" - Boston, April 22, 2009 Springsteen and the E-Street Band cover the Ramones' "I Want to be Sedated" - Boston, April 22, 2009 (full song - another view) On their current tour Springsteen and the E-Street Band are showing off their punk side. Last night in Boston, with a giddy Steve Van Zandt orchestrating the song, Springsteen and the E-Street Band covered the Ramones' "I Want to be Sedated". The video is a bit rough but in true punk form a manic energy is present. Enjoy! Mike Ness, Springsteen and the E-Street band perform Social Distortion's "Bad Luck" - Los Angeles, April 16, 2009

Art writer Holland Cotter has been awarded 2009's Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. From the Pulitzer site: The 2009 Pulitzer Prize for criticism has been "awarded to Holland Cotter of The New York Times for his wide ranging reviews of art, from Manhattan to China, marked by acute observation, luminous writing and dramatic storytelling." Sun Zhijun/Dunhuang Academy "Inside Mogaoku’s caves: A fifth-century painted Buddha, sprinkled with desert dust." Holland Cotter's article from July 2008, entitled Buddha's Caves , is a nice introduction to his writing: "Mogaoku is charmed ground. In late spring and early summer the air is fragrant, the sky a lambent blue, the desert oceanically serene. And there is the art and the soaked-in atmosphere of devotion. The place leaves strong and alluring memories in the memories of visitors; in its caretakers it inspires lifelong loyalty." Gregg Chadwick Sketchbook Image of "Bernini and the Birth of Baroque Port...

Gregg Chadwick Karyūkai ( 花柳界) 85"x54" oil on linen 2009

The South African Government, stooping under pressure from the Chinese government and business leaders, has denied the Dalai Lama a visa to attend the upcoming international peace conference in Johannesburg which is scheduled to begin this week. Thabo Masebe, a spokesperson for the South African government has stated that if the Dalai Lama attended the conference, the focus would shift away from the 2010 World Cup which South Africa will host next year: "We cannot allow focus to shift to China and Tibet," Masebe said, adding that South Africa has gained much from its trading relationship with China. The Dalai Lama's fellow Nobel laureate, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, said that he will not attend the peace conference in protest: "We are shamelessly succumbing to Chinese pressure," Archbishop Tutu was quoted as telling the Sunday Independent. "I feel deeply distressed and ashamed." A spokesperson for the Dalai Lama told AFP news agency he was "very dis...

This beautiful photo is by my Japanese friend in Kyoto. More at: lolalways I will be in Japan for the next two weeks. My bags are almost packed. Loose ends almost tied up. OK, I am not quite ready yet. But I still must say "Gambate!" (Very roughly in Japanese - "Go Get em") I will be in Tokyo for the first eight days and then on to Kyoto. It will be quiet here on Speed of Life. Much more when I get back.

Yossi Govrin and his Bronze Sculpture of Donald Douglas and Wunderbar Yossi Govrin spoke yesterday at the unveiling of his bronze sculpture of Donald Douglas and dog Wunderbar ."I have always been afraid of flying, " he said. "As an Israeli, all citizens serve for a time in support of the country. And as I just said I was always afraid of flight. So what did they do? They put me in the airforce. And they made me jump out of airplanes!" Yossi was safely on the ground speaking in the shadow of the Douglas DC-3 Monument which seemed to soar above him. This aircraft was built at the Santa Monica airport in 1942 and after a long journey from the US Army Air Corps, to the Navy, to a stint in commercial aviation with Nationwide Airlines, to service with the Richfield oil company, the plane now dubbed "The Spirit of Santa Monica" is home. Echoing Yossi's days jumping out of aircraft, this DC-3 was initially used as a 28-seat paratrooper and glider tug. Palm...

Phil Cousineau at Yeats Tower in County Clare, Ireland. "I am convinced that pilgrimage is still a bona finde spirit-renewing ritual. But I also believe in pilgrimage as a powerful metaphor for any journey with the purpose of finding something that matters deeply to the traveler. With a deepening of focus, keen preparation, attention to the path below our feet, and respect for the destination at hand, it is possible to transform, even the most ordinary journey into a sacred journey, a pilgrimage." --Phil Cousineau, from THE ART OF PILGRIMAGE Before he departs on a journey, Phil Cousineau calls a dear friend or a trusted mentor. In his wonderful book, The Art of Pilgrimage , Phil describes just such a call to his friend and mentor Joseph Campbell before Phil left on a journey to Paris in 1987. Phil describes how Joseph Campbell's bon voyage felt like a blessing and that Campbell's voice "took on a shimmer of delight" as they spoke of Campbell's years in ...

2010 Update: The 4th Annual Santa Monica Airport Artwalk is on March 20, 2010 from 1-5pm Details at: Airport Artwalk Gregg Chadwick The Presence of Light 48"x36" oil on linen 2009 When a painting seems to be finished I ask, "Is the work open enough to allow the viewer to enter into the painting and find their own path or story?" If not, I dive back in again. Coming up soon is the 3rd Annual Santa Monica Airport Artwalk on Saturday, March 28 from 1 to 5 pm. My studio will be open and I will have a group of new paintings on view. This will be a nice opportunity for you to take some time off from the stresses of our twittering world and to enter into my paintings in search of your own paths or stories. I will be in Tokyo but my talented friend, the singer/songwriter/dancer Kelly Colbert, will be on hand to answer questions and to engage you in conversation about art and perhaps, life? Gregg Chadwick Z...

Gregg Chadwick Royal T 20"x20" oil on wood 2009 This very recent painting was inspired by a visit to the opening of the KAWS curated exhibition, I Can't Feel My Face , at Royal / T in Culver City. Whitney Museum Council member Susan Hancock, a collector who owns several works by KAWS and operates the café and art space Royal/T, compares KAWS to Takashi Murakami, who is described by the Los Angeles Times as " a Tokyo-born pop savant whose work is inspired by Japanese manga comics": "I consider KAWS the U.S. Murakami equivalent," Hancock said. "He is mimicking what is popular in today's world: SpongeBob, Smurfs, Simpsons, much like Murakami took off from the world of Japanese contemporary culture." My work nods subtly to both KAWS and Murakami. Next time you are cruising the galleries in Culver City, stop by Royal/T for a bite to eat in an art studded site. Check out KAWS' exhibit at Honor Fraser as well (Up until April 4, 2009). More...

Hiroshi Sugimoto (Japanese, born 1948) Boden Sea, Uttwil, 42.3 x 54.2 cm (16 5/8 x 21 5/16 in.) gelatin silver print 1993 Metropolitan Museum of Art Seascapes Water and air. So very commonplace are these substances, they hardly attract attention―and yet they vouchsafe our very existence. The beginnings of life are shrouded in myth: Let there be water and air. Living phenomena spontaneously generated from water and air in the presence of light, though that could just as easily suggest random coincidence as a Deity. Let's just say that there happened to be a planet with water and air in our solar system, and moreover at precisely the right distance from the sun for the temperatures required to coax forth life. While hardly inconceivable that at least one such planet should exist in the vast reaches of universe, we search in vain for another similar example. Mystery of mysteries, water and air are right there before us in the sea. Every time I view the sea, I feel a calming sense ...