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Cross Currents: Don't Forget the Water - Salish Sea

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by Gregg Chadwick Gregg Chadwick Salish Sea 30"x24" oil on linen 2014  Two years ago on a technicolor blue day, I stood on the deck of the Wenatchee ferry cutting through the choppy sea from Seattle to Bainbridge Island. The vessel was named for the Wenatchi people who originally lived in the shadow of the Columbia and Wenatchee Rivers in Eastern Washington State. We are riding on a ship of memory. In the Yakama language,  w enatchi  means "river flowing from canyon." The Wenatchee River was home to a vibrant salmon run prior to the damming of the Columbia River which impeded the salmon's journey. Like the fish, the Wenatchi tribe was also blocked from its ancestral waterways as the US government rounded up the Native Americans in Washington State and collected them in reservations far from their native lands.  I often think about the rivers, lakes, towns and cities we have named after the original Americans. The absence of most of their cu...

Cross Currents: Ponte di Castelvecchio - Water and the Image of Time

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by Gregg Chadwick Gregg Chadwick Ponte di Castelvecchio (Verona) 48"x36" oil on linen 2016 Last year, perched above a Renaissance era bridge in Verona, Italy, I watched a light rainfall and a swollen river rush 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 the image of time. Often on trips to Europe, I will carry a battered copy of Brodsky's verse to help inspire my ramblings. Here in the Veneto, I am reminded of Brodsky's love of Italy and Venice in particular. I turn the pages of Brodsky's Watermark and find the passage I am looking for: "I always adhered to the idea that God is time, or at least that His spirit is. Perhaps this idea was even of my own manufacture, but n...

Thinking About Peace and Painting With Melissa Pickford

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by Gregg Chadwick Under the Gun   Film Poster Reflected in Window at Premiere in Beverly Hills, CA May 3, 2016 photo by Gregg Chadwick Just spent a rich afternoon in my studio with Monterey Peninsula College Art Gallery Director Melissa Pickford. Her father Rollin Pickford was an accomplished painter of the California scene and she is an accomplished curator and artist as well. We caught up on our lives, and talked about art, and memory, and time, and we also discussed the recent violent acts across the globe. Writer Anne Lamott on her Facebook page writes, "And then in recent weeks, Orlando, police shooting innocent people, and innocent police officers being shot, and now Nice.  How on Earth do we respond, when we are stunned and scared and overwhelmed, to the point of almost disbelieving?" This morning as I scan the reports trickling out from Istanbul about the failed coup in Turkey, a news alert scans across my computer screen informing me of a new shooting of p...

Greenpeace holds a historic performance with pianist Ludovico Einaudi on the Arctic Ocean

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MFA Conservation: Van Gogh's Houses at Auvers

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Venice Art Walk and Auctions Today - May 22, 2016

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Gregg Chadwick City of Angels 17”x17” oil on linen 2014 Benefit Auction for Venice Family Clinic Today's the day! # VeniceArtWalk 2016 at Google Los Angeles 340 Main Street Venice, CA 90291 Noon-6pm #MyDayInLA

Full Remarks by U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Civil Rights Division Leader Vanita Gupta on North Carolina's Anti-LGBT HB 2

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Loretta Lynch to transgender community:  "We see you, we stand with you and we will do everything we can to protect you."  Full Remarks by U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch: Good afternoon and thank you all for being here.  Today, I’m joined by Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice.  We are here to announce a significant law enforcement action regarding North Carolina’s Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, also known as House Bill 2.  The North Carolina General Assembly passed House Bill 2 in special session on March 23 of this year.   The bill sought to strike down an anti-discrimination provision in a recently-passed Charlotte, North Carolina, ordinance, as well as to require transgender people in public agencies to use the bathrooms consistent with their sex as noted at birth, rather than the bathrooms that fit their gender identity.  The bill was signed into law that same day. ...

Beautiful Video of International Jazz Day April 30, 2016

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Must Watch video of International Jazz Day Event at the White House.

City of Angels Benefits Venice Family Clinic

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Gregg Chadwick City of Angels 17”x17” oil on linen 2014 Benefit Auction for Venice Family Clinic My painting,  City of Angels , will be available at the 2016 Benefit Auction for the Venice Family Clinic on Sunday, May 22, 2016. The annual event, now in its 37th year, will again be held at Google Los Angeles in the Frank Gehry designed Binoculars Building.  City of Angels  will be featured for pre-bidding on the auction site  Paddle 8  with a select group of donated artworks. 100% of the proceeds from the sale of my painting help fund the Venice Family Clinic’s comprehensive health care program for the low-income and uninsured.

Bruce Springsteen opens Brooklyn show with Purple Rain

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Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Open Brooklyn Show with a tribute to Prince - Purple Rain

RIP Prince - Prince, Tom Petty, Steve Winwood, Jeff Lynne and others -- "While My Gui...

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Powerful Film - THE BIRTH OF A NATION

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Set against the antebellum South, THE BIRTH OF A NATION follows Nat Turner (Nate Parker), a literate slave and preacher, whose financially strained owner, Samuel Turner (Armie Hammer), accepts an offer to use Nat’s preaching to subdue unruly slaves. As he witnesses countless atrocities - against himself and his fellow slaves - Nat orchestrates an uprising in the hopes of leading his people to freedom.

A Message from Delaware Gov. Jack Markell

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Must watch video from Delaware Governor Jack Markell - In response to a wave of anti-transgender legislation in several states around the country, Delaware Gov. Jack Markell stands up for transgender equality and combats the misinformation and scare tactics being utilized by proponents of these discriminatory bills. Gov. Markell is the only sitting governor to have signed both sexual orientation and gender identity protections in employment, housing, and public accommodations.

Fresh Faces: New Portraits by Los Angeles Artists

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Tonight in Santa Monica:  Fresh Faces: New Portraits by Los Angeles Artists presented by Saatchi Art My portrait of Anna May Wong is part of this upcoming exhibition in Santa Monica. Anna May Wong was the first Chinese American film star, and the first Asian American actress to gain international recognition. Her acting career went from silent films to talkies, to stage, to radio, and to television. Born in Los Angeles, a few blocks from Chinatown, Anna May Wong's career has been an inspiration for many. My painting was created as an homage to Anna, sourced from numerous photo stills and film clips from the era. Please join Saatchi Art in celebrating the opening of FRESH FACES New Portraits by Los Angeles Artists THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2016 7-9PM Saatchi Art at Demand Media 1655 26th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90404 For complimentary valet parking, enter lot via 26th Street. Please RSVP by March 17th at the link below. Fresh Faces, curated by Saatchi Art curators Kathe...

Loving Vincent

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by Gregg Chadwick Currently under production by the Oscar winning companies Breakthru Films and Trademark Films, the animated film Loving Vincent  delves into the life and art of Vincent Van Gogh. Each frame of the film is an oil painting on canvas that will lend a sense of immediacy and painterly touch to Vincent's story.  Loving Vincent is sourced from over one hundred and twenty of Vincent Van Gogh's paintings and from the 800 letters written by Van Gogh during his lifetime. The trailers below give hints of the animated feature to come. Enjoy!

Backstreets - Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band @ LA Sports Arena

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Climate Change and Art

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Otter moms have their paws full!

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Mystery Train at 10th Annual Santa Monica Airport Artwalk

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Fresh from my solo exhibition at the Sandra Lee Gallery in San Francisco and the Palm Springs Fine Art Fair,  a number of paintings from my current series of train inspired artworks will be on view at the Santa Monica Art Studios on March 12, 2016 from 12-5 pm  as part of the 10th Annual Santa Monica Airport Artwalk.   Gregg Chadwick’s Mystery Train and Open Studio SATURDAY, MARCH 12, 2016 12-5 PM Studio #15 Santa Monica Art Studios 3026 Airport Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90405 Free parking outside the hangar. More on Mystery Train at www.greggchadwick.com #mysterytrain

Gregg Chadwick Artist Talk on Feb 27th 2016 - Last Week for Mystery Train at Sandra Lee Gallery and More Studio Notes from Gregg Chadwick - Winter 2016

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  I reorganized my paints yesterday after fervent months in the studio painting the work for Mystery Train. Tubes of oil paint squeezed into empty twisted shells and stray caps marked only by a tell tale ring of color  were discarded. Brushes, newly cleaned, stand at attention ready for new work. A clean glass palette now sits on top of a used stack of brightly daubed surfaces. Painting trains seems to bring daily reminders of change, of process, of journeys. When a train or plane turns around for its trip back home, there is little time for introspection. Vehicles are cleaned, engines refueled, often a new crew is added - new passengers and new travels await. As Mystery Train prepares to depart San Francisco, I ask you to celebrate with me at a closing party and artist talk on February 27th at the Sandra Lee Gallery (details below) if you are in the Bay Area. I have listed below a series of events, exhibitions, press, and more that give a glimpse into the excitement around My...

Stack of Pigalles: Pigalle by Gregg Chadwick on Cover of Black Fox Literary Magazine

Look what arrived! They'll be at @bookmarkit_shop by the end of the day! #writers #writer #write #writing #lifeofawriter #amwriting #author #authors #inspiration #inspire #instagood #igdaily #fiction #poetry #nonfiction #shortstory #shortstories #books #creatives #creativewriting #amreading #readers #goodreads #read #litmag #litjournal #magazines #happyreading #blackfoxlit A photo posted by Black Fox Literary Magazine (@blackfoxlit) on Feb 18, 2016 at 11:07am PST

More Mystery Train Inspiration -Gary Clark Jr. - When My Train Pulls In

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Gary Clark Jr.’s vocals and guitar carry the themes of my show “Mystery Train” directly into our present. Haunting and at times wild with a searing beauty. Almost every night as my hands grew tired from painting, Gary Clark Jr. propelled me to go on just a bit further.

More Mystery Train Events

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         Artist Talk and Closing Party for  Mystery Train  on Feb 27, 2016 2-4pm    Read more about  Mystery Train  in the Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathy-leonardo-/gregg-chadwicks-mystery-t_b_9203570.html?utm_hp_ref=arts&ir=Arts     A selection of Gregg Chadwick’s paintings from the   Mystery Train   series was exhibited at the Palm Springs Fine Art Fair from February 11-14 in the Sandra Lee Gallery booth. (Photo by   Eric Minh Swenson ) Gregg spoke at the booth on February 12, 2016.   Jersey Rain (Across the Tracks)   was illustrated in the catalog and Gregg’s talk was featured as well.

New Exhibition - Mystery Train Opens Tonight in San Francisco

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Mystery Train February 2 - 29, 2016 at Sandra Lee Gallery in San Francisco A Solo Exhibition of New Paintings   Opening Reception - February 4, 2016  5:30 - 7:30 pm Sandra Lee Gallery 251 Post Street, Suite 310 San Francisco, CA 94108 Click Here for More Images of Artwork in Mystery Train Read More on Mystery Train in the Wall Street International.  Link here -  http://wsimag.com/art/19040-gregg-chadwick-mystery-train