This painting of mine entitled "Moderne Life" will be exhibited along with other fine works of art in the Columbia County Council on the Arts 17th annual Juried Art Show. The show will again be held at the Hudson Opera House located at 327 Warren Street Hudson, NY 12534 from February 23 to March 24, 2013. The opening reception will be on February 23rd from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm.

Town and Country

A selection of my paintings depicting the city of Hudson as well as the rural areas of Columbia County with the theme: "Town and Country" will be on display in the upstairs dining area at the American Glory BBQ located at 342 Warren Street Hudson, NY. The exhibit will run from July 31st until September 24th 2012.






After that they will be on display at the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce gallery space on North Front Street from September 29th until November 3rd. The opening reception for the Chamber show will be on Saturday October 6th. I would be glad to meet you. Why not stop by?

Prize winner

Ok! So you're dying to know how I did at the painting competition at Lady Audrey's? If not, I'm dying to tell you! Well...I came in second place with "A Fisherman's Dream". Aren't you excited? I am. It's the first competition I have placed at in a very long time. Curator Deborah Kendig has done a wonderful job providing exposure for emerging artists. There are even a few master works by oil painter Merrill French on display. The gallery is open Thursdays through Mondays 12:00-4:00pm. Why not stop in for a visit?

"You Make My Heart Sing"

With the success of the Hudson Opera House exhibit beneath my wings, I decided to try another juried art competition. Lady Audrey's Gallery in Millerton NY put a call out for artists to paint their favorite subject and enter them in a show with the theme "You Make My Heart Sing". Since I love the outdoors so much, I decided to submit three paintings, this one "A Fisherman's Dream" and two others, each having to do with fishing. The opening reception is Saturday April 14th from 12:00 to 4:00pm. Artwork will be on exhibit until June 15th. Lady Audrey's, curated by Deborah Kendig, is located at 52 Main Street, Millerton, NY. You can also view the artworks on her website: http://ladyaudreysgallery.com/index.php?cPath=1_54&&page=1

Juried Art Show

I am constantly stretching myself, searching for something new and challenging. One day while driving on a rainy day I was intrigued by how the scene through my windshield was affected by the raindrops. There was no one driving behind me, so I slowed down while approaching the intersection, turned off my wipers and pulled my camera out of the bag and clicked off a few shots, drizzle effect and all. The result was this painting entitled "Warren and Seventh". It has been included in the 16th annual Juried Art Show at the Hudson Opera House. The opening reception will be on Saturday February 18th from 5-7pm. The show will run from February 18th - March 25th. There will be many outstanding works by area artists on display. I hope you can come! The Opera House is located at 327 Warren Street, Hudson, NY

Constructive criticism

I recently uploaded this painting of two fly fishermen on Schoharie Creek to Fine Art America. There are some really talented and successful artists that display their works from all over the world. One artist I have really come to admire a lot is David Lloyd Glover. His paintings are just dazzling with lots of bright color and light. Well, in one awestruck moment, I sent him a comment on one of his recent works and asked if he could take a look at my work and give me some pointers on what he thought I could do to improve. His reply was: "Nicely painted with good atmosphere. However, the main fisherman should face into the composition to direct the viewer into the scene."

I have to admit, in the past I would not have taken such correction very well. I would have thought... well, that's his opinion! I painted the scene as I saw it and that is the way the man was standing! But in reality all along there was something nagging me about this painting that I just couldn't quite put my finger on. Have you ever experienced that? Well he hit the nail right on the head. So I went back to my other photos that I took that day and selected a different shot of the main fisherman. Here are the results.

What do you think? A more pleasing composition? I guess that means we all should be open to evaluate criticism. A wise artist is a perpetual student. Thanks David!

To see David Lloyd Glover art go to: http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/David+Lloyd+Glover/all

Due to the extremely high level of artwork submitted to the Bold Brush painting competition, I have thought very carefully about what I would like to enter for January. I recently read an article by an artist that said the painting that you personally have the most to say about will likely have the most meaning and hence, have the most appeal to someone else. With that in mind my choice for January is my "Self-Portrait". To me it is a description of myself looking back over 35 years of my life. Of who I was and who I have become as an artist. There is more that I can say. Ask me sometime. This painting so far has the strongest message and definitely is the most meaningful to me. So, let's see what happens.

Please visit http://canvoo.com/boldbrush/ and cast your vote.

Upcoming Exhibit

The Old Chatham Country Store will be exhibiting my work for the month of October 2011 in their cafe gallery. The opening reception will be held on Sunday afternoon October 2nd from 3 to 5pm. A list of all the artists exhibiting in 2011 will be posted on their website as well as sample images of their work. Just visit http://oldchathamcountrystore.com/gallery.html
This will be my first one man exhibit in a very long time. I need to have at least 25 paintings, so I have a lot of work to do in preparation. I hope you can come in October.

Threads

CCCA's latest exhibit at their 209 Warren Street gallery which will run from January 22nd through March 11th is entitled "Threads". The show features artwork containing some element of fabric or fiber, real or illusion. Initially I thought, being an oil painter, I would not be able to participate. But then the word "illusion" caught my eye and I thought: "Isn't that what I do?" So I went on a search through my house for any articles that had to do with fabric, mending or sewing. My aim was to create a still life of these objects, as if someone was in the middle of a sewing project and was interrupted, and then paint them as realistically as possible. After trying many different arrangements I finally settled on this one. I thought it appropriate to name this painting "Threads" in harmony with the theme of the show. I am happy to announce that it was accepted and will be included in the show. The opening reception will be held on Saturday evening January 22nd from 5:00 to 7:00pm. I'm excitedly looking forward to see what the other artists came up with. I sure would like to see you there.

Art Competition

This painting of my good friend Jim Brady giving me fly fishing instructions near Cashen's farm in Claverack, NY has been by far the most popular painting on my Fine Art America website. So, when I thought of giving Fine Art Studio Online's December Bold Brush painting competition a try, it was a cinch as to which painting I would submit. For information on the contest and to view the entries, go to http://canvoo.com/boldbrush/
There is also a provision for you to vote for your favorite images by liking them from your facebook page. There are truly some breath taking works to look at. I would be extremely honored to even be mentioned among them in the final results. But let's see what happens!

New Board Member

As an artist I am, for the most part, a loner. I tend to think that this situation exists with many other artists. After all, getting in touch with your inner creative spirit, identifying how you feel or what you want to say and then bringing that to life in your chosen medium whether that be visually, audibly or poetically is pretty much a private affair. However, at times it is important that an artist come out of his creative world and interact with others. The prime reason of course, if he wishes to make a living, is to sell his work.
I have been a member of Columbia County Council on the Arts for many years. Recently I was approached to become a member of the board of directors . The loner in me immediately wanted to kindly reject the offer. However, after reflecting on the benefits I have received from being a member, I decided to accept. I thought of myself as joining the builders whose task was to strengthen and maintain a protective house.
For CCCA's newsletter I was asked to write why I wanted to become a board member. Due to space limitations much of what I said had to be edited so I thought I might provide my explanation in its entirety here. Why? Because I happen to believe there are a few loners that might benefit from what I have to say.

Why I Want to Become a Member of CCCA Board of Directors

The reason I would like to be a member of the board of directors can best be illustrated by a conversation I remember having with an artist I met at the CCCA gallery. He was relaying to me his experience of how he was always encouraged artistically by his mother. His painting and drawing was done for enjoyment and never really pursued as a profession. As with most of us, the things we enjoy doing many times have to be placed on hold in order to deal with the complexities of maintaining a standard of living. Many years passed for him with no creativity. Later, after his mother died he again returned to his art and was encouraged to submit something for a show. Being primarily self taught he had great difficulty referring to himself as an artist and would rather say he was “just a guy who loved to paint.”

His story struck me very deeply as it was very similar to my own. I wondered how many other truly imaginative and creative people were there like him. People suppressing something beautiful inside because they didn’t feel, or perhaps they were told, it wasn’t really worthy of notice.

An artist tends by nature to be sensitive, and criticism can have long lasting and profound effects, often out of all proportion to the worth of the opinions given. The artist therefore, works in a glass house, and anyone, with or without qualifications, can throw stones at him. Today almost anyone can claim to be an art critic, and get incensed if the claim is challenged. What we need are not more critics but an association of insightful people with a desire to fan the embers of creativity in the hearts of those in our community. As a board member, I would like to help CCCA accomplish that goal for as many persons as possible.

When I graduated from high school in 1975 I tried very hard, with not much success, to sell paintings in this county. Since then the scene in Hudson has changed dramatically. More than ever before there is heightened interest in the arts and it appears to be gaining momentum. Therefore CCCA is in the prime position to organize and feature the work of so many talented people in our community. Membership also affords artists the opportunity to socialize and learn from what others are doing as well as share their knowledge. Getting to the right people, such as gallery owners or collectors, can be done through a network of friends with similar goals. And although it might seem that the other artists are your competition, the truth is that many are more than willing to share and connect you to the right people. You can find new opportunities for business, commissions, art shows, exposure and much more. There is no better way to sell your art than to be known. And you have to start somewhere. CCCA can be one such place, where you expose who you are, what drives you, make friends and become known in the community. That will also give you the practice exposing yourself to the rest of the world.

Kenneth Young

AgriCulture

Hi Friends,
CCCA has accepted the painting "Morning Mist" for inclusion in its next art exhibit with the theme "AgriCulture" celebrating nature and landscape, life in the country, "scene and herd", and the county’s bounty to be held at the 209 Warren Street, Hudson gallery.

August 14- September 17, 2010.


Opening reception: Saturday August 14th, 2010 5-7pm
I'd be so delighted if you could come!

Gallery hours

For those who cannot make the opening reception for the "Face to Face" exhibit and want to view the artwork at a later date, CCCA gallery hours are, Monday, 10:30 - 5:00, Wednesday 10:30 - 5:00, Thursday 10:30 - 2:30 (or later, call ahead), Friday, 10:30 - 5:00, and Saturday, 10:30 - 2:30.

Face to Face

The latest CCCA art exhibit "Face to Face" asks the question: "How do you portray a face in a personally expressive way?" and calls upon artists to submit works of any media to supply the answer. My self-portrait has been selected to be among those works. The opening reception will be Saturday June 12th 5-7pm at the gallery on 209 Warren Street, Hudson. Why not stop down and check out the many ways this subject will be explored. The works will be on display until July 30th.

My good friend Jim Brady has just started a new internet radio show aimed at introducing to the public artisans, craftsmen and other talented individuals that make up the colorful patchwork of our society. The show is called "This American Landscape". I am so excited and honored to have been chosen as his first guest. You can check it out at www.thisamericanlandscape.mevio.com

Seeing With Your Brain

What we see is one thing. However, the way we see it has more to do with the way we think than with the actual image coming in through our pupils. The brain interprets the images coming in through our eyes and attempts to make sense of the world around us. Take a picture with a camera, and the photo captures details of the whole scene. But when your eyes observe the same view, you consciously observe only that part of the scene on which you focus your attention. How the brain does this remains a mystery. It may be that as your brain processes the visual information you compare what you see with what you already know.

As an artist I am often struck by the beauty of a particular scene. Usually this happens while I’m on my way to an appointment. Not having the time to stop and set up an easel and begin painting, I’ll photograph the scene. However, when I return home and go through my pictures I am often disappointed by elements of the picture that I hadn’t noticed, such as telephone poles and wires. Equally disturbing is the camera’s inability to capture and record light. Many times the shadow areas are too dark and devoid of any detail, while on the other hand the sunlit areas are washed out. What I thought was a beautiful scene now looks very unappealing in the photo. I still may be able to accomplish a beautiful painting but, it would require the use of my memory to make deliberate choices to edit the light, shadows and objects in the picture. As time passes, I begin to forget. The longer the time interval between the actual taking of the photograph and the developing of the picture the greater the potential for me wondering just why I took the picture in the first place.

The role the brain plays in how we see can also be demonstrated in another way. Have you ever listened to someone tell a story and find yourself completing his thought before he gets there only to be corrected by him? The same thing can happen when viewing art. While fishing on Claverack Creek with a friend of mine I took this picture of him with his fly rod. When I decided to begin the project I realized I didn’t like the surrounding landscape. So I took him out of that picture and selected a picture I took while I was hiking along the Agawamuck an entirely different stream. When I showed him the painting, he swore he knew exactly where the location was. I had a tough time convincing him otherwise. I finally had to remind him that our fishing trip was in summer yet this painting is obviously an autumn scene. Looking at this painting so reminded him of a previous enjoyable fishing trip of his in the fall that his brain made the emotional connection.
This experience taught me a valuable lesson. Rather than concentrate on strict detail it is more important to capture the impressions of a scene that will trigger the emotions in the viewer. As I share more of my work with you, feel free to let me know if I am getting closer or farther away from accomplishing my goal.
Ken