" MAE"     20 minute iPad drawing, 5"x7" approximate.  Executed  2014 @ EHCC Tuesday Night Figure Drawing Group

This blog is a step away from the Taoist painting thing I've been doing and concerns a little bit of local art business. Specifically it regards the East Hawaii  Cultural Center and a figure drawing group that used to meet there Tuesday nights.

Those who know me, know that figure groups have an especially soft spot in my heart. I grew up as an artist, both technically and socially, at a figure group at the Art Students League of Denver back in the late 80s. Long Pose Painting, 3 hours, five bucks. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Big cities have figure groups.

Hilo does,too-by the skin of its teeth. Running one in Hilo has never been profitable, but there had been a group meeting at the EHCC for the last decade.I ran one myself prior to that, at Art In The Ironworks. I know this figure group thing from all sides. I've even modeled, though not nude. A nice way to make fifty bucks, but you'll be sore later.

With Lourdan's moving on, a new regime is in charge at the EHCC, and they have proposed to charge the figure group a significantly higher rate for use of the upstairs room on Tuesday nights, a rate that prohibits the group to use  the EHCC as a venue. The group is currently meeting at One Gallery on Bayfront(Thanks to Deborah for rescuing!). But the group's rightful home has been, and should be, WHERE THEY WERE. UPSTAIRS,AT THE EHCC, TUESDAYS from 6 to 9 pm. Uninstructed, bring ten bucks and your own materials. 

The callous handling of this group of local-as in, living here- artists, bodes ill and reflects poorly on the new EHCC regime. Artists who work the figure in these rooms are the gym rats of the art world, paying to work on their chops, to get better. The new regime seems either not to get this, or not to care. Neither is good. I propose that  the EHCC offer, GRATIS, use of the upstairs Tuesday nights. In perpetuity. That would be true  Hilo-style. It would also be an opportunity to show the Hilo artist community that they understand the EHCC's role as Hilo's artistic clubhouse. Remember when the place mattered? Good fun- and we miss it.

An aside- thanks to Codie King and the Wailoa Center for their efforts to provide Hilo artists as many opportunities for us local artists to exhibit and interact as they do. Her position is seriously constrained by the Wailoa's official status as a Park that happens to have a very cool gallery plopped down in the middle, and the Parks Dept. affiliation holds her back. Next time you see her, thank her- and remind her that she's one of Hubbard's big-time heroes in this backwater little town. That and a nickel will make her five cents richer, but my admiration is real.

Also, be prepared for the EHCC to become some sort of annex to UH-Hilo. That seems the only explanation for so many college professors being involved in the new EHCC regime. Mike Marshall and the Marshallettes- I wish I could get more excited. I know I'm not alone among Hilo artists in having the sinking feeling this prospect engenders. Hilo and UH-Hilo are like mongoose and rat in the rarity of their meaningful interactions. We will wait and see...

As I see things, the new regime is missing a golden oppertunity to show Hilo that they care about Hilo. Providing the Tuesday Night figure group with an affordable venue(and from my own experience in this small town, that means FREE, trusting the group to throw The EHCC a few bucks if/when they get flush) would get a lot of goodwill for basically no expense. It's not like the place is bustling Tuesday Nights-or ever.

I've said for the last couple of couple of months that we would know this regime by how they handled the gym rats at the figure group- and I certainly hope they are not as they appear from this bit of business. They appear to care more about money than community. Let's see if they have a change of stance. I encourage all interested parties to voice their opinions to the new guys-and if you'd like to see the email thread between Juliana Ziegler/Graper and Andrzej Kramarz, upon which I've based this rant, let me know. I'll forward the thread.

(Let me say here that I have never met Andrzej, though I saw a show of his photographs at Kea'au Fine Art Center- the last show Robbyn Peck hosted in that gorgeous room. I still remember the work. Andrzej's photos were like Poetry.) 

As always, thank you for your time. Until next time.            Hubbard

 "Bucky's Mug"  iPad drawing, 6"x8"

Let's begin today's blog with a side trip. A good Taoist walks where the path leads-unless he doesn't.

We start with a disarming question: What if God created Evolution, as a mechanism to bring Change into the universe? This question, this particular and precise posing of the "Creation/Evolution Debate", could actually help heal a deep and long standing rift between Science and Religion. And to look a little closer, isn't Evolution just a process; not a Theory? Basically, a verb. And who but God could create such a brilliant, complex process as Evolution? Pure Genius! (And while we're at it, why doesn't Science just admit that it's trying to figure out how God built things? Just askin'...)

And this applies to painting? How? 

Just like the word "evolution", the word "painting" is both noun and verb.(So is "being", as in Human Being. Bucky Fuller's quote on the mug above asserts that we are processes-and Bucky got it right.) Throughout this series of blogs (and eventual possible book) I want to focus on painting as verb.

Every good painter I have known has had one thing in common, one simple evolution; a quest for technical mastery,followed- usually with some Existential angst- by a search for,well,something...
We learn facts and procedures and theories. We take classes and buy videos and magazines. We even try to make sense of all the artistic Isms; Cubism, Expressionism, and blahblahblah. Sometimes we follow "masters"-which makes no sense to me; why spend your painting career trying to be the second somebody else? We try to learn how to paint, to find/create our "style". Painters can know a lot about painting, but knowledge isn't enough- it's just a launching pad. I've long told my students that it's Art when you DON'T know what you're doing, and once you DO know what you're doing, that's Craft. A good painting is a blend of Art and Craft- and don't call yourself a painter if you neglect  to master your Craft. Call yourself a hack.

So, how does Taoism fit into all this? Lao-tzu said it best; " The wise are not learned, the learned are not wise."

What gift is needed to get beyond knowledge, beyond learning? (Actually, what is needed is not a gift, but a Present.) More later...

PS- I know that last blog I promised to go further into how a painter should let his eyes be his brain, and some other stuff. I haven't forgotten, and will get back to that. It all rolls into one big painterly ball. 

Thank you for your time. Until next time...

For a long time I have had a book inside me, which may or may not ever come out. Thanks to subtle but steady pressure from my blog/taskmaster and Digital Guru, Carlton Stout, I will begin the writing of it here in blog form. I will attempt to tie together an ancient Chinese religion, an approach to painting, and Winnie the Pooh.A manual of sorts.

The inspiration came from a book entitled, “The Tao of Pooh, by Benjamin Hoff. A wonderful little volume, it explains Taoism, and it posits that Winnie the Pooh is the perfect Taoist master. I recommend that you read the book-it’s quite charming. Hoff also compares Taoism to Confucianism and Buddhism. About Confucius, it was said that,“If the mat was not straight, The Master would not sit.”Enough about Confucianism for now-just equate it with Art Theory and College Professors. (And don’t get me started on those guys!) The best way to contrast Buddhism and Taoism is this: Buddhists meditate, while a Taoist just thinks about nothing. Remember above all that Taoism (“The Tao” is untranslatable, but roughly means “The Way”-specifically The Way things are, not The Way to do things…) is based on interaction with the world as it is.  A good Taoist* seeks to know the Nature of things, then reacts accordingly and appropriately.

The first important Taoist principle Hoff presents is that of P’u, the Uncarved Block. Pronounced like Pooh, but softer,as if blowing a bug off your arm. The essence of the principle of the Uncarved Block is that things in their original simplicity contain their own natural power, which is easily spoiled when that simplicity is lost. Fascinating and good fun, but what does it all have to do with Painting? This. A Painter should BE the Uncarved Block. 

Let’s use  “red” to illustrate the Uncarved Block and how it relates to Painting. A Confucian Painter would likely go on about the proper use of red, according to something some dead guy once said- and would likely rule red out altogether, as it causes instability and threatens the Social Order-and on and on. God only knows what a Buddhist Painter might do with red; my head is already spinning with subtle negations of red-ness. What of a Taoist, most precisely of a Painter working in the Taoist Sense? He would look at the painting on the easel, or the one currently in his head, and suddenly cry out, “Red! The piece needs red.” Or not- perhaps the painting needs  blue. The point being that Painting in the Taoist sense requires the Painter to interact directly with the piece in question, to set aside rules and philosophies and dead guys’ proclamations regarding red, and let his eyes be his brain. This is a concept difficult for words to convey, which makes it a good Taoist concept. I will tackle the “eyes are the Painter’s brain” concept further next time. I will try to explain how Painters know things, but should pretend they don’t…

Thank you for your time. Until next time.

* Firstly, anybody that tells you that they’re a good Taoist is being a bad Taoist. A good Taoist will say that they’re a bad Taoist, a great Taoist will aver that they are merely a pimple on the ass of Taoism, and so on. A good Taoist motto might be, Be Humble and Don’t Stumble, if Taoists had mottos. Which they don’t, which is why I chose to be a Taoist. That, and it’s nearly impossible to find a Taoist church…

Here are some action packed photos of our third painting session of Paintiosity.

Here are some action packed photos of our first painting session of Paintiosity.

 Blogging again already, again! Maybe I caught a virus.

 I'd like to ramble a bit on the subject of Paintiosity, and shout out to an old friend. The two knit together nicely.

 Paint, the actual goo, is usually manipulated by artists to portray things.  Representational painters sublimate paint to represent objects and subjects. Non-objective painters use it to portray ...whatevahs, but they still enslave paint to their own whatevahs purpose. I've got no complaint against that, except the whatevahs part. Thus, Ultramarine Blue becomes deep water, or "deep" whatevahs.

But.

The actual goo has its own power and presence, too often beaten intio submission by mere portrayal. Cad Red Light, my favorite red (and the only orange worth a crap, except for Indian Yellow), is pure passion, hot fire, teenage love. Visually, a triple-shot espresso. Set it next to a good green, it's total eye candy-and we respond! A shame to lose that in the painting of another apple, another "Meditative Musing I" (Whatevahs.)

Paintiosity is the primordial power of paint-as-paint. It should be hunted every time out.  Every excellent painting is a successful balancing of Paintiosity and portrayal, and if one must suffer- well, you know my bias.

Now, to Tim.  As a result of my recent blogging and Facebook activity, my very oldest friend posted me. Tim Osborn is the first artist I ever envied-in Fourth Grade he could draw those old Hot Rod cartoons like you never saw.  As we grew up, he had a deft touch that I lacked. In the post he expressed some admiration for my iPad drawings. (He always had good taste.) Regarding his own work, he felt he wanted to "get a little looser", a desire shared almost universally by competent painters. I will privately let him know The Secret; the rest of you should consider taking my ABSTRACTING PAINT class. A hint: it's the turning of a key.

Enough. I have been blah blah blah for three hours now, and  gotta eat. Thanks for your time,and until next time...

PS-the image above is a mostly failed self-portrait, looking into a mirror. The likeness sucks, though I like the paint. I am agitated and intrigued, and in my comfort zone. Xoxoxo.            Hubbard

 Another blog already? Shoots, I'm still dizzy from the last one, but this stuff is time-sensitive, so I'm on it. A painting class:

Occurring on the four Sundays in October, from Noon 'til three. @ High Fire Hawaii in Hilo. It will be about Portrayal vs. Paintiosity. As always, satisfaction is gaurenteed. Be there.

Go to www.highfirehawaii.com to read the prospectus and enroll. Or, call with questions @ Hilo Fine Art Center, 966-9995. Thank you for your time, and until next time...

Hubbard

I'm back! My web/taskmaster Carlton Stout has revitalized the website and me, and asks in return merely that I blog monthly. He is my Digital God and his wishes will be fulfilled. Or else.

*****CHEATING AND SNOBBISMS***** Recently, a well-known and occasionally respected painter-about-towm gave me her opinion that, "Painting would be all right if we could just get rid of the camera." Really? In the freakin' 21st Century? I asked her, "When you came into town from Way Lower Puna, where did you hitch your horse?" Again, that wearisome old snobbism so many painters have against photographs, cameras and all things Digital. The implication is that using modern technology is somehow cheating. I held it myself when i was young, but am much better now.

Read More CHEATING

Back in the saddle. Another captivating ramble coming soon, Scouts Honor!