Taos review
 

Here are some shots from the Taos workshop. This is of a portrait demo of my new friend Rick. He was the director's husband and one great model. He also plays flute, sang for us, is a playwright, a movie actor and 4 more things I've forgotten by now.

Here's another shot of Rick.

Finished version; oil on linen panel 2003 14X11" demo-4 hours

This is the new owner of the work along with Rick. She's a fine artist.

This neat guy was conducting a workshop with the Taos Institute the same week as me... Billy Collins, Poet Laureate of the United States.

Billy is a painter and knows much about art. He used Sargent's work on one of his book covers.

Tim, first you get a church, and now this! I'm speechless with jealousy.

Good thing I can still type.

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"Candle Hat"
by Billy Collins

In most self-portraits it is the face that dominates:
Cezanne is a pair of eyes swimming in brushstrokes,
Van Gogh stares out of a halo of swirling darkness,
Rembrandt looks relieved, as if he were taking a breather from painting 'The Blinding of Samson'.

But in this one Goya stands well back from the mirror
and is seen posed in the clutter of his studio
addressing a canvas tilted back on a tall easel.

He appears to be smiling out at us as if he knew
we would be amused by the extraordinary hat on his head
which is fitted around the brim with candle holders,
a device that allowed him to work into the night.

You can only wonder what it would be like
to be wearing such a chandelier on your head
as if you were a walking dining room or concert hall.

But once you see this hat there is no need to read
any biography of Goya or to memorize his dates.

To understand Goya you only have to imagine him
lighting the candles one by one, then placing
the hat on his head, ready for a night of work.

Imagine him surprising his wife with his new invention,
then laughing like a birthday cake when she saw the glow.
Imagine him flickering through the rooms of his house
with all the shadows flying across the walls.

Imagine a lost traveler knocking on his door
one dark night in the hill country of Spain.
"Come in," he would say, "I was just painting myself,"
as he stood in the doorway holding up the wand of a brush,
illuminated in the blaze of his famous candle hat.

Thanks for that Linda,

I saw those mountains for the first time this year. This is a special place for artists. On more than a few occassions we saw artists working like this on the side of the roads.

On our approach to Taos from the east, maybe 20 miles away, we saw a grey wolf pass across the road just ahead of us. I slowed down to see him/her stop and turn to look at us. I'm sure this was the first wolf I have ever seen in the wild in my life.

Poetry and Painting
 

The set up me and Billy for the same week in August next year in Taos, I'll post the details elsewhere.