John Murray classes week of January 5, 2015

Happy New Year 2015 and welcome to my classes.
I would like to start the term with a suggested assignment.
Think of a personal adventure that you have had, preferably as a child and try an image based on the emotional load of that experience.
Don't be concerned with an accuracy, drawing or figuration.
Be free and loose.
Below are a few of mine and the childhood experience related to them.

I was 10 years old when myself and another boy decided to swim across Quincy Bay from Wollaston Beach to Squantum MA.
We set out late in the afternoon and swam until the last of the moored boats and the open water began.
At that point the other kid,whose name I can not remember,decided to swim back to shore.
I wanted to push on, and did.
The water got deeper and choppier more oceanic as I swam.
The Long Island bridge loomed ahead in the distance. 
The rocky shore of Squantum was very far in my view from low in the water.
The fishy smell of the east wind tide filled my senses. 
Sharks,whales,blackfish all sprang  to mind from the depths beneath my blue cold feet.
At last I reached the barnacle encrusted boulders of the Squantum shore. 
I had landed on the back yard of an ocean front house barefoot and clothed only in a small boys bathing suit. 
I scrambled out of the water and looked back toward across the bay from where I had come. 
The original shoreline appeared as a scumble of buildings and masts a long way off in the late afternoon light.
It must have been 5:30 on a late summer afternoon and I had no stomach for swimming back shivering and tired.
It was close to supper time and I had to get home fast,not in another 1 1/2 hours, the time it had taken me to swim across the bay.
I ran up through the yards and found a street. 
I stuck my thumb out and was soon picked up by a middle-aged man in a sedan. 
He drove me the 3 or so miles around the peninsular to Wollaston beach.
I thanked him and ran through the glass strewn alley that went between the Bowling alley and Elsie's Tavern and led from the beach to my backyard.
I was not too late for supper.

See you next week, John. 

John Murray classes week of January 5, 2015

Thank you, my artists friends, for supporting my classes this Autumn term.
I hope you all have a fun and adventurous holiday season.
See you next year!
John and Sandy

John Murray classes week of December 8, 2014

Next week is the last week of the Fall term.
I enjoyed working with all the artists who attended my classes and saw some exceptional work created in the NAC studio.
Think of a work that treats the existential fears that at core created all human holidays.
The Winter Solstice, for instance that gave us many ancient and Christian beliefs about mortality and rebirth.
Hanukkah, the festival of light, where the menorah burned for 8 days with only enough oil for one day.
Fight the darkness, in spite of the fact that we all eventually go into it again.
As artists we have a connection to the primal that other non-artists haven't developed.
Tuesday's Plasticity and the Postmodern Figure class will have a female model, Thea, someone with whom I have not worked before.
Thank you for supporting my classes and being resilient and powerful artists.
See you next week, John.

John Murray classes week of December 1, 2014

What constitutes a painting?
Above is the light switch in the back room of the large studio at NAC, before it was painted this term.

Next is my dog scratching in front of a spray graffitti  piece in Medway MA.

Then a painting of a nude I did at my Montserrat College of Art Workshop a year ago.

What is your vision of "Painting"?

Next week there will be a model in both Supercharged class on Wednesday the 3rd.

See you next week, john.

John Murray classes week of November 24, 2014

Monday pm class, Postmodern Assemblage and Painting, will have a model next week.
Tuesday, Plasticity and the Postmodern Figure class will have 2 models, a male and a female, to work with.
There will be no classes on Wednesday the 26th, the day before Thanksgiving.
On that day commemorate the great Native People the European invaders destroyed.
See you next week John.

John Murray classes week of November 17, 2014

Monday morning's Oil and Acrylic Workshop class will have a model next week.

Think about a narrative for the figure and what concept you can bring to the execution of your piece.

I am not interested in academic figure representation and try to use the human form as a starting point

for a visual discussion.

The work I've shown above does this in some way.

Although human experience is varied by individuals and cultures, we all carry a story.

Bring some of yours to your painting of the model.The model for this Monday is female.

All classes will have a model before the end of the term.

See you next week, John.

John Murray classes week of November 10, 2014

No figure class on Tuesday the 10th due to Veterans Day holiday.
All other classes on Monday and Wednesday will be in session.
Above is Marsden Hartley's homage to a WW1 German officer.
For those artists, how about a painting that starts with the concept of militarism and becomes
a decorative pattern piece, as Hartley's painting, based on his love for a military officer,
did 100 years ago.
Nothing has changed, the same old jingoism that drives patriotism and our experience of the resultant
horrors seem to have no effect on our specie's war-like instincts.
So why not turn to these into art.
See you next week, John.

John Murray classes week of November 3, 2014

Gesture and the stroke/mark

For centuries the artist has considered and explored the paint stroke as a means of expression, an aspect of  his/her language.

Cezanne worked in small almost triangular strokes.

Frank Auerbach pushed his paint in thick swirls of pigment and modeled his subjects in fervent plasticity.

Pollack threw away the brush and flung and dripped/spattered his paint to achieve a transcendent, symphonic picture space.

Think about your means of making a stroke and explore new methods and tools

The brush is a given that the artist does not have to accept.

My Tuesday figure class will have 2 models next week, a male and female: Kim and Ginger. I hope this situation will inspire some off-beat approaches to the model(s) in the classical studio space.

See you next week, john.

John Murray classes week of October 27, 2014

Art makes life bearable. It isn't a luxury. 

Like our capacity for understanding, and our experience of love, it is a vitally important part of life.

-Gillian Pederson Krag

Don't forget my Figure/Narrative/Large Scale Workshop on Saturday and Sunday afternoons November 1 and 2. We have an excellent female model for both days and I will take the class step by step through the development of the painting.  

See you next week, John 

 

John Murray classes week of October 20, 2014

Representation and its discontents,

 

Plasticity and its adherents.

What does this mean to you?

Why did Manet deconstruct his work? 

Why do I and other artists (including Nancy Blanchard from my Tuesday figure class) work from a model and come up with images that are so stylized?

Next week let's talk about this concept of Modernism.

See you then, John.

John Murray classes week of October, 13, 2014

No classes on Monday the 13th due to holiday.
My Tuesday figure painting class and Supercharged painting classes on Wednesday are all in session.
Next week try playing with alternative approaches to your painting.
Don't be afraid to work over a piece...start with charcoal and use it as a thinking exploration...wipe it out if you don't get what you want at first.
Every layer of a painting should be pushed. Consider the weight and color (darkness) of your line...smudge
erase, use your non-dominant hand for vulnerability and freshness.
Fix it when you get it.
Start painting by mixing color and viscosity...try using a wider than usual brush.
Good luck!
See you next week, John.

John Murray classes week of October 6, 2014

making art is a constantly changing challenge
Finding a fresh way to begin is a big part of the process
Once you're on the surface the paint charcoal blood piss mud... Will help lead you forward
Generating the initial marks is a leap of faith for an artist
The virginal surface is a killer
Mess it up...spill stain scratch drip 
Break the spell of the void...

See you next week, John...

John Murray classes week of September 29, 2014

Disentangling the relationship between the natural world and the pictorial world:

What does that mean in your work?
All my classes deal with that issue.
Above are some images of the human figure, to me all are interesting and say different things about my perception of the natural world.
When, and especially before you begin to record as an artist, think about  how you feel about the Other... object/perception, and how you can utilize your tools on the the void in front of you to record these in a fresh way.
Of course the tools (pencil, charcoal, paint, mud, blood, dog shit?) must be exploited and allowed to do their part as pure plasticity.
The void is your paper, canvas, plaster panel, animal hide, cardboard, brick wall...?)
The fear is your illusion of self! 
See you next week,  John

John Murray classes week of September 22, 2014

Next week "Plasticity and the Postmodern Figure" class starts on Tuesday the 23rd at 1 P.M.
Our first model will be a male.
Please come prepared to draw and paint on both canvas and paper.
Wednesday P.M. Supercharged Painting is not in session due to Rosh Hashana.
Morning Supercharged is in session!
All classes please continue with work you began last week, or if you did not attend last week, please
talk to me about an assignment if you feel you need one.
See you then, John

John Murray Classes week of September 15, 2014

Welcome to my Autumn 2014 classes at New Art Center.

Summer was a gorgeous feast for the senses as New England usually provides.

Now as the Fall term begins let’s think about the possibilities of a new language:

the visual, specifically painting.

This term I am teaching five courses: Mondays- Acrylic and Oil workshop and Postmodern Assemblage and Painting, Tuesdays- Plasticity and the Postmodern Figure and Wednesdays-Supercharged Painting A.M. and P.M.

Next week for the first class please bring enough material to work (canvas, paint,  charcoal, fixative and paper).

If you want an assignment concept think about the close of the psychic landscape of Summer and the lose of innocence and warmth implicit in that.

See you next week, John. 

Summer session John Murray classes week of August 25, 2014

The last week of my Summer session!

 
Try to do a piece that captures the memory of Summer.
This is a difficult thing to do.
The power of the past tends to overwhelm the Now of painting.
I saw some excellent work from artists who attended the class this Summer.
The Autumn term starts september 15.
I hope you keep working and sign up for one of my classes next term.
see you next week. John

Summer session John Murray classes week of August 18, 2014

Abstract vs Narrative in black and white.

This time of year, (my favorite) I try to relax and paint/draw in a manner that indulges my senses. I suppose I also work against this inclination at the same time.
This synthesis of sensual and rigorous sometimes leads me to a paradoxical solution for personal art-making; i.e. A black and white piece stripped of all content or a b&w piece loaded with sentimental content.
This approach of  following contradictory impulses has worked for me at times.
There truly are no rules in art making.
Don't listen to the voices of conservatism and repression.
See you next week, john.

John Murray Summer session classes week of August 11, 2014

Between the Devil and the deep blue sea!

All painting is tension between representation and plasticity (materials).
Modernist and certainly Postmoderist painting works the Hell out of this concept
to my great pleasure and enlightenment.
Next week try (once again...my favorite assignment) to exploit this idea in your own work.
Also I have a small show of my work down the street at Brookline Bank on Walnut Street,
if you have a chance check it out and tell me what you think.
See you next week, john

Summer Session John Murray Classes week of August 4,2014

August heat and light.

What can you make of it?
When the dog days start can you use the intensity to push your painting?
Late afternoon in the New Art Center can be very hot, but as the sun begins to set and dusk
melts into night the mystery of the summer has its effect.
I love the summer session in the big studio and find it a great creative opportunity.
Next week try and show the face of deep summer.
Before we know what has happened we'll be freezing again.
Enjoy!
See you next week, John.

Summer session John Murray classes week of July 28, 2014

                                                                                 Herring Cove Beach-John Murray

I enjoyed working with the model last week, I hope you did.
This week think about figure/ground issues and deal with placing a figure in a sketchy background.
A background that implies a number of possibilities.
The painting that engages me most is painting that opens possibilities about form/content and plasticity.
Or try a painting with no spacial illusion and do a flat frontal painting that acknowledges the literal flatness of the canvas.
The critic Clement Greenberg espoused this view and that concept contributed to Jackson Pollack's painting and fame.

Barcelona (for Aaron Siskind)-John Murray

See you next week, John. 

summer session John Murray classes week of July 21, 2014

Next week we will have a model in both classes (Monday and Wednesday).

Please bring paper and canvas enough to explore the poses and deconstruct/stylize from them.
The model will be a male nude, Kim, with whom I've worked before.
The painting below is the result:

see you next week, John.

Summer session John Murray classes week of July 14, 2014

Where does our painting come from?

                                "Day at the Beach" oil on canvas- john murray


Art is a complex business once you leave the still life setup.
Is it an emotional response to joy or tragedy?
Is it a response to phenomena: a brilliant sunset?
The deep blue mystery of night broken by shafts and bursts of yellow light?
Is it a poem or a broken bone bleached by the sun lying in desert light?

It is an ephemeral notion made solid by the artist. 
Whether ironic, sardonic or a sincere response to the hopelessness/joy of life.
Whatever you find or feel, the plasticity of your material in process and gesture
is the delivery system.
As Philip Guston said about painting:
 "when things go well I leave the room".

See you next week, john

Summer session John Murray classes week of July 7, 2014

Happy July!

Those who worked from my still life did some interesting work, for those who didn't I will set it up so that you may consider it again.

The summer makes me want to paint abstractly.

The figurative world seems too hard-edged and the generosity of abstraction beckons to to my mind and senses.

Above is a new painting that was based on seeing limestone posts in the Great Plains.

These were carved from quarried limestone by the early settlers and used as fence posts in an area with few trees.

I remember the great rolling grasses and white/blue immense sky under the blazing sun that reflected from these iconic ancient monuments to the unstoppable flood of white settlers as they erected fences and destroyed  the bison and the Indian cultures of the Plains.

Life goes on, and the free-flowing Indian horsemen have been replaced by small dying towns and farms. 

The title of the painting is: "The Poetry of Limestone Posts". It is 30 x 30" oil on canvas.

Start with your own experience and paint an abstraction next week.

see you then, John. 

Summer session John Murray classes week of June 30, 2014

Next week I will set up a still life for you to work from.

The Whitney has a Jeff Koons Retrospective: big, shiny, sexy, vulgar, commercial, Postmodern
collectibles for the very rich and ambitious.
Has our life within the grid become so desperate and mindless that this work has come to reflect our retinal
cognition?
Yes, I'm afraid so.
Given that depressing and existential reality, and the realization that humanity is an infestation on a fertile rock in space, I must say that I enjoy this stuff in a perverse way.
How can one be moralistic at a moment like late June 2014.
Suck it up and enjoy the bullshit and flash of Jeff and his big-money kitsch!



As my favorite reviewer/critic, Roberta Smith says;
"The erotic and, to some extent, the scatological are never far beneath the surface in Mr. Koons’s art. Exhibit A is “Play-Doh,” a new, almost certain masterpiece whose sculptural enlargement of a rainbow pile of radiant chunks captures exactly the matte textures of the real thing, but also evokes paint, dessert and psychedelic poop."
Aah Jeff, we hardly knew ye.
See you next week, John.