Currieworks Fine Art

Puerta la Paz

john — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 14:23:12 +0000

I spent one winter month in Lima, Péru, the home of my wife’s family, and came equipped to paint. What I did not know was that Lima is cloudy and damp all winter and the light is flat and lifeless. Everything appears limp and grey without sunlight to embolden the colors and call out the shadows. I had spied this home on Calle La Paz—the Street of Peace–and its cyclopean crown of bougainvilleas and wanted desperately to paint it but no light, no shape equaled no painting. Then one day, my bride called to me that the sun was out so I hurried back to this house. Now, with sunlight, the flowers erupted in cascades of crimson and the shades of green proliferated. Now, the marigold walls of the house behind came to life and the old wooden door glowed. Now, I had a painting.

Oil on linen panel 8” X 10”

An Exultation of Poppies

john — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 14:09:53 +0000

The rolling hills of southern California explode in a firestorm of orange and marigold when the poppies are in flower. Stretching for miles and miles in persimmon splendor, they are unmatched in their sheer natural exuberance. I saw these while visiting a friend in Laguna Beach, one of the beautiful towns lazing along the California Coast. I had to force myself to turn away from their golden beaches long enough to revel in this experience. Would that every day posed such a quandary.

Oil on canvas panel 8″ x 8″

Golden Chimesa

john — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 03:37:46 +0000

Across the plains and slopes of the Wyoming foothills splash thousands of acres of golden chimesa, a hardy plant that sips water and clings to the sun-burnt soil. Its flowers range from bleached buttercup yellow to golden marigold and its branches are a dusty olive with a gentle lavender cast. It’s not very tall, it’s not very showy but it’s hardy and persistent and it flows across the landscape like a dusty yellow sea.

Oil on panel 9” X 8”

En el Jardín de Mi Tía

john — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 15:12:11 +0000

My wife was born in Arequipa, Péru, a mountain town that was formerly a hub of international trade. She grew up there for her first six years and spent many happy days in this house. It belonged to her tíos de cariño––her uncle and aunt of the heart––and to a cousin, all of whom are as dear to her today as then. Soon after we were married in Lima, we journeyed to this sun-washed city so that I might see where she was born and to meet her tíos. We explored the winding streets and the unique white lava stone buildings that claimed this mountain top but nothing was as special as relaxing here in the embrace of my new familia de cariño.

Oil on panel 8-1/4” X 6-3/4”

With Reid, in Fields of Mojave Aster

john — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 01:07:47 +0000

My last painting trip with my friend and mentor, Reid Galey, was to New Mexico, to paint the countryside in which he grew up and which he loved so much. The high plains were filled with this native flower; it reminded me of southern France and its fields of lavender. There is a full palette of memories tied up herein, of my friend, our trip, his influence on my art, of my never realized dream of going to France with him to paint. When Reid died suddenly in 2010, there were great feelings of loss as well as of a treasured friendship. This, for me, is a celebration of the latter, of a friend and artist who added great color to my life.

Oil on linen panel 9 x 12

Lavender Waves of Mojave Aster

john — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:25:00 +0000

The lavender fields of Provence are an icon of the natural beauty of France and a subject to which many artists are drawn. But these gently flowered fields are not lavender but Mojave Aster and they grow not in France but in the high plains of New Mexico. Travelling with another painter through the countryside outside of Taos, I came across these lovely blossoms, framed by the plum and blueberry colored mountains behind them. Delighted by this surprise, we stopped and spent the afternoon creating bouquets in oil.

Oil on canvas panel 8″ x 8″