Malibu morning picture of the day - Monday, July 25, 2016

Dear Family, Friends, and Gentle Readers,

It's Monday morning. We have a major brush fire going on in SoCal, but you can't see evidence in the atmosphere this morning.

No second look, but on Saturday, smoke clouds were wafting over Hollywood and turning the sun red in the late afternoon, so here's a look at that.

Lots of ash on cars, almost like a light dusting of snow.

If it looks like the air would be somewhat bitter and maybe it hurt to breathe? No, not in this part of town. But a lot of allergic type congestion reaction in family member due to smoke.

Hey, I hope you had a good weekend. I was at the home of my father (who died over a year ago) to clear out any stuff of mine from his basement. I was given an ultimatum anything in the place after July 31 will be trashed.

I knew there was old schoolwork in the basement, which I pulled out. When you study art like I did, you create a lot of large-format stuff. I had quite a bit. None of it is very good, I'm sorry to say. I was no young Caravaggio whose juvenalia was worth looking at. So it's all going into the dustbin. I am taking pictures of a few things to remind me of those old dreams I once had.

Artist V. Way, Reclining  figure, charcoal on bond paper (1979)

Here's a figure study from a life class I took in my senior year. Not terribly remarkable. There are a couple of decent parts. I believe I got a C in that class. The art teachers in the 70s were usually easy graders, but not this guy. He knew I was coasting. I have to admit I took his class only because I was curious about his reputation among the students (high drama, flamboyance, emotional, forbidding particular students to use certain materials, that kind of thing...). So, kids ... you get the grade you deserve. Give it your best effort, or don't bother. I think about how he must have looked at hundreds of thousands of students' life drawings at that time. How bored you could get! How satisfying it must seem when something good emerges. I would probably want to become outrageous too. He cared. He wasn't just picking up a paycheck.

He had us select our best 20 drawings of the semester as our final. Boy, did he tear me up in his remarks.When I looked at the 20 I picked for the final, I have no idea why I picked those either. They were not the best. Part of the art-learning process is learning to curate works. I sure had a LOT to learn at age 20 when I graduated. Stupid kid...

On the other end of the time spectrum here's something else from the basement:

Artist V. Way (age 6-7?), Daisies Under Clouds and Sun, tempera on paper. (1964-1965?)

Probably one of the earliest paintings I ever made, around age 6-7. We did a lot of painting in my grade 1-3 classes (or at least it seemed like it to me). I don't think elementary schools in L.A. commit as much time and resources to art. This is only interesting because (like a lot of ancient literature) it's extant. I don't know too many people my age who still have an image they created from 1st or 2nd grade. This is what happens when you have parents who never throw anything away, and live in the same place for 50 years.

Was there progress in my art education from 1st grade to college senior? I like to think so. But in any case, I'm happy to say, when I create something today out of my head, it's no longer for a grade to make a teacher happy.

If you're a relative of mine, yes, I took pictures of all these grade-school tempera pictures before putting them in the trash can, so you can see what they looked like if you but ask. They are all crumbling to the touch, so there's no point in keeping any of them. It's amazing how vibrant the pigments still are, but they have been in the dark for decades.  Just taking pics of them took all day Sunday and killed my knees. I still have 4 portfolios to go...

Gotta go folks. Have a wonderful Monday and a great week.

Love,
Pops