Painting in progress

This is a painting I'm working on for one of my best friends mom.  The painting is of Jesus and the disciples laughing.  The whole concept is flawed because to paint what we think Jesus would look like is going to be based on our narcissistic projection of something familiar i.e. a caucasian jesus smiling and wearing a freshly washed linen robe.  In my opinion there is no way that we as humans could ever paint a picture to fully embody Jesus or God for that matter.   So instead I abandon the idea of capturing God on my canvas.  Instead I try to paint the closest thing to aspects of who God is (joy, beauty, etc).  This painting is of people oppressed and labeled as ugly.  The center character (who is the only painted so far) is a homeless man laughing.    What does he have to laugh about?  Maybe God's ideal of beauty is what we label as ugly.  Billboards and advertisements are filled with women and men who all look the same.  Maybe God loves ugly because each line and indent on those faces are handcrafted and painstackingly different from all the people we elevate to model status.  We cheapen beauty to a word meaningless.  Beauty becomes the familiar so that it can be quickly labeled and categorized as sexy, beautiful, and hot.  We call ugly people characters, and rugged because we feel the need to patronize their struggle.  God has his own aesthetic regardless of how we twist it.                 G  o  d     l  o  v  e  s     u  g  l  y

Some practice sketch stuff I've been working on

events

I just found out I'm confirmed to be doing on stage painting for a Salvation Army Youth Council Conference in New Mexico April 17-19. On that note I never put up the pictures from CCCA so maybe posting this will motivate me to finally get those up.

Also if you're in Boulder come check out my art alongside opera. April 10th at the CU music building there will be a gospel opera with my unsolved civil rights series as the backround. I'll have all the details soon, but come on opera and art is always epic...

A poem written by Gregg Lipkin inspired by my painting "The Untold Story of Emmett Till"

 

Told

 

I can't keep you from looking

but

I can’t make you see

the untold story.

You see

an angry young black man

because

that’s what you need me to be;

the part you need me to play

but

I don’t play

and

I won’t get played

by any.  single.  part.

I’m not

an angry young black man

I’m angry.

young.

and

black.

man.

can

you begin to

understand

any of the three?

I scream to be heard

but

I don’t think you can hear me

because if your

hearing is as

backwards thinking

as your sight

you’re not looking to understand

you’re looking for some new fright

and

that is why I have to fight.

I fight to tell you

because

you refuse to be told.

I fight

because

you see me as nothing more than

a bellowing stereotype

when enemies long public

have warned, “Don’t believe the hype”

you still cast me to type

as often as you can

in the role of

angry young black man

and

that’s why I’m

angry

man.

I am not a bellowing stereotype

I’m a

bellow

in stereo

type

so your tired thinking

makes me tired

because

it’s too difficult to listen to; you can see that can’t you?

maybe the thoughts I got weren’t the ones you sought

but

they were definitely the ones you brought

and how can a young man like me,

who spends his time thinking in sporadic internal rhyme,

not tire of such one note thinking?

I’m a

bellow

in stereo

type,

I can’t listen in mono, you know?

so

where does that leave us?

will I continue to raise my voice,

as the paintbrush of every thought to cross my mind,

to try to get across points that have never crossed your mind?

will you continue to assume

that every display of passion

is one of anger

without ever trying

to distinguish anger from anguish?

if you wish

we can continue with business as usual

but

it’s bad business

which is something

I make it my business never to be in.

I have no interest in fiscal fear

and

if I’m to remain part

of the world corporation

I have to be part of a division

that is downsizing division

otherwise

what’s the point

you see my point?

no?

that’s cool;

that will not keep me from making it

because

the thoughts I paint my mind with

are thoughts that bring people closer

like the strum of the right strings can make millions sing

and

beat of the right drum can leave millions numb

in dance and trance

so

I will no longer tell you

what makes me different

because

no matter how angry I seem

and

no matter how loud I scream;

it will never bring us closer,

it will only prepare me for

whatever stereotypical role

you’ve decided to cast me in

but

this isn’t your movie

it’s ours

we need to take bites of the rewrite

and react this entire act so it won’t be our final act.

that’s what I’ll be doing

I’ll be eating my words

so

that I can spit back

our new words

you can break out of your own typecasting,

the

whisper

in mono

type,

and

get in the scene with me.

go.

bellow

in stereo,

you know?

you can hear and see

rather than

listen and look at me.

hell you

may

fail to

maybe I didn’t

sell you

but

you can’t say

I didn’t

tell you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

v  inspired by the painting The Untold Story of Emmett Till by Nolan Lee.

v  while the words are not reflective of Emmett Till’s tragic story, I have taken Mr. Lee’s advice.

on his web site he states, “I firmly believe that art can inspire others, just as it has inspired me.”

v  these words that I’ve slapped together (I don’t believe that inspiration is an exercise of  multiple drafts, do you?) are what his incredible painting inspired in me.

v  I think that Mr. Lee is correct; so who knows; maybe someday, somebody will read these

words and find them inspiring.

Gregg Lipkin

back from the madness

I just back from Orlando and Atlanta and it was awesome, did so much stretching and painting the canvas my knuckles are bloody and my hands are healing from blisters, spent the night in the Atlanta airport with a bunch of homeless people and ate dinner with one of them at about 3am. I sold 2 paintings of 3 at Learn Promote Defend and might still sell another before Christmas. I don't have any pictures of the Orlando mural but I think I will soon.

getting ready for CCCA

I'm going to be doing some live on stage art for CCCA convention in Orlando Dec. 8th-10th.  I'll be doing progressive painting over three days on a 8x21 ft canvas.  The subject is Re-imagine so it's got to be looking gooood!  I'll be putting up the photos after the convention directly.

I'm one of the winners for an international art contest

In September I entered three of my paintings from my Dirty Water series into an international art contest called Learn Promote Defend. It is a juried by big timers in the art world. They chose all three of my paintings to be exhibited and sold in a silent auction on Dec. 10th at the Mason Murer Art Gallery in Atlanta. They also chose to use my "Moore's Ford Case" painting for the flier promoting the event. (See flier) 

After the auction they will choose 6 paintings to put on billboards around Atlanta in 2009. If you're in Atlanta in Dec. come check it out at the Mason Murer Gallery http://www.masonmurer.com