More Fine Art, fun art, music and lots more

Link to my website: Claude Lyles Art Works  , recently updated.

My only social media is Instagram. I use it to keep track of all the wonderful art being created every day, all around the world. You can see a more current version of my comings and goings, art in progress, friends visiting SW Florida, etc. 

Reminder that you can click on photos to enlarge and pinch open even further. And, if you are curious about possibly purchasing a piece, contact me and I will quote you a price either framed or unframed. They are surprisingly affordable. 

Fun TV from CBS Sunday Morning for all you 50's survivors. I admit, I did a number of these Paint By Numbers in my youth. This link should work for you...There is a "skip ad" box in the lower right corner.
https://youtu.be/sE-ygbBQ0nU

New Art:

Gouache from live model class, about 12 x 12

Gouache and pencil from live model session; 20 x 14"

Oil on canvas pad; 12.5 x 10"

Gouache and ink on watercolor paper; 8 x 10"

Took this photo Easter Sunday in mother-in-law's housing courtyard. Turned out kinda neat if you ask me.

    New Art Purchased:

Found some pieces in Chesterdale's consignment shop in N Naples. Priced reasonably. All Signed. The pencil work of the young girl looks like it was signed in 1948.  The Florida watercolor is the work of a local, popular artist, Phil Fisher, teacher, and who has a gallery in Naples; represented in Michigan as well. The last piece is a unique watercolor in great detail and smaller size than normal. I suspect it may be gouache.  Most watercolors make use of wide washes and they leave white or light areas free of paint to emit the glow of light. This uses white on top of paint. I like the capture of light on the subjects and through the trees. My photo picked up a little bit of reflection. Sorry.

Pencil 8 x 10"

Watercolor 6.25 x 9.25"

Riders Watercolor 8 x 5.5"

Old Art:This week was the drop-off from works created in earlier live model classes. I entered pure drawings, below, which you have seen in earlier blogs.

Following are some of the entries from my peers, as you can see, many used the class to paint from model or portrait. They are on exhibit at the Bonita Springs Performing Center on Bonita Beach Rd through the month of June.

Music:

Listening new (to me) - Lord Huron; Purchased a Chase and Status song Blind Faith feat. Liam Baily. Saw them on Jules Holland show. Give it a listen.    Chase and Status "Blind Faith" live
 (Ed. note) I had to look up the lyrics due to his heavy British accent/Caribbean beat. Nevertheless, it should get you up out of year seat. Great sound. Purchased Hard Place by H.E.R.  Great sound, you want the long version - from I Used To Know Her: Part 2 - EP 4:32. Here is a You Tube link: Hard Place There is a short ad before the video begins.

Reading:

A. Saw this in a Suzanne Venker blog, she writes from Saint Louis. Link to click on to read more of  the  The Feminist "Fixer"   

From her latest blog: Are Your Sons and Daughters Relationship Material?  (3 parts).  If you see imbedded an Oprah episode with young women reading their list of "gotta haves" when looking for marriage material, the list and Steve Harvey are hilarious.  I don't agree with everything she writes on the relationship between the sexes; however, her thoughts are contrary to current popular culture, and certainly re-frame some of the misconceptions we have accumulated over the past, say, 30 - 40 years. 

B. Read an article in the Smithsonian on a family that has genetic pain blocking genes.  The primary subject in the study is a doctor and she said something important..."To me the most important thing is taking our condition and make something good of it". Seems like that could apply to all of us, right now, right here. 

C. And, in Reader's Digest there was a reprint of an article informing of a woman who was biking and was run over by a semi...all the wheels on one side of the truck. She was in a coma for months and discussed how she could hear and feel and sense the presence of others in the room from time-to-time. In therapy she had a mental turnaround when she remembered what laureate Jody Williams said, "Emotion without action is irrelevant." That started her on a long, painful journey to heal. 

"There has to be a reason I'm still alive. All this wasted emotion feeling miserable for myself needed a direction. The direction I chose was gratitude. (Gratitude came up multiple times in the Aging Spirituality class I took a while back and discussed in prior blogs.) I thought of all the people who had saved my life, the strangers who ran to my side after the truck hit me; the doctors and nurses who brought me back from death more than once; the (therapy) staff who doggedly helped me walk again and relearn basic tasks. The strangers who donated 78 units of blood, and the 25 bags of plasm and platelets, more than 125 people. " It spurred her to do her part for recovery and she raised money later to purchase adaptive bikes for disabled athletes as one byproduct of her sense of gratitude.

D. Yes, Florida takes its high school football seriously, we are in Spring Football season as they prep for next fall. 

Watching: Last Florida Rep of the 2018-19 season was Native Gardens. 90 minutes of chuckles, stale stereotypes, but good acting by the 4 primary roles. Came out of a Cincinnati premier from last year. Boomers vs millennials, white vs Latino, Native plants vs natural foliage. Lead boomer actress I remember from an episode of L&O Criminal Intent. Her professionalism overwhelmed the cast but the others were fun. Next season looks promising. Always fun and usually above average presentation. Over the years they have received 8 or 9 glowing reviews from Terry Teachout of WSJ.

For my friends in Saint Louis - Cindy Preszler took her buyout and landed in Fort Myers on the local Fox affiliate. Matt Sczesny who left KMOV returned to News Channel 5 in Palm Beach. Who's next to FLA?

Correction: In my last blog I referred to Newt 360 - it should have been Newt's World. His line-up in which he discusses historical figures I found to be very, very interesting. Give it a try. Julius Caesar was the best, for me - Episode 5 under the top line heading Productions.

"In this week's episode of my Newt's World podcast, I look at the life and legacy of Benjamin Franklin and discuss what we can learn from his leadership today." That was a great one, also. I enjoyed the latest conversation with a woman from, I believe, Cleveland who has served the Vatican in PR capacities since moving to Italy after college. She talks about every Pope since and including John XXIII. Having been to Rome numerous times, her stories and locales resonated with me. Link to click on to Listen for free here>> .  When they pause for commercial breaks, you might have to het the start button again. 

Words From Our Founders:

"It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favors".    George Washington 

And, some things remain the same... During his Second Inaugural Address, Thomas Jefferson shared this prescient observation of a malignant media (that would be newspapers back then) that had plagued (in his mind) his first term: "During the course of administration, and in order to disturb it, the artillery of the press has been leveled against us, charged with whatsoever its licentiousness could devise or dare. These abuses of an institution so important to freedom and science are deeply to be regretted, inasmuch as they tend to lessen its usefulness and to sap its safety." So, today, hardly anyone believes what they read, hear, or watch when it comes to our "news" providers. They've done it to themselves, in my opinion.

So, why do people pay money for this (stuff) ? Well, maybe less and less are buying it? The NY Times apologized twice, so far, for printing a cartoon.

The political cartoon in question showed Trump, wearing a pair of sunglasses, being led by a dog, depicted as Netanyahu. The dog had a Star of David collar. The cartoon appeared in the paper’s opinion section next to a column penned by Thomas Friedman, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Disgusting.
"Freedom of the press !"
You could do something vs you should do something...

Meanwhile, I am guessing that your paper or news said nothing about black-on-black shooting I n Baltimore the day after the synagog shooting...8 people shot, one died. What is going on with the press? Politicized, maybe?

There Goes The Neighborhood: Caught this guy the other night as we returned home from the Rep...

Fine Art, travel, music, and More!

April 17, 2019
Link to my website: Claude Lyles Art Works  , recently updated. I need to sell some of these pieces, you need original art on your walls to impress your boss and casual friends. Just ask and you will be amazed at how inexpensive it is to join an exclusive association of art owners. I'll give you a price framed/unframed and it will include shipping and handling.

I've interspersed lyrics from the music I discuss later in the blog. 

My only social media is Instagram. I use it to keep track of all the wonderful art being created every day, all around the world. You can see a more current version of my comings and goings, art in progress, friends visiting SW Florida, etc. 

Reminder that you can click on photos to enlarge and pinch open even further.

"Can't you hear me knockin'
 on your window?
Can't you hear me knocking'
 on your door?
...Help me baby, ain't no stranger."

New Art: 

Wed afternoon drawing class

Harns Marsh #2, Lehigh Acres, FL 8 x 10" oil on wrapped canvas $149

Harns Marsh, Lehigh Acres, FL

Delnor-Wiggins Pass SP, oil on canvas pad, framed $299

Koreshan St Park, oil on board 6 x 4", unframed $89

On a mission, maybe flying solo, have to get to point B or there will be problems. May not make it back but I am going to do this..might not see them (or her) again. Man, its lonely.

"Observe Radio Silence observe
Radio silence observe radio silence
Maintain radio silence throughout"

Old Art:

From my personal collection - three etchings and a photo of Notre Dame Cathedral.

"Life has its problems
So I think I'll give it a break.
Oh, I'm going back to the family 'cause I've had all I can take.

But...
     Sister's sitting by the mirror
     She thinks her hair looks funny
     Doing nothing is bothering me

There's more fun away from the family
Get some action when I pull into town

What the hell was I thinking?
Phone keeps ringing all day long" :(

Travel:

Last Director's Tour for the season with the Edison Ford Estate. We motor coached up to Sarasota and then Bradenton. Left FtM at 7:45 AM and returned 6 PM. Very pleasant day. Lunch on the Manatee River Walk in Bradenton at Mattisons Waterside Grille.

We have visited the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens many times. If you remember, that is where we acquired several Costa Rican masks over the years. It is on Sarasota Bay.  I took so many photos that I condensed many into collages, such as the one below of floral close ups. Imbedded in the grounds was a tribute to Gauguin. The Mansion had photos and 10 woodcuts, wood engravings, and lithographs of Brittany, Martinique, and Tahiti by PG. One of the sites where Gauguin lived and created art was the Marquesas Islands (1901-03).  A coincidence - about two weeks ago I was listening and listening and listening to my favorite CSN (and sometimes N) song Southern Cross. I was dissecting the lyrics and ran across his (Stephen Stills, co-writer) reference but did not know exactly where were the islands and had to look it up. So I was prepared for this exhibit!

Marie Selby Gardens, Sarasota, FL

Gaugan exhibit in the gardens

...And on the downhill to Papeete; off the wind on this heading lie the Marqueses...
When you see the Southern Cross for the first time
You understand now why you came this way.
...But on a midnight watch I realized why twice you ran away.

More garden photos

"I'm breaking in, shaping up,

Then checking out on the prison bus.

This is it, the apocalypse.

Whoa

...welcome to the new age, to the new age.

Whoa, oh oh oh"

Photo exhibit at the Bishop Museum of Science and Nature

The Bishop Museum aka South Florida Museum in Bradenton had a National Geographic Photo Ark display. Great shots by Joel Sartore. It runs through July 15 if you are in the area. 

This is a display NOT under water but using lighting and position that sure made it look like it behind the display glass.

Likewise, using a soft acrylic stream up top and, again, lighting and positioning below, it appears that you can see the habitat from below. 

Music: 

During my trip to Sarasota/Bradenton I listed to the R section on my phone. 

Radio City Serenade by Mark Knopfler. Tribute to NYNY and Statue of Liberty, bridges, subway, silhouette.
Radio Ga-Ga by Queen. Only song of theirs I truly like. Surprise, written by the drummer even though it is the melody I like. Lady took her name from the lyrics.
Radio Mullah by Thomas Newman. No words, he is one of the top soundtrack writers. My favorite 4 minutes of his would be Any Other Name.
Radio Silence by Thomas (the late) Dolby. Quirky '80's song. not the Styx version, BTW.
Radioactive by Imagine Dragon, not Kings of Leon version; and, ID version by Lindsey Sterling featuring Pentatonic (recorded a year later 2013).

Listened to probably my favorite Jethro Tull song - Back To The Family. Passion Play Edit #8 is a close second. Favorite album of their's is Benefit. Wore it out summers of '70, '71. Want's to leave the wild recording/touring scene, but when he gets home (If you've gone away to college, toured with a band, or a team you know the feeling) its not quite what he remembered so he goes back to London - same old issues, what's he to do?

New (old) song I like, John Hiatt's band Little Village - "Well she might run cold for you; She Runs Hot for me."

Favorite song I don't have (working on it) Can't You Hear Me Knocking? Fun lyrics, fit the tune perfectly, cord changes, base/drum line, and jazz ending.

    R.I.P. - Hal Blaine, 90. Much of the music I transcribed from LP to disc last year had drumming credit to THE session drummer for the 1960's and 70's... Frank, Beach Boys (can you believe it - Good Vibrations?), Elvis (such as Return To Sender), etc. Go back and listen to the opening riff on the Ronettes' Be My Baby. Even The Byrds' Mr. Tamborine Man. Batman theme.

Reading:

Trying to finish The First Congress. What a wonderful mess, today's conflicts are nothing...one of our first senators referred to another as a monkey in new britches. And, slavery was on everyone's mind, framing discussion and laws. As a sidebar, listened to an incredible description of Ben Franklin on Newt Ginrich's podcast Newt 360; an even better one was his talk on Julius Caesar. I am sure I was taught something about him back in school days but hearing of his ruthlessness and how and why he operated at today's age is eye-opening.

"Every wounded soldier
needs a lady with a light
to help him through the night."

Humor:

From Reader's Digest - You'd think this stuff is made up...No Dumb Questions? Ans: Yes, there are.
Hope my former supervisors and HR associates enjoy:
"EVERY DAY my supervisor tells me to stop chatting and get back to work. Can he do that?"
"Will you give me a raise if I stop smoking Marijuana?"
"Can my boss require my to work specific hours?"
"I falsified my resume. Now that I'm working here, can I change it?"
"Since my mother and father died before I came to work at this company, will I be credited for bereavement leave I didn't get to take?"

(I didn't think this was funny, I thought of asking it several times over the years) "Can I defer my salary until next year so I don't have to pay taxes this year? I don't need the money this year."

An employee said that he couldn't come to work because his fortune-teller had asked hm not to step out of the house or he would suffer a brain hemorrhage.
On my first day at work I accidentally called my boss "Daddy".  oooh
The woman confessed - At the end of the phone call, I told my boss I loved him. I caught myself, but started rambling: "Oh my God! I didn't mean that. I absolutely don't love you...No, I mean, I like working for you but I know you're married and I'm married, and I'm not flirting, so please don't report me to HR..." At some point he just hung up.

Hospital charts:
(Gotta fill in the blanks in the forms) "Social history reveals this 1-year old patient does not smoke or drink and is presently unemployed."
She is numb from the toes down.
The skin is moist and dry.
The patient is tearful and crying constantly. She also appears to be.....(my pause) depressed.
On the second day the knee was better, and on the third day it had completely disappeared.

Can HR be the problem?
I'm a teacher, so I have a million stupid rules I have to follow. But the worst one is that my performance evaluation is based on student improvement on a statewide literacy test. I teach wood shop.

At my old job, HR held a meeting to tell us that there was too much swearing on the sales floor. Someone pointed out that swearing is very common in our industry and that is the way that our customers speak. SO, HR later sent a memo explaining that swearing should be limited to the conversations with clients.

Or bosses?
When corporate came to visit the bank, the CEO complimented me by saying, "You aren't as dumb as HR made you out to be."

"I know my plan won't work, but don't disagree with me in front of others." Yes, sir.

I got a citation in my file because I told my boss that Bob Marley did not write "Red Red Wine".

Can IT help us?
"Can you please move the image up a tad and down a hair?"
"I want you to build me an App Store. Like the Apple App Store, but only better."

And, clean up your resume/application:
Under Objective - To secure a position as a front office.
Skills - Perfectionist with a keen I for details.
            Being bilingual in three languages
References produced - "Clare"
Compensation - Current salary $36,000, Salary desired $223,000
Interests: I enjoy cooking Chinese and Italians
               My three biggest hobbies are cars, racquetball, golf, and reading.

                    * * * *
"We watch the shows
We watch the stars
on video
For hours and hours
We hardly need to use our own ears...
Let's hope you never leave, old friend
 (background soft and slower 'Radio'"

Art, Music, Travel, Reading, Watching

Link to my website: Claude Lyles Art Works

Reminder that you can click on photos to enlarge and pinch open even further.  April 4, 2019.

New Art:

larger pieces

Early stages of a few works. I started painting with the Lee Plein Air Painters on Friday mornings. I am not accomplished enough to complete the pieces on site so I bring them home and work out my (art) issues. 

2 different outdoor locations

20-minute pencil

And, resumed my Wed afternoon model drawing in Bonita. It will run five weeks and will help me work out the drawing technique rust.  These are two from the first class this week. 

One-minute sketches

from flower session at Edison Ford Estate

Painted on site, finished at home - 12" x 12" oil on wood board

Bunche Beach looking toward Bowditch Point Park, Ft Myers Beach

"Low Tide" 12" X 9" oil on canvas board

Bunche Beach: This was the Negro beach back in the day. As you might be able to tell, not very nice (compared to, say Vanderbilt or Sanibel beaches). Lots of scrub, very shallow water, just a road to the beach, until recently no formal parking spot or restrooms. But, this is where they had to go if they wanted to enjoy the sun and water. 

Old Art: 

Added some final touches of arbor view

Douglas David painting demo for his workshop

 What I am up against...I entered into the members show at Bonita Spring Arts Center three recently completed paintings you saw in my last blog: The statue in the garden, Bocce Balls, and Three Pots. As I dropped them off another member dropped off this one, it is 2 ' X 3', just gorgeous.

These are from my earlier drawing class and will go on exhibit for two months in Bonita's performance center. Everyone who participated in the Monday or Wednesday sessions was invited. 

Listening To: 

Albums/CDs: Epoch Tycho, Joan Osborne Rightous Love, Cheap Trick Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band LIVE. Singles - Two Princes by the Spin Doctors, Be Here Now by Ray LaMontagne. AND, I never knowingly listened to a Metallica song, however, I watch the making of their Black Album on MTV's Classic Albums and found it fascinating, four guys starting out at 16 not knowing what they were doing...when the video was shot many years after the album was cut, they said every year they sell a million copies of that one album. The segment on how Nothing Else Matters was great. I would like to see more of the series; years ago I saw how a Clapton album was created. Peter Gabriel's So! was on later but I had to go to bed. Maybe next re-run. 

Reading: 

Finished my 12-week class on spiritual, graceful aging. I mentioned the class in an earlier blog. Lot of food for thought, good interaction among approximately 25 of us, enthusiastic teacher/moderator. 

 Lots of practical guides for matting and framing.

Recently published. Did not know a lot about her other than her Album Anywhere...Anytime and marriage to Kris Kristofferson. Whole lotta inside stories on music makers in the 60's and 70's. She was born in 1945 so she was on the front end of the Boomer generation, thus she chose to participate 100% in the drugs, sex and rockstar lifestyle. Memo to younger Me Too Movement: things were A LOT different back then, truly anything goes. Not everyone partook, but women were told to breakout, do what you like, no need to hold back and she did. She was combatting the male preponderance in the music field back then, but, lets face it, Rock is a guy thing for the most part. She sang and toured with hundreds of recording artists, Built up her own career. She said in the book what I was thinking as I read it..."It might seem like I slept with every guy in town, but..." trust me, it is a long list. Anyway, an interesting view of what went on in the late 60's and 70's. 

Watching:

This link will lead to a fun interview with artist David Hockney. It will take you to YouTube. Give it a minute to load.

David Hockney interview

Florida Rep - Million Dollar Quartet.

Might be my favorite Florida Rep show over past 5 years. Started out a little "campy" but by the end of the show I was into the Sun Recording session with Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins (remember the Beatles Matchbox?). The guy who played JLL, Brady Wease took a cartoonish character and by the end of the show, in the last two numbers put on a full singing, dancing, piano-playing performance that was suburb, exciting, capturing, on and on. Just great. Also, Jeremy Selovitz who played Carl Perkins is quite the guitarist. Captured the 50's sound. 

Nostalgia - baseball style: 

If you are about my age and a Cardinal fan, you might remember Wally Moon. Recently he died. I was reading a casual obit and was too young at the time to know that:

Was the runaway NL Rookie of The Year winner in 1954 outpolling a field that included Ernie Banks and Hank Aaron! He hit 304, scored 106 runs (in 154 games), 76 RBIs in a NL high 716 plate appearances. In '57 he hit 24 homers and made the All-Star Team. Hurt his elbow in '58 and was traded for Gino Cimoli who only lasted one year with the Cardinals. Bad trade. With the Dodgers he was an All-Star in '59, won a Gold Glove in '60 and played on two World Series championship teams in '59 and '65. 

Humor: 

Poor Joe Biden, caught living in what was once an acceptable world to now revised rules applying to old actions. He was always goofy but now he's what, a BAD man, predator? I will say, he should have left Lady Liberty alone, though. Kind of Creepy, don't you think? Like a blow-up girlfriend. (Special thanks to Suzanne).

Screen shot: 

Problem (Still):