Resurrected

Once in a while it's useful to rummage around in old file folders on the computer because sometimes you find things. This week in an effort to streamline files and remove duplicates, rework various file and folder names and generally clean up my records I ran across a painting that was sold many years ago, of which I've no longer any record. "NYC Spring" was (I think) 12x9 and definitely painted on a panel. It was sold but the buyer information and other particulars have somehow disappeared.

Hoff, "NYC Spring," oil on panel, ca. 2010

This particular painting is part of a series of New York scenes I've done over the years. New York has always attracted me but it was only in adulthood that I've been able to visit frequently. A visit to Manhattan is a chance to sketch, people-watch, visit selected museums and galleries, check in at my art club (Salmagundi) in Greenwich Village, take in a show perhaps, have a great dinner, and breathe the life of the metropolis. Sometimes the sketches lead to more but sometimes the results are from memory. This painting is a fantasy of the city from some of those memories, a view from the subway stairs. As sometimes happens this particular picture came together almost without effort and sold at the first offering. Luckily I had one image of the painting but somehow the other records have been lost.

Virtual Paint Out

These days, social distancing is causing many public events to cancel or go virtual, so summer plein air painting events were cancelled or rescheduled, painters' conventions and workshops rescheduled, and so on. As an example, The National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society (NOAPS) holds several exhibitions of member work annually and this year have moved online. This year, NOAPS is holding a Virtual Plein Air competition--a "paint out"--for members in conjunction with the Best of America Show (now open on the website). I had forgotten about it until a notice arrived in my inbox on Friday.

A paint out is an outdoor event. But the paint out in this context is painting a plein air scene selected from a group of photos on the website and submitting the work plus a couple of progress pix to show process. Given that there was no entry fee, it was a simple decision to enter. 

Hoff, "Inlet," oil on panel, 8x10

There were perhaps twenty different reference photos posted on the online competition page, from which entrants could choose one only. This is my entry, "Inlet." I chose the subject because of the sky and water of course. It's a watery scene near St. Augustine in Florida. Using a mid-valued toned panel I laid out the basic shapes then blocked in colors, corrected the drawing, and added detail. The whole thing took perhaps ninety minutes. When I was finished I scratched my initials in the wet paint, a tradition of plein air painting indicating the work was done outdoors.

Favorite Artists 14 - Thomas Eakins

Thomas Eakins, "Self Portrait," oil, ca.1902

Despite the preponderance of Europeans, there are quite a few American painters whose work I've enjoyed and admired. Among them is Thomas Eakins (1844-1916). 

Thomas Eakins grew up in Philadelphia but studied not only at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts but also in Europe at the Ecole des Beaux Arts during the mid-1860s. He also spent time in Spain studying Ribera, Velazquez and other masters. His father, a master calligrapher, probably also influenced his dedication to precision and accurate drawing. Regardless of his influences he became deeply interested in truth in painting, in realism. Although he was exposed to the French Academy tradition and even to early impressionistic works he preferred careful attention to form and mass in his paintings.

"Max Schmitt in a Single Scull," oil, 1871

After his years in Europe Mr. Eakins returned to Philadelphia in 1870 and spent the majority of his life painting and teaching there. One of my favorite paintings came in 1871, Max Schmitt in a Single Scull. Mr. Eakins and Mr. Schmitt were friends from high school. The painting shows the two of them on the Schuylkill River in the city, Mr. Eakins in the more distant boat. In this single work we can see his devotion to precise drawing, careful composition, and true coloring. He painted about a dozen works about rowing, including both oil and watercolor pieces but didn't return to the subject. Instead he painted quite a lot of indoor scenes and portraits during those beginning years. 

Still looking for recognition, he decided to paint a major work for the Centennial Exposition, which was to take place in Philadelphia in 1876. He had studied anatomy at Jefferson Medical College while at the Pennsylvania Academy and was familiar with the renowned surgeon and teacher Samuel Gross, who was quite famous. The painting was certainly ambitious, its size alone speaking loudly of the painter's intent at 96 by 78 inches. 

"The Gross Clinic," oil, 1875

In the painting, Dr. Gross, natty in his frock coat, stands in the skylit cockpit of the operating theater at Jefferson Medical, in mid-operation. He is holding a scalpel in his bare right hand (surgical gloves had yet to be invented), and has turned to speak to students in the gallery. An assistant administers ether, a common anesthetic. The painting is imposing; Dr. Gross and the others are nearly life-size. A woman cowers (the patient's mother?) in the background. Although it was rejected for the art exhibition, it was exhibited at the Centennial Exposition but in an Army Post Hospital display. For many it was a sensation and a revelation. Surgery was not commonly seen, and the scene was considered too terrible for those with delicate nerves. The Evening Telegraph commented at the time that there was "...nothing so fine in the American section of the Art Department of the Exhibition, and it is a great pity that the squeamishness of the Selecting Committee compelled the artist to find a place for it in the United States Hospital building. It is rumored that the blood on Dr. Gross' fingers made some of the members of the committee sick..." Regardless, The Gross Clinic was purchased and hung in Jefferson Medical College and later elsewhere in the university. Today it's considered by some the finest American painting of the 19th century. In my opinion, it's certainly in the top ten. If Mr. Eakins hadn't painted another work he would be secure in the history of art.

"The Swimming Hole," oil, 1885

In 1876 he began teaching at the Pennsylvania Academy as a volunteer, moving to a full-time position in 1878 and becoming director in 1882. It was his academic career that was nearly his undoing. For one thing, Mr. Eakins was not a fan of the atelier tradition which dictated beginning drawing from plaster casts and then proceed (slowly) through drawing to eventual painting. He threw that sequence out the window, instituted painting very early, and advocated use of photographs (photography was then very new). And worse, he insisted that the nude figure--male and female--was the basis for all truth in art. There were questions of propriety when female students were exposed to male nudity. In any event, he was forced to resign in 1886. Although he was devastated by the events at the Pennsylvania Academy he continued to teach privately and at a number of other schools.

In his maturity Mr. Eakins spent a great deal of time on photography, including the sort of sequential images made by Edweard Muybridge, and portraits. In his portrait work, he sought the kind of insight in character that today's more contemporary painters also want. He had no interest in the kind of flattering portrait many patrons desired and so was never a commercial success. Surprisingly, he sold little more than two dozen paintings in his lifetime despite his undeniable talent, work ethic, and intelligence.

A post about Thomas Eakins would not be complete without his later masterpiece, The Agnew Clinic, another favorite of mine. 

"The Agnew Clinic," oil, 1889

The Agnew Clinic was commissioned by the senior class of the University of Pennsylvania Medical School. The class had wanted a simple portrait of their favorite professor of surgery, Dr. Hayes Agnew, who was retiring. Mr. Eakins not only painted Dr. Agnew but included every member of the senior class as they watched a mastectomy. Painted a scant fourteen years after The Gross Clinic, the Agnew scene is equally shocking--mastectomy was mysterious and mutilating. Moreover, though, much had changed. Unlike Dr. Gross, Dr. Agnew is both wearing a surgical gown and surgical gloves, though not masked, those having not been introduced. His assistant, performing a portion of the procesure is gowned, but has rolled up the sleeves, exposing his bare forearm, and is not gloved. A female nurse (a first) is in attendance. Although it hasn't the raw power of the Gross painting, The Agnew Clinic remains a potent painting and a valuable document of the advance of medical knowledge.

Thomas Eakins was something of an outcast in art circles during the last thirty years of his life. Neither was he a commercial success. Nonetheless his indisputable mastery of realism became a model for a number of those who followed in the twentieth century--notably George Bellows and the Ashcan School. He remains one of my favorites.

Grieving the Quarter Million

Although the official death toll from the coronavirus pandemic is still a few thousand below 250,000, the reality in the United States is that at least a quarter of a million people have died of the illness. The sheer size of the number is beyond the realization of most people--it is more than died in this nation's wars, about eight times the number who died in the September 11 attacks. It is almost five times the number who are killed in auto accidents daily. It is an enormous, inconceivable number. 

We grieve for them all. 

Hoff, "Homage to PRP," oil on panel, 20x16

(The painting above is a modification of a Blue Period work by Pablo Picasso.)

A Summer Memory

Des Moines has its own Chinese pavilion in the Robert D. Ray Asian Gardens, situated on the Des Moines River not far from the Botanical Center. It's an imposing, open pavilion in the traditional Chinese style, built as a memorial to the vision and moral leadership. The gardens are a peaceful spot on the river bank across from downtown. 

Over the past couple of years I've spent time painting in the Ray Gardens, mostly the pavilion. For me the resonant colors and surrounding gardens provide any number of potential subjects for painting. The work below, "Landmark," came about because of my fascination with the roofline of the pavilion juxtaposed against the similar shapes of foliage and clouds. Although this is a work of realism, the abstract elements were particularly exciting to juxtapose. This is a studio work that grew out of several sketching sessions on-site last summer.

Hoff, "Landmark," oil on panel, 9x12

Golden Bough

Here in Iowa the weather has finally turned to wet, cold and grey. For the moment at least there won't be much outdoor painting. So instead work is moving indoors with larger landscapes in the offing and a new cityscape or two already in the works. 

In our country most people live in cities and towns yet artists still paint pastoral landscapes with ponds and trees and animals. For me, a city boy, the streets and buildings are more interesting. You can pose angular and rectangular against the more unruly natural world--trees on a street for example. Cityscapes can be explorations of differing shapes, round and straight, angled and curved, and so on.

Hoff, "East Locust Street, Autumn (study)," oil on panel, 12x9

The golden leaves of street trees caught my eye last month, their glow enhanced by the blueness of the sky and the darker pavement and buildings. The street was busy with cars, but the most interesting part of the scene was branches and leaves against the severely rectilinear human constructions. The city is Des Moines Iowa, which has bridges between buildings (called skywalks) that make downtown more pleasant in the cold months. This study will be the basis for a larger work now that the weather is beginning to close in.

New in November

The weather has been a bit wonky the last few weeks. In early October the warm weather got everyone talking about Indian summer. But a true Indian summer follow a frost. We certainly had that--two measurable snowfalls in two weeks--but these past few days have been sunny and warm. The warm weather has given me some time outdoors here at the very end of the warm months. It won't be long until the ground is hard as iron and the sky takes on an iron color. 

Hoff, "North Shore, Early November," oil on panel, 9x12

Right now the days are warm and sunny and the painting is good. I've taken advantage of the fine weather to paint outside almost every day. The mornings can be a trifle nippy but by mid morning the sun warms and a light breeze is actually welcome. During the work week the park isn't very busy and I seldom have watchers.

This is the north shore of Gray's Lake, a couple of miles from my home studio, a tree that I've painted a couple of times already last summer and fall. The cold snap and bad weather stripped most of the trees a week or two ago and the remaining foliage has mostly lost its bright colors. Still, the light filtering through the branches and the dark trunks against sere foliage is an interesting subject. This is about two hours work on the spot. The tree has lost most of its leaves and so have the distant trees beyond the pedestrian path. 

It has taken about a year, but these days my biggest urge is to head outside. Lets savor these final beautiful days.

Endangered Online

 News came a few days ago that my digital paintings of the "American Red Wolf" and the "Western Meadowlark" (both posted here early this year) placed in the "Highly Commended" category of a new international exhibition, Endangered: Art4Apes, online now and until the end of the year. The exhibition is in support of The Center for Great Apes, a nonprofit that provides a permanent sanctuary for chimpanzees and orangutans retired or rescued from various roles. The intent of the exhibition is to draw international attention to the near-extinction of many species, not just great apes. Owing to the pandemic, the exhibition is completely online this year, featuring paintings, photography, digital work and drawings of endangered and threatened species. 

Hoff: "Watchful," digital

Earlier in the year I posted digital paintings here and on Daily Digitalia devoted to various members of the great apes, particularly bonobos and orangutans (like "Watchful," above). But before long other endangered species caught my eye too, like the Ring-tail Lemur (below), and the koalas in Australia, and before long the list got longer and longer.

The majority of works in the exhibition are for sale and a percent of the proceeds will go to the ape sanctuary. So please, take a look at the exhibition and if something strikes your fancy, consider a purchase.

Hoff, "Ring-tail Lemur," digital

For those of you interested in my other digital paintings, you can buy them singly or in sets of four on my website. Half of the proceeds from sales online will go to support organizations devoted to halting species extinction. And thank you in advance.