ALIVE AGAIN is an oil painted on board that I worked on plein air in some rural area with vegetable stands on dirt roads leading to quiet fields of tall grass and old rickety fences and leaning trees, a short drive outside of Seattle. I hadn't painted in some time in oils following an injury to my right arm (ca. January 2004) -- one which went undiagnosed/ misdiagnosed by doctors in Los Angeles for the better part of a decade. My arm muscles had completely atrophied, and I wasn't even sure if there would be any hand/arm "memory" after such a long hiatus. I was really excited and very much looking forward to painting again. I missed it so. But I was also concerned to try to paint again. What if I didn't remember what to do? What if what I had, was now gone? I signed up to go to Seattle and meet up with a group of strangers - all artists. Whatever happened, at least I'd have company. But of course as artists tend to do, everyone split up upon our arrival at the site then scattered each to his own isolated little section of the field to set up an easel and bench. Palettes and brushes appeared and artists disappeared each into his or her own imaginary world. And there feeling safe among these other artists I began to reconnect - - my hand to my heart - - and both of these to my brush. And I started to paint.
Alive Again is one of two pieces that I worked on. The rural areas outside of Seattle were really lovely, and I totally enjoyed my time there. I hope my painting captures some of the joy of that weekend and just a little of the beauty of the fields and flowers of Washington State.
The original is no longer available; however, prints will be available of this work sometime in 2023.
Addendum, About the Original: The original was purchased by an old friend and fellow Harvard alum on his visit out to southern California. We initially met as young fellow surgeons-in-training. He went off to Washington, D.C. and I headed south to Florida. We didn't see each other for years when he reached out, but the memories of time we shared hanging out at Manhattan Eye & Ear for evening lectures -- and in Orlando at Academy meetings, were sweet. He told me upon returning East that his son really loved my work. And then I didn't hear from him again for awhile. Weeks passed and then one day, my friend contacted me with horrific devastating news. His adult son had been nearly killed in a motor vehicle accident and was in a hospital fighting for his life. He was unable to communicate and was not showing any signs of recovery. There were signs that there may be significant brain damage. My friend remembered the title of my little painting since I had explained to him what that title meant to me, and he placed Alive Again by his son's bedside and prayed for a miracle.
Several weeks later, I received a phone call. The nursing staff at the hospital had first noticed that his son was responding to the small painting placed within his line of sight. By moving it around, they could gauge interest and more basically, his LOC (level of consciousness). This continued for weeks. I tried to sound optimistic for him, though frankly from what he was telling me, it didn't sound very good. Eventually, his son did recover, albeit with some reported mild deficits. And he told his father something strange.
Something about the painting was familiar to him during the period he was seemingly unconscious. My friend gave that painting to his son and thanked me.
* * * * *
It wasn't the first time I'd heard something strange like this from a Collector. The Manager at the Salander O'Reilly Gallery in New York City years earlier had acquired "Remembering Mother's Day" and gifted it to her mother. She told me that her mother was a "visionary" who told the future for a living, and that she cried out when she saw that painting. Gabrielle's mother Catherine had been suffering from an ailment, but believed she would get a sign to let her know that she would recover. And when she saw the painting, she was overcome with emotion and a feeling that she had seen this painting before in one of her visions. I listened politely to the story, but being a scientist (read: non-believer in this sort of thing), I didn't do much more than listen. But the woman recovered from her ailment a short time later and Gabrielle called me to tell me about her mother's remarkable recovery. I mention it here because while two is not a pattern, it is a wee bit unusual. Gabrielle sent me a copy of a catalogue, Constable's Clouds, to thank me for that painting, which she felt had played a role in that recovery. Much as I liked her, Gabrielle's story wasn't something I put much stock in. That said, I sure did love looking at Constable's clouds -- they were positively heavenly!
ALIVE AGAIN is an oil painted on board that I worked on plein air in some rural area with vegetable stands on dirt roads leading to quiet fields of tall grass and old rickety fences and leaning trees, a short drive outside of Seattle. I hadn't painted in some time in oils following an injury to my right arm (ca. January 2004) -- one which went undiagnosed/ misdiagnosed by doctors in Los Angeles for the better part of a decade. My arm muscles had completely atrophied, and I wasn't even sure if there would be any hand/arm "memory" after such a long hiatus. I was really excited and very much looking forward to painting again. I missed it so. But I was also concerned to try to paint again. What if I didn't remember what to do? What if what I had, was now gone? I signed up to go to Seattle and meet up with a group of strangers - all artists. Whatever happened, at least I'd have company. But of course as artists tend to do, everyone split up upon our arrival at the site then scattered each to his own isolated little section of the field to set up an easel and bench. Palettes and brushes appeared and artists disappeared each into his or her own imaginary world. And there feeling safe among these other artists I began to reconnect - - my hand to my heart - - and both of these to my brush. And I started to paint.
Alive Again is one of two pieces that I worked on. The rural areas outside of Seattle were really lovely, and I totally enjoyed my time there. I hope my painting captures some of the joy of that weekend and just a little of the beauty of the fields and flowers of Washington State.
The original is no longer available; however, prints will be available of this work sometime in 2023.
Addendum, About the Original: The original was purchased by an old friend and fellow Harvard alum on his visit out to southern California. We initially met as young fellow surgeons-in-training. He went off to Washington, D.C. and I headed south to Florida. We didn't see each other for years when he reached out, but the memories of time we shared hanging out at Manhattan Eye & Ear for evening lectures -- and in Orlando at Academy meetings, were sweet. He told me upon returning East that his son really loved my work. And then I didn't hear from him again for awhile. Weeks passed and then one day, my friend contacted me with horrific devastating news. His adult son had been nearly killed in a motor vehicle accident and was in a hospital fighting for his life. He was unable to communicate and was not showing any signs of recovery. There were signs that there may be significant brain damage. My friend remembered the title of my little painting since I had explained to him what that title meant to me, and he placed Alive Again by his son's bedside and prayed for a miracle.
Several weeks later, I received a phone call. The nursing staff at the hospital had first noticed that his son was responding to the small painting placed within his line of sight. By moving it around, they could gauge interest and more basically, his LOC (level of consciousness). This continued for weeks. I tried to sound optimistic for him, though frankly from what he was telling me, it didn't sound very good. Eventually, his son did recover, albeit with some reported mild deficits. And he told his father something strange.
Something about the painting was familiar to him during the period he was seemingly unconscious. My friend gave that painting to his son and thanked me.
* * * * *
It wasn't the first time I'd heard something strange like this from a Collector. The Manager at the Salander O'Reilly Gallery in New York City years earlier had acquired "Remembering Mother's Day" and gifted it to her mother. She told me that her mother was a "visionary" who told the future for a living, and that she cried out when she saw that painting. Gabrielle's mother Catherine had been suffering from an ailment, but believed she would get a sign to let her know that she would recover. And when she saw the painting, she was overcome with emotion and a feeling that she had seen this painting before in one of her visions. I listened politely to the story, but being a scientist (read: non-believer in this sort of thing), I didn't do much more than listen. But the woman recovered from her ailment a short time later and Gabrielle called me to tell me about her mother's remarkable recovery. I mention it here because while two is not a pattern, it is a wee bit unusual. Gabrielle sent me a copy of a catalogue, Constable's Clouds, to thank me for that painting, which she felt had played a role in that recovery. Much as I liked her, Gabrielle's story wasn't something I put much stock in. That said, I sure did love looking at Constable's clouds -- they were positively heavenly!