Cradle was executed in 2011 using acrylics on canvas, and is painted with techniques that could be said to lie somewhere between those of oils and tempera with a bit more slant toward the latter.

Images of the opening reception:

Also showing at the annual exhibition are the paintings “Inlet” and “Northbound”.

"Inlet", by David Jay Spyker, 2011, Acrylics on Canvas, 14 x 18 in.

The show is open through February 22nd, 2012 at the Carnegie Center for the Arts in Three Rivers, Michigan.

You can visit the Carnegie at 107 North Main St. in Three Rivers, MI 49093

Online at www.trcarnegie.com

Timelessness is one of those art terms that, if you frequent artsy circles, you will regularly hear thrown around. You will most often hear it used in a context of either praise or derision; it’s one of those art terms. Andrew Wyeth is known to have said that he liked painting nudes because of the timeless quality of the picture; I think maybe depicting a nude in front of some sort of amorphous background is the only way a figurative painting might be considered timeless (in the sense of the art term, at least), and even then, hair styles may be a giveaway to the time period.

Because we only have the personal experience of our own time, I think it is much easier to see images from the past as having a timeless quality. What we’re really seeing is unfamiliarity, out-of-our-own-timeness, not timelessness. Old stuff – frilly clothing, long bygone hair styles, antique personal accouterments, horses, ragged wooden shacks – always has a way of seeming classical, timeless. Maybe in a few generations, a mullet, a gold stud earring, battered work boots, and a Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt will be classical too; we just can’t see it right now. Personally, I don’t really care, it’s a beautifully expressive painting.

Maybe the real questions are: Does it matter? Are we getting the point?

I don’t think timelessness really matters.

First, pure timelessness is very rare.

Second, our enjoyment and understanding of a painting shouldn’t be swayed by critical art-world terminology.

Third, art is better understood when taken in the context of the artist’s time period and personality, and the Wyeths are no exception to this. Andrew and Jamie are known for distilling the essence of their experiences, surroundings, and imaginations in their paintings. It is this very observation and recording of their intimate universe coupled with a willingness to externalize their hearts and minds that makes their art so great – so full of meaning and emotion. When we begin to engage with all the possible stories behind their images, when we begin to understand and have a feeling for the artist’s intent, they only become deeper.

There is a reception from 2-4 p.m. with an awards ceremony at 3 o’clock on January 16 at the Carnegie Center for the Arts. The show closes on Saturday, February 19. I took a look at all the entries when I dropped off my pieces, and it should be a quality show; try to make the trip if you can.

Earlier, a radiant,
Dancing Maiden;
A coy, toying
Vision behind cloud-veil.
Here and there,
Now and again,
She would reveal Herself
To bathe frozen firmament
In Her familiar, pale glow.

Every exhalation hangs
Long
As it drifts into ether.

Now…
Gone,
Her countenance eclipsed,
She leaves only
A low-strung dome
Of inky deep.
Not a sound,
Neither star,
Nor light
Mark the crisp, cold night.

~ David Jay Spyker

This morning is the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year; the moon also happens to be in full eclipse – it was 1638 when the moon was last in full eclipse on the Solstice. It was cloudy here, and once the Moon was eclipsed the entire sky went dark and inky, something like being deep under water where there is both depth and nothingness.

Tomorrow begins the rebirth of the light.

Only days before Ron Dumont called to ask if I would be interested in lending a painting to a show he would be curating, I had been eyeballing these areas with tall railroad beds not far from home. I thought from below they were like great walls interrupting the flow of the summer landscape, but then, they followed the terrain, and had long since become part of it too. Maybe there was a painting lurking in there somewhere.

Ron said the show would be railroad-themed. What a mysterious bit of providence. I told him I would think about it, and see if the inspiration was there.

After sketching out some unused ideas, and waiting for Autumn to set in deeply enough to strip the leaves from much of the trees and to color most of the rest, the perfect day happened. The cloud cover and lighting were just right, and when the sun got low enough, I found it – true inspiration.

For the past twenty years, we have always lived within distant earshot of the overnight trains that run between Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids; “Northbound”, for me, conjures not only that familiar, comforting sound of the horns at night, but also many walks along the tracks with Trish.

"Northbound", 2010, Watercolor and Drybrush on Paper, 21 x 28 3/4 in., by David Jay Spyker

You can see “Northbound” along with paintings, photography, and sculpture by nearly thirty artists at “Railroad Days”. The show is on display at the Portage District Library in Portage, Michigan through January 27. Also included are poems inspired by trains, railroad memorabilia, and model trains.

A long overdue redesign of my art website is now complete. A suite of new navigation options let you customize what you want to see. Some newer artwork has also been added, and more is on the way. Any links you had to the old website (other than the front page) will need to be updated. Please stop by DavidJaySpyker.com to enjoy the art.

Twilight in the Wood, 2010, painting by David Jay Spyker,acrylics on canvas, 14"x18"

Twilight in the Wood, painting by David Jay Spykeron display at Lowell Area Arts Council, MI

The show runs through April 10, 2010, and is worth the trip to go see it.

Lowell Area Arts Council

Armin Mersmann

"Vessels", 2008, by David Jay Spyker, Acrylics on Canvas, 30" x 42"

It’s that time of year again, and each year I express my fondness for the Carnegie Center for the Arts and the annual regional art competition held there.

This year I am pleased to show three paintings at the competition, and I do hope you will visit the exhibition.

The opening reception is always well attended by the artists and by a very supportive regional community of art lovers.

"The Journey", 2009, by David Jay Spyker, Acrylics on Canvas, 24" x 36"

Both of my larger paintings, “Vessels” and “The Journey”, should be fairly easy to spot right away.

You can read more about “Vessels” in a previous article.

“The Journey” was also exhibited last Autumn at the Art Center of Battle Creek’s 28th Michigan Artist’s Competition.

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My third piece on display will be the small painting “Water Study”, which was done in 2008.

"Water Study", 2008, by David Jay Spyker, Acrylics on Canvas, 5" x 7"

The 2010 Regional Art Competition runs from January 17  through February 20; the opening reception and awards ceremony takes place on Sunday, January 17 from 2-4 pm. You’ll find the museum in Three Rivers, Michigan. Please visit their website for directions and additonal information.

"Niagara", 2009, by David Jay Spyker - 5.5 x 8.5 inches - Acrylic Wash, Minor Drybrushing, and Paint on 100% Cotton Cold Press Watercolor Paper

The bulk of the painting was done on slightly damp to wet paper, but included some minor drybrushing, and some basic acrylic paint layering (particularly with whites and cobalt-tinted whites to achieve a misty look, and to bring back some highlights).

To thin the paints I used a mixture of distilled water, and Golden’s Open Liquid Acrylic Medium. The watercolor paper absorbed the paints very well, but I could tell toward the end that the pores in the paper were starting to get full of acrylics. Also, once fully dry, the paints will not become resoluble, so there is no going back in to blend colors later.

While not traditional watercolors, I think the acrylics performed very well in this application, and I may work on more acrylic washes on paper.

This first Winter night,
The dance eternal,
In elegant circuit
Our Mother turns
Away from the dark…
Face to the light.

~ David Jay Spyker

I am the Lake.
I am the River.
I am the Rain.

I am
Again,
And again…
And again.

~  David Jay Spyker

Should you wish to attend, the group exhibition opens with a reception on October 4 from 2-4 p.m., and remains open to the public through October 24.

For directions and contact information, please visit the Art Center’s website here: www.artcenterofbattlecreek.org

Crash,
Splash,
Gasp.

I taste the Lake midair
(a taste of crystalline, aquamarine)
As we wend onward
(feet bared to velvet sand that shifts away)
Between pebbled concrete, slippery rock, and tilted, rusted steel
(our fingers touch, tangle now and again)
Holding back Nature’s persistent,
Indifferent
Hand…

…But only for so long.

Crash,
Splash.

~ David Jay Spyker