Artist in Residence

We have a friend with whom we share our hearts.  He is our brother, teacher, fellow-devotee.  None of these words adequately characterize who he is to us.  He is a musician and composer.  He is also an artist.  His name is Grady.  Each time he stays with us, he leaves us with one or more oil paintings.  His favorite canvas is any wall that looks to be in need of a mural.  If we ever sell this house, it’s going to be painful to leave behind the art that has transformed our home into a beach house, an ashram, a temple, and a hippie pad.  And he’s not finished yet.  He’ll be back to change things up again, and it won’t be just the walls baby.

On his first visit in 2008, we jokingly suggested that he should paint an Aum symbol on the wall of our meditation room.  He asked us if we had any interior enamel, which of course we did - enough colors that he could mix them to get the hues he wanted.

He started out simple.  All the time I was wondering where he was going with this.  I’d seen many paintings in progress at his studio, but had never watched him work before.

The next time Grady visited in 2009, we had a living room wall with nothing on it but an antique Japanese  fan.  He kept saying the wall needed something more.  We advised him that we still had plenty of paint, and he set to work.

Grady paints really fast.

I had an outside job in those days, so I looked forward to coming home every day to see what our friend had created.  After he’d done this much, I thought he’d finished.  The next day, I walked through the door to find that he’d added a few finishing touches, like freakin’ everything you could want in a tropical scene.

Grady then got into a portrait mood and offered to paint one based on a photo of Wingman and myself.  As I was going through photos, I came across my favorite one of Baba Neem Karoli.  I declared that I’d much rather gaze at Baba than at my goofy mug, and Grady agreed.

This one was a little more complex because Grady needed the photo reproduced at the exact same size as his canvas.  He had to give me some Photoshop instruction in order to produce what he wanted.

Again, I thought he was done with it.  As far as I was concerned, it was perfect.  However, Grady wanted to place Baba on a beach in Hawaii.

Ok, I can go for that.  It’s so beautiful.  My most treasured possession.  Grady’s given me yet another attachment to challenge the letting-go exercise I’ll eventually experience.

The painting on the left is a gift he brought us in his backpack on his first visit.  It’s painted in the French En-plein-air style, an impressionist method that is usually done outdoors on an orange canvas or board.  No drawing is used.  The artist paints quickly, throwing it together with broad brush strokes, leaving little flickers of the orange background to add light to it.  It looks pretty much like a location in which I’d be willing to reside.

This last visit - oh man.  Grady began an almost obsessive desire to paint our North wall.  There wasn’t much on the wall I didn’t mind removing, so we gave him permission to proceed.  This became a mural, changing every day.  Before long, there were paint cans all over the floor.

The detail was so cool, right down to sandy footprints on the deck.  I strongly advise clicking on these to enlarge - especially this one.

As Grady worked, I could imagine him stepping down onto the beach and disappearing around a corner.

But thankfully, he stayed where he was and settled in.  For awhile.

We needed sea type creatures next, so I dug out a photo of a pelican in Santa Cruz.  The two lotuses represent Wingman and myself.  I can’t wait to see what he does next.  I’ve already suggested a Loggerhead Sea turtle lumbering toward the water.  See the lighthouse way in the background?

Thing is, I’ll have to be patient.  Grady’s in the Caribbean, and won’t be in a big hurry to leave Paradise.  This one isn’t signed yet, which means it’s not finished.  It still needs that turtle.  Therefore, he must return.  Inasmuch as the script is in divine hands, there’s no predicting when that will be.

Ram