Bustin' Out For Rosey

[nes7827]

A new dawn, time to step up the program! The title comes from a Tommy Bolin song, a story too long to tell here. All of the whites are the paper.

Bustin' Out For Rosey 25" x 50" watercolor & acrylic watercolor on paper

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/28-Jan-2007/43141-Rosey.jpg

thanks for looking, Nick :)

[vargamari]

I don't know that song, but this painting tells me a story, dramatic and passionate. The 'burning' frame makes it more. A lot of deep feelings are there... remarkable, touching work.

P.S. I always wonder, how can you make such deep-dark background with watercolour? With how many layers could you get it?

Greetings, :wave:

[William Reents]

Great Nick, I like it a lot.

[NodakerDeb]

Now it is YOUR turn to "Get out of Town! "

I don't know what you've got up your sleeve, but you've got me on pins and needles waiting for the reveal.

Oh, and this kicks ***!

Deb
P.S. How badly did the masking fluid mess up your big brush? :eek: If it did it was worth it -- the streaks are over the top.

[Celeste McCall]

Your paintings are great no matter what the subject!!!! :D :D :D :D :D

:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

[Paulafv]

A bird leaving its cage...nice.

[bchlvr]

wonderful

[artman42]

Looking good Nick ,:thumbsup:

[Marcd]

Dude...you're outa here man! The economy of the marks is unreal. I love the hint of blue at the top and the hot edges!!! I think Bolin would said it was pretty cool too!!! Good luck with the project!!!

[BrendaSue]

Nice vibes... you're the renaissance man Nick!

Bree

[Lori Andrews]

nk Dieing to know... ????????????

[juneto]

Nick , Your Dry - Brush is Fabulous and you are," Truly a Shape -Maker and an Entertainer", in this one, as Whitney ,Always used to say !
I knew you'd pull it out of your Bag of Tricks ,and I wish I could work under immense pressure like you do , but it's not for me .
Now.....:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :evil: :evil: :evil: I want to tell you about the Little Bluebird I see sitting on the branch out in the Cold ,Cold Snow ! Okay , so I couldn't help it ,:o :o !!
Bravo , Bravo , Maestro!
June :cat: :cat: :cat: :clap: :clap: :thumbsup:

[lightfast]

wow some huge brushstrokes there! i don't know tommy bolin or the song, but it's interesting to know that there is a story behind this, whatever it is.

[Kate Mc]

Well, aren't YOU struttin' pretty and sassin' with this one? Kicking a little b*tt too, I'm thinking.

I love the movement in this one, and the play of hot and cold, all crisp and toasty! It's almost oriental in its simplicity, but classic Nick in its complexity. You nailed it.

I'm trying to see it in its real size, and hoping that you'll post a photo with you in it (or Olga!) so we can see it in its true scale.

Faboo!


:clap: :clap: :clap:




Kate

[Arnold Lowrey]

Hi Nick, I often feel good abstract shapes are the most difficult of all. You have got to be "in the mood" to even dent them. I guess you were playing Glen Miller - LOL
Love it
Arnold

[1065tomh]

Hi Nick
Love it!! What colour is the background? Is it "Deep Purple:lol: "

[bluegenes]

Well, I guess I'm the only one that doesn't get it, but that's not unusual!! :lol: I do like the edges though...don't know how you did that...

Patty

[clementine]

it speaks 'woman' for me!beautiful brushstroke on the 'hair',the blue spots,the tiny yellow spots,the elegant white line on right are great!
clem

[NodakerDeb]

Nick, here is my interpretation. I see a rising brilliant star (Tommy) on his way to the top only to fall in a firey crash -- dying too young.

Whoa, pretty heavy stuff...

Deb

[Reyma]

I always have a very fine feeling by opening a new posted thread from you.
This is a winner again Nick. Love everything about this piece of art.
Thank you for sharing.

Marcel

[capricorne]

ZEN and the art of painting...:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[stgault]

Nick,
This is an unusual painting even from you my friend. That is, of course, a compliment. It has an intriguing shape that at first begs for interpretation but then is appreciable for its purely graphic qualities. The hot bleeding border around the edges is a great contrast. The COI works well being the heaviest white space within the shape combined with the blue and the tension of having it closest to the black background edge at that spot - a device that rarely fails to draw the eye.

Is this a one-off or a start of a new series for you?

[kake]

glorious job nick! at my first look it looked very dead work except the obvious mundane association of nicholas with very "n" looking sinage. Second offshoot of that thought was neon and yeah it does has neon glow though orange is very earthy(perhaps camera pic) but still my imagination is exported to celestial world thanks to neonic(is that a word) droplets on top right.
It looks very interdimensional work. The drybursh on left almost giving feel of sheer leftover stretch from his face(this humanoid) after arrival from 2 dimensional world. The spirals help achieving the organic feel. the neon glow on his head and not yet descriptive body parts helpt to produce dynamism to this transistion. very cool and bold as usual

on a lighter side his eye look really deamonic or lets say alien ha ha :lol:

[KathyJB]

OK I get the Tommy idea that Deb is speaking of, I see passion and fire, and you had to be listening to Jazz its really pushing the envelope to watch you paint abstract right in front of us with such bold confidence
good on you Nick!!
this just in: I do recall Tommy Bolin and I also recall Zephyr records thanks to my brothers collection of vinyls at the time aka Deep Purple
Now that was colorful music!!!


Tommy Bolin (August 1, 1951, Sioux City, Iowa - December 4, 1976) was an American-born guitarist with Zephyr (from 1969 to 1971), The James Gang (from 1973 through 1974) and Deep Purple (from 1975 to 1976).

Contents [hide]
1 Musical career
2 Discography (With Others)
3 Solo Discography
4 References
5 External links



[edit] Musical career
Tommy Bolin began playing in bands around Sioux City as a youth before moving to Boulder Colorado in his late teens. He had played in a band called American Standard before joining Ethereal Zephyr, a band named after a train that ran between Denver and Chicago. When record companies became interested, the name was shortened to Zephyr. This band included Bolin on guitar, David Givens on bass, and Givens' wife Candice on vocals. The band had begun to do larger venues, opening for more established acts such as Led Zeppelin. Their second album, entitled Going Back to Colorado, featured a new drummer, Bobby Berge, who would pop up from time to time in musician credits in album liner notes from Bolin's later projects.

After this record, he decided to move on to more progressive projects. In 1972 Bolin, at the age of 20, formed the fusion jazz-rock-blues band Energy. While the band never released an album during Bolin's lifetime, several posthumous releases have demonstrated the band's power and Bolin's artistic vision. He also played on Billy Cobham's Spectrum album, which included Bolin on Guitar, Billy Cobham of Mahavishnu Orchestra on drums, Leland Sklar on bass and Jan Hammer (also of Mahavishnu Orchestra) on keyboards and synthesizers. This was a fusion-powerhouse line up that resulted in a most impressive album that showcased Bolin's playing at his creative peak.

1973 found him as Domenic Troiano's replacement, who had replaced Joe Walsh, in the James Gang. He had two records with this band: Bang! in 1973 and Miami in 1974.

After the Miami tour, Bolin wanted out of the James Gang. He went on to do session work for numerous rock bands and also with a number of Jazz artists. Bolin is featured, for example, on Alphonse Mouzon's (of Weather Report) album Mind Transplant.

[Chris Robinson]

I can see this hanging in Guy Petersons office, or mine. But I know Nick, you are far too expensive. (tee hee).
(PS yes you would make a great architect, you have passion!! It's what our profession needs right now)

Chris

[Netsart]

Nick, when I first opened this I thought of the explosion of The Challenger which I was watching on the tube when it happened. The dark ( how did you get that, FUB + BU? in acrylics?) hints of space and the fire orange around the perimeter supports that. But I see pink on the outside, is that the true color?

Somehow, I don't see you listening to Glenn Miller as Doug said.;)

Also, I'm with June, I do see a bluebird... maybe the one in "Shrek" just before it exploded.:eek: But it's right there on the branch.

No matter, this is so powerful and one of my favorites that you have done.

Annette

[nes7827]

Thank you for the feedback Wild Bill, Celeste, Paulafv, bchlvr, Jim, marc, Bree, Lori, lightfast, Patty, Clem, Marcel, Jan :wave:

Varga, it's just a lot of paint, much more than watercolorists normally use, a few mega tubes-worth in the background at least.

Deb, this has no connection with the big Tommy project, just an offshoot, but I like your interpretation! I bought a new brush for this, and only got to use it once - it's in the trash now...it was worth it.:lol:

June, it's part Motherwell (always influenced by his prints), part sum-ie, part hieroglyphic, part Tommy, and I had to burn through two huge NYC scapes to get to what I really wanted to paint. It's probably my best thing so far, but not what your average watercolor fan would be expecting I suppose. :D

Kate! you clever thing, you. ;) Some swift googling there, huh? It does look pretty darn wild framed up under glass, I'll try to get a pic of it in the gallery in the next day or two.*

Arnold, :lol: Just the same, I love Glenn Miller

Tom it's all phthalo green and alizarin which gives you a dark red, dark green, dark purple, and black....I don't know how, but it's tremendous bang-for-the-buck!

Good to see you back here Tim :cool: I'm thinking of a series of them using titles from Tommy Bolin songs, so I have plenty to work with. Glad you like it, just saw your great abstract, so happy to see that...it's the ultimate test of design, comp, and color since it all rests on those.

Kake, I've always been attracted to the "wiped and swiped" look, as I call it....you see this in lots of prints where the artist has left these markings on the plates. A very natural, organic look, and wildly artistic. The test here is to make the most exciting or elegant brushstroke possible, and you have one shot to do it. Place it in the right setting, which takes a lot of thought, and for me it's pound for pound the most potent combo "I" can come up with.

Kathy, no explanations needed for you, hheheh. And thanks for posting that tip-of-the-iceberg synopsis of Tommy's career. I could add about 100 pages to it, so could a lot of others. You know Zephyr!! He was 17, a kid from Iowa (me too), playing with them on stage with the likes of Hendrix. He ultimately surpassed what Jimi did, a link from that era to the melding of rock and jazz, but he was so much more besides. The famous bands he played in he utterly transformed overnight into his own band, writing almost all of the material, and recording their best records with them. But he didn't even really care about that stuff, they were stepping stones (as much as I love those records) At his very best, say on Teaser and Private Eyes, and on the landmark Cobham and Mouzon records, he reached heights nobody ever has, the most insanely talented person I've ever known of, this side of the Milky Way. And he didn't stick around long, died younger than all of them, lived faster, burned hotter and brighter. I would have to add that on top of it, he was the most beautiful man ever to hold a guitar.

Chris, it really belongs in one of Guy's famous houses, or a Gehry, or a Robinson! - that's exactly what I was thinking....it has to be a huge contemporary place, because this one has impact from a city block away. On the other hand, I also like to see contemporary pieces in certain types of traditional settings, and vice versa - the juxtaposition catches my eye. This might be the road to the NY art world, first stop Chelsea. :)

Annette, that photo was taken indoors, not good light. Impossible to photograph these with so much dark areas, it really has to be scanned, which is where it's going tomorrow. glad you like it, thanks for posting!

Also thanks to Wayne Roberts (http://www.wroberts.com.au/index.html), who I have suddenly discovered is a great friend of mine, much to my shock and awe. I've been talking about Wayne for a couple of years as the single most dangerous guy out there with a brush, and to find we are so in tune with each other has been tremendously inspiring. Go to his website.....if you dare. It will take you days, and you'll never make it through the same way twice, but it's a journey you won't forget. He can truly paint anything, in the style of anybody you want to dream up....the common thread in his work being an intense curiosity about the world and the universe, and all of the ways he can express that curiosity....and painting is only part of his brilliance. He's so far over my head intellectually, the only way I can answer his letters is by sending him back my music. Oh....and he tears it up on the violin! Thank you Wayne. something crazy going on with you Aussies down there! :)

thanks to all, Nick :wave:

*...and my soul is jumpin' for joy!

[CharM]

Hi Nick... I have difficulty with abstracts in *seeing* what I'm supposed to see... or, I wonder am I really *supposed* to see something??? I don't have any artspeak, but I do have an impression...

For me, this is a gentle bluebird atop the last tree of the world... the fiery environs, totally wasted by humans, are threatening his very existence... His beauty and grace will soon be only a thing remembered...

[KathyJB]

Kate! you clever thing, you. Some swift googling there, huh?:)

yes he wasnt around long was he, but his influence was seen and heard. I didnt know he played with Hendrix, but that explains his story even more, thanks for this painting its one that grows on you, and that red, superb!!!

[CreativeHal]

Hiya Nick,

So you are also a fan of the chinese artists like me, huh? Very striking in its simplicity. Beautiful.

Hal

[arlyart]

OOOOHHH, I see a wild jack rabbit, running in the bitter cold from a wild predator, almost with jubilation because he is winning the race, such energy, wow, just love it. Ardith
www.ardithgoodwin.com

[Mark G]

Nick,

A bit different from your other stuff but I like it a lot. Very simple but yet....
I really love the color around the painting - adds more interest IMO.

The Wayne Roberts link was awesome - you are right, this guy can paint just about anything.

How is the music coming along? Amsterdam pictures will be on their way this week.

Mark

[Kate Mc]

...Kate! you clever thing, you. ;) Some swift googling there, huh? It does look pretty darn wild framed up under glass, I'll try to get a pic of it in the gallery in the next day or two.*

...*...and my soul is jumpin' for joy!


Kat, LOL, this one was for me, because Nick knows I'm a musical philistine. :rolleyes: So when I quoted the lyrics of "Rosey", he knew that I had used my magic googlefinger. (can't get away with anything here)

But I really love this painting. If I had to give a representational interpretation of it, after having read the lyrics, I'd say it was more a figure jumping up and clicking his heels 'jumpin' for joy'.

I'm betting that the black is really lively and not flat at all--otherwise you could have just used Sumi ink and been done with it. But having seen some of your work up close, I'm thinking that this 'black' is as deep as space and verrrry interesting. I also LOVELOVELOVE what my Sumi-e teacher called the 'flying whites' in this - the drybrush bits and the lines and dots that come off the main figure. I could look at this for a long time.





Kate

[Olga]

Hi Nick,
I came here yesterday to look again a number of times...I wanted to free myself from the image of a pinkish bunny jumping on a trampoline which I somehow saw the first time I looked at this... My attempts to get rid of this idea have still been a failure--but now that I read the lyrics the jumping for joy idea might not be SO wrong (those think lines and splashes really add upward movement) and I will keep working on exiling the bunny. I like abstraction but have such a literal mind that once I see some representation in it, I get stuck.

I bet that background is something else--I can see the purples in there a bit, but nothing much more...and I bet it's much richer.

It must feel really good to know you got what you wanted in this piece.:) Congratulations!

Olga

[haaf]

hi Nicholas
great fusion work (asian/western)

[Clever]

Hi Nicholas...I know I'm supposed to be focusing on the "leaping" image in the center but the "burning" edges keep pulling my gaze away...The warmth there is very inviting and intriguing to my eye.

On another note...I was so delighted to see your mug in Watercolor magazine at Barnes and Noble yesterday! As I waited to pick up my teen from Biology lecture I flipped through this mag to find a wonderful article from you on the Batik method of watercolor. I've read your article here on that method, but this article in the magazine really explained so much more to me! Congratulations on being published (I'm sure they've already been offered here for the same reason elsewhere, but please accept mine as well even if a little tardy!)

[firebrush]

Intriguing painting. I'm especially drawn to the orange fringe and the mystic purple in the upper left corner. Spectacular intensity for watercolour.:thumbsup::thumbsup::cool:

[KathyJB]

Kat, LOL, this one was for me, because Nick knows I'm a musical philistine. So when I quoted the lyrics of "Rosey", he knew that I had used my magic googlefinger. (can't get away with anything here)
OH heheh i thot it was a typo becuase I did in act Zuula for the bio on Tom LOL, when I looked him up i realised i also knew who this guy was, heavy metal we would call him now in some circles:)

carry on Kate

[karenboss]

powerful - expressive - love the outline in yellow and the crown in blue -
very effective painting, Nick -
you have a sobering and enviable sense for your calling-

[wkmoore]

Hey Nicholas! A recent entry.. what do you know?? Like the color scheme on this and the calligraphy effect. Reminds me of using stamps (to print) but on a larger scale. Something like those great Zen woodblock prints. The dark background with the orange outer glow gives me a real mellow (visual and mental) buzz. Bet you had to have some elbow room to manage this one. Beautiful!

[cdrane]

Hey there pal!

I really like it, but I think the closeups from the scan will reveal its true character. I get the feeling I can only see part of the picture, so to speak. Very iconic, almost hieroglyphic - definitely the beginning of a series. Please post the close ups when you can.

Rock on (literally)!!

[sweetapplez]

I couldn't even begin to interpret this, nor even wish to, but I could look at this for hours. It is so intriquing. Powerful image.
Trish

[lightfast]

thanks for the bolin info kat! interesting to know he played on cobham's spectrum etc, so i do know him after all.

[nes7827]

I'm out of town, will get back to thank people....just have to say - Kat - I appreciate your info about Tommy Bolin, but should say that he was never anything close to a "heavy metal" musician and would not be considered that then or now. He was light years beyond that, and was the first musician of the rock genre to combine elements of jazz, brazilian music, reggae, asian and country music, ballads,and what is now known as "fusion" music. For people wanting more information on Tommy, visit the Tommy Bolin Archives (http://www.tbolin.com) site. :)

[KathyJB]

thanks for the bolin info kat! interesting to know he played on cobham's spectrum etc, so i do know him after all.
yes thats what I thought lightfast, I knew deep purple rang a bell so I looked him up,
glad you found it interesting,

Tommy Bolin, but should say that he was never anything close to a "heavy metal" musician and would not be considered that then or now. Thanks Nick, I will look him up, I know some of the other artists surrounding him seemed metalish to me, I spose i assumed he might have been, I really enjoy Jazz tho so am heading over to that site,
thanks again for the link,

[olliewood0702]

Lovely job Nick....that bit of blue is :clap: :clap: :thumbsup:

Wow....that Wayne Roberts work is wonderful! Loved his website.

[laudesan]

This is so cool Nick!! I really am getting the hang of your abstracts..:)

Did you mask this and pour?????????

:wave: JJ

[nes7827]

Hit my limit for posting today, I'm burned!! But thanks so much to everyone for the comments, I read them all and appreciate the time taken. Re the abstract issue, it's just an arrangement of shapes, colors, porportion, design, etc, doesn't have to mean anything...if you see something, fine, if you don't that's fine too. Non-representational painting frees you from the everyday subjects, but forces you to distill everything you know about those artistic elements into the most potent formula you can conjure...for better or worse. Hal and Cliff really came closest with their posts, it's nothing more than hieroglyphic, and an opportunity to do something you really never get to do or see in watercolor: one huge dramatic brushstroke. Then to figure out an effective setting for it. The best way to sum it up is that many artists are inspired to paint what they see, I'm inspired to paint what I don't see, even if there is a recognizable subject at hand.

Framed it's 32x60

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/01-Feb-2007/43141-BOFR.jpg

thanks again to all :wave:

[stgault]

Nick, I've been back here a few times the last couple of days. This painting is just plain cool!!! In thinking about it, I found myself questioning how I'd relate to it if it were hanging in my home. At first it's pretty thrilling being so bold and different. I wonder after a year would I find it as compelling since it lacks the typical Nicholas depth and nuance. In other words, once it's been studied is there more to find later on? I don't know. Maybe you should send it to me so I can figure it out?! JK. :wink2: :evil:

[HarvestMoon]

amazing- it looks terrific framed, and full sized
Linda

[laudesan]

You painted the edge of the matt???????????

Looks really impressive framed!!!!!!!!!!

[nes7827]

That's the question, Tim, and a good question it is. Hopefully it will be a question a buyer asks him or herself down the road. :D Robert Motherwell did lots of prints that were in the same vein, and I got a big book of them back in the 80s. Some of the simplest ones are images I've been looking at for 20+ yrs and haven't tired of them yet....but then again, that's Robert Motherwell. :o
Framing usually helps HM and JJ...no painted mat, you must be seeing a shadow.
thanks guys :)

[NodakerDeb]

I hope this isn't going anywhere before March, and obviously a trip to Havre de Grace needs to be worked into the schedule.

Deb

[laudesan]

T JJ...no painted mat, you must be seeing a shadow. I am looking at the yellow all around the edge of the painting. Hard to tell what it is with the limitations we have on photo uploads here..
I thought it was double matted..:)

[Clever]

JJ, the yellow/gold color is part of the painting...you can see the white or cream mat on the outsied of that.

[tep394]

I keep coming back too. Eastern and ancient yet modern and American. Interesting to ponder.

[Jijo]

says me nothing. uhuhuuhuh... thats my fault... I have to hear more deep music.
but I love it for its strong impact, the soft blue and the BORDERS!!!!!
Technically amazing as usual
great stuff
alex

[jose_de_toledo]

Hola Nick, spectacular work, it is tremendous! Beautiful!
Gran temperamento!!
Un afectuoso saludo.

[KathyJB]

So heres the thread, took me a bit to find you and another hooray for you in this forum Nick!!

[idcrisis55]

I enjoy your work and like the format very much. I have no doubt that it is even better in real life. It is great to see so many remembered names from the Watercolor Forum popping in to comment. I lurk in that Forum often to see the newest work. :)

[C_Line]

Great dramatic piece.

[rmc]

Lucky us in the acrylics forum that your work has arrived over here Nick - it is amazing how simplicity can be so complex. ( a dumb question which immediately shows I've missed the whole point - but nevertheless one I am asking myself - The light blue is so unexpected - why did you choose this rather then lets say red / brilliant blue?) -

[mrs willow]

Once again...I am mad at myself for missing this ...until now!
In the initial image, I could not see white (except in some very small dots) The framed piece shows almost all white, where, I originally saw pink (pretty pink...but obviously not what others were seeing) So (being a bit confused) I am responding to the energy of the painting....I love the action... the fluid movement and the " spray off '' extra energy from "the shape'' I relate this shape to the action of guitarists, (especially circa 1970's) This was when Rock became separate from Rock'n Roll...(at least to me)
There is extra energy from the "fiery" edge.
In a word "powerful"
Sandy
P.s. I did a Google on Tommy Bolin...found him on i tunes...Where was I when he was happening????

[chammi kaiser]

Exciting work. Nuff sed.

[NodakerDeb]

Nick,

I'm looking forward to seeing this painting at Gallery Roco when I'm there in March. I know the photo doesn't even begin to show its presence.

Deb

[nes7827]

Hello Deb, JJ, Clever, tep, amigos Alex & Jose, Kathy, idcrisis, C-Line, rmc, Sandy, and chammi :wave: sorry, I never saw these posts, forgot this was in the acrylic forum....thanks for the feedback! :)

[nes7827]

Carey, thanks for moving this thread to where it belongs. :)

[Starsprite]

Hey Nick...I'll have to check out that Tommy Bolin song....my dog's name is Rosey! :) Maybe I could understand this painting more if I read the lyrics..I'm not much good at figuring out abstracts. :clap:

[wtrclrgrl]

Make ya think!! Great!