My Main Obsession

July 4^th weekend 2006

I was invited to Las Vegas for a Jazz & Wine Festival at the Mount Charleston Lodge.

The Jazz was fantastic, the wine was mediocre (Las Vegas was just getting their Wine Tasting’s off the ground), and the afternoon was mild and pleasant.  The local vendor’s who were invited up for the afternoon included an emerging Las Vegas artist, Jennifer Main.  She had the original oil on canvas Playin’ Footsies on display.  I ordered a Matted Print of  which she mailed to me.  I later had it professionally framed, and it became one of the first pieces of art work that I had discovered on my own and loved in it’s own right.  It wasn’t the result of a class or a study, there was no outside influence.



I have had a fascination with Magical Realism in art for as long as I can remember.  It has taken many forms over the years, Fairies, Witches, Vampires, Werewolves, Greek Mythology, but one artist has remained with me for the past 20 years.  Michael Parkes.  His collection is very expensive so I have only two pieces.  One is a poster of Creation of Man which I had professionally mounted several years after I had the courage to take it out of it’s preserved state.  The second piece is a very small print of Last Flight 1987 which was originally a gift card given to me with a Birthday Present in 1993.  I have come across an oil on canvas back in 2003, but it was bought and I have not found anything that I could afford since.

Jennifer Main’s art work gave me the same feel of a magical space occupied by visions and color.  No, my discovery of Jennifer Main was purely the result of Life’s Meanderings.  When you just let go and wander.  I literally Stumbled upon this find and I was very proud of myself for my accomplishment.  Little did I know that 4 years later Jennifer Main would take Las Vegas my force and stake her claim as THE artist of the Las Vegas Valley.

January 2007

I moved to Las Vegas for work and in the process of settling in to the new City, I discovered First Friday’s Art Walk in Downtown.  I attended my first “First Friday” February 2007.  It was small, and seemed to be the “excuse” for the under 21 crowd to have a reason for “going somewhere”.  I was in the process of walking out when The Wanderer Whispered to me that the formidable warehouse up ahead might be interesting.  As always, employing the Adventure Model to discovering new places, the real find, the secret, to First Friday was at the end of the street, the very crowded and very hard to navigate Arts Factory .  To my amazement, after following my nose down this hallway and stumbling down that corridor, I found Jennifer Main in one of the Galleries.  I nearly cried with joy when I rounded the corner and saw those vibrant colors and broad strokes splashed large and loud “Hello Friend!”.  I bought 2 more Matted Prints that night, The Thinker Series Meant to Be and Story Behind the Couple.



I introduced myself to Jennifer and to my surprise she remembered my order from the Jazz Festival in July.  I could tell she was surprised that I found her again literally by chance.  Compared to her Gallery at the Arts Factory in Las Vegas, what I saw at her display in July 2006 at Mt Charleston was paltry.  She was literally bursting with color, emotion, beauty, and the visual experience.  I don’t ask her about her inspirations, I don’t care what they are.  I sometimes read about them or over hear at the Gallery, but her work, for me, is intensely personal.

Sounds horrid, no?  Not really.  Not if you truly understand Magical Realism.  The Artist is the Messenger.  Their use of visual material to deliver to you, the Audience, that experience of being taken to another place/time/space to experience something so intimate and personal is the only purpose to the Art form.  Magical Realism is, at it’s very core, a self centered indulgent journey through one’s own Psyche.

September 2007

I had entered into a silent auction for Never Alone, and surprisingly I won.  When her Gallery contacted me, I at first thought it was a joke.  The assistant was rather upset that I didn’t believe I had won.  It was very exciting to me – picking up the piece on a Saturday afternoon, when no one was around, the Arts Factory rather quiet and surprisingly empty.  It was really odd to be in the Gallery with no one but the artists around.

This piece is a perfect example of how personal the interpretation of Magical Realism truly can be.  My view of this piece has nothing to do with Jennifer’s official entry on it, and it is again different from another person – all three interpretations completely and vastly different – personal.

I could never, ever afford Jennifer’s originals.  I mean, I would have to save for 3-6 months to even begin considering a piece.  So the fact I won the Glicee on Canvas, one of only 50 (I think, I’ll edit it later), was huge to me.  An artist I discovered all by myself, in the same genre of what I like and what appeals to me, sophisticated….. and I had a real canvas.  Serious!!!

Every time I looked at Never Alone, I could not help but look at Creation of Man.  In fact I had them hanging on the same wall for a while just so I could look at them both when I walked into the room.  The two most important pieces in my collection.

2008,

I picked up 3 more matted prints, Vino Rosso, Mariposa, and Up to Something.  I spent sometime looking for these prints because they were bought specifically for my “Craft Room” in the Las Vegas House.  My wine collection and the wet bar were both in that room and I wanted the wine theme to continue.  I also had these prints professionally mounted.

2009,

I had to put a moratorium on all things Main.  It was becoming quite disturbing.  I am only grateful someone else bought Dance of Passion before I could.

I have not been able to find any other artist who captures color so vibrantly, and who maintains the essence of Magical Realism – well, other than Michael Parkes.

As of now, 2011, I am contemplating a lift on the moratorium so that I can justify the purchase of an Embellished Glicee Print on Canvas of Dance of Passion.  I mean…… I haven’t bought anything except a Calendar since 2010.  Seems reasonable, right?

If you are in Las Vegas, make sure you stop by Jennifer’s Gallery.

A Return to the Castle

For as long as I can remember, I have referred to Bunker Hill in Los Angeles as The Castle.



I think it is because, when my Grandfather had retired and was a Tour Bus Driver 3 days a week to curb his endless boredom and to fund the cost of the bricks for the fireplace at the Cottage, he told me that Bunker Hill was the real life version of the Disneyland Castle, also known as Cinderella's Castle.    

Keep in mind that this was the story he told me when Disneyland was sitting in the middle of nothing but Orange Groves.  The Disneyland of 2011 is nowhere near the look and feel of the Disneyland of 1972.  And neither is Bunker Hill.

Over 30 years after he told me that story, the Disney Concert Hall makes the fantasy a reality.

At the moment I am dreaming of a return to the Castle on Bunker Hill.  Specifically California Plaza I & II .....





LA Museum of Contemporary Art (*drool*) ....

Disney Concert Hall (yes it's worth it) ....

Dorthy Chandler Pavilion/Mark Taper Auditorium (worth it only if you pay for Valet).



If you are a corporate drone, grinding away at the 9-5, M-F life that is the Project Manager, Bunker Hill is far and away one of the Top Two - yes I said 2.  While you are grinding away for the Corporate Beast, you are surrounded in Beauty.

The view from Cal Plaza in every direction above the 10th floor is simply amazing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition, the hassle of traffic and commuting is completely removed with the Metro - The Rd/Purple lines connect to every Metro Line in the system, including Rail, making getting to Bunker Hill very easy.

I have never been happier than when I spent 60 hours a week on Bunker Hill!

Raccoons - January 2005

Last night at about 2am, my dog Archie went ballistic with "securing the perimeter".  He dove off the bed and charged the balcony, prudently stopping at the thresh hold to wait for mom to "come get it!"  I live in a "tree house" of sorts, upstairs and surrounded on 2 sides by large mature leafy trees.  I thought I was chasing off a cat.  It came back.  I thought it was a possum, so I took the broom to it and chased it down the sidewalk.

Third time at the balcony with Archie going nuts, I look out the patio door and a masked creature stared back at me defiantly.  I ran around the house in a panic, closing doors, and windows and realized *that* activity was pointless, little buggers can open doors.  I went to the balcony and watched as not one raccoon, but 2, slowly and calmly climbed down the stairs.  I decided to reason with them.  "I live here," I said, "this is my house.  You can go live in the back yard.  There are plenty of bushes and trees back there, go make a nice den.  But this is my house and you can't live here."  Amazingly they went to the back yard.

About 20 minutes later I hear them crashing about in the back yard.  They knocked something over and probably scared themselves silly.  It got quiet immediately, nevertheless.  Within a few minutes, I hear one of them.  She parked herself under my bedroom window and chirruped, incessantly.  So I got up and went to the balcony.  The male, at least 20lbs, very large, very fluffy and a dark grey coat with a perfectly ringed tail and gorgeous black mask is looking up at me from the mid-point of the tree at my balcony.  We are literally eye to eye.   She is chirruping and scuttling down the side of the apartment and rounds the corner, looks up at me, puts her hands in front of her and chirrups at me!  She is about 15lbs, beautiful light grey coat, and the sides of her belly are plump and oddly shaped.  This kid is ready to pop!  Her tail has perfect rings and her mask is just as gorgeous but it's a bit spottled and striped at the edges.  He slowly climbs down to the ground and walks over to sit by her.  They mill around on the entry and then he jumps 4 feet straight up, and on to the entry ledge, and looks up at me.

So I say, "fine stay here but you can't come inside."  I go back to bed.  Within a few minutes the chirruping starts beneath my window.  I get up and this time he is sitting on the front steps and she is peaking around the corner.  At this point I realize that unless I give them something, this is going to go on all night!

I do the worst thing imaginable and the number one thing against the rules of interacting with Urban Wildlife - I give them a plate of dog kibble.  At first I threw a handful down to see if they would even eat it.... I mean why waste perfectly good dog kibble right?  Well they scarffed it up.  So I went down and put the plate on the steps.  By the time I got back up to the balcony to watch them they were sitting around the plate feasting.  They ate for about 10 minutes, or half the plate, they milled around.

I heard chirruping from the front sidewalk so I go to the front wall of the patio and look down:  She is sitting on one of the rocks in the front garden sitting on her haunches looking up at me.  Her hands are in front of her and clasped.  She tosses her head this way and that, and the male walked up behind her in the low plants and off they went.  I guess they were just "passing through".  She knew I'd give her food if she asked clearly, it just took her several tries!  Tenacious little devil! I'm sure they will be back at some point.  Probably with the entire family!   And yes, I will do the dumb thing and feed them.  What?  I'm going to let a Raccoon go hungry?