March 09, 2010
The first time I resided in the area of The Big House stadium, I was living in one place while painting at another. Nancy a very nice person with hermit tendencies had a big two car garage that was falling apart and of course needed repair.
The roof at the end and a big space towards the middle were going to fall in unless someone either stood there to hold it up or it was repaired ASAP. After doing little assessments aye, the ASAP guy sleeves rolled up, end under to work.
Supporting what little needed supporting he quickly destroyed whatever needed destroying and began the rebuilding and recovering process. This saved everything that needed to be saved including her nice little but barely ran car.
Divulging all this is for no other reason than the preliminary that one thinks has to be told about a part of some people that does not exist in many others. Well let mme change that. It does exist in most people but some may have a lot more than others. It’s specifically the quality of, or a potential for an amazing kindness.
Nancy had an amazing kindness about her. When almost completing the big fix I was in need of a painting space. By painting we’re referring to art here. At that time I requested of the Nancy in question, if one could rent her mostly unused garage space and turn it into an artist’s working/ painting studio. Or to share it.
She thought about it for a while and then said… no. Before I could respond or think anything about her immediate answer she continued. She said that she wasn’t thinking of renting her garage to anyone but she thought it would be great if I did in fact use it for a painting studio. She then calmly said that she didn’t want to charge mme and in deed or in fact I should have it for free.
“Free? Why is that?” I asked. She said because she thought it would be nice to let mme be in it and to paint to mmy hearts content. She said she liked the work that she had seen mme do otherwise and she thought it would be good for mme to continue on a larger scale. Ah yes, there was a big room to paint when in the place I was living had no room at all. I was in heaven and very thankful. Still am.
Shortly after that conversation; like days later, the not so little changes began in order to set up another working studio. MMined you, this wasn’t the first. It was the next. It was soon renamed, ‘The Guhraj.’ Although sounding the same as the ‘English’ spelling, looking at it now you see what was meant by - renamed.
The Guhraj was a great gift from a kind person and one whom I still have kind feelings for as swell. Nancy is definitely a one of a kind human being. She’s been a grammar school teacher for a long time and lives not too far from her work. While painting in The Guhraj I had more than one can count opportunities to repair parts of her abode; and did whatever she would ask shortly after she did.
One was a kitchen faucet that hadn’t worked in over a year. She washed her dishes in a tiny, tiny corner sink in a small bathroom just off to one side of her kitchen. When noticing this, that situation was remedied quickly enough. It shows you how simple and unencumbered Nancy could make her existence.
Getting back on the track here; the first painting created in The Guhraj, ‘Harmony,’ was completed in a few months. This was after moving in whatever had to be moved in, in order to begin the painting process; including building shelves for paints, cabinets for all sorts of storage things, and of course a few big tables with wheels that could move from hither and fro depending on the sighs.
I’ll never forget the very next painting that was painted. Like the first painting and most others that followed at that time, it was a digital design originally created on mmy computer. It measured about four feet wide by seven foot tall; titled ‘Face – The MMusic.’ The painting’s image is at the bottom of this blog. Needless to say, it too took many enjoyable and long hours to accomplish, fun.
Before it was completed and more when it was, Nancy sat in front of it for long periods of time. I don’t remember asking her why at that point but more times than one could count, she’d be sitting staring at it. Without a doubt Nancy was back then and still is when thinking of her, a positive influence in mmy work.
When it was warm she’d come out to The Guhraj to watch for very short periods of time, or to say kind words. She’d not stay long because of her wont not to interfere; although expressing many welcomes to her whenever she did venture out. She’d say she just wanted to bring mme a cold drink or a sandwich. When it got cold she’d bring mme hot herbal tea and more sandwiches, or even hot soup.
The woman was kind, endearing and very nurturing to say the least. I’ll always be grateful to her for all the kind things she did to help mme feel comfortable. She encouraged the work and eventually when it did get too cold to be in The Guhraj, she invited mme to convert one of her downstairs rooms into a smaller studio. It was something with heat so again I accepted her warmer hospitality.
The little bedroom had nice dark refinished wood floors and molding. The walls were recently painted plaster. In order to work in that room one had to cover everything with plastic and a huge blue tarp. The only things in the room were a small round table, many kinds of paint, clip hanging lights and artist’s brushes.
For a few months Nancy suggested trying to incorporate Milk Paint. I had never heard of nor used it. Researching on the net followed. It’s really expensive because of what it is and how it’s made. It’s used for all kinds of things including antiques, old, wood things and such. After quick drying, it has a very hard finish.
Fortunately for mme she had a small bottle of black. Still in powder form. She gave it to mme to use at will, and I did. The only design painted with it was ‘Time Out.’ The round table in the room inspired the painting you see at the top of this blog, the exception being a round base.
The same design was completed several times, but as squares. Two were four feet square. One painted on ¾” plywood and the other painted on a 1/8” plastic sign material. The latter painted years later was a reverse of white on white. The former donated to a Food Bank in northern California, the latter was part of a larger gift to a mmusic school in Chicago. (The People’s Music School)
This rendition was to be a round one. Its base was made from a two foot diameter sink cut out of pressed plywood with Formica covering but painted on the reverse side. When it was completed it was hung outside of The Guhraj.
Milk Paint is water soluble but I wanted to see what would happen if left out in at least one day of rain. It wasn’t too long before finding out. It was the coolest thing! The base was painted with an oil base white paint so nothing happened to that. The black Milk Paint on the other hand, no matter where the black was painted curled, curled and curled some more. The effect was quite remarkable.
All the edges as well as some of the insides of the black curled and peeled upwards. It looked so great that I brought it in to dry and to work on it a bit more. After it dried, applied were three really thick coats of a thin translucent sealer. The purpose was to help it stay that way for as long as no one touched it, felt it or rubbed themselves or anything against it. It was pretty hard but delicate.
For a few months afterward, it was kept hanging in The Guhraj the whole time. Whoever came to visit no matter whom or when it was always commented on its amazing texture and design. Two of those people, good friends at the time were getting married. Yes, you guessed it. It ended up being their wedding present.
They could thank Nancy for that really. By the way, before leaving the big M, while packing everything for another move, this time across country to Oregon; I stood among all the completed paintings still hanging and sitting about all the walls and floor space. Everywhere I looked part of mme was looking back.
I guess there were thirty or more paintings painted on all sorts of recycled and new backing materials. Most were pretty large in size. Quite a few measured four by eight feet. All of these were completed thanks to the generosity of mainly one individual and quite a special person. Without hesitation I didn’t pack one painting; ‘Face – The MMusic.’ The gift is hanging in a certain house to this day.
Thanks again for everything, Nancy.
March 09, 2010
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