One of my older and quite large paintings will be shown in a local group exhibit here in Avondale Estates, at the wonderful Avondale Arts Center space headed up by founder Isadora Pennington and a cadre of devoted volunteers. The building is slated to become a hotel in another year or so, so its lifespan is short. But since 2024, Ms. Pennington has energized the arts scene in our small city by holding monthly exhibits in the large and well lit space. My dream for the city since I moved to the area from Poncey Highlands in 1987 has been for a gallery, at least one coffee shop and decent restaurant. City officials and local entrepreneurs like Pennington have made that happen and more, a dream come true.
Unlike most group exhibits (recent works only), this one had no time frame but did have an unusual premise; titled Extremes, it specified works both over and under the sizes of 48in x 48in and/or 8in x 8in. My piece is 72in x 60in, a friend helped to transport the short distance from my house in his open bed pickup. The piece was last shown in 2004 in a 3 person exhibit when I lived in South Bend, renting a panel van to cart paintings to the gallery in a February blizzard.
Begun in my garage when I lived in San Francisco, the painting was inspired by my walks three blocks away in the nearby Strybing Gardens in Golden Gate Park. I finalized it after my move to South Bend for a new job, after the dot.com bust.
The painting originated from sketches in the park, like many other works during that period. The title for this one was inspired by walks with Gary, a friend who lived across the street from me in the inner Sunset. We’d met at SF Moma, he’d been following me. He did a great imitation one day of Burt Lancaster in a film whose title I’ve long since forgotten – and I inscribed the painting to him in his honor. Having lost track, there’s probably no way to get it to him at this point and shipping alone would be cost prohibitive.
Succulent Garden, (or Succulents with Burt) 2000-2002, oil/canvas 72in x 60in
The exhibit opens Saturday July 11th, from 6-9pm, and runs through August 22nd. Avondale Arts Center, 84 N Avondale Rd, Avondale Estates, GA 30002.