There comes a time that the finishing process begins for each of the boards that Anders has started over the years. Currently there are less than 100 such art works.
This group began in 1988 and progressed through 1995. They are the first paintings that applied texture pressure upon texture pressure to create interlocking patterns.
Another first was the textures were applied in large shapes. The results shimmer, much like music, in the power of contrary motions. Here are the four boards coming home to the finish line, it is not a race nor a destination, it is simply what has happened for multiple reasons.
Rooted in early Modern Art.
Whale and Fish, 24 x 48 inches, promises promise, acrylics.
Texture, Movement, Statement, Shadow and Highlights.
Tilt is not certain of its proper orientation, 24 x 48 inches, acrylics.
Simple in its Complexity.
Balance Two is another work unsure of up and down, 24 x 48 inches, acrylics.
Shaping, Coloring, Advancing and Retreating.
One of 16 paintings, Profiles, 24 x 48 inches, is nearing completion, acrylics.
The Endgame Begins
Since 1995 these paintings have been stored in a dry, cool dark space. They have always been in my mind. Now they are moving onto the finishing table. The process begins with a detailed photo study of each painting before I gently sand down their protective finish coats, the goal is to break the coat and not reach the painting surface.
Looking Through the Surface at the Future
These details allow Anders to study the painting area by area.
Where to Start and Why?
The strength of these works are texture, line and composition.
How to Enhance Colors and Mood?
Color strategy becomes a focus.
The Long Awaited Moment has Arrived.
The photographic details of the painting gives Anders the ability to study sections as if they were paintings unto themselves. These details may also be used in an animated film of the painting as it progresses. It is quickly apparent that the textures are unique and enticing. Now, the task at hand is to inventory the painting’s strengths and weaknesses. The goal is always to enhance original intention with the skills and life experience gained since last working on this piece. Another important goal is not to over paint an area that is for all practical purposes complete. Taking time looking, understanding and exploring will pay off. Anders will think back to the moments these paintings began. This series came at a time when he was spending time in desert and semi-arid landscapes.
After careful consideration the determined weakness is the lack of shadow and highlight. This is where the next steps will begin. Pop shapes, contrast, recede, advance and establish dark points for visual movement. Bring the paintings home Anders, bring the painting home.
6-15-10, The first of two final passes.
These four paintings have had their first protective work coat applied and photographed before being sanded for the last time. These paintings are being finished as the world understands the consequences of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
This has influenced the reading of these works, and their names.
Whales When the Ocean Left … 6-15-10, nearing completion.
Looking Into the Future … 6-15-10, nearing completion.
The depiction of a bird in a complex setting reflects wildlife's vulnerabilities.
Two Birds … 6-15-10, nearing completion.
Two birds has switched its orientation 180 degrees.
Looking at the Past … 6-15-10, nearing completion.
The figure silhouette becomes the face of a bird.
Where to now?
The next pass will focus on highlights and shadows. Compositional threads and pathways will be enhanced, added and emphasized. These paintings are not value judgments of the oil disaster. They recognize wildlife as spectators effected by the interactions of other species. At any moment, a toll may ring out across the habitats. Some will pay a mortal price and others will watch. And history will have another footnote and reference point in time.
And then they were done…
Two Birds … completed 6-25-10.
A simple painting, a simple song, 24 x 48 inches, acrylics.
Whales When the Oceans Left … completed 6-25-10.
This work pays homage to the modern art movement, 24 x 48 inches, acrylics.
Looking Through the Past … completed 6-25-10.
Started in 1983, this 24 x 48 inch board, has seen moments of action and sleep, acrylics.
Looking Behind the Future … completed 7-01-10.
A four part salute to interconnected species is complete, 24 x 48 inches, acrylics.
Starting a new painting is a moment worth living. The only thing better for Anders is the moment of finishing a painting.
The great majority of paintings have started on panels, there is something about the surface’s initial smoothness and durability. Anders has two approaches. One is to prime the masonite panel with an ocher tinted special primer for smooth surfaces. The other way is use the primer as a painting – compositional – image devise, including creating texture.
6-01... This 14 x 11 inch canvas shows the ochre primer and first gestures.
First of the Sunlight series finished, and detail, 14 x 11 inches, acrylics.
Does Anders picture what it will be?… No…
Anders likes to avoid brushes on his beginnings. He uses mono-printing and various application techniques that more mimic nature than the hand of Anders. A painting does not start with a preconceived concept. It is a process of discovery and the willingness to accept what has transpired. These starts lend themselves to the school of surrealism, to create from a place other than the conscious mind. Here is a sense of liberty, individualism and creation.
6-01... These works start with monoprinting on white primed 20 x 16 inches, canvas
6-15... These paintings, now part of the Sunlight series, continue.
Does Anders understand when it is?… Yes…
As the paint is applied thoughts turn to concepts. The paintings above will be part of Morning – Kitchen series, 26 in all. The sun will be a major element. They will have painted borders. And they will be completed quickly. All of this is realized in the initial seconds of starting. And so it will be.
6-01... These 14 x 11 inch panels were painted black as the primer surface.
Mystery drives the journey… unfolding questions-choices are each a destination…
Working on black backgrounds is dramatic. Each of these starts have less than a minute accumulated working time. Each has a series of mono – printed elements that make up the image. The actual image area will be on average 7 x 5 inches.
6-01... Details from each of the panels.
And the detail begins to shape movement and meaning…
6-15... These paintings will have another pass before completion.
Each becomes a Journey and a Song…
6-25... There will be one more pass on these maturing Urboriginals.
And then they are Done…
Urborginal Horizon … completed 7-01-10.
There are sounds that are not to be heard, 14 x 11 inches, and detail, acrylics.
Urboriginal Food Chain … completed 7-01-10.
There are feelings that should not be shared, 14 x 11 inches, and detail, acrylics.
Urboriginal Social Mixer … completed 7-01-10.
There are aromas that will not be inhaled, 14 x 11 inches, and detail, acrylics.
To be continued, that is the nature of Anders painting.
Marc shares with a mesmerized audience his studio, thoughts and spirit.
Marc Gould moves with a resourceful grace. Mesmerize Yourself visits his studio in Santa Cruz, California. Segments include a music performance by the Aptosians, Marc is a founding member, and a painting session with the ArtEnemys, a partnership between Marc and his son Noah. Lifestyle choices, and a gift of gab, make Marc a consummate spokesperson for creativity.
And now clips from Mesmerize Yourself!… Enjoy!
Opening scene to Mesmerize Yourself!. Marc discusses what happened to some of his childhood art. Art is both temporary and permanent, it depends on where you are looking.
How a name can happen. “Mesmerize” has mesmerizing over-and-undertones.
This is also a inside look at process through the eyes of Marc.
Marc discusses a moment that art, a painting by his salesman father, entered his life.
The segment ends with a discussion of UFOs.
Marc Gould also carves, his favorite material is jade. Overviews on busy contemporary society
and time versus the job. Marc values time.
Does time care who owns what and who did what? See what Marc thinks as he
makes objects that are in his paintings. He likes to make things that look 10,000 years old.
Culture and arts, Art and cultures. Marc takes a look at both with this piece Now for Sale
and Very Exciting. Other subjects addressed are privacy and bargain basement objects.
Marc, like all Art Talk Talks Art subjects, has an interest in both visual and audio creation.
The Aptosians. of which he is a founding member, are his magical musical carpet ride.
What does Marc Gould think of the pursuit of perfection? Does one need a concept of
an idea to start painting? Observation, abstraction and the sublime.
Marc Gould recounts childhood weekend classes at the Cleveland Museum of Art. It was
a special time in a special place. And do we need to worry about our paintings?
Marc and Noah, a father and son creative team, entertain themselves as they develop
a new piece. This is both work and play at the highest level. Are they really Art Enemys? For more on this dynamic duo visit ArtEnemys.
And the credits roll for Mesmerize Yourself! Anders always enjoys producing the end
credit segments. It is an opportunity to review and frame closing thoughts. It is also driven
by the need to use type, and typography is in Anders’ blood which is in his films.
Take a quick tour of Marc Gould’s art studio with your host Dina Scoppettone.
Here is where Marc makes things that make Marc Marc. To see more segments of Dina with Marc, his work and studio visit Art Talk Talks Marc.
Mesmerize Yourself! was shot at Marc’s studio in Aptos, California over the course of three days. Additional footage used in this film was filmed and photographed by Anders starting in 1991. Anders first met Marc when he came bounding up the stairs of RubberBandLand in the early 70’s and announced in a loud clear voice that we would want to exhibit his work. He was right. Soon, he curated a mail art show in the gallery main room. It was the talk of the post office and visitors. One art student at UCSC actually mailed the show a new gallery floor, which he had come in and secretly measured.
Music for the Soundtrack comes from the vast archives of the Aptosians. Noah Gould has a couple of cameo appearances along with a clip visiting him and his father, Marc, at work as the ArtEnemys. Additional photography is provided by Gary Ruble.
And now some more background on Marc Gould, a creative soul.
Marc reflects light in the peace of his Santa Cruz art studio.
photo-Anders Tomlinson
Marc Gould… Just never stopped. ……… Mesmerize Yourself!
Since my grandmother dropped me off at the Cleveland Museum of Art saturday mornings that summer at age 7, i was free’d from suburban captivity. Into the heart of world culture I went … oil paintings, stone sculpture, artifacts..yes a egyptian gold frog ring, I wanted that! All housed in a grand stone temple. Now I make these things and more. Ideas flowing like water from a broken faucet that once turned on just never stopped.
A tip of the hat to my high school art teachers, the psychotropic plant kingdom, modern day alchemists, my artistSon and wild friends; to the demons demi-gods and goddess’ who have helped me on the way.
Luckily I was born in an age where one could do as they please in the arts and not get burned at the stake. I get to be free!… the true pearl of great price.
Broadcasting here from the most interesting planet in the galaxy I wonder how this all serves the world or even one person? I may never know. What IS past on through the ages are the stories told and the artwork left behind.
upon returning from Mt. Shasta,
Marc Gould, 2009
Did you want to know what Marc sees? Look at his paintings.
photo-Anders Tomlinson
An Independent Spirit
Local artist Marc Gould was born in Newcastle, Pennsylvania in the summer of 1952. Adopted into a working-class family in Mayfield Heights, Ohio, as a child Marc was independent and sharp-witted. These qualities helped this four-eyed, red-haired oddball fend off the greasy-haired bullies of the day.
Believing his salesman father to be an artist because of the few paintings he saw him do inspired him to take up the brush. However, he was first introduced to the world of art by his grandmother. She took him to Saturday classes at the Cleveland Museum of Art at the age of 7. Here he spent hours studying the museum’s vast collection, drawing renditions of his favorite pieces, such as an Egyptian gold frog ring, which he later admitted he had had the desire to steal. These experiences laid the foundation for his lifelong love of the arts.
As a young teenager, Marc maintained his independent spirit. Needing a space of his own, he commandeered the basement of his family home. He spent his days studying surrealism while listening to records by artists such as the Silver Apples and The 13th Floor Elevator, painting psychedelic murals on the basement walls, and taking long romps into the depths of nearby wooded areas. The sights and sounds of nature became fundamental to his character and is still a central theme in his art.
Throughout his high school years, Marc studied hours each day under cutting-edge art professors in a unique program which provided the students with ample studio space and demanding college-level technical and creative training.
Marc was part of a vibrant art community in Cleveland during the mid -1970’s, by which many public and private art and music happenings were staged. One such event led the group to the opening of the Salvador Dali museum in Beachwood, Ohio, where Dali himself was being harangued by reporters. When Dali saw the band of young artists, brandishing fake press-passes arrive in the Country Worm, their surrealistically-painted van, his full attention turned to their arrival. Depriving the authentic reporters of their story, he spent the rest of the afternoon cavorting with these intriguing youths and posing with them for offbeat photo ops. This experience and many others like it inspired the group to amp up their artistic efforts, leading to collaborative art projects such as the cult classic film, Eskimo King, the altering of many billboards with a group called the Regional Art Terrorists, and the formation of the no wave band Freddy and the Fuzztones.
Empowered by a teacher during a brief enrollment at the Cleveland Institute of Art, Marc moved west. Settling in Capitola, California, he was quickly adopted into another circle of inspired young artists. This group focused their efforts on new wave neo-Dada multimedia works, pioneering a photographic technique developed by Gary Aro Ruble using time-lapse exposures which they called Power Flicks, among other artistic safaris.
Anders, Gary Ruble, Marc Gould and Jeff Williams with the Golden Pineapple Award.
photo-Gary Ruble
Marc moved to Aptos, CA where this community still maintains both music and art studios, and where Marc continues to expand an exuberance for all that is art (good art). His first art show in California was at Rubberbandland Studios in Santa Cruz, an elastic alliance of creative artists. Marc has remained prolific in his practice and versatile in his production, moving from naturalistic and surreal subjects done in traditional, old-master-style techniques to post-modern expressions in both painting and sculpture. His ever-expanding body of work has continued to inspire and impress an ever-growing number of friends, clients and co-conspirators. Among his co-conspirators is his son, Noah Gould, an academically-trained painter. Working in tandem, The ArtEnemys, as they call themselves, create collaborative large-scale works, on which both artists work simultaneously. They produce colorful compositions which neither would have come up with on their own.
Marc Gould, humble landscaper, artist, father and friend, however illusive to the mainstream, is a pillar and an asset to the art world, and will continue to be into this new millennia, in stone, steel and canvas.
An Independent Spirit was written by Noah Gould and edited by Kim Dowling.
Here are five of six canvases that were started on April 2, 2011. The amount of time spent on these beginnings is less that 30 seconds each. Thirty seconds can be a lifetime for some elements of nature. Here, thirty seconds is an investment in future imagery.
Flowers as a Political Statement … 4-02-11, started
The first pass is fresh and vital, 24 x 20 inches & detail, acrylics-canvas.
Flowers as a Climatic Statement … 4-02-11, started
Environmentally related to itself, 24 x 20 inches & detail, acrylics-canvas.
Talking Tablet of Warning … 4-02-11, started
Nature has many ways of creating marks, 20 x 16 inches & detail, acrylics-canvas
Talking Tablet of Hope … 4-02-11, started
Start fast, end fast, what a plan, 20 x 16 inches & detail, acrylics-canvas.
Talking Tablet of Envy … 4-02-11, started
The base is set, next comes clarification, 20 x 16 inches & detail, acrylic-canvas.
Yellow ochre is the foundation-fundamental color for these canvases. The paintings will growwithin an earth toned range. There will several weeks of looking before the next application of paint, another thirty second burst. It is not about time, it is about nature.
Flowers as a Climatic Statement … 5-9-11, in progress
Environmentally related to itself, 24 x 20 inches, & detail, acrylics-canvas.
Talking Tablet of Hope … 5-9-11, in progress
Start fast, end fast, what a plan, 20 x 16 inches, & detail, acrylics-canvas.
Evaporating Conclusions and Eroding Delusions … 5-9-11, in progress
Messages come and messages go, 14 x 11 inches, & detail, acrylics-canvas.
Talking Tablet of Hope … completed 5-17-11.
Start fast, end fast, what a plan, 20 x 16 inches, & detail, acrylics-canvas.
Talking Tablet of Warning … completed 5-17-11.
Nature has many ways of creating marks, 20 x 16 inches, & detail, acrylics-canva
Talking Tablet of Envy … completed 5-16-11.
Rules are rules, broken or unbroken, 14 x 11 inches, & detail, acrylics-canvas.
Evaporating Conclusions and Eroding Delusions … completed 5-15-11.
Messages come and messages go, 14 x 11 inches, & detail, acrylics-canvas.
Recycles, 36 paintings strong, is one of Anders’ favorite groups of paintings. The first rule, each group has working rules and goals, was to use his collection of paint refuge and incorporate them into a series. Recycles become mixed-media pieces with all the media being his paint or tools. Another rule was to let the masonite panels show through layered washes and applied media. The water used for washes and cleaning brushes came from water collected as the shower warmed up.
Bonding and Rebonding were cut from the same panel, each is 36 inches wide.
Recycles include paper towels that were used to absorb paint from several paint series at work. The towel fragments are now prints to be used as collage elements. They became the primary compositional anchors. Painting is an opportunity for Anders to put personal philosophy into action. No paint is left behind. If paint is squeezed from a tube it must be used. And a little paint can, must and does go a long way. There are always many paintings waiting for excess paint that can no longer be used on a work in progress.
Food Pyramid, Cyclops and Lava Fun are each 36 x 24 inches.
Framing Recycles will be a creative challenge. Their old world color-composition and modern abstraction- techniques open the doors for many framing styles. A show of Recycles will inspire and provoke response. Recycles reflect on social responsibilities that resonate with Anders’ core values. Use what is available. Leave nothing to waste. Balance everything with moderation.
October Sunset Parade and Pop are both 30 x 36 inches.
These works are a departure for Anders. Horizons have taken on a different meaning. The implied landscape is not always there. Juxtaposition of elements and forms transcend literal interpretation. Here is an invisible juggler with at least five objects in play. Everything floats in a game that has no intended destination only collective directions inferring a circular path.
Whale Spirits, Food Chains and Floaters are each 36 x 24 inches.
This series began in Klamath Falls, OR and finished in San Diego, CA, 2001 – 09. Recycles were created on 80″ x 36″ panels. After the paint scraps and paper towels were attached, the boards were cut into smaller panels, usually three to a board . A couple of boards were cut into two sections, Remix Bottom and Top are an example.
Remix Bottom and Remix Top can be stacked, each is 36 inches wide.
The surface is deceptive. 3D elements are melded in 2D faux atmospheres. Trap lines flatten and hide edges and drop shadows create dimension. In some cases, the 3D elements are painted flat and the 2D elements are raised with painterly devices.
Mixer, Jumping Pig Fish and Business, each are 36 inches wide.
There are 12 Recycles that take on representational forms. The marriage of 3D and 2D is hidden by attention given the readable images. On a whole, these are dark images of mysterious relationships and passing events. We are watching watchers watch.
Contractual Agreement and Easter Island Picnic are both 24 x 36 inches.
Recycles are stacked, one atop another, waiting for their moment to be seen and heard.
38 Art-Tars, moving and grooving in celebration of spirit and color, treat viewers with respect.
The series goals was too move the eye across the surface like a cultural pre-electricity arcade game and have bright colors heighten the visual excitement. These are as close to Kandinsky that Anders will get. A nod to Miro, Tobey, and Chagall, and many others, is in order.
Tar Spirits, Tar Column and Tar Dance are 36 inches wide.
Large swashes of custom made color, spun atop textured backgrounds, begin the visual dance. Point – counterpoint, balance – counterbalance and marks – unmarks drive movement and directions. These may be the most dramatic of Anders surfaces.
Egg Man and Tars on Parade are each 36 inches tall.
Early Art Tars began in 1988. Studio stops along the way included Econdido, CA., Klamath Falls, OR., Tulelake CA., and San Diego, CA. The series was finished in 2009 except for a couple of large pieces that are currently on the work bench in progress.
Internal Cleaning, Mona Joy Jester and Trio Escaping Make an attractive triptych.
Texture triumphs dancing across the surface with carefree abandon. Music has a role in the Art-Tars. There are rhythms and colorful notes scattered across a score. Foreground elements are solos against a dense compositional tapestry. Art-Tars = Fusion.
Green Flash and Tar Drips are each 40 inches tall.
Anders thinks of his vertical paintings as power totems. Art-Tars are more than decoration, they are constrained momentum unfolding into perpetual motion. Inspired by nature they invigorate and motivate, “lower your stress levels…”
Inter-snaking, Building Blocks, Rising and Tempest are all 48 inches tall.
Imagine a room full of Art Tars, in handsome frames, staring back at you. Can you see the music?
The Relationships series began in 1984 and has continued up to today. They have been worked on five or six times with several years between sessions. Each session has been thoroughly documented. Anders have always looked at this series as the production of stills for an animated series. In a month or two he is going to back and look at the book of 1,000 slide details he shot for years: the post-production for a film of these painting evolving will then begin.
Destination and Anticipation, an internal journey takes a first step.
Each of these acrylic paintings, unless noted, are on 24 by 24 inches masonite boards.
When one approaches the boards, which may have up to twenty layers separated by a clear coat finish, a sense of internal depth grows. Elements in these laminations will actually cast shadows depending on the light source.
Contemplation and Reflection, weighing rejection against potentials.
An element of this portfolio will be a musical soundtrack. A theme song, Relation-ships, was recorded in 1986. Three voices, male, female, and the couple-overlap demand copy to be written. Here, emotional layers will take flight, a moment becomes a week, becomes a month, becomes a year, becomes an era.
Penetration and Consolidation, a relationship enters new dimensions.
The paintings begin to intensify: more elements, more paths, deeper saturation, enhanced complexity. Anders is starting to visualize how to frame the series. He can see them them all together on a wall or room with the film being shown in multiple formats. At the any moment the viewer could be enveloped in a room that is now paintings details projected on the floor, walls and ceilings.
Emotional and Conversational, attractions find common ground and ignore frictions.
There will come a time when these images are reinvented with Photoshop and whole new concepts and animation elements will come forth and embrace all things natural. Anders has a large library of natural movements that he has captured in the field: time-lapse skies, water movements, elemental textures… The merging of natural design with the paintings is an exciting concept to behold.
Replication and Multiplication, things become unstated for multiple reasons.
There are elements of Peter Max and the psychedelic 70’s in these paintings. Design and shape play a major role of providing paths to follow through the work. Dimension is achieved by color relationships as much as overlapping elements. All of the images incorporated the same icons in various relationships. These are dense pages in a layered short story yearning to be a novel.
Inspiration and Congestion, an aftermath lingers on a closing horizon.
Many individuals and organizations have been involved with Relationships during the long duration of this project in progress. Anders would like to thank Lisa Meszaros, Shelly Meszaros, Don Marshall, Denver Clay, Joe Cordelle, Kit Nuzum, The Simple Band, KBCH RadioTV, Del Mar Channel 38 and many others who encouraged his efforts. The nature of these paintings is that they are used in some public media presentation and then lay dormant for years only to briefly resurface, again and again.
Clownization and Cyclopization, reality tugs and pulls in surrealistic discord.
The Anders approach that each painting is its own animated short film, graphic presentation, and short story continues with Relationships, maybe more so than any other Anders series. Is there a gallery that will invest its space and skills in presenting Relationships as an art show? Time will tell, it always does.
Jesterization and Memorization, and then the magic is gone like beta tapes.
Relationships is a common tale: one of learning, experimenting, experiencing tangents that lead one to a fuller understanding of one’s self. Of course, there is another path that leads one away from one’s self in a darken hallway of self-induced horror. Relationships: can we live with them, can we live without them, that is the question.
Profilization, 36 x 24 inches, and Comparization, 24 x 31 inches.
There are an additional six Relationships paintings that are not 24 x 24 inches in size. The two largest are each 48 x 36 inches. Above, are two examples of these nonconforming works.
They are painted on heavily textured surfaces glued to boards. It seems like it has been a lifetime as Anders moved these boards from one place to another until this moment that they are finished. Good, there is always time to reconnect and move on, just like many relationships.
