The Spanish Conquistadors

Bad Day for Meth Lab #3 by Kelly McLane

My own personal history with art begins on a big plush red couch in a furniture store. I am "lalygagging" on the couch contemplating half rolling, half throwing myself from that couch onto a another couch and eyeing the space inbetween, trying to calculate if I might fall through the crack and if so, how hard will it be to extract myself, and if so, how mad will my mom be? While I am going through this internal dilemma, I watch my mother wander about the great big warehouse-like furniture store looking not at the furniture (because we already have recently purchased the requisite 70s couch in the style of the early spanish conquistadors, replete with appropriate wraught iron decor through-out the house) but at the artwork on the walls. My mom peruses print after print after print looking for just the right thing. I think "just the right thing" would match the conquistador decor, it should have a lot of red and black and maybe gold in it. Maybe flowers would be nice. She never finds what she is looking for. The walls in our house remain white and barren for years. But everytime we pass a furniture store I know my sisters and I will have time for a game of hide and seek beneath the glass tables stashed about between the gold and avocado furniture, because I know my mom will have to look for the perfect picture to hang above her couch. This is my introduction to the world of art. An auspicious start to be sure. Later, I will learn to love art. But it's a long drawn out process from the comfort of the plush 70s couches to a love for Edward Hopper.
Cape Code By Edward Hopper

Hopper is one of my favorite artists, but my first recognition of a desire to know more about an artist or art in general was being drawn to buying a calendar of Monet paintings when I was still in high school. I read a little about Monet and liked his work, although I don't think I entirely understood what I liked about it. But it sparked an interest. When I went to college I sincerely desired to know more about art and to ends I took a art history class.
Nympheas by Monet

I loved that class so much, that art history seemed like the best major ever, but it's really hard for a girl raised on thinking art comes from furniture stores to imagine what one would do with a major in art history, so I didn't entertain that thought for long. But the class exposed me to some really great paintings and a rudamentary knowledge of the subject. For the first time I realized artists weren't just trying to make something pretty, they were usually trying to say something - which is when I became fascinated with the language of art. This painting by Van Eyck probably started my fascination with the subject. Once I realized you can spend an entire hour of class talking about one painting and still not explore all it's subtle text, I was hooked.

The Wedding by Jan Van Eyck

And apparently on some subconcious level I was unaware of, I became interested in artists as well. I didn't even really know Kirk was an artist when I started dating him but I did start dating him at this same time. I also dated this guy below while Kirk was on his mission. The relationship didn't go very far but I did truly appreciate the fact that he was a talented artist (as an aside, I only recently discovered some of that "mormon art" you sometimes see in people's homes is produced by this guy I dated back in the 80s). His name was Derek Hegsted (or is, I suppose) and I was impressed by the fact that he called himself an artist. It seemed sort of audacious. But accurate. I don't know, I was drawn to that aspect of his personality I guess.

(Derek Hegsted in his studio)

This is when I became really fascinated with artists as people. I read everything Warhol for a while. Warhol seemed like the quientessial artist personality and I wanted to understand that. I still like Warhol. He's not the world's greatest artist but he was certainly talented, and interesting, and smart and prescient.
Self Portrait by Andy Warhol

And it was really cool when I was finally able to go the National Gallery and see some of his work. And the work of hundreds of other famous artists. I got to see some of those Monet's up close, which is way better than seeing them on a calendar. And for some reason this painting by Da Vinci really arrested me - it's so much better in person, and there's some quality in it that really drew me in and kept me interested in art on a whole other level.
Portrait of Genevra de'Benci by Leonardo Da Vinci
There are so many great artist in the world, it's overwhelming to start thinking about what you love about one artist over another, or even to justify why you like a particular artist. I have my favorites, and I have others I appreciate and I have others who I admire, but don't particularly respond to the work. It's always an adventure to discover new artists and new work and learn to appreciate artists who have been around for a long time. Below is a Hopper and if I really think about American artists, I think I'd have to put Hopper at the top of those I really respond to in just a pure visceral way that is difficult to describe. The other painting is a Hockney. A lot of Hockney's work sort of bores me and I have a difficult time "getting" but this one is really great and in spite of being such an iconic piece, really stands up over time as a sort of brilliant modern work.
Sunday Morning by Edward Hopper



Spash by David Hockney

These days I am more interested in local artists and new artists. These are some of the artists I really like lately. Really, there are too many to represent fully here, this is only a small sampling.


Ron Richmond



Brian Boner



Brian Kershisnik



Steve Yazzie






Lu Cong



Melani Coraddi




And of course, one of my favorite artists, the one I am married to, Kirk Hays. We went to the artwalk in Scottsdale last night and First Fridays last Friday - and I never cease to be amazed at the wealth of language just outside our doors waiting to speak to us.

It sure beats the heck out of laying around on red plush couches wondering when your mom will ever find that perfect "pretty" Spanish Conquistador that matches the furniture.