MEMORIES OF 9/11

As we approach the 10th anniversary of 9/11, I thought it appropiate to include an article my husband wrote for a local newspaper. Also note the included watercolor painting by Artist Arthur Anderson.

BEFORE THE FALL
Arthur Anderson
http://artistanderson.com/

MEMORIES OF 9/11

By Bob Gilbert

As we approach the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, I have vivid memories of that day.

The weather was crisp and clear, and I was at work in downtown Brooklyn.  At about 9 o’clock, a co-worker told me that there was a fire at the World Trade Center as a plane had crashed into one of the buildings.  I looked out of the window and saw dark smoke billowing from one of the towers in the distance.  Like everyone else, I felt great concern about the people inside of the burning building.

When a second plane crashed into the other tower, what we thought was an accident was revealed to be a terrorist attack.  I joined some co-workers on the building observation deck, where we could see smoke pouring out of the twin towers.

Our building administrator announced that there were no threats against our building and that it was safe to remain at work.  As things worsened, we were directed to go home, as mass transit and bridge and tunnel closures were imminent.

I was fortunate that my family members were out of harm’s way – my wife was at work in Staten Island, my daughter was at college in Philadelphia, and my mother-in-law was at home in Brooklyn.  I got in my car and headed home.  As I passed Flatbush Avenue, I witnessed an army of fire engines, police cars, and other emergency vehicles screaming north toward the twin towers with sirens and horns blasting – help was on the way.

I headed south on Fourth Avenue toward the Verrazano Bridge for my trip back to Staten Island.  It was late morning but it looked like rush hour – hundreds of people streaming out of subway stations and businesses, all rushing home as the subways and the city were shutting down.

A mile or two before the entrance to the Verrazano Bridge, traffic came to a complete halt because the bridge had been closed.  People got out of their cars and were milling around and sharing what they had heard to that point.  I borrowed a phone and called my mother-in-law, and let her know that I was headed home. 

When the bridge finally reopened, traffic crawled to the entrance, where a lone police officer waved us through one car at a time.  I crossed the bridge and was glad to be back in my own borough.

I listened to the car radio as the news reports poured in, and what I was hearing was surreal – the Twin Towers…the Pentagon… a plane brought down in Pennsylvania… 

I arrived home in the early afternoon, and, and my wife arrived about an hour later.  We watched TV as the disaster unfolded, trying to comprehend the incomprehensible.

It is amazing to think that September 11, 2001 started out so uneventfully and routinely.  Like so many of my fellow New Yorkers, I got up early, had breakfast, and headed off to work.  Who could have imagined on that clear sky morning what was about to happen?

Those are my memories of the morning and early afternoon of September 11, 2001.  On this tenth anniversary, hearts go out to those who lost loved ones on that day.

 

FASCINATION WITH THE RED BARN

A red barn appears in several of my paintings in different subject matter. The area where I currently reside has several red barns that screamed for me to photograph them! If you visit the areas where I took the photos, you may not see the barns existing in the settings I chose to paint them, as my imagination tends to take over. Several of my photos that I base my paintings on, other than that of the red barns, are used for sources .

I have viewed barns in green, many white, but red seems to be the "thing"-especially in the old restored barns here in Central new Jersey. I learned a few very interesting things about why there are so many red barns.

Centuries ago, European farmers would paint their barns with a linseed-oil mixture, often consisting of additions such as milk and lime. The combination produced a long-lasting paint that dried and hardened quickly. Wealthy farmers added blood from a recent slaughter, or rust to their paint mixture.
In historically accurate terms, "barn red" is not the bright, fire-engine red that we often see today, but more of a burnt-orange red. As to how the oil mixture became traditionally red, there are two  theories:

Regardless of how the farmer tinted his paint, having a red barn became fashionable. They were a contrast to the traditional white farmhouse.

As European settlers crossed over to America, they brought with them the tradition of red barns. In the mid to late 1800s, red paint was the most inexpensive to buy. When whitewash became cheaper, at which point white barns began to spring up.

Here are my paintings where the red barn inspired me:

1. "Observing the Pond"---This barn painting was combined with a scene I observed at a park, where a beautiful Blue Heron was "observing the Pond" hoping for a meal. The barn was from another location, but I imagined them together, and created this serene painting.

2. "Somewhere, Not Here, a Red Barn"--close by my house is a farm dating from the 1700's where stands this red barn. The mountains come from my memory of my travels from yet another place. The plants are unusual and unreal, giving this painting a surreal feeling.

3. "Taking Over"--a view from my window, that is not really there.....the table and the easel are real, but the plant is not.

4. "One Behind the Other"--During this past winter, I photographed the aftermath of the blizzard that was practically up to my waist in the early morning. I obtained the lighting of the sky and snow from that photo taken right outside my front door. The barns come from a place so very far away.

Observing the Pond

Somewhere ,Not Here, A Red Barn

Taking Over

T

One Behind the Other

Please see my full collection of art work at www.PaintingsbyLinda.net
Join my facebook fan page:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Paintings-by-Linda/365237511760

Looking forward to your responses.

Back to my Work---topic SMALL PAINTINGS

I have been posting articles  about Art Work from other people. Now, I would like to get back to posting some of my own paintings again.

These 4 paintings are recently finished pieces. All of them are small-2 being 11 X14, the other two, 8 X10. Did you ever feel that sometimes a small painting does the job in expressing what you want to say? Must state that working small does not necessarily mean you are finishing a painting sooner. If you work with details like I do, small paintings can take more time than a large painting!

"Hovering Over"

"Hovering Over" is back to my Mystical Series,(see my web site www.PaintingsbyLinda.net under "Mystical" where I like to include sprites (elves, faeries,or whatever you want to call them) in landscape situations. This particular painting was created from a Plein Air series that I belong to, where we sit outside and sketch or paint what we see. So, I sketched and photographed these two statues of the Blue Herons, and added my sprite hovering over them.

"The Grey House"

Also in the Plein Air series, the same location, stood a guest house on the property we were working at, and I sketched the structure. "The Grey House" was my result-focusing in on the side of the building, with the surrounding area placed around it. I went for less detail in this painting- a stretch for me.

"Window Reflection"

Also with minimal detail is "Window Reflection", sketched and photographed at the Plein Air series site with the other two paintings were done. Here I sketched it as seen, took the photo, and worked the colors off of the photo.

Added to my recent paintings is the Painting"Surf". Not of the Plein Air Series.

"Surf"

The above painting "Surf", is painted from a photo I took while in Newport, Rhode Island. I have done several paintings from this area, some could be seen on my web site www.PaintingsbyLinda.net   under Aqua. The ocean is always very appealing to me- just had a fun time doing this.



  Please see my fan page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Paintings-by-Linda/365237511760  Click LIKE to become a Fan.

See my Web site: www.PaintingsbyLinda.net

Would love to hear feedback on my paintings.

Article of New Exhibit at Gourgaud Gallery

THIS ARTICLE IS POSTED ON THE  GOURGAUD GALLERY BLOG AT WWW.GOURGAUDGALLERY.BLOGSPOT.COM. IT IS WRITTEN BY MY HUSBAND BOB GILBERT, WHO INTERVIEWS THE EXHIBITING ARTISTS EXHIBITING AT THE COURGAUD GALLERY. READ AND ENJOY THE ARTICLE. WE HOPE THAT YOU JOIN THE GOURGAUD GALLERY BLOG BY BECOMING A FOLLOWER, SO YOU CAN BE POSTED OF ALL OF THE UPCOMING NEWS.

NEW EXHIBIT FOR JULY AT THE GOURGAUD GALLERY

By Bob Gilbert

Judy Buckley "French Fields'

Judy Buckley "Peru Street"

Judy Buckley "The Bay"

The new exhibit at the Gourgaud Gallery opening on July 8, 2011 features the paintings of Cranbury resident Judy Buckley. The show is entitled “Travels – Recent Paintings 2011 – Near and Far”.

I had the pleasure of previewing the exhibit, which includes a variety of landscapes. There are bodies of water, farm fields, countryside, and marshes, all with dramatic representations of the sky. In one painting, the outline of a Ferris wheel can be seen on the distant horizon line of the beach. A Ferris wheel is probably the most impressive, striking, and unique structure associated with beach resorts, and the painting really captured that.

But there are more than landscapes. One painting is a view from within a church looking out. It captures some of the interesting features inside the church and the appealing scene outside. Paintings looking out on something always catch my attention.

Judy has a BA degree in Art from Georgian Court College, Lakewood, NJ, and has studied art in New York City as well. She worked for a period in the art department of a New York City advertising agency, but now spends her time painting as well as teaching art at Princeton High School, the Middlesex Youth Center, and the West Windsor Arts Council.

Judy speaks enthusiastically about teaching art. In adult classes, there is great energy and excitement when a new person begins to paint and discovers the joy within them. It is contagious! With high school students, there is discovery, as you never know what is in a person’s mind until they express it in their art work. Each student brings their own approach to art, and witnessing this helps Judy to keep an open mind and to see things in a new way.

Judy was interested in art as a child, but really got started when, as a high school student, she took lessons from a highly regarded artist in Red Bank, NJ, whom she still remembers fondly as a great inspiration. Judy is especially grateful to her mom who drove her forty-five minutes each way to attend these lessons. This is a great example of how a caring parent and an outstanding teacher can make a difference in a person’s life!

Judy paints primarily landscapes, as she enjoys the challenge of capturing the beauty of the places she has seen, whether it be the Jersey shore or some exotic location halfway around the world. She finds that as her art evolves, she is less concerned with realism and more interested in the play and interaction of color.

In addition to her own paintings, Judy is displaying paintings by some of her students at the Middlesex Youth Shelter. These students earn high school credits in Judy’s art class, which is funded by the Cranbury Arts Council.

Additional paintings may be seen on the Gourgaud Gallery Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Gourgaud-Gallery/108657442495068?sk=info

The exhibit can be viewed at The Gourgaud Gallery, Town Hall, 3-A North Main St., Cranbury, NJ 08512. The Artist reception will be held on Friday, July 8 from 6-8 PM. The Gallery is open on the 1^st, 3^rd and last Sunday of every month and during regular business hours of Town Hall, Monday through Friday from 9AM to 5 PM. 

  www.PaintingsbyLinda.net (web site)

HISTORIC WALNFORD

 

CAPTAIN

"Historic Walnford" Acrylic on Canvas

THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN BY MY HUSBAND, BOB GILBERT FOR OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER, "THE GRAPEVINE" I HAD TO INCLUDE IT IN MY BLOG, AS IT IS AN INTERESTING AND ENJOYABLE ARTICLE




WANT A CHANGE OF SCENERY?


By Bob Gilbert

If you would like to visit a picturesque setting and learn about local history, consider a trip to Historic Walnford, a 36-acre site in Upper Freehold, NJ that is listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.

Walnford is the estate of a Philadelphia Quaker named Richard Waln, who purchased the property in 1772 and moved there with his family in 1773. The site includes Waln’s elegant home, a grist mill, a corn crib, and other buildings. The Waln family occupied the property for two-hundred years, and it was ultimately donated to the Monmouth County Park System in 1985.

Walnford offers an interesting view of life during the colonial period and beyond as you walk the grounds, see the buildings, and enjoy a guided tour of the house, all at no charge. Here are some points of interest that we enjoyed:

The carriage house built in 1879 was their version of our modern day garage. It housed the family’s carriages and carriage horses. A buggy and a sleigh (used for travel in the snow) were on display. We learned that when the sleigh was used, it was so silent as it moved through the snow that "sleigh bells" were sounded to alert people that it was coming.

The ice house (which pre-dates refrigerators) stored large blocks of ice cut from the frozen creek in the winter for use in the warmer months. The structure was strategically located slightly below ground (where it is cooler) and was vented on the roof to allow the warmer air to escape (warm air rises).

The main house is 5000 square feet, which is more than twice the size of most of the homes in our development, and has ten foot ceilings. (Luckily, they did not have to worry about changing light bulbs or smoke detector batteries.) The house is modest on the outside because the owner was a Quaker, but beautiful inside. The kitchen has a brick oven, which would have made great pizza (except for the fact that pizza had not yet been invented). And can you guess why the closets in the house had no hanging rods? Hangers had not yet been invented either. (They used hooks.) Most rooms had fireplaces, as central heating was not an option.

The grist mill was powered by water diverted from the creek. The best feature of the mill was the cat (later identified to us as "Captain") who resides there. When we entered, we heard a loud "meow" and then sighted Captain prancing down the steps from the upper level to greet us. We patted him and he accompanied us during the rest of our tour.

One interesting piece of history about Richard Waln – he opposed independence from England and was arrested and exiled to Staten Island for refusing to join the independence movement. There is on display at Walnford a letter that Waln’s twelve year old son wrote to Waln during this exile, in which the son tells the father in great detail how he is trying to fill in as the man of the house in the father’s absence. 

If anybody is interested in visiting Walnford, it is located on 62 Walnford Road, Upper Freehold, NJ, telephone 609-259-6275. It is approximately a thirty minute ride. Our GPS took us down Route 130 to Robbinsville and then on very scenic roads to the site. While I can’t guarantee that Captain the cat will give you the royal treatment like he did for us, I think that if you enjoy picturesque historical places, you will have a good time. 

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I am including a photo of Captain and a copy of an acrylic painting by my wife, Linda of the grist mill and the main house.

SHOWCASED ARTIST LAUREN CURTIS

I am showcasing artist Lauren Curtis who  previously had work posted on PaintingsbyLinda.blogspot before. Lauren's previous blog posting was in relation to her successful show at the Gourgaud Gallery. She won first prize in a recent Art Show in East Brunswick, New Jersey. Read lauren's explanation and enjoy the wonderful photograph!

                                         
                                         BARCELONA CHURCH photo by Lauren Curtis

This piece was in the Gourgaud show too!
About the photo; I shot it in the Barcelona Cathedral in 2010...I took it while kneeling on the floor and looking up towards the gorgeous vaulted ceilings surrounded by ornate chandeliers.  I really liked the play of light in the darkened church and the elaborate brick work in the arched architecture.  The photo was enlarged to 8x10 and framed in black to 11x14 and won the "Excellence Award" (1st prize for photography) at this year's East Brunswick Juried Art Fest.  Signed prints are available so to purchase people can contact me at forestwalker333@hotmail.com (Paypal accepted).
http://www.LaurenCurtisArt.com (commercial & fine art)
http://www.laurencurtisart.mosaicglobe.com (fine art, photography, art updates)
http://www.laurencurtis.imagekind.com (cards, T-shirts, photography, illustration)
http://laurencurtis.wordpress.com  (my Blog!)
http://www.facebook.com/LaurenCurtisArtTalonArt (Facebook Fan Page)

CLOWNING AROUND

As a diversion from the ordinary, I had to post this document written by my husband Bob Gilbert.
This document was written for the community newspaper at Cranbury Crossing in Monroe Township.
It inspired me to do this little drawing after laughing for almost 20 minutes after reading the contents, and laughing while creating the drawing. So, read, enjoy and laugh, at the same time getting some incite to CLOWNING AROUND!

CLOWNING AROUND

By Bob Gilbert

Recently, my wife Linda cracked a few hilarious jokes over dinner.  I told her that she was a great comedienne and jokingly asked her if this was a natural talent or whether she had developed it by attending clown school.  We had some laughs about it and then I started to wonder whether there is such a thing as “clown school” and whether people still work as clowns today. 

Before I share with you the answers to these probing questions, let’s get the obvious joke out of the way – that if you look up “clown” in the dictionary, my picture is there.  Very funny, score one for you. 

Now, let’s get down to business:

First, the mere definition of a professional clown makes me laugh - “a comic character known by distinctive makeup and costume, ludicrous antics, and buffoonery whose purpose is to induce hearty laughter”.  Sounds like some people I have known over the years!

Professional clowns work in various settings including at children’s birthday parties, storytelling sessions, adult events, and what is described as the major league of clowning – the circus. 

Apparently, becoming a professional clown involves a lot more than putting a lampshade on your head and cracking a few jokes.  First, you need the right personality – you must love to make people laugh.  Assuming you have that, you must develop the clown’s character, including makeup, costume, and the character’s personality, as well as associated skills such as magic, balloon animals, face painting, and comic routines.  A name must be chosen, which may be related to the character’s profession, such as Dr. Fumbles, Nurse Jones, or Professor Dum Dum. 

And if that’s not enough, a clown must become adept at the use of props such as a rubber chicken, a Harpo horn, a honking nose, and juggling balls.

And don’t forget the oversized shoes.  You can either buy them from a specialty shop or make them yourself by purchasing size 18 Converse sneakers and then gluing your own shoes inside of them.

There are different ways to become a professional clown.  You can spend time with a clown in your area and learn the ropes; attend clown workshops and conferences run by local clown clubs; or attend one of the many “clown schools” throughout the United States.  The New York Goofs Clown School offers intensive two-week courses taught by experts.

So the answer is yes, there is such a thing as a clown school.  But beyond that, there was also a clown college!  It operated from 1968 – 1997 and was called the Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey Clown College.  Its purpose was to supply clowns to work in the circus, and it produced over 1,000 trained clowns.

There have been many popular clowns in the United States.  Emmett Kelly was famous for his character, “Weary Willie”.  “Bozo the Clown” was created in 1948 and was played by many actors over the years.  “Ronald McDonald, the Hamburger Happy Clown” was developed in the early 1960s for McDonalds’ TV commercials and was originally played by news personality Willard Scott.

I think that I really started something with this clown business - Linda wants to know when we are enrolling in clown school.  I don’t know if I am ready for that, but I do see one big advantage for the two of us if we were to graduate from clown school – when people say that “Bob and Linda are two clowns”, rather than getting offended, I could accurately say, “that’s true, and thank you for recognizing our professional accomplishments!”