Edgar Statue, HOFers Murals, and Other Ballpark Art

HOFers Mural (2020), 'Weirdo'

Walter Jones, Jack Sikma and Edgar Martinez have been immortalized in a SOHO mural located on 1st Ave South in Seattle, about a block south of T-Mobile Park, and painted by local artist, Jeff Jacobson, a.k.a. 'Weirdo'. On our way to a Mariners baseball game we spotted the spectacular Edgar mural painted on a textured wall covered with small stones. What a surface to paint on! I love the colors and the faint outline of #11 in the middle layer.

Kyle Seager portrait (2018), 'Weirdo'

Weirdo also painted a portrait of 3rd baseman Kyle Seager during Mariners Care Charity Night in June 2018 that sold for a final bid of $2,600.

New Statue at T-Mobile Park (2021)

Then we walked to T-Mobile Park and took plenty of pictures of the new statue of slugger and Baseball HOFer Martinez, sculpted by Chicago-based artist Lou Cella,  and just down the street from his Ken Griffey Jr. statue.

Ken Griffey Jr. Statue (2017)

Dave Niehaus Statue (2011), Lou Cella

Cella is also the artist responsible for the tribute to late sportscaster, Dave Niehaus that sits inside the ballpark. Fans can sit next to Dave for a photo op and take home a great souvenir of their ballpark experience.

The Mitt (1999), Gerry Tsutakawa

On the left field (north) side of T-Mobile Park (once Safeco Field) is The Mitt, a bronze sculpture by Gerry Tsutakawa, son of local fountain artist George Tsutakawa. It's a great example of positive-negative space with its cutout representing the baseball.

The Ascent (1950), George Tsutakawa

While at SAM the morning of the baseball game we spotted two of George Tsutakawa's early paintings. Though known for his sculptures, George Tsutakawa was initially trained as a painter. Here, in these two paintings, he combines Japanese calligraphy with American Modernism. 

The Descent (1950), G. Tsutakawa

I am always pleased to find such gems on my visits to the art museum. The compositions are very much the same, like many abstract works often are, although more representational than most. I like the color scheme and his playful use of line. Diagonal lines create the switchbacks characteristic of mountain trails. The smaller details are reminiscent of embellishments that Joan Miró would have added to his paintings.

SAM Visit -- Monet at Étretat

The Cliffs At Étretat (1885), Monet

My daughter and I had tickets to an afternoon Mariners baseball game at T-Mobile Park. We spent the morning visiting the Seattle Art Museum and its Monet at Étretat exhibit. As you know, Monet often became fixated on a particular motif such as is evident by his many paintings of haystacks. In July of this year I posted about Impressionists' use of The Color Purple, Violet or Lilac in Art. Monet appears in >10 of my blog posts.

Fishing Boats (1885), Monet

Prior to his 1890 haystacks series, and in two separate visits to the Normandy Coast, he spent his time painting seaside landscapes along the English Channel. His main subjects were Manne-Porte arch and the cliffs at Étretat (above) and fishing boats. 

Boats on the Beach at Étretat (1885), Monet

I like how this painting of boats shows outbuildings (cabanas?) shaped like haystacks. It makes me wonder if they left an impression on his mind that lead to his later fascination with that shape.

Cliffs of the Porte d'Aval (1885), Monet

This popular vacation spot in France reminds me of our March 2019 trip to the Channel Islands off the coast of California and our boat trip and hike on Santa Cruz Island.

Santa Cruz Island off Ventura, CA

Coastal Location of Étretat

Santa Cruz Island (inbound from boat), March 2019

Luckily I had my cellphone and captured many beautiful shots. Too bad I didn't have my portable easel to paint en plein air. Notice the small slit (arch) in the rock (lower right).

One of my friends also pointed out the arch at Cabo San Lucas, which was one of the stops on our cruise to Mexico. Here is a great picture courtesy of Mike Raabe and fineartamerica.com.

La Falaise et la Porte d'Aval (1883), Monet

All of the above Monet landscapes are from his second trip to Normandy in 1885. Here is one from his first trip there in 1883. While I enjoy the atmospheric effects of the surrounding water and sky, the cliff (la falaise) seems rather flat and unaffected (maybe in silhouette?). The dark outline of the cliff creates a line of tension for me. The texture of Monet's cliff also seems more impressionistic in color and texture than the rest of his painting. Up close you can see bits of red.

Washerwomen on the Beach of Étretat (1894), Boudin

Also on display were paintings by Monet's first teacher, Eugène Boudin. The subject figures in the foreground accentuate the relative height of the cliff. Apparently, the artist was capturing a common occurrence while painting en plein air. It's almost like two paintings.

Scratch Paintings with Seniors at Old Friends Club

There was so much to see at the art museum besides the works of Monet and others. The paper cutouts  in The Geography of Innocence exhibit by Barbara Earl Thomas are amazing! Her use of light, colored glass, and intricate paper cutouts creates unusual portraits in both color and black-and-white. Her work also fills entire rooms and walls of gallery areas. The multicolor portraits overlay black paper with cutouts that allow the backlit painted glass to shine through. It reminds me of the scratch paper we used as kids where we used a wooden stylus to etch designs and reveal the colors beneath.

Walkabout Exhibit at SAM

Australian Aboriginal artist Dorothy Napangardi uses dots to create beautiful abstract paintings that will blow you away. Her Walkabout: The Work of Dorothy Napangardi is a new and ongoing exhibit at SAM.

One final note: these Kwottenal Kanye earrings, worn by the women of Fulani, captured our eyes because we made our own fortune cookie versions for one of my daughter's second-grade projects about African women's jewelry. I recall that we also used Sugar Corn Pops cereal for a necklace. We both get excited when we see something that sparks old memories. I remember back in 2011 during our France/Italy trip when she found a Rembrandt painting hidden in one of the museum hallways. And I still get jazzed when I find an obscure Van Gogh painting that I haven't seen before.

Art Activities You Can Do at Home

Bo the Cat, Purrfect Pals

I've started volunteering again and engaging in 60-90 minute art projects. One such project involves painting small animal portraits that support 45 local animal shelters. Paws with Cause provides 8X10 canvases and (water-based) acrylic paint kits, along with sketches of a cat, dog, or farm animal that is up for adoption. The shelters or rescue organizations supply a photo and bio of potential adoptees. At first, I thought it was going to be paint-by-number but it allows a wide range of creativity for a variety of age groups. PwC hosts painting parties at the Everett Mall, local senior centers, mans booths at local farmers markets and fairs and offers custom paintings of your pet.

by Bill

Many of the artists who paint the shelter animal portraits are seniors who hang out at senior centers or assisted living establishment. One such artist is Bill, whose work is reminiscent of German Expressionist, Max Beckmann. See my post entitled, 'Egyptian Art, Sculpture, and Tombs'.

Avisha by Tracie Olsen

My friend, Tracie Olsen, and PwC volunteer painted a dog portrait as a demonstration during our recent Black Diamond Labor Days event.

Power Plants Collage

Another organization where we do art at Issaquah Senior Center and online at Circle of Love is Heart Art Healing. In my first artwork, I did a collage about resolving to eat right and exercise more. I found this happy picture of an older gentleman celebrating while hula-hooping. I placed a mother bear and her cub in the background encouraging him/me to get moving! I added a dog (not my own) to symbolize walking as another form of exercise. My collage is decorated with plenty of fruits and vegetables. I even used salmon filets for the hands and a healthy fat for the tie. There are asparagus trees and a head of broccoli (another tree or my brain?).

This activity requires a collection of assorted magazines with pictures (or words) that may be torn or cut out, then arranged and stuck down with a glue stick. You may also want to use Washi tape, which is kids' masking tape that has been decorated with fun patterns. Acrylic paints and markers may also be used.

Spice Girl portrait

I'm still getting set up in my He-Shed and have now proved that WiFi works on my laptop outdoors from inside my studio. I attended Heart Art Healing's Circle of Love online Zoom session painting with spices such as cloves, garlic, ginger, cayenne pepper, paprika, and turmeric. The experiment not only worked but it also provided a sort of aromatherapy experience. I admit that I had to supplement my earth tone colors with some more saturated watercolor accents such as black, blue, and red.

When I teach a class online, I will need to log in on my laptop and also join the Zoom meeting as a guest on my cellphone. I purchased a flexible gooseneck phone mount to attach to my table for displaying my own work surface while teaching. Pretty cool!

My instructor chose to paint a simple bowl to teach the concept of shading, which works well for beginners or getting to know new media. A facial portrait also works for shading using earthy tones.

Color Wheel Sky inspired by Kandinsky's
Color Study. Squares with Concentric Circles

Apparently, there are certain spices that some people may be allergic to, so when teaching art to elementary school kids I am going to stick to using salt. While it doesn't add color to a painting it does add texture. The difference is that it reacts with the paint, pushing away some of the color and leaving areas of lighter or darker value behind.

The topic was COLOR and the project was called, "Color Wheel Sky". Some of the results were quite unexpected, though pretty remarkable, especially with non-rainbow color schemes. Two of my students went outside the box and managed to get some really interesting effects. I use laminated placemats to protect the working surface and remind the students of the elements and principles of art right there on the mat. Simply access the link, print out pages #4 & #16, make copies, then arrange side-by-side on a 12"X18" piece of construction paper and laminate. Most schools will have a laminator.

'Tim Burton' Trees

Another variation of the above salt painting project is to create a simple landscape with a moon, inspired by Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas". Using either warm or cool colors of watercolor paint my seniors created a sky with lots of movement. Then we added trees to create repetition and interest.

You can see the results in my post entitled, Salt Painting with Seniors. You may choose to use black paint, markers, or construction paper strips for the branches.

Circles cut from contact paper work are great for preserving the white space for the moon when painting the sky. It resists the paint and leaves an unpainted shape when the sticker is peeled off. Amazing!

This month has been about giving back to my community. Although I haven't been teaching in a traditional classroom setting I am getting exposed to new ways of sharing and encouraging art. Participating in the farmers market and planning my own community event is making use of my skills in different ways and allowing access to all kinds of artists at all levels.