TWISTED SPURS 2009 National Exhibition

No309, 2009, 24X30 acrylic and ink silk screened on canvas -M Scantling

No309 is one of 3 paintings I have entered in TWISTED SPUR 2009 juried exhibition at K Space Contemporary in Corpus Christi, Texas. The show runs July 11 through August 22, 2009. This year’s juror is Angel Quesada, curator and production manager at Mexic-Arte Museum in Austin, Texas.

Backstory: This painting was originally made for a recent exhibit. The background was very different from what you see. As I was preparing to move it and other paintings a gust of wind from an approaching cold front blew into the studio and No309 went face down into black paint. I had to set it aside, and finally weeks later repainted and touched up the image. I was told once in art school that good things can come from mistakes.

-Mark

VORTEX, Richard Serra, 2002

VORTEX/Richard Serra, digital print, 2009, -Mark Scantling

I admit when it initially went up, I did not care for Richard Serra‘s VORTEX. At first, I was reminded of farm yard scrap piles filled with the rusted twisted iron, and discarded plows, tractors and pickups along Highway 380, between Tahoka and Brownfield in far west Texas. VORTEX, made of 2 inch thick warped and twisting steel, hurls itself 67 feet, 10 inches into the Fort Worth sky beside Tadao Ando’s shinny new Modern with it’s straight clean lines. I cringed each time I drove by it for months. I now must admit, it seduced me. I can’t visit the museum without walking around, and stepping inside to listen to the soft echoes visitors make. It grows on you. Other than the obvious danger, I think it would be thrilling to experience a thunder and lightening show inside Vortex.

- Mark

In The Gardens – Spring (Part 1)

WATER LILIES, 2006, -Mark Scantling

Shooting black and white images of nature is one of the most satisfying aspects of photography for me. I am fortunate that Fort Worth offers an abundance of gardens and green areas. WATER LILIES was taken at Weston Gardens in the far south side of the city. Randy and Sue Weston have been restoring the gardens around their early Fort Worth home, that sits across the street from their nursery.  Their gardens are open to the public, where gardening demonstrations are offered through the seasons. I like to slip into and wander through the 4- acre property and it’s formal English gardens and natural gardens a few times each year to take in the beauty, and collect a few images.

-Mark

Weston Gardens In Bloom is located at 8101 Anglin Drive, Fort Worth, Texas.

CRAZY HORSE

CRAZY HORSE, 2009, acrylic and ink silkscreened on panel, 30X30  -Mark Scantling

This is a painting I have had in my mind for many years. I like to think that if Native Americans had seen zebras, they would have thought of them as “crazy horses”.

-Mark

Flying Fish and Bluebirds – or – Dinner and a Show (sort of)

Mickie, my wife, attends a monthly meeting of glass artists (which she is) at The Merry Go Round on the west side of Fort Worth. Each month I use that night to dine solo, escaping her personal “No Chinese – No Fish” rule. February and March I dined at Asia Bowl (one of my favorites) where you can get about 201 variations of chicken fried rice – all of them are great. Tonight though, I wanted to try something different, something new.

For some time, I have been intrigued by the plain looking, white, cinder block building at the corner of Vickery and Montgomery Streets, called the  Flying Fish. Tonight I decided to try it out, and I am glad that I did. Parking is spare, but seating is ample with a large covered patio. Inside decor is Fish Camp shack with photos of locals proudly showing off their catch at their favorite fishing holes. There is also the largest collection (I have seen) of “Big Mouth Billy’s” – you know – the disturbing, mounted on a plaque, singing Bass. The menu includes Catfish and Talapia (fried or grilled), frog legs, oysters, clams, shrimp and mud bugs, cold beverages and more. Not what the doctor ordered, but seriously Good stuff! – The Flying Fish now goes into my regular pitching rotation.  – Mark

The Bluebird Club

I wanted to add this photo of the the Bluebird Club. Other than the striking color, there’s not much to draw your attention to this building – certainly nothing that tells you this is an icon of Fort Worth music – much less, American Music history. The Bluebird is between Camp Bowie Blvd. and Vickery Ave, on Horne St. in the west side’s Como neighborhood. The roster of people that have passed through it’s doors reads like the Who’s Who of Blues and Rock Music. Eric Clapton, B.B. King, ZZ Top, T Bone Burnett, and former owner/bluesman Robert Eally. You would have to ask Joe Nick Patoski to verify – but,  I was told that many years ago, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards came to the Bluebird one evening to hear a young guitarist play his own style of searing Texas Blues. It is said they offered that young man a job on the spot, playing for the Rolling Stones. The Rolling Stones and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Legends. Awesome…
And there you are – dinner and a show (sort of)…

-Mark