Sun Descending Behind Old Rag – Sunset, Saturday, 31 May 2014

William Van Doren, SUN DESCENDING BEHIND OLD RAG. Sunset from Route 231, Rappahannock County, Va. Oil on Arches, 17 x 23.

On the way back from the opening for the terrific Mike Fitts show at Haley Fine Art in Sperryville.

From Sperryville Cemetery – Sunset, Saturday, 29 September 2012

William Van Doren, FROM SPERRYVILLE CEMETERY. Sunset from Sperryville, Rappahannock County, Va. Oil on watercolor block, 13 x 19.

It can be difficult to see the sunset from Sperryville itself, because it’s right next to the Blue Ridge. So I drove a mile or so east to the cemetery, up on a little rise. The crowd there was a lot quieter than the one at the opening for the fantastic show of new work by Mike Fitts at Haley Fine Art.

Michael Fitts at Haley Fine Art

There’s no way I’m going to miss the opening reception for the Mike Fitts show at Haley Fine Art in the beautiful little town of Sperryville, Virginia, on September 29th. (Show goes up September 27th.) Sperryville alone would be worth the trip, the Haley gallery alone is worth the trip, and the work of Michael Fitts would be more than worth the trip. Did I mention that it’s worth the trip? 

What Goes On Outside (During a Meeting) (Sunset, Thursday, 10 March 2011)

William Van Doren, WHAT GOES ON OUTSIDE (DURING A MEETING) (Sunset from Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va.) Oil on watercolor block, 13 x 19.

For my meeting-mates, artist/designer Michael Fitts, photographer Robert Llewellyn, and author Preston Thomas.

Sunset, Tuesday, 1 December 2009

William Theodore Van Doren. Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va. Oil on paper, 16 x 20.

Today is my friend Sarah Bruce’s birthday. Not sure about her age, except it’s somewhere under 40. Anyway, usually – in fact, always – Sarah, who controls the weather on her birthday because she’s some form of witch, contrives to deprive me of any sort of skyscape on December 1st except for a clear cold blue sky and that’s it, no clouds, no other color, thanks very much.

I guess this year she relented. I want to thank her for the sky.

Sarah moved north from here to be closer to Salem, I guess. If this sort of thing interests you, you might check out her blog, I Nap, Therefore I Am a Witch.

Around a week ago I posted a little item about the cover of The New Yorker and its image of a pumpkin pie – and a ‘pumpkin cloud’ – by Wayne Thiebaud and I made a wild guess that the original painting might run you $75,000. Now, thanks to a link in the blog emdashes, I’ve seen some of the actual prices for which Thiebauds have sold recently. Did I say last week that $75,000 was probably way, way off, on the conservative side? Well, out of some 30 Thiebaud paintings at what seems to be a sort of meta–auction site, I did manage to find one that had gone dirt cheap for $62,000 – and all the rest, forget about it.

In fact, speaking of pumpkin, a Wayne Thiebaud of slices of the pie sold for $1,900,000.

If you’d like to get in on the pop art action, but didn’t start saving 30 years ago, you can buy a Mike Fitts now and thank me later.

Sunset, Friday, 4 September 2009

William Theodore Van Doren. Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va. Oil on paper, 16 x 20.

Once upon a time, I was going to attempt a mini-essay on how all serious artists are alike in broad intent – why the similarities between a Jackson Pollock and a Jan van Eyck might be much more important than the differences. In this sparkling screed I would compare my friend Mike Fitts, a Pop Realist (I have no idea what he’s going to think of that label, which I just made up) with yours truly, a – what? (A whatever – possibly a would-be neo-Transcendentalist, and I have no idea if there’s any school of painting by that name.) But this will have to wait for another day, possibly the 30th of February.

Meanwhile, it’s more fun just to link you directly to some big versions of Mike’s paintings. Most if not all of these are done on found metal, scrap tin, the roofing of old burned-down sheds. (For example, roofs of old burned-down sheds accidentally burned down by a fellow artist.) (No name or initials, but he burned the shed down neotranscendentally.) You can choose from among a box of popcorn, an adjustable end wrench, a package of Twinkies, a Hostess cherry pie, a box of animal crackers (and directing you to all this food probably reflects my orientation more than Mike’s ... and I hope you’ve had something to eat!), an ice cream scoop, and, my favorite so far, a freshly laundered and folded white shirt.