sue had both feet up on the windowsill. she aimed the luger at the clouds outside. she had rocked back in the fragile wicker chair and held it for sixty seconds. s. was drawing furiously on a big pad. the session was standard. twenty one minute poses, four fives, two twenties and a forty minute drawing at the end.
for the forty minute drawing sue was leaning on one elbow and aiming the stage replica lugar down into the street. after ten minutes sue got a little bored. she was only fifteen, just a kid, but a very precocious kid. s. noticed that her aiming had become more animated and the expression on her face was demonic. s. looked out the other window and saw the lunch crowd vacating the booths at the 'corner cupboard'. someone had noticed.
within minutes durphy came crashing through the door. his .45 searched the room for the sniper. durphy was a squat constable, about 300 lbs. of panjandrum idiocy. s. blithly looked up from his drawing. he almost laughed at the image of durphy to the rescue. the cop looked like a bermuda traffic cop with black pants and white short sleeve shirt. it was mid summer in vermont and hot. his cap was ornate like the chief of police in chicago.
he actually cuffed poor sue. sue had grown up in woodstock. her family owned the ski lift and durphy knew that. he now knew that the luger was plastic, but he still went through the motions as if he had captured a 'hitman'.
he glared at s., who was innocent, as if to say, "i've got my eye on you too, and i'll be back."
sue bertram had knocked on s's studio door a few months before. she knew bob anderson and 'babysat' for him sometimes, and wanted to meet his young protege'. she liked s. and he liked her. she looked like a young betty davis and could carry on an intelligent conversation. she had a sister and a couple of brothers. sue introduced him to the local teenage population who treated s. as a celebrity. he was often invited to their beer parties on saturday nights and bullshit sessions with the guys late into the night.
sue's father came and got her. she was released without charges. s's studio was declared 'off limits', but sue had a mind of her own, and came anyway. "om tat sat".
it's not that s. was bad or anything. smoking 'pot' now and then when he wasn't working because he was restless. he loved chaos periodically; disorientation inspired him. he'd learned that from arthur rimbaud….and he had a way of toggling from intense periods of dedication to disorderly conduct; even roguish behavior. his reslessness drove him to 'thumb' down to the city every couple of months to hang out in the village, get high with friends, sleep around. he always scored a couple ounces of pot before going back. then he would languish around or walk the bald hills for miles around.
yes, s. communed with nature. is that a sin. is it a sin to twirl around naked in hidden glens and expose himself to the summer sun? is it a sin to crouch in a cold mountain swimming hole and sense the animal life of him? maybe. he was shameless but not immoral. it was this natural sensation which gave mystical energy to his work. he would fill up his heart with pure love of the grassy hills, trees… the birds talked to him. once, he came upon a herd of wild cattle who charged him. he wasn't hurt but he was scared enough to run for miles afterwards.
s. did go back to that same hill with a sketchpad another day. on one page you see a sharp horned young bull in the distance looking at him. then you see the head quickly sketched, then bigger to the right, an eye. and even larger than life, the eye with eyelashes and an angry furiousness. he just kept drawing. these cattle were really wild; but all talk.
the 'enfant terrible' had an inherent perogative given by his inner 'angel' to disregard the power of any authority. if he reasoned with words about it, which he didn't, he would have said he was empowered by his dedication to live as a pure artist. s. didn't think about it. he didn't control anything. he was moved to do this or that and that is all. sure he read and thought and absorbed books on art, but he followed his own daemon.
half the time he led a life of elegant idleness eating when he was hungry and sleeping when he was tired. and there was some cunning to this technique because when suddenly, he would feel the urge, his heart was full. and he could work.
*******************************************************
bob tate came to town, with his wife, cheryl and daughter, jennifer. they opened an antique store on the second floor across the street from s's room.
in the fall they transformed the high ceilinged room into a coffee house and called it "the cinnamon tree". the bare brick walls now had five antique arches rescued from some demolished saloon. they were serving hot chocolate, pastries, teas, coffee and cider. it was just like a village coffee shop modeled with the help of a real coffee shop owner, bob fitzgerald. the brass and copper espresso machine culminated the visual ambiance of gas lamps on the walls and all the antiques hanging around; marble wash basins, scythes and saddles.
the tates wanted to fill the five spaces with murals. anderson recommended s. they made a deal. s. would retain ownership of the five murals but would do them in exchange for meals and the use of their shower. the only mural the tates commissioned was the centerpiece which should be conceived on the theme "the cinnamon tree".
s. was very enthusiastic. he painted the mural within the week. a winding tree surrounded by a train of children being towed through the air by a muse. some children sketched into the leaves and branches of the tree. s. took a picture of it and delivered the 4×5 foot painting to the tates. it was nice having a hot shower.
addendum: it surprised me when the tates reneged on our deal. they stopped feeding me and wouldn't let me shower anymore after a couple of months so i felt that the painting was mine. when i took it back to my studio and worked on it for a couple of days i decided to not give it back.
they had a 'writ of replevin' filed and durphy came with the order to reposess the painting until it could be adjudicated in the court.
lawyer wright did a terrible job of arguing the case which should have been decided in my favor because they broke the verbal contract.
so i consider that painting to be stolen by law.
four more paintings followed in a timely fashion and everything was fine. he had a place to hang out, play chess read and listen to classical music. sometimes on the weekends they brought in local talent. the folksinger of the area, the harpist, even a pianist and ensembles. no big deal. no big posters just live entertainment.
s. sold a few paintings at the woodstock gallery. the winter seemed long and was incredible cold. sometimes it snowed for days in a row. s. read books and sat by the window watching the snowflakes fall.
s's angel was dedication to art.
but for the most part s. was an 'outsider'; an interloper.
come my fellow camels
the desert is wide
the journey is long
but while yet we are
breathing clean air. rejoice!
and rise again.
s.c. easter poem
Nice read, Scott. Nice Easter poem, too. I am still a follower of this your biography of sorts.
Happy easter meli,I'll be back later,I just wanted to say "I think of you today " 🙂
meli :heart: that's so sweet. those little pink pads. :smile:thanks allan, always glad that you comment and to see you smiling here. :happy: "of sorts…" 😆 . snapshots. anyway, i'm having fun with it.
:heart: the cinnamon tree mural
annette so glad you like the cinnamon tree. later i took it back for a while and greatly improved it. 🙂 but no photo.
Another exciting chapter in the life of s. The artwork is wonderful and the photo of you is a classic. That's one of my favorite photos of you.The scene with the policeman was a riot. I love picturing the Cinnamon Tree Coffee Shop and visualizing your painting hanging there. I sometimes wonder about myself as I read these pages of yours. Where would I be now had I had the same life and the opportunities to express myself. Where would I be if I hadn't had the fear of authority ingrained in my very soul, quite the opposite of yours? Perhaps I was born with that, I don't know. Or perhaps it was from growing up with the volatile temper of my father. I grew up in a very protected environment ruled by this temper. It stayed with me for years. The few things I did against this authority were always the wrong things for me and I paid dearly in more ways than one. My artistic soul was squashed and smashed like a round peg in a square hole. At the age of 38 it began emerging. All the years before, hidden in little notebooks of sketches that no one saw, or if they saw, were not interested. I love your little Easter poem too and hope your day was a nice one.
What did you add that 'greatly improved it'? 🙂
pam, thanks for the interesting comment. i was touched by your question. of course we have to learn to love our mothers and fathers or there is no hope of reconciling the imprint they made on us.my opinion is that there are seven influences. we are a clean sheet of paper when we come into this world. :heart: :happy:annette,i worked on the leaves, the costumes and the faces, so it does look different. but not in general. the general effect is the same. just more finished. :happy:
meli, meli,meli,you make this read so enjoyable!!!I hate asking too many questions but sometimes I just laugh or I stop and come back for more….So,"yes, s. communed with nature. is that a sin. is it a sin to twirl around naked in hidden glens and expose himself to the summer sun? is it a sin to crouch in a cold mountain swimming hole and sense the animal life of him? maybe. he was shameless but not immoral. it was this natural sensation which gave mystical energy to his work. he would fill up his heart with pure love of the grassy hills, trees… the birds talked to him. once, he came upon a herd of wild cattle who charged him. he wasn't hurt but he was scared enough to run for miles afterwards."was Scott running naked?? 😆 I am sorry, I shouldn't laughI love the Sue face…Yes, very Davis look alike, I can clearly see it!this entry is spicy, sweet and lovely!
just a really great photo of you, Scott, at bottom… such a great piece the first of Sue.
no, meli :heart: not that time. these hills were walkable and runable, but the time of the wild cow attack s., luckily, was fully clothed and booted. but it's true that for miles, the hills ran on without seeing a single human. i do so hate to dissolve the image in your imagination. that would be much funnier. well, when i produce the movie i will, by sleight of hand and justified artistic license, have s. take off along the ridge buck naked silhouetted against a deep blue sky. :happy: s. loved the sun and he also loved to run. must be his indian blood; because he often ran up hill. glad you came back meli…:heart: of course i thrive on your spicy comments. hi jill, thanks for commenting. glad you liked the pictures. that black and white by the railroad tracks… i obviously didn't take myself. but whoever it was knew how to wait for a 'right moment'. it was my camera though, i can always tell the "pentax" with 'triple x' film. just love that graininess. :happy:
I still dream/envy of the feeling s. had making love in seaweed 😥 as for"i do so hate to dissolve the image in your imagination. that would be much funnier. ":lol: yes,just the thought of the yo-yo effect makes me giggle!I always come back for more meli,I am only one breath away…:heart:
I sure did meli,sometimes I wonder how I would have reacted if my son was involved with an older woman and then I always thought that age is just a number,as for the yo-yo scene I give it 5*s 😆
and i am glad you do meli :heart: you're the only one who can tickle me with your light and lively sense of humor… "yo yo effect" lmao you must have seen the naked running scene in "sons and lovers" to come up with that one. :love:
age is just a number but you have to get older to realize that. :sherlock:it's not often that movies allow the penis to be seen. i think it's a rather homophobic attitude the 'industry' is bound by. movie makers succumb to pressure. or is it something else? i don't know.
meli religion plays a great role on the covering of body parts,lets not forget the Eve and Adam story.shame is not something we are born with,all babies feel happier when naked.I am suprised Jesus was not born by a C Section…I was reading on something similar the other day,on the Muslim religionvery interesting to say the least:" The private part of a man, according to the the majority of the jurists consisted of the Hanafis, Malikis, Shafiis, and Hanbalis, is between his navel and knees. But, the Hanafis included the kneecaps to the private parts. The Prophet said: “The thighs of a man is his private parts.” (Ahmad, III/478) In another Prophetic tradition, it is stated that the man’s private parts which has to be covered and which is forbidden to look at is the parts between his navel and knees. (Abu Dawud, Libas, 37; Daraqutni, I/230-231) According to the dominant view among the Hanafis, Malikis, Shafiis, and Hanbalis, the women have to cover their whole bodies except their faces and hands. A certain Hanafi view keeps the feet out of the private parts. However, the Shafiis and Hanbalis include them in the private parts during the prayers. The women can pray barefoot in the view of the Hanafite school. The reason for their disagreement is the statement “what (ordinarily) apeear thereof” in the Qur’anic verse: “And say to the believing women that …they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (ordinarily) appear thereof” (al-Nur, 24/31)In prayers, the private parts of the body that should be covered is the area between navel and kneecaps in men, and the whole body except hands, face, and feet in women. Furthermore, the private parts of the man and the woman should not be visible through the clothe.And finally, it is not permissible for women to pray bearheaded.so it is clear if one wants to fit in society has to follow religious rules, if he wants a movie to be acceptable has to go by the rules,D H Laurence was always admired for his freedom of ideas but you will not see his books read in a Christian Book Club …:) No surprise there!
someday our times will be considered to be the dark ages.
even if that happens meli,you will always be the shining star!
I was visiting some of your older posts… what i noticed is,usually you post 4-6 posts each month! the excption is on the month of January (a new year ,new hopes …… and the two months in Spring ),that means April might give us more treats ! :yes:
"glad to hear you've been browsing… you are going to know more about s. than anyone in the whole world "I have a feeling I need two lives and more to livefor even know s. as much as he deserves to be known!:heart:here are the statistics :phttp://my.opera.com/I_ArtMan/archive/meli,I am SOOOOOOOOO looking forward to the next chapter :heart:
meli, :heart: that's interesting. january is my busiest month. it's not surprising that i neglect the blog then.coming right up… i hand wrote the next one… type it tomorrow. looking for pictures to illustrate the post. :heart: glad to hear you've been browsing… you are going to know more about s. than anyone in the whole world :happy:
wow, last april i posted sixteen times… the juices were flowing. this s. business is a little harder though. :heart: well, i could throw in a few dinners to beef it up :happy:
exactly! where is the beef?? :p
*digs ,licks,eats* :happy:
dig in meli :heart:
i would have posted today but i was derailed by the needs of my neighbor here. c'est la vie. :heart: :happy:
neighbors first meli :)nothing like the company of the real people,I am working during the weekend and it is the Orthodox Easter but I wantedto say,I will be sending secret thanks to your late mother on her Bday Sunday the 19th,thanking her for giving you life.You make my life sweeter meli 🙂
my mother thanks you for thanking her. and i thank you, and your father and mother and your grandmothers and grandfathers :heart: sorry you have to work on your traditional easter. 🙂
yes, they knew the right moment.
"sorry you have to work on your traditional easter":o thanks it wasn't badand I had a chance to see a play as well :heart:I am looking forward to the meaty chapter that follows :p
maybe today if i don't get interrupted. :heart:
I like the muse painting and really like the train yard photo. :up:
cool. now i am glad i saved all these photos. i always wondered why. now i know.
great story. as good as just about any prose I've read that didn't involve actual ocurrences.
wow, that's high praise indeed. very encouraging. thanks robert. :happy: