http://www.mcall.com/travel/mc-bill-barrell-20111231,0,1750881.story

Lester Lanmen, Walter Chrysler, Junky Fleishman, Hudson Walker…. these were the collectors in the sixties. They enjoyed going to artists’ studios and rummaging around for work. Some of them even haggled. They were all adventurous.

In 1966, I had a gallery in the depths of the Lower Eastside. The location didn’t deter them from visiting, even though one would have to climb over drunks and drug addicts to get into the building. One time, Hudson Walker came down, bought four paintings and paid me the greatest compliment I had ever had. He told me that I was the best painter to come along since Marsden Hartley. I hadn’t known at the time that he was also Hartley’s patron.

Walter Chrysler sought me out on a construction site in 1957, wanting to see my work. I took him to a garage that a friendly Portuguese guy let me store my work. Chrysler looked through the work and bought three pieces. I was ecstatic. I had only been painting for one year. I didn’t even know who he was. He had just introduced himself as Walter. He later went on to become an avid collector of my work.

I have a friend who was visited  by a big time collector called Murchason. This collector was notorious for haggling. He would make it look as if he was about to buy the whole studio so the prices would come down. Then he would switch and only buy one or two for the discounted price that he would have got for fifty paintings. My friend, who had a short fuse, kicked him out. I never dealt with him.

Those adventurous collectors do not seem to be around anymore. I think that they miss a tremendous chance to see how the work is created and to meet the artist on his or her stomping ground. I think most collecting is now done through the galleries. Also those guys who went to the source were shrewd; they managed to get a better price. There was no commission.

Those were the good old days, truly bohemian. What goes around comes around – maybe adventurous types will resurface. There is certainly a mass of people out there with the means to start collections and have the fun of not only enjoying the art, but watching the artist grow.

Attempt at Flying, 52" x 72", 1980

I am sure flying is a common dream among dreamers. In this particular dream, I had the handle of a lawn mower in my hands. All I had to do was hold it out in front of me with both hands and then turn the handle back towards me. Up I would go at great speed reaching great heights. I would look down and see my brother and then zoom down to surprise him.

I have had this flying dream quite often. In one dream I was way up above the Empire State Building when I thought to take a good look at what I was holding. A wooden handle!! How could a wooden handle take me to such great heights and places? The minute I had that thought, I plummeted earthward. At about twenty feet off the ground, I turned the handle heavenward and the power came back on! What a relief! Up I went, my confidence was back. I continued zooming around town but had become aware that if I doubted the power of the handle I would lose the ability to fly.

How would a shrink interpret this? Well, I think it is quite simple. Don’t lose faith in one’s self. However, I am also sure that a shrink could make much more of this. The heights – the falling – the buildings – my brother – the handle. Who knows, it could be all kinds of stuff.

So anyway,  I did this painting of my flying dream expressing my hopes and fears. In my painting, I have sprouted wings that perhaps act like a parachute in case my flying handle fails me again.  Of course, like the Wright Brothers knew, flying carries the risk of crashing, but it’s worth it.

I have not had a flying dream in a while. Maybe this blog will bring one on.

Have you had any dreams where you can fly? Has it inspired you?

Bill Barrell gives remarks at the opening of his show "Full Circle" at PAAM.

 …. I have a show in Provincetown, Massachusetts that begins this week at the PAAM (The Provincetown Art Association & Museum).  The show is titled “Full Circle”.  

Why? Becasue Provincetown is where my life as an artist began. In the summer of 1956, at the age of  just 24 years old, I had the feeling there was something special I was meant to do but I could not figure out just what it was.When I arrived in Provincetown, I was made aware of not just art, but artists and a way of life that an artist led. Bingo! It all came together for me. I knew exactly what that special something was that I wanted to do. I wanted to be an artist.

There were no obstacles to cross and nobody I had to ask for permission. I was an artist from that moment on. I saw things in a different light and understood things that had puzzled me all my life. It opened not only my mind and a way of seeing and thinking, it also broke down barriers that had stunted me all my life.

I met people I would never have met before - collectors like Walter Chrysler and Hudson Walker, artists like Bob Beauchamp, Red Grooms, Hans Hoffman, Bob Thompson, Myron Stout, Tony Vevers, Yan Muller, Franz Kline and many more. People of all classes give artists respect. There is a mystique about the life they live and how they dare to challenge old ideas and venture into new domains.

It is a difficult path to take and is not for the faint of heart or for those who see it as a way of earning a living. I knew from the first brush stroke it was going to be a long and often disheartening journey. But with fire in the belly there is nothing that cannot be overcome. Money is one of the biggest obstacles – without it there are problems. If you want to marry and raise a family one has to make a few sacrifices. I have stinted on clothes, food and rentals but never on material for my work.

The work in this show is the tip of an iceberg of all that I have painted. It was hard deciding just what to put in the show. With the help of Robert Henry and my wife, Marilyn, as well as my sister-in-law, Susan, I was able to get it together. I hope you get to see the show. (Opening Friday, May 27th)

The opening day is Friday, May 27th, 8-10 pm! Hope to see you there.

Grandpa's Portrait

…. I made my playdate today with my granddaughter, Ruby, into a work play date. I asked her to do my portrait. She loves painting so she was delighted.

 I set her up with paints and brushes, hung a canvas 38×28 on the wall, pulled up a comfortable chair, relaxed and let her go at it.

 She needed a little prodding here and there but nothing much, just a ”take a good look at me”  now and then. She went at it in her four and a half year old childlike way.

It was different from slopping paint around on paper. It was the first time she had painted with something in mind. She had a head shape down and I said it would look good with a pair of eyes. She grabbed the brush and dabbed in two eyes. She sat back and looked at it and her face turned into a big smile. I said, do I have ears?  She took a good hard look and painted my ears in.

Once, Ruby had said she wanted to be a doctor. Her Nanna asked her, how about being an  artist? She indignantly said ” I am an artist”.

Well, she is. All we have to watch for is teachers trying to teach her how to do perspective , shading and realism.

She dated this painting 1-1-11. It hangs in my loft in a very well lit prominent place. I love it, her and the fact we made a memorable play date.

Happy New Year.