Mr. X is Gerald Thornton

Gerald Thornton is a man who deeply cares about history, equality, his family and art. When he lived nearby, he was always working on an art project of some kind. He signed his work "X" to align himself with the nameless slaves who were ripped from their families and their culture and brought to a new world. Mr. Thornton used materials which were at hand and many of his most magical works had elements of collage worked into the art. Gold and silver foil was used for the medals of Haile Selassie, a powerful painting that I still cannot get out of my mind after not seeing it for decades!

But if you ask your parents to take you to the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, you can see his "Flag Funeral", which proudly takes it's place among other masterpieces in the show, Life, Liberty & The Pursuit of Happiness, curated by Roger Manley. The somber widow and her child fall in step behind the flag draped coffin, while an invisible jazz group leads the way to the cemetery. Mr. Thornton is a man who continues to celebrates life, and he now lives in a new town with his new wife, and continues to make wonderful art. This lovely painting is available for sale and will be released in a year when the show comes down.

Real Art for Real Kids!!!!!

Philosophy and real art for kids.........

Amy Leask has a spectacular site whose mission is to "introduce kids (and the adults they run with) to the wonderful world of Philosophy." It's called kidsthinkaboutit

Children are challenged to think about:

• What is real? What exists?
• What makes a human? Is it our minds, our bodies, or a combination of the two?
• How do we gain knowledge and understanding? Is it with our senses, our minds, or something else?
• How can we be sure that something is true?
• What is the difference between the good life and the bad life?
• How can we decide on the right thing to do?
• What does it mean for something to be beautiful?
  Ahhh, now you get why this link is on my site! I, too, ask kids to try to figure out what beauty is, in it's endless forms, and to decipher which of those forms they relate to the most. It's a wonderful steppingstone to communication and reasoning and enlightenment.
  (The image above is an antique scale/fortune telling machine, which is now considered a form of folk art! Discuss amongst yourselves!

Paul Pitt redux.....barn discoveries

Paul Pitt's charming folk art paintings grace the walls of quite a few museums, as well as private collections. His paintings bring to mind Grandma Moses and times gone by. The paintings are gems, filled with detail that surprises you each time you look. So much to see which coaxes a smile to your face. A forage into a barn on his Connecticut property unearth a few vintage works, when his style was just emerging. These paintings are lovely and available for sale through the gallery here

Sandy Mastroni charms all ages.....

Sandy Mastroni, who used to paint furniture, now devotes all her time to painting wonderful, whimsical and some what mysterious artworks. Although she is in permanent museum collections, her works are still very accessible for young and old alike. There often are cats......Sandy has given home to a variety of them and they are very prevalent in her work. She also is drawn to Alice in Wonderland type characters so there are plenty of queens, bunnies, and the like. All of them are charming and if you click on the title of this piece you will see many more new works recently posted on my website, www.artbrut.com.

Junk yard sculpture....the kids love it!

The lawn was filled with horses, dancers, musicians, a moose, giant sunflowers, robots and tin men, all made out of recycled trash. Old car parts, pieces from motorcycles, tractors and tools were morphed into this visually stunning collection of sculpture at the annual Sculpture in the Garden Show in CT. The kids loved it and so did their parents!

The road to Brimfield......

Cher Shaffer from Appalachia, not only paints wonderful portraits, she also creates dolls which are sophisticated and charming. Here are three which might show up at the Brimfield Show next week in Massachusetts. If you've never attended, this is a show for the entire family. Over 6,000 dealers in farmer's fields stretching over 1 1/2 miles along Route 20 in Brimfield, MA. show up three times a year for a week of antiques, folk art, pottery, jewelry, furniture from all periods, collectibles, and stuffed chickens, I kid you not! Everything under the sun is displayed here, and many collections have been built from discoveries in these fields. One of my cousins, whose home has been featured in county living books, filled her rooms over the years with Brimfield finds. You and your kids will love this adventure. Bring water, hats, cell phones, a bag to put treasures in, and wear comfortable shoes. Sturbridge Village is 5 miles away....another must stop for the family. Let the collecting begin!

A lovely game of marbles and memories......

This artist, with childhood memories intact, traveled with his family, sharecropping their way through the South, and finally landed in Connecticut. Willard James, Sr. has a wonderful portfolio illustrating this hard, but honest life, working through fields and orchards, and the joy inherent in each of his painting is obvious. 
"Steelee Man" is acrylic on board, 16" x 20", at $650 and brings me back to the days when my Dad reminisced about marble games in the schoolyard. Some things do change........and are worth capturing.

Owls, Jacks, Pixies, and Fairies

Karl Mckoy is a wondrous artist as well as a master gardener! His owl begs for a child's wall, but would be savored for a lifetime. The next image reminds me of jack in the pulpit puppets in a storybook scene. He is a magician with both earth and paint and no one knows what will sprout next in the garden of this fertile mind.

Skating With Nuns!

Where are the two little running friends? Clue: One of them always wears a red scarf! They are hidden in plain sight and are the artist's signature in every one of Paul Pitt's charming paintings. This one is called "Skating With Nuns" and measures 32" x 26", oil on canvas, framed, $1400.
Paul's luscious paintings bring us back to a simpler time, filled with a strong sense of community and extended family. Even if we have never personally experienced his subject matter, it rings a responsive chord. However, these are not memory paintings. A church steeple or the architecture of an old barn or via duct will catch his eye, and in month's time, a new painting has come to life.
The work is meticulously and compulsively repainted up to six times before Paul is willing to pronounce the piece done. Within each large scene, there are many small stories unfolding, each with their own considerable charm and humor.
Because the pointillist backgrounds and constant repainting are so time and labor intensive, there are rarely more than twelve new paintings available each year. Folk art enthusiasts love Paul's work, and a large body of his paintings has been included in several important collections. Hampton Museum acquired an example in 2001, and four of his paintings have graced the cover of the Craft Digest magazine. Recently his work was in the opening exhibition of the Baron and Ellin Gordon Galleries at Old Dominion College. He has also been published in Folk Art Magazine and Raw Vision Magazine.

An Idyllic view of childhood....

Picnics. sailboats, harbors, country scenes all filled the canvases of Theresa Prokop when she started to paint. After a career as a nurse for many years, painting became a priority and her popular work became quite well known in the folk art world. I have several fine examples and the first one is called "God Bless America", which is oil on stretched canvas, with painted edges, needing no frame, 18" x 24", and the price is $750. It has a wonderful ABC border, resembling children's slates of earlier times, and is an idyllic view of a joyful African American community at work and at play. A work of art for the whole family and perfect for a child's room.