Bird Call

 

John James Audubon

There are trees all around where we live now.  Today, it seems like we are also surrounded by birds... that is the story of my life!  I grew up looking at the Audubon print on the wall of my family's house.  My father, Arthur Singer was an artist and print collector, and he was always sitting at his work desk painting bird portraits - and this went on for most of my life!  If we went on a vacation, my dad would be out photographing the birds that flew into view.  

Arthur Singer paints an Osprey circa 1965

On this globe there are thousands of species of birds and my father painted many of them for his book "Birds of the World".

Writer Oliver Austin and artist Arthur Singer worked on this volume for Golden Press ( 1960 )

I guess for me - it is learn as you go, and I became interested in drawing birds when I was just a child watching my parents do their thing.  It was a family affair - this portrayal of all of our favorite feathered friends!  If you had the chance to see the exhibition "Our Nature" last year at the Rundel Library in Rochester, NY, you would have had a chance to look at artwork we did as a family - sharing our love of wildlife, especially the birds and flowers which we studied so intently!

Lumiere and The Bird House Present this show!

This story is a prelude to my professional approach to illustrations I made as an adult which I also would share with my students at Rochester Institute of Technology in my class that is referred to as "Zoo & Bot".  This week a new exhibition has landed at the Lumiere Gallery at 100 College Avenue, in Rochester, and I was happy to bring a couple of my pieces for the public to see.  I am certainly not alone!

"Put A Bird On It! Group show at Lumiere, 100 College Avenue, Rochester, NY

There are so many different approaches to putting a bird in a composition. "Put A Bird On It" is a big group show with many featured artists and you can say that there is a lot of talent in our community!  I found that there are many materials in this show, some which you wouldn't expect!  Of course there are photos of birds and there are paintings of birds, but would you expect to see a quilt with birds, or a ceramic plate?

Alan Singer's " Hummingbirds Love Flowers", Gouache on paper

The two paintings that I brought for this show were both published in my book brought out by Random House called: "Birds Do The Strangest Things".   When I came to Rochester to teach at R.I.T. this was the kind of art I did to make a living.

You can find in this show some outstanding artwork, and I loved the strength of the piece by Lydia Boddie-Rice in this show which runs to mid- July.  Her work has a three-dimensional aspect to it and it is quite detailed ( see below).

art by Lydia Boddie-Rice

There are some funny pieces in this exhibition and I was drawn to the design of the "Improbable Birds" book cover by William Holowka.  Having met Roger Tory Peterson when I was young, I wonder what he would have thought about this book!

"The Eastern Bricklayer"

Design by William Holowka - An Indispensable Guide!

Actually, the bird books that evolved since the mid-Twentieth century really contributed to our awareness of nature, and these books were also very popular..selling many millions of copies!  What it takes to put a good painting of a bird into publication is something I still find challenging..

My  hope is that you will come out to see this show and  take a look at  the  many approaches that artists take with this subject. There are big colorful works like the Flamingo by Mark Thone ( see below ).

An award winner by Mark Thone

And there are photos like the unexpected one from my friend Jill Gussow ( see below )

Photo by Jill Gussow

If you miss this exhibition at Lumiere, another version of it will appear later in the year at The Bird House .  I think you will enjoy the host of artworks  that make up this impressive feathered friend!

Goin Places, Doing Things

 

Big boat in the Welland Canal

Once in a while, I get up from my workspace in our cottage and put down my brushes to take a look at the progress I have made on my latest composition.  I have been working on these geometric paintings for a while and need to branch out.  While I give it some thought, we take a break to go on the road so that my wife, Anna,  can get her new Canadian passport ( she was born in Montreal ).  On the way to the passport office just over the border at Niagara Falls, we stop in to see the Welland Canal.  The Welland Canal has the capacity to lift really big boats like the one you see above.  Just a few of these behemoths come through each day and it takes a while to lift them up to the next lock ( there are eight locks on this canal ).

"Rise and Shine",by Alan Singer

Acrylic Gouache on board

Back in my studio I work out the grid for a new painting that is all about color and segments built out of carefully measured squares of color.  I am thinking about where this work could lead me...Someone looking at my new work could say: "What does this all mean?"  Then the idea is to strike out for new territory and get more experimental....

I look back almost ten years ago, and my primary artwork has a similar effect even when I was making prints on my etching press.  One of my favorites from that moment in history is a print that will be exhibited in a show called "Radiance" at the ADC Gallery in Ohio this coming month.  I hope to be able to go and see the show when it opens.

"Tropicalia", print on Fabriano paper, 2016 by Alan Singer

Now it is springtime and the trees are leafing out, and before I can go back to work on my art we are scheduled to take a flight south to visit Anna's brother in Georgia. We are going to Tybee Island off the coast of  Savannah.  Savannah is a historic city which is looking very productive.  From our flight in,  you could see the port and container ships lined up for miles.  We go out from the airport which is bustling and enter what seems like a tropical paradise.

Historic Savannah

Off the coastal road we take a walk one hot morning to go and see the lighthouse and  a sprawling Fort Pulaski.  It makes a big impression sitting in a moat, like a big boat afloat....

This a National Monument - a garrison  from the Civil War days, preserved for visitors like us!

Fort Pulaski offf the coast of Savannah, Georgia

I brought my watercolors with me and a little pad to make some sketches, and had the pleasure of making a couple of studies sitting on the balcony of the new house that Anna's brother has built on Tybee.  Later we went to visit  the Tybee Marine and Science Center which has many fine exhibits!  This  is really a great stay and the weather was wonderful!

Tybee Island view, May 20, 2025

Buffalo Road

 

Jim Mott " Night Blizzard", oil on panel

Before we hit the road for Buffalo, I want to call your attention to the new online magazine called: "Explore Art" which is directed by Renee Rose.  Here is a link to look over what she is accomplishing:

www.exploreartproject.com

This month she is featuring the painter Jim Mott ( see above ).  I admire this artist's work and once, years ago, I wrote about his "Itinerant Artist Project" for American Artist Magazine.  Now, Renee Rose is also an artist and she owned a gallery in Chicago.  She wants to promote the visual arts and she finds an interest in helping young artists find an audience.  Here is what Renee had to say in part about Jim and his work:

    "What's remarkable about Mott isn't just the beauty of his brushwork or the nuanced handling of light and form - though these things are certainly there.  What sets him apart is the integrity with which he has used painting as a form of public engagement and social dialogue.  he has made it his mission to dissolve the barriers between artist and audience, studio and street, art object and lived experience".

Renee is doing an awesome job with this Explore Art  online magazine and I am glad that she is introducing new folks like Jim Mott, especially at a time like this when coverage for the visual arts is hard to come by in our newspaper, and even the business of selling artwork is in a difficult spot.

"Laura". Marble head outside Albright Knox on a rainy afternoon

Yesterday, the forecast was for rainy snowy mix of weather and we head out west for an afternoon at the Albright Knox Art Museum in Buffalo.  We have not been back there since they renovated the place and now they even have underground pay parking!  The whole entrance is different with a gargantuan marble head out on the lawn to entertain passersby.  Over the years we have seen many shows here and we anticipate a whole new look this visit!

Entry now has a new court for Albright Knox

Bierstadt and Adolph Gottlieb

Once we are in the gallery we can see that there have been radical changes in store, and we start out being greeted by Adolph Gottlieb and a Bierstadt painting which represents a mountain range in a style of the distant past.  The core of the Albright Knox is dedicated to modern art and that presents a learning curve which begins to take hold in the late 1800s and continues to the present day.

Clyfford Still oil painting at AKG

Having studied painting in the 1960s to 1970s, I was familiar with many of the artists that we found in the galleries at AKG.  Some of these artists had been art teachers at The Cooper Union when I was a student there getting my BFA.  I remember Jack Tworkov and Larry Poons both of these painters are represented in the new galleries.  Most notable is a room devoted to paintings by Clyfford Still. ( 1904-1980 ), and the wall text informs us that many of the paintings we see  there were donated to the museum by Still while he was alive.

Not all of the art on view is abstract.. and  we can point to the painting by Charles Burchfield of the snowy town of East Liverpool that he painted in 1927.  

Painting by Charles Burchfield, 1927

Along with many paintings there is also sculpture in the  collection with a wonderful Brancusi bronze, and  a  recent work by Alison Saar called: "Barefoot"  from 2007.  Alison Saar was a neighbor of mine when I was working in a studio building in Brooklyn, New York, before we moved upstate.  She comes from an art-minded family, and this figurative work is certainly galvanizing!

Alison Saar and her sculpture: "Bareroot", 2007 made with wood, bronze, tin and tar

We march over the new bridge that takes one over to the Gundlach Building, a big new exhibition hall to see the show called " Hi Vis", and this show is all about regional artists and it is a large collection seen here for the first time.  I was really attracted to these  rising stars, and I urge you to get over to the AKG to witness this opportunity!  

Logan Hicks painting of Mercer Street in SoHo, NYC

Aerosol on canvas

The giant painting of Soho by Logan Hicks is a standout and you really have to wonder how he does this kind of work - is it an airbrush?  The work is really convincing!  I remember Mercer Street really well as I had an exhibition in the gallery 55 Mercer so many years ago....

There are so many talented folks in this show - you have to see it for yourself...even if it requires a trip in the rain!

Large scale wall piece by Felipe Pantone

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The Albright Knox Art Gallery

Buffalo, New York

Afternoon in Ithaca

 

Herbert Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell, Ithaca, New York

Today, we have a late afternoon appointment in Ithaca, New York, and luckily we have a terrific sunny day to drive in and onto the Cornell University campus.  I have some of my father's ( Arthur Singer 1917-1990 ) artwork to donate to The Laboratory of Ornithology and we can go and see the new additions to their building in Sapsucker Woods.

I did my graduate work ( MFA ) at Cornell and in 1973 watched out my window, as the Johnson Museum was being built. The museum was designed by I.M. Pei and it now houses an international collection - many of the pieces have been donated over the years and it is really outstanding.

Schools of Art & Architecture on Cornell's campus

Since we were early , we stop to see the Herbert Johnson Museum and look over exhibitions that are on view.  School is in session and parking is a bit difficult, but we manage.  Once inside we can see some interesting things in store for us.. On the lower level the curators were mounting a show with paintings still in their cradles and are yet to be hung.  we go downstairs to view the artwork by Suzi Ferrer, who was a student at Cornell ( BFA - 1962 ).  Suzi ( 1940-2006 ) was something of an avant-garde artist when she was living in Puerto Rico after she graduated.  A number of her pieces that we saw were ink drawings on plexiglass - they are free standing and set up like an altar-piece.

Suzi Ferrer's Altar-piece

Suzi Ferrer's "Self Portrait"

Suzi Ferrer will challenge you- she is an art activist, and her work will not go out of its way to ingratiate you.  The technique she employs to draw on plexiglass does not leave much room for  correcting or re-working an area - it is not a method that allows for adjustment.  Her pieces make a statement!

Suzi Ferrer and her "Fight of the Century"

Sigmund Vs. Wonder Woman

Ink on plexiglass

Looking over the art of Suzi Ferrer you see that she used her skills to question notions about what it is like to be a working woman during the second wave of feminism.  There is a bit of a struggle going on in each piece that reminds one of a cartoon in a very graphic sense.  Drawing is her thing!

We  continue our review of the Johnson Museum on the fifth floor and take in the arts of Asia.  I found a lovely screen painting of cranes on the upper level where you can also get a great view of Ithaca from the giant windows on the west side of the museum.

Ithaca and Lake Cayuga panorama 

"Landscape with cranes", from Japan, late 19th century

In the arts of Asia you can find many kinds of sculptural objects, some have a practical effect and others maybe more devotional.  I liked the ambition of the big screen painting above, and also found the ceramic objects quite beautiful.  The piece below also had a real peaceful effect  as did many of the objects in the Asian collections.

A wide variety of devotional pieces on view at The Johnson Museum

On the floors below one can find paintings from Europe, and a whole wall of landscapes mainly from19th century American artists.  I did find a  strong  figurative work by El Greco, and it looks like it might be a study for an even larger canvas ( see below )..

El Greco portrait of Saint James circa 1610-1614

American landscape artists mostly 19th Century

We really like Ithaca, but we don't want to be late for our appointment, so off we go to Sapsucker Woods and deliver the two paintings that we promised to The Laboratory of Ornithology.  If you care about birds, this is the place to see...not only for their interesting collections but also because they have a wonderful nature walk and we had the good  fortune of a beautiful day!

The LAB has new section of their visitor center devoted to all aspects of bird life.  Here is a section of their new attraction ( see below )...

Laboratory of Ornithology, Visitor Center engagement space

At The LAB there is a wonderful wall mural by Jane Kim, who was a guest speaker for my class when I was teaching at Rochester Institute of Technology.  Her wall work  features birds against a backdrop of the continents, and it gives you some ideas about how bird species are spread around the globe.

A segment of a Wall Mural by Jane Kim

So we had a great visit to The LAB and now it is time to go home.  We drive up the west side of Lake Cayuga, and stop to see the falls at Taughanock.  What a nice visit to the Ithaca, and a wonderful day for a drive!

Art Community

 

Cab Calloway on left and Arthur Singer on right in Jericho for dinner circa 1975

I grew up in a household with art and music, mostly because my parents were both involved in the visual arts, and my father had close friends in the Jazz World!  We went to see Cab Calloway at The Westbury Music Theatre and after that he came over to our house for dinner.  My father did a lot of design work for Cab, including his bandstands and a number of  famous posters for the Jazz star.

If you saw the exhibition we had last winter at The Rundel Library, you would have some idea of how important it is to build a community that supports the arts.  When I was younger I worked for publishers and got started writing about art while I was living in Brooklyn, New York in the late 1970s.  My first articles appeared in The Prospect Press, and I interviewed artists for American Artist Magazine.

Now, almost 50 years later, I am still interested in writing about art and artists, and I do that through this blog you are reading...  I can't say how important it is to belong to a vibrant visual arts community, and I certainly found one here in the Rochester area. Being part of this community came about for me because I was hired to teach in the School of Art at R.I.T. in 1988.  I was very thankful for this since there was a terrible economic crisis in the late 1980s.

Bill Finewood at Pittsford Fine Art

When you walk into Pittsford Fine Art right in the center of town, you find a vital group of artists you can relate to.  This month,  Bill Finewood is on deck, and I have been following his work for many years, both as a colleague at Rochester Institute of Technology and a fellow painter and illustrator.  I actually met Bill many years ago when he was giving a talk at a convention in New York City.  His work was all about three dimensional paper composition - some of which is now on view in Pittsford.  When I found out he had an office  nearby, I introduced myself and he later came out to teach illustration at R.I.T.

Sodus Light at Pittsford Fine Art

Oil on board by Bill Finewood

Some outstanding paintings are now on view, and I was drawn to the painting above of the lighthouse in Sodus.  Bill has a great eye for detail, and his work is strong in composition and color.  Bill Finewood is the featured artist this month,, and included in his section are drawings he made in Montana, with wonderful gradations of tonality that indicate space in the distant mountains.

When I speak about the art community, I am also thinking that it is just over a year since I moved out of The Hungerford Building.  Many other artists have moved away too, and I was speaking with a friend who moved - Suzi  Kuhn who is also represented in the Pittsford Fine Art Gallery.  She recently came back from a voyage to Iceland where she was attracted to the landscape ( and the seascape! ).

Suzi Zefting Kuhn

There is more to see in Pittsford, and I thought that the sculptural glass work by Nancy Gong stood out and I had a chance to talk with her about the techniques she uses - so different than painting!  If you  are going to work in glass - be ready to deal with the physics of the materials..  Nancy took some time to educate me on the ins and outs of glass work which seems to me like a science experiment.

Colors are sometimes applied to the surface of glass, and sometimes the colors are in the glass itself. Sometimes strands of glass can be used almost like a drawing material that retains its shape as it cools down.  You can see this in the big circular piece she has at Pittsford Fine Art.  Many stages and considerations of color and texture are in this work, and I don't think I have seen anything quite like it before...

Glass work by Nancy Gong

There was also a sculptural piece that looks like it could be a sort of Valentine gift by Nancy Gong, and it reminded me of the little sculptures I saw recently in The Memorial Art Gallery shop made by my friend Tarrant Clements.  Nancy Gong has some of that humor in her piece, and it is another reason to stop by Pittsford Fine Art for a look.

Nancy Gong with her Glass work

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Pittsford Fine Art, Pittsford, New York

East & West

 We start out this new year thinking about how sales of art are being effected by conditions in the marketplace.  My father, Arthur Singer ( 1917-1990 ), left me some wonderful Japanese prints in his will, and now the time has come to see if they will sell.

Years ago, my dad bought many collectible prints through the Ronin Gallery in New York City, so we drove down there to meet Roni Neuer who has been the owner and director there for many years.

Hiroshige's " Kanbara " (1833 ) print on paper

Hopefully,  we will find a buyer for our Hiroshige print which is also called "Evening Snow", a real classic still in fine condition.  The Ronin Gallery is located near the New York Public Library in a building once known as the Engineer's Club, Bryant Park Place. Along with major Japanese prints,  they have wonderful pieces of furniture by George Nakashima ( 1905-1990 ).  Nakashima was a greatly respected woodworker and architect.  

Ronin Gallery, 32 West 40th Street, NYC

So we left a couple of prints on consignment and hope that they inspire some collectors!  Later that same Tuesday, we were in Brooklyn, so we thought that we would go see some exhibitions at the Brooklyn Museum near our old home in Park Slope.  No luck - the museum was closed, and we understand that the  Brooklyn Museum is having some financial difficulties!  We won't make that mistake again....

Back upstate, after our drive home, we made our way over to The Memorial Art Gallery to see their new show of Alma Thomas.  After we went inside,  first there is an installation of the video artist Nam June Paik. ( 1932 -2006 ) which includes this curious piece below:

Nam June Paik, South Korean artist in the collection at MAG

We found that The Memorial Art Gallery is making much more of an effort to include artists who were overlooked in the past, maybe because of bias in the marketplace.  Their exhibitions now include many more artists  who are women and indigenous tribal peoples from all over the country.  I am glad that this museum is working on this and making an effort to  recognize their achievements!  I also know that this might come too late for those artists who do not find an audience during their lifetimes!

Luckily, Alma Thomas ( 1891-1978 ) did find an audience for her artwork, and she had  success in showing her paintings in places like the Whitney Museum in Manhattan and the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C.  Here at The MAG, her new show is called "Composing Color" and features a set of  abstractions which are inspired by the music she liked and the scenes of nature that she loved so.

Alma Thomas ( 1891-1978 ) at The Memorial Art Gallery

Rochester, NY

Read the wall label and you find out that Alma Thomas was the first art student to win a degree from  Howard University; she then went on to teach art herself for more than 30 years.  Her paintings on view at The MAG feature bold color and intense patterns. 

Alma Thomas   at The MAG

Her work serves as an inspiration and  her paintings are beautiful in their applications of paint when you walk up close to try and understand how she accomplished this kind of impact.  Take some time to look around and this experience will  register  real pleasure. ( but look closely ! ).

Snowscape

 

Winter is here!  It is snowy but glowing, and I wanted to check in with people who read these posts and thank them for their attention!  I got started writing about the visual arts many years ago because there was so little in the newspaper that kept up with all that is happening in our area, and I am afraid it has only gotten worse!  The pandemic didn't help either, and now that we are in recovery we have to deal with a new administration that defies democracy!

Feline art lover at RoCo

I had a very nice walk into the Annual Member show at RoCo, and there is so much to take in...over 400 artworks to see.  Every style you can think of is represented and I was very pleased to see new artworks from some of my old students!  Also, it is great to see those Red Dots!  That means someone takes a real liking to a piece and buys it and maybe shares the proceeds with RoCo, so that they can continue to feature the visual arts in our community!

Sales of art can help especially for artists trying to stay afloat!

I am sure that this new year will present some challenges, and I just read in the Democrat & Chronicle that my friend and graphic designer Kelly Cheatle is planning a run for City Council!  Kelly is an RIT graduate and she also designed my website.  You also may know her for her amazing work with Airigami - the great exhibitions of balloon sculptures she has  created with Larry her husband at 510 State Street in Rochester.

I think Kelly will really make an effort to bring issues up about how the arts can lift people up here in this city, she has the experience and She Cares!

This new year brings some new opportunities that I want to share with you as we go forward.  I have been working on new paintings in my studio like the piece I call "Dispatch" that you see below:

"Dispatch" by Alan Singer.  This work is a painting using Acrylic gouache.

This new artwork is strong on geometry and color, and follows a series of experiments I have been making using the ideas about cellular automata expressed in the big book "A New Kind of Science" by Stephen Wolfram.  This new painting is also now featured on an art collection website for Apricus.  I did a little interview with the owner - Henry Clark.  The interview is featured on his podcast so here is a link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAaQznA2vm8

The publication also from Marquis Who's Who is something that I want to mention to you. I have the cover story and this is also a BIG book full of interesting profiles!

Marquis Who's Who recent publication with my cover story!

I have to get back to the studio now, and I want to concentrate on my new painting, and I will continue to share ideas with you in posts for this new year, 2025!  Thanks again for your support... Take Care!