Silent Night, Lake Casitas March 20, 2011

Midnight at a local lake. All alone, along side Highway 150; nobody around except the crickets. It was one long silent night, faced with a crescent moon and minimal motif.

The challenge was (once again), to make something out of relative nothing. The goal: to make a mountain out of a mole hill! I was to take something mundane and create something beautiful out of it.

Charles Bukowski once wrote: Genius could be the ability to say a profound thing in a simple way.

Well, that's a tall order; coming from a major 20th Century American Poet emulating Haiku-risma. But in the silence of the night, it gave me something to strive for.

Crescent Moon Over Lake Casitas
12x16 oil/board 2003
Collection of the Artist

An Ice Cold Grave, Iceland March 18, 2011

Someone once said, "Only when a man is on the edge of his grave, can he conclude anything!".

When traveling in Iceland in 2002 we came upon this small shack out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by miles of frozen tundra and lava rock. As we drove up to it, we saw that it wasn't just a shack. Someone had the inspiration to build, (ironically), a chapel.

As it was in the middle of nowhere, I imagine the parishioner who built it, did so in hopes that, "If I build it, they will come". My guess is that this was his Field of Dreams moment. As the icy wind howled and blew, we prowled around the 'frozen ground'.

The Chapel was all closed up. We found no Vikings hanging around. There was one lonely unmarked grave in it's cemetery. (One could only assume it was, maybe, the parishioner) It was pathetically bleak, desolate, lonely.

I was there in Iceland; commissioned by Robert Eringer to paint the purity of the night sky in the middle of Winter. Using the inspiration I received from this motif, I created this painting from reference material gathered at this location.

In executing the painting, I flooded the sky with an exaggerated Aurora Borealis. Now, in retrospect, the 'feeling' of the painting reminds me of the great Northern European Expressionist painter, Edvard Munch; the painter of, "The Scream".

Speaking of Screaming, if anyone were to scream out there in the middle of nowhere,no matter the message, not many people would or could hear you. I hope whomever lies there in that ice cold grave rests in peace. It is a silent resting place for some pour soul.

Mankind must strive for completion while above ground; not wait until he is on the edge of his grave before concluding anything.

Dedicated to my friend, Mike Enlow. 1957- March 19, 2011

The Ice Grave, Iceland
24x36 oil/canvas 2002
collection of the artist

Santa Barbara, Morning Light, March 17, 2010

Sunday Morning, Santa Barbara
Taking the time to capture the morning light on the American Riviera sets the tone for the rest of the week.

Morning Light, Santa Barbara
16"x20" oil/canvas 2011

Collection of the artist

Living here proviedes one fine quality of life.

St. Anthony's Seminary

Painting Day, St. Anthony's Seminary, from Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.

It was a day of Architectural Motif. The lesson, how to paint using a palette of colors which will express antiquity. The purpose this day seemed to be a quest to transcend the legacy of this building. to view it for it's beauty, and not get stuck on the legacy of what happened there decades ago.

The biggest when teaching challenge is to herd the students (and their easels), together, so I can get to them more easily, or that my voice can carry over a short distance so I don't strain too much. Sometimes it's though we are painting right on top of each other.

Sometimes... accidents happen, like when a student's cane falls and hits a persons car, or another student's dog gets out of a car and bites the leg of another student.
Plein air painting is full of unpredictable moments.

The direction you're facing, has much to do with your destination.

Thread of a Master: Lockwood De Forest

The Master Craftsman Lockwood De Forest came through Santa Barbara at the turn of the 20th Century leaving behind him a legacy of landscape paintings depicting the Santa Barbara area in it's primal state. My favorite of these are his Moonlight Nocturnes; painted on location, without any aid of light to see his canvas other than the moon.

Last October, (thanks to my patron and Art Collector, Gary Breitweiser,) I was privileged to attend an "Initiatives in Art and Culture Seminar" focused on the Arts and Crafts Movement in New York, in New York City. On one of the walking tours I visited the Park Avenue Armory where De Forest carved his name into an armoir, Honoring his contribution to the 17th Regiment National Guard who served in that location. Lockwood had a hand in decorating one of the rooms as well with Imported teak wood from India. He used the same theme, and wood to design and decorate the front of his house in Mid-Town Manhattan.

Last week I became aware Lockwood had his home in Santa Barbara at 1815 Laguna Street. Just before teaching my Wednesday landscape painting class, having only moments to explore where this location was, I saw the house. From the street, through the pouring rain, I could barely make out the upstairs window; carved in Indian Tradition, with Elephants in the framework. This was cool!!

The next evening at Sullivan Goss, and American Gallery, During the art walk on First Thursday, I was honored to meet Kellum de Forest, the grandson of Lockwood. He was there at the Gallery celebrating the show, 40 Days and 40 Nights- Paintings by Lockwood De Forest. I especially enjoyed sharing with him the paintings honoring his Grandfather, and discussing the subtleties of Lockwood's vision and sensibilities around his night vision.

I felt a thread and been connected, and once again I felt inspired to paint with purpose.

Top Photo: Room designed by Lockwood de Forest; with windows by Tiffany
Second Photo: Lockwood De Forest's name on 17th Regiment Honor Roll
Third Photo: Lockwood De Forest's Home in New York
Fourth Photo: Lockwood De Forest's Home in Santa Barbara
Bottom Photo: Van Stein and Kellum De Forest at Sullivan Goss

Arrival of the Tequila Express

Arrival of the Tequila Express, Santa Barbara
by Thomas Van Stein


11x14, oil/canvas, 2011
Collection of the Artist

Waiting for the Tequila Express

Teaching Day: Painting at the Santa Barbara Train Station due to bad weather,(which turned into nice windy weather) Anyway, at the end of my demo, a passenger train arrived with an old private car on the back. The private car had "Tequila Express" painted on it.

If it's true that, "coming events cast their shadows", then this train foretold a night ahead in Margarita-ville.

Photos by Atilla