Archive 2019-2024

Robert Flinkman

Portrait of Merritt Ann Pavloff

gouache, pastel, oil pastel, colored pencil and graphite on Bristol paper

24" X 18"

2019

June 24th, 2019 Monday

Every morning I wake up and sense she is gone. Gone is the support, love and friendship, care, laughter and advice she would share. I could connect with her at will. I could only think she found herself in her depression so deep that there was no exit except through death. With the culmination of so many things, she felt the weight of it all crushing down on her. I feel a certain loneliness, one I hadn't really ever felt before in my life. Luz-Teresa in Madrid has been a real source of support and sharing, I appreciate that very much. She has been a true friend, offering her care. Yes, I know Mark is there, he is my own brother and care for him deeply. But he is dealing with his own set of personal issues. I am getting older, my circle of support is diminishing.....

I've been thinking about how to express my loss of my beloved Merritt creatively. I've been studying some of the work by Antonio Saura, both his paintings and his illustrations, and have created an idea that I'll be working on, a portrait of Merritt done in mixed media - pastel, oil pastel, gouache, colored pencil on Bristol paper. I have a picture of her I can work from. I'll start drawing the image initially in graphite, then slowly the work will grow organically. There is so much to express, so much.

October 14th, 2019 Monday

I started reading this morning Petrarch's sonnets. I'm reading the collection from the Penguin Classics, edited by Thomas P. Roche, Jr. I decided to begin with the 20th Century translations, and read the two sonnets translated by Agnes Tobin : Mais non fui in parte ove si chiar vedessi and Vago augelletto che cantando vai. I sat there and read and reread these two works more than a number of times, and each time I felt more deeply what these two sonnets meant to me personally. I sensed a deep loss, a love gone. I thought about the memories and love for Merritt, and how deeply I felt her death. Reading these two works, I thought about the current portrait I'm doing now of myself and the portrait I did of Merritt this year in June/July. These two sonnets complement those two works. These are the first two works by Petrarch I ever read and they stirred within me experiences so deeply, such personal memories and emotions. I'll always remember it.

Robert Flinkman

Sunfllowers

lino block print on paper

9" X 12"

2019

September 5th, 2019 Thursday

I finished the two works by Haruki Murakami. I enjoyed reading his work, so different, a sort of phantastical reality.

I'm now rereading work by Lord Byron - poems, letters, his journals, Manfred, The Giaour, Parisina. Always a pleasure to spend time with Lord Byron.

In searching for some new artwork to create, I decided to concentrate on doing a lino block cut of a floral - sunflowers, accented by a small sprig of blossoms. I came across some silk flowers I had, and arranged them on the table. The size of the block is 9" X 12", can work on it here at home. Working in graphite on the floral arrangement, then transfer it to the lino block surface. Looking forward to it!

Robert Flinkman

Floral

gouache, pastel, colored pencil on Bristol paper

24" X 16"

2019

Robert Flinkman

Still life with copper kettle

gouache, pastel, colored pencil on Bristol paper

24" X 19"

2019

November 23rd, 2019 Saturday

I'm very excited about the still life I'm working on now. I assembled on a table a number of objects - a copper kettle set on several plywood squares, a wooden candlestick with a red candle, a dark green bottle that held red wine, and two brass containers made in India. One is a kind of temple jar, the other a smaller one designed to hold nuts or perhaps sweets. I accented the scene with a couple of small red flowers, a small bunch of lilacs and a bright yellow lemon.

I had originally thought of doing it with a frontal view horizontally. But then a little later I was walking out of the kitchen, and viewed it then from a diagonal, and said, "That's it!" I'm now working on the piece, standing on front of the kitchen with a pad of Bristol paper on an easel, working the still life with gouache, pastel and colored pencil. I really think this is my best work yet and have got a number of good ideas. I'm letting the creative organic process lead me forward.

Robert Flinkman

The Light of Science and Reason Dispels the Darkness of Ignorance and Superstition

gouache, sepia and raw umber on Crescent board

15" X 9"

2020

March 20th, 2020 Thursday

I'm now working on another work. Taking cues from Goya's smaller work created with sepia brush, I'm working on a piece definitely influenced by today's crisis. Entitled, The Light of Science and Reason Dispels the Darkness of Ignorance and Superstition, the tall, strong figure of a woman holds aloft the light of Reason and the caduceus, the symbol of Medicine. Reason, scientific fact and rationale dispel the darkness of ignorance and superstition represented by two current prominent politicians.

I'm using gouache in black, sepia and raw umber on Crescent board. I like the quickness, fluidity and dexterity needed for this work. I've got another picture in mind - timely, too.

March 25th, 2020 Wednesday

The Governor has issued a Stay At Home order. The roads have little traffic, stores and shops are closed. I've noticed no taxis around at all. The NORC is closed until April 10th, when the Governor may lift the order - hopefully so. We've now 100 cases of the coronavirus here in New Mexico, as of this writing, there may be more. Thankfully no deaths. I think her issuing of this order was wise, hopefully lessening the spread of the virus. Banks are closed, though I made a deposit of my tax refund and a dividend check at the drive up window...Shelves still empty in grocery stores. It's at time so unreal, what we are facing now. Who would've thought? - this is the stuff of science fiction. But here it is now in real time, and we are dealing with it. This is now our reality worldwide. How we handle it, what we do to deal with it, will show us the stuff we're made of. Our present has changed totally and unquestionably, much of what we were so familiar with in the past is now gone. The future is there, but what will it look like? The past gave us some continuity and security, that's gone and we are faced with the unknown and an invisible, insidious enemy. I don't know, I just don't know. As I understand the peak of this virus will be reached in a few weeks, then hopefully taper off. We'll need to reflect, do some real soul searching. One thing is certain, in facing the future, we're going to need to pull together, all of us around the world. Cooperation is key.

I've started about a week ago rereading a work by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Reveries of the Solitary Walker. Also looking through the book, I,Goya, by Dagmar Feghelm.

Robert Flinkman

How Greed and Ignorance Aid an Epidemic

gouache, sepia and graphite on Crescent board

16" X 16 1/5"

2020

April 5th, 2020 Sunday

Nobody envisioned this happening.

In some areas the number of cases is receding, in others they are surging. Here in the US, cases are over 300,000, deaths totaling over 8,000. New Mexico has 541 cases, 11 deaths. Numbers change hourly. Uncertainty is the new norm. I now literally live day by day. If I go out, it's only to go to the grocery store or to get the mail. Once a week I walk the North Diversion Channel. Fewer people are there now, it's pretty much just the solitary bicyclist. How all of this is being handled is in a flux, state by state. The Trump Administration is contradictory and inept. Voices of experience and reason are sidelined. States left to fend for themselves and bid online for supplies and ventilators. People's lives are in the balance and profit, it seems, is the chief concern.

I've looked over my own resources. If I practice the strictest economy, if I maintain a really tight budget, I can make it for several months.

We're fighting something we can't see. We're not entirely sure of all its characteristics. Something so unknown and unseen has closed down our lives. Really all we can do is stay at home and stay six feet away from each other. And it has spread around the world. No clear answers and no clear ending. We wait, and hope. The belief is that the peak will be late April this month or early May. There is no doubt some of the life we knew will resume, some of it will, some of it won't. I do believe some things will transfer online. Personal contact will diminish, more business will go online. That has been happening, but this pandemic has only accelerated it. And I personally think it will diminish us as people, the human experience. Personal contact is so important for emotional and mental development. Talking to another person in person, our hearts and minds pick up a myriad number of messages : facial expressions, tone of voice, body language, emotions expressed, there is a vital energy we all have, we sense when we encounter another person in person. Our hearts and minds process this information and let us know the kind of person we are dealing with and how best to approach him or her. So much of this is diminished online. The Internet is amazing, a real well source of information, and online meetings are so welcome and contact is so quick with a great number of people. Yet nothing can replace a personal encounter. I'm afraid we're losing this.

I've been working on several pieces. I may continue to refine a bit more, The Light of Reason and Science DIspels the Darkness of Ignorance and Superstition, 15" X 9". I've been working on How Greed and Ignorance Aid an Epidemic, 16" X 16 1/2". The figures of Greed and Ignorance flank the dark figure of Death, as people flee or are dead or dying.

All of these works are done using gouache - black, sepia, raw umber on Crescent board. They are all thoughts, reflections, visual notes on what we are all facing now, it's all well understood now globally. No one knows when or how all of this will end, but I know we are all in this together.

Robert Flinkman

Still Life

blind contour drawing, graphite on Bristol paper

24" X 18"

2020

April 12th, 2020 Sunday

I have a feeling this stay-at-home order will continue through to June, then eased up in increments. I can do it, I've enough here to keep me busy, but the uncertainty of it all, how deep this goes and how disrupted our lives are now, locally, state-wide, nationally, and internationally, gnaws at you internally. It's natural to feel this way, one is certainly not alone in dealing with this. The internal sense of security is built on so many variables - mental, emotional, and physical. To survive we must adapt, be flexible.

Concerning my artwork and creativity, I've decided to concentrate on using simple mediums, not to create large scale, involved works. Instead, to liken it to classical music, I'll sit down at the piano keyboard and compose impromptus, letting how I feel and think now, currently at that moment, influence how and what I create. Right now I'm working on a blind contour drawing of a still life using graphite on Bristol paper. The elements - objects - of the still life are several Japanese and Chinese jars, a demi-tasse cup and a small brass jar from India. I'll do the blind contour technique, also let my instinct influence the line used.

I don't know what's going to happen, how this will pan out - who does know? I should feel lucky, I'm well, healthy. My health has always been pretty solid, and I've not ever taken that for granted. The stability we once knew and enjoyed is now shaken, and felt globally. I've cut back on viewing the news on television. While I always like to be informed certainly, the news on the scale and depth of this virus is just relentless. To compound this, the Trump Administration in handling it is inept, chaotic and contradictory. The states' governors each take their own lead. There were clear warnings this would happen years ago, and Trump chose to ignore it. His willful ignorance has proven fatal for so many.

Robert Flinkman

Elements of Uncertainty

graphite on Bristol paper

24" X 18"

2020

April 23rd, 2020 Thursday

I've started a new graphite drawing, Elements of Uncertainty. It's my impressions, thoughts, feelings and experiences of what we are dealing with now. The virus, its effects on society, work, culture and on me, it's all there. I'm working on the gradations using graphite pencils I have. I enjoy working on this piece - gradual, quiet, contemplative using basic materials. It's good creative therapy.

I'm rereading Javier Marias's novel, The Infatuations. Great interplay of thoughts, desires, actions and how their influences are on relationships. Marias delves as well into the human psyche.

April 30th, 2020 Thursday

I've been making a point of thanking the workers for their service when I go about my errands. In the grocery stores, post office or getting gas at the mini-marts, I thank the employee for the work he or she is doing, helping all of us to meet these challenges, keeping us going, I appreciate the work they do. I can see on their faces how much this means to them to hear that.

There are so many other heroes in the fight against COVID-19 The teachers committed to continuing the education of their students by holding their classes online. The truckers who haul our goods and supplies to the markets that are open. With immense gratitude and respect we recognize the doctors, nurses, medical personnel and EMT workers, who are on the front line battling this pandemic 24/7 and saving lives, as well as the first responders like the police and firefighters. Everyone who is out there doing their job fighting this disease and keeping our society functioning, we owe all of you a debt of gratitude. All of you are our heroes!

I'm gradually finishing up the graphite piece, Elements of Uncertainty. I'll spend a little more time refining it , working on the gradations. The work does portray the situations, circumstances and the elements that have contributed to the uncertainty we are dealing with and the influences this is all having on us.

Have been listening to the work by Anton Rubinstein on YouTube - I listened to his great opera, The Demon, performed in 2003 by the Latvian National Opera, Normunds Vaicis directing and conducting. Interesting use of the two levels on stage, effective use of a minimalistic set. The orchestra performed beautifully.

Also listened to the Cello Concerto n.2 in D minor, Werner Thomas on cello, Bamberger Symphony with Yuri Ahronovich conducting. This is really a beautiful work, beautifully performed! Why isn't this concerto better known? I also listened to Rubinstein's Symphony n.5, the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Horia Andreescu. I like the use of the folk tunes woven throughout the work. If anything, at least Anton Rubinstein's work is getting more exposure on YouTube and is readily available to listen to.

Robert Flinkman

"I wanted to always play it down"

graphite, gouache, pastel, colored pencil on Bristol paper

18" X 24"

2020

October 8th, 2020 Thursday

I ordered from Amazon two plays by Bertolt Brecht : The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, translated by George Tabori, revised by Alistair Beaton, and The Caucasian Chalk Circle, translated by Jame and Tania Stern, with W.H.Auden.

The Resistible Rise of Auturo Ui is so apropos to this current administration in the White House, this country being run by a real con man and gangster. Arturo Ui is Donald Trump, demanding loyalty above all. The play reflects so well Trump's demagoguery, greed and power grab.

I'm pretty much finished the piece I'm working on, "I wanted to always play it down." The piece reflects Trump's callous and self-centered approach to this pandemic that has effected this country so badly. As bodies pile up and people flee the danger, Trump merely shrugges and smiles. As the death toll rises and millions are infected, Trump is more concerned with his own image and his warped perception of reality. So sad, so sad. And what is more frightening, he is now infected with COVID-19, and he still refuses to face reality. This man has got to go. The whole White House is infected. Trump's warped ego has blinded him to the cold, hard reality, and he refuses to accept his own responsibility in it. He's got to go, and removed physically from the Oval Office if he refuses to accept defeat. He has damaged this country in so many ways,all to feed his malignant narcissism. Biden/Harris is the choice to make, and I fully intend to vote on Nov.3rd. It's going to take years to repair this damage.

Robert Flinkman

The Insurrection

graphite, gouache and colored pencil on Bristol paper

24" X 18"

2021

January 7th, 2021 Thursday

The assault on the U.S. Capitol by the Trump mob yesterday was disgraceful. It was clearly an assault on the rule of law and our Constitution. Trump has been stoking this kind of thing for years, he has created it and will answer for it. The protesters are symptoms of Trump's psychosis. This mob rule is a result of four years of blatant disregard for law, the facts, precedent and our Constitution, and a preferring of an alternative reality filled with lies and fraud. Fortunately, the mob was removed and Congress was able the same day to confirm Biden's win. This is a victory for honesty, decency, honor and the rules for our democracy. Trump needs to answer for this, and he will face numerous legal charges. As for those participating in this mob assault, as with Charlottesville, Va., we have pictures.

February 26th, 2021 Friday

Currently working on a piece commenting on the riots that occurred at the Capitol on Jan.6th. The work is entitled, The Insurrection. Here I've depicted Trump’s face spewing, vomiting, out the rioters, each one angered and deranged, some wearing MAGA hats, others carrying Trump banners, people's minds poisoned by his words and rhetoric. Currently I'm working the piece in graphite and gouache on Bristol paper, I'll let the process guide me.

I watched Pasolini's masterwork, The Gospel According to Saint Matthew. Here Pasolini truly depicts the life of Christ and the people He lived with, the common, everyday people, the working class, the socially marginalized. Pasolini wanted non-professional actors, the feel was to be gritty, he wanted to depict the Gospel through the human experience. We watch this film, watching the close-ups on the faces and we project our feelings and thoughts on them. Pasolini puts the Gospel back into the hands of the people.

I'm absolutely enjoying the works by Italo Calvino. I really can't put the work down! I've read The Cloven Viscount and am now reading The Baron in the Trees. While reading Calvino's work, I can really see the characters, how they interact, the scenes and the characters' personalities. Certainly the stories can be read as a type of magical realism and could be read as more. The Cloven Viscount can be read as an allegory about divisiveness, the polar extremities of the left and right politically and socially, also the results of a lack of wholeness, a lack of balance in one's life. Calvino's work can be read on so many levels.

On YouTube I listened to Bach's Brandenburg Concerti, 1-6, conducted by Claudio Abbado, just magnificent, all beautifully performed, a real treat!

Robert Flinkman

Sandia foothills

lino block print on paper

9" X 12"

2021

June 5th, 2021 Saturday

Yesterday and the day before I was in the foothills, the Open Space at Copper NE. Beautiful area, many different vistas. I attempted to print on site a landscape using back ink and the 9" X 12" plexiglass sheet I bought. I had really looked forward to drawing the scene directly with the ink on the plexi sheet, then printing it out right then and there. I liked the immediacy of it all, directly using your impressions. Unfortunately the heat of the sun dried the ink almost immediately, even using a retardant. What I think I may do now is purchase a 9" X 12" lino block, draw the landscape on it on site, then carve it out right there. There are two scenes I want to do. With the restrictions easing up, I've got to get back outside, it feels so good to be free, free to roam and connect and commune with Nature.

I've been listening to more Mendelssohn. I listened to Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto n.2, in D minor, Rudolf Serkin with Eugene Ormandy directing the Columbia Symphony Orchestra - perfection! A beautiful performance! I also listened again to Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto, Anne-Sophie Mutter, violinist, with Kurt Masur and the Gewandhaus Orchestra, a definitive performance, absolutely memorable, Mendelssohn would be pleased! I've also been listening to a variety of Mendelssohn's piano works. Heading back out to Nature, hiking, exploring and creating artwork on site and listening to Mendelssohn's music, I feel better, all of it eases and enriches my soul. Mendelssohn is balm for my soul.

Robert Flinkman

Still life with red cloth

oil on canvas

24" X 18"

2022

February 10th, 2022 Thursday

I've been working now on the third piece of the still life triptych. This still life contains an orange, an eggplant, a green glass vase and the dark green wine bottle. Predominant in this work is the red cloth. I went over to Joann Fabrics with the orange and eggplant to see which shade of red goes best with them. I purchased a yard of red cloth. With the three pieces I want the dark green bottle to be a kind of leitmotif, as is also the use for the cloth in each one. I think for this current piece, I may just use oil colors. I've made some good progress on it.

I finished Harvey Sach's biography of Toscanini. It truly is a definitive biography of this great conductor, thoroughly researched and well documented. Toscanini was a real tremendous creative force, he stood for and practiced artistic integrity, high standards. He could be demanding and his discipline could be at times severe. He certainly had his faults and foibles, don't we all. Still he understood when conducting an opera, the importance of the unity of the music and stage performance. He remained true and faithful to the soul and the spirit of the music. He also stood up to oppression and injustice. He wasn't afraid to speak out about this, and example for us today.

Robert Flinkman

Still life with wilted rose

oil on canvas

24" X 18"

2022

June 18th, 2022 Saturday

Currently I'm working on a floral. I had in mind to do one, a floral that speaks to our time. It'll be a dark one. Thinking of the objects I would use, I found a bare branch along the North Diversion Channel, and I'll use a red rose, all placed in a dark blue glass vase, the dark blue cloth arranged to create a flow, movement, and then an oval rock as an accent. No doubt the great work by Mario Sironi has influenced me here, I've been studying his work. I've already stretched and gessoed the canvas, 24" X 18", it'll be oil on canvas. I've already drawn out the basic structure of this floral using graphite on Bristol paper, fleshing out certain ideas.

Continuing to listen to the music by Respighi. Always good to spend some time with him.

July 1st, 2022 Friday

I'm currently working on the floral with the red rose. The work is growing organically, letting the work guide me as it grows. I did buy a long stem red rose at the People's Florist on Central. I let it wilt, and then at the right moment painted it with the still life. Two petals fell on the dark blue cloth. Leaves are yellowing and there's that light beige bare branch. I've introduced darker elements in the work - those biomorphic shapes using French Ultramarine blue and Alizarin Crimson in the cloth, and the shapes to the left of the upper canvas, moving into the floral area. It's a darker work, more ominous. And it's still growing.

The US Supreme Court isn't done. It's got more on its agenda, and the rightwing and the corporate class have staked out their claims and they know how to achieve it. It's obvious what they are doing and the thing is, they don't care. The aim is to reassert their control and to continue making a profit at the expense of our civil rights and the environment. To combat this, individual states will now have to create their own laws, and this will create a widening divide between Red States and Blue States. What once unified us, now divides us with a patchwork of state issued laws and guidelines. I'm damn glad I live here in New Mexico.

July 14th, 2022 Thursday

I've pretty much finished the floral I've created with the red rose. Usually florals are abundant with leaves and flowers. Here it is sparse, with a wilting rose, yellowing leaves, a bare branch. There are a couple of small red blossoms that are full. A couple of petals from the red rose have fallen off and fallen on the blue cloth. Angular dark shapes move in on the left and right. The background is fractured with color. The blue cloth provides a dark turbulence, it's anchored, though, with the oval rock, providing some stability.

Robert Flinkman

Landscape, Embudo Canyon

colored pencil on Bristol paper

14" X 17"

2022

July 23rd, 2022 Saturday

I have been working on the landscape at Embudo Canyon in the foothills. I'm taking precautions, of course. I leave before 10AM, set up the table and chair, colored pencils and pad of paper and also a water bottle, and work from about 10:30AM until12:30PM. I enjoy the warmth and sunshine, the openess and the wide vista before me. There are a few other people out, too, bicyclists, joggers, people walking their dog. By 12:30-1:00PM, I can start feeling the intensity of the heat increase. I know then to head back to the car.

August 3rd, 2022 Wednesday

Have been heading to Embudo Canyon to work on the landscape, am making progress. On Sunday, heading back to the parking lot, I saw above me three paragliders circling the area. It was amazing how they would catch a breeze,a gentle wind current, bank left or bank right, or just catch a breeze and be lifted up. They also circled above the crest of the ridge by the parking lot. Really, it almost seemed like a dance in the air, so graceful and so quiet!

I reread Confessions of an Art Addict by Peggy Guggenhiem. I also read Peggy Guggenheim A Collector's Album by Laurence Tacou-Rumney. The one by Tacou-Rumney has some great photos of Peggy, her friends and family, and pictures of her home in Venice, Palazzo Venier dei Leoni. Peggy was really quite a woman, ground breaking in so many ways, bold, forthright, outspoken and honest. She definitely made her mark on the art world, supporting artists like Jackson Pollock, giving them a gallery to show their work. Peggy was also one of the first to dedicate shows at her gallery to women artists. Peggy's collection of modern art is world reknown. Art History owes her a debt of gratitude.

Robert Flinkman

Memory and Legacy

graphite, gouache, colored pencil on Bristol paper

24" X 19"

2022

August 9th, 2022 Tuesday

I'm currently working on a new piece, initially graphite on Bristol paper. Once again I'm working with memories and experiences with my father. I had come across the earlier painting, Of Things Unspoken, 2018. Artwork is good creative therapy, feelings, thoughts, impressions, experiences. What are the memories and what is the legacy? How to express it through form, color, images. Have also been studying the work of Mario Sironi.

I finished the work, Ties, by Domenico Starnone. A powerful and unflinching portrayal of family relationships, the ties that bind and all the knots and tangles that go with it at all levels - husband, father, wife, mother, children, lover. The ties that bind us closer can also constrict us, be frayed. And then how to untie them to be free.

August 29th, 2022 Monday

I've almost brought my current work, Memory and Legacy, to completion. It really does speak to the psychological and emotional influence of my father. The central image of my father emerges from the subconscious. To the left is part of the Belmont Ave. bridge that crosses the Schuylkill River, heading up into Manayunk. To the right is the image of my father, walking down a street in Manayunk, passing by the memories, thoughts, feelings, experiences of his life spent there, his experiences with his parents, Rose and Abe, locked away mentally, unexamined behind the dark windows. The smaller figure to the left in dark yellow and green represents what issues he had, desires, what he felt and thought privately/internally. He was not a self-reflective man, so much internally went unresolved, and still he returned to Manayunk/Roxborough day after day to go to his medical practice or Memorial Hospital. All the internal issues unresolved and unexamined he took it all to the grave with him and I think he wanted it that way. I saw my father smile, I heard him chuckle, but I did not ever hear him laugh.

I felt the effects of this, if even unspoken. Our parents do have their influence on us, good, bad or indifferent. I certainly have mine. The key thing is how to deal with it, work with it constructively, creatively. When you encounter an emotion, thought, a reaction arise, analyse it, trace it to its roots, realize its origins. You can deal with it more effectively by understanding.

I think this is strong work, a powerful one, speaks to our experience we all share to whatever degree. At this time in life, it's important to look back. Distance lends clarity.

Robert Flinkman

Awaiting My Turn

graphite, gouache, colored pencil on Bristol paper

24" X 19"

2022

October 22nd, 2022 Saturday

This morning I just began a truly great work, graphite on Bristol paper, 24" X 19", I've entitled the work, Awaiting My Turn. In rummaging about, I came across a number of copies of black and white woodblock prints created by several German Expressionists - Kirchner, Pechstein, Nolde, Schmidt-Rottluff. In addition I found a couple of days ago a sketch I did in pen in the late 1980s, a room with a counter, a distant door, tables and a chair and three pictures on the wall. I also came across a couple of large works, oil on canvas, I painted in the early 1990s - Family, 1991, and Beyond LA, 1992. I started to mull over this, study the works by the German Expressionists and my own paintings, then this morning started working out the picture. I enjoy the immediacy the graphite gives me and the ability to change, alter what I draw as I do it. I worked it then and there, working the figures and images as I went on. It wasn't until toward the end I envisioned the title, Awaiting My Turn. How I'll flesh it out, it'll probably be with gouache and colored pencil. I'm really excited about this work, I had no idea how I'd realize this, it just organically evolved as I created it.

Robert Flinkman

Landscape, Embudo Canyon

Colored Pencil on Bristol Paper

14 " x 17 "

May 2nd, 2023 Tuesday

Have been heading out to Embudo Canyon to work on the landscape. The wind has been letting up, will head up there tomorrow. Due to the weather, work on the landscape has been sporadic.

Have just finished Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure - what an incredibly powerful work! The characters and their relationships dealing with thwarted passion, stifled dreams and an unrelenting fate. Their attempts to form a bond both in marriage and without it, stifled by social conventions. Some of the characters and their personalities can still be found today.

Next I'll be reading The Plumed Serpent by D.H.Lawrence. I'm interested in reading what Lawrence wrote while living here in Taos, NM, at the ranch there. I know he was friends with Witter Bynner and his lover, Willard Johnson. In the work, the character, Owen Rhys, was based on Witter Bynner. Throughout some of Lawrence's work, there is an underlying homoeroticism, and that can be found in the relationship betwen Ramon and Cipriano. It'll be interesting to see what I find in this work. The Vintage Edtion of the work I have has a drawing on the front cover of D.H.Lawrence done in black ink.

May 13th, 2023 Saturday

Yesterday I headed to the Embudo Canyon in the foothills to work on the landscape. Only light breezes and then periods of stillness, all sunshine. I worked on the sky and touched up some areas. Despite the sporadic work periods and weather, I really feel I created a great landscape here. This morning I worked a few areas, tighten up the work. I know I was a bit frustrated due to the wind, but I really feel I came away with some great work. I'm definitely going to get this landscape framed.

Have been thinking about what to do next. Somehow I sense a wood block print, I still have some poplar left over. I'll head off to Copper NE to the foothills there, wander arouund, get some ideas. I've been looking over reproductions I have of wood block prints created by German Expressionists : Kirchner, Heckel, Schmidt-Rotluff, Scherer, Nolde. We'll see what evolves, looking forward to it. I know I find the wood block carving so emotionally and creatively satisfying.

Robert Flinkman

Embudo Canyon, Sandia Foothills

Woodblock Print on Masa Paper

11 1/4" X 15 3/4"

May 31st, 2023 Wednesday

I've been carving on the wood block and am deriving alot of satisfaction from it. The size of the block is approx. 11 1/4" X 14 3/4". I let the process guide me, sensing the grain, letting the flow influence what I leave, carve out, or create. I've started with the foreground and am working my way toward the sky. Contemplation of the work lets me see new things, new areas or images. Even the sharpening of the carving tools using the whetstone is part of the process. I'll be carving the landscape for awhile and I look forward to it.

Have finished The Plumed Serpent by D.H.Lawrence. Interesting Lawrence's take on people getting back to their primeval blood consciousness, their true ancient roots, roots that lay deep within the soul. The need to cast off the organized religion and social and economic constraints that were imposed on them, for the people to reach deep down within to connect with their native roots again, to free themselves, to reconnect with the earth.

To me, Kate represents Lawrence's creativity and his own experience in dealing with this.

I'm gong to be rereading The Idiot by Dostoevsky. I read this work back in the 1970s. Interesting, looking again at the passages I underlined and paragraphs I noted. I have the Wash.Sq.Press edition, translated by John W.Stuaham. The cover has a man holdng a flower as if in prayer. I know Erich Heckel created a number of wood block prints to illustrate several of Dostoevsky's works The Idiot being one of them.

I've been listening to the piano music of Mendelssohn on YouTube. Mendelssohn's music is truly balm for the soul, a rich musical creative experience. There is beauty there, there is love, and there is some real sadness.

Robert Flinkman

Still life with ceramic mug

gouache, colored pencil acrylic and graphite on Bristol paper

17" X 14"

2023

July 16th, 2023 Sunday

I've started work on the still life, 17" X 14", drawing out the basic structure in graphite, and have started applying gouache to certain areas around the wine bottle to the left. The still life consists of two empty wine bottles, two colored cloths - one red, the other dark blue. I needed an object for the foreground, one that would tie the whole composition together. Yesterday I headed over to Thrift Town on Menaul and looked around. I spotted a clay mug that had the colors I was looking for - red, green, yellow, black and the mug itself is the perfect size. Right now I'm just working with major areas of color, getting a sense of balance and what works well with each other, exploring ideas in color. I'm looking forward to the work, it'll be interesting to see what develops.

I finished Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino, enjoying it more the second time around. This time I read it more slowly, reading only the descriptions of several cities at a time. Certainly the descriptions are of the human experience, the cities represent our experiences with desires, dreams, memories, fears, illusions. It's a great work, one to be read slowly, reflected on.

I'm now rereading Erotic Tales (La Cosa e altri Racconti) by Alberto Moravia.

Robert Flinkman

Still life with red apple

graphite, gouache, acrylic, colored pencil on Bristol paper

17" X 14"

2023

August 9th, 2023 Wednesday

Last Saturday morning I headed over to the Salvation Army thrift store at Adams and Silver SE. Looking around, I found some objects I'm now using for this new still life. I found a brass goblet, a dark blue mug and a red ceramic plate with a 10 1/2" width. Alltogether the items cost $2.50. That morning when I came back, I started arranging the objects and the blue and red cloth. The size of the work is 17" X 14" on Bristol paper, and I'll be using graphite, gouache and colored pencil. I'm currently working on the red plate. I've divided the picture plane one half red cloth, the other half blue cloth. This is going to be an interesting still life.

I'm now reading Seven Gothic Tales by Isak Dinesen. Once I'm done with that, I'll continue with the biography.

I'm looking through again Stephen Backhouse's excellent biography on Kierkegaard, Kierkegaard A Single Life. It's always good to get back to Kierkegaard for guidance, thought, experience and encouragement. I'll consider what specifically from Kierkegaard's writings I'll read again.

I'm also listening to Mendelssohn - his piano works, violin concerto, the symphonies. It's always a pleasure to listen to Mendelssohn, he expresses so eloquently the richness of the human experience - love, joy, sorrow, quiet reflection. It's like getting together with a close friend.

Robert Flinkman

Still life with yellow leaf

graphite, gouache, acrylic, colored pencil on Crescent board

24" X 18"

2023

October 27th, 2023 Friday

I'm currently rereading Brecht's play, The Good Woman of Setzuan, and rereading The Great Wall of China, a collection of Kafka's short stories and reflections.

I've already started work now on the new still life using graphite and gouache, 24" X 18", Crescent board. It's a darker work, a wine bottle containing red wine, a dark blue mug, a dark green glass vase and a red candle, all on a dark blue cloth. There are only two very small red flowers. As for the background, I'm not sure. I'm working on each object and its surrounding area, the background will be done later. I envision it to be a darker, ominous, heavier. It's a still life for the time we live in now.

Yesterday afternoon I headed over to the Regal Cinema at Winrock and saw Martin Scorsese's epic movie, Killers of the Flower Moon. At the Winrock I saw it on an immense screen, as it should be shown. The movie depicts accurately a time in American history, when the people of the Osage Nation came into wealth from oil found on their land, and how they were cheated and stolen what was rightfully theirs. It's a story of fraud, deceit and racism. What was also so sad was the trust and betrayal Ernest Burkhart committed against his wife, Mollie, motivated by greed. Robet DeNiro, Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone turn in powerful performances. Scorsese consulted advisors and consultants from the Osage Nation to be sure that their rites, traditions and culture were accurately portrayed. Also the Osage language was spoken.

This movie does portray a sad chapter in our history, one we need to know, to see and understand what happened to be sure we learn and don't commit this again.

This movie is definitely going to garner major Oscar nominations.

November 8th, 2023 Wednesday

Continuing to work on the still life. Got most of the objects and arrangement area done, looks

good, using graphite, gouache and colored pencil. This morning decided to concentrate on the background. I studied the work of Mario Sironi, and got some good ideas to work with, drawing them out in graphite, deciding now what colors to use.

I'm currently listening to the music of Shostakovich, listening to his 24 Preludes and Fugues, beautifully performed by Vladimir Ashkenazy. Also listening to Shostakovich's string quartets starting with his no.6, op.101 (1956) and proceeding from there, masterfully performed by the Borodin Quartet. Powerful work, deeply felt, some real pain expressed here along with quiet reflection and some real inner strength and tenderness. Also listening to his 13th, 14th and 15th Symphonies.

I'm finishing Brecht's Caucasian Chalk Circle and finishing up works by Kafka in The Great Wall of China.

November 21st, 2023 Tuesday

I've finished the still life I was working on, still life with yellow leaf, graphite, gouache, acrylic and colored pencil on Crescent board. I worked as far as I could on the background. I'm going to get this work framed, I'm very pleased with it. Unsure, though, what I'll be working on next. I think what I may do is just work out random ideas in graphite on drawing paper, see what develops.

Have been listening to Shostakovich, two string sonatas on YouTube, op.134, violin sonata composed in 1968, Gidon Kremer, violin, Andrei Gavrilov, piano, and op.147, viola sonata, composed in July, 1975, Yuri Bashmet, viola, and Sviatoslav Richter, piano, in a live performance in Moscow in 1985. With both sonatas one can hear some real sadness, resignation, defiance and some sarcasm.

Robert Flinkman

Still life with Japanese temple jar

graphite, gouache, acrylic, colored pencil on Bristol paper

17" X 11 1/2"

2024

February 11th, 2024 Sunday

Have been working on the new still life, still life with Japanese temple jar, 17" X 11 1/2", Bristol paper, using graphite, gouache, acrylic paint, colored pencil. I've been using more acrylic paint, the acrylic paint works well with the other mediums, and the tubes of Golden Acrylic give me more paint to work with than the smaller tubes of gouache. I've created already the temple jar and the orange. Rather than use cloth, I've chosen colored construction paper for a base and background.

Yesterday with the snowfall, I stayed in and spent the afternoon with George Eliot. I read more in Adam Bede, now up to the trial. I watched the 1985 BBC dramatization of Silas Marner with Ben Kingsley. For me, this is a story of perserverance and the redemptive power of love. Excellent production, true to the novel.

February 17th, 2024 Saturday

I finished the still life with the Japanese temple jar, getting it framed. I'm really taken with this work, the accents on the background, and the concentration of color on the jar and the orange help to balance it. It's an expressive work. I'm really enjoying working in the mixed media...

I recently went to the Albuquerque Museum to view the new exhibit, Coast to Coast to Coast. The exhibit offers a great variety of works created by Indigenous artists from the McMichael Canadian Art Collection. Much of the work deals with Indigenous culture and history, the negative impact of colonization and the resiliency of the Indigenous peoples. I was especially taken with the portraits created by Norval Morrisseau (Anishinaabe), Arthur Shilling (Ojibwa), and Joshim Kakeegamic (Cree). I liked their richly colored work and their deeply personal perspectives.

Robert Flinkman

Embudo Canyon, looking south

lino block print on paper

18" X 24"

2024

March 14th, 2024 Thursday

I've drawn in graphite the basic landscape on site I'll be doing in the foothills area by Copper NE. I've already ordered the 18" X 24" sheet of linoleum. I'll transfer the drawing to the lino sheet, then start carving that out on site. Looking forward to it!

Have been listening to Respighi and enjoying his work so much! The Roman Trilogy, Toccata for Piano and Orchestra, Sinfonia drammatica, Concerto a cinque, Trittico botticelliano and other works, performed by the Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma, conducted by Francesco La Vecchia, as well as the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale de Santa Cecilia, conducted by Antonio Pappano.

Especially poignant is the piano piece, Tre Preludi sopra melodie gregoriane, Molto lento, performed by Konstantin Scherbakov. Here, for me personally, it touches on a sense of loss, of a quiet, gentle sadness. I've listened to it a number of times. There's real depth to this piece. Glad to have Ottorino Respighi to listen to.

April 20th, 2024 Saturday

Have been heading up to the foothills open space area by Copper NE, working on the 18" X24" lino sheet, carving it out. It feels good to head out, having that wide landscape expanse before me. I can open up, my thoughts and feelings can roam, I let the process guide me as I carve on the sheet of linoleum. There's the occasional bicyclist or jogger who will pass by. I'm there a couple of hours each time. It'll be interesting to see the first proof. I've still a ways to go before that, and that's ok. I'm enjoying the process.

May 17th, 2024 Friday

I've already finished working the landscape on site and have finished carving it on the lino sheet. I ordered a container of block printing ink at Albuquerque Artisan and am waiting for that to be delivered. This is a large piece, and I'm going to have to decide the best type of paper to use. I'm looking forward to making the first proofs, always interesting to see what turns out!

I'm almost finished rereading Thomas Hardy's The Return of the Native. Initially I watched the 1994 Hallmark production on YouTube. I enjoyed the film, directed by Jack Gold, featuring Catherine Zeta-Jones, Joan Plowright, Clive Owen, Ray Steveson and Steven Mackintosh. I think it's a good introduction to the novel, and music composed by Carl Davis is just superb!

While reading the novel, I was absolutely spellbound by the gambling scene in Book Third, Chap.7, The Morning and Evening of the Day. Reputations were at stake, consequences were in jeopardy and money was to be lost. I wasn't sure how it would turn out! Incredible writing- powerful!

Next I think I'll reread Ties by Domenico Starnone. In so many of our family relationships, there are those ties that bind us together and those that need to be cut loose.

Robert Flinkman

Alleyway, Amherst and Marquette NE

pen and ink on Bristol paper

19" X 24"

2024

June 16th, 2024 Sunday

I've been working on a new pen and ink of the alleyway near Amherst and Marquette NE. I get there in the late morning and leave after about an hour and a half. By one o'clock I can feel the heat. I've already drawn out the basic structure in light pencil on Bristol paper, 19" X 24", and am now working on the pen and ink. I'm enjoying it, I find it very meditative. There's a certain quiet solitude to these alleyways. The man who lives where the wall and gate are there, came out to see what I was doing. He was curious and welcoming.

July 30th, 2024 Tuesday

I've finished the pen and ink I did of the alleyway on Marquette NE between Amherst and Carlisle. The work really came out nicely, good balance of light and dark, positive and negative space. It could be challenging, concentrating on certain areas as the light and shadow would pass. I found working in pen and ink quiet, meditative. It was quiet there in the alleyway. A couple of times a resident would stop by to see what I was doing, very friendly, welcoming. The whole work flows well together.

While I was working on that piece, I noticed by my chair on my left hand side a V shaped branch. It was a small branch, 7" in height and approx. 4 1/2" width. I noticed it for its color, texture and how one could see how it grew. I decided to take it home and create a work from it in gouache. I started it already, drawing it out in light pencil on Crescent board, 13 1/4" X 9 1/4". I look forward to working on something smaller, concentrating on that single piece, studying and feeling the color, the texture, the growth of the branches. It was meditative, seeing so much there. It reminded me of the saying, seeing the universe in a grain of sand. It felt good to work on a smaller piece, using finer brushes and working in gouache and acrylic paints.

Robert Flinkman

Tree branch

graphite, gouache, acrylic paint and colored pencil on Bristol paper

19" X 10"

2024

August 10th, 2024 Saturday

I headed over to the foothills area at Copper NE, hiking the trails there. It felt good to get out, be in an open area. I always see something new there. It was breezy and that felt good. I headed south to the overlook with the view looking south/southwest over looking I-40 and the homes there. There were very few people there in the foothills. I only say two bicyclists, free to hike and explore.

I went for a walk along the North Diversion Channel recently. When I entered at the gate at the arroyo at Apache Court NE, I saw a really fine branch, rich in deep dark color and texture, 15 1/2" X 4". I'm working on that now with gouache and acrylic. I really find it satisfying to concentrate on one object, study it closely, sense and feel the color and texture and growth. It's certainly a change from the wide open vistas I've done.

Self portrait - preliminary drawing

graphite on paper

14" X 10 1/2"

2024

Self portrait

lino block print on Masa paper

14" X 10 1/2"

2024

October 11th, 2024 Friday

Concerning artwork, I've finished carving out the 14" X 12" self-portrait on the sheet of linoleum. Tomorrow I'll print the first proof - looking forward to that! It's always interesting to see and sense that first impression! I enjoy that! You can see some things in whole different way.

Also appreciating the life of Peggy Guggenheim, reading through portions of Anton Gill's biography, art/lover A Biography of Peggy Guggenheim, and Peggy Guggenheim A Collector's Album, Laurence Tacou-Rumney. Peggy lead quite a life, certainly colorful, her personality dominant in so much she did and with the people she knew. She provided alot of artists a place to meet and a place to show their work, collecting artwork and supporting artists.

October 22nd, 2024 Tuesday

I've finished the edition of ten of the lino cut self portrait. I'm very pleased with the print work here. I've decided to get one print of the edition matted and framed as well as the original graphite drawing I did of it. Both will be matted and framed the same as they are companion pieces. This piece speaks of my own memories and experiences, thoughts and feelings, as well as the current political and social times we live in. The influence is pervasive. It's there.

This afternoon I headed off to the foothills at Menaul, and decided to hike south to the dam and water tank there. It felt good to head out, be in the open area of nature. The weather was cool, calm. Few people were out. I reflected on what I'd want to do next. Slowly an idea came, evolved. I saw a still life with an orange and two dark purple plums. What makes this so different is that the geometric folds around the orange will be drawn out and colored, colored orange and reddish orange. The cloth will be dark blue. I contemplated as well using the brightly colored ceramic mug, and then one of the branches I have will hold up part of the blue cloth on the left.

I really got a good feeling from this still life, really excited about starting it. I'll do it in graphite, gouache, and colored pencil on Bristol paper, gradually see how it will grow and evolve.

I've been listening again to Shostakovich, the music from the last decade of his life. Also listening to the String Quartet, no.8 in C mnor, op.110, an intense and so deeply personal piece.