RM1

RM1 - 17" x 29"

Key To The Highway

The Big Bill Broonzy/Charles Segar blues classic, covered by everyone and his dog. I recorded this a long time ago, and I still like it - the solo is killin'! I put some old photos to it, in sepia, and added the film grain. And the vocal? Your's truly....believe it or not. Hope you enjoy it!

Saving Face

Thought I had deleted the Facebook account months ago, but apparently it only deactivates - until you get shamed into starting it up again. That place is an addictive time-waster, but I have found some long lost friends, and that has been a nice surprise. I probably won't be putting much art on there, leaving that for the website and blog.

Nicholas Simmons Facebook page

If you're on the Book, gimme a look!

"Innovative Watermedia" DVD On Sale!

Creative Catalyst Productions is offering a great sale price on my Innovative Watermedia DVD, celebrating the recent PWS award. See more on the CCP blog here.

If you are interested in more information about the DVD, or want to order, please use this link.

Thanks again to the great people at CCP, and thanks to all who have purchased the DVD and given us such wonderful feedback!

Why Spanish People Rule!

Down? Blue? Worried about the economy? Wondering what kind of world you brought your children into? Wishing Sarah Palin would just go away...forever and ever?

I know.

This fantastic song will cure what ails you, even if it gives you the bilirrubina! Keep your eye on the background singers - that's how I want to dance, and I'm learning how. That's all I want to do, and I'll be happy. Muy muy feliz!

PWS Gold Medal 2009

Nassau #4: Bay St. Girl - 38" x 38" (97 x 97 cm)

I learned this week from Debi Watson that this painting won the 30th annual Pennsylvania Watercolor Society exhibition, which is a major show with international entries. I got the same award last year for Tokyo Express, so I'm very surprised and of course very honored. There is some fantastic work represented: John Salminen (2nd), George James (3rd), and a number of other name painters. Carol Pickle, one of my favorite artists, judge.

The opening and awards are tomorrow at Goggleworks, a totally boss art center in Reading, PA.

PART II

The opening at Goggleworks was very well-attended, there must have been hundreds of people going through the Cohen Gallery and the rest of the complex. This show has a lot of outstanding work, I saw other paintings by Denny Bond, Dottie Burton, Jeanne Dobie, Z.L. Feng, Andrew Kish, Chris Krupinski, Jean Uhl Spicer (judge 2008), Mel Stabin, James Toogood, Patrick Varriano, and many other noted watercolorists -- too many names to list. Bay St. Girl is hanging at the entrance of Goggleworks, a nice location! Thanks again to PWS, Pat Cook (juror of selection), and Carole Pickle (juror of awards). The show hangs until September 11.

"Virtuoso Guitar Duos" Released!!!

August 1 is always a special date, being Tommy Bolin's birthday. I was invited by Johnnie Bolin to play the annual Tommy Bolin Fest in Sioux City which takes place today, but couldn't make it out there, and really wanted to be here for the release party of Manuel Barrueco's new CD, Virtuoso Guitar Duos. This spectacular recording also features young Italian superstar, Franco Platino. I'm very honored to have been asked by Manuel to do the cover of the CD, and we ended up using a painting of mine, La Vida Breve. I thought designing it around a mirror image of the painting would be appropriate for the duo concept, and I'm quite proud of the result. Even more so, as Manuel and Franco play a new arrangement of de Falla's La Vida Breve on the recording!

The party is today at Manuel's house, and among the guests will be some of the best young classical guitar virtuosos in the world - many of whom are or have been students of Manuel. As the guitar has been the major force in my creative life, and Manuel its acknowledged classical master of the modern era, you can imagine how thrilled I am.

Thank you, Manuel and Asgerdur. Abrazos!

The new CD is available here.

See the extensive (and autobiographical) post I made about Manuel a few months ago here.

Manuel.....Tommy.....what a day! I'll post some photos here tomorrow.

PART II

Well, it was everything I could have dreamed of and more. About 25 people arrived at Manuel and Asgerdur's house at 4:00, and I was the last to leave at 1 AM! Fantastic food, endless wine and champagne, heartfelt toasts, and a number of the best contemporary classical guitarists, from all corners of the globe. I would list the names, but I'd forget someone, and a few will soon be making appearances in this blog. And of course with Manuel himself, it really was Ground Zero of the classical guitar world. It was a beautiful evening, and eventually we all congregated outside on the deck overlooking the swimming pool and grounds of Casa Barrueco. There we were regaled with stories told by a humble and charming raconteur, the man who has brought unprecedented joy, inspiration, and wonder into our lives. I made a lot of friends last night, and realize the unique circumstances of our meeting created a bond that will never be broken.

Franco Platino, Manuel Barrueco, Nick

Creativity Workshop Winners

Congratulations to Elise Beattie and Kris Storey, and I'm very happy my June 2009 article in Watercolor Artist magazine generated some great ideas. Thanks to Sarah Strickley for working with me, and you can read more about this on the WA site.

"l' Art de l' Aquarelle"

A new French watercolor magazine, L' Art de l'Aquarelle, has just published its first issue, and I have an 8-page spread, with 6 full-page reproductions (first two pages shown below). This magazine spotlights the best watercolorists in Europe, so of course it features my friends Janine Gallizia and Joseph Zbukvic (cover), and another euro star whose work I love, Gottfried Salzmann. There is one other American in this issue - some guy named Andrew Wyeth! I have to say, it is a gorgeous magazine, printed on heavy glossy stock and loaded with articles and fabulous pictures. I believe the next issue will feature the great Wayne Roberts. After that, Guan Wei Xing. Where do you go from there???!!!

For information regarding obtaining this magazine, please email: redaction@lartdelaquarelle.com

Ni Ko La Shi

A friend of mine recently returned from China and brought back this for me. I've always wanted to have a "chop" made, but never got around to it. I believe it is carved from soapstone, and when it was made, an onlooker read it as "Nicholas" so I guess it's authentic! Ong Kim Seng read it to me as Ni-Ko-La-Shi. It was a timely, even clairvoyant, gift. More on that soon!

Bloomberg.com

Thanks to Brian McGee for the reference and link in his Bloomberg.com article today about the Sorolla exhibition in Madrid.

Kanji #2

Kanji #2

This one is based on the first in the series, but distorted and cropped to fit the different format. It seemed the bamboo didn't really need to be "painted" and the whites (all whites are the paper) balanced the design. Da Vinci on Fabriano hot press, 31" x 44" (79 x 112 cm).

Sorolla Video

Here is a very good 15 minute video of the current Sorolla retrospective at the Prado, with subtitled comments by the curators. I wish I could see this show! Thanks to Iain Vellacott for putting the link on his blog.

The exhibition catalog is available here.

From Odessa With Love

Larissa and Olga are spending the summer on the Black Sea. Thanks to Skype, I almost feel as though I'm there. Well OK, not even close.....but it's better than nothing!

женщина в беседке

Which translates roughly to "woman in arbor." This is a collage of two paintings which I made into a giclée. The image is 30" x 30" on Hahnemuhle paper.

We Miss You Randy

Randy Kentfield
November 26, 1952 - June 20, 1989

Life hasn't been the same, and nowhere near as funny. We still idolize you, marvel at your brilliance, and think of you everyday. Yes, you were right - reflection is not as painful as it was, but the void has never been filled, and never will be.

By a departing light

We see acuter, quite

Than by a wick that stays.

There's something in the flight

That clarifies the sight

And decks the rays.

-Emily Dickinson

Kanji #1

Kanji #1 - 24" x 56"

I'm still intrigued with the Japanese and Chinese characters, this time distorted to fit into a horizontal format. All whites are the paper, Da Vinci on Fabriano 140# hot press.

Framed 28" x 60" - sorry for the reflections

Thanks to everyone who participated in the workshop at VisArts in Rockville! I think I'll be doing more there in the fall and next spring, details here and on my website when available.

Economic Crisis?

Even though I don't have to buy paint anymore, I still hate to waste a single drop. I've been cutting tubes and bottles open for years, and when Da Vinci Paint learned that...well, see for yourself. Best artist quality colors, and they blow everyone away on price!

I have a 3-day workshop starting tomorrow at the gorgeous new VisArts center in Rockville, and Da Vinci is once again giving free samples of their fabulous fluid acrylic to everyone. Thanks Marcello!

Windows Vista

The two most dreaded words in computerdom. It has put me largely out of cyberaction for the past 6 weeks, might have to finally bite the bullet and go for the Mac. (sorry Maddox!)

American Contemporary Gallery

I'm sorry to say the new American Contemporary Gallery in Annapolis closed its doors after the March exhibition. I learned about the gallery when Carol Carter showed there, and I was scheduled for this month. John Bodkin opened ACG in November, and it was certainly one of the coolest places in the DC area, and he's one of the coolest guys I've met in this business. I believe he's planning to reopen when the economy improves, and in the meantime will be occupied with other art projects. We wish him luck and look forward to his return!

In the photo are John and my wife Olga at the opening of the March show.

Sorolla - Prado

Approximately 100 paintings of Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida (1863-1923) will make up a major exhibition at the Prado in Madrid, May 26 - September 6.

Sorolla is one of my all-time favorite painters - with a style of bravura brushwork unmatched, he created wondrous moments like Just Out of the Sea, captured glorious light in scenes such as Sewing the Sail and Lunch on the Boat, but also depicted pathos in paintings like the devastating Sad Inheritance.

There's not a show I'd rather see of any artist, anywhere. (Alex Kanevsky's new work at J. Cacciola Gallery would be second on the list!)

Also, visit Museo Sorolla here.

Watercolor Artist Magazine - June 2009

I have an article in the Creativity Workshop of the latest Watercolor Artist magazine.

Most artists I've encountered have at least some experience using the computer and programs such as Photoshop, typically working with reference photographs in preparation for a painting. The article deals with using Photoshop to progressively alter not a photograph, but rather a painting, to generate new variations and abstractions. It is another way of extracting more material from an idea, and an interesting collaboration between man and machine. I started with a piece from a couple years ago, La Falda Leventada (see pic from first page), and explained the evolution of subsequent paintings via Photoshop filters and cropping.

(I see DaVinci is giving a free triad sample of watercolors with subscriptions)

Thanks to the twenty people from the Cape Artists in Lewes, Delaware, who attended the workshop last week. I had a blast, and I hope to return sometime! (yes, I made it to the gallery in Ocean View, 5 mins before they closed)

Learning To Live Again

This is an original song I wrote in the 90s, and the lyric is by a friend of mine, Nick Palmieri. The singer is Venetta Smith, a gospel powerhouse who can can do some serious sermonizing on the blues, as you'll hear. Tenor star Richard Elliot trades licks with both of us. Ruben Drake on bass, Ron and Dave Reinhardt on Hammond B3 and drums. I did all guitar work and arrangement, I think it's one of my best tracks. Recorded at Morrisound in Tampa. Crank this one, louder the better!

Charito

While on the ship, I had some time to put a few pics together with original music. This piece is a S. American-style acoustic guitar thing, all instruments and arranging by me. Most of the soloing is improvised, played on a Takamine LTD-92. Muchas gracias to Charo Vargas for the inspiration!

York Art Association

I did a demo for the York Art Association in York, Pennsylvania yesterday. We had a full house, and a very nice group of people it was - I hope to return to do a workshop! Thanks to Debi Watson for organizing it (though it's nerve-wracking having someone that good watching!).

There is a 3-day workshop in Lewes, Delaware, April 8-10. I think it is sold out, but contact Sonia Hunt for details. 302-644-2973

Check out the new slideshow on the Art Escapes Vancouver website with paintings by Joseph Zbukvic and myself.

Tampa-Clearwater

We stopped in Tampa on the way home and visited Dean Guitars headquarters, where Larissa came away with her first real guitar, and Olga almost drove away on the Dean custom chopper.


We spent last night as guests at Roebling Manor in Belleair. That would be a fantastic place to spend some time painting, with spectacular views of Clearwater Bay. Thank you to Pam and Elliott (check out theTommy Bolin shirt!).

Still Toughin' It Out

Larissa is an old pro at Adventure Ocean, especially enjoys the Pirate Night where all the kids dress up and take over the ship. I have some good video of that, maybe I can get it posted. Here's a shot of her with remnants of the makeup, she was pretty scary... Arrrrr!

Denys has been showing us a good time, and we have the run of the place. More fun, more friends, lots of Russkies to hang out with, not to mention more food and drink. Trying to keep off the pounds with a couple of sessions in the gym each day, and dancing to a good latin band at night. It's gonna be hard going home!

Got a cool shot of the pool the other night, it really looked like that.

Sun & Fun

We're on a cruise ship for a couple of weeks in the islands, having a blast. Reunited with Olga's brother, Denys, who is First Officer with Royal Caribbean. (see posts from February 2008) I'm sitting in a Starbucks in Nassau, first decent internet access I've had in days.



Check out the video of Larissa kicking Olga off the dance floor - she doesn't like competition! Another week of this torture, and then seeing lots of friends in Florida. I'll try to maintain radio contact...over and out.

Manuel Barrueco

After the most recent airing of my segment on Maryland Public Television's Artworks This Week (see this post), I received an email that really astonished and touched me from Manuel Barrueco - the man regarded by many as the greatest classical guitarist of the modern era. Or, as so eloquently stated by Odair Assad about the evolution of the instrument: "We can say that, at one point, it’s before Manuel and after Manuel Barrueco."

It was as a teenager during my first master class in New Orleans that I learned about him. Back in Iowa, I didn’t know much beyond Segovia, John Williams, Julian Bream, and several others such as Michael Lorimer, who was teaching the class held at Tulane University. In preparation for that I was taking lessons with Segovia honor student Elias Barriero, head of the Tulane guitar department, at his shop on South Carrollton. Among the instruments and stacks of sheet music, Elias also sold records, and everyone was buying up the debut recording of a new guy featuring the Villa-Lobos etudes and Suite Breslienne. The photo of the artist sort of looked like a wild Cuban version of Jimi Hendrix, and his name was Manuel Barrueco. I asked Elias about him, and he told me he had actually been of some influence on the young virtuoso in Santiago, but was quick not to take credit for his brilliance, saying it "wouldn't have mattered," as Manuel’s destiny had already been decided. When I got home and listened to the record I understood within a few seconds what Elias and everybody else was talking about.

Like so many others at that time, my life was instantly changed, the benchmark of what was possible on the instrument dramatically shifted, and even with my limited experience, I realized the new apostle of the classical guitar had arrived. It was beyond an issue of technique; there was a musicality, an artistry, a depth of feeling, a tone, that practically burst the bounds of the medium.

My first master class with Manuel was in New York at the Manhattan Institute of Classical Guitar. There were guitarists from all over the place, and I showed up with my $200 Pimentel. I performed Capricho Arabe, and played it pretty well considering the difficulty and who was sitting a few feet from me. I’m sure I was terrified! He was very kind, changed some fingerings, and managed to find just the right complimentary words to say. Whew! A couple of young German guys who played as a duo were there, and they were fantastic. One of them also played the Prelude from the 1st Lute Suite (BWV 996), and aced it, even the presto section. That was the moment I knew that although I adored this music, I loved improvising and playing other styles too much; to play at the highest levels of classical guitar, you really have to do that to the exclusion of everything else. It was good to realize that then. Another guy in the class had the wits to ask Manuel for his fingering of the Villa-Lobos Etude #2 (see #43), one of those pieces he electrified the guitar world with on that first record. I woodshedded that knucklebuster for 20 years!

....................Manuel Barrueco and Nick - New Orleans

I did another master class with Manuel at Tulane, organized by Elias. I played the Folk Song from John Duarte's English Suite, and, incredibly, had the nerve to play about half of the 1st movement from Paganini’s Grand Sonata. What was I thinking??! A very funny moment occurred in front of the class when Manuel asked to see the fingernails on my right hand. While he inspected them, I realized we appeared precisely as that TV commercial, and I blurted out "Madge! Dishwashing liquid?!" Everyone was laughing so hard, I’m not sure whether he managed the rejoinder, "Relax, it’s Palmolive." Manuel helped me select a new guitar that week, and while playing it honored me with a request: the Gigue from the 1st Lute Suite. The last session of the class, pictures were taken, and then followed a houseboat party on Lake Pontchartrain. It was a beautiful summer night, and I recall being alone with Manuel on the top deck. Someone had given him a Cuban cigar, and I smoked a home-rolled variety! He talked to me, like a regular person, like a friend, an equal. I never forgot that.

Over the years these experiences replayed in my mind a thousand times as I followed Manuel’s spectacular international performing career, and the string of recordings that consistently set new standards for the classical guitar. I remember well when the Albeniz/Granados album was released and being floored by his dynamic performance of the Minuetto (#79), not to mention his transcription (previously thought to be impossible on the guitar) of Cataluna (#107). I always considered Alicia de Larrocha as the premiere interpreter of Spanish piano music, but when you hear Manuel play pieces such as Granada (#3), it’s difficult not to believe that those composers were really thinking about the guitar. After that, the stupefying recording of Paganini’s Sonata in A (#115) on the Scarlatti album; his perfect interpretations of Bach; the groundbreaking transcriptions and arrangements drawn from a huge spectrum of composers: deFalla, Ponce, Rodrigo, di Visee, Brouwer, Turina, Chick Corea and Keith Jarrett, Lennon & McCartney, Barrios, Lauro, Piazzolla, and many composers whose music had either been largely overlooked or simply not attempted on the guitar. His collaborations with people such as Placido Domingo, The King’s Singers, Cuarteto Latinoamericano, Al DiMeola and Steve Morse, among others, has broadened the instrument’s scope and attracted new audiences. His famous appearance on commercial television, burning through Leyenda (the linked clip shows a former student of Manuel's, the amazing and beautiful Ana Vidovic) in the back seat of a speeding Lexus, brought some much-needed guitar publicity to the attention of millions. Contemporary composers such as Roberto Sierra, Arvo Pärt, Michael Daugherty (from my hometown!), Gabriela Lena Frank, Steven Stucky, and Toru Takemitsu have been inspired by Manuel to write new solo and ensemble works for guitar, greatly expanding the modern repertoire. Not surprisingly, I'd love to see him collaborate with Pat Metheny.

Besides the unmatched tone and interpretation, Manuel took technique to a startling new level. He is able to hold on to the notes and chords just a little longer, and get to the next note or chord just a little faster, smoother, and more securely than everybody else, thereby conquering the fiendish technical problem of this instrument: producing a sustained, legato sound. Playing his records over and over, a curious phenomenon became apparent: when I would go into another part of the house, and the timbre of the instrument became obscured, I could swear I was listening to a pianist. A really killer pianist. I have proven this a number of times to the amazement of others.

Naturally, the 1000+ guitarists I taught received a crash course in Barrueco 101 (along with Pat Metheny and Tommy Bolin).

As another testament to Manuel’s kindness, in the early 90s I was suffering from tendonitis, and it threatened to shut down my guitar career, which by that time was providing me a very good living, and sponsorship from some major companies such as Ibanez, Laney, Roland, D'Addario, etc. My father happened to see Manuel at a meet & greet event in Baltimore, and told him about my malady. Not long afterwards, while cooking spaghetti in my Florida apartment, the telephone rang. That phone rang about 100x/day, and I let the answering machine take care of it. This time I heard the name "Manuel Barrueco" coming through the tiny speaker, and almost fainted. He gave me some very good advice, and happily that affliction eventually disappeared. How’s that for a person who cares?!

Michael Lawrence’s brilliant documentary film A Gift and a Life, is a wonderful behind-the-scenes glimpse of Manuel in public and private, with a particularly moving account of his early life in Cuba and emigration to America. And the incredible camerawork provides a rare opportunity to see the magic happen up close, where fingers meet strings. It is highly recommended! Mr. Lawrence is also producing an ambitious new film devoted to the music of Bach, and Manuel is featured in that with an amazing array of famous musicians.

An artist’s greatest legacy, besides their body of work, is their willingness to "pass the baton" to future generations. The most promising young guitarists in the world make the pilgrimage to the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore for the opportunity to study with Manuel Barrueco.

Finally, that he reached out from the cobwebbed past to reconnect is a tremendous thrill for me. We are planning on meeting soon, and I can’t wait. Querido amigo...un abrazo!

Manuel Barrueco official website

Facebook page

Youtube clips from A Gift and a Life:

1 (trailer)

2 (slightly different from #1)

3 (party at Manuel's house, check this out!)

4 (with Placido Domingo)

5 (with Andy Summers and Al Di Meola)

6 (with Aaron Shearer)

7 (from new Bach film)

P.S. Guess who....playing a fabulously bastardized Valse Criollo, complete with digital reverb....sorry, Manuel! : )

What's Up With That?

I'm noticing a trend among some people of not bothering to answer posts on their blog. We all understand the various reasons a person might not post on other blogs, but who the heck ignores people that take the time to post on one's own blog??? I have always tried to be very conscientious about that here and in the forums. A quaint notion, perhaps, but it seems common courtesy to me....and it's part of what makes the whole thing work. (insert scratching head emoticon here)