Artist Terrill Welch’s magnificent oil painting “Evening Thunderclouds over the Straight of Georgia” (reviewed below)
by Sam Juliano
Thanksgiving is just a little over a week away as time just zooms forward. This is why none of us should ever be hoping for something set for weeks or months in the future. We need to appreciate the time we have though it won’t hurt to wish away something we want to forget. Weather nationwide has been dropping significantly, and many are bracing for a cold winter. I am pleased to mention here that Allan Fish continues to come along nicely at home after his long stay in a British hospital. This is just so fantastic when you consider the serious difficulties he has endured. This is the greatest of news too for his lovely mum and aunt Anne.
After an unavoidable delay after my first entry in the 2014 Caldecott Medal Contender series, I will be resuming this coming week, and will commence to accelerate as we move forward.
Our good friend, the renowned artist Terrill Welch’s sublime impressionistic oil painting “Evening Thunderclouds Over the Straight of Georgia” has a fierce sensory undercurrent – a raging and visceral convergence of elemental properties that would even impress the regal flounder from the Grimm Brother’s The Fisherman and His Wife whose own ire required the proper theatrical trappings to denote that all is not well in the heavens. But by her own admission the artist confessed the enormous challenge of documenting an experience that is both cosmic and suffused with a swirling sense of movement. Staged at Georgina Point at the Straight of Georgia which separates Vancouver Island from the coast of British Columbia, the creator is armed only with an easel, a brush and a tube of oil paint – bare essentials with which to create an infinite event, one where lights have dimmed and an unwanted guest has intruded without proof of identity, to cast a pall of mystery and foreboding during the short interval between day and night. With bold application of impressionist strokes, the renowned artist has forged a scene of turbulent force – visceral and seemingly controlled by spiritual entities. For those who like expansive outdoor atmospherics, defined by brooding weather and furious movement, Terrill Welch’s “Evening Thunderclouds Over the Straight of Georgia” is for you. It is imbued with a spiritual context – one that implies that all is not well beyond those pearly gates. Audacious and original, this meteorological tapestry is unquestionably a masterpiece by a singular artist.
This past wee we attended a terrific music show at Joey’s in West Milford, where another high school acquaintance -Gene Focarelli- did a fabulous job as a single vocalist/guitarist, covering rock standards from the 60′s and 70′s as well as some original material. The kids really liked his presentation quite a bit. It ran from 8 till 11 on Friday night.
On Saturday afternoon Lucille, Jeremy and I attended an excellent matinee college staging of Reginald Rose’s beloved work 12 ANGRY MEN at the school auditorium of Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken. My sister-in-law Rita and my brother Paul’s nephew Tino Ivezaj played the crucial role of the Third Juror -Lee J. Cobb’s role in the film- and he delivered a powerful turn! Simple by effective staging of a work always carried by the electrifying script.
We saw two films in theaters this past week, though one of these two will be seen later tonight. I will certainly revise accordingly, when I get back or in the morning:
Foxcatcher ** (Saturday night) Landmark
Whiplash **** 1/2 (Sunday night) Edgewater
I am actually being generous with the two-star out of five rating for FOXCATCHER, which is probably the most overrated film of 2014. Boring, listless and without much style, the film’s subject – erratic and paranoid multi-millionaire John du Pont’s fall from grace after his involvement with wrestler Mark Schultz and his brother and a sports enterprise on his property. Steve Carrell’s creepy and most effective performance as Du Pont, and the short, fine turn from Vanessa Redgrave are not enough to overcome poor pacing and so much padding.
