US Road Trip!

On June 17th I left Austin to start traveling around the United States. My plan is to continue up until the holidays in November and December when I will be with family. Then next year I might continue or settle down in whatever new place I hope to discover on my trip.

If you want to follow along on my journey the only place I am updating daily is on Instagram. @scottdavidgordon

Here’s a panorama from Fall Lake in northern Minnesota to give you a taste of the amzaing natural beauty I’ve been witnessing. I wish I had not waited so long to see all of these places but am glad now to have to opportunity to do so. Please check out my Instagram to see more!

Fall Lake looking towards the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota

Fall Lake looking towards the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota

AUSTIN ART TALK - Gladys Poorte - Nuevo Mundo

This week's podcast guest is Gladys Poorte. Her work for many people appears to be very otherworldly and fantastical, maybe even sci-fi inspired, but in fact, it is all based on real-life objects and 3D models that she creates in her studio to draw and paint from while controlling the light and mood to ultimately create space and depth. The inspiration often comes from observing, processing, and reacting to real-life events that have happened in the world, and concerns about the future.

I’m very impressed with Gladys' willingness to keep pushing herself to learn new skills and gain knowledge to enhance and evolve her artwork over time. We talk about her life growing up in Argentina, working as an educator, transitioning to living in the US, and her many years of diverse art classes and schooling to evolve her style and craft to where it is today.

Nuevo Mundo
Gladys Poorte At The Davis Gallery
May 1st - June 12th
Davis Gallery & Framing
837 West 12th Street
Austin, TX 78701
512-477-4929

Gladys Poorte's "Nuevo Mundo" debuts at the Davis Gallery. Exploring the new settings wherein which we find ourselves during an unprecedented time, Poorte helps us transition into seemingly foreign yet familiar landscapes within her interpretation and style.

Fort Davis National Historic Site

A selection of views and things that I saw while hiking at Ft Davis. It was a wonderful morning and a visually stimulating location!

Davis Mountains State Park Panoramas

Here are some panoramas that I made with my iPhone during two hikes at DMSP. The first three are from a hike early in the day along the Indian Lodge trail and a close to sunset hike along Skyline Drive Trail. Almost got to 15,000 steps, over 6 miles.

Sunset hike on Skyline Drive Trail.

AUSTIN ART TALK - Tom Jean Webb - Being Here

Artist Tom Jean Webb grew up in England but knew from an early age he wanted to live in America. His mother and grandfather helped to inspire his creativity and if not for a chance visit to a contemporary art gallery as an adult, he would not have realized that what he wanted to say with his own art was valid and possible. After many trips and back and forth from the United States to England he finally committed to fulfill his dream and made the US his home.

The work he creates is heavily inspired by the colorful and rocky desert landscapes of the southwest and are explorations of space and his own personal reality. As he consistently strives to create his distinctive artwork he prioritizes being open and present, staying playful, having fun, and letting go of control and preconceived ideas.

“As much as art is about creating an object, it’s also about learning about yourself. My art has always been this tool for which I decipher the world, and my place in it, or who I am and how I learn and what I see. It’s the medium through which I decipher everything.”
— Tom Jean Webb

Here are some images I made when I was visiting Tom Jean’s studio to record the interview.

AUSTIN ART TALK - Chris Rogers - Unconditional

“That’s my ultimate goal. When I’m done here I want to have temples built in a lot of people’s hearts. Not, oh Chris was so awesome. But because I gave them something. Because I meant something to them. Because I gave them a piece of my heart”
— Chris Rogers

Wow! Can’t believe we’ve made it to 100 episodes. I could not imagine a better guest to celebrate this milestone. Chris Rogers is an artist who specializes in portraits that capture a person's true essence, live painting sessions at events, and large and colorful murals that adorn many walls around Austin with their inviting and galvanizing truths. All of this work hopefully leads to conversations, connections, and a realization as Chris says in the interview, the cure is us.

How can we heal our fractured system and relationships, let go of control and give over to the moment, and find our way to truth, honesty with ourselves, and learn to speak from the heart?

Chris really brought the vulnerability and bares all as we talk about his lifelong artistic practice, alcoholism and recovery, and the huge impact his late mother continues to have on his life. This conversation was so moving and inspiring to me as I hope it will be to you.

Here are some images of murals here in Austin that Chris painted at 12th & Chicon and at Native Hostel.

Cande Aguilar | It’s only barrioPOP but I like it @ grayDUCK Gallery

I’m so impressed by Cande’s work and it was fun to help capture and produce an interview with him and then photograph the exhibition for Jill the owner of grayDUCK. I love having a regular gig working with artists and capturing exhibitions!

Text by artist/writer Noe Hinojosa for Cultbytes

What is Cande Aguilar’s barrioPOP? In the United States, when you place the word "barrio" in front of anything, it acts as a filter. It filters whatever words follow through a Mexican American context down to a common denominator: the neighborhood. If I say I can play barrio tennis, it means I may not have the fancy equipment or clothes, and my strokes may not be refined, but I do know the rules, and I can play. I might have to jump a fence to get to some tennis courts, but that just reinforces the point that "barrio" anything is being of, or pertaining to, the common folk of the barrio where people are accustomed to less access of all kinds for basic socio-economic reasons. Read more…

Exhibition Dates: April 9 – May 23, 2021

AUSTIN ART TALK - Brian Daly - Part 2 - Recovery

"I used to think I had all the answers. I believed it. I don’t believe that at all anymore. I have all the questions. I’ve got all of them. And I don’t really need answers anymore. I’m in it for the questions. And that pretty much rules my day, every day. Just endless questions."

This is part two of my interview with artist Brian Daly. If you haven’t heard Part One I would recommend going back and starting with Episode 97 where we cover his epic life story before he got sober 19 months ago.

Part Two goes more in-depth into his current life and practice as an artist.

AUSTIN ART TALK - Brian Daly - Part 1 - Rendered

Sometimes it can take a lot to ask for help. Artist Brian Daly realized nineteen months ago that even though he had already survived hitting bottom a few times before, this time might be his last. Through years of ups and downs, Brian acquired the skills to create almost anything as a fabricator while also from a young age continuing to further his drafting and artistic talents.

In this first part of two episodes, he shares in vivid detail, reminiscent of his drawings, the epic and tumultuous journey he has been on, up until getting clean and sober and focusing his energy and recovery into his art. The paper and ink drawings he creates as a literal meditation, are beautiful and precise in their rendering, allowing him to share a glimpse of his inner world, imagination, and lifelong fascination with tools and the mechanics of objects.

The second part of our conversation, Episode 98, goes into more detail about his current life and artistic practice.

AUSTIN ART TALK | Joyce Howell - Expressing The Abstract

As an adult, after working many jobs in the business world and raising her daughters' artist Joyce Howell decided to go back to school to study art and eventually achieved her master's degree. She started out painting in a very representational style but in graduate school found the encouragement and a strong desire to create abstract works that expressed more of her internal reality and how she processed everything in her world.

For the last almost 25 years Joyce has been committed to her studio practice and has participated in many solo and group exhibitions. She creates colorful and often atmospheric abstract paintings that without a doubt contribute to the joy and beauty experienced through art that we all need in our lives and our homes.

Mujer Pintada, 2021, oil on canvas, 42x42 inches

Mujer Pintada, 2021, oil on canvas, 42x42 inches

She has been represented in Austin by Wally Workman Gallery for over 10 years! Be sure to make an appointment and see her work in person.

Joyce Howell: Solo Show
March 6-27, 2021

Wally Workman Gallery

"Howell’s palette is informed by nature and its flux between calm and chaos. She describes it as an ongoing conversation. Each color and the mark by which it is applied to the canvas informs the next. Colors give the impression of physical weight. Colors become instruments, much as in a musical composition. As the work progresses, the painting becomes a collaborative, a dialogue between Howell and the canvas. This is her 8th solo show with the gallery."