1978: That was the year that was… Part 2

January 13, 2016

…continuing where I left off on November 21, 2015 in my ongoing Illustrated Slow-Motion Memoir. “If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story.” – Orson Welles (6 May 1915 – 10 Oct 1985) Mourning Becomes Elektra • acrylics on paper 31″ x 22″ • collection of the […]

Read the full article →

Herman Melville, Rockwell Kent, and reading Moby Dick aloud…

January 9, 2016

“Consider all this: and then turn to this green, gentle, and most docile earth; consider them both, the sea and the land; and do you not find a strange analogy to something in yourself? For as this appalling ocean surrounds the verdant land, so in the soul of man there lies one insular Tahiti, full […]

Read the full article →

Epiphany Triptych: a brief history

January 4, 2016

“I think in terms of the day’s resolutions, not the years’.” – Henry Moore (30 Jul 1898 – 31 Aug 1986) Shortly after moving to Philadelphia in 1986, I started working on a series of idea sketches in my spare time (I had a free-lance gig in advertising that was virtually full-time), using pieces of […]

Read the full article →

2015: Looking Back & Lookin’ at ya’

December 31, 2015

“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts…” – William Shakespeare (1564-1616), from As You Like It “It’s Show Time Folks!” In early November, I was contacted by photographer Matt Bender, following up a […]

Read the full article →

20×20 Powered by PechaKucha

December 14, 2015

“All good work requires self-revelation.” — Sidney Lumet (25 Jun 1924 – 9 Apr 2011) When Linda Dubin Garfield first emailed a prospectus a number of weeks ago about the possibility of the DaVinci Art Alliance hosting a 20×20 PechaKucha (chit-chat) Night (PKN), I was intrigued by the concept which was totally new to me, […]

Read the full article →

La Source: how one thing leads to another…

December 1, 2015

“Good artists copy. Great artists steal.” — Pablo Picasso (25 Oct 1881 – 8 Apr 1973) At left, cover sheets for Aldenizations 1 & 2: two packets of four b&w drawings each, reproduced from original artwork done en temps perdu, as early as 1968. These will be on sale for $10 a packet for the […]

Read the full article →

1978: That was the year that was! Part 1

November 21, 2015

“Simplicity is the final achievement. After one has played a vast quantity of notes and more notes, it is simplicity that emerges as the crowning reward of art.” —Frederic Chopin (1 Mar 1810 – 17 Oct 1849) Reach for the Sky aka StarGrasper • oil on canvas mounted on wood 24″ x 18″ • collection […]

Read the full article →

Details, Details, Details

October 31, 2015

Read the full article →

1978: more flyer designs for 2nd Church, NYC

October 24, 2015

“To know yourself as the Being underneath the thinker, the stillness underneath the mental noise, the love and joy underneath the pain, is freedom, salvation, enlightenment.” – Eckhart Tolle (16 Feb 1948 – ) 1978: a project which focused my attention early in the new year was the 25th advertising flyer created for my friend […]

Read the full article →

Et in Arcadia Ego: a story of process

October 20, 2015

“Art is how we decorate space. Music is how we decorate time.” – Frank Zappa (21 Dec 1940 – 4 Dec 1993) Dreams of Arcady • acrylic on plywood panel 4.25″ x 24″. Panel is ‘framed’ with a recycled bureau drawer front 8.25″ x 28″, made of pine, embossed with a wickerwork pattern • collection […]

Read the full article →

Watermark Update

October 15, 2015

“The optimist lives on the peninsula of infinite possibilities; the pessimist is stranded on the island of perpetual indecision.” – William Arthur Ward (1921 – 30 Mar 1994) Through Fields of Gold, aka Inside, Looking Out #16, aka Tribute to Vincent van Gogh • oil on plywood panel, framed with antique window sash, 20″ x […]

Read the full article →

The Watermark Show 3 Oct – 12 Nov 2015 Part 2 – the Landscape Paintings

October 12, 2015

15. Metamorphosis aka Cole Farm on the Hill #1 aka Inside, Looking Out #11 • oil on plywood panel 30″ x 24″ framed with antique window sash • $500 16. View from Pleasant Street aka Inside, Looking Out #18 • acrylics on panel 12″ x 9″ • $100 17. Down by the Riverside • acrylic […]

Read the full article →

The Watermark Show 3 Oct – 12 Nov 2015 Part 1 – the Fashion Illustrations

October 4, 2015

1. Steppin’ Out The Kohler Collection Holiday Direct Mail 1973 $100 2. (right) Smoke Gets in Your Eyes • Alexis Kirk Direct Mail 1971 • $50 3. (left) Jewelry is a Girl’s Best Friend • Alexis Kirk Direct Mail 1971 • $50 4. (right) The Right Stuff #3 • Wool Bureau Fall Campaign 1972 • […]

Read the full article →

Meet me at The Watermark – October 10, 2–5

September 22, 2015

The Art of Alden Cole 3 Oct – 12 Nov 2015 I’m being honored with my first one-man show of paintings and drawings in Philadelphia, at The Watermark, a senior graduated-care facility between 17th and 18th Streets, on the north side of the Vine Street Expressway. In the photo at left, it’s the skinny white […]

Read the full article →

1976: The Witches Speak illustrations

September 17, 2015

“Light is meaningful only in relation to darkness, and truth presupposes error. It is these mingled opposites which people our life, which make it pungent, intoxicating. We only exist in terms of this conflict, in the zone where black and white clash.” – Louis Aragon, born Louis Andrieux (3 Oct 1897 – 24 Dec 1982) […]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →