Music is a vital part of my creativity and art. While I like most music, I prefer music that speaks to me. And I like to be spoken to in a way that I consider REAL. I like lyrics that surprise me, that are in a language I understand and respect and that force me to look at things from a different angle.

My tastes have changed over the years, but right now I like the original music of  Jennifer O’Connor, the Arctic Monkeys, Frightened Rabbit, Bell X1, the Weakerthans, Colin Meloy, Little Man Tate, the Mountain Goats and Spoon.

When Bell X1 sings (in Rocky Takes a Lover) “That’s a wonderful way to wake me….but you weren’t so nice last night…you’re such an asshole when you’re drunk…” I relate to their language and experience. I know what they are talking about, but they make me smile and think….and then they add “if there was a god, why is my ass the perfect height for kicking?”  and my mind changes gears again. I laugh out loud. New neural patterns forged in my head and more creativity. And that is just a very simple and small example of  how music affects my art.

The piece pictured here is a 4 foot square acrylic on canvas, entitled “Jazz Improv”. It was specifically inspired by two people - two musicians: Joseph, an improv jazz pianist; and Sara, a musician who uses her voice like an instrument. I love there two people, if you can’t tell. And I love their music. And they inspired me to paint this pretty piece.

Joseph is found in the piano keys, of course. Sara is found in the Calla Lilies at the bottom of the painting. The hearts signify my love for these two. I’ve loved them both from the moment they arrived on Earth.

That’s it – Music and Art.

No Music. No Life…..like Lalo says……

PTSD stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (Syndrome). It can be related to any traumatic life event – rape, robbery, a beating, auto accident, etc. It can also relate to military experience, combat, or capture experiences. You do not have to be a member of the military to experience “military-related” PTSD.

This painting was originally done for an exhibit of mine in Davis, California.

You can learn more about the exhibit by buying a copy of the Exhibit Book or by viewing the website (click here). For the exhibit I collected work from many other people, including artists, military personnel, civilians and journalists who had been impacted directly by war.

After the Davis show, the piece moved to Pomona (LA area) as part of an exhibit with the Society of Layerists in Multi–Media (SLMM). This Society believes that “all things are connected” (as I do) and explores the many layers of meaning that can be found in a piece of art.

My intention was to show two sides (or stages) of a human heart. The first, in an almost Disneyesque-rendering (and colours) is meant to represent the heart in its state at birth. Here the heart is clearly vibrant and without stress or morbid experience. It soon changes, but the second half of my piece is meant to show the heart at about the age of 20. Here it is distressed, has been ripped out, sewn back together, and now the seams are weakening. There are lines of stress coming from a map of Iraq in the lower corner and where the lines enter the heart, there is some darkness (or decay).

I painted this from my own experiences. Although I arrived at adulthood in the Viet Nam era and served in the military then, I have close ties to the Iraq war as well. My book, Brother Eagle, Sister Moon, was thoroughly researched and based on the lives of real people serving in that conflict. During the research process, and afterwards at book-signings and exhibitions, I encountered the pain of PTSD over and over again in the people I met.

I have since done a TV documentary on PTSD; my Exhibit Book has been useful to social workers and to the VA, and to other Vets. It is a journey that started in 1966 and continues each and every day. That teens also see their own struggles (romantic and otherwise) in the painting reveals to me the deeper levels of consciousness that painting allows me to tap.

Sometimes, as painters, we begin a painting and it takes a life of its own at some point. The energy we may have put into motion, gathers steam and – if we let it – expands our consciousness and understanding of life. Painting is a wonderful gift.

San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge Serigraph by Phil Dynan

It is always interesting for me to be around people with “art educations”. There is so much to learn and it is comforting to converse with people who appreciate the life I have chosen as an artist.

But I found it a little  disturbing on this recent occasion to come across at least three people who were stumped when I told them I’d worked in “serigraphy” for about 25 years, in addition to painting in oils and acrylics. “What is Serigraphy?” is a question I’d expect from the UPS delivery guy – not someone who has studied art history or has an MFA.

But since I seem to be one of the few who knows what serigraphy is, I thought I’d share. Of course, I’m in good company with my minority knowledge of an apparently marginal art form. (Joined by Warhol, Haring,  Albers, West, Laddon, Blue,  Motherwell, Stella, Indiana, Pollock and Rauschenberg, among other artists.)

I have a detailed and illustrated definition of Serigraphy at this web page (click here).  But for those in a hurry, serigraphy is sometimes referred to as “screenprinting” or “silk screen”.

The above piece was commissioned by International Management Group for the San Francisco Marathon. I put a lot of time and effort into the concept, style, detail and the hand-pulled edition. And I was more than amply rewarded.  Serigraphy, in its current form, has only been around about 100 years, and is an art process that few ever master.

Interestingly, it is an art form used in many “third world” countries, because it can be an inexpensive and effective means of producing colourful posters in small quantities. (Of course, modern ink jet printers will probably replace this art form with inexpensive POD technology.)

Some more of my serigraphy and an explanation of the techinque can be found by clicking here. On that page there is also a link to the book “Best of American Serigraphy” which includes a chapter on my work. Enjoy!

Yes, I have an MFA…and I know how to use it, too.

Oppression-Repression-Depression-Obsession line drawing by Phil Dynan

My apologies for this next part. Please don’t misunderstand my intentions. These are two drawings (one above and one below) I’ve done, sorta based on Kyle’s exhibit. These are ordinary household objects that I have editorialised.

Jean Paul's Existentialist Aspirin line drawing by Phil Dynan

They are parodies of the exhibit work….but not meant as “destructive” criticism. They are made in the spirit of the exhibit. My intention was to try and better understand Kyle’s concept, not to mock it. And in the end, doing this work did give me a better understanding and feeling about Kyle’s work.

Final Stop of the day was at Art Aficionado Joe Rodota’s place. Joe has a beautiful and varied collection of paintings, about 20 on hand that day. My favourites were two serigraphs by Robert (Clark) Indiana (the guy who did the LOVE poster in the 60’s). The two five x five foot pieces dominated one wall in Joe’s front room. They were from the early ninetie’s Hartley Elegies series. And of course, it was fun to watch out a giant picture window and see below as Giants fans scrambled down 2^nd street towards the AT&T Ball Park where the Giants had won the night before. Great conversations. Especially enjoyed hearing from Joe’s neighbor, Sang, about a bicycle road trip that he and his partner made to LA from SF. Cool stuff.

Dinner at Spengers in Berkeley and a long drive back to Red Bluff…..

A few years ago I visited one of the first “en plain aire” sites near Atelier Cézanne in Aix-en-Provence. Cézanne had built a studio on a hill and his favourite painting spot was just a short walk away. During the construction of the studio, he included a large “slit” in one wall, thru which he could pass large canvases to take onsite.

Plein Aire painting means, simply, painting in the outdoors and usually refers to painting the scene you are confronted with – or part of, would be more accurate.

The advantage of plein aire painting is the accurate light that is present and the ability to examine details.

My work reflects my own way of seeing things. My “vision”, slightly too colourful for some people, is the way I actually see things. I am not colour-blind. I am extremely colour-aware.

Have you ever had a photo in photoshop on your computer and adjusted the “Saturation” slider as far as it will go? If you have, then you know what colours are presesnt in your photo – though no one will ever “see” them at normal settings. Well, I SEE all the colours and that is how I paint.

Since I paint in an abstract form, the shapes and lines around me are painted as I “perceive” them, not with the exactness of careful measurement. I may see a praying mantis with a powerful personality and make his legs four times the length they are “in reality”. But my painting shows how the insect “seemed to me” at that moment.

Mountains become harder-edged, or softer; cows seem pointless or bristling with personality…it all depends on that particular moment and my perception.

The farm fields that surround the Mission are rich and colourful. They represent life, fertility, sexuality and natural zest for life.

The fields tangent to the Mission are blackened or grey, as the missionaries set out to destroy the zest for life that indigenous people were born with. False doctrines, emphasis on control, power, rituals, and greed for riches are the tools of the missionary. They seek to instill religion as an addiction in the native population, for their own enrichment and control.

The Missionary fails to see the beauty of diversity and resents the natural sexuality of the population. They are repressed and seek to opress others with their thick, black evil doctrines.

Show me a person who shouts “I am a Christian!!” and 9 times out of 10 I will show you a hypocritical, thieving bastard who wants to subvert the true nature and good in mankind.

We have a lying, incompetent pope, who discriminates against women and defends pedophiles. We have local(Chico) “Christians” who recently beat one of their step children to death and put another in the hospital, all the while quoting the bible. We have the “greatest” and most powerful and most natural-resource-endowed country on Earth – calling itself a “Christian Nation” while invading, raping, killing and plundering the poorest countries on Earth.

Show me by example that you are Christian. But forget the fancy robes and “churches” that drip in gold and riches. Your robes only house the Great Serpent.

Well, that is just a little bit of what this painting stands for!

I like to combine philosophy and politics with art. Some people like me to explain what it all means. The Truth is that most of my paintings and drawings are multi-level. They can be seen as a “pretty picture” or could be seen as having deep meanings rooted in Universal Truth. Really, it is up to the viewer. I like to think my work offers something for most people.

What do the Blue Men represent? They are seen in many of my works over the past few years. Something to do with Jean Paul Sartre maybe?  What am I saying here? Is my “consciousness” imbedded in my cat? Or is my cat’s consciousness embedded in my mind? Or am I just an artist with a cat? Think I’ll go ponder this and maybe swallow a great big fuckin’ existentialist aspirin while I’m at it. …or I could keep painting.