BEAR CREEK DRAWING AN EXAMPLE OF LETTING GO AND USING THE MISTAKES TO INVENT CREATIVE SHAPES.
STEPHEN SHOOSTER AKA SHOOSTY 2010 - 2015
2010-2015 were extremely busy and productive years. By this time I had been working with my father for 40 years and we had lunch together almost every day. He was diagnosed in 2012 with Leukemia. seven months later he would be gone. I was torn up inside. A few days later it got much worse. My son was diagnosed with severe BiPolar and he needed extreme care. We sent him to a facility in Idaho. He stayed there for two years.
I had 4 kids, a wife, and a complex business to run. My life was a whirlwind. Yet, I was able to accomplish a lot, including 16 major works of art, and hun dreds of drawings, some with watercolors and a few on silks. Plus, I published my first book called The Horse Adjutant. It is the story of a survivor of the Nazi Holocaust.
I learned a tremendous amount during this period from Computer Science to Art History. It was a non-stop adventure. Making art played a big part in my productivity. It gave me something joyful to work on which is rewarding in and of itself. The key to all of this was finding my flow. My goal became simple, To move my thinking from Swiss Cheese to Munster. It’s that easy, my goal is to fill in the gaps of my learning. To achieve this I like to study and practice with persistence and consistency every day. My favorite way to learn is by watching videos while on a treadmill. I also thrive on any kind of audio, especially pod casts, my favorite is Philosophize This! by Steven West.
I find myself drawing every day wherever I go. Especially if I go to a bar to listen to music. I don’t like to drink and I don’t like to just sit there. I like to be engaged with the music while actively creating. It keeps me sharp. When I first started drawing I drew a lot from my imagination, but as I advanced it was almost exclusively draw from life. I draw what I see but my training allows me to see things others may miss. My mind has Art History filters and modern web technologies at my fingertips. I use cubism frequently when describing a moving figure. I allow and expect mistakes. In fact, I encourage them. Mistakes are opportunities for my imagination. The best examples of these are my live drawings of musicians.
Going back to the days of timed figure drawing classes when I draw musicians I use similar techniques. I start drawing when they start playing and I stop when they stop. I work as fast as I can. letting the rhythm drive my hand. It gives me a little extra joy to share the final drawings with the musicians and the people around me when they take a break.
I started to standardize my processes and materials. I always have a drawing pad with me. I use extra soft woodless pencils (4b). They are heavy and bal anced. I keep a set of them very sharp. As they quickly lose their points so I switch pencils frequently. To keep them pristine I use a high-quality electric sharpener. Once the drawing is complete, I go back over it with ink and then erase the graphite. This results in sharp professional drawings. I call these mas ter drawings as they are the basis for anything that I can derive from them. My collection keeps growing.
To prepare for the painting I select a few of the drawings completed earlier. I do not like to redraw them on the canvas. I prefer to print them using a wide-format printer. It’s not that I can’t draw them, it is just that doing so is a tedious process that would take a lot of time and result in something less than
the original drawing. Once the works are printed I stretch the canvas and frame it. I take a few of them to a framer at the same time to save on the shipping. The methods of working I have settled on are one of the keys to my productivity. I am not afraid to use modern systems. Because the unfinished paintings are already framed when I start applying the paint invariably I have lots of extra paint I just extend that onto the frame. In this way, the frame becomes bespo ken, perfect for the painting.
I traveled a decent amount during these years. Here are some of the places I found myself: The Upper Peninsula of Michigan; Costa Rica; France; Greece; UK; Poland; Washington D.C.; Wisconsin; Colorado; Atlanta, Georgia; Chi cago, Illinois; and in Florida: Gainesville; The Florida Keys; and The Suwanee Music Park in Live Oak, Florida.
Notable Work:
El Arenal - The volcano in Costa Rica - First painted frame. Notable by the inventive use of squared swirls, part homage to Kuna Mola Textile Design and Van Gogh.
Dual Violins - Klezmer music at its finest inspired this drawing which be came a painting. Created in Krakow, Poland, while researching my book, The Horse Adjutant. It was done at the Bats Gallery in an old square that included one of the oldest temples in Europe built in the 1600s
The Party Favor - The title refers to the extra given at weddings. In this case a photographer. The painting goes along with the book I wrote, The Horse Adjutant, about a survivor of the Nazi holocaust. The painting depicts Jews on horseback in Nowy Sanz, Poland, in 1935. Notable are the electric telephone poles in the background. The world was changing rapidly and the war would upend everyone’s lives.
Sainte Chapelle - The drawing was completed during a classical music con cert inside the church held at sunset so the people can experience the stained glass as the colors change. A painting of this scale has many layers. Each takes time to dry. The arch for instance took 3 months to complete. Historic 5th Avenue - Drawn on premise at the historic black 5th avenue neighborhood of Delray Beach, Florida. The drawing was created a day after I visited the African Museum of Art in Washington, D.C. Some of those draw ings ended up in the composition.
The Shuster’s - Taken from the oldest photo of my family. This large painting was done with a palette knife giving it a texture. I used pink for the epaulets to soften the war stance of these people. On the right is my granduncle Benzy. Bear Creek - Based on an afterparty at a music festival. The drawing was com pleted at around 3 am on a very cold night while sitting around a campfire with all our friends playing music.
MAJOR WORKS
GUITAR ON FIRE
TALENT FARM
TRIBUTE TO MILES DAVIS
HELLO FRIENDS
TRIBUTE TO DJANGO REINHARDT
EL ARENAL
SAX-O-PHONY
DUAL VIOLINS
PARTY FAVOR
SAINTE CHAPELLE
POT BELLY STOVE
HISTORIC 5TH AVE.
FROGS AND FLOWERS
UBA TUBA
THE SHUSTERS
THE ACROPOLIS
MAKING FIRE
FRIENDLY DRAGON
BEER STEIN
THE PERSECUTION OF SAUL
POLISH BOY ON A BENCH
HIS FIRST SMOKE
CARLY WITH THE HARRISON H2 CLOCK
DAVID AND GOLIATH
JEWISH FESTIVAL
A KNIGHTS JOURNEY
FETISHH BAND
JASON AND DAVE
LICENSE 1
THE DANCERS
JAKE AND JOSH
BEAR CREEK
DIANE’S BIRTHDAY
KEVIN EUBANKS
THE GREEN PROJECT
GEORGE TANDY BAND
J3
JAZZ ESTATE
THE JAZZ ESTATE 2
TAVOLINOS DRUMMER
GEORGE TANDY
WITH WHITE HAT
GEORGE AND CANDI TANDY
GEORGE TANDY IN MOTION
KOOTENAY FORGE
THE STEVE MILLER BAND
TRIBES LISTEN 2
LISTEN
THREE KIDS
IN BOULDER
RIGHT HAND JAZZ
JAZZ BAND
WITH A MASK
YELLOW DAISY
JASON’S MIND
SNOOZE
RECOVERY STILL LIFE
LIFE LANDSCAPE
BULL SLUICE
PUNA CUNA
DOMINO PLAYERS
CENTER OF ART IN WOOD
UF JUDAICA LIBRARY ARCHITECTURE
FRENCH QUARTER
CITY HALL
ST. GILES CATHERDRAL
KARKOW CASTLE
ONE HELLAS OF A COOL CAT
THE PARTHENON
NERID’S MONUMENT
PALACE DISTRICT
PRESBYTRIAN CHURCH W/FIGURE MYTHOLOGY
APOLLO WITH THE PEGASOI
POWER OF THE CONCH SHELL NW INDIAN INFLUENCED
KILLER WHALE TEACHES BABY
KILLER WHALE PLAYS SAX
EDDIE THE KILLER WHALE
THUNDERBIRD STRIKES THE KILLER WHALE
KILLER WHALES AND THUNDERBIRDS
THE RAVEN
KILLER WHALE STUDY
KILLER WHALE EATS A GUITAR
TRIBELICIOUS TOTEM
TWEETBIRD
TRIBELICIOUS FIGURE
SQUAWKING TRIBEL FIGURE
KILLER WHALE DECIDES TO BECOME A ROCK STAR
THE RAVEN
THEORY OF RELATIVITY
TRIBELICIOUS WITH RUBY FOSSILS
STEGOSAURUS
TYRANOSAURUS
TRICERATOPS
DARK STAR AT THE DEPOT THE ART OF WRITING
HANDWRITTEN
TYPWRITTEN
ELECTRONIC
GALT LIBRARY CONCEPT ANIMALS
BEEFY
GUITAR ON FIRE IS A MASTER WATERCOLOR DRAWING, MODELED UPON A FIERY GUITAR THAT GIVES THE ARTIST THE LIBERTY TO VISUALLY EXPLORE THE EXCITEMENT OF MUSIC. FIRE LEAPS FROM IT’S BODY AS IT PINS DOWN A
FIGURE. IT’S NECK AND A HORN, SEEMINGLY MELTED BY HEAT, ARE CONTORTED TO BE BOTH PLAYFUL AND MIS CHIEVOUS. PSYCHEDELIC PATTERNS COMPLETE THE COMPOSITION. EVERY INCH IS SATURATED WITH PAT TERNS AND COLOR.
GUITAR ON FIRE IS A WONDER TO PONDER. THIS DRAW ING WAS LATER CHOSEN TO BECOME A LARGE SCALE PAINTING.
THE TALENT FARM WAS A LOCAL MUSIC VENUE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. IT WAS NOT A BAR. WE WENT TO HEAR OUR KIDS PLAY MUSIC. IT WAS RAW AND FULL OF YOUTHFUL ENERGY.
A STRANGE CONCOCTION TO COMBINE AS A TRIBUTE TO MILES DAVIS, THE PRINCE OF DARKNESS.
AN ACCORDIAN PLAYER SITS ON A COUCH. FLEXIBLE GUITAR NECKS SURROUND THE COUCH. THE WHOLE THING FEELS LIKE A TAP ESTRY. A LIME GREEN FIGURE LAYS FRONT LEFT. THE HEAD IS A WATERMELLON.
HELLO FRIENDS, IS THE TITLE OF A SONG BY A HIGH SCHOOL BAND CALLED, THE FLYING FLACONGAS. THE MUSIC IS FRESH AND THE PLAY ERS WERE TOO OLD FOR THEIR YOUNG BRITCHES.
THE CENTRAL OBJECT IS A STEAMPUNK YELLOW PIANO WITH GUITAR NECK EXTENSIONS TWISTED BACK INTO THE FRAME. BRASS INSTRU MENTS FLANK THE SIDES. WAFTING THROUGH SPACE ARE WORDS AND PHRASES. EACH OF THE PHRASES IS STRETCHED AND PULLED INTO THE COMPOSITION FILLING THE SPACE. AN UPSIDE DOWN MAN WITH A MU SICAL NOTE TAIL BOUNCES IN THE CENTER. UPON ASKING THE ARTIST HE SAID, “UPSIDE DOWN FIGURES ARE A SYMBOL OF EXUBERANCE.” THIS PAINTING IS FILLED WITH A 60’S FEELING EXCITEMENT OF YOUTH.
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS JAM BAND UNVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDA 7 X 5’ FRAMED
TRIBUTE TO DJANGO REINHARDT IS A DEDICATION TO THE GYPSY GUITAR PLAYER EXTRAORDINAIRE OF THE SAME NAME.
KNOWN FOR HIS MUSTACHE BRIDGE GUITAR, DEPICTED ARE TWO OF THEM LIKE OLD MEN TALKING IN A CASE SHAPED LIKE A BODY. THE LOWER CASE BECOMES DJANGO AND THE UPPER ONE A SINGER, THE ARTIST’S DAUGHTER, CASSIDY. THEY ARE SERENADED BY A CELLO THAT IS ALSO TICKLING CASSI DY’S TOE. A PLAYFUL PAINTING, TRIBUTE TO DJANGO REINHARDT, IS JOYFUL AND SERENE, ACCOMPANIED BY A UNIQUE FRAME COMPLETING A 21ST-CENTURY CONTEMPORARY MASTERPIECE.
EL ARENAL, IS BASED THE VOLCANO OF THE SAME NAME OVERLOOKING LA FORTUNA, COSTA RICA. IT LOOMS QUIETLY OVER THE WELL-KEPT PARK IN THE CITY CENTER. IT IS A SIMPLE DESIGN EXECUTED WITH FINESSE AND MASTERFUL DESIGN ELEMENTS USING A SERIES OF SQUARED SWIRLS SIMILAR TO DESIGN PATTERNS FOUND ON THE CRAFTSMAN SHIP OF THE REGION.
OF SPECIAL INTEREST IS THE HAND PAINTED FRAME. EL ARENAL IS A LEGACY PAINTING WITH AN EYE TOWARDS ENHANCING VALUE AND PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES OF ART HISTORY.
SAX-O-PHONY, IS AN ACRYLIC COMPOSITION BASED ON A PAIR OF SAXOPHONES IN A NAU TICAL NIGHT SCENE. THE SAXOPHONES ARE FLOATING ON AN UNDULATING OCEAN. WAVES BOUNCE BACK AND FORTH WITHIN THE BOUND ARY OF THE FRAME. SHAPES AND SYMBOLS FLY OUT OF THE INSTRUMENTS INTO THE NIGHT SKY. NOTHING SITS STILL. A MYSTERY SHIP FLOATS IN THE CENTER OF THE OCEAN WITH MUSICAL NOTE SAILS. PLAYFUL AND UNIQUE SAX-O-PHO NY IS A JOY TO BEHOLD.
BATS GALLERY, KRAKOW JASCHA LIEBERMAN AND BAND 2012
4.5’ X 4’ FRAMED TRIBUTE TO JASCHA LIEBERMAN OIL ON CANVAS KLEXMER
DUAL VIOLINS WASCONCEIVED FROM A DRAW ING COMPLETED IN THE SUMMER OF 2012 DURING A KLEZMER CONCERT BY JASCHA LIEBERMAN AND COMPANY IN KRAKOW, PO LAND, AT THE BATS GALLERY.
CANDLES QUIVER, THE INSTRUMENTS BREATH, A MARBLE COLUMN BECOMES AN ACCORDION, AND THE LINES FORM A FLOWING INTERPRETA TION OF THE SOUNDS. A UNIQUE HAND-PAINT ED FRAME COMPLETES THE WORK, AS EXCIT ING, UNIQUE PIECE OF LEGACY FINE ART.
OIL ON CANVAS JEWISH HISTORY POLAND
6.5’ X 5’ TRIBUTE TO THE HALBERSTAMM FAMILY
THE PARTY FAVOR, IS BASED ON A PHO TO BY ZE’EV ALEKSANDROWICZ TAKEN DURING THE WEDDING OF THE DAUGH TER OF THE TZADIK RABBI HALBER STAMM, OCTOBER 3RD, 1931, IN GALICIA, NOWY-SANZ, POLAND. IT WAS PART OF ABOUT SIXTY PHOTOS TAKEN THAT DAY, THUS A SORT OF PARTY FAVOR FOR THE WEDDING.
COMPLETED TO AUGMENT A BOOK, THE HORSE ADJUTANT, ALSO BY THE ARTIST. THIS PAINTING BRINGS CLARITY THE COLDNESS OF THE TIMES, THE DYNAMIC ENERGY OF THE OLD WORLD JEWS, AND THE COMING ELECTRONIC AGE AS NOT ED BY THE POWER POLES. IT IS ALSO AN OMINOUS RACE AGAINST THE COMING CLASH OF NATIONS.
SAINTE CHAPELLE IS A PAINTING INSPIRED BY THE CHAPEL OF THE SAME NAME IN THE HEART OF PAR IS. DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON, THEY SPONSOR LIVE CLASSICAL CONCERTS FEATURING VIVALDI AND MOZART. LISTENERS HEAR THE MUSIC WHILE WATCHING THE SUN SET TRANSFORM THE EXTENSIVE STAINED GLASS AND EXOTIC WOOD WORKING.
THE ORIGINAL DRAWING WAS COM PLETED DURING A SINGLE MUSICAL SESSION. ONCE IN THE STUDIO, THIS PAINTING TOOK ON THE FEELING OF A CONSTRUCTION ZONE FULL OF ARCHITECTURAL LINES AND PLUMB LINES. THROUGHOUT THE COM POSITION YOU CAN SEE ICONS OF THE STATE MIXED WITH ICONS OF THE CHURCH, CLEARLY SHOWING NO SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE.
DEDICATED TO KAMIL AND AGNIESZ KA, AS A TRIBUTE FOR HELPING THE ARTIST EXPLORE HIS PAST.
CHURCH
6.5’ X 5’ FRAMED DEDICATED TO KAMIL AND AGNIESZKA KMAK
COLLECTION OF JIM CEDERNA POT BELLY STOVE ON FUSED GLASS
COMPLETED IN IRON RIVER, MICHIGAN IN THE GARAGE OF JIM CEDERNA. A SMALL SOFA SITS IN FRONT OF AN OLD POT BELLY STOVE, BECK ONING A TIME GONE BY.
I FIRST DREW THE STOVE THEN ADDED JIM AND THE PIPES ABOVE HIM. LETTING GO I ADDED A MUSCIAN PLAYING GUITAR IN A SGT. PEPPPER OUTFIT AND WORDS WARPED INTO THE EMPTY SPACES WITH A FILAGRE PATTERN.
THE COLORS, LIGHT BLUE REPRESENTING THE COLD AND ORGANGE THE WARMTH TRYING TO COUNTER IT.
A CONCERT IN THE HISTORIC 5TH AVENUE DISTRIC OF DELRAY PAID TRIBUTE TO THE LOCAL BLACK COMMUNITY. AFTER SPENDING THE PRIOR DAY AT THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTE MUSEUM OF AFRICAN ART, WASHINGTON, D.C., THE ARTIST CAME HOME TO TO THIS EARLY EVENING OUTDOOR CONCERT. SOME OF THOSE FIGURES WERE USED IN THE DRAWING.
THE COMPOSITION USES CUBISM, MIRRORING EF FECTS, EGYPTIAN ICONOGRAPHY AND A TOUCH OF HUMOR IN THE FROM OF THE BIG LEBOWSKI, AFRI CAN ART, HINDU CULTURE, JAPANESE CULTURE, AND CONCEPTS FROM NUDE DECENDING A STAIRWAY, BY MARCEL DUCHAMP.
RABBI YAAKOV THOMPSON
FROGS AND FLOWERS IS A LARGE OIL ON CANVAS DEPICT ING A SURREAL JUNGLE SCENE. THE CENTRAL ELEMENT IS AN ORGANIC ORGAN WITH WHAT SEEMS TO BE OPIUM FLOW ERS GROWING OUT OF ITS PIPES. SITTING IN FRONT OF THE ORGAN, CROSS-LEGGED, IS RABBI YAAKOV THOMPSON. HE IS WEARING A YAMICA AND PLAYING GUITAR. THE RUG HE SITS ON HAS FRINGES SHAPED LIKE THE KEYS OF THE ORGAN. THE WHOLE COMPOSITION IS CRADLED BETWEEN A PAIR OF BIRD OF PARADISE PLANTS. LOOKING AT THE PIECE GOING CLOCK WISE FROM THE TOP, A FLUTE IS FOUND UNDER VEGATATION THAT CURVES AROUND THE LEFT SIDE. WHITE FLOWERS WITH FIVE PETALS EACH ARE ARRANGED UNIFORMLY FROM SMALL TO LARGE WHERE THE HOLES OF THE FLUTE WOULD NOR MALLY BE FOUND. COMING FROM THE THROAT OF THE FLUTE IS A WATERFALL SEPARATED BY A FERN SILHOUETTE. FROGS ARE POSITIONED ON BOTH SIDES. A SEED POD IN THE SHAPE OF THE RABBIS’ FACE IS UPSIDE DOWN ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ORGAN COMPLETING THE COMPOSITION. RABBI THOMPSON DIED A FEW YEARS AFTER THE PAINTING WAS COMPLETED.
UBA TUBA IS BASED ON A COLORFUL INTERPRE TATION OF THE SOUND OF A PAIR OF TUBAS. US ING SPIRALS AND SHAPES THE ARTIST SENDS PATTERNS OF COLOR INTO SPACE REFLECT ING AROUND THE BORDERS OF THE CANVAS. BRIGHT COLORFUL BLOCKS DEFINE THE TUBAS. A THIRD TUBA IS PLACED BEHIND THE OTHER TWO ON ITS SIDE AND IS FILLED WITH THE DEEP BLUE COLORS OF BASS NOTES. THE WORD TUBA IS SPELLED OUT ON THE BOT TOM RIGHT SIDE IN LIGHT GREEN TO ACT AS A COUNTER POINT BETWEEN THE DARK AND BRIGHT COLORS. THE SOUND COMING FROM THE TUBAS IS DEPICTED AS SHAPES. SOME OF THEM HAVE MORPHED INTO FLOWERS. A LONESOME EAR AND AN UPSIDE-DOWN HEAD COMPLETE THE COMPOSITION.THE RESULT IS A MASTERFUL USE OF COLOR AND AN EXCITING COMPOSITION.
THE SHUSTERS, SITTING AT A PAIR OF TABLES ARE THREE JEWISH MEN, TWO WEARING MILITARY UNI FORMS. EACH HAS A BOTTLE OF WINE IN FRONT OF THEM WITH A PHOTO OF A LOVED ONE LEANING ON THE BOTTLE. THE FAR RIGHT FIGURE IS BENZY SHUSTER, BROTHER OF THE ARTIST’S GRANDFA THER, FRANK SHOOSTER. THE OTHERS, UNKNOWN, HAVE FEATURES OF THE SHOOSTER FAMILY. THIS IS ONE OF THE EARLIEST PHOTOS OF THE SHUSTER FAMILY. ALL THESE PEOPLE WERE DESTROYED IN THE NAZI HOLOCAUST. THE FAMILY IS FROM LUTSK, RUSSIA. HOWEVER, THE MEN ARE WEARING POLISH UNIFORMS.
THE ACROPOLIS. IN THE SUMMER OF 2015, THE ARTIST AND HIS DAUGHTER SPENT TWO WEEKS STUDYING THE ANCIENT GREEK ACROPOLIS. TO ACHIEVE THIS, THEY SPLIT THEIR TIME, HALF IN THE UK AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM AND THE OTHER HALF IN ATHENS. THE RELICS ARE FOUND IN BOTH CITIES. ON THE VERY FIRST DAY IN ATHENS, TIRED AND HUNGRY THEY FOUND THEMSELVES ON THE VERANDA OF THE ELECTRA HOTEL WITH A VIEW TO WARDS THE ACROPOLIS. THE SITE WAS MESMERIZING, DRAWINGS EMERGED.
PAINTED WITH A PALETTE KNIFE, THE COLORS SHOW THE SCENE IN TWILIGHT. ORANGE LIGHT, WITH A TURQUOISE SKY, IMBUES THE RIGHT SIDE WHILE PURPLE AND COBALT OCCUPY THE LEFT. BELOW THE CHANGING ATMOSPHERE RESTS THE OLD CITY, THE PALATKA. ELECTRIC LIGHTS DOT THE LANDSCAPE, GREENS, BLUES, AND GRAYS AND BROWNS COMPLETE THE PAINTING, AND ITS UNIQUE FRAME.
WILLIAM GILBERT
George Tandy with White Hat
George and Candi Tandy
