Reality, with An Abstract Twist

Bogwater Jim

Lafayette, NJ 07848

973-383-6057

Richard Kapral's paintings are like New Year's Day...everyday, all year long. Ordinary subjects are seen with a fresh eye. The colors are alive. The compositions are quirky and, no matter how many times I study them, I always find a surprise that makes the painting new, all over again.

For example, "Windowledge" (pictured) is a "view" for the viewer. The outside world lies on the other side. We must look through. The landscape sometimes seems somber. At other times...dramatic, as if a storm is moving in, while we are safe inside, looking out. In certain light, the painting is playful and all about the friendly objects inside, with peaches rolling along the bottom edge, about to fall off.

I guess Richard's paintings are like life itself...reality at the whim of perception. It's all in the way we look at things.

Lasting Impressions

Bogwater Jim

Lafayette, NJ

973-383-6057

It's no wonder we have such a crush on old wooden foundry patterns. They are strong and graphic, without pretense. Skillfully crafted years ago by incredibly talented carpenters, they were the precise form to be cast in steel. Pressed into a sand/cement mixture, then removed, they left a void to be filled with molten metal.

Stored for years in the lofts of old factories, they are now being rediscovered as genuine articles of American Art.

These patterns, once again, are leaving a lasting impression...this time on the viewer. Used as wall art, sculpture or as part of a deconstruction, they embody a hard-working, rough and ready attitude and remind us of how resourceful we can be.

Deconstruction

Bogwater Jim

Lafayette, NJ 07848

973-383-6057

My creative friend Barbara, who can envision and construct just about anything, stopped by the shop the other day. She needed a coat rack. Twenty minutes later, she was motoring away with a few odd bits and pieces...an old iron mannequin base, a wooden foundry pattern and a handful of zinc hooks.

The next day...there it was...a quirky work of art!

Constructing useful furnishings out of old stuff, repurposed, is a trend afoot that gives new life to the mundane. It's thrifty and clever and makes the viewer smile. The endeavor challenges one's ingenuity. The result is always "one-of-a-kind."

Coat Rack - Barbara Stanek 2010

Moditional

Bogwater Jim

Lafayette, NJ

973-383-6057

In one way or another, everyone loves all things traditional. It's that comfort zone of an acceptable, well-educated, grown-up environment. But lately, we are all tired of the safe, the bland, the cautious. It just feels right to add those "out-of-sync" elements that your mother would never have approved of. It's time to abandon the concept of "design ingredients that go together".

So maybe, just to show respect for our elders, we've latched onto "Moditional"...the style that says "yes" to a carefully mis-matched marriage of crisp, mid-century, funky or industrial furnishings alongside the well-chosen traditional.

Gathered Chandeliers

Bogwater Jim
Lafayette, NJ 07848
973-383-6057

If you were to gather up a beautiful bouquet in your hands and tie it up with a length of rope, you would have the inspiration behind the floral chandeliers of the mid-1900's.

As flowers are soft and fragile and metal so strong and durable, the very use of the material creates an appealing contrast.

Since the painted surfaces have had 40-odd years to mellow, these chandeliers usually possess nice old patinas whether pristine or worn and chipped. They are flowery fantasies that, once lit, lend a vintage garden flavor.