March 24, 1994
Dear Gerry,
You have been on my mind so much of late that I decided it was time to write and send the latest little watercolor card. I hope you enjoy it.
Your work comes up so often when I'm teaching my painting classes that I feel like I talk to you a lot. Today, in Basic Oil, the subject of color was of course, again, the subject of all the critiques and discussions. I've spent so much time learning from your work, that it all sort of flows out when I face my studios (Freudian slip - should read students). We talk of values, intensity, complements - and balance and shape; all the things you've mastered so brilliantly. I suggested to my students today that they should stop in at Pucker to see your work and study and enjoy it themselves. Well, surprise - Isabel and Doris, two of my best students decided to travel to the Gallery after class today. I met them there at 2:30, wanting to be able to share time with your work again - and introduce two lovely, retired, and serious art students to the joy your work contains.
When I arrived, Bernie told me your health was worse. I'm so sorry, Gerry. I went up to the third floor with Doris and Isabel and we talked about the wonders, joy, jokes and puns in your work. I felt like you were speaking to me, with words and colors and shapes. Looking at your painting of the catcher, umpire and batter, with the screen behind them, I tried to explain what and why your paintings of Baseball are like no others. I realized that you while other artists have chosen to depict the physical action of baseball, your paintings depict the moment of utter zen-like concentration that must happen before the "see-able". Yin-yang, thought-action, hard-soft. All there in perfect harmony and balance. Looking at another painting, a still life with lemons, was like looking at chords of music, variations on a theme - arcs of graduated proportions perfectly balanced between a spectrum of cool then warm yellow, orange, red, red-violet, cobalt blue and white. Even the positions of the fruits formed a rotation in space with the same intervals as the progressions in color and the arcs. Amazing! I was in awe. It looked so transparently simple. Isabel was thrilled when she started to see what was happening. We spent well over an hour looking at as may paintings as we could - I laugh out loud every time I see the way you put exactly ½ of an orange sitting at the edge of a composition - perfectly balancing some color or shape elsewhere. It is so daring and fun! It's as though you have clues and jokes for those of us fortunate enough to see them, but the pure happiness of your work comes through most clearly. It was a wonderful afternoon.
