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"Short Notes" | will's weblog |
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28 jan |
feb-mar |
5-7 april |
8 april |
9-16 april |
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Time for reflection | Seems that some readers here thought I was getting a bit heavy on the subject
matter lately [not that criticism would stop that] so I have tried this time to spend some
energy on more contemplative material. ...for me at least. SO,,, this time it's another artist (one of
my favorites), a plug for a Florida based eco-tourist guide service and
a little lighthearted look at Cuba (the architectural aesthtics angle). Enjoy.
"Every man has some reminiscences which he would not tell to everyone, but only to his friends. He has others which
he would not reveal even to his friends, but only to himself, and that in secret. But finally there are still others which
a man is even afraid to tell himself, and every decent man has a considerable number of such things stored away... "
-- Fyodor Dostoyevsky
04-18-01 ||
Neil Welliver | The first time I ever saw a Neil Welliver print I was stunned! A
six foot square presentation of raw wilderness resting on the wall of a hotel where I worked as
a night shift security guard. Having moved to the city from the high peaks region of the
Adirondacks, it was a breath of fresh air right there on the wall. The hotel actually owned six of these
prints of Welliver's, and they kept me refreshed and gladdened whenever I saw them || A couple of years later,
while still working at the hotel, I had the chance to more intently study
Welliver's works in a book that was on display in some traveling book show. (I
should have bought it). For a week I read each night about him and his approach to
producing images. The lesson continued from there || Welliver has been enthusiatically praised
as the "landscape artist's landscape artist." He recognized as a 20th century "realist" painter
yet actually credits his style ~in part~ to the abstract artists of that same century || In
truth, his images work because of what he does not display in the image || He
allows the viewer's eye to decide for itself, what is displayed and what is missing.
No small feat, indeed! Welliver often works in a square, rather than rectangular image. He'll start with 24x24 inch
studies in preparation for working up to 6 foot square prints, like those I first saw years back ||
Now, as I've put together his page, each of the four Welliver images I have displayed here, will
take you to different parts of Welliver's page or to an article about Welliver's imagery. ||
But the essays they take you to don't give you a fair sense of who Welliver is as a person. And for that,
I want to tell a story about him (anecdotal). Seems he was questioned about his career as an artist
and a painter. GIven that he's in the wilderness a great deal of time, he was questioned
about such a profession being, well, a bit fey. To which he commented, that as a man who goes out
in the wilderness with paints and water and brushes, works for hours at a time doing on-site
studies, often in the cold of winter, frequently using water based paints, well, seems
that standing outdoors exposed to the elements for hours at a time, freezing, carrying his own
supplies, there didn't seem to be anything more macho than that!
Nature in Focus | Cyber pal Ron McCrae (from northwest Georgia) turned me on to this site done by a
guy in Florida who has his nature photography on permanant exhibit just by going there.
Bill Boothe is the photographer, and he's also put up an eye-pleasing, easy to navigate
website that focuses on the world arond him, Central Florida, mostly.
Boothe's notable page of links to Florida wilderness and Nature Conservancy locales that people could
visit if they wanted to, assuming, of course, they plan on visiting Florida. The sites
he has listed seem to be a refreshing alternative to Disneyland, Universal Studios and Miami's bar strips ||
Actually a start point for planning an Eco-our of the Florida Peninsula || Timely, that, seeing as Boothe also
provides services as an ecotourist guide.
Had I taken more time to plan an upcoming Florida trip, I most certainly would have looked into making use of him as a resource. As it stands, I did already make use of the sites he suggested and plan on visiting one or two, but ther really is no substitute for having a tour guide who knows the terrain. 
Cuba on the horizon? | The Connecticut Trust for
Historic Preservation recently sent out a flyer for a heritage tour to Havana. Intriguing, I thought.
While the group (limited to 40 people and going in October 2001) won't go by commercial airlines, this tour
will apparently be allowed to fly directly from Miami to Havana. More thawing of the political ice.
Working in concert with the Center for Cuban Studies, the tour promises a week of excursions through parts of Havana with author and preservationist Rachel Carley as the tour guide. The small print on the flyer notes that tour itineraries can change without notice. Write Amy Craig at Connecticut Trust's mailing form for more information on the trip. There's Lara Day Kozak's site providing an assortment of views of Cuban architecture and street scenes (the picture of Che Guvera on the left is one of them) to give you a chance to "tour" right now. Thinkquest's The Cuban Experience may take a bit of time to upload, but once there you can't deny there's a LOT of detail. This web site covers all aspects of Cuban culture, history, and politics while also discussing the people, places, recent events, and travel opportunities that make the is land unique. 
In Memorium | Closing on a more sombre note, I want to take a moment to pay
respects to Jim Matthies who had long worked as a human services advocate on behalf of people
with psychiatric disabilities. He helped establish a number of "warm line" services around the state
and also worked at promoting recovery, of the right to individual self determination.
During the past several years, he also fought several battles with cancer, and had gone through a number of batteries of chemo treatments to combat this. On Wednesday evening, it was found that he had passed away at his home. Memorial services, for those who would like to pay their respects calling hours will be at the funeral home Friday, April 20, 2001 from 4:00 to 8:00 PM and funeral services will be held Saturday, April 21, 2001 at 1pm at Ralph E. Hull Funeral Home 161 W. Church Street Seymour, CT 06483 || 203.888.2538 || And while I never talked with Jim about how he'd like to be memorialized, I'm sure a donation in his name to Advocacy Unlimited would be looked at by him with joy. Safe passage Jim. You will be greatly missed.
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28 jan |
feb-mar |
5-7 april |
8 april |
9-16 april |
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Recent Stories: 
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since 12 June 1999
about "Short Notes"
"Short Notes" was the title of a column I wrote while
working for a newspaper in the Adirondack Mountains some years ago.
The format was similar to what you'll find here, except augmented
with pictures and maps. The subject matter shall sometimes be personal,
at other times comments on events or situations of which I am aware. Comments,
suggestions welcomed but not always acted upon.
LEGAL & DISCLAIMER NOTICE: © 2000 / Will Brady I hope you've found this site interesting, even thought provoking || Occasionally some images come from commercial sources and are reproduced here under fair use guidelines of US Copyright law || Please don't write to me about the content of other peoples' sites linked from here || On the other hand, please let me know of any inactive links || Constructive comments, suggested links to add, are welcome. This website is maintained by Will Brady / wbrady@connix.com / Last update: see most recent entry |