The "Greenwich Village Period" Series
The Greenwich Village series of artwork by
artist Paul Hall
(...me about 40 years ago).
Greenwich
Village of New York City, Portrait of Cézanne,
Portrait of Van Gogh, Delta
Bird, Hurricane, Larry Adams
in the Mud on a Planet, The Traveler, Batman
and Robin, Four Planets, Premonition
of the Cliffs of I 91, Pensive Promenade, Planet
of Deep Color, Self Portrait (from memory) walking
beside Grammercy Park, Through the Barriers,
Well Dressed Lady on Folding Chair, Under
the West Side Highway, Blue Savannah Violet Forrest,
Checkmate at Dawn, Exploration,
Nude in the Embrace of a Kindly Rain Storm, I
Watch A Soul in the Storms of Life, The Lea
of the Rocks, Premonition of the Exploding
Mountain, Seedlings,
The Fifteen-Minute Break, The
Escapee, Premonition of an Australian Walkabout, Planet
with Four Climates.
Article by the artist, Paul Hall:
After my stay at the McBurney WMCA for a couple of months, probably somewhere around October of 1965, I got an apartment. I went looking at a few places, wore a couple of microns off of the shoes and at last I settled into a place in the West Village, near an ethnic part of the city called "Little Italy".
It was during this period from late 1965 to mid 1966 that I got by far the most artwork done that I have ever been able to do in one place at one time.
My work came to an abrupt halt, mostly, when I had to get started on summer employment in 1966 in the work-a-day sector.
I worked as a life guard in the Carmine Street Pool a block down the street. That summer I pulled six people out of the deep end. I would quietly dive into the pool when they started drowning and would hold them up from their feet, me standing under water on the bottom of the pool and walk them to the edge so it looked like they saved themselves and they wouldn't get embarrassed. You see, there's an art to everything.
In late August, thinking the escalation of Viet Nam was going to be the beginning of World War Three (it's a good thing the Chinese and the Vietnamese didn't get along or maybe it would have been), I went down to the Whitehall induction center on the Battery in the city and enlisted in the Army. I figured it was better than being drafted because then I was allowed a couple of choices as to what sort of job I would be doing. No, they didn't allow me to get into their "combat artist" program.
The twenty-first of September of 1966 was my last day in "The West Village".
Portrait of Cézanne
1966 (Greenwich Village Period)
This was, I think, from a photo of Mr. Cézanne appearing in an article of the then still existent "Life" magazine. In my drawing, I use one of his paintings as a background.
Portrait of Van Gogh
1966 (Greenwich Village Period)
My sketch comes from one of his self portraits.
"Delta Bird"
Painted by artist in 1966 (The Greenwich Village Period),
New York City, NY, USA
Oil on canvas
"Hurricane"
Painted by artist in 1966 (The Greenwich Village Period),
New York City, NY, USA
Oil on canvas,
In this work an ocean going canoe is painted over by a hurricane. On the left, part of the bow is still visible.
"Larry Adams in the Mud on a Planet"
or "Portrait of a Fellow Lifeguard of the Carmine Street Pool Circa
'66"
1966, New York City (the Greenwich Village Period)
Batman and Robin.
Pop Expressionism.
Oil on canvas,
1965 (The Greenwich Village Period).
I had had a full color dream in which everyone was dressed up as either superman or batman. In this painting, they are shown as more human and natural, the type of careful, moody acrobat that works the third shift.
"Four Planets"
Oil on canvas,
1966(The Greenwich Village Period).
"Premonition of the Cliffs of I 91"
A view of the Queechie sky dancers of Vermont of the late '90's from the
Manhattan studio in New York City of the mid '60's (before I 91 existed).
Oil on canvas,
1966 (The Greenwich Village Period).
"The Pensive Promenade"
Oil on canvas (small but very important painting)
1996 (The Greenwich Village Period).
"Planet of Deep Color"
Oil on canvass,
1965 (The Greenwich Village Period).
Self Portrait (from memory), walking beside Grammercy Park
with back pack and paint box.
1965 (Greenwich Village Period)
A Wall behind the artist in 1965 at the Greenwich Village Studio.
Click here to see the picture.
The Greenwich Village Studio Easel and Environs.
Click here to see the picture.
"Through the Barriers"
A Self-Portrait.
Oil on Canvas,
1966 (The Greenwich Village Period).
Busting out of not only the standard frustrations (symbolically, of course), but also some of the fads of the day such as Optical Art and the art public's obsession with Francis Bacon.
"Well Dressed Lady on Folding Chair"
1966 (Greenwich Village Period)
"Under the West Side Highway"
1966 (Greenwich Village Period)
"Blue Savannah, Violet Forrest"
Oil on canvas,
1966 (The Greenwich Village Period).
Click each painting to view it alone.
Click here to view the complete set of paintings.
"Exploration."
or "The Sienna-Toned Explorer in a Jungle of Viridian".
Oil on canvas,
1965 (The Greenwich Village Period).
The chevron and three circles was the signature I used in those days.
It was from this we got our "logo", the planet Earth under a roof.
Nude in the Embrace of a Kindly Rain Storm
1965, Oil on Canvass
The Greenwich Village Period
I Watch a Soul in the Storms of Life
1965, Oil on Canvass,
The Greenwich Village Period
The Lea of the Rocks
1965, Oil on Canvass
The Greenwich Village Period
Premonition of the Exploding Mountain
I don't dare say which one.
1966, Oil on Canvass
The Greenwich Village Period
Seedlings.
Greenwich Village Period
The Fifteen-Minute Break
The Escapee
Click here to go to the painting.
Premonition of an Australian Walkabout;
Beyond the gold fields of Tenant Creek.
Click here to see the entire painting.
Planet with Four Climates
Click here to go to the painting.
Click on the following links to go there:
Copyright © 2003 [Paul Hall]. All rights reserved.
email address: art@paulhallart.com