{"id":1236,"date":"2009-11-02T01:23:20","date_gmt":"2009-11-02T09:23:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp\/2009\/11\/k_b_dixon_-_a_painters_life_1\/"},"modified":"2009-11-02T01:23:20","modified_gmt":"2009-11-02T09:23:20","slug":"k_b_dixon_-_a_painters_life_1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/2009\/11\/k_b_dixon_-_a_painters_life_1.html","title":{"rendered":"K. B. Dixon – A Painter’s Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

Portland writer K. B. Dixon<\/a>‘s new novel, A Painter’s Life<\/i><\/a>,
\nis unwieldy but precise. It reads as if it’s a journal kept by the (fictional) painter Christopher Freeze, but unlike a journal, this sack
\nof asides, hopes, press clippings, musings on friendships, work, other
\nartists, critics, dealers, paint and the point of paint adds up to a
\nlife.<\/p>\n

What’s more, it’s a life in Portland.  We in Seattle
\nimagine Portland artists constantly having dinner. Even a resolute
\noutsider such as Freeze would have plenty of friends in Portland, more
\nthan his narrative can keep track of. His friendships are the cushion
\nhe leans on to keep his solitary occupation in motion.<\/p>\n

When
\nSeattle artists look up from their work and realize they haven’t talked
\nto anybody in a month, Portland’s collective comfort
\nzone looks good.<\/p>\n

Below, a few quotes from the book for its flavor, with images of paintings from a few of Portland’s nonfictional finest.<\/p>\n

David
\nAndres was saying if he could just get the right people to object to
\nsomething of his, to insist that it be removed from wherever it had
\nbeen placed, it would be the making of him. It would mean a reputation,
\nwhich is money in the bank. It would mean a better bottle of wine with
\ndinner, a car with more horsepower, a house with more square feet, a
\ngirlfriend with fewer cats.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

James Lavadour<\/a>, Blue Back<\/i><\/p>\n

\"jameslavadourblbck.jpg\"I
\nlike my pictures to look crowded – sort of stuffed into the fame. The
\ncanvas should be full like your plate when you sit down to dinner –
\nsuggestive of emotional and\/or metaphysical abundance. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Judy Cooke<\/a>, Ice Melt<\/i><\/p>\n

\"judycookeicemelt.jpg\"I
\ndon’t want to be part of the perpetual revolution, the chasing after
\nnovelty. The freedom to go where you want is one thing, but the
\nobligation to move on, move on – that is the demand made by a
\npoliceman. You are never saying anything; you are trying to say it. You
\nnever get to finish or to amplify a thought. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Anna Fidler<\/a>, Correspondences<\/i><\/p>\n

\"annafidlercorresp.jpg\"I hate watching people look at my pictures. I never like anything about the way they do it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Adam Sorensen<\/a>, Squall<\/i><\/p>\n

\"adamsorensensquall.jpg\"My
\nfather claimed he could smell electricity, and my mother was always
\ntelling us how many hours it had been (plus or minus a quarter) since
\nthis or that person had bathed or showered. I myself am similarly
\nsensitive. The stench of the studio is one of the things I like best
\nabout being  a painter. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Storm Tharp<\/a>, Approaching Thunderhead<\/i><\/p>\n

\"stormtharpcouple.jpg\"I don’t think of my pictures as small – I think of them as efficient.  <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Michael Brophy<\/a>, Kitchen Painting #28<\/i><\/div>\n

\"michaelbrophykitchen.jpg\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Portland writer K. B. Dixon‘s new novel, A Painter’s Life, is unwieldy but precise. It reads as if it’s a journal kept by the (fictional) painter Christopher Freeze, but unlike a journal, this sack of asides, hopes, press clippings, musings on friendships, work, other artists, critics, dealers, paint and the point of paint adds up […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1236","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1236\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}