Colors, "Renaissance"

"The Colors of Renaissance," 10" x 14" watercolor, 140 lb. d'Arches cold press paper

"Renaissance." Much is made of that word in OKC these recent years, as the city has emerged from the doldrums of mediocrity. It is perhaps overused, a little snobby, and blind to the poverty and social diseases infecting the rest of Oklahoma.
But there has been a rebirth of energy and spirit, to where OKC has almost become a city state.
One symbol looms over everything, including the skyline--the Devon tower. It is a constant subject of paintings and photographs.
I guess I had to join the crowd, but was stymied by the need to be somewhat original. It's finally come together in this painting, my first in over a month, as is this post on my blog.
During that time I've been digesting a creative-bending watercolor workshop, trying to meld what I learned with my painting abilities. 
The painting grew in stages. First, I noticed there were not northerly views of the skyline, something I see silhouetted when I drive south of Broadway Extension. Then I had to experiment with photography and composition. Then with color, and failed attempts. Eventually, the skyline and colors came together, but it sat for more days till I fit the sky to the feeling of the rest of the subject.
So this is also a renaissance of watercolor for me, though there is much more to learn and try and fail and succeed.
Thus, "The Colors of Renaissance," which is not architecturally accurate,  not constrained by chamber of commerce sugar sweet PR demands, and hints at the darkness we all know is still there.

Boomtown, Oklahoma, energy icon

I heard somewhere that more than 5,000 people a month are moving to Oklahoma City in the past three  months, thanks to the job market, especially in energy. Boomtown. Perhaps not since the Run, or the 8os oil boom. Don't know.

Devon Tower, seen from The Womb, symbol of OKC's energy growth

But I do know an incredible amount of energy seems to sizzle from the place, a far cry from 20 years ago when downtown was dead, and the state was languishing. The transformation since the Murrah Federal Building bombing is nothing short of miraculous.
I can refer to many trends and incidents, and books have been written about this Dust Bowl, oil bust poor fly-over state changing. Yes, the state is more conservative politically than ever, but there's an undercurrent of energy different from oil and gas that bubbles toward the surface of young people and will change the state even more. 
Sure the conservative politicians brag about our independence, but the downtown transformation was a tax-supported effort, not free-enterprise. And the state still sucks heavily at the Federal teat , with Tinker, FAA, Altus , Enid and more...all of which they ignore, like the current mayor in his national speeches.

If there is one icon of the new energy I see-beyond revitalized Paseo, Plaza District, avant-garde new restaurants, excellent museums, The Thunder, The Devon Tower, and more--it is The Womb, owned by Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips,the weird, stereo-type knocking band that even makes the Neanderthal legislature nervous.
We recently attended the reopening of  this physcheledic gallery off Broadway, thanks to invitations by Jake Harms (future-son-in-law--artist and partner of cool step-daughter Alexx Reger) who manages it and who helped paint much of the  jarring exterior
Look at this place...it is not your stereotype of Oklahoma. Energy oozes from this place like oil and gas from Audrey McLendon's and Cheaapeake's fracking, to the more respectable towering influence of Devon energy's new dominating skyscraper...but it doesn't cause physical earthquakes...just cultural ones.

Me, at entrance of The Vagina, Photo by Susan

As and old-guy, I don't necessarily "like" the art inside, thought a drink inside the "Vagina" is, well, juicy and enervating  and fun. But it doesn't matter. You should see the young people (those under 40 at my advanced age) attending things like this.
This is the kind of energy that is revolutionizing Oklahoma, once old white guys have gone the way of drab buildings. You had to go inside the red-lit "Vagina" to get a drink. It was an adventure, and most of all, fun, because the people think life is supposed to be fun, not uptight.
Art and energy like this is infectious, impossible to ignore, among all the ho-hum or negative images of Oklahoma. Oklahoma's real energy industry isn't under the ground, but above it, in people who demand difference. It's not about being cool, I think, though many do. I think it's about creativity, pushing the boundaries--which is the real pioneer spirit--and having fun.

Devon tower, sunset

Devon tower, at sunset from Edmond, watercolor, 9 by 12, d'Arches 140 pound paper

I saw this scene tonight, heading downtown OKC and Paseo, I-35 in the foreground. Painted
 before Susan attacks it with my Dad's pastels. The Devon Tower towers over everything, and can be seen from more than 40 miles away. We drove downtown after Valentine dinner at Paseo Grill. Literally awesome.

Blog, blog, blogging along

One week down as a freelance reporter for the Journal Record, the daily business newspaper in Oklahoma City.

No, it's not permanent, just a one-month gig until a new reporter shows up.

Story count so far--10 stories--many about first quarter financial and operational reports from local energy companies.  What an education. One about Fort Reno. Several on tap already for next week. Not bad for a geezer who immediately found the coffee pot, but could barely find the bathroom on Monday.

Yesterday, deadline writing on Devon Energy putting up for sale  its downtown headquarters building. 2 pm news conference and then walk back to work. Turn out a short web version in 15 minutes, and complete story by 5 pm for Monday's paper. Former student, friend, and Oklahoman Real Estate Editor Richard Mize was there, covering it for today's Oklahoman. No way I can match his experience in the field or scoop him in print, since "we," the Journal Record, don't publish on Saturdays. BUT...thanks to the web, we had the news out first, on the website! And our photographer, Maike Sabolich was there too, so we have an exclusive photo of Devon CEO Larry Nichols and real estate agent  and guru Mark Beffort.

It's interesting to me that after all these years, I get excited about a "scoop."

And, then on a whim, not knowing if they'd use it, I took JR Editor Ted's Streuli's email suggestion and wrote a blog: http://journalrecord.com/2010/05/07/gunfight-at-the-oklahoma-corral/

There are other stories here...getting used to a morning commute, becoming familiar with the downtown geography and the downtown business culture, working with the relatively small Oklahoma media profession when you know many of the journalists since I've been around a long time, scrambling for sources and trying to catch up at least survive working with younger journalists who know so much, working in the "real world" instead of academia, taking part in the almost palpable energy of downtown, so changed from just a few years ago, facing the pressure of having to perform so I'm not seen as some old fuddy-duddy professor who's out of touch. In other words, I survived a week completely out of my comfort zone, and I had fun and a sense of accomplishment, feeding off the energy and humor and professionalism of the people I work with.

Will write for food!