2008 Writing D e s e r t E x p o s u r e
September
2008
Love and Art
Las Cruces artist Fred Chilton paints what he knows,
from Mexico to musicians.
By Donna Clayton Lawder
Set in a background of deep blues and dusky purples, the man's dark skin and mustache barely come out of the shadow of his large-brimmed hat. The guitar he strums, however, blazes with golden red and orange tones.
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Fred Chilton with one of his works. (Photo by Donna Clayton Lawder) |
"He's dead now, I'm afraid," artist Fred Chilton says with a shake of his head and a somewhat sad, poignant smile. "For years, he played that guitar all around town. I'd see him quite a bit."
Chilton goes on to describe this man, the subject in his painting from a few years back. The Las Cruces artist tells what he knows of his subject's hard life, barely surviving as a street musician, suffering from an addiction to alcohol, most likely homeless.
Noting the prominence of the guitar in the painting, Chilton then points out a pair of full, red lips that seem to hover in the space near the guitarist's face, and the block-letter style words stamped in gold on the image — "No Vale la Vida Sin Musica y Amor" — also the painting's title.
"Life is worth nothing without music and love," Chilton loosely translates. He looks back at the face of the man in the painting. "He didn't have much more than his music. I hope he had love," Chilton says, then adds, "Well, he certainly had the love of his music."
Fred Chilton also has a love of music, something he has captured in various ways in his art. He settles into a recliner, shelves of vinyl record albums lining the wall behind him. His face becomes animated as he talks about the nightclubs of Paris, the intoxicating jazz of gypsy musicians, the timelessness of the great jazz innovator Django Reinhardt.
From his easy chair, he points out another of his artworks hanging nearby. Rendered in soft hues of rose and lavender, the painting features two musicians, their instruments illuminated by subtle gold accents.
"That's Django Reinhardt in the front," Chilton says. "And that's Stphane Grappelli in the back. I call it 'Djangology,' after his (Reinhardt's) album."
Chilton adds that the painting, impressionistic in its style, is not typical of his own work. He gestures toward another painting nearby, this one the decidedly geometric rendering of a guitar. The sound hole and lines representing strings make the abstract instrument recognizable — drawing attention, in fact, to the very parts that give the music its voice.
"Now, that's an oil painting, and again, it's not indicative of my style," Chilton explains. "It's not what I'm know for."
What this decorated watercolorist is known for are delicate yet richly toned works of near photo-realism, like this month's cover painting, "Festiva!" One of several mariachi posters Chilton has done, this watercolor was chosen by the mariachi event's organizers because of the multi-ethnicity of the children in the image — Hispanic, African-American and Anglo. "The beautiful, engaging art of the mariachi music and the dance crosses the borders of race," he says.
Listed in Who's Who in American Art and a signature member of the American Watercolor Society, Chilton has been noted for his ability to capture the sacredness of ritual and tradition in the swirl of a folklorico dancer's swirling skirts, the depth and beauty of a nation in his vibrant landscape paintings, the humanity of a culture in his portraits of dark-featured faces, Mexicans and people of Mexican descent.
"My material is regional, but I don't like to call myself a Southwest painter. I just like to say that I paint what I know," Chilton explains. "Quite a bit of it has to do with Mexico. That's an influence I have always felt, being born here and living in Las Cruces."
Chilton says he began drawing at the age of five and started painting when he was in high school. He attended the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit in 1963 and wound up staying in the Motor City for nearly 16 years, during which he also had a successful career as a commercial painter.
"Something clicked, a key turned, when I was in Michigan. I just came to the point where I said, 'Nothing's going to stop me now,' and I made a commitment to painting. I was determined to make it professionally as a fine artist," he says. "I came back to Las Cruces in 1978 and this has been my career for the past 25 years."
Over that span, Chilton's work has been exhibited in more than two-dozen galleries, ranging far and wide, from Michigan to Connecticut to Texas and beyond. His work has hung at the Salmagundi Club in New York City, in "The New Realists" show in Chicago's Mongerson Gallery, in the Detroit Artists Market and in the Meadows Museum of Art in Shreveport, La.
Locally, he had an exhibit at the Branigan Cultural Center and showed at the Patio Art Gallery until its recent closure. Other works remain on display at the William Bonney Gallery in Mesilla, where he's exhibited for years.
He has also done a lot of commission work, he says, an aspect of professional fine art that many artists shy away from but which Chilton loves.
"I stay away from portraits. I leave that for the portrait artists pretty much. It's a specialty," he says. "But I've done a lot of landscape commissions."
He's also done a large number of commemorative works, paintings made into posters for special events like mariachi festivals, wine-tasting festivals, harvest celebrations.
"I did a commemorative poster for the 60th anniversary of the Bataan Death March," Chilton recalls. "Copies of that work were given to the living veterans of that, well," he pauses, seeming to struggle for the right word. "That 'happening,' that awful moment in history." His face takes on a somber look at the memory. "It was a special honor to be able to mark that event and clothe it in an image, to give them that."
He was commissioned to create the poster for the City of Las Cruces' 150th anniversary. Another commission marked the 250th birthday of Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette, the French-born military officer who served in the American Revolution under George Washington.
"He became a friend to Thomas Jefferson," says Chilton. "He was a very important figure in this country, actually, but not a lot of people know much about him."
Though Chilton discovered his own ability to draw and create art at a very young age, he believes there is more to being an artist than, well, talent.
"Drawing has always been easy for me — it came natural. Learning about color and paint application has been a long, slow process," he says. "I don't believe in the myth of talent. Talent is overrated. I think it causes more failure than success."
Ever the realist, he pauses to come up with a tangible example to illustrate his point.
He says, "Think about the iron ore that goes into the making of a car. Now, what about all the labor and technical proficiency that actually makes that happen, from the beginning to the end product? The question is not whether someone has talent but what they are going to do with it."
And so, while acknowledging his natural ability to render in art what he sees in the world, Chilton emphasizes and says he puts more value on the labor involved, even when it comes to his own work. Perhaps especially then.
"I have an intense desire to produce images, especially ones that make people's jaws drop. It still astounds me that I can do that!" he says with a laugh. "I'm really lucky to be able to make a living like this. Frankly, I can't imagine a better way to make a buck."
He reflects on his successful art career and muses on the projects he has on his drawing board at the moment.
"They say a painter does his or her best work in their sixth decade of life," he says. "I'm 64 now, so I sure hope that's true. I'm certainly giving it my all."
Fred Chilton's work can be seen exclusively at the William Bonney Gallery, 2060 Calle de Parian, in Mesilla, 526-8275. Giclee prints can be purchased from the artist directly by calling him at 523-1656. See also his Web site at www.fredchilton.com