Monday, March 22, 2010

One More Day . . .Going Right Out Of My Head

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Detail of 40” x 32” x 1/2” acrylic painting by John R Redmond


Hello Friends,

Here I am posting the latest in a series of 40” x 32” x 1/2” acrylic paintings I have made recently. Above is a detail photo.

Further down in this blog posting I share lyrics from a song I wrote recently.  I offer them as a tribute to Dan Achen who passed away this week.


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I am enjoying this painting.  Some of the detail photos are fun.  When I view them in this digital format is is like entering the painting.  Its’ many dimensions unfold in the detail photos.

When I began applying colour to this painting I wanted to continue emphasising magenta, as I have in this series, to give the painting a good red warmth.  The sunlight of Spring time is encouraging.  And our weather in Ottawa recently has been a warm respite from severe, snowy recent winters.  I want to encourage a warm Spring to usher in a fine Summer.


Click on any image to view it enlarged.
If you would like to view my paintings check out previous blog entries and/or scroll down to Froggy at the bottom of the page. Click on Froggy and hop to my online store with links to eBay.
I'm also on Etsy. Search for seller johnredmond (no spaces) or use the painting images on the right side of this blog page to zoom there instantly. You can find me on Facebook, MySpace and, "tweeet twweet," Twitter (Redjar7)



detail 40 x 32 DSCN5104

Details of 40” x 32” x 1/2” acrylic painting by John R Redmond




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Details of 40” x 32” x 1/2” acrylic painting by John R Redmond



If I can find a way
If I can make it through one more day
My ship is coming in
My love is coming home
Our dream is gonna sail on through . . . “
Chorus from my latest song titled ‘Find A Way’.

 
 
Here is a photo of the full painting which is the latest in a series.


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40” x 32” x 1/2” acrylic painting on canvas by John R Redmond



The song I recently composed has a working title of ‘Find A Way’.
I think the lyrics tell the story.

This past week our friends experienced the loss of a good friend, Dan Achen. 
Dan Achen was a Juno award winning recording producer and former lead guitarist for the Canadian band, “Junkhouse’.

The lyrics of my song seem appropriate so I am sharing them with you further down in this posting.
To all of those who were and are close to Dan my deepest sympathy.

Our dream is gonna sail on through . . .

Below is the story as reported by the Canadian Press and on Canadian television.


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Find A Way by John Russell Redmond, March 2010

 


I walk down to the rocks
Of the St. Lawrence River shore
Sometimes the world
Don’t make sense to me anymore
I set down my bag and I watch the waves
The rhythm of the river and a distant sail
Cause me to long for you
And I wonder heart ache, do you moan for me
As I chant my blues away
 


 
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I am born of the earth
I am born of the wide blue sky
The black shining night
Endless surrounding me
In each place and time; vastness found
Dancing of the ripples in a mystic round
Calls me to dream with you
And I wonder magic, do you smile with me
As I wipe my tears away




 
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A leaf torn from its branch
Adrift on a whisper breeze
Twirling away
Falling by the river bank
And it’s gliding through; through the reeds
Birth, living-dying - love’s memory
Helplessly calling
And I dream wide awake, within the stream
As I chant my blues away
 

I believe, I believe
I don’t need to believe
I know
 

If I can find a way
If I can make it through one more day
My ship is coming in
My love is coming home
Our dream is gonna sail on through
 
 

40” x 32” x 1/2” acrylic painting on canvas by John R Redmond
Viewing the album as a slide show in full screen is a meditation.




Dan Achen, 51
Former Junkhouse guitarist dies of suspected heart attack
By The Canadian Press
Sun. Mar 21 - 4:53 AM


HAMILTON, Ont. — Dan Achen, former lead guitarist for the Hamilton rock band Junkhouse, has died of a suspected heart attack.

He was 51.

Achen, the owner of Catherine North recording studio in downtown Hamilton, was playing a game of pickup hockey with friends at Oakville’s Glen Abbey arena late Monday when he suddenly dropped to the ice.
Duke Foster, a sound engineer at Catherine North and one of Achen’s hockey teammates, said there were paramedics on the scene within minutes but they couldn’t revive him.
During the ’90s, Achen was a key part of the band Junkhouse, which scored international success with the hit Out of My Head.

Achen was part of a close knit crew of music industry insiders who had been getting together for the past 10 years to play a friendly game every Monday and Thursday.
"We realized we shared a love for both rock ’n’ roll and hockey and we quickly became friends," said Andy Curran, a prominent artist manager with SRO Productions.
"Our most recent addition to the team was (former Canadian Idol contestant) Rex Goudie. Dan was slotted to produce Rex’s next record."

Achen, originally from Regina, moved to Hamilton in 1981 and became part of the local music scene.
"He rode from Regina on his Kawasaki Ninja (motorcycle) all the way to Hamilton, recalled Junkhouse frontman Tom Wilson.
"He stopped at the Gown and Gavel and that’s where he met Colin Cripps. That’s basically how we all met him."

Achen formed a band called the Go Devils living with Cripps, who is now a sought-after session guitarist for artists such as Bryan Adams. Eventually both would play together in Junkhouse. Achen was part of the wedding party when Cripps married internationally known singer-songwriter Kathleen Edwards.
"Dan Achen was a fireball redhead and his personality was a pretty good match for that red hair," recalls Edwards. "He was a great guitarist. He loved guitars."

Several internationally known artists have recorded at Catherine North over the past 10 years, including Achen’s niece Feist. At a concert two years ago at Hamilton Place, the Grammy-nominated singer held up her favourite red guitar and proudly announced that it was a gift from "Uncle Dan."
In 2008, Achen co-produced a Juno-winning album Bring Me Your Love, a solo project by Dallas Green of the platinum-selling rock band Alexisonfire.

"Making that record with Dan was one of the best experiences I ever had," Green said in a statement.
Achen is survived by his mother Phyllis in Calgary, his brother Norm in Oakville, Ont., sisters Lyn and Lynda both of Calgary and June in Peticodiac, N.B.. Achen is also survived by his 13-year-old son Riley and Riley’s mother Judy Donnelly.”
 
In honour of and in gratitude to Dan Achen for filling our silence so beautifully, Hockey Night In Canada offered this tribute during the Saturday night coast to coast broadcast.






RIP Dan Achen
Walk in Peace, friends and dear ones of Dan Achen.



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John Redmond
Ottawa, Canada



John Redmond Art

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for sharing your paintings and your lyrics. You were not alone in being inspired to write a song in memory of Dan. Ian Smith wrote a song called Passing Trains just days after Dan passed away. We recorded it at Dan's studio, Catherine North, and it was the first new project we started without Dan.

    We just released the song today, July 13, in honour of Dan's birthday: http://www.catherinenorth.com/2010/07/tribute-to-dan-achen-released/

    ReplyDelete