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PAINTER ENVY / IN THE TASK SCHOOL OF TREVOR SHIMIZU, 2015 ff

This series originated with the help of the painter Trevor Shimizu upon a visit to his stuido in Long Iseland City. I asked him to portrait me according to my For Alfred Jarry, Henry Rousseau, Various Painters, 1895/2012 ff seriesĀ  . He said that he was going to paint me not as Jarry but as me - see here - . Since it couldn"t be a Henry Rousseau gift anymore he requested that I come up wiht a new series and paint him in return as an exchange.

Trevor's liberating and amazingly unconventional paintings are witty and celebrate diskilling and popular humor with a touch of sinsister linguistic, pictorial and cultural games. The painting that was hanging on his wall was a cheeky pink smiley with a brown sunflower like aureol he called "Hemorroid". This half blind but otherwise very happy dirty pink emoticon entrapped me visusally as well as it unleased dubious childhood memories of my father who happened to suffer from that unpleasant and embarrassing diseas, something I have been luckily enough to forget so far. Back home, Trevor"s canvas immediatly enchanted my 4 year old daughter Isadora who jumped from her seat and yealled to my astonishment: "This is me," because "this is Pinkalicious and Pinkalicious is me" referring to a pink princess who ate too many pink cup catkes.

Shimizu's amazing paintings stumbled directly to my face a naiv "made by people like you who never learned painting" who even don't show any aspirational intentions to get it right. Thus, my intimidation evaporated and his expectation to see me paint triggered my "just do it." Before I could think I was given a long thin brush standing next to a sauce of colors that shined like some spilled Chienese dish. This pallet didn"t correspond to my cliched ideas of a palette that was usually thick and mountainous with dry distinct colors stuck on a board but reminded me more of a two color flat lake that had been just declared dead and lifeless and was about to dry out.

It took me only a few seconds before I got the title explaining my emoiton: PAINTER ENVY. Trevor's comment on my proposition was fast and hit it on the head: "Yes, like penis envy." This all broke my anxiety and embarrassment and I started to make my first painting which was - according to our trade - a painting of him. Envious and greedy as I am, I asked him to be my hand off teacher. Trevor agreed but only under the conditon that it is up to him to invite me back and if so, I have to paint without upfront warning what he tells me to paint. Now, we are in a bind, and I hope that he might do so and exchange my next Painter Envy 2 painting for the "pain in the bud smiley" that can make my not so quiet little daughter smile. Needless to say, this will make my 7 year old son Edgar most likelhy very jellous hence there might even be a third visit necessary should the student be ever invited back by the teacher. Last but not least, I dd not forget the words of Matthew Higgs, who suggested I d start painting to increase my financial situation - an advise not to be disregarded.

I am very thankful to Trevor Shimizu and look forward to this unfolding of TREVOR SHIMIZU TASK SCHOOLTEACHING.

 

April 2016 _ Sesssion 3

After an extensive summer, fall and winterbreak our new session of task school teaching started with some basics: the making of a canvas from scratch.The task school teacher,"s second task was to rework the last sessions painting. And I did. The last task consisted of the illustration of the sentence "gimme a shotgun and an eight-ball" referening to blowing once heas with serious drugs, a sentence i picked up from a significant friend of mine who gave me this answer when asked about a possible birthday present wish for her upcoming celebraton.

 

Task 1 - preparing the canvas

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Tast 2 = The reworking of previous done paintings.

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Task 3 The Gift, Gimme a Shotgun and an Eight-ball.

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The task school teacher Trevor Shimuzu also reworked his portrait of me which we traded with each other - an act that corresponds to the general subject of the day: the gift. His generosity also extended to the birthday present of my daughter Isadora got a reworking.

Trevor Shimizu, Rainer , 2015/16 __________________________________________ Trevor Shimizu,Shit flowerr , 2015/16

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NY, Mai 2015 _ Sesssion 2

PAINTER ENVY / TREVOR SHIMIZU TASK 2, 2015
TASK 2: PAINT A PREGNANT WOMAN AND TWO FRUITS IN 15 MINUTES
oil and pencil on canvas, 16 x 18 inches

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NY, April 2015 _ Sesssion 1

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Trevor Shimzu, Shitpainting, 2015 (for Isaodra): Rainer Ganahl, Painter Envy, In the School of Trevor Shimizu Task 1,2015: Trevor Shimizu, Rainer Ganahl, 2015

PS:

I had one month to contemplate on my envious role and my steps into "a hand on on paint".  I take it now very seriously. It also downed on me in what priveledged position I am with TREVOR SHIMIZU as my amazing teacher. In the mean time we also found a proper name for his school since we want to avoid the term academy: From now, we call his one person teacher, one person student operation TREVOR SHIMIZU TASK SCHOOL. Since I am his only student I feel even more honored and will try my best. We also come to tacitly agree on some temporary tuition which of course can always be raised or change in nature.

Tuition of May26, 2015

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PAINTER ENVY / TREVOR SHIMIZU TASK 1, 2015
TASK 1: PAINT THE TEACHER
oil and pencil on canvas, 16 x 18 inches

collection Trevor Shimizu

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