A segment from the studio manager (Victoria Chapman) on Shane’s creative life in the studio, and at the ranch

The beginning layers of a new Still Point for Venice 2024

The Life of the Artist and the Creative Process – Part 5

Certainty and Truth

A segment from the studio manager (Victoria Chapman) on Shane’s creative life in the studio, and at the ranch

In Part 5, we are sharing Shane’s daily routine and how one thought leads to the next and, yes, there is some certainty and truth here. I have heard visitors to the studio say on many occasions, “Shane, this is amazing, things just seem to line up for you.” How does this unfold?

As the observer in the room, I can honestly say, it’s not as easy as it may appear. Sure, there is a certain amount of luck, but the reality is there are no shortcuts. Shane works everyday all day, and he doesn’t take holidays. It’s like water that flows from one stream to the next-- it’s automatic for him. Whether he is in his orchard or vineyard tending to the fruit trees, remodeling a building (he is currently creating the “wine room” with two childhood friends), or applying the first layer of gesso to canvas, he is merely being in the moment. Somehow along the way of Shane’s early beginnings, this ability to stay in the moment took shape. And now it’s automatic. Whatever he touches, be it breakfast, a grapevine, or the brush to which he is about to create art, there is a certain consciousness that becomes absolute with all his heart, and in return the universe responds. Sometimes the circle is complete, an exhibition is booked, or a painting is sold. With total transparency, there is honesty that goes into a task. When I come across quotes from Hegel’s Phenomenology of the Spirit, it stops me in my tracks to reflect on what is going on in Shane’s life, and studio practice.

“In grasping the thought that the single individual consciousness is in itself - Absolute Essence, consciousness has returned into itself. Phenomenology of the Spirit page 139

If you have been following this series, you know I am thumbing through Hegel’s Phenomenology of the Spirit. Hegel’s book explores the principles of self-identity and reaches into the dialectic. I will not go into that, but I will share why I keep returning to this book. For me, it has been a proverbial jumping-off place. It is a reminder of why art is made and its process. And then there is the creative flow, which I believe is another intertwined topic.

A few days ago, I was reminded of a conversation I had thirty-three years ago with a fellow art student, “How can I make art when I have barely experienced the world myself?” That was a wild thought, and it got me thinking about Shane and his life experiences as it’s translated into art.

There have been two films and podcast that have been published about Shane’s studio and ranch life. Some might ask, how does Shane divide his time? What are his daily rituals, shifting from one task or painting to the next. There is minimal separation – separated only by what he touches. How does the physicality of being become the impetus of art making? Creativity is an alchemic process of transforming truth into evidence. We can see it from the beginning in cave paintings, and for thousands of years, this has been observed from stone to iron and now into the information age.

Shane wrote an article that touches on this subject, The Art of the Ancients Art Confidential Magazine, April 2023

Shane’s article ***The Art of the Ancients***

Artists have always contemplated the landscape. Whether this means tagging the wall or making mental notes, it’s the human condition to observe and document one’s findings. Cezanne spent years painting Mount St. Victore, observing nature, living in solitude, and searching for inner freedom. This practice of recording the world around him created some of the most unique works of art, setting the stage for the 20th century, starting with Picasso, which all began by honoring his truth.

As I sit at my desk daily in Los Angeles, I contemplate why art is so important and what it does on an immediate level and for society. I take a break and walk over to another painting studio of Shane’s and gasp while looking at the vast Conscious Occupation of a Praying Mind a painting from the series, At Still Point of the Turning World. As I leave that studio and walk over to collect the mail, I am reminded of the street sounds and the thousands of cars and people trailing up and down Western Ave. daily. Returning to my desk, I glance over to the storage racks in the office, patiently holding Shane’s paintings. The office has become an art storage space as much as an office space. To my left are floor-to-ceiling bookshelves stacked with binders, catalogs, magazine boxes, and numerous books - all relative to Shane and his career on a global level. This man’s markings, documentation, and commitment to his art-making practice serve as a reminder of why art should never be forgotten or misunderstood.

It’s been a hectic year thus far while finalizing plans for the 2024 Venice Biennale (Shane’s exhibition will be on display at the Bovolo Museum). There was also a new record set at a Parisian auction for At the Still Point of the Turning World – Only Through Time is Time Conquered oil on canvas, plus various exhibitions, musical concerts that intertwine music and art, and many lectures about the topic of art and how Guffogg is informed and inspired by different composers, that took place in and around Los Angeles. Two of Shane’s paintings are in the group exhibition Circle of Sam at the Bakersfield Museum of Art, where his paintings are featured alongside Ed Ruscha, Sam Francis, and more. This exhibition honors Sam's friendships with fellow artists; it closes on September 9th. Opening on October 19th, 2023, at the Forest Lawn Museum, Glendale, is Shaping Gravity: Abstract Art Beyond the Picture Plane, featuring seven artists. Shane will have six significant works that span 21 years.

The Bovolo Museum, Venice, Italy where twenty new paintings will be on display from April - November 2024 Venice Biennale

Guffogg’s *At the Still Point of the Turning World - Only Through Time is Time Conquered* oil on canvas, 84 x 108” a record was set at Paris auction ($480,000 USD) on May 4, 2023

Guffogg’s *At the Still Point of a Turning World - The Conscious Occupation of a Praying Mind* oil on canvas, 78 x 108” will be featured in October 2023 exhibition Shaping Gravity: Abstract Art Beyond the Picture Plane Los Angeles

An intimate corner in the Central California Studio, in process paintings *Neither Flesh nor Fleshness* a stanza from T. S. Eliot’s Four Quartets to be featured in Venice during 2024

While supporting Shane’s endeavors, I observe him traveling back and forth from Los Angeles and Central California studios with the occasional business trip to Europe. I often wonder, “Where does Shane get his inspiration, and how does he start his day?”

Shane, the tornado, as he sometimes refers to himself, is busily noticing all the tiny and minute, numerous layers around him, seeing and feeling his way around the landscape. Within 12 hours on any given day, Shane not only works on his latest paintings (he usually works on 5 to 7 at a time), but also farming and tending to his Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard, olive trees (yes, he is pressing his olive oil), and 100 plus assorted fruit trees. Shane is moving through time and space. If you could trace his patterns throughout the painting studio and working the earth, one might see a similar physicality and energy that permeates from his surroundings.

Cabernet Sauvignon grapevine at the ranch/studio in Central California. Shane personally planted 350 vines.

During Part 5 of this series, Shane has been too busy for our usual Q and A and he suggested sharing two videos made by Eric Minh Swenson, Part 1 and Part 2 filmed at the ranch, two years apart. These videos go into detail about Shane’s life and what he was and is planning. And to refer again to Hegel -- while becoming conscious and aware of the world, Shane acknowledges his thoughts, visualizing beauty and the positive wonders of the world. All these elements are the ingredients for his daily practice of art making and life.

Victoria Chapman

Studio Manager

Guffogg Studio Los Angeles

Watch The Ranch Part 1

Watch The Ranch Part 2

listen to the interview