 |
| Al |
Day 11 (12/28/14)
Recently I was able to put a face to
the man who I have spent so much time in the last two years thinking and
writing about. I had of course seen some old newspaper images but most were of
Al at a distance and had been taken from archives of newspapers from the
fifties. Thanks to Charl Agiza (formerly Charl Roach) I have, not only, been
able put a face to Al but also see a great variety of his art work. Charl
apparently ran across my blog while doing a Google search of Al. Again I am
going to as much as possible let Charl tell her own story:
While visiting my family for the
holidays I got to looking at these paintings that were done by Al Urness. In
our Information Age I thought I would Google his name and see what I came up
with and was so surprised to read the stories and clippings on your blog.
Thanks so much! He came and stayed with my family in Arkansas and painted
several paintings, one of which I am sending in this email and the others to
follow. I shall try to find a photograph I believe we have around here. He was
the free spirit that is described. Al was a simple man traveling with few
possessions and painting along the way.
On my blog site she wrote:
I have sent several images of paintings
by Al Urness and photographs we had of him in our family album to your email
durness1@wi.rr.com (if you have a new email let me know and I can resend them).
We met Al in the 70s in Lake Village, Arkansas and later he came and lived with
us for several months in Jonesboro, Arkansas after we moved there. I was 15 at
the time and studying and performing various ethnic dances. He did a large
painting of me in my Middle Eastern dance costume. He worked from a photo but
he also did a sketch which must be around here somewhere. My Grandmother was an
artist as well as my Aunt and myself. Of course now I sit and look at his work
with a different eye. Looking back after reading about him in your blog I see
why I had such a resonance with him then and realize he left a great impression
on me. We exchanged correspondence after he left and I might even have some of
those letters. Even though he was older when he came into our lives his spirit
was young and playful and we enjoyed each other's company. Thanks so much for
bringing his spirit to life again. I think as artists we always hope our work
will survive and someone will ask “who painted that?"
I am honored and humbled to have stumbled upon the story of
Al Urness. I must apologize that I am not really a writer. My skills like those
of Al fall more in the area painting and kayaking. It is a story that warrants
telling however and it has been my pleasure to have met so many people, if only
in cyber space, inspired by Al. For the time being I have exhausted my
available information. I would not be surprised nonetheless to have other
people step forward with stories of their own. I certainly hope that is the
case and to everybody who has already contacted me I want to offer a big
heartfelt thank you.
 |
| Another Picture of Al |
 |
| Al the Teacher |
 |
| Al at work Sketching |
 |
| Al Painting |
 |
| Finished Painting |
 |
| Devils Tower by Al Urness |
 |
| Domestic Life |
 |
| The Dancer by Al Urness |
 |
| Detail from the dancer |
 |
| Another detail |
Posts
It is always amazing how people connect on the internet. I hope you are enjoying a great Christmas break. And Happy New Year to you and Eileen!
ReplyDeleteI sat next to Al on a Greyhound bus from Clarksdale, MS, to Memphis in the fall of 1967. I still have the picture he drew of me. BonnieParkerDFW@facebook.com
ReplyDeleteI have a sketch of me done by Mr Urness (when I was about 14) an oil painting that he then did from the sketch and a wildlife painting he did for my parents...this was 50 years ago and I've always been impressed with his wanderlust....
ReplyDeleteI met Al when I was a very young child (approximately 4 or 5 years old) when we lived in the Grand Union Hotel in Fort Benton MT. He seemed angelic to me and I have fond memories. I have a pencil sketch he did of me. He did one of my little sister and mother as well. An oil painting he did of my sister and I on the bank of the Missouri in Fort Benton hangs in my mother's house.
ReplyDeleteI found a picture my dad showed me of him drawing a of my grandma and 1954 on the Missouri river in Dakota, city. Nebraska stayed with them for a little while and moved out to Martinsburg to live with relative for a while thinking maybe heated up it might’ve been in the winter months when he couldn’t keep kayaking Not sure but he stayed out there for a while
ReplyDeleteI knew Al as a child. He did oil painting portraits of myself and my 3 siblings in 1958 when I was 7. They always hung on a wall in my parent's bedroom. We have each taken our own portraits now. My grandparents were good friends with Al. They lived at Devil's Tower WY and Al had a studio there. He lived there part time. As many said, he was a free spirit and traveled all over, never really having a home. I really took to him. He was a man who seemed to like and care for all people. Whenever we visited my grandparents, I always wanted to see Al. I was disappointed if he was traveling.
ReplyDelete