From Mark Golden

From Mark Golden

This past year I am reminded how quickly time is passing by. For over 25 years we’ve been publishing Just Paint. For 36 years Barbara and I have been graciously allowed to participate in the creative lives of so many talented artists. And to be able to call them our friends, has been a true blessing.

Last February one of our first customers, Kikuo Saito, passed away. I was just 26 when I first visited his studio on Chambers Street. He was so warm and inviting to a young, nervous kid. Over the years we had many visits where I shared the latest material we were exploring. During these conversations, Kikuo shared in our excitement, even asking for his own custom color, a brighter blue than any we had at the time. A few weeks later we made him “Saito Blue,” which eventually became our Phthalo Blue (Green Shade). This past September we were joined by Kikuo’s friends and family, including his wife, Mikiko, in the opening of the exhibition ‘Color and Drawing,’ a celebration of Kikuo’s fabulous works. The paintings will remain in our Gallery (The SAGG) through March 2017 and can be viewed online at theSAGG.org. A catalog of the exhibit is also available.

We lost another friend this past June, with the passing of Kenworth Moffett, a talented museum director, art critic, curator, and dear friend to so many artists. And in October we lost Walter Darby Bannard, an incredibly talented writer and amazing artist. It is easy to find in Darby’s writing the kind of clarity of message many aspire to, but few attain. His work as a painter, immersed in the love of color, spans over six decades. We miss all these friends and their passing makes us feel just a bit older. Thankfully in their work, we are reminded of their legacies that remain and as we remember, we can smile.

Mark