Perfect Harmony in Art

Harmony has been defined as "a pleasing combination of elements as a whole".  It is something we all strive to accomplish in our lives ... may it be harmony with others or harmony within ourselves; we all seek to find that pleasing combination in all that we do in life.  I believe my father, Al Sprague, has found that pleasing combination in his world of art.

Pollera Oil painted in 2013

In the Beginning, my very first Blog entry,  I told the story of how my father discovered his talent and love for art.  After getting in trouble and not really knowing which way to go with his life, my grandmother, Josephine Sprague, sent him out with paint, a canvas, and an easel and told him not to return until he had completed a painting.  It was at this moment that my father discovered his passion for art but it would take years of painting, drawing, and sculpting to find and create harmony in his world.

Watercolor painted in 1969

My father describes art as something he has to do, it's almost like an addiction - He sees and he wants to create. There is rarely a day that goes by that he is not creating something.  Granted, sometimes it may be fishing lures or decorative rocks, but creating is just part of who he is.  It gives him a sense of wholeness; a sense of being; it is his harmony.

Bahamian Oil painted in 2008

Life hasn't always been easy for my father.  He has struggled with much in his lifetime.  Like many artists, he has  struggled with alcoholism and depression, but one thing has remained consistent - his love for art.

We, as admirers of his God-given talent, are the lucky ones.  We get to experience harmony by viewing his creations.  Viewing his work is like hearing a beautiful symphony playing on canvas. The colors, the composition, the light all play together and create a perfect snapshot of harmony.

I, though take it one step further - I see each piece of his work as a building block to creating harmony in my father as an individual.  It is the combination of his life creations that has made him into the artist we all know and love - a person who has found harmony in himself through the world of art.

Postmarked for Eternity

The 13 cent Canal Zone stamp was the first postage stamp published using my father's artwork.  Issued February 23, 1976, pictures the dipper dredge, Cascadas.  The Canal has always been a subject matter my father has embraced.  He created a drawing, etching, and painting of this composition. 

The original is part of a permanent collection owned by the ACP (Autoridad del Canal Panama) and was reproduced in the widely distributed Panama Canal Review in 1975.  In addition, the black and white drawings of this collection were reproduced and sold in packets early in my father's career.  I remember as a child going to Stephens Circle with my mother and selling these packets of drawings.  Many people still have these black and white drawings framed and on display in their homes today.  

The 15 cent Canal Zone postage stamp was the last postage stamp produced by the Canal Zone before the ending of the Canal Zone postage system.   The first day of issue was October 25, 1978.  The image captures the operation of the electric "mules" as they guide a ship through the lock and is probably the most recognized Canal Zone postage stamps

The original painting used for the 15 cent postage stamp is part of the permanent collection of Al Sprague paintings found in the rotunda of the Administration Building of the Panama Canal in Balboa Heights, Panama.  It too, was reproduced in the 1975 Panama Canal Review.

Since the production of the Canal Zone postage stamps, my father's work has been used to produce six Panamanian stamps.   

Painting the People of Panama

"Muchacha Sentada en el Patio", Oil, 1988

Experience the Beauty of Panama through Al Sprague Artwork... this has been a saying I have used for many years.  My father truly captures the essence of Panama through his artwork... it isn't just the Canal or the beautiful dresses of the Pollera... it's the people... they are what makes Panama such a beautiful country.

My father has a keen sense of seeing the beauty in some of the most simplistic things.  He gets excited about the way the light reflects off the brightly colored fruit at the market or the different colored bottles on the cart of the raspadero.  I can't count how many times we stopped the car on the way to the interior to take pictures of a vendor on the side of the road selling vegetables or flowers.  I have to credit this to his artistic eye.  He just sees things differently than the rest of us.

"Flower Girl", Oil, 2008
Available as a Giclee

My father captures the lighting, colors, and strength of the market vendors in his paintings of the marketplace. 

"Tomato Vendor", Oil, 1991
Available as a Giclee

You can almost smell the scents of the market, feel the texture of the fruits and vegetables, and feel the warmth of the sun when looking at his work.  Many people love his renditions of the raspadero and his cart.  The paintings bring back memories of chasing down the cart vendor and waiting for the delicious taste of the icy treat.  

"Raspadero", Oil, 2010
Available as a Giclee

Over the years my father has consistently captured the traditional wooden carts used by the market vendors.  These carts are typically filled with fruits and vegetables and pushed into the streets during the day.  When walking through the market areas, it is common to see multiple carts lining the street - each filled with fresh treats for sale.

"Market Carts", Oil, 1975

"Vegetable Vendor", Oil, 1988

If asked, I would have to say, the market vendors remain one of my favorite subject matters of my father's because he consistently captures the beauty of Panama through the everyday life of the people of the country.  

  

Art Teacher Al Sprague

We all have our favorite teachers from the past.  Somebody that touched and made a difference in our lives.  I can name a few of those teachers in my life, can you? 

My father is one of those teachers who made a difference in the lives of many students at Balboa High School in Panama.  He understood teenagers and did things a little different than the normal teacher.  

Over the years, I have heard stories from past students on how my father molded them into the individuals they have become.  Many went on to become artists, architects, or simply art lovers.  

"Cascadas", Oil

It was a common experience for the students of my father's to watch him work on a painting at the same time they themselves were working on paintings.  Many watched him create some of the pieces that are now displayed in the rotunda of the Administration Building of the ACP (Autoridad del Canal de Panama).  

One of his favorite activities with his students was to take them out of the classroom to paint the jungle.  The class would pack up their watercolors and head over to Admin Hill where they would sit and capture the beauty of the fauna of the jungle.  He would say there was no better way to learn to paint then to be out in the natural light and experience the outdoors while creating.  Still to this day, one of his favorite ways to paint is to go outside and capture an image in natural light.  

"Pixvae Palm", Watercolor, 2009

I was an elementary school student at Balboa Elementary School at the time my father was an art teacher.  Going to visit him while he was up on the hill above my school was one of my favorite things to do.  I felt really special to be able to climb up the hillside and sit with him and his high school students.  Not only did I feel important because nobody else was allowed to climb up the hill, but I loved to watch my father create something from nothing.  Still to this day, it is one of my favorite things to do to sit in his studio and watch him create a masterpiece from a blank canvas or paper.  What a gift!  

Young Al Sprague creates while outdoors

Not only does he have the gift to create but a gift to teach as well.  So many people learned from him and he is constantly teaching people.  Over the years he has taught printers in Panama how to set up their own silk screening businesses, taught people how to cast sculptures, create fishing lures, and how to use new techniques in art.  The amount of people he has touched and influenced never ceases to amaze me!  And I know, he will continue to teach and influence as long as he has the ability to do so.