Chester Arnold

My Visit to Chester Arnold Exhibit

Chester Arnold was raised in post war Germany, but he was American by birth. “The opening of my first paint box at the age of 16 was the opening of a life..." States California based Chester Arnold (Linda Hodges Gallery.)  His studio is cluttered with toys and other objects, and some of these objects can be seen in his paintings.  He also keeps a sketchbook and journal with him at all times.  When he is in his studio painting he uses a table top palette.  Sometimes he will scrape all the paint off and reuse the pallet and other times he uses a fresh one.  Another interesting thing he does is he writes about the work of art on the backside of the canvas he is using. 

            His paintings are as much about politics as they are about social responsibility.  When viewing Arnold’s work I had a hard time deciding which painting was “the one.”  There was Road to Paradise painted in 2008, Dirty Laundry in 2002, and Redemption in 2006, How the West was Won in 2007, and after much looking Tree Service spoke to me.  In the painting there were men cutting trees down, a pile of trees burning in the background, and trucks hauling trees away.  I believe he was trying to depict how we are destroying our earth.  Trees provide us with the oxygen we breathe, food for animals, shelter for the wild, etc.  By cutting the trees down we are driving the wild out of their habitats, and by burning the trees we are putting pollution into the air.

            I enjoyed the entire exhibit, and the way he depicted our thoughtlessness towards mother earth.  It made me take a look at my tendencies to recycle or not, or how I see other people throw out their belongings with no care to whom or what it affects.