14 Years Ago Tonight (Sunset, Thursday, 6 November 1997)

William Theodore Van Doren, Sunset from Charlottesville, Va.) Oil on canvas, 14 x 18.

I was looking down the railroad tracks behind University of Virginia Medical Center. It was indeed a very dark and gloomy evening.

Pale Bright Dark Light (Sunset, Monday, 15 August 2011)

William Theodore Van Doren, PALE BRIGHT DARK LIGHT (Sunset from Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va.) Oil on watercolor block, 13 x 19.

A promising new band, The Bloody Angle, describe themselves as “a Southern Alt-Rock band from Charlottesville VA. Think Drive-By Truckers meet The Black Keys, Jack White, and the Raconteurs.” Their Band Page offers a couple of free downloads.

The Rain Kings (Sunset, Saturday, 11 June 2011)

William Theodore Van Doren, THE RAIN KINGS (Sunset from Belmont, Charlottesville, Va.), oil on watercolor block, 13 x 19.

Just before having dinner at the house of friends in the Belmont neighborhood of Charlottesville, I walked up and down the block sketching the sunset and the oncoming wall of clouds. Within 40 minutes we were enjoying a wonderful downpour with our meal.

I’ve just completed notes on my Tabula Rosa series.

Blues & Variations (Sunset, Wednesday, 19 January 2011)

William Van Doren, BLUES & VARIATIONS (Sunset from Westfield Road, Charlottesville, Va.) Oil on watercolor block, 13 x 19.

Keep It Hid (Sunset, Tuesday, 14 September 2010)

William Van Doren, Keep It Hid (Sunset from Charlottesville, Va.) Oil on watercolor block, 13 x 19.

I was at The Pavilion in downtown Charlottesville to see The Black Keys, and as open to roaming as the venue is, I still couldn’t really see “the sunset,” which was happening to the north (to the right) behind all the downtown buildings, and which, from what little I could see, was a technicolor spectacular. (Sorry about that. O.K., maybe not.) This then was the southwest sky at sunset, looking out toward the nearby Ragged Mountains, of Edgar Allan Poe fame. Edgar Allan Poe and The Black Keys belong together anyhow.

The Black Keys were nothing short of sensational. No one should underestimate the importance and influence of Patrick Carney, the drummer – that would be a great injustice, especially since the two guys really work as one – but Dan Auerbach has to be the most intimidating writer-guitarist-singer-performer I’ve ever seen, going back to The Beatles, 1966. Speaking of which, I was joking to Laura after the show how people talk about using surviving members of The Who to reconstitute The Beatles, or vice-versa. (Kind of grotesque.) But with Auerbach, you could replace John and George, and we don’t really need Paul, so that leaves ... The Black Keys!

Sorry, Macca fans, couldn’t resist. And Carney is much more than what was just implied, i.e., reference to Mr. Starkey.

And then The Black Keys are something really different on the axis of blues and soul ... sort of like the blues died and went to heaven.

Painting title comes from Dan Auerbach’s great 2009 solo album, but with different meanings, one of which is that the sunset was hidden from view.

Sunset, Solstice, Monday, 21 June 2010

William Van Doren. Sunset from Charlottesville, Va. Oil on watercolor block, 16 x 20.