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Woodstock Artist & Musician Justin Love That Is! A SoundPress.net Feature Article by Rich and Laura Lynch Driving down Route 212 on our way to historic Woodstock, New York we were taken by a most alluring sight. We had just passed a gigantic "Yellow Submarine". Since the film by the Beatles of the same name is one of Laura's favorites — we were compelled to turn around.
 The Loveland Art Gallery between Saugerties and Woodstock, New York. Pulling into the driveway we discovered that the submarine and giant hand-crafted and hand-painted LOVE sign in front of the building were just the first pieces of artwork on display at the "Loveland" music and art gallery. Passing through a front door with the word "Miracles" painted on it we discovered that this magical compound was the home and art-slash-music studio of the very talented Justin Love. At first, it seemed as though the studio was closed for the day, but then... "Who's here?," we heard asked by an obviously just-waking Justin Love. "People, we saw your sign, are you open? We just wanted to check out your work," we said a little worried we might be imposing on this early Sunday morning. "I'm open, come on in, look around," was the reply as Mr. Love promptly took a seat at a work table in the middle of his studio and began furiously signing a new series of Beatles-related lithographs with the simple and inviting moniker of his last name, 'Love.' While Mr. Love was taking care of this early morning business we quickly discovered the scope of his artistic talents. His extensive collection of abstract paintings with bold colors, which have been described as "daring and lyrical", is impressive and was obviously the result of many years of dedicated work. Then almost tucked in a corner we saw a poster describing a recent music concert and a towering stack of CDs with his picture peering back from the cover. "Are you a musician, too?," we asked, now completely overwhelmed by this man's many talents. "I haven't worked on hardly any art for the last 18 months," Love reported as he told us about his role in fronting the band, 'Justin Love and Loveland', telling us about their recent studio recording projects.
 Justin Love and Loveland's recent studio recordings. "Let me show you something," he said leading us back towards another doorway, that when opened, revealed a spacious room filled with a drum riser, mic stands and vintage guitars. "This is my music room," Love said as he described the room that was once served as a church in the early 1900's. "We've been practicing and getting the band together here. You guys should come see us when we play New York City. People start moving and dancing the moment we play our first note..." Then Mr. Love offered us two of his latest recordings — the colorful twelve-track CD entitled "Alive at Big Pink" and the more recent "Hey Daffodil!/Baby This Is Love" CD single. Using vintage instruments and inspiration from the 60's, especially The Beatles and Donovan, Justin Love and Loveland have crafted a poetic collection of songs that serve as the perfect soundtrack for Love's eclectic paintings and sculptures. His sculptures and hand-crafted work include a new and an incredibly unique series of "electric light paintings" that were lining the back side wall of Love's music room. These paintings, which are enclosed in hand-crafted boxes, feature bizarre forms and creatures that light from behind to illuminate the colorful screens. These paintings have the effect of lighting the room instead of one having to light the painting and the forms. Justin discussing his new series says, "I put the paintings on these lightboxes and the way the images react to being lit up from the inside has surprised even me. There's things that happen with the play of light from the light behind them and light in the room that couldn't happen any other way. I think they're especially exciting in this time because so much of today's world is high tech, that it creates a longing for the primitive, the way these paintings are. When the light comes through, it makes a fascinating juxtaposition, a fusion of the primal and the modern. The main thing about them is that they're fun, and very 21st century." Thankful for the music and the personal tour of the premises, we gave Justin a Kweevak.com T-shirt which he promised to wear while playing out or at least while lounging by the compound's built-in pool. He then returned the love once again by graciously giving us one of the Beatles lithographs that he was signing when we arrived. The one that we received was a somewhat dark and eerie representation of the fab-four's mop-top days with shades of black and purple dominating the wide-eyed expressionless gaze of the Liverpool lads. If you're looking for an artist in the tradition of modern masters like Dali and Picasso, or a musician following in the footsteps of the Byrds, Donovan and the Beatles the answer is obvious — ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE!
Justin Love, a self-taught artist, lives in a 103 year old church on the outskirts of Woodstock, NY, named Loveland, which he uses as a studio and gallery. He has a background in music, lending his paintings a musical quality. He has exhibited widely throughout the US and Europe over the last 14 years. For more information and FREE MP3s of his music visit:
 The Beatles litohgraph that we received from the artist himself. Related Links: For more information on JUSTIN LOVE and the other organizations mentioned please visit the following links -- Justin Love Art & MP3 | Woodstock Art
 (Originally Published on July 13, 2003) |
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