Newport Beach film festival

Catching my breath after the festival, three pretty intense days! Maynard Dixon Art and Spirit was well attended, and I enjoyed meeting lots of great people and hearing their questions about Dixon and the film. I'm humbled by the compliments, and always happy to have the opportunity to share Dixon's beautiful work with new viewers.

It's always fun spending time with my friends and fellow filmmakers, Eric Bricker and Susan Morgan Cooper. Together we met some of the other filmmakers attending, and shared some of the films and parties.

My favorite films both focused on modern architecture. By now, everyone knows how much I love Eric's film about the wonderful photographer, Julius Shulman, responsible for photographing so many remarkable modern houses and buildings. His work introduced Modern architecture to the world, and Eric's film is a richly textured testimony to the importance of this man's legacy and inspiring spirit. Seek out this film, it's wonderful. http://www.juliusshulmanfilm.com/

Another film that I appreciated was Infinite Space The Architecture of John Lautner.After the screening, we met producers, Sara Sackner and Anna Thomas, and composer, Elliot Goldkind. His haunting music was a wonderful compliment to the phenomenal architecture that he created. Lautner was mentored by Frank Lloyd Wright and had an originality and creative daring that makes this documentary very compelling and vivid. http://www.infinitespacethemovie.com/
I highly recommend both of these award-winning films! Now I'm inspired to spend my evenings watching Google Earth instead of television, finding modern architecture around the globe. This is a great tool for someone with my level of curiosity...I'll let you know what I find!

Selections from MAYNARD DIXON ART AND SPIRIT

Fresno Art Museum May 30th

Upcoming in May is a screening event at the Fresno Art Museum on Saturday, May 30th, at 1pm and 3pm. Again, this event will accompany the opening of the A.P. Hays exhibit, Space Silence Spirit: Maynard Dixon’s West. Read more about the exhibit and events at the museum website: http://www.fresnoartmuseum.org/exhibitions/upcoming.htm

Daniel Dixon will be speaking on Friday, May 29th at 3pm, and plans to join me after the film screening on Saturday for what promises to be a lively Q&A, and I plan to bug him to bring his ukelele and croon some of his Hoagy Carmichael tunes for us. With any luck, we'll get Rondal Partridge to stick around and share some of his stories about Maynard Dixon and Dorothea Lange. Look out! He and Daniel have some pretty ribald tales to tell!

Rondal was an assistant to both Dorothea Lange and Ansel Adams, and is also the son of photographer Imogen Cunningham. His collection of photographs are timeless and profound, thought provoking and beautiful. A fine exhibit of his work opens at the museum,and Rondal and his daughter, filmmaker Meg Partridge, will be speaking on Friday, May 29th at 4pm, following screenings of two films that Meg co-produced about Rondal's photography. http://www.photoliaison.com/rondal_partridge/Rondal_Partridge.html

Please join us for a very memorable day in the city where Maynard Dixon was born and raised!

What's next?

This picture was taken in Palm Springs during the film festival, it's me with John Dixon and his wife, Lee. We had such a good time together! Today I'm working on answering emails and invitations to bring the film to India, Paris, Munich, Tokyo, as well as many venues in the U.S. I wanted to write a post to tell everyone what this feels like for me. Bringing Maynard Dixon's story to so many interested audiences is really such a dream come true, and it just keeps getting better.

When I think of all of the doors that have opened for me since I began the film, I am really humbled. And all of the great people that I've met, and the places that I've traveled! I never imagined that I would still be doing this so many years later, but I'm still loving it and still learning. Making a film is a very complex undertaking, and since this was my first, I consider this Filmmaking 101. I made many mistakes, but worked with many generous people who took the time to show me the ropes and forgive me my inexperience.

My passion for Maynard Dixon's art is what kept me going, and still does. Whenever I speak at screenings of the film, I'm so happy to hear how enthusiastic people are about Dixon's art, especially those who weren't familiar with his work prior to seeing the film. I recently received a wonderful email from a guy who has always wanted to make a film, and he said that hearing my story gave him the courage to go for it. I made sure that he understood that I was supported by incredible people who believed in my dream as much as I did, and that I couldn't have finished without them..but what I believe is that if you are fully invested in something that you believe in, people show up. Teachers and fans and scholars appeared in my life to help me to accomplish this task. I ran into John McEuen at a Gram Parson's documentary premiere, and later he offered to compose the music for my film. Diane Keaton invited me to lunch at the Polo Lounge to learn more about what I was producing about her favorite artist. I asked her if she would narrate the film and she vehemently refused- but agreed to record it years later, thankfully! Editor Elen Carysfort bought an Avid system and created an editing studio so that we could work on my film together. How incredible is that?

I'd better get back to answering emails and planning the rest of this year. I'm really looking forward to the travel! I have two films that I am interested in producing, and will keep you all posted as they develop. At the risk of sounding corny, I want to close this by encouraging everyone to believe in their fondest dreams. I think that our beliefs about what's possible for us determine what we manage to achieve, so shouldn't we dream big? Who would have believed that I'd be showing Dixon at the Smithsonian and in Mumbai, India?

Sunday, Feb. 1st Screening at the Palm Springs Museum of Art

The film drew great audiences at the Palm Springs International film festival, and received an honorable mention as an audience favorite. John Dixon and I had a lot of fun answering questions from the audience, and he cracked everyone up when asked if he had talent as a painter, like his famous father. "I'm pretty good at walls, but not so hot with ceilings." he quipped.

The Awards Gala was fabulous and star-studded, my favorite introduction was to Dale Chihuly, the remarkable glass sculptor. His work has fascinated me for years, and I was able to speak to him about how much I enjoyed the documentary produced about him, there's much to see on his website:
http://www.chihuly.com/Video/screening.html

The festival screened many incredible films, and my friend, Eric Bricker's film, VISUAL ACOUSTICS, The Modernism of Julius Shulman, won the Audience Choice award. By all means, check it out: http://www.juliusshulmanfilm.com/

PALM SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL Jan. 6-19,2009

The film is an Official Selection of the PALM SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL,and will screen Fri., Jan.9,2009 @ 12pm and Sat. Jan.10th @ 1pm.
The screenings will take place in the ANNENBERG THEATER, in the The Palm Springs Art Museum, 101 Museum Drive, Palm Springs, Ca.92262
John Dixon, son of Maynard Dixon and Dorothea Lange, will join me in a Q&A after the screening, and then we will lead an informal tour of the exhibit, Space Silence Spirit / Maynard Dixon's West: The Hays Collection.
Tickets may be purchased at the PSIFF website:http://www.psfilmfest.org/
Museum admission is included with your film ticket for this special event!

Paso Robles Digital Film Festival

I arrived just in time to catch the World Premiere of THIS IS NOT A RODEO, a film about professional bull riding. Quite a moving film about the men who risk life and limb for this sport. Many of the riders featured in the film were in attendance, and I also ran into Bernie Taupin, who told me he's raising bulls when he isn't penning songs with Elton John. Interesting!

Ramblin' Jack Elliott was performing after the screening, and shared with me that he likes to ride bulls in his spare time.He also hosted a screening of the film, THE BALLAD OF RAMBLIN' JACK, which chronicles Jack's life from his upbringing in Brooklyn, his folk singing adventures in the 60's and singing cowboy tales. He's a really colorful character and I love his music!
I attended a panel with Clint Eastwood's Malpaso production company. The panel members, who have all worked with Clint for 30 years, really do finish each other's sentences and Eastwood praised them all for having telepathy at this point in their partnership! GRAN TORINO is their most recent effort, and editor, Joel Cox, said that he cut the film in 10 days. The audience gasped! Ten days! Clint was on hand to present Joel Cox with the first ever Ignace Paderewski Lifetime Achievement award.

MAYNARD DIXON ART AND SPIRIT screened on Saturday, I loved answering questions and hearing comments from the audience. I had to mention that when I drove into Paso Robles, I was reminded that Dixon painted in this area, and the warm light on those hills was beautifully familiar to me. I stuck around after my screening to watch TRYING TO GET GOOD-THE JAZZ ODYSSEY OF JACK SHELDON, which was produced by my friend, Penny Peyser, and her husband Doug McIntyre. This award-winning film is remarkable and features some great interviews, I highly recommend it, and although I'm not usually a fan of jazz, I thoroughly enjoyed hearing all of fine music in this film. Check it out: http//www.tryingtogetgood.com

Kyle Eastwood and his band performed some great music at the Martin and Weyrich Winery. After that, Penny and I attended a beautiful dinner party at Villa Toscano, where we were joined by filmmakers Cass Warner,(THE BROTHERS WARNER), and Susan Morgan Cooper,(AN UNLIKELY WEAPON).For me, meeting the other filmmakers, exchanging email addresses and ideas is the best part of attending film festivals. I was honored to receive the ARTISTIC EXCELLENCE award, and will always remember this great weekend.

Coming Up-Paso Robles Digital Film Festival Nov. 22, 2008

The film has been awarded the Artistic Excellence award by the judges of the inaugural Paso Robles Digital Film Festival, November 20-25. The festival takes place in the heart of "Cowboy Wine Country" and this year's theme is Music in Film. Some of my favorite films will be screening, "Don't Look Back","The Last Waltz" and "Festival Express". Our first screening is Saturday at 3:30pm,at the Park Ballroom 1232 Park Street, Suite 200. There will be an informal discussion after the film. I will be joined by Maynard Dixon's son and co-writer of the script, Daniel Dixon,and his wife,Dixie. Dixie just released a CD of her own, she has a beautiful voice and is an accomplished guitar player.

Read more about the festival at:http://www.pasoroblesfilmfestival.com/ There will be performances by the Bacon Brothers Band, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Kyle Eastwood, and many others. Unfortunately,John McEuen, who wrote the incredible score for the film will be touring (as always!) and won't be able to be attend this festival.

In other news, the screening at the Autry National Center was a great event, on the opening day of the "Maverick Art" exhibit. The screening was attended by many enthusiastic Dixon fans, and a number of newcomers who offered some interesting insights and observations about the film. I love taking questions from the audience, and I always hear such great stories about Maynard Dixon. It's amazing how many people in the Western states show up because they grew up with a Dixon painting, or knew someone who did. Because Maynard Dixon often bartered his paintings for services from his doctors, lawyers, builders, etc.,there are still paintings out there that haven't surfaced, and I love to hear about these!

We hope to schedule another screening at the Autry again in the near future. My thanks to Amy Scott (below),the Autry's Curator of Visual Arts, for joining me in the Q&A. Amy is a beautiful and brilliant expert on Western art, and it was a pleasure to have her join me in this special event.Thanks also to Sara Bornstein for all of her efforts to coordinate the screening.


Stay tuned for news about the upcoming 2009 PALM SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, where the film will be showcased.

Autry National Center of the American West Screening Fri. Oct. 3rd, @3pm

This Friday, Oct. 3rd, we will be screening the film for members of the Autry National Center of the American West at 3pm, as part of the opening of an exciting new exhibit, Maverick Art. After the screening, I will be joined by Autry's visual arts curator, Amy Scott, for a Q&A conversation.

Explore the surprising side of contemporary Western art in this new exhibition drawn mainly from the collections of the Autry National Center. Just as the West today is a place of tremendous visual and cultural diversity, the artists represented in Maverick Art are united not by style or message but by their role in the ongoing conversation between past and present, tradition and innovation, endurance and change.

Representing many different viewpoints, the approximately 50 artists in this exhibition share a groundbreaking status within their respective fields. From Maynard Dixon to Richard Misrach, Maverick Art explores how these artists together expand the meaning of the term Western in their collective search for a new image of the contemporary West.


"Maverick Art is about casting a wider net for our audience and the field of contemporary Western art alike. I'm interested not only in understanding how frontier myths and imagery continues to influence our contemporary identity as Westerners, but also the emergence of newer themes, from freeway culture to the atomic bomb. Our notion of who constitutes a Western artist is changing as well. As the place itself becomes increasingly diverse, many artists seek to revive or reclaim historic traditions, producing new work that is linked to a cultural past but is also very much about the present," reflects Amy Scott, Curator of Visual Arts

For more information, call the Membership Team at (323)667-2000 ext. 394

Coming Soon: Screenings at Santa Fe Film Center Sept. 19-25

'Maynard Dixon Art and Spirit' will return to the Santa Fe Film Center for three nights, Friday 9/19 through Sunday, 9/21. Showtimes are at 8:15 pm. By popular demand, there will also be a Sunday matinee at 4:15pm, 9/21. Producer/Director, Jayne McKay will be present at all of the screenings.

Just added! The Film Center have added two additional screenings: Tues. 9/23 and Thurs. 9/25, both are at 8:15pm. I won't be able to attend these, I need to return to L.A. to work on my newest project. I'd love to hear from anyone who attends, you can write me at: info@maynarddixondoc.com.

The film was an official selection at last year's Santa Fe film festival, and I'm really looking forward to returning to New Mexico. I met so many great people at those screenings, lots of fans of Maynard Dixon's art and other's who had never heard of Maynard Dixon, but were curious about the film. Their enthusiastic response to the film was very heartwarming for me, because my primary intention for producing the film was to introduce Dixon's art and life to people who hadn't ever heard of him or seen his work. Those who already know his art often stick around to thank me for producing the film, and for teaching them more about this remarkable artist, his colorful life and his unique talents.

I've spoken to my friend Dyanna Taylor about joining me for an informal panel after one or two of the screenings. Dyanna is an award-winning cinematographer, a Santa Fe resident, and is producing a film about photographer, Dorothea Lange, Dixon's second wife. She is also the granddaughter of Dorothea Lange, so she has a personal and unique perspective on Dixon and Lange to share. I'm hopeful that we can arrange to have her fit this into her busy schedule.

The Film Center, a division of The Santa Fe Film Festival, is occupying the theater wing of the former Cinemacafe and offers year-round film programming at the 125-seat theater. The Film Center at Cinemacafe opened in May, 2005 and is located at 1616 St. Michael’s Drive, in the St. Michael’s Village West Shopping Center. The Film Center serves as an exhibition hall, as a networking hub for film professionals and as the focal point for the festival’s educational programs. For further information and tickets, call (505)988-7414.

This Friday & Saturday! Screening at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center

Award-winning film on western artist Maynard Dixon to show at BBHC
The Buffalo Bill Historical Center presents the award-winning documentary, Maynard Dixon: Art and Spirit, on August 8 and 9 in the Coe Auditorium. Showings are at 1 and 3 p.m. on August 8 and at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. on August 9. The feature-length film about Dixon, known for his ability to capture the brilliant southwestern sunlight in his paintings, won the 2008 Spur Award for Best Documentary from the Western Writers of America. The screenings are included with regular admission to the historical center.

The film’s producer and director, Jayne McKay, hosts each screening and takes questions from the audience after the film. “I’ve always felt that Dixon is truly one of the finest American artists who ever painted in the West,” says McKay. “Artists all revere Dixon and credit him as a genius for his understanding of light and his ability to mix colors that are so accurate on canvas.” She will sell copies of the documentary following the screenings.

Art and Spirit chronicles the life and art of Dixon and was written by McKay and Daniel Dixon, the artist’s son. It is narrated by Oscar-winning actress Diane Keaton, herself a collector of Dixon’s work. John McEuen, a founding member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and a Grammy-award winner, wrote and performed the film’s soundtrack. Singer/songwriter Don Edwards brings Dixon’s own words to life.

Over four hundred of Dixon’s works appear in the documentary, as well as portraits of the artist by photographer Ansel Adams and family photos taken by Dixon’s second wife, documentary photographer Dorothea Lange. Rare audio by Lange also enriches the film. She once said of her husband, “When he was with the cowboys, he was the sophisticated artist; while when he was with the artists, he was a cowboy.”

Two of Dixon’s paintings appear in the Whitney Gallery of Western Art’s online collection here. Click on “Artist,” then Dixon’s name to view.

Start any journey into the American West at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, open daily 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. through September 15. Devoted to western cultural and natural history, the center is comprised of the Buffalo Bill Museum, Whitney Gallery of Western Art, Plains Indian Museum, Cody Firearms Museum, Draper Museum of Natural History, and McCracken Research Library. For general information, visit www.bbhc.org or call 307.587.4771.

New DVD Cover

The new DVD Cover is now available, and we have to thank George Gruel,owner of ODDSTICK STUDIO, for his beautiful design talents. The cover features a Dorothea Lange photo of Maynard Dixon looking out through the clouds of his painting, "Summer Afternoon". The back cover features quotes by Ansel Adams, Thomas McGuane and Bill Cone, Disney/Pixar production designer on the film "Cars". George managed to include the Spur Award Logo at the last minute, and also the film festival laurels from Santa Fe and Puerto Vallarta.