Some time ago, I was at a meeting of early Texas art collectors and I was introduced to this real nice man. After a little small talk and as I walked away I heard the host of the party tell the person, “His father was Barney Delabano who studied with members of the “Dallas Nine,” … More Local lineage and the “Texas Tree of Art”…….is it important anymore?
Ashes I have written several times about different elements to this story, my father’s passing and my piece of sculpture, “Family Portrait:1963, but I’ve always left out this little nugget. I think enough time has passed that I can now tell this story. In August, 1997, my father passed away and he was cremated. My … More I think enough time has pass that I can now tell this story
I thought enough time had passed that I could address his death. 53 years later I cried like a baby as I started to write this. My older brother Taylor was born in 1954 with Cystic Fibrosis. In 1964 life expectancy for a CF child was 10 years old. October 4, 1964, my brother passed. … More My dear brother Taylor…..that was so long ago……..
I remember getting the phone call in my classroom from my wife Jill; “Martin, we need to go to the hospital. Your dad has taken a turn for the worse. We drove to the hospital as my brain started to realize that this was probably the start of the end. My father had been diagnosed … More A good death
In Christianity, “All Souls Day” is the day we look back and remember the faithfully departed, in particular loved ones and relatives. So today my grandparents, father and brother’s passing was on my mind. After my father died, I didn’t work in the studio for about a year. I spent most of my spare time … More “All Souls Day” and the “Prayer Wall”
Standing here now…..you can’t see beyond the next street. This story is about the changing landscape. Not exactly the view I remember as a child. Right here at the end of the street of Hillsboro and Shiloh, our housing development ended and across the street there were barb wire fences and old family farm houses up … More When Dallas was an island on the Blackland Praire
A couple of weeks ago I had a really interesting day. It started out like so many other days. Got up, went to work at St. John’s Episcopal School where I have been teaching for 27 years, went to chapel and then taught 1st period. After 1st period I had arranged to take our 8th … More Full Circle
Sir Winston Churchill, the great Prime Minister of England, who lead his country through WWII, when asked to cut arts funding in favor of the war effort, he simply replied, “then what are we fighting for?” Last week an artist from New Orleans wrote me the nicest comment on my recent blog called, The Gift … More Frivolous Pursuits
It’s hard to appreciate things as a child that as an adult you will treasure. I have often said that in the Delabano household, we had family paintings like a lot of people have family photographs around the house. My father the painter primarily painted paintings of our family, extended family, friends, as well as … More Hated being a model……………..
One of my favorite artist has always been Constantin Brancusi. One of the highlights from our family trip to Europe when I was 18 was seeing Brancusi’s recreated studio at Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris. It was recreated to appear as it did at Brancusi’s death, although the Musée National d’Art Moderne’s recreation … More The “Beginning of the World”….was once in the hands of my parents
Martin Delabano: Musings of an Artist 