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Bolinas painter star of local woman’s film
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| Cameraman Linas Phillips films Bolinas painter Peter Lee BrownLee as the 89-year-old artist paints from his bed. Mill Valley resident Wendy Elkin is producing a short documentary on BrownLee in advance of an upcoming O’Hanlon exhibit of his work. Photo courtesy Wendy Elkin |
By Ryan White
Mill Valley photographer and budding filmmaker Wendy Elkin has a challenging few weeks ahead of her. A first-time filmmaker, Elkin has taken it upon herself to produce a short documentary in three weeks’ time, one she hopes will give viewers a glimpse into the life and art of Peter Lee BrownLee, an idiosyncratic bedridden Bolinas painter nearing his 90th birthday.
The aim is to finish filming the film on Dec. 6 at the O’Hanlon Center’s opening reception for an exhibit of BrownLee’s paintings, which tend to depict local landscapes and downtowns. “The film is about the trials and tribulations of preparing BrownLee’s paintings for this exhibit,” Elkin said.
BrownLee first came to Elkin’s attention several years ago, when she was working as a Mill Valley arts commissioner. Elkin, 57, was searching for donations to serve as prizes for winners of the Click-Off photography contest when she first contacted BrownLee to ask if he’d be willing to donate some of his cards featuring paintings of downtown Mill Valley.
BrownLee readily agreed, and not long after, Elkin made a thank-you pilgrimage to his living quarters in Bolinas, where she was amazed by what she found. On a run-down property behind a gas station, Elkin said she found a compound littered with paintings everywhere — stacked in sheds, around the yard, overflowing the house.
“A very bohemian type of place, a lot of eccentricities,” she said.
Although bedridden, BrownLee continues to paint, prolific and energetic in spite of his years. And his home houses more than art, Elkin said, describing the property as a refuge for more than a dozen people, including farm workers and immigrants who have no place else to go.
For Elkin, witnessing BrownLee’s lifestyle, energy and ethos carried the force of a moral realization. “People don’t have to have anything,” she said. “They’re rich with all their friends and their artwork, even though they have very little. Peter exemplifies that.”
Wayne Elkin, Wendy’s husband, has formed a growing friendship with BrownLee. “Peter lives in his own world,” Wayne Elkin said. “He’s surrounded by people who are probably rejected by most.”
In the midst of it all, BrownLee remains an ebullient spirit, according to Elkin. “Peter is, I have to say, the happiest person I’ve ever met in my life with the surroundings he has,” she said. “He’s in such high spirits all the time.”
Deeply moved by the man, Elkin set out to direct and produce a film — with little help and no financial backing — that chronicles her efforts to salvage BrownLee’s art and turn it into a curated exhibit at the O’Hanlon by Dec. 6. Her sole collaborator is Linas Phillips, an independent filmmaker and cameraman from New York City (Elkin is still eagerly searching for volunteers to aid the effort).
The two of them set off for Bolinas last week to begin gathering footage of BrownLee and his environs — the goal is to gather 30 to 60 minutes of film, which Elkin will edit into a short documentary she hopes will be shown in conjunction with art openings and perhaps even film festivals.
“I want to do something to let him know we think of him as an amazingly talented, gifted artist,” Elkin said. “You cannot talk about his art without talking about this man. He is one in a million.”
Much restorative work remains to transform some two dozen of BrownLee’s hundreds of scattered paintings into exhibition-ready artifacts. “They all haven’t been cared for properly,” Elkin said. “They need to be cleaned up. Their frames are broken, they’ve been left outside.”
While this may be Elkin’s inaugural foray into documentary filmmaking, she’s well established in her main career as a photographer. She’s taken portraits of such illustrious subjects as Rosa Parks and Hilary Clinton, and samples of her work hang in the Smithsonian American History Museum in Washington, D.C., and the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis.
Elkin said she’s been transitioning into film for the past few years, but this remains her first documentary. There’s no script (“You cannot script this man,” she explained) and little money (she’s self-financing the project, trying to keep expenses under $10,000), but Elkin isn’t deterred. “It’s been flying by the seat of your pants,” she said.
For his part, BrownLee has been a most willing participant, according to Elkin. Given his physical condition, much of the film will likely depict BrownLee in bed, painting. “Honestly, I think this is what’s keeping him alive,” Elkin said. “He feels like this is his last big hurrah.”
On the calendar: An opening reception for the O’Hanlon Center for the Art’s exhibit of BrownLee’s work will take place on Dec. 6, from 1 to 5 p.m.
Contact Ryan White at rwhite@marinscope.com.
The aim is to finish filming the film on Dec. 6 at the O’Hanlon Center’s opening reception for an exhibit of BrownLee’s paintings, which tend to depict local landscapes and downtowns. “The film is about the trials and tribulations of preparing BrownLee’s paintings for this exhibit,” Elkin said.
BrownLee first came to Elkin’s attention several years ago, when she was working as a Mill Valley arts commissioner. Elkin, 57, was searching for donations to serve as prizes for winners of the Click-Off photography contest when she first contacted BrownLee to ask if he’d be willing to donate some of his cards featuring paintings of downtown Mill Valley.
BrownLee readily agreed, and not long after, Elkin made a thank-you pilgrimage to his living quarters in Bolinas, where she was amazed by what she found. On a run-down property behind a gas station, Elkin said she found a compound littered with paintings everywhere — stacked in sheds, around the yard, overflowing the house.
“A very bohemian type of place, a lot of eccentricities,” she said.
Although bedridden, BrownLee continues to paint, prolific and energetic in spite of his years. And his home houses more than art, Elkin said, describing the property as a refuge for more than a dozen people, including farm workers and immigrants who have no place else to go.
For Elkin, witnessing BrownLee’s lifestyle, energy and ethos carried the force of a moral realization. “People don’t have to have anything,” she said. “They’re rich with all their friends and their artwork, even though they have very little. Peter exemplifies that.”
Wayne Elkin, Wendy’s husband, has formed a growing friendship with BrownLee. “Peter lives in his own world,” Wayne Elkin said. “He’s surrounded by people who are probably rejected by most.”
In the midst of it all, BrownLee remains an ebullient spirit, according to Elkin. “Peter is, I have to say, the happiest person I’ve ever met in my life with the surroundings he has,” she said. “He’s in such high spirits all the time.”
Deeply moved by the man, Elkin set out to direct and produce a film — with little help and no financial backing — that chronicles her efforts to salvage BrownLee’s art and turn it into a curated exhibit at the O’Hanlon by Dec. 6. Her sole collaborator is Linas Phillips, an independent filmmaker and cameraman from New York City (Elkin is still eagerly searching for volunteers to aid the effort).
The two of them set off for Bolinas last week to begin gathering footage of BrownLee and his environs — the goal is to gather 30 to 60 minutes of film, which Elkin will edit into a short documentary she hopes will be shown in conjunction with art openings and perhaps even film festivals.
“I want to do something to let him know we think of him as an amazingly talented, gifted artist,” Elkin said. “You cannot talk about his art without talking about this man. He is one in a million.”
Much restorative work remains to transform some two dozen of BrownLee’s hundreds of scattered paintings into exhibition-ready artifacts. “They all haven’t been cared for properly,” Elkin said. “They need to be cleaned up. Their frames are broken, they’ve been left outside.”
While this may be Elkin’s inaugural foray into documentary filmmaking, she’s well established in her main career as a photographer. She’s taken portraits of such illustrious subjects as Rosa Parks and Hilary Clinton, and samples of her work hang in the Smithsonian American History Museum in Washington, D.C., and the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis.
Elkin said she’s been transitioning into film for the past few years, but this remains her first documentary. There’s no script (“You cannot script this man,” she explained) and little money (she’s self-financing the project, trying to keep expenses under $10,000), but Elkin isn’t deterred. “It’s been flying by the seat of your pants,” she said.
For his part, BrownLee has been a most willing participant, according to Elkin. Given his physical condition, much of the film will likely depict BrownLee in bed, painting. “Honestly, I think this is what’s keeping him alive,” Elkin said. “He feels like this is his last big hurrah.”
On the calendar: An opening reception for the O’Hanlon Center for the Art’s exhibit of BrownLee’s work will take place on Dec. 6, from 1 to 5 p.m.
Contact Ryan White at rwhite@marinscope.com.
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winston wrote on Nov 29, 2009 9:24 AM: