Current Thoughts

August 25,2009

Completed  a painting today that invited such joy and experimentation. The media, black tar paper and acrylic paint,

fostered such delight in the suprise of brush meeting surface. Seems like the first time in ages that I haven't heard

my critical voice dissuading my subjective oomph. The summer has been so rich with close friendship and wilderness.

As well, credit must go to my inspiration from Maira Kalman and Janice Carnes, whose recent death touched so many

of us.There has certainly grown a bridge between my inner and outer worlds.

The painting below is about 3 1/2' square:

 

June 15, 2009

Floating Labyrinth Canyon on the Green River in silence. Great beauty, great learning, great sangha. Happy.

 

March 1, 2009

          A colorful t-shirt converted to a pillow, shown off with delight in the first video, bears a slogan I love:

"Art - Break the Rules. It's for Your Own  Good." Well, this is a one year website anniversary essay dedicated

to that proposition, re-stating that rules and authority grow from the inside out, that art can and will embrace

rule-breaking, and last, that this endeavor is really enlivening. I came by this urge last week as Henry Miller

met JJ Rouseau. A real battle of the bands on nature and creativity. Henry's stand - just do it. JJ's - natural

laws govern. The statesman insisted that we heed the inherent structures, albeit they are of nature and

unfettered, but structures nonetheless. and ever the anarchist, Miller ground his cigarette onto the spilled

coffee upon his paper.  

JJ:         How can you make such a mess? there is an order, you know?

 

Miller:   " How can I not?" is more the question. Everyone spills(especially Snooks).What do you propose?

 

JJ:         Be careful. Acknowledge your tendency toward mistakes. Be prepared.

 

Miller:   Think I'm a Boy Scout? Mon ami. I stand for miraculous accident. I lean upon the raw data. Materials 

             streak, drip, melt, fade, overlap, shade, restrict, brighten, combine - all in nature.

 

JJ:         Your nature and my nature are like lord and serf respectively. Dialectical materialism pour l'artiste,  

             and I'm in charge.

Miller:    As long as you're the authority over me and my chaos, you'll be strung out paying attention  to mess.

             While I'm having all the fun, you'll be on guard. Watching me - commanding obedience - making rules.

             Poor brother, serving neurosis like no tomorrow.  Protecting Ego with loyal and dedicated responsibility,

             guarding the hearth. 

JJ:         I must admit I'm weary. No cracks in the armor - no chinks, chips, rips, drips, dribbles,smears, leaks,

             streaks. Holding court while the Unconscious plays, what a drag. I'm getting grouchy.

 

Miller:   I've noticed pal. There's more than enough mess to go around. Not that I'm always merry, but the

            possibility is never afar.  

Never afar can mean a moment away, a fractional micrometer. Delight is coming. Paint like wild - see what

comes - feel the energy - meet your e-motion. Break the rules; it's for your own good!

 

                           

February 24, 2008

An old Buddhist saying is "she who knows does not tell and she who tells does not know."

Art is a fearless process that bridges the essence of this adage into a visual personal map.

I have discovered some ways to find my inner location through my painting, meditation, yoga and life practice:

  • Keep it short
  • Be spacially aware
  • Connect to the unabashed intuitive child
  • Remember to breathe
  • Regard dogs with the same love you would a human
  • Find truth and inspiration in nature
  • Feel your feet touch the earth
  • Allow primary colors to feed your limitless imagination
  • Transcend the dialectic

 

Welcome to my collection of well-loved images, formerly strewn along my walls. I have cleaned up my scene and now delighhtedly share.