Incidentals ...

 

INCIDENTAL No. 17,
ink and acrylic on canvas panel,
10"H x 8"W,   2016-18

INCIDENTAL No. 20,
ink and acrylic on canvas panel,
10"H x 8"W,   2016-18

INCIDENTALS are a series of twenty small paintings (8" x 10") completed over a period of two years.

They were worked on in Santa Monica, CA and Coffeetown, PA - 2016-18.

INCIDENTALS are a painted journal of explorations. Very often when I’m working on a series of paintings I discover different techniques that may not be appropriate for the series that’s being created. I catalogue these discoveries until its possible to express them under a general theme or proposition. Discovery leads to discoveries that inspire.

Art, like nature, is inclusive ...

Harryn, Jan - July, NAP edition ...

https://vimeo.com/444396336

This short film is another compilation of images and sound with narration added.

No doubt, these past several months have been difficult for everyone. This is something I can say  knowing that it applies to everyone around the globe. 

Statements usually don't have that kind of universal resonance.

In 2019 I had premonitions that 2020 was going to be different ...

Something was in the air – but I had no idea that it would manifest itself as it has ...

The laws of physics, nature, consciousness, and spirituality can not tolerate incessant discordance without consequence.

I remain hopeful that some aspects of our way of life may still be retrievable but things will have to change. That kind of common-sense observation has become irrelevant to the trajectory of today's popular opinion because it disrupts what we've accepted as normal. Common-sense isn't part of the 21st century's dialect.

Though I've always loved nature, the past twenty years have been spent intimately observing, living, and working in the rural forests near the Delaware River in eastern Pennsylvania – in all seasons.  

I've witnessed every kind of weather and nature's resiliency to it – at least to a point. 

I've learned that some actions become unsustainable to the bigger picture and that not all ideas are good ideas.

Time allows for adjustments until time runs out ...

I've always had drawing, writing, and composing music as methods for processing and expressing the experiences of life.The past few months have been more productive than ever – all in an effort to discover content that resonates with what we're all feeling ...

CA Theme ...

Santa Monica Maritime and Sky
(photo)

Poseidon's Revenge, No. 3
Kort Collection

Logos ...

5'h x 9'w, 2010

January thru May ...

My most productive period is between April and November when weather conditions in the northeastern U.S. are generally favorable for working outdoors. It provides me with an unrestrained freedom and inspiration from being engulfed by the lush beauty of a natural habitat ...

Last year, 2009, was particularly fruitful - having completed numerous large-scale commissions and ancillary projects that advanced my commitment and contribution to contemporary abstract painting ...

November usually begins a period of critical evaluation, analysis, and cataloging notes from the previous painting season. As the cycle of development spirals onward through life and career, aspects of progress and irrelevancies become apparent ...

With the intensity and regularity of last year’s production, aspects of my approach to painting became more clarified. I have an increased interest in:

• veiling and glazing to achieve an amorphous environment of dynamic energy ...
• simultaneous events and intermingled circumstance ...
• depicting the essential components of nature ...
• creativity, thought, and nature: the process of creation, evolution, cause and consequence ...
• the initial impulse or synapse that propels an event ...
• the relationships our species develops with the ever-changing scope and sequence of nature’s reality ...

Though these considerations have always been a vital part of my expression, lately, I’m articulating the visual dialect more accurrately and gaining mastery over techniques that facilitate the eloquence required to convey conceptual content ...

Three developments can be sited as pivotal turning points along this progression:

1. Views Of A Secret, a series of multi-layered translucent vellum ink drawings ...
2. Placid Blues, a large-scale study of water; its’ rhythms, reflections, and transparent depths ...
3. Flora, a large-scale landscape motif painted during seasonal changes over a seven month period ...

With all three projects, I was intently concerned about preserving the initial drawings, impulse, inspiration, and rhythms while adding the complexities of the concept’s morphology through development ...

Over the past thirty years, i’ve grappled with paradox - being simultaneously interested in maintaining continuity between the simplicity of essential ‘spirit’ in a thought or place while depicting more complex configurations through maturation ...

Logos began in January, at the height of research and evaluation, during a period of blizzard conditions; a time when the landscape is minimized by the neutrality of snow ...

Typically, an expressionistic drawing is applied to the blank surface as a method of imbuing the painting with the impulse of the idea while familiarizing myself with the physicality of the piece ...

In this case, I went through numerous stages of this process while glazing over previous drawings resulting in a complex network of lines and gestures that maintained the original ‘spirit’ of the piece and essence of the snow covered environment ...

Reduction to bare essentials allows discrimination toward additives - the nature of air, water, earth, flora ...

This approach rekindled my interest in the ancient ideas of logos - the spirit of place and genius loci, Aristotle, Philo, and Heraclitus, reason, and the principles of order amid the apparent chaos of nature ...

I began thinking about the notions of painting again; the wealth of information in its’ history, the Impressionist concept of painting light, the Abstract Expressionist attempt at harnessing energy and thought, Post Modern entropy, and the importance of landscape throughout ...

Logos is representative of more than a decade of living in a rural environment, participating in nature’s daily and seasonal changes while studying, painting, and learning in relative seclusion ...

studio visit ... three ...

Art Garb © Shoes + Aquarium, progress ...

Logos, progress ...

once in a lifetime ...

1970 ...

I’ve been mixing down “Earth Song”; a haunting little two track melody i wrote ten years ago and later added sixteen tracks of guitar improv with Erik Cartwright ...

the composition is a three minute cycle that transforms seven times to make a twenty-one minute arrangement ...

we did eight takes of one channel each while only listening to the original melody ... individual ‘takes’ had portions of bliss, but playback of all eighteen produces a wonderfully cacophonous blend of creative energy and improvisational discourse - akin to Stravinsky and Hendrix tripping to the “Rite of Spring” ...

whatever it turned out to be - it was fun ...

i had just set up a music studio in the newly renovated barn in 2000; Erik was back from a national tour of tech’ing with the Allman Brothers Band - living up-river in Marshall’s Creek, and it would turn out to be one of the last times we would make music together before he hit the road again ... until fate reveals ...

Erik was two years older when i met him in a garage-band-type jam when i was seventeen - unknown to me at the time, he’d already achieved regional legendary status as a guitarist with major ‘chops’ - from Hendrix and Clapton, to Airplane and Jeff Beck ... all i knew is he had an ear, intuition, and hit notes that resonated to my soul ...

first time i saw him jam publicly was in ’69 with G.E.Smith - [another Stroudsburg musician who went on to Hall + Oates, SNL, and Dylan] at a free jam-fest doing some killer blues - without a bass player, mmm ...

we also shared some mutual O.C.D. behavior around our equipment - an elitism for vintage quality, reconfiguring electronics to maximize tone and volume, and an innate ability to play off each other in a jam - plenty of reason to form a band - so in 1970, we did ...

both of us had pretty much outgrown our respective ‘circuits’ by that time and were ready to spread our wings to go on the road - we were ripe for it - but the times, they were a changin’;

Nixon, Viet Nam, rednecks, and stuff that didn’t sound like rock n’ roll anymore ...

we had a renegade inclination toward loud jam-band music which was losing popularity - but managed to survive until it was time to decide to jump in all the way or wade along the edges ...

music and travel didn’t leave enough time for art so we said our existential goodbyes as i went off to college and Erik on to music ...

He did a stint at Berkley, played some well known Boston bands, then went on to Foghat ...

twenty years passed till we played again - it was like we never stopped ...

we both have a wide-ranging repertoire of improvisational skills that cross a lot of dialects - but more importantly in a jam, we share an intuition that i’ve never found in anyone else ...

others have said the same; and if it wasn’t for Erik, i doubt that i would have found the level of joy and appreciation of music ...

as we usually say;

“Take care man, we’ll do this again sometime” ...

1992 ...

1997 ...

studio visit ... two ...

peeling, scraping, and sanding ...

manicured lawn ...

pretty much a repeat of yesterday's activities except that i managed to dig into a few panels that needed to be scraped and sanded in preparation for another layer ...

finally was able to get a rough mix of "Earth Song" for tomorrow's Earth Day debut - still needs a lot of work, but you have to start somewhere ...

gessoed eight new panels, worked on "Logos", did some critical writing, and manicured the lawn - second time already this year - so strange ...

studio visit ... one ...

white-washing "Logos" - gessoing new panels ...

mixing demo of "Earth Song" - developing "Chapel" models ...

mildly frustrating, but a beautiful spring day - didn't get much time outside and didn't really paint - spent the majority of the day jumping from one thing to another - kind of like a ceremonial dance before battle; - mixing color, cleaning brushes, planning maximum efficiency - gessoing new panels to paint on ...

i worked on "Logos", but it's at a point where i'm eliminating unnecessary elements and taking the surface back to white - still a lot of concern about textures, brush flow, and consistency of paint - but just white on white ...

in between i was pipe-lining potential projects with phone calls, emails, and promotional mailings ... thinking about publishing a book - what would i enjoy reading ...

the major challenges came while things were drying - trying to mix down eighteen tracks of material i recorded with Erik Cartwright ten years ago [formerly with Foghat, and a dear friend since we were teenagers] - i avoided the project because its such a menacing task - 16 of the 18 tracks are he and i improvising on guitars for more than twenty minutes and trying to reduce it to a seven minute piece is like trying to fit the Libraries of Alexandria into a backpack ...

to offset the frustration and gain some perspective, i dremmeled my way through styrofoam working on the "Chapel" prototypes, which i blogged about a while ago ...

so that was today, and tomorrow i get one step closer to painting the 15' x 7' piece ...

truck art ...

Check out this link: Pakistan's truck art ...

marble ...

marble + art ...

The previous entry addressed gaps between intention and experience, engagement, detachment, plus active vs. passive perceptual experience ...

To further illustrate those ideas, i recognized points worth mentioning that parallel some difficulties with understanding abstraction ...

I’m not surprised that my work is often appreciated for different reasons than intended - a discrepancy caused by my emphasis on particular stages of the object's development ...

I mutilate my paintings ...

but i take great care to facilitate the inspired expressions, apply paint with methods that best articulate the ideas, and blend appropriate colors, materials, and images to maintain conceptual continuity ...

Then i proceed to aggressively obliterate everything that doesn’t seem essential to the original idea or inspiration by over-painting or eliminating it - not in an act of anger, but with an expressionistic impatience for irrelevance - only the best survives ...

I save the ‘good’ parts by applying a resist to preserve it ...

then continue to carefully add another painting over the top - peeling away the resist - analyzing the results, sanding and scraping the surface to blend elements, textures, and color ...

this process continues over and over until a unified balance is achieved between surface appearance, motivations, concept, and energy ...

Nature is my source of inspiration + improvisational expression is the idiom ...

Despite the brutality, force, and effort that goes into the production, i’m acutely aware of the fact that they are only thin veils of paint combined that bring the inspirations into the realm of reality ...

a delicate balance which i treat with utmost care and respect prior to final presentation; by smoothing, polishing, and waxing the object - and more recently applying a thick epoxy resin to entomb the content as though it were amber ...

Rather than recognizing the causality of creative and destructive forces in the development of a piece, viewers are more immediately drawn to its unique, mysterious, and appealing appearance - and that’s fine, except that it’s an object of art intending to communicate an idea:

• what does it mean...
• how was it made ...
• what school of thought encouraged it ...

Unfortunately, pedestrian habits numb curiosity; pretty, ugly, acceptable, tolerant, interesting, shocking, etc, seem to be the most common filters of engagement ...

Does it really matter if the work addresses [among other ideas]; the causality of nature, expressionism as a modern language, and our perceptual capabilities among vast fields of information - that it never relies on the immediacy of earlier abstract expressionism and that conceptual clarity is no more of a singular issue than pluralism is duplicitous - that simultaneity and specific energy quantifies reality ...

probably not - but it’s there to be read for anyone with that predisposition ...

Though i understand the scheduling disruptions as a result of Iceland’s eruptions - there’s a beautifully creative process occurring as a result ...

The Eyjafjallajokull (ay-yah-FYAH'-plah-yer-kuh-duhl) glacial volcano ... its magma is melting and blending rock at temperatures with force we rarely witness - marble is being created ...

Marble is admired for its durability, patterns, and colors, but its recipes also deserve appreciation. Shifts in the earth’s crust - tectonic plates - cause the seepage of molten rock to combine with tremendous pressure which melts limestone into large crystals creating marble - mixing with clays and other minerals produces varieties of color while their cooling rates and pressure produce patterns ... it is a metamorphic substance created by distilling and fusing conglomerates - it is a whole greater than the sum of its parts - including the unseen forces of nature and aesthetic beauty ...

red bud, pussy willow, forsythia, holly ...

it was ten years ago that i planted twenty three, one foot tall bushes and seedlings along the berm in front of the studio ...

today they create an impenetrable thicket as high as twenty feet - vibrant, lush, and teeming with wildlife ...

amazing what time and the right conditions will produce ...

echoes of silence ...

echoes of silence, 36"H x 40"W, 2008-2010 ...

sometimes a painting names itself - deep color, reverberating, dark echoes, silence, stillness ...

something about this piece conjures memories of walking through back streets in medieval cities at night - parts of Seville or Barcelona - late at night - in the hours after music and before birds, with few people and even fewer vehicles - the serpentine of alleys fall silent as shadows come to life - faint footsteps, stiletto heals and flamenco boots, whispers, groans, a distant laugh or scream, scavengers, glowing embers of something smoking, ghostly aromas ...

that time of elixir when the past blends with modernity in silhouettes from yellow light of street lamps against hand-hewn stone, stains, and misted reflections - fading beyond retreat ...

when imaginings from a weary, half-dreaming brain become more real than the risks of wandering unknowns, alone ...

where mysteries of chiaroscuro were born from the thickness of history and faith is ever-present ...

oddly enough, a search on the title revealed another source of shared vision - an article by Steve Binderman:

“Echoes of Silence: A Phenomenological Study of the Creative Process” ...

how to look ...

A recent comment reminded me: what I now take for granted didn’t always come easy - that is, to look at a piece of art and share the experience of the artists’ insights and efforts - to learn something from both ...

From an early age, Art has always been transporting - allowing me to live vicariously through the representations of the picture, satisfy my precocious curiosity, and raise questions leading to other inquiry; including the thrill of discovery - it was a way of un-puzzling mysteries ...

a way of utilizing that uniquely human characteristic of curiosity, deduction, and rational thinking ...

One of my first experiences with ‘great art’ was at the Philadelphia Art Museum. In and of itself, the experience left me awestruck; the classical architecture, magnitude, and the collections it housed. At ten years old I wanted to live there, and in subsequent years I probably earned partial residency status.

I came upon a piece that seemed gigantic at the time and totally captivated my attention: “Prometheus Bound” by Peter Paul Rubens. Nearly eight foot square - as big as some rooms of the house where I was raised. How did the artist paint it to look so real at that size? How did something so grotesque look so appealing, so sensuous and exciting? It made me think of similar feelings about paintings and sculpture of the crucifixion of Jesus and the Passions of Christ in our diocese. Who was Prometheus and why did he look so inhumanly masculine and why was the eagle attacking him? Why was it in partial darkness, where was it, and where was he bound? During the same visit I recognized other work that was either painted as darkly or had that lush and lavish appearance - but Prometheus stood out, and even at that age I knew I could only learn one thing at a time.

I’ve never been one to sit comfortably with questions so I began to ask teachers, and when that failed, went to the library - another favorite place to be. It turned out that Prometheus was a character of Greek Mythology and that he stole fire from Zeus who had him chained to a rock as punishment where a vulture would consume his liver every day - it would grow back - and the same would happen ad infinitum ...

Prometheus was apparently the cause of human suffering for mortals - whereas I thought it was Adam and Eve from stories in catechism - what made the Greek story different than the Catholic’s or Jews - those questions would have to wait. If the story was Greek in origin, why did the painting look as lush as Pennsylvania’s landscape. Everything I had seen of Greece looked more like the Jersey shore. Later I learned that Rubens was from the Netherlands and frequently traveled to Germany, Italy, and Spain - lived during a Baroque Period, and that artists often painted the surroundings they knew best. What I was finding from one painting is that every answered question leads to dozens more - an endless riddle of fascination with geography, history, literature, and people. My appreciation of cause and effect - and being human was elevated. I could write volumes on the impact of this painting and the trails of human history it left for discovery, but my point has been made.

Because of the complex trail of evidence left by a painting,I’ve learned to simplify my questions over the years when confronted by something new:

1. What word or series of words best describes my initial response? [What do I feel?]
2. When and where was the painting made? [Where is it from?]
3. What was going on when it was made? [What inspired it?]
4. Why did they choose the materials and approach? [What is it made of?]
5. What are the artists’ influences; personal and/or sociological? [What does he know?]
6. How does the piece relate to history - past and recent? [Why?]
7. What school of thought governs the painting?
8. How does it relate to my view of the world and which needs modification?
9. What does the paintings existence contribute to the world?
10. Does the artist deserve further consideration and inquiry of is their effort peripheral to my predisposition?
11. What have I learned by the experience?

As an example, lets look at the previous blog entry “no. 38” while applying these questions ...

The answers may look a little like this while beginning to form a thesis about the work:

1. what words ?... delicate/ frailty/ obscured/ mysterious/ predominantly white/ purity/ misty spots of color/ faint/ a little contradictory - busy and simple, scribbled but exact, spacious but dense/, uncertain but definite/ free/ liberating/ lyrical/ ...
2. where ?... rural Pennsylvania/ spring time/ northern hemisphere/ east coast of U.S./ near New York City, Philadelphia, Washington D.C./ NYC is the art capital of the world after WWII/ D.C. is the capital of the U.S./ Philadelphia has provincial history during Revolutionary period/ Native Americans occupied the area/ location of Civil War conflicts/ notable geography - Pocono mountains/ reputable industries/ academic surroundings - six universities in the area ...
3. what’s going on ?... blossoming of deciduous forests/ abundant farming region/ after a severe winter/ unseasonably warm spring/ political dramas surrounding U.S. Health Care reform/ public displays of discontent with government/ depressed economy/ the U.S. is at war with Iraq, Afghanistan, and troubled by stability in the Middle East with Iran and Israel/ there seems to be an unreasonable amount of fear about economy, jobs, health, and terrorism/ erratic and sometimes bigoted behavior among parts of the population/ beyond popular music, television, and movies there doesn’t seem to be much emphasis on culture or education/ the news media portrays its citizenry either as dumb and lazy or vicious and out of control/ ...
4. made of ?... translucent paper/ small scale/ ink/ sprays/ economical/ easy to produce quantity/ either for study, comparison, or commercial purposes/ interested in layering and obscuring previous ideas/ veils/ interested in drawing materials that are easy to apply/ capable of calligraphy, delicacy, and expression ...
5. influences ?... [available through google] - nature/ music/ abstraction/ dedicated/ serious/ informed and versatile in contemporary idioms/ politically aware/ jazz/ improvisation/ expressionism/ recent illness/ studio relocation/ reading physics and classical philosophy/ listening to Arvo Part, Elaini Kairindrou, Marilyn Crispell, Keith Jarrett/ frequents the Deerhead Inn jazz club/ spends a lot of time outdoors witnessing nature/ Lithuanian and Austrian ancestry ...
6. relationship ?... abstract, yes/ expressionistic - yes/ improvisational - yes/ similarities to other abstract expressionists and neo expressionists: Pollock, later work of De Kooning, Twombly, Polke/ differences: more deliberate, edited, combined/ intentional effort to combine selective areas and events ...

etcetera, etcetera, ... but you get the point - one thing leads to another and another - until every painting done by an artist [and i use the term cautiously], becomes a summation of previous works in a continuum ...

[P.S. So to comment on a prior comment - “I’m sure they would if they could” ...

It’s hard for me to imagine not having anything to say about art - and judging from what I see on other blogs and depreciating art copy, I believe most people are either ill-equipped to comment, don’t want to risk exposing themselves, or it’s too much of an effort to summon the will or reason - OR - maybe the art work isn’t deserving ...]

installation ...

I'm working on a 7' x 15' painting entitled "Aquarium" for a corporate environment ...

until the piece is complete, i arranged a few 'teasers' to spark curiosity and interest ...

"Lightness of Being" is being debuted center stage - flanked by the Homeric Paintings and "Placid Blues" studies ...

infidelities of reference ...

an essay on its way ...

lightness of being ...

The title describes the painting accurately ...

It began as a small group of works late last fall ...

The “Jupiter” pieces were inspired by an interest in the effect of planetary alignments and a motivation to continue to paint outside during the onset of winter’s frigid temperatures; allowing me a final foray with sweeping, lyrical gestures and unrestrained application of paint. The colors were deep, rich, and vibrant to contrast the start of December’s gloominess. The palette gradually shifted to dark, moody, and brooding tones, eventually taken to the depths of deep-space blues and black - not depressive or even melancholy; merely the solemn quiet of reflection and pre-dream transcendence induced by hibernation season ...

It was a transitional period of more than usual rest, reading, and meditation while nursing an on-going ailment and navigating an uncertain future ... my energy required delicacy and my sensibilities encouraged flexible acceptance ...

i became more cognizant of frailty and the tenuousness of things - all things ...

I thought about the novel by Milan Kundera; “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” - the struggle to find pattern and meaning in a seemingly random and circumstantial world governed by more vice than virtue - the foreboding momentum of nature’s forces - a book by physicist Frank Wilczek who explores unified theories and visions of nature in “The Lightness of Being” - and Andrew Light’s essays on environmental ethics ...

I’ve always been interested in applying thin layers of images until they achieved the appearance of something more substantial - an amalgamation of essential ingredients creating mass - from cerebral to tactile - and, as a result of the process - a historical account of events combined - an archeological assemblage ...

but the pieces are rarely read that way - they’re usually seen as a cacophonous, expressionistic collage; in the same way marble isn’t understood by its origins - only appreciated by the patterns it contains ...

lately, I’m more interested in the constituents of diaphanous and visceral matter with the goal of combining both techniques ...

“Lightness of Being” is a good example of how the alchemy continues ...

delaware ...

I’ve loved living and working near the Delaware River over the past ten years - a dream since art student days ... Located midway between Philadelphia and the Pocono Mountains; close to the conveniences of urban areas and sufficiently rural to witness the rhythms of nature in a relatively well preserved environment ... [meaning; there's nothing man has built that nature can't re-claim quickly] ...

Up to this point in my career, I’ve been blessed with wonderful studio spaces; partly because of my familiarity with the area where I was raised and educated, access to opportunities and resources, and a reputation of dedication to art as a way of life ... [the other part has to do with the fact that I’m a good gamble in the business of mutual exploitation - my knowledge, experience, and work provides a relationship with dividends]

If there is one thing I’ve learned from living in Nature over the years; it is, that everything has a cycle while everything is in the process of achieving its essential substance ...

I sense my tenure here is complete - that I’ve learned what I needed to learn to carry me for the duration; in the same way a student matriculates through universities to solidify knowledge prior to making their contributions to other audiences. Ones’ alma mater remains their intellectual foundation and nourishment. Nature and solitude have been wonderful tutors.

It is possible the process could have been accelerated by different environments, but I doubt that I would have had the opportunity to witness the experiences as fully as my sensibilities require - my tendency is orbital observation and participation; savoring the depths and variety of experience - perhaps for too long, but probably just long enough ...

The Delaware River that flows near the studio is the largest natural body of water - a few hours north of the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays and west of the Atlantic Ocean; and like other rivers in the region, the result of glaciers cutting their way through an ancient geography - as it continues to erode through obstacles in its on-going evolution ...

I’ve found solace, dreams, and inspiration on its banks over the years, and more recently metaphor with my own flow, desires, and possible destiny ...

I’m growing weary of the density, entanglements, and obstacles of the region during this phase of my life - a region thick with traditions and dogma, seasons and schedules, and a resistance to change that only accompanies brief history and success. It is the nature of the area and all the intrinsic elements that sustain it - not a criticism of the invaluable lessons they teach ...

What I can object to is the attitude and lifestyles of some, who like myself, migrated to the suburbs; those who violate the covenant of ‘quiet enjoyment’ one expects from living amid nature. A species who escapes to the country for a free-for-all existence without regard for the dreams of others or the reverence nature deserves. Those are the things only attrition can change ...

Perhaps it’s because I recently turned fifty-eight, or that I’ve had a severe bout with Lymes Disease, or realizing that sustaining a studio of this magnitude may only provide diminishing returns, or recognizing the political and economic climate’s urgent need for re-adjustment ... Either way, my future is shorter than my past and there’s less time to avoid the callings of my soul, work, and inquiry; or to accept the unacceptable ...

At this point, I realize I’m a big, characteristic Pisces requiring less of the same and more difference in a pond with too many limitations ...

I long for unobstructed, fluid vistas where possibilities flow without restriction - these are the dreams and prayers cutting my path to the future - as the river flows to the sea ...

drawings + music video ...

to listen + view, click: youtube link ...

a fulfilling project - at times tedious, but mostly informative ...

1. in the last days of February I discovered a drawing program for my Mac that provided the kind of tools that fit my process and interests; one that is capable of layering, editing, and utilizing a variety of calligraphic tools ...
2. i became totally disenchanted with the political rhetoric surrounding health care legislation, tea party dogma, bullying behavior, and a general disgust with our culture’s lack of ethics and the dichotomies of tolerance - i knew i wouldn’t have much to say, but wanted to fulfill my commitment to posting daily ...
3. i began to recognize a gradual shift in my work over the past year of intensive production - and with the painting “logos”, which began to culminate in February, i knew i had to plot and research to see where the changes were going ... drawings, like improvising music, get me there quicker ...
4. there are a lot of changes and challenges i’m facing with health, studio, and domestics that i wanted to play close to the vest - not to be secretive, but to not disempower the prayers by sending words out prematurely ...

the result was thirty-one layered drawings/paintings in as many days ...

they began with a reliance on old tricks but quickly evolved toward trying to locate a space in the picture plane to insert the elements of picture making that interest me most - namely; lyrical interplay between expressive notations, a language of inspired, repetitive shapes and counter-balanced oppositions, color field layering with erasures that reveal previous activity, and identifying the most essential ingredients ...

as i grew more satisfied with the results, the more they began to resemble the painting “logos” ...

sometimes it takes time to become co-ordinated between mediums [venues] when you find your voice ...

for a musician, it’s the same if you play solo, trio, or orchestra - you have to try to apply your voice to the accompanying structures, acoustics, and environments ... a lot of tricky balancing that requires confidence, skill, and self awareness without self consciousness ...

speaking of music - “nero’s melody” - a piece i’ve flirted with for years, and probably will continue to explore for years to come ...

i needed to create an environment to parody the notion; there were no violins when Rome burned - it didn’t happen in one afternoon - and Nero’s behavior or musical proclivity isn’t the subject of investigation ...

so why set out to complete the piece now - especially since it has little to do with the drawing series ...

the month of March - the Ides of March - soothsayers and pagan spring rituals - the political and social machinations of current events - the display of some of the most grotesque news as a media festival; the signage of social tipping points ....

the piece begins with a dream-like, circus riff - a Fellini-esque interplay, like a combination of ”Strawberry Fields” and “Benefit For Mr. Kite” with ocarina, accordion, pan flute, violin, classical guitar, and pizzicato strings - an unlikely ensemble, but suitable for a satirical cabaret ...

it progresses with more classical elements while introducing the melancholy melody and a few discordant tension points to offset the odd lament - later, transitions back to the sardonic atmosphere before bridging to a structural breakdown while restating the theme - it circuitously simplifies, mutates, and fades ...

i’m pleased by the efforts, grateful for learning, but a bit overwhelmed by the tasks ahead if i think beyond present circumstances ...

one thing for sure - every turn in the road brings new surprises - and it seems the road is turning again while providing evidence that what i studied and learned up to this point is only preparation for the next phase of life and work ...

and as Pope Julius asks of Michelangelo in Irving Stone’s “Agony and the Ecstasy” referring to the completion of the Sistine Chapel: “When will it end?” - to which Mich replies; “When I am finished” ...

pirate radio and political foes ...

i don’t pretend to be knowledgeable in the area of movie reviews, but took the time last night to watch a movie as a light-hearted escape from life’s recent heavies - if only to hear some classic rock and a generation celebrating its emergence ...

it was a fun film with all the camp and corniness usually associated with a 60’s music flick [ie., the monkees, yellow submarine, etc] with one exception - the vindictiveness and mean-spirited exploits of a few individuals from the ‘establishment’ ...

prejudicial judgement wasn’t amusing then, and it appeared even more distasteful now ...

coincidentally, my reason for indulging myself was to escape similar rhetoric televised from the floor of the American House Senate where vicious attacks were being launched against heath care reform by a right-wing political machine comprised of the same mean-spirited, self interested, tight-assed bureaucrats that were represented in the movie ...

in both instances, hope survived and the promise of change was kept alive - but not without damage ...

the consequence of ugliness is enduring - for a generation of idealistic romantics and the individuals who try to keep the dreams of equality, fairness, and hope for a better future alive ...

I’m afraid President Obama’s target was substantially increased by his leadership in defeating the stranglehold that corporate america has on the public, and by doing so will have to circumnavigate a tidal wave of vindictive behavior - this was supposed to be his Waterloo ...

yesterday’s vote in Washington was liberating and historic, and as House Speaker Palossi indicated; the health care reform legislation that was passed will spawn a new era in entrepreneurship in America ...

no. 17 ...

The other day my friend Lally said some people are just wired differently - which is probably true and extremely benevolent of him ...

Unlike Michael, I haven't yet developed that level of virtue or tolerance regarding the media, popular culture, educational institutions, or politics ...

Unfortunately, I just think a lot of these naysayers about global warming, health care, and social reforms are just plain f'ing stupid - like the tea-party lady that grabbed the headlines yesterday by saying the dems are trying to trick the public by using ten dollar words like 'reconciliation' ...

give me a break - we're responsible for every word in that English dictionary - regardless of the number of syllables or her inability to pronounce it ...

The idiocy infuriates me - from the top down: whether its Vatican policies, political maneuvering, greed, corruption, disintegrating principles among bureaucracies or our educators that proliferate banality ...

Most of the time i can let it slide, but lately there seems to be a shock and awe surge of an unprecedented amount of stupidity every time I tune into the news, or pick up a magazine or newspaper - even the art reviews and essays seem to have withered to a readership of eighth graders that Bush so beneficently advocated by lowering the bar of educational standards ...

So when I hear someone say they're just wired differently, I also remember a Lally poem that states: 'we will no longer accept the unacceptable, or ignore the un-ignorable ...'

It really is time for a "Call to Intelligence" rather than embarrassment from accusations of elitism from the likes of Sarah Palin supporters ... After all, part of the American dream and responsibility of a human being was to strive to better ourselves through education that we might advance our culture - not to reduce everything to its lowest common denominator to benefit the unwilling ...

thanks for letting me share ...