It’s three days before the end of 2012 and I think it’s safe to say that the world is not coming to an end. That is, unless North Korea does something stupider than usual. But for now, we are here. Life goes on. Death, a passing phase left for those of us that accept it, deny it, embrace it, or fear it.
I haven’t posted a blog post in ages because I have been so busy with new things. I finally managed to finish all the pages for the new, upcoming artist book I am doing with Neil Farber from Chance Press, but I have to withhold most of the images until the book comes out. However, I can show you this one:
“In Other News…” Watercolor and ink on Arches, 7 x 10 inches.
I did this back on the day after the election. It actually comes from a journal entry. Want to read it?
Hundreds of little volcanoes erupted this morning when Michael accidentally erased the databases that run on all our websites. Luckily, there is an old back-up that can save us the trouble of rebuilding, but there are three months of work completely destroyed. In other news, Obama is still the president. Prayers have been answered, but not with the House of Representatives. Barack waited until the wee hours of the morning to finally give his speech and I wondered about how it was possible for the crowd to continue to be enthusiastic, waiving their little flags, for hours on end. They must feel a lot happier about the election than I’ll ever be. Or maybe it is the sociology of the crowd. It reminds me of the religious beliefs I used to have, and do not have now. Ignorance is bliss. They say that for a reason. However, I do miss the confidence and the feeling of being powerful back then. Now I see how empty that was though. A lemming I was. I am more human than I ever was, and perhaps braver than I ever was. I have survived a lot and I can say with certainty that I like me better than ever. As I am building self-worth, I see how far I have come and how far I still need to go i.e. taking better care of myself – of my person. I don’t know why I don’t. I know I’m worth the effort, but I am lazy. Now would be a good time to begin taking care of myself, but the commitment still seems nearly an impossible task. What happened to how eloquently I used to write? Where are my metaphors and my poetic, ethereal finesse? It’s like an atrophied muscle. I haven’t used it in quite some time. A tiny morsel is still there, smoldering. Waiting.
I write some weird ass stuff sometimes.
I’ve also been working on some new oil paintings, here are a few…
“Forgotten Place,” oil on canvas, 20 x 16 inches.
“Ruminant Walkabout,” oil on linen, 20 x 20 inches.
“The Adequacy of And and Not,” oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches.
“Runaway Box,” oil on birch panel, 20 x 20 inches.
“Two Girls Redux,” oil on birch panel, 20 x 20 inches.
I suppose those are a lot of paintings. Now that I post them, I see how much I’ve been working lately. I never usually even see that. I feel like I’m so lazy, but I’m not.
What else is new?
I am going to be in a group show at George Billis Gallery next month. The theme has something to do with toys, but I don’t know what the show is called yet. I am also going to be in a very important show at the Hebrew Union College at USC, which is called, “Intersecting Paths: Art & Healing.” I will have several pieces in this exhibit that tell stories about various ways I have overcome some hardships, as will all of the other artists in the show.
I suppose I am saving the best for last because I am probably more excited about this than just about anything else, which is the fact that MJP and I have been working on a new website for esart for well over a year now and it will finally be launching the first week of 2013! My site has not been updated for more than 12 years. It has had its same look all of that time, and in “web years,” that is a long fucking time. Soon my website will have a whole new look, plus new features that will knock your socks off! I plan to thoroughly promote the hell out of it as it launches, so you will not hear the end of this announcement here. It will go on and on for a few weeks at least. It’s been a long time planning and coding. Oy vhey, the coding!
Anyway, stay tuned.
