Left turn somewhere...

so, ive been in that working place, and heres a small sampling of what ive been doing. the gallery took a bunch of these, which made me sad. the weather has been tempestuous the last two days, setting my thoughts and heart on fire again, reminding me that the earth doesn't slumber under a sleepy tropical delusion...the wind has been kicking up fiercely, and ive been thinking of that short story by anais nin about the sirocco, all that erotic energy. devin's response to all this has been different, all moody and emotional, easily weepy, we had a long talk about lots of things at dinner today, and we talked about how when the heavy clouds roll in they can sometimes stir up the dark sludge that lurks inside all of us and bring it to the surface.

Sleepy sunday

Not much again today, just another small painting. I'm always so pleased when these studies turn out well.

Birthday boy

So, it's my birthday today, my sister called to wish me a happy one, but that's about all that happened besides this lovely little painting I did this afternoon. Cheers.

On that path

So its more of the same again, but I'm happy with them, continue to be surprised by them, especially the watercolors. So, my neighbor across from me has built what looks like a giant scratching post in his front yard. It's this large block of wood staple wrapped in cheap automotive carpet sitting on 2x6 supports. It's tall, like almost six feet, and he spent three days working furtively on it and filling the neighborhood with the sounds of electric saws and hammering and dropping wood. Devin and I joked that he had ordered some lions to keep him company...but it doesn't look like anything. Now that he's done with it he has left it sitting out in the front yard for everyone to admire, his struggles. In the dark it looks like the monolith from the movie 2001. This is the same man I witnessed playing darts with a crossbow, possession of which was alarming enough. This is also the same man who has a compulsive need to spit. I might have written this before, but one day working out in my carport I counted his spits and had to stop at 32. He spits when he sees me, which cracks me up. So, now I'm wondering about this new project of his that he's conjured up to protect his selfworth. When the lions are delivered, I want to be there.

Kouros again

So, this kouros thing, it's the barest suggestion of an idea that is pushing these figurative explorations forward, but it's taking me back to ideas that I hadn't thought about in a long while, ideas that I failed at finding expressions for, ideas that found an abstract embodiment rather than a concrete one. I don't know, I'm getting closer to something...meant to post these yesterday but three boys and their sleepover fun kept me busy all night, cleaning tang off the floors, picking up slim jim wrappers and cookie crumbs, trying to keep the spitting and tomfoolery under control. At the end of things Devin didn't enjoy his sleepover as much as his others, and our first impressions of the older boy have remain unchanged.

Kouros

whipping boy

so i havent posted anything on here for about a week. ive been working every day, but watercolor is such a tricky medium, i feel like ive done nothing but crap. i got a break last night though and was satisfied with what i produced at the end of the night. but ive been troubled lately, lots of crap on my mind, crazy words from my wife far away, and a big rock i can't possibly move. for some reason ive got this notion of a whipping boy in my head. that, along with greek kouroi, which i discovered in school. i wrote about my son and the neighborhood kids last week, kids are great at forgetting and moving on and everyone has been getting along fine, but ive still been thinking about bullies and their victims, especially after this one kid who i witnessed getting shoved around by the perpetrator shouted at me one night that the perpetrator wasn't a bully. except his mouth wouldnt let him say it right and he kept getting all tongue twisted. these are all minor dramas that fit into these broader existential vessels i fashion out of my figures. which doesn't explain a whole lot for the gentle reader (not that i have any) but there the work stands.

Theme and variations...

Just as the title says, 9 women and 1 man. Not much to tell today, besides rain and cold feet.