sprawl

i checked in on a friend's blog where she posted an image of her workstation, and i was tickled when i thought about what a disaster my drawing table is compared to her relatively neat and airy space. so, for the idle and the curious heres a photo of the place i spend many hours each day. i won't embarrass anyone with photos of the painting studio, it's a mess.

snail trails

i havent posted in a bit, not much to say, the memorial day holiday always gets me down, even when the wife isnt off in some war. i think its an odd holiday to have a barbecue, which is what my family does back in tennessee, which is what alot of people do, i guess. well, i like most of this stuff, but it grows.

spook

ill be the first to admit that this painting really creeps me out. funny, i didnt find the photo of the kid creepy, just his mouth.

rump

so, more wild mood swings, not much else, brass fittings and dirt clods

blue

so, devins kempo instructor really ticked me off tonight, i guess he and his family went on a trip to washington dc and got a picture taken with the president. he was just showing off to his students, which bothered me the most, the way people will brag when they meet famous folks. he seemed most surprised that the president wasn't as tall as he thought he was, which says alot about him. i would rather he just taught kempo and not try to impart his philosophies and values every class. its not bad, really, but its definitely the all american variety. as he was describing how nice the president was, i wanted to shout out, "hey, that bastards the reason why my son hasnt seen his mother in a year, show some sensitivity you fuck!" but, all i could do was draw on the sidelines and wait with the other parents. its weird, hawaii swings democratic but these people are really conservative. the instructor then went on and on about how there are so many museums in washington dc, but then he couldnt think of one, not a single one. funny. he remembered that they went to the "place where they make the money" but then couldn't remember what that was called. ugh, just stick to the kempo and send a postcard next time. all the students were given little UN pins, and i still dont know what thats all about.

frazzle

so, i think someone got confused, but the "hot time" title of yesterdays post of work referred to something my wife and i talked about yesterday, about how we just have to slog through this "hot time coming up", meaning our respective summers, hers in iraq, and mine in hawaii. i pretty much count my wife as the only reader of this blog, and the work i post on here gives her a chance to see the stuff im working on everyday, to give her a better sense of my life while shes away from it. its not a nudie thing, and i guess i should have been savvier about the title i posted knowing how bad spam and that sort of thing is. oh well...

hot time

the cat had an adventure tonight, my son left the back door open and out he slipped into the night, gone for several hours, my radar went off when he was near the house, and i went out and there he was, all triumphant. he acts like king of the house now, big cat, ive seen the real world what are you? had a nice long conversation with my wife, feels like months since i had a good conversation with her, we talked about taos and her dad and her grandmothers passing....the waiting game that we are playing...

tides

i had the best dream this morning..among others, despite not sleeping well...i was swimming in the middle of the cold atlantic, its grey, metallic with big rolling clouds low above me. in my ocean dreams im usually frightened of the water, afraid of the monsters lurking in the depths, but in this dream i was totally at ease in the dark waters, and there were these incredibly large waves rolling up toward me, and i thought that these waves would come and submerge me and i would drown, but as the monster wave grew higher it would gently lift me to the top and i was being carried thousands of miles on my back on these great waves, and when that one would pass another would come and carry me further, and this dream atlantic ocean had no end...im a bit tired, ive been watching my son's friend since her mom is having some health troubles.

stream

lots of water flowing today

breadcrumbs

3 am

its interesting, the painted studies walk hand in hand with the work that goes on in the studio, but the small ink portraits are little peaks over the horizon, projections into the future, i really dont know what will come out of them, they seem really odd to me. i can see them changing, wanting to take hold of the image and make the drawings stronger, i didnt want to do that at first, i wanted some faithful reproductions, but i realized that was false and insincere and so they grow. i am reading bradbury to my son now, something wicked this way comes and tonight we finished with the chapter where charles halloway worries about 3 am (thats when the wicked carnival arrives in town), bradbury's description of this hour is good, he describes it as this low point, the closest we can get to death than at any other hour during the day, and this really rings true for me, this is the hour i always finish my work during the week and the hour when sleep is most welcome. well, its after 3 am now, and i guess i should turn in. cheers.

movie day

some people seen while at the movie theater with my son.

set

a cat on your lap is a wonderful thing, except when your legs fall asleep. things are ok, my wife has been down, and i get frustrated when she talks to me about feeling low since there is little i can do with her being far away, except offer what support i can over the phone and send her nice things in the mail. what i want to do is hold her...this war takes its toll on a relationship.