Inspiration move me brightly

Inspiration move me brightly
Light the song with sense and color
Hold away despair
More than this I will not ask
Faced with mysteries deep and vast
Statements just seem vain at last
Some rise, some fall, some climb
Some rise, some climb, some crawl
To get to Terrapin

So begins the Terrapin Station section of the Terrapin Station Suite. Robert Hunter's lyrics are always wonderful and perhaps nowhere better than in this beautiful song. I start all my diaries with the opening of the Suite:

"Let my inspiration flow, in token rhyme suggesting rhythm
That will not forsake me, till my tale is told and done"

My tale is not done, but something unknown suggested rhythm and thus this piece was born.

Inspiration Move Me Brightly. Acrylics and ink on canvas. 24 x 30

Say hello to no commuting!

Okay, so Sax to Carrboro is a little commute but it's a cinch compared to the daily trek across the Triangle I've endured for over 8 years.

And why, dear reader, are my driving days numbered? Retirement? Won the lottery? A sugar mama? Nope. It's a new job. I'll start working with my friends at RTS next week. I'm looking forward to the work, the people and the sweet location right across the railroad tracks from Weaver Street Market.


Mostly though I chose RTS because the employees there own a good chunk of my art that is actually hanging on somebody else's wall. A built in market.

People at Commerce have commented on my big smile lately. To the right I've posted a silly self portrait with a goofy smile. It is something of an unusual self portrait in that it looks nothing like me (except for the beard part). Go figure.

Me and a Hat. Acrylics and ink on watercolor paper. 9 x 12

I've Started a new piece

Mom wants something big. This is what I'm going to paint. Can I do it?

Who knows?

Stones

I have been enjoying various Abstract Expressionists and it is showing somewhat in my painting. I guess the impetus for this sort of "stones in a river" theme came from the view out of my window.

This first one started as a collage piece and I gradually added paint and inks. It is more subdued and I like it better. It was actually the second one so it's called...

Stones #2. Mixed media, collage, acrylics, ink on mat board. 23 x 18



This is one of the those pieces where I like parts of it and not others. I keep playing with some of the stones, particularly the bottom right and left and the top left. We'll see if I can ever get happy with the whole thing.

Stones #1. Acrylics on mat board and maybe some inks. 20 x 16

I'm not as prolific as I was

But then again I'm not depressed and manic anymore either. I'll keep the less productive and happier version of me. I'll also keep a certain person who's part of making me less productive but much happier.

I've been enjoying the abstract expressionist paintings of Joan Mitchell. I'm looking forward to seeing a couple of her things at the Corcoran and other museums in DC in a couple of weeks. I'm sure pictures don't do her work justice; there's just too much texture. So she's inspired me recently and here are a couple of examples.

The first is a fairly big canvas that happened pretty quickly. I doubt it's finished.

"Out of Control" Acrylics on canvas 24" x 30"

This next one has evolved. It's much closer to being finished and I like it better than "Out of Control". This is definitely one where 2d just doesn't show much.

"They Filled the Sky" Acrylics on canvas 24" x 18"