It was appropriate that Tyler broke the record on a less-than-elegant shot, banking it in from 10-feet while falling on his butt. You can see more photos of the night here
Friday, December 19, 2008
Okay so Tyler Hansbrough isn't very artistic
Nor have I painted or do I plan to paint a picture of him. Nevertheless Karen and I had great fun watching him break the great Phil Ford's career scoring mark at UNC last night in the Dean Dome.
It was appropriate that Tyler broke the record on a less-than-elegant shot, banking it in from 10-feet while falling on his butt. You can see more photos of the night here
It was appropriate that Tyler broke the record on a less-than-elegant shot, banking it in from 10-feet while falling on his butt. You can see more photos of the night here
Saturday, December 06, 2008
3rd Annual holiday card
The first winter after I started painting I decided to send a holiday card. The first was sort of a Madonna look, mother and child with a Rumi quote. The second was an ornament with another Rumi poem.
Here is the latest, a king with hope for the future in these dark days. For those who won't get one (let me know if you want it), here is the quote inside from Václav Havel:
Havel finished his discussion of hope with the following:
The New King. Oil pastels on paper. 12 x 9
Here is the latest, a king with hope for the future in these dark days. For those who won't get one (let me know if you want it), here is the quote inside from Václav Havel:
Hope, in this deep and powerful sense, is not the same as joy that things are going well, or willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously heading for success, but rather, an ability to work for something because it is good, not just because it stands a chance to succeed. The more propitious the situation in which we demonstrate hope, the deeper the hope is.
Havel finished his discussion of hope with the following:
Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.
The New King. Oil pastels on paper. 12 x 9
Sunday, November 30, 2008
New work
It's been awhile but I promise I've been working. I did finish my holiday card piece and I have a couple of things with potential. For now I'll post something I started this Thanksgiving holiday. It's not finished but I think I like it so far.
Untitled. Acrylics on canvas. 36 x 20 I think
Untitled. Acrylics on canvas. 36 x 20 I think
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Wash away the detritus
I woke this morning nervous, edgy and still hopeful. All objective evidence points to repudiation of the last 8 years and an awakening to a better day.
On my way to work in a dark drizzle, I was struck by the reds, yellows and oranges of the fall maples and the contrast of the fallen leaves on the green carpet of the lawns. I noticed the rain washing away the dirt and grime and had this deep feeling that it represented a stripping of evil and hubris from the American soul.
I was born in Jackson, Mississippi and grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Jackson newspaper, the Clarion-Ledger, has endorsed Barack Obama. Baton Rouge, I hope, will re-elect an African-American mayor. The times they are a changing.
I did not believe I would see the day when 68 million or so Americans would vote for a black man for president. And tonight I will watch with tears streaming down my face if the polls and the pundits are correct and we elect Senator Barack Obama the President of the United States.
Oh yeah and go vote dammit!
On my way to work in a dark drizzle, I was struck by the reds, yellows and oranges of the fall maples and the contrast of the fallen leaves on the green carpet of the lawns. I noticed the rain washing away the dirt and grime and had this deep feeling that it represented a stripping of evil and hubris from the American soul.
I was born in Jackson, Mississippi and grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Jackson newspaper, the Clarion-Ledger, has endorsed Barack Obama. Baton Rouge, I hope, will re-elect an African-American mayor. The times they are a changing.
I did not believe I would see the day when 68 million or so Americans would vote for a black man for president. And tonight I will watch with tears streaming down my face if the polls and the pundits are correct and we elect Senator Barack Obama the President of the United States.
Oh yeah and go vote dammit!
Friday, October 31, 2008
An epiphany
Karen bought me a book a while back, Musicophila by Oliver Sachs. It has sat on the shelf these many months.
Wanting something to read I picked it up today to find that it spoke to me deeply.
Sachs talks about people’s relationship to music. In Chapter 1 he describes people who were indifferent to music before some cataclysmic physical event, for example, Tony’s being struck by lightning or Salimah’s being prescribed LTG for her seizures.
This made me think back to my own epiphany about painting. I was dealing with depression and was barely able to keep things together. We tried several drugs along with therapy but nothing seemed to work. Then I started on Wellbutrin and began to see the world in an entirely new way. Keep in mind I’m 49, 47 then, and hadn’t painted since, well, never. Then I saw the Dada exhibit at the East Gallery and had my first and only panic attack.
I moved out from my family and my wife of 23 years into a furnished apartment of a grad student who had a summer internship at U Cal Berkeley. Every night, every night, I painted until 1 or 2 in the morning then woke to drive an hour to work, coming home only to start painting until 1 or 2 or 3 again. I lost 20+ pounds and I am a small guy to start with. I barely ate. Mostly I drew and painted – amateurish as it was.
I’ve wondered about this change in me and the day, in DC, when I saw the Dada exhibit that drove me over the edge. I had changed somehow, fundamentally, going from being a boy to a man, from being to blind to seeing, from a world of black and white to one of color. And I think, this is what Sachs is talking about.
Wanting something to read I picked it up today to find that it spoke to me deeply.
Sachs talks about people’s relationship to music. In Chapter 1 he describes people who were indifferent to music before some cataclysmic physical event, for example, Tony’s being struck by lightning or Salimah’s being prescribed LTG for her seizures.
This made me think back to my own epiphany about painting. I was dealing with depression and was barely able to keep things together. We tried several drugs along with therapy but nothing seemed to work. Then I started on Wellbutrin and began to see the world in an entirely new way. Keep in mind I’m 49, 47 then, and hadn’t painted since, well, never. Then I saw the Dada exhibit at the East Gallery and had my first and only panic attack.
I moved out from my family and my wife of 23 years into a furnished apartment of a grad student who had a summer internship at U Cal Berkeley. Every night, every night, I painted until 1 or 2 in the morning then woke to drive an hour to work, coming home only to start painting until 1 or 2 or 3 again. I lost 20+ pounds and I am a small guy to start with. I barely ate. Mostly I drew and painted – amateurish as it was.
I’ve wondered about this change in me and the day, in DC, when I saw the Dada exhibit that drove me over the edge. I had changed somehow, fundamentally, going from being a boy to a man, from being to blind to seeing, from a world of black and white to one of color. And I think, this is what Sachs is talking about.
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