Eyes on the doughnut
RIP David Lynch, short takes and embodying softness...
“You have to fall in love and do what you love and then take what comes after that, which you can’t control anyway.
“That way, if things don’t work out after, you at least feel you’ve been true to yourself. Keep your eye on the doughnut, rather than the hole.”
- David Lynch
I couldn’t pass by this scene on the fence of CAPA (High School for the Creative & Performing Arts), and not think of all of the David Lynch tributes that have been flooding my online feeds. I really only experienced Lynch through Twin Peaks at the time it was on television. Other than that, I saw Muholland Drive in theaters and liked it. I’ve only seen bits and pieces of his other films. I’ll have to settle in and really watch others soon.
The only thing I can come up with to say about him is that I’m damned glad that he was able to make the films that he did and that he was the person that he was. I loved how he shared of himself and really didn’t seem to care about conventional fame or ways of thinking when it came to his creativity and life philosophies.
Rest in Creative Power, David Lynch.
minutiae
- The color of this base layer is so rich and warm. It’s a deep red, almost brown color that came from mixing Pyrrole Red (a bright red acrylic paint that’s close to cadmium red) and a small amount of Carbon Black) that I just keep wanting to look at it. Most of it will be covered soon, but I’m enjoying the moment.
- We’re getting real winter here in Philly this year. Tonight it’s going down to 6 degrees F and I’m glad to not have to be outside much today. I forgot my lip balm, but will survive. I’m paranoid about losing my gloves now that I’ve lost a pair already on a bus recently. I took my gloves off and threw them in the shopping basket I had earlier when I was shopping for a studio sandwich. I walked a few feet and almost had a panic attack because I wasn’t holding them.
- The cold is no joke and base layers before putting anything else on are a must for me.
- I’ve been watching “The Agency”, a spy show about a CIA post in London that mostly revolves around an agent, played by Michael Fassbender, who gets recalled from the field after six years and the complications that come with his return. This is another one of those shows that requires deep attention because blink and you’ll miss something in dialogue or the smallest of actions. It’s not for the likes of my girlfriend who falls asleep the minute she hits the sofa in the evening. She’s been struggling to catch up, having watched a couple of episodes twice but we’re at the same place now, thankfully, haha!
Soft Poem 1
Some works just stick with you. Lately, for me, it’s been Soft Poem 1 (2023). This was the first of a series of 16 works on panel that I made during 2023 and were later displayed in my solo show, “All Of This Is True” last April at the Bridgette Mayer Gallery.
The whole series was a reaction to earlier works made in 2020-2022 that were much more densely packed with imagery and layers. And most of that earlier works was the result of dealing with the political and social upheaval at the time, even if it wasn’t readily seen because of the abstract nature of my work. It was there. The Soft Poems were a way for me to pull back a little and reevaluate where I was after a few years of wrestling with so much information, misinformation and general unmoored feelings due to the first of 45/47’s administration, the pandemic and epidemic of lawlessness with cops openly engaging in executing unarmed Black people and the continuing rise of maga (lower case on purpose).
Soft Poems were sort of a visual palate cleanser for me. A way to engage with my creativity in a way that prioritized quiet visual spaces that still challenged me, but pulled back from the more frenetic aspects of previous works. In this work, I layered dry pigment-infused acrylic mediums multiple times over marks made with acrylic markers. Mostly obscuring what could be seen. In person, you have to get nose-deep in order to even make out partial images, like in the upper section of this piece.
I made a lot of variations within this series, some more “quiet” than others, but they all followed the same organizing principles of obscuring, revealing and dividing the surfaces along the horizontal axis.
I’m toying with the idea of making more of these at this (12” x 9” / 30.48 x 22.86cm) size and/or continuing with a SP series at 30” x 24”. I’ve made two of these, so far, but need more surfaces before I can continue, so that’ll have to wait for a bit until funds are more stable. I’m currently waiting for a project to be finalized and money from that would help fund more of these and other paintings.
Stayed home yesterday and the sun always brings opportunities to capture light in many ways inside and outside the house.
I’m working to keep my eyes, mind and heart open as we move further into what could be a very dark period for us in the U.S. and globally. My hope is that we do the most good we can with our energies, help others however we can and most of all, make the most of our time spreading love, creativity and kindness as far and wide as possible.
Thanks for being here and I’ll catch you later in the week!