Chasing After Beauty...

Ok, so I saw the most beautiful face in the world.
Now what do I do with it?

Time keeps flipping over the cards.
Sometimes they face up beauty.
Sometimes they face up all that negative stuff.

This is why I draw and paint endlessly.
There is way too much to think about
and if I capture a bit of it I can bury it somewhere
and then move on.

This means the beauty gets buried, too.
But as I said yesterday, the beauty is hopefully influencing its surroundings inside the whole.

I'm a great one for finding beauty anywhere at anytime.
Years ago Toby Covich, an art student two years older than me, made what looked like clay turds for his senior project. My mind recalls them draped delicately all over a boat.
Those turds were almost beautiful...
Well, humorous, anyway.
The main humor being that I would actually make myself think turds were beautiful.
I never forgot that lesson.
With TC's td's in mind, for years I've been finding beauty in everything.

What honest-to-G brilliance that guy had... and what a crack up that I fell for it!

Beauty

Last night I saw the most beautiful face in the world.
I wasn't supposed to see it.
I was supposed to have my eyes closed.
I cheated.
I opened my eyes and saw a woman in the throws of ecstasy.
Ecstasy of receptive healing care.
On her face I saw awe.
I saw grace.
I saw self love.
I saw pain.
I saw healing.

I know I won't be able to draw that face. It was too exquisite, too human, too fluid and alive even in its quiet submission.
But this true vision of living, breathing, sighing beauty is now in my head. I am gleeful about that. Right now I am the richest person in the world.

I am rich because each time I draw a man, woman, girl or boy, aged, perfected, or broken, I will be able to infuse that figure with the essence of beauty I saw last night. And every time I see a stranger on the street, if I take the time, I can see inside them and recognize the woman in them that is in ecstasy.

Shaboom-ping-tra-La! That's what it's all about!

Pathway to Where This is

Was sitting here discussing this drawing with a friend.
There's obviously a sense of Guru at the top.
Do we really want to know the inner story behind how anyone gets to a state of wisdom?
Or do we want to open a book and read directions for a quick way up?
Of course we want the quick way up, stepping lightly over all the inner turmoil of other.
I must remember to bring my coat, though.
I hear old monk bones get cold in the winter.

If a tree makes a beautiful sound

as it falls in a forest

is it still beautiful

if no one hears it?

In the Sandbox

Obscure Form

Drawn From Life or Fantasy?

"One Good Book"

One of the most delicious parts of life is the mystery.

... on the other hand ...

sometimes I feel the world needs a bit more nonsense. 

Therefore

I am chopping up a few of my drawings,

zeroing in on the heroics,

celebrating the snivels, snarls, and chortles,

all on a daily basis at:

maybeperhapsifyouwill.blogspot.com

What's Love Got to Do With It?

"Tumble"

(Click on pic to explore the question.)

Chicken Walkin'

(Detail from a Small Explosion)

Balance Reality?

I finish a lot of my paintings off balance. I do this consciously. Looking at the small image of the painting above it appears that the right side of the "m" shape is not complete. This is the first impression one gets when one views the painting from a long distance away.

As one gets closer, the image begins to unfold into distinct smaller forms and the viewer can begin to make out the content.

When right up next to the painting the content becomes whatever the viewer reads into it, informed by the sense that things are off balance.

My art, no matter how "far out" is always about life, and lack of balance is just one more aspect of it. The viewer has to read the painting to find resolution. It is there. It just takes work. And that is the secret: the audience has the possibility of going from an unbalanced state into a balanced state, while searching through the painting (life).

"Figure in Shadowed Room"

Detail from a sketch.

Dude With a Dog

Am reading Mary McGarry Morris'

"Songs in Ordinary Times."

Thought the above unfinished drawing

(began work on a few months back)

was an apt companion piece.

Coin Toss

Perception ~ Chicken or the Egg?

("King of the City" detail)

How far detached from the work is the artist who describes the inside of humanity, not just the surface rush and glitter? I am asking this about all art forms ~ literary, visual, musical, etc. When do we decide an artist is detached when the storyline is clearly entangled in drama?

Another question: How much conceptual knowledge is the audience bringing to the viewing of the art?

History tells us that artists have argued endlessly about how their own techniques and philosophies are the "right way." I have met artists who insist they have the answer.

Aside from technique, the creation of art is basically observation defined by personal experience, effort, and varying types of intellect. The experience of viewing and perceiving art is defined by the same.

A very long time ago I saw a skit where the question was asked, "Why is that man standing there?" Why do we create art? Why do we look at art? Why do we want to know why?

The artist never really finds the answer because reality continues to shift. We scamper onwards, postulating and gesticulating wildly, hoping for some slight settling of the dust... a moment to stand still, just for a second.

Oh look, there! A flutter of wings, a hint of a chirp?... a song? What is ...? ... must catch ......

Variations

Walking Into What...?

"Youth With Dark Spot"

How Do You Put it All Together?

"Boy With Box"

High and Low Perspectives

"Sisters on a Walk"

(Click on image to see accurate size of drawing)

(Details)

They walk in different worlds of thought.

One learns through the insight of others 

(The thoughtful folks on the right).

One learns through personal experience

(The swimmers and ship on the high seas).

The Subversive Intent

                         Wishful thinking:

                         Draw/paint beauty to capture it.
                         Draw/paint horror to tame it.
                         Draw/paint ugliness to deny it.
                         Draw/paint humor to transcend it.
                         Draw/paint life to understand it.

Listening