Thursday, September 3, 2009

Feeling of Landscape

This is what would be nice: for all this splatter, all this hazy spirit pollution, to suddenly (or progressively) make sense, and turn into a landscape.
Okay, I admit it, there is a world which I am pretending to ignore. There are those one loves and others which are close enough to be deeply missed, at times.
I admit, there is a light which remains and manages to outshine any particular chaos, any specific too-lateness. For a while, it remains with the body, or the view of the body, or the afterview, and then it moves away, into the back of the mind's eye, and turns into an excuse to remain hesitating, instead of letting it all go.

But no. All this is happy-tuning oneself, it does not sustain. That is precisely why I miss the feeling of landscape: it sustains. While this? It feels more like posing steps on stones in a stream, where no single stone is certain, yet together they make an unexpectedly serious path. (Maybe not "serious". Maybe "defined". Or "path-like". Or is it that looking for adjectives misses the point: that it's the path that's unexpected, not any quality it might have).



And at the bottom, in the water, remains all this, all that stuff that somehow never unbecame me. And lingers on as if too hazy to be rejected, too ridiculously gone. So if it's gone, what is it, I ask.The first three paintings are by Andrew Hollis, and the last two - by Gemma Gallagher.

New Bulldog Art

D.C. ... a Sneak Peek
Today I am working on D.C. the English Bulldog. I am trying to get a little loose and scribbley on his coat. I still have more work to do but you can see my progress above. I will show more conservative options when I do proof my client.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

From the Story of the Stone

Are you a poet? Then write down your poem. A novelist? Write your novel.

Our poems and novels live inside of us. Why are we trying to effect things? We only need to begin . . .

I am a slave to anticipation. I anticipate every hour of the day from the moment I wake up. And for as much as my anticipation consumes me, I am always seeking distraction. Secretly I want to be free from my anticipation.

I need my friends to tell me to write. Because I will languish in my creativity, I will busy myself with things but not the thing.

A small fear grows into procrastination. It becomes like a patch of thorns and soon I'll do anything but enter that overgrown hedge--

I set out to write one blog post a day. A simple enough task. But my mind being clever came up with a way to make posts that didn't require me to write. You'll see four excellent lists I created in the last two weeks: the best online art galleries, best art and design sites, best illustration art sites, and best found image sites.

All of this marvelous list-making. I was lucky enough to have a friend who brazenly remarked, "So are you going to go the David Letterman/Peter Greenaway route again tonight, or are you going to WRITE something?"

I am full of anticipation and avoidance. I anticipate what I must do and then I avoid it.

And now, I recall a famous passage from The Story of the Stone by Cao Xuequin (1715-63) . . .

But first some background on the story. An unambitious scholar leads an uneventful life until he encounters a Taoist and a Buddhist in a dream. He asks the two immortals to enlighten him about the workings of karma. They instead allow him to glimpse the "Stone" on which is written the experience leading to his enlightenment.(1)

He doesn't "get it" however until much later. He forgets the dream and the inscription on the Stone. After his daughter is kidnapped and a number of terrible events befall him, he comes across a limping Taoist on the street, chanting verses. Only then is he ready to listen to the wisdom . . .

I won't recount the verses of the Taoist, for that you'll have to read the novel. But I will quote what the Taoist says after he chants the verses:
If you can make out 'won' and 'done' . . . you may be said to have understood; for in all the affairs of the world what is won is done, and what is done is won; for whoever has not yet done has not yet won, and in order to have won, one must first have done. I shall call my song the 'Won-done Song.'

1. Ideal and Actual in The Story of the Stone, Dore J. Levy

Image Credits:


Joel Cocks Design & Illustration





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Found via this isn't happiness

Harry Potter Paper Toy

This Harry Potter paper toy doesn't look very happy. Then again, if I was an orphan and a dark wizard tried to kill me every year, I suppose I might not be very happy either. This papercraft Harry was created by Gavin Schmidtt at robotmartini.com using the blank "Briki" template. Briki paper figures were developed to be used in an open source multi-player tabletop combat game known as "Arena". To get the above paper toy and Arena game rules, go here.

Best Found Image Sites of 2009

1. this isn't happiness







11. CompFight

Do you know of any found image sites? Add them in the comments . . .

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

New Kitty Art




This sweet kitty girl is one of several projects shipping out today. Those of you waiting on project updates, please sit tight for one more day. I have set Wednesday aside for project revisions. We have a lot of work in house right now and I am doing my best to get to everyone as quickly as possible.