“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent
will . . .” ~ Charlotte Bronte
The long dead English novelist who somehow knew the attitude of my pen and the freedom of being not. Either that or we can enjoy bending her words in my context to support me out on this limb.
It is possible to be without being. I can see it in the shadow of the bird and I hope you’ll ponder with me… Be Not, Be Free!
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Well, yesterday I sketched something entitled, “Evolutionary Vision.” A natural question to ask might be an evolution to what? In the above piece, I see a bird. That’s how my mind empowers the abstraction in an act of voodoo magic (yes, yes here at Jay Zuck’s Sketch of the Day we believe in being self-referential so if you don’t understand what I am talking about venture back). My brother on the other hand sees a Rhino in kind of the vein of my Rhino Alien Character Design. I put it to you. What do you see?
Getting back to the idea of an evolution in vision, I think what we are taking about is an evolution towards a salient idea. How minds interperet representative forms and meanings, transmit that information between themselves, and in a kind of model of Darwinian evolution eventually lend the lines and paint the “strongest” or most crystalized concept (See Susan Blackmore on Memes and Temes).
In my piece yesterday, perhaps unsurprising for those of you who know my penchant for the Simian and the things that I try to impress that word with, the vision is being depicted concretely evolving toward a monkey. Many things in my art when I let them truly be free, evolve if you will toward the Simian. It is an idea which means much to me, but perhaps nothing to you, but which I will ceaselessly dare to insert in the marketplace of ideas to compete, die, or thrive.
Update: The memes are taking over! I am loving the vibrant exchange of ideas in the comment section. Talk about empowering an abstraction. Thanks to you some real voodoo is afoot. Keep the juju magic flowing and Darwin will figure out the rest. I think I may now have really seen a “world full of brains, and far more memes than can possibly find homes.” Really brilliant stuff and as always, be free, create, and grow roots.
Behold the hippopotamus!
We laugh at how he looks to us,
And yet in moments dank and grim,
I wonder how we look to him.
~ Ogden Nash
Not too long ago I displayed a charcoal drawing of a Rhino to which a friend of mine teased, “That looks more like Rhino butt to me.” Fair enough, but I have decided more nature butt is in order.
“For long you live and high you fly
But only if you ride the tide
And balanced on the biggest wave
You race towards an early grave.”
~ Pink Floyd, Breathe
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I painted this a while back when I was on the deep end of reading Carlos Castaneda. In recent years, I have often been inspired by his mythology. I was also and perhaps more obviously influenced by the Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas poster.
Hunter S. Thompson is a hero of mine. I love his gonzo style journalism not to mention the gonzo art of his friend Ralph Stedman.
My painting depicts a skull floating across the desert like a ghostly breeze. I imagine it as a sort of consciousness that is traversing the harsh and arid terrain which is hospitable only to a couple of peyote cacti. It reminds me of when Carlos Castaneda would turn into a crow to fly across the sky or even when he sent his mind down a river.
A skull is no longer confined to the flesh and I wonder if this is what it would be like to take peyote in the desert.
I have aspirations to revisit this painting in the future and add a more substantial landscape. I must admit that I used virtually no photo reference. In the meantime, marvel at something a little more psychedelic.
“The Desert Treegrower” has a pretty self-explanatory title. This piece depicts a man in a kind of magical reality in the desert utilizing a mystical energy derived from fire and earth to help a seedling tree grow strong roots amidst the desolation. I imagine the fire engulfing the man’s hand to be like the burning bush from the Disney movie Prince of Egypt (1998) in which the fire is cool to the touch, but possesses a kind of innate energy.
I have always had this strong feeling that the desert is the place to go both to find yourself and connect with the Earth: it is the place of the Vision Quest.
You might also notice what may appear to be a abstracted sun in the sky, but actually I meant this to be a UFO. One day I will have to tell you of the time I witnessed a UFO with my own eyes.
I liked the idea of suggesting an Extra Terrestrial presence because I think they may very well be tapped into an energy which a normal human being is unaware and that they would also look on with interest to someone connecting to this energy.
The metaphor of life surviving difficult circumstances is pretty inspiring and profound. Conveying this metaphor in the context of a deep connection with energy of the earth is what this picture is fundamentally all about.
Sometimes theres nothing you can do but howl at the moon…..
“Once, man and those in the water were linked. They inspired us. They spoke of the future. Man listened and it became real. But man does not listen very well. Man’s need to own everything led him deeper into land. The magic world of the ones that lived in the ocean… and the world of men… separated. Through the centuries, their world and all the inhabitants of it… stopped trying. The world of man became more violent. War upon war played out, as there were no guides to listen to. Now those in the water are trying again… trying to reach us. A handful of their precious young ones have been sent into the world of man. They are brought in the dead of night… to where man lives. They need only be glimpsed… and the awakening of man will happen. But their enemies roam the land. There are laws that are meant to keep the young ones safe… but they are sent at great risk to their lives. Many… do not return. Yet still they try… try to help man. But man may have forgotten how to listen…” ~ Paul Giamatti in Lady in the Water (2006)
This piece, composed just with ink and a little watercolor, is something I whipped up late one night. I didn’t have anything particular on my mind, but when I finished it, I said to myself, hey, that looks alot like a lady in the water. The title was an after thought which I decided to grab from the film with the like name written by one of my favorite writer-directors (more for the Unbreakable and the Sixth Sense), M. Night Shyamalan.
The sketch was never intended to echo the film in any particular way except for the fact that obviously I am representing a lady in the water and certainly the quote above gives some nice added mythic dimensionality to the piece. Certainly, I have no desire to associate my art with what critic Jim Emerson of RogerEbert.com called a “fractured fairy tale.”
In defense of M. Night, while I agree the film is imprefect, I think this level of criticism is a bit too harsh. As a creative person who is constantly reaching into my own wellspring creativity, I know sometimes the magic just isn’t there. Call it magic or a muse or whatever, I can’t help but admire those who are in constant search. M. Night is a great storyteller and one “fractured fairytale” isn’t going to convince me otherwise.
I often view my own art in the context of telling a story. This applies to the simple sketch in equal porportion to a finished piece of fine art. Maybe on this particular night I suceeded. I leave that for you to decide. However, tomorrow is another day and if god forbid I have one of my lesser inspiring moments, I hope you will forgive me too.