 Drawing 01·08·2022 No.1, pencil on paper, 20x16 inches  Drawing 01·08·2022 No.2, pencil on paper, 16x20 inches Yesterday my energy and intensity stood high. I was flying, stimulated, optimistic. I believed I can produce art of quality and lasting merit. As consequence, today I show two good drawings. I have no doubts. Yes, but... Are these drawings charged with sufficient appeal to be instantly attractive to a large swath of viewers? Both these drawings make a lot of sense to me. The first is simple, direct, partakes of many of my recent interests, including dynamism of negative space. The second is complex, yet engages with an obvious center. These qualities are important to me, i.e., emotive negative space, and viewer engagement through centering. I believe I have made real the first two rules necessary to profound, emotive art. First and foremost, Art must engage. If that fails, all interest is lost. Without engagement there is nothing.  Studio, January 8, 2022
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 Drawing 10·23·2021, pencil on paper, 16x20 inches Comparisons in Art are difficult; Art's range of content runs the gamut of human emotions. Today I give you a comparison of my drawing from yesterday to a painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988). This is not an easy comparison. To me, it is apt; it represents my struggle to be true to myself. I am drawn to Basquiat's extreme, forceful content, but... I am me and he is he. The one simple and obvious connection I make with this Basquiat painting is its organization. Basquiat slams you into its center panel; he grabs the the viewer with color contrast, as well as formal centering because of content that are complex and patterned shapes. Basquiat painting is a lesson in classical compositional organization. There is no getting around the effectiveness that is centering the viewer's attention through any means possible, which include large forms, strong color, obvious shapes, interesting patterns, and high value contrast.  Jean-Michel Basquiat, "Untitled", oil on wood slats  "Measure Anew" (2021 No.9, state 6), oil on canvas, 54½x54⅛ inches, {"I had become a new person; and those who knew the old person laughed at me. The only man who behaved sensibly was my tailor: he took my measure anew every time he saw me, whilst all the rest went in with their old measurements and expected them to fit me." -George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), "Man and Superman" (1903)} Mundane it seems, but tis true. Locking in the viewer by simple and quick engagement works best. Easiest solution is Initial engagement by centering the viewer's gaze. After initial capture, all hell can break loose; the viewer will hang in there. Juan Gris knew this better than Pablo Picasso. I know it now. Take a look at yesterday's solution to the composition of my painting, "Measure Anew", now in state 6. It is obvious. It engages with a robust center.  Juan Gris, "Flowers", collage, 55x46 cm, 1914  Drawing 10·15·2020, pencil on paper, 16x20 inches Drawing well challenges my soul. Here, in this drawing, I understand the requirement of the all-over. The all-over must not be the dominant force; the all-over must support the two-dimensional power of a flat rectangular work of art. This drawing gets centered by the smallest of the three complex forms, left, right, center. Consequently, a powerfully centered, all-over competition, is presented.
 Drawing 10·08·2021 No.1, pencil on paper, 16x20 inches I do not need to write anything. This drawing is manageable, straightforward, like the art of Agnes Martin.    Drawing 09·26·2021, pencil on paper, 20x16 inches It is getting scary. The drawing I present today is undeniably deep and profound. That's the scary part. This drawing's in-your-face centerness insists you look, not look away. When is scope and depth undeniable? Take a look at Alberto Giacometti's "Diego" (below). That is one answer in addition to the one I give you in my drawing. Look and hang; you will discover yourself.  Alberto Giacometti, "Diego", oil on canvas, 1953  Drawing 09·25·2021, pencil on paper, 16x20 inches I have thinking about the all-over design of the things. My first thought in making the last couple drawings, and the last painting, was about the all-overness of the design. I began yesterday's drawing (the one shown today), with all-over touches of the pencil. This forced me to deal with every aspect of the blank, white paper in front of me; I think successfully. This drawing is dramatic, referential, abstract, well composed, and insists upon the viewer's center stare while begging for the viewer's eye to wander in lust. The black areas dart around the paper, and the lighter value areas are systematically, strategically packed; this makes for easy visual comprehension of the total design while dwelling on the all-over.
 Drawing 09·04·2021, pencil on paper, 20x16 inches My road is narrowing. I am walking into a place where centering is true, and anamorphosis is possible. This is a world closer to my kind, to my ability to comprehend concisely, in depth and nuance. Am I not becoming more true to myself? My recent drawings feel true, so they may be true. I am a second guesser. Never do I take an idea to be correct without a considerable body of investigatory repetition, truth tested by research.
Today's drawing feels right and good.  "Honorable Terms" (2021 No.7, state 7), oil on canvas, 52x57⅞ inches, {"The roots of reason are imbedded in feelings — feelings that have formed and accumulated and developed over a lifetime of personality-shaping. These feelings are not a source of weakness but a resource of strength. They are not there for occasional using but are inescapable. To know what we think, we must know how we feel. It is feeling that shapes belief and forms opinion. It is feeling that directs the strategy of argument. It is our feelings, then, with which we must come to honorable terms." - James E. Miller, Jr., "Word, Self, Reality: The Rhetoric of Imagination" (1972)} I didn't know! Who knew? Not me! I am in search for personal monuments. One of my greatest influencers is Henry Moore. I adore his work. I have always been intrigued by Moore great, monolithic, monumental sculptures. Henri Matisse said an artist should look at one's earliest works as he searches for self; in doing so the artist discovers his natural affinities and purpose. I believe the most important education for the artist is reflection upon one's earliest impactful, intensely emotional responses to visual discoveries. Yesterday's work on the painting, "Honorable Terms", altered this painting from a mess of form and light to a monument to form and light. "Honorable Terms" now reflects personal centering. Yesterday's work was mindful discovery linked to personal, emotional responsiveness. "Honorable Terms" is now a monumental, intellectual success.  Henry Moore, "Atom Piece", Bronze Sculpture, 1964  "Honorable Terms" (2021 No.7, state 5), oil on canvas, 52x57⅞ inches, {"The roots of reason are imbedded in feelings — feelings that have formed and accumulated and developed over a lifetime of personality-shaping. These feelings are not a source of weakness but a resource of strength. They are not there for occasional using but are inescapable. To know what we think, we must know how we feel. It is feeling that shapes belief and forms opinion. It is feeling that directs the strategy of argument. It is our feelings, then, with which we must come to honorable terms." - James E. Miller, Jr., "Word, Self, Reality: The Rhetoric of Imagination" (1972)} If you have been paying attention, day by day, I am taking a walk with the painting, "Honorable Terms". It is a walk toward centering. I am mindfully working to find center in every way possible: intellectually, spiritually, emotional, compositionally. This is honorable work, this is great work, thus this painting's title is apropos.
In front of me now is a paperweight with this quote from Oliver Wendall Holmes: "Every calling is great when greatly pursued." |
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