 Drawing 04·14·2019, pencil on paper, 20x16 inches It took me two days to make this drawing because I did not have the time to do it in one sitting. This time management is caused by the necessity that I frame works for my upcoming exhibition at AVA Gallery. If you follow the link to AVA you would see the announcement on AVA's homepage. Going away from a partially finished drawing, then returning to finish it, is both beneficial and detrimental. Beneficial because it forces introspection upon return to the half finished drawing (I see it afresh; I see it more clearly; I immediately recognize its successes and failures). The detrimental part is me losing track of the original question I asked. In this case, in the drawing I show today, I wanted to inspect the possibilities of vigor in an insistently classically flat composition, one designed to be seen flat in the viewer's face. I often think of the great success Pablo Picasso had using this method in his painting Guernica, which has a central flat, in the viewer's face, triangle, surrounded by two side panels.  Pablo Picasso, "Guernica", oil on canvas, 1937
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 Drawing 04·02·2019, pencil on paper, 16x20 inches I have been making a strong effort to think simple. I am well aware an obvious relationship between negative and positive space must be the capturing effect that is the ultimate driving force of the first glance. The first glance should capture viewers, rein them in. As complex as yesterday's drawing became, it is simple in its composition. I hope you see that. There is dark on the left, bright on the right, strong vertical movements play against strong forms on the left and the right. This is a masterful drawing. I felt mastery in my process.
 "How's It Gonna End" (2019 No.2, state 13), oil on canvas, 60x33 inches {"Life is sweet at the edge of a razor; And down in the front row of an old picture show the old man is asleep as the credits start to roll. And I want to know, the same thing everyone wants to know, how's it going to end?" -Tom Waits}  Drawing 03·24·2019 No.1, pencil on paper, 20x16 inches  Drawing 03·24·2019 No.2, pencil on paper, 20x16 inches The painting, "How's It Gonna End" (2019 No.2), is in state 13; now I know, it is gonna end. My drawings, however, tell a different story. This journey of mine, as long as I draw breathe, is NOT gonna end. I have become fascinated with the space between objects. I have always taken negative space into account, but my newest drawings exhibit an increased awareness of the potency that is blank space. For quite some time I have been worrying about congestion within my drawings — in yesterday's drawings I tackle this problem head-on. Interesting, I was on Instagram; There was a reproduction of a painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat. This work by Basquiat hit me hard. Immediately I recognized the power he gave the open areas in his canvas, areas between complex forms. I show you one of Basquiat's works. This is not the painting I saw that inspired me, but it does go right to my point.  Jean-Michel Basquiat, "Unbleached Titanium", acrylic, pencil, pastel, charcoal, crayon on paper, 57x76.5 cm, 1983  "How's It Gonna End" (2019 No.2, state 12), oil on canvas, 60x33 inches {"Life is sweet at the edge of a razor; And down in the front row of an old picture show the old man is asleep as the credits start to roll. And I want to know, the same thing everyone wants to know, how's it going to end?" -Tom Waits} "How's It Gonna End" (2019 No.2) continues its development. Here is state 12. This morning I walked into the studio; immediately this painting called to me for adjustments. Nothing extensive need be done. "How's It Gonna End" requires subtle enhancements. Great augmentation will occur with minor adjustments. The formal potency of this work will increase. BTW: Yesterday the width of this painting grew about one inch (such a bonus is available because I work on an oversized canvas tacked to a work wall).
 Drawing 02·07·2019, pencil on paper, 16x20 inches It will happen shortly. My art will be due at galleries for exhibition. This fact hit me hard last week. I negotiated final dates and works to be exhibited. Stay tuned for more information. I have three exhibits scheduled this year, and more possible. My first exhibit begins in Late April.
Exhibiting is confusing to me because it comes with good, bad, and ugly. Bothersome it is to my most important activity, my most fulfilling activity: The making of art itself. The drawing shown here is from two days ago. It is a complex and excellent drawing. There is a push/pull of three-dimensional space, excellence in value contrasts, and a robust, active composition.  "The Doctrine of Liberty" (2019 No.1, state 9), oil on canvas, 66x59.5 inches {"I believe there is a golden thread which alone gives meaning to the political history of the West, from Marathon to Alamein, from Solon to Winston Churchill and after. This I chose to call the doctrine of liberty under the law." -Anthony Sampson, "The Changing Anatomy of Britain", 1982} Is it better to have a good dog than to make paintings? I lament not having a wonderful dog in my life; all of them gone. When they were here they helped me be calmly satisfied. Making art is rarely calming. The best it can get is where I am now! This will not last. Soon I will move to my next worry, the next problem to solve.
I feel good today because yesterday I successfully problem-solved my way through a painting. The "The Doctrine of Liberty" is good. It speaks to my ability to solve. Solutions such as this painting have grandness of spirit. The result is this moment, me feeling fulfilled and worthy. Unfortunately this satisfaction is momentary. Having the constant companion of a good dog lasted longer. "The Doctrine of Liberty" is grand; it is an imposing painting. It talks boldly and subtly. Its details and its overall composition are both interesting. Simultaneity of the emotive quality of big and small are important to me. This painting is doing it!  Drawing 01·15·2019, pencil on paper, 20x16 inches Rules have been made because history has been made. I grew up with intense interest in visual arts, especially painting and drawing, I studied art history. I looked for models. I looked for information. I gathered it, assiduously and thoroughly. Here I am, playing differently than any model I have ever seen in art history, or in contemporary art. I am myself. Yet, I have not rid myself of the laws I learned from art history and from art school studies. Yesterday's drawing is amazing in its play with form, composition, mark-making, value-contrast, atmospheric and local effects; but it has a deep foundation in the stuff that came before. Is this good or bad? That is a question I continue to answer. This is the process! I have established myself as myself. Now I question the validity of my answers. I am wondering, "Is this drawing remarkable because it plays with rules I invented myself?" OR "Is this drawing just another variation on the rules I have been given by those who made art before me?" Question #2: "Does it matter?" I need to know. Thus I proceed.
 "Seriously?" (2018 No.11, state 11), oil on canvas, 49.8x62.5 inches {"All higher humor begins with ceasing to take oneself seriously." - Hermann Hesse, "Reflections", ed. Volker Michels, 1974}  Drawing 12·20·2018, pencil on paper, 16x20 inches Growth comes with confusions. Most confusions, most problems, are rectified through work. I have this worry, "Am I able to keep all my lessons learned, those things I have rectified through work, available to my present consciousness?" Yesterday's drawing has element of silliness. It was pleasant for me to go that way. Today, looking at that drawing, I muse amusingly, "Silly me!" Lesson learned: This one is silliness too far. The hand-like object was made in jest, but it removes the viewer from this drawing's formalistic wonder. This drawing is glorious in compositional play. Its merits get lost because it took the extreme risk of referencing an obvious human trait. This distracts too much; it is not as successful as it might have been. Lesson learned!
Yesterday's work on the painting, Seriously?, is proof of lesson learned. Seriously? is now enlightened by acceptance of atmospheric color. There are many way of holding a painting together; this atmospheric color thing is one great technical method toward coherence.  Drawing 12·06·2018, pencil on paper, 20x16 inches Three million strokes and counting.... Yesterday's drawing celebrates the marking of a white piece of paper with graphite from a pencil. Later yesterday, as I rested reading in my living room, my arm let me know it had been taxed. I had been enjoying finding forms, finding surface, finding space, finding light, and finding composition! This simultaneity-filled activity is a celebration of mindfulness. The more I do it the longer I can sustain it! This is "practice", as defined by veteran meditators. The Buddha would be proud of me! I have not obtained Buddhahood, but I am moving in that direction. Shravasti Dhammika, a Theravada monk, writes:  "Chaos, Stillness & Prayer" (2018 No.9, state 6), oil on canvas, 54x36 inches {"Art has something to do with the achievement of stillness in the midst of chaos. A stillness which characterizes prayer, too, and the eye of the storm.... an arrest of attention in the midst of distraction." -Saul Bellow, "Writers at Work: Third Series", 1967} Chaos, Stillness & Prayer is Standing straight and tall! This after I made a 1° counterclockwise move. My studio time is filled with more physical effort than ever before. Yesterday I did as much physical change as artistic change. I removed the many pins holding Chaos, Stillness & Prayer to my work wall — except the one on the upper left — then I rotated the canvas. This was followed by pinning the canvas down again. In addition I have recently begun taping the edges of my canvas with black painter's tape; by doing this I know how the final rectangle will look. So I had to remove all the tape applied previous to the 1° rotation and place new tape to surround the image. Finally, I painted. As consequence, state 6 of Chaos, Stillness & Prayer is now much better than state 5!
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At MEHRBACH.com you may view many of my paintings and drawings, past and present, and see details about my life and work. Archives
April 2019
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