A still life is a study in what is known, what is seen, and what is necessary to see. I have done several versions of this, each progressively more "finished". In this case, that means smoothing the surfaces, filling in blanks between tones to establish continuity. I hesitate to overdo it, however, as the dappled sense of light and color is really the motivation for the work. To a certain extent, being as old as I am helps me judge what I want to leave in, what I don't mind working over, what I can stand and can't stand. But not as much as I would have guessed in my twenties. I think my conclusion is, work harder in your twenties, don't worry what others think. No matter what happens, you will still tend to think about and care about the same things at the end of the decades. Perhaps to your surprise.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
The meaning of life
The digestive system has more neurons than the central nervous system, according to a recent article in the New York Times. The ancients believed the seat of thought was in the belly, not the head. I imagine that by painting vegetables I am getting closer to understanding the meaning of life. The irony, of course, is that neither vegetables nor my digestive system care about the meaning of life।
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Lao Tzu gives advice on diet and exercise
Lao Tzu on identity crisis
Know the male
But keep to the role of the female
And be a ravine to the empire
If you are a ravine to the empire
Then the constant virtue will not desert you
And you will return to being a babe.
Know the white
But keep to the role of the black,
and be a model in the empire.
Then the constant virtue will not be wanting
And you will return to the infinite.
Book XXXVIII
D.C. Lau, translation
But keep to the role of the female
And be a ravine to the empire
If you are a ravine to the empire
Then the constant virtue will not desert you
And you will return to being a babe.
Know the white
But keep to the role of the black,
and be a model in the empire.
Then the constant virtue will not be wanting
And you will return to the infinite.
Book XXXVIII
D.C. Lau, translation
Lao Tzu on interior design
Lao Tzu comments on American produce
Questions from Lao Tzu's job interview
Love is a marsh
Old hippies
Doug, on the right, is now Edwin and has never lost his beauty. He sings and tells stories, fixes things, and reminds everyone of the love right in front of their noses. I carry an old leather gut full of unfinished riddles under my shirt, and when I have indigestion, you can hear the words slosh around and expel the methane of fermented dreams.
Life stone, tomb stone
Something fell down by my house. A ton or more of white oak branches fell in the gap between Florenzio's house and our's. It took out part of his deck, and left an arm-thick branch dangling on the roof over our bedroom. The wind blasted this improbable slotting, this insertion of the stuff of disaster in a space where no disaster is, or will be. It was a noumenal wind, existing only in the mind of the tree. It blew straight down, and in all directions at once. like Pico Della Mirandola's definition of God, its center was everywhere and its circumference was no where.
Our space was tagged by the infinite, and we felt more finite than ever.
Our space was tagged by the infinite, and we felt more finite than ever.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Wittgenstein's eyes
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Stations of a prophet
One of my multipanel comix from around 1979. Read on for the story and more art. Click on the art for a bigger image.
A raft of comix old and new on a cold February day
In 1977 I was sitting in my studio the day Elvis died, and was inspired to make a comix in honor of the event. It was the first time I had done the multipanel thing. I liked it and continued to do it for a few years. In 1981 my brother-in-law Dana Rotegard fronted the money to publish a book I called Bozo Soofi Mystical Instruction Comix : Propaganda for the Sleepers. A copy of it was on Art Speigelman's coffee table for a while in the early 80's. It was reviewed in a few places and was included in the collector's guide to American underground comix in 1984, which resulted in selling quite a few copies to collectors. I decided to upload a few of the panels here today to share the damn things.
Also, I started drawing again for the first time in over 20 years. I include one of my recent "new improved" Bozo Soofi comix at the end of this group.
If for some reason you want a copy of the book (11 x 14 inch, coated paper, black and white, signed by the author, first edition) it is available from me for $30 plus $6 shipping etc. You can get three for free shipping. There are only a few dozen left from an original print run of 2000 so act fast. C'mon, act faster. Faster!
Also, I started drawing again for the first time in over 20 years. I include one of my recent "new improved" Bozo Soofi comix at the end of this group.
If for some reason you want a copy of the book (11 x 14 inch, coated paper, black and white, signed by the author, first edition) it is available from me for $30 plus $6 shipping etc. You can get three for free shipping. There are only a few dozen left from an original print run of 2000 so act fast. C'mon, act faster. Faster!
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