Upstanding Art

I set out last week to poke around my studio in search of a found composition that could become a birthday card. I sorted through existing paintings on paper but what eventually caught my eye were scraps from practice brushstrokes done in service of my recent series of eight abstract-scribble-inquiry paintings. 

One thing led to another, and my paper card idea evolved into a multi-layered composition mounted on wood—an upstanding piece of art, if I do say so myself. 

And, not only is it upstanding, but it can stand up by itself!

Simply Pay Attention to What Comes Along
3.75 x 4.75"; acrylic on paper, mounted on wood
abstract
2023

upstanding art standing up on display

Stuck, Unstuck

Jan Frazier writes in a recent teaching:

That word reality tends to be surrounded

by unwelcome associations and feelings.

Isn't that telling?

The last thing many a person wants

is to be reminded of reality.

And yet what gets called spiritual liberation

is about coming at last

to rest in what is real.

Imagine:

that relaxing into the truth of things,

without recoiling,

is utterly peace-inducing.

Yesterday, I could not for the life of me relax into the truth of things—the truth that I didn't like the paintings-in-progress in my studio, that I couldn't make sense of what I as doing nor where I was going, that I didn't know what to do to fix the messes, that the paintings weren't going to resolve on their own, that I had to find the courage to take a step, that I had to risk whatever would unfold. I could feel recoil and resistance in my body. Discouragement. Fear. 

I was stuck.

---

And then I wasn't.

I awoke (awakened!) this morning relaxed in the truth of things. By early afternoon I took that peace-inducing relaxation into my studio and began playing.

I'm Saying We Don't Have Forever. For Anything.
7 x 8.5"; acrylic, graphite, pencil, pastel, and collage on paper
abstract scribble inquiry
2023

A Series, in Spite of Myself!

My history with painting in series is on the sparse side, but lookie this! A series of four!