The Only Thing That Matters

When I studied with [D], 

he’d offer close critiques of what I’d written 

and then put my story aside and say, 

“But I might be wrong. 

And it really doesn’t matter. 

The only thing that matters 

is that you write your ass off.”

—Brian Morton, Tasha: A Son’s Memoir

And so it is with any creative pursuit, I think.

Even having come to understand that learning to paint happens by painting, and that the more I paint the more I learn, I can never get enough reminders and encouragement to just paint 'my ass off.'

Blue Skies for Days
3 x 3"; acrylic and collage on watercolor paper
abstract design
2023

Now You See It, Now You Don't

On my nightstand:

Cape Cod is a place

where buried things

surface and disappear again:

wooden lobster pots,

the vertebrae of humpback whales,

chunks of frosted sea glass.

One day there’s nothing; the next

the cyclical forces of nature—

erosion, wind, and tide—

unearth something 

that has been there all along.

A day later, it’s gone.

—Adrienne Brodeur, Wild Game

On my easel:

What has been there all along?

What is gone?

Where's the ebb?

The flow?

Nautical Nod
3 x 3"; acrylic and collage on watercolor paper
abstract design
2023

Poking Around With Paint

Limited palette: turquoise green, quinacridone rose, quinacridone nickel azo gold, oxide black, white gesso.

Limited tools: palette knife, fine line applicator, nylon screen as stencil.

This little exploration came about mostly as an outgrowth of offloading unused bits of paint while creating other work.

It is now only visible as a photograph since I went on to paint over it completely later.

exploration; putting layers on 5.25 x 5.5" paper

Dear Heart

Playing with softnesses, scribbles, cursive manuscript handwriting, veiling, metallic markers, a fine-line applicator, and a make-up brush.  

Figuring out what I can and cannot do as I go along. 

Looking after I leap.

I Owe It to Myself Not to Protect My Dear Heart From the Ache of Loss
5 x 7"; acrylic and ink on paper
abstract scribble study
2023

Explorer, Even Without Royal Sponsorship

I don't have kings or queens—or anyone else, for that matter!—sponsoring me, but I find myself thinking of such past explorers as Vasco da Gama, Francisco Pizarro, and Hernan Cortes today. I've got my own little Age of Exploration and Discovery going as I venture forth on the seas of scribbling, mapping out routes to expand my art parameters. 

I'm working on getting my sea legs established. 

With spyglass to my eye, I scan the horizon constantly, seeking any and all signs to guide me on my way.

A ship! A ship passes by on Instagram and shares information! Thank you, Laura Horn!

My Hands Work Their Power in the Material World
5 x 7"; acrylic, ink, graphite, pencil, oil pastel, and collage
on mixed media paper
abstract scribble study
2023