Back In The Day

I began drawing as a child sitting on the floor in front of my father's television set as he watched the Saturday night fights. I tried to draw the boxers and wrestlers as they squared off in the ring. There were no art instructors in our small rural town and all I had was typing paper and a 2B pencil. Drawing kept me quiet and out of the way so my parents were happy, and I was happy too as I tried to draw the men in their stances.   

Despite my lack of training and exposure to art, I eventually found myself entering the university in the sixties and studying art as a major. Many of the students were from cities, some had even studied at the Art Institute in Chicago, so I was a green horn, a hick from the sticks who had a lot to learn.  A little intimidated at first, once I began to draw in the Life Drawing classes, I relaxed and felt at home. I went on to study a variety of different media, art theory and history. I loved it all.  The four years I spent there were splendid, perhaps the most wondrous years of my life - an experience for which I will forever be grateful. 

Back In The Day. Mixed Media on Tinted Paper. 9 x 12. 2017. Drawn from a photo of Jeff Barsky taken back in the day.

Figurative Study.

Meditation

I have been learning to find peace and stillness by practicing mindfulness and quieting the mind. Let go of all thoughts racing through the  mind and rest and relax into the present moment.  Breathing in peace and love gently. Breathing out all anxiety and all disturbance as it comes into the mind. Breathe in peace, quieting and refreshing the mind. . .
Meditation. Mixed media drawing. 16 x 20 inches. 2017.

Ennui

Many frequently fall into a state of ennui, boredom and weariness of the world, quietly struggling with the meaninglessness of life despite an incredibly fast paced life of constant stimulation. One escapes into daydreams and time goes by until we awaken from our reverie.

Been walking my mind to an easy time, my back turned towards the sun.
Lord knows when the cold wind blows it'll turn your head around.
Well, there's hours of time on the telephone line to talk about things to come.
Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground.

Oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain. I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end.
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend,
but I always thought that I'd see you baby, one more time again, now.

Thought I'd see you one more time again.
There's just a few things coming my way this time around, now.
Thought I'd see you, thought I'd see you, fire and rain, now. ~ James Taylor