Filed under: Art
Now that I’ve made my coffee I’m ready for bed? I went to bed at 9 PM, woke up at 3 AM to paint and now that I’ve gone through the effort to make some coffee my body is telling me it’s time to go back to bed. Well that ain’t happening. While it’s still dark and snowing I’m going to enjoy my coffee, have a snack, and let some paint dry. Then I’m going to continue painting until it’s time for me to go to my other job at the frame shop (I forgot to tell you? I’m learning the art of framing). On another note I came across this video of a murmuration of starlings that reminded me of how mysterious and beautiful the world still is.
I’m looking forward to winter.
Filed under: Book Burning
Yes, after a long break from reading fiction and washing myself in the holy waters of the self-help genre, I’ve finally picked up another book – six or seven of them to be precise. I’m currently reading The Moviegoer by Walker Percy, T.C. Boyle’s The Tortilla Curtain, God Is Dead by Ron Currie, & The Artists Guide by some poor misguided soul that thinks that making a living as an artist is a truly feasible idea. I may be even more misguided than the author since I did buy into her snake oil charm and parted with $17 for the book. As for God Is Dead, God comes down to earth as a Dinka woman from the Sudan who gets herself into a bit of trouble and then dies. The rest of the book documents the various ways in which the world reacts to the death of God. I’m not so much enjoying the nihilistic themes that follow as I am the idea that God would choose to become human and die (of course I’m following the “Christian” interpretation of God as the book presents it). The book reminds me of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, which I read in one sitting two years ago – a book that was so totally void of hope that I couldn’t put it down – I read on and on hoping for any kind of a positive, hopeful outcome that never really happened, but I digress. I haven’t finished God Is Dead yet (not as riveting a read as The Road, nor as dark), but alas I must push through, as my fascination with people and their ideas about God’s power is stronger than my aversion to nihilism.
The next book on my list is About A Mountain, by John D’Agata, and I may be reading it for all the wrong reasons, as I generally am not attracted to non-fiction that touches on environmental issues (hippy tendencies? really.), but I allowed myself to be suckered into this on because of it’s book jacket design. The first paragraph, citing population statistics and numbers regarding Las Vegas, Nevada also played a part. I probably won’t finish this one, and in the unlikely event that I do, I’ll relate my opinionated opinion. Well that’s it. Putting off sleep is getting a little tiring and this is getting ridiculous.
I don’t work at a museum anymore? Wait a minute, what? I live in an apartment with a fireplace and a washer and dryer? I’ve even got room to paint, and I’m working here here, and here. Among other things, I’ve been spending my time teaching museum people how to make special boxes that last forever, helping local restaurants serve healthy locally sourced food, staying at filthy hotels in Arizona, and experimenting with new types of paints and soft pastels. It’s been almost a year since I’ve been on here, but I’m back for at least one more post (and hopefully a few more hereafter). I’ve been traipsing all over the interwebs as of late and have been (constructively of course) wasting most of my time here, here, and most importantly, here. I know you’re jealous, but don’t hate. All this proverbial mechanical bull riding, making enemies out of friends, & friends out of enemies has been exhausting, but as a good friend once told me on a drinking binge – “you just have to push through”, and as an ever dutiful friend I’ve pushed through and have ultimately discovered that things are bigger here and the world has much to offer, including Earl the toy train engineer from the Bar D Chuckwagon, who’s always happy and smiling because he gets to engineer a small train:
Yes, I was really on that train this past summer and I even rang the train bell (is that what it’s called?). As yet another wonderful summer with Taleya has been wrapped and cured in bacon and as we move into fall here in Durango, I can’t help but look deep into the future to a time where the leaves begin to turn green again and all is right in the world, which looks something like this:
Filed under: Art
I’ve been exploring different animals via small watercolor paintings over the last few years and have recently decided to take that exploration into oils; this is my first in a series where I’ll be creating portraits of animals and color.
“Everything you do is in response to a request or a suggestion made to you by some other party either inside you or outside. Some of these suggestions are good and praiseworthy and some of them are undoubtedly delightful. But the majority of them are definitely bad and are pretty considerable sins as sins go.”
- Flann O’brien
Filed under: Friends
On Monday October 25, a friend of mine, Carrie Scislowicz, was killed in a car accident while driving home to Boulder after spending the weekend in Durango with Ami, Eric and me. We met Carrie in August of this year while attending a 10 day Vipassana meditation retreat in Elbert, Colorado, where the three of us connected while talking about our experience at the close of the retreat.
Carrie came to Durango over the weekend of the 22nd to see our little corner of the world, and it was, as she so succinctly put it, “a real and lovely weekend.” We spent our time riding bikes around town, eating good food, hanging out with good people, playing Gin Rummy, and touring Mesa Verde and the Southern Ute Reservation. I can honestly say that we gave her the best weekend possible, and she left for Boulder happy and smiling. It was an honor to have been a part of her life even if for only a short while.
Carrie was a seriously genuine and honest individual who made a difference in the world and the lives that she came into contact with. She was witty, intelligent, sarcastic, and caring, and her passing has certainly left a void in the world. Thank you for being such a bright light in the world Carrie – you will be missed.
