I recently found this painting while digging through piles and piles of art books. I did this ten years ago with the intention of doing a series, but as usual, other things got in the way and I ended up doing only two of these. When I did this I did it because I was feeling burned out with representational pictures and I wanted to do something, anything, no matter how strange or bizarre. Oddly, at the time I planned to do these solely for my own pleasure and this is why they were put away for so long.
This find couldn't have been any more timely for me; even though I started this project a decade ago it really pointed to where I am now - I guess you could say that I've come full circle. Over the last few days I've felt very restricted in my work; I do less of what I really want to do and more of what I don't want to do. How crazy is that? Strange, nonsensical ideas are always coming to me but they're not being put on paper and that must stop. Many of my recent posts have, to one degree or another, been about this;I guess it's just a natural part of growing and maturing as an artist. You reach a point where you know that you have to be yourself and follow your heart without caring about what anyone will say; I definitely have reached this point and there's no turning back now. It's do or die, folks. Over the weekend I had a conversation with a dear friend about this but in a more general sense; we both agreed that most people are unhappy with their lives because they're stuck where they're at and they think that they can't get out. They have literally shut the door behind them; they've given up on their dreams. It's all about the credit card payments and the mortgage payment. No thanks; I'll pass. Being yourself is not the easiest thing in the world to do, but in the end it's all you can be. Pen and ink, watercolor, acrylic, pastel and gouache on bristol board.
Stumble It!