Harvey is right. I spend way too much time in my head,
ruminating about everything and anything, but mostly about my art. When I first began painting my biggest
concern was that I be taken seriously, and not seen as some doctor dabbling in
art on his days off. I wanted my
work to be “serious” art, although I had no idea what serious art was, and
still don’t. But for the most part
I was comfortable doing what I did, thinking of myself as a storyteller with my
drawings and paintings of city life.
Some thirty years later
I find myself more unsettled than ever before, despite considerable improvement
in my understanding and execution of my craft. The questions abound.
What should I paint, large colorful landscapes, small drawings and
sketches of the world around me, realistic pastels, abstract clay mono types,
or meticulous architectural rendering with watercolor? Shouldn’t I focus on developing my
skills in one or two mediums, rather than working in all of them and being that
Jack of all trades and master of none? Theses concerns may seem silly to others, and I must
admit that as I’m writing this, they seem rather ridiculous to me now. But unfortunately they are very real.
The solution of course
is obvious; paint whatever I want to paint, in whatever medium and whatever
size I fancy, and throw out all the questions because they don’t matter. And with that sentence I have
experienced the therapeutic powers of journaling; the questions that haunted me
30 minutes ago no longer do so and I have managed to get out of my head…at
least for a while.
Yesterday's work:
Do you know where this is (in Paducah)?...pen, ink, markers...10x8"
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