My brother and Seneca in the ring while I was up at the Farm in July. Summer! It’s been too hot. It’s rained a lot. It’s been busy with work, and (half Fridays notwithstanding) I’ve still not gone on a date with the Atlantic Ocean. Haven’t cycled as much as I’d like. But it’s been… Continue reading Summer hid a whetstone in the slender paths between cornstalks
And, at long last, here, I write something again. Don’t think I haven’t longed for it; time without writing makes a ruin of me. A mere responder rather than a decided adventurer. Time— without time to think, to write— renders me a to-do list, at best. Ugh. And I’ve been feeling a right failure of… Continue reading How life makes failures of us all with sunshine, and the gentle rapid passing of time*
Observing and Listening have become almost superpowers in the contemporary world. Such pursuits are almost the opposite of (though are often mistaken for) 'consuming', because to truly see and/or hear takes as much patience and skill as any act of creation. They are the wells that feed creation. Processes —both of observation and research— culminate in… Continue reading Superpowers
Revisiting the April trip, zooming back to Berlin, in black and white. We begin here in RAW-Gelande, the graffiti-clad playground to artists and DJs, just over the river in East Berlin.. Feeling a little Brutal(ism) on this corner, but in person it was a rather lovely building. blue sky reflecting in all the glass. As… Continue reading Promise after this one we go home
View facing west as we await the ferry On an Easter Monday back in early May, Z, J, and I went on a cycling wander with our friends in Amsterdam. Though it was chill and overcast, we had a fantastic day exploring Amsterdam Noord. Two of our bikes on the deck of the ferry A… Continue reading A crossing to the farther shore
Two weekends ago, I spent some days in a fantastic waterside lodge for a wedding in south Georgia. Above, a view of the little lake. Mossed-draped trees trace menacing silhouettes across the water. This was late at night, and the frogs were singing— an orchestra louder than the nighttime city. The lake, seen Saturday afternoon,… Continue reading Of a moody lodge beset by light and weather
It's a fine Sunday, breezy and overcast; not bad qualities for a lazy morning at a window-side desk. A long time ago I used to use crow quill dip pens for drawing and lettering. Though it can be a chore keeping those nibs clean enough to flow nicely, their character cannot be matched by the… Continue reading Sunday morning, looking through old sketchbooks
These candles, clad in two layers of glass, reflect and shimmer beautifully in the dim interior and caught my eye. I didn't spend as much time truly observing them as I may have; rather did a sort of lazy caricature or symbolized portrait of them.My scanner has a really tough time with these new cadmium… Continue reading Candles emitting a cadmium glow
This is a sketch from a couple weekends ago. My friends Sarah & Tara were performing at Freddy's Bar & Backroom, and the band that followed them was Elijah Shiffer And The Robber Crabs. The sax player had a sort of steam punk-looking alto sax— it had a machine-like patina not generally associated with such an… Continue reading This is a drawing about a saxophone
Last week I posted some gentle little watercolors, and briefly described the process. Here, as promised, is a more detailed view of that process. Step one: Draw your shapes in pencil. Step two: scan the drawings, and import to Adobe Illustrator. Trace the shapes using the pen tool, refining as you go, to create your… Continue reading A recipe for crisp-edged watercolors
e daggar art: THE MUSEUM 