Journal Archive About the Journal
Picasso Never Had to Do Morning Shows in Albuquerque
Journal entry for 27 Sep 2010 | Link
I'm proud to say that the journal has not missed a single Monday since it began in early May. One of the problems with the Monday schedule, though, is the probability of weekends getting knocked out. On Saturday, I moderated a panel discussion on webcomics and social media marketing at the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo. Afterward I went through the tables—quickly—hopped on a couple of trains, caught a bus to New York, crashed at a friend's apartment for the night, and caught a ferry the next morning to attend the last day of the Governors Island Art Fair. In the evening I delivered a painting to the couple that purchased it on the upper east side, had dinner with family nearby, crashed again, narrowly made the ferry back to the island this morning, took down the show, cleaned the room, caught the ferry back to Manhattan and drove home to Boston. That was only five hours ago, but humans needed dinner, the dog needed reassurance, and the cats needed to catch up on going in and out of the house freely as they only can when their people are home.
Arboretum Fall, 2010, oil on canvas, 18 x 24 inches, private collection, New York City
During the prior week I drew a piece for the book that Warren Craghead is producing to accompany Leaf and Signal: International Lo-Fi Arts Publishing, which opens this weekend at the The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative in Charlottesville, Virginia. Here's a sneak peek:
The full piece runs for twelve pages, and given the considerable talents of the other participants in this show, the book it's going into is likely to be wonderful. I am going to dedicate the next three days to preparing art, press, and other materials for my show at Main Library, Downtown Miami in November. Here's a sneak peek of that as well (click for a larger view):
Then it's off to Logan on Friday to fly down to D.C. and take a car into Charlottesville for the opening. Warren promises a weekend of drawing, and we're hoping that we can entice J.T. Kirkland to drop in on us. Monday I plan to hit the National Gallery, where there's a ton of good stuff right now: Munch prints, anatomical drawings, Rothko black-on-black paintings, and the Chester Dale collection. It would be a shame to miss Masterpieces of Chinese Painting at the Freer.
I have thoughts about all this—that Warren, for instance, is coming as close as anyone I know to connect with the pervasive love of drawing described in last week's post; that there are important practical and qualitative differences between artist-run and non-artist-run art events; that an art career is largely an act of nerve. Several readers e-mailed with interesting responses to last week's entry, and they deserve serious consideration. These thoughts will have to percolate as I hustle.
An Artist Has an Obligation to Be En Route
George Carlin sums it up.