T-minus 24 Days

24 days until my solo show opens at Gallery 138.

Almost done with the last painting for the show. Just have to go in with some more color and then the beauty will finally be the beast. I’ve included a preliminary jpg for your enticement. The color came out all bleached when I shot it, so you’ll have to envision vibrant, over the top pinks clashing with orangey nasty skin tones with drippy glop seeping out of it, or some such nonsense. Perhaps it’s bad form to show paintings before they are done, but fuck it! This is the new world, this is the blogosphere, this is the heartland of half-done, and in progress, nearly there, two more strokes, in process, hey nahnah…

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Thinking of death.
Thinking of what John Cage said,
“The first question I ask myself when something
doesn’t seem to be beautiful is
why do I think it’s not beautiful.
And very shortly you discover that there is no reason.“

It is at times like this, when Cage’s words ring true and clear in my head, that things like a chainsawed thumb laying in a kitchen towel in your lap as you drive yourself to the hospital or ketchup wrappers next to spent condoms on the main drag, look like the the single most charming scenes on this fine green globe.
Thanks John.

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The last picture of my grandmother, Ethell Ashley before she died.