September 30

While I no longer need to work to live, I do live to work. With Art, at least for me it is necessary ti think things through so you do not spend a lot of time on something that is untenable. So again later in life I found the necessity of keeping the sketch book as a journal of thoughts and experiences. Like with everything else, there is a necessity to prove you have done something that is completely yours. The sketch book helps in that role by giving the evidence of a thought process, Once carried out you can also keep a log of work with explanations to help show ownership and creation as well as a view of the changes and steps in the continuity of progressing work.

In graduate school they emphasize the use of the sketch book to prove that you are continuing to work. An example of this was a girl in the same studio wing as I who only showed up one day a week to working her studio. I asked my self what kind of work was she doing that required so little time. Where I had to spend from 5-7 hours every day. She also did not produce a sketch book. for studio which was a large part of the grade for that responsibility. She could or would not keep up and left school.

Since the graduate school I attended did the bachelors degree also to train up a mind in the way it should go. They fomented the use of the sketch book process for Art students as a process that taught thinking things through, and cataloging that process. Every class I took as a graduate student required a sketch book or journal. I who did not keep a regular sketch boo had to learn the process. Except for computer classes in software use and training as well as philosophy, did not make this requirement. I also started using my computer as a note keeper, so I have developed my blog and Art log on the Internet partially fulfill the need to keep a sketch book.

September 29

Well almost done with another month. Well we are into fall and on the way to winter. Here in Texas its only 89 today . I'm sure that it will be cooler tomorrow. I've been waiting for cooler weather for three years. Guess I won't hold my breath. Things are getting done. Have to pick up pieces from two shows tomorrow. "Red collage" from the New Braunfels Art League's Shades of Red show. and "Rhapsody" , and "Prelude in C# minor" from the Seguin Oakwood Art League's Fantasy Show.

Thursday, I will be entering "On the Rocks" and "Building Block Collage" into the Artobertfest Show at the New Braunfels Art League.. We will see if I get everything rejected again this year.

I Am working on a few more landscape collages to keep my hands busy. Want to see how my new ideas on rendering is going to hold up on the new pieces. I am also re visiting a piece I did quite a while ago. It was originally in wax pastel over digital photograph, I will be adding watercolor and acrylic to it to see how it holds up. Since the categories keep changing in art it is at time difficult to keep up. What used to be acrylic is now water media which encompasses any water based media. Acrylic, watercolor, and gouache. I doubt the the purest feel that this is accurate,. Some of us have been intermixing these types for years. I know that I do as well as collage and water based markers.

September 27

By the time I got to Phoenix is was 114 derees,
too hot for anything living,
so I went on toward El Paso, still too hot,
that ment on toward San Antonio. Better,
on to New Braunfels, and the Guadelupe River
wet and wonderful
I found my new home.

September 25

destiny

Continue on this path.
This will result in a destination
you do not choose, and that
does not fulfill you potential.
This way is not desired or wanted it will leads
to unhappiness and a drought of happiness
not to mention the augh.
But with vigor consume you life
living each day to its fullest.
Do not give into despair,
your Lorad has better plans for you
He has said as much
He plans to put you in a place
where he can greatly bless you .

It is for you to recognize
each of these blessings
and not take them as your own accomplishments.
His blessing will make you a person,
who will be more able to do his bidding.
To be the person he has chosen for you to be.
Not one for boasting or speaking of
what you can do, but rather
what you can be in the role
he has given you.
Not everything will now go
the way you want or desire.
So much of our culture
today is for seeking after
what is great in our eyes.
For quick pleasures and
than those that thrill
and give a fleeying feeling of commitment.
Be pleased with your lot,
there will be much time for growth
and attainment as we go farther.
While our life is short it is not to be lived
like a moth flying toward the light
to to be caught and burned.

September 24

Truth
funny how that sounds ,
if we don't look back
we seldom see the exchange
and that would have lent itself
to farther and more obtuse
discussions about nothing.
We manage with some degree
of deliberateness to constantly put
the best construction on things that happen.
Often we tend ti bend the outright
truth of a matter to fit to what we think.
That is not the problem
it is when we go out and preach
that falicy as truth.
We wonder why there is no truth.
We fail to see that we manipulate
everything into an Orwellian maxim.
No wonder we have the problems
we have today, we just make excuses
for everything, then point the finger
of blame to others,
why should we look inward,
we would only see ourselves.

September 23

Sight

by looking at something we don't know
that we swing the pendulum
a little farther to the left
to gather together as we live out our life
and move farther down from strife
to see the way we have traveled
to see the route we have gone,
to be a part of the show
and see at least the reveal
that will as time passes at last show
the end of all we think we have known or
have an inkling of what comes next
as we round the corner around the bend
and lie in wait to find the effect
of our salvation our exaltation
in the mist that gathers at the grave
the fog that tops the cake we eat, the vapour
that congeals and entreats or puts off
the misty attack that is our lives,

You

your face looks like an unspoken verse
to rhyme by fitting into the line,
smoothly inserted in its linear quality
in its texture coordinate aspects of ray
emitting light on its own with no encumbrance
to withhold or hold back the ever sharper
ray of textured delight that is the outward
appearance that we perceive as you.

September 22

road block, a barricade

By all that stands in our way

we try to overcome all the obstacle

We push and jostle,

to get through the door

standing in place we reconnoiter

are we where we want to be

is there still an impediment

can we see what draws us inward,

or is there no drawing

only a sence of resignation

dare no to lift our finger to follow the route

either we know or we don't

it is often better to be an observer

rather than one who participates

can it be that the drive is gone

no longer to have a sense of purpose

no sence of sense

no forward momentum

no one to push and reminder us

of what we are aiming for.

if there is no aim

that would be aimless

and if it continues then

it becomes aimlessness.

I need an icey wind to awaken

the feeling in my limbs.

when you don't feel

you don't have an edge

to guide you to do

what needs to be done

to gently stur, your sense of movement.

if you can't feel the movement

you must be standing still

in park. not in drive

no signal to announce

a change in course

staying the course is not change

but changlessness.

Even the rocks change

affected by outward forces

appearance can be altered.

so can lives for that matter.

Its not an obstacle only a barricade.

Go around and the way will be clear again.

September 20

Sunday Morning, uneventful so far, getting ready for church. I desire to do more today than yesterday. Still haven't started the large collage I mentioned yesterday, but there is still time, I'm thinking that I want to try something with more muted colors and shapes.

Had a lot of fun with the dry brush sketches yesterday, but they are only an exercize to use as a primer, They tend to soot me fine because i'ts a slow building process that comes from a lot of small repeated brush strokes that slowly build up the composition. Sort of like drawing only with color. I start with a simple line drawing in pencil as a starting point to give a direction, We will see how far they will go as time passes.

September 19

Started working on some small paintings of gourds nothing fancy just fun relaxing. getting ready to o another large collage. So shoot me, I didn't get going today, Spent too much time working on dry brush and watercolor abstract landscapes.

September 17

Spent yesterday in the doctors office among other things. He said I was ok. The pain and tingeling in my left arm and had had gone since they had injected the steroid into my spinal column. He said it was possibly tempotrary and it might return. In that event we could do another injection. He suggrested Physical theropy to learn to do some neck stretching exerciser to help clear up the spinal column inflamation problem.

Updated the watercolor and collage discusions check the link on the web sites n the linkpages under collage discussion on water color discussion. also updated a few other minor things. Up loaded the whole thing to checke if it all works. it does.

Starting work on some smaller drawings and watercolors in preparation to what comes next.

Also started working on some photography to see if I can reconcile photography as an art form rather than a tool. Want to get some done and framed for a number of up coming shows.

September 14

on the rocks 1.2
22" x 36" Mixed Media collage on paper
2009

circuitous hybrid agricultural vegetation mutilations

15" x 18" Mixed Media collage on paper
2009

I know it takes me a while to get what I'm doing, done. Here are the latest two[2] Mixed Media pieces, I can not guarentee that they are done.I am working om more as well as some pen, ink,acrylic and watercolor drawings.

I at times take quite a while to get things done, that is because I don't have to do any more than I want to. Above are my two[2] latest pieces of collaged art. these are a bit different from what has come before because I am making changes to coinside with what I see, I guess you could say it's a bit myopic. Well that what it is."On the rocks" has taken awhile because I have seen the need to make changes as I go at least three different time. I am hoping that I will leave these alone now and move on, but who knows I could change them again. After all life is change.

September 13

Off we go , on to something else. Isn't it interesting that it has come out that the 400 billion dollars of fraud in medicare is not fixable, so the money is not there to help pay for Obama's health care insurance fix. Now that Joe Wilson spoke the house fixed the bill to make sure that no illegal alien can get health care from the government unless they show valid identification. At least not until they are all legalized and then all of the illegals will be legal and they can vote democratic.

Is there any member of government who is honest? So many of Baraka's designees are tax evaders and cheats. When you really start to like a politician and you think they are one above all the rest and maybe they can make a difference in this government, and you find that they are a crook like all the rest.they are the one you really want to to vote for then you find that they are as crooked like all the rest. Men and women who I tried to admire: Bill Richardson, Tom Delay, Edwards, Hoyer and when you stop and look at whats their position and how they manipulates their position, you have to look an Nancy Pelocci, and Harry Reid. Crooks one and All. Is this what Jefferson was worried about and told us we had to look out and there should be a revolution every once in a while.

Still working on the mixed media collags I have been for weeks hopefully soon I can declare at least one of them as finished. Then I can post them here. The newest piece is called "Circuitous hybrid agriculture vegitation multilations".

September 12

Up dated my painting website added two[2] watercolor paintings. fixed a few links added some language to watercolor painting discussion fixed the missing link to fragmented landscape collage 11 to a close look. fixed a few incidentials. all before breakfast. then I had to get the FTP software to work properly and upload the correct version.

Off to Seguin for the big birthday celebration this morning after breakfast. Looking forward to seeing everyone, execpt Mark and Paula who are flying to Puerto Rico for a cruise.

All other work stops until either Sunday or Monday. Sure is nice being retired.

September 10

Happy Birthday Jamie. Your not getting older every one else is. Have a great day. We had a wonderful day yesterday with grandma on her 89th. We went to Chili's for lunch then came back to her house and relaxed. We are having the big celebration tomorrow with Uncle Carl and Aunt Shirley. we haven't figured out where to go the place we wanted to is closed, or I should say it isn't open yet.

We all like Mexican food so we think it will be El Ranchito, it is really good food and good drinks. So well have to see how it all comes down.
School closed and roads. Flash flood alerts in town. When it rains it really rains.Will add more hopefully this week.

Everything is starting to turn green again.

Updated my painting web site yestertday morning added my two new watercolors. Will be adding more new pieces later this week.

September 9

Well I guess I was wrong about the rain it passes us by. No accounting for their forecasting. rain has been illusive for a year almost, we are almost 60% down from the yearly average. They just said that the rain chances for are 70-85 % for today and tomorrow. They are also suggesting an El Nino condition for the area.

They just found a skull in Georgia (Europe) that is 1.8 million years old, it is the oldest skull found in Europe and puts humans in Europe long before originally thought , and not out of Africa as originally thought, Maybe the garden of Eden was in Europe rather than the middle East

Trying to get "on the rocks 1.3" finished and framed and out of my mind. Not everything we want gets done the way we want.If at all. I have a whole pile of things finished and un framed because they don't fit my paradigm as to what should be framed.

Today was my grandmothers birthday, if alive she would be to 112. I miss her and grandpa. Mom birthday is Thursday (89) and Jamie has hers on Friday(33).

Funny thing every time they get older so do we all. Are we celebrating their age on earth or is it a count down to eternity?

If the theologians are correct and theses are the end times. Then it doesn 't make any difference if there is health insurance reform or what ever they call it now.

September 8

Well they are saying that there is a 40% chance of rain here in New Braunfels, in Texas, 20 percent is a really good chance. So we have a better than even chance for rain here. We really need the rain. this is the worse drought in recorded history.

Watercolor, still working on my technique. Having a lot of fun and still doing what I want. Someday some one will like what I'm doing and recognize me for what I have acheived. Still working on my drawing. Working on incorperating pencil into my collage. the first pieces that I have used pencil are: "chaos" and "grass collage", "red collage 20.3", on the "rocks collage 1.2".

The reason I like incorporating pencil is that it gives a different latitude of visual acuity to the piece. The reason for this simple change is since I work mostly in abstracted landscape reconstructions, and the pencil[graphite] give a highlight to light colored water color areas. its isa simple highlight device. I have been doing it here and there for the last 45 years. While the use of pencil is to work intensive for large scale application, it work as a highlight in small areas that need a gray to black shading. The thin black lines enhance my linear style, keeping me true to my concepts.

September 7

It sure isn't the cool falsl I remember growing up in Michigan. sure there was Indian Summer. Even in the Bronx or Queens , or even in Memphis it wasn't like it has been here in Texas this year. Ohh wow its Hot! (60 days over 100). Well were having a cool spell, only in the middle nineties, but a relief.

Working on some more collages, or still working on the ones I was before. Also a few watercolor pieces. Also going back to some more drawing to round myself out, just trying to keep busy.

September 5

So its watercolor or float. Started a few more pieces to go with the others in the box to be framed some day. I 'm not sure why I keep doing these pieces, obviously I'm not being noticed. My work stands out because I am unique in the group. I work from abstracts.

I don't really need a reference. If I use a reference I make changes along the way to keep me honest to myself. I really enjoy the abstract nature of the collages. It keeps me guessing about my own design. My over all construction of the piece can easily be compromised by my constant meddling with my work.

I have almost finished a redo of on the rocks, i'll posdt it when I think I'm done this time. I guess it's a problem if it sits around for any period of time unframed or unsigned and unstored, I will probabily continue to work on it.