Lockdown reflections and my corner of the universe

this year, in the studio i was keeping the challenges coming … i was able to work on some projects that i had been putting on the back-burner for a bit … cracking birds being number one on my list …

i had always wanted to do my version of a lascaux-esqe cave painting, so i just dove right in, working on a big wood panel instead of map in order to get the stone wall effect ringing true … i worked on that background for almost a month before i even put the figures on top, which were rather simple really … i did have a great time getting lost in the fuzzy background meditation and i am quite pleased with the result …

in order to get the hunter man and the running female figures right, i made huge silhoeuttes of them and stuck them on the painting to see where i wanted them placed … when i was done i stuck them up on the wall of my studio (which has also served as my wife’s office since april) and for a couple of weeks they were the heroic background for all of her zoom calls

i ended up selling this painting almost immediately to a friend here in berlin, and when i got to go and hand deliver it, in the middle of summer … i felt heroic! when i unwrapped her painting she said: “it will be a great conversation starter.”…

my lovely lady and i have been fortunate enough these past few months to stay healthy and sane … for this we are truly grateful, and i believe that in times like these, when you cannot look outward for the usual stimuli, one must look inward, to take this opportunity to better oneself and to focus on what I can …

aldous huxley said that “there is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self” and i have to agree with that … except for adjusting to the usual restrictions and suffering two separate lockdowns, we continue to be in good spirits … and i know a big chunk of my own serenity is most whole, when i can take the blues from the outside world and simply paint my way through it …

… sometimes i feel that i am my own best teacher when i am faced with adversity and i remain confident and weather it, rather than running away from it … i have been able to get an incredible body of artwork done over these past nine months …

i am extremely indebted to those kind souls who were able to purchase some of this art in order to add it to their own little corner of their universe, even in these insane and wobbly times … you know who you are and i thank you!

i just want to remind everyone to stay positive and strong, to help out in your communities where you can and to stay gold …

i will leave you with one of my favorite carlos castaneda quotes:

“for an average man, the world is weird because if he’s not bored with it, he’s at odds with it … for a warrior, the world is weird because it is stupendous, awesome, mysterious, unfathomable … a warrior must assume responsibility for being here, in this marvelous world, in this marvelous time.”