2:43 PM: this morning i made another in the series of self portrait sketches i’ve been sending to philip & manio in athens.'
watercolor 16
then i continued the series of creek inspired watercolors: number 16. i was able to restrain myself from doing too much, so this is certainly the one least focused on subject and most on pattern and space. the rocks and water, bathed in afternoon sunlight, contain a rich variety of patterns, both in the creek water and on the lichen studded rocks. the need to describe is deeply rooted; a result of a big misunderstanding as to the nature of art and painting. lately, vuillard is helping me to dispense with this illusion and simply enjoy the endless opportunities for making marks and exploring color divorced from description. in that way, i come closer and closer to the essence of my signature; my identity as a calligrapher. not unlike taiga, vuillard is revealing to me what happens when we really let go of that old, stubborn belief that painting is akin to photography, and involves a slavish need to describe.
BELOW: 4 stages of watercolor 16.
BELOW: yesterday and today, our skies of grown menacing as a system moves in that is forecast to give us possible rain, snow and high winds over the next 4-5 day, especially sunday and monday.
