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An idea is like a butterfly
10/22/2022
WHERE DO IDEAS come from? I think they are like butterflies, if you reach out for them, they will flutter away, always beyond the fingertips. But if you take a deep breath, sit back, and find your center, the butterfly will land on your shoulder. Mostly, in my case, the ideas come naturally from my sketching process.
I was in a bookstore, and came upon a book of monuments. On the cover of this book was a simple monument, almost a monolith like in the Kubrick film ‘A Space Odyssey 2001’, but with the left side beginning to round at the top, and coming to a point on the right side, (see Pastel no. 1 below). This image stayed in my mind for a few days until I next visited my studio, and proceeded to start sketching using the monument as a starting point, within the confines of my simple square parameters. From the sheets of dozens of drawings, came a series of large pastel paintings where that monument shaped object morphed into a variety of different objects looking over the sea atop snowy hills with varying degrees of erosion.
I was in a bookstore, and came upon a book of monuments. On the cover of this book was a simple monument, almost a monolith like in the Kubrick film ‘A Space Odyssey 2001’, but with the left side beginning to round at the top, and coming to a point on the right side, (see Pastel no. 1 below). This image stayed in my mind for a few days until I next visited my studio, and proceeded to start sketching using the monument as a starting point, within the confines of my simple square parameters. From the sheets of dozens of drawings, came a series of large pastel paintings where that monument shaped object morphed into a variety of different objects looking over the sea atop snowy hills with varying degrees of erosion.
What is that about? What are those objects, and why are they there? Why the wintery landscape, why the erosion, why the sparsity, why? Upon reflection, not all questions are answered, nor do I want them to be, but there are clues...
What was I going through at the time I made these pastels paintings? What was happening in the world, how was I experiencing it?
I was working at a cooperative food market as a bulk food buyer. I worked in a poorly designed store, where the space in the back of the building designated for the work crew was cramped and windowless. It hummed with HVAC noises, was clad in metal, we stood and navigated the multiple coolers and freezers that defined the sides and edges of the space, it felt a bit like a sensory deprivation tank. I had been there for almost 4 years, and I was tired of the repetition, the noise, and feeling cramped, always cold, I was so ready to move on... Then the pandemic hit. There was a lockdown, but not for us, we were an essential business, and therefore had to remain open. Every time I went to work, knowing I’d have to interact with customers, I wondered if I’d get the virus, and die. Or worse, infect my wife and she’d die.
I was working at a cooperative food market as a bulk food buyer. I worked in a poorly designed store, where the space in the back of the building designated for the work crew was cramped and windowless. It hummed with HVAC noises, was clad in metal, we stood and navigated the multiple coolers and freezers that defined the sides and edges of the space, it felt a bit like a sensory deprivation tank. I had been there for almost 4 years, and I was tired of the repetition, the noise, and feeling cramped, always cold, I was so ready to move on... Then the pandemic hit. There was a lockdown, but not for us, we were an essential business, and therefore had to remain open. Every time I went to work, knowing I’d have to interact with customers, I wondered if I’d get the virus, and die. Or worse, infect my wife and she’d die.
Pastel no. 1 - 2019Chalk Pastel
16” x 16”
Pastel no. 2 - 2019
Chalk Pastel
16” x 16”
Pastel no. 3 - 2019
Chalk Pastel
16” x 16”
I needed to be away from people! My pastels portray these objects of mysterious interest, standing alone, stoically, atop the icy hills, (even though it was spring, I was always cold at work). They are like timeless sentinels, overlooking the serene sea, an expansiveness and lightness that is the opposite of my work experience, (I got bumped every time someone walked past me while at my standing desk in the back of the store). But in the pastels, the atmosphere is calm, and the sentinels seem to be guarding time, there seems to be an absence of time, (days at work were starting to feel endless in lockdown, an 8 hour shift felt like a week).
The hills overlooking the sea may be influenced by the views of my favorite view in Portland Maine, where the eastern most part of the peninsula overlooks the Casco Bay, and beyond, the islands scatter about in the open sea. Water is calming to me, and with the bay being protected by the islands, the sea is never violent in the bay.
The hills overlooking the sea may be influenced by the views of my favorite view in Portland Maine, where the eastern most part of the peninsula overlooks the Casco Bay, and beyond, the islands scatter about in the open sea. Water is calming to me, and with the bay being protected by the islands, the sea is never violent in the bay.