|
|
|
Untitled SymbolWork | Markup on photo Sept 28, 2026
more art on Instagram
|
|
|
In college, my drawing instructor, Richard Calabro, with eyes alight, would challenge class with the statement: "the best art has rich backgrounds." He'd draw out "RRRIICCCHHH!" with a fiery smile, and have us spend hours layering foundational marks on paper before we could even touch the subject. Confusion would commence among some, and so would a bit of moaning.
|
I flipping LOVED it. Layers of backgrounds all day, Baby!
|
When Photoshop came along in my commercial mark-making life, layers were again, a thing. Working with layers came naturally: opacity, blocking, building, grouping, overlays. If you use Photoshop, you know layers are everything: functional and flexible all in one. It's how you produce dozens from a single PSD by manipulating layers.
|
Now it's fall sweater weather, and layering is again, a thing.
Who doesn't love seeing and feeling color and texture atop other colors and textures? For some, getting dressed is an art form, so hats off to stylists and costumers who make the activity of dressing humans a sight for the rest of us to behold.
|
Covering nakedness is something we all do. Making it an art form, only accomplished by some. My guess is, many of you delight in the process of dressing. If you don't, perhaps now is the time to get a little experimental? Around these Northeastern US parts, you can now toss on bold and tweedy layers without sweating off all your pumpkin spice.
|
Mirroring & Signposts
And today, again, I have a paradoxical illustration for the topic du jour.
|
Last night's untitled artwork (above), reads to me as a lightweight, barely-veiled piece, and I still don't know what to make of it. It's very different my recent body of work, but it is also one of my better pieces of late, so here it is.
|
The piece feels "of the times," but there's not one bit of fall feeling about it.
|
To me, seeing this piece carries a feeling of calm omniscience. Cool, but human. Pink like a new baby, yet because of shapes, reads as "seeing eyes" too. White is a gentle veil.
|
The drawing above was completed atop a photo of tree bark. Under the white blur you can see the tree's "language lines." My work is drawing on photos of places where I see or feel something arresting. I snap an image, and later cover the photo with marks, stickers and shapes, obscuring and highlighting the energy I perceive.
|
And I knew when this piece was done, but I don't know how I knew. That's the oddness of being an artist, finishing is only in the eye of the maker.
In the coming months I plan to produce this image, and others of your favorites, as limited edition prints for sale, with others as small, inexpensive works. Stay tuned and please share this email with any friends who may like to follow along.
|
For today's this piece serves as a symbol of something I hadn't previously considered: bringing "sheer lightness" to a time of "deep layers." Also, how paradoxical illustrations are a decent way to hold the tension of opposites.
|
And that's what the practice of art is for me: a sometimes confounding milestone of inner journey, that shines light on something in the outer world too.
If any of this lands for you, please consider investing in my work, and thank you for everyone who already does, week after week.
|
I hope you enjoy lovely presence, and beautiful layers in warm sweaters, gossamer clouds in your sky, and translucent veils of art and music wafting around your being. Life can be so unbelievably beautiful.
|
Point of view is the essential, irreplaceable core of human art that separates authentic creation from mechanical replication.
- Rick Rubin
|
|
|
|
|
|
More Text & Images
|
|
|
Grief and The Cultivation of a Bird | Markup on photo 2026
|
|
|
|
|
Passion, Practice, Project
|
|
|
How to create measurable success when your midlife situation or livelihood gets badly busted. I'm in midlife, and apparently, most people are doing this sh1tshow better than me. Double career changes in my household is shaking up basics like health care and cash flow. I find this confounding, because I'm used to winning. I play so small, logging wins like …
|
|
Categories: Best of Mommess, Coaching, Feature, Mommess, Parenting, Uncategorized
|
|
|
|
|
|
You received this email because you signed up here, or I thought you might find this interesting and added you to my weekly roundup of text & images. You may unsubscribe at any time at bottom. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
In the days of AI and excessive optimization, mess is leading edge.
Some content on my site is political, some personal, much of it philosophical, and all of it meant to shine some light into the lives of my readers, because it was written to shine light into mine.
|
|
I hope my work stirs your soul, ignites your creativity, and helps you feel connected to all the good things this life can offer. If it doesn't, please promptly forget it! This work is my soul's calling. If you find value here, please tip or consider a paid subscription.
|
|
|
|
  
|
POLITICAL ACTION AREA: It's best to connect with your local civic groups, and show up in the ways you can. Peaceful crowd sizes matter, as does your positive energy, community spirit, and adherence to non-violence. OCTOBER 17 is the next National No Kings Day to encourage early voter turn out.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
