An Honest Mess

December 30, 2017
   Wrapping up the year, cleaning and sorting. Making plans to start anew. It's always hopeful, but somewhat discouraging at the same time.

  Decided to get to the bottom of my art desk. When I cleared off all the paint tubes and brushes and art reference, I could see the actual surface of my desk, which has been filled with layers and layers of random paint from hundreds of Daily Whip Outs.

This is perhaps the most honest thing I have ever painted.

   Why? Because there is no pretense. When I started to clean off the stray paint, I got the idea to stop and give it a frame effect.

This is what pretense looks like.

   The goal, for me, is to stay open and not try and bend the process towards a preconceived idea of what any painting should look like.

 Seeking Open Awareness

"Presence is a quality of welcoming, open awareness, which is dedicated simply to 'what is'. There can still be someone who is aware and there is that of which they are conscious —the sound of running water, the taste of tea, the feelings of fear, or the weight and texture of sitting on a seat. And then there can be a letting go of the one who is aware, and all that remains is presence. All of this is totally without judgment, analysis, the wish to reach a conclusion, or to become anything. There is no mentation and no expectation. There is simply 'what is'."
—Tony Victor Parsons

My art desk and splash wall on a typical day.

"Where there is an open mind there will always be a frontier."
—Charles Franklin Kettering