June 2, 2025
At some point, as we age, our skills begin to decline. And although I still think I have it going on, sometimes I see something I did in the past—in my younger years!—and I think to myself, How in the hell did I pull that off? Case in point:
"Dead Man's Dinner"
I had read with some interest that Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid ordered sardines and beer at San Vicente on the night they both died. And that inspired me, so I went out an purchased an old beer bottle at an antique store and then I procured an old school can of sardines and semi-opened it, and then placed them both right on the counter in our kitchen. And then I painted it. So this is totally plein air, Baby! The dripping juice, the metal tears, the hint of bones, the dark, opaque glass. All I can say is, I was in the zone. It's the transitions that make it especially good. The highlights on the rim of the tin, the solid table with just a hint of a crack. Yes, whoever did this was younger than I am now!
"Ah, I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now."
—Bob Dylan, My Back Pages
And Dylan also said in an interview I saw on 60 Minutes that he could not duplicate some of the works he did in his younger years. But you both still "have it going on" indeed!
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