The Dragonfly In The Ether.

Lately, I have been meeting my friend Nick Kouzes for coffee once a week before work. We meet at the Spyhouse on Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis. We started doing this with the excuse of discussing my making a painting for him. Kouzes also makes art and works as an art director for a marketing company. I told him I would make him a painting in return for him helping me design a card for myself. (I'm not so good at that kind of thing). He agreed so we, in theory, are discussing that as well. Instead, however, conversation usually digresses into swapping stories about the Greek characters that we know in the community.

Kouzes asked me to do a painting that visually addressed the connection between analytical thinking and creativity. We discussed this some (in between speculating on Costa's wresting career in the old country). I told him that when I paint, I go through phases of just letting it fall out of me and then going back and measuring and balancing everything. I'm usually very analytical at the start, with a very specific plan, but I then I ruin that plan, and go back and fix things in a different (hopefully better) way. I'm part scientist, part chimpanzee.

We talked about ways to visually represent this; different quadrants of the surface representing different kinds of thinking through different kinds of mark making That kind of thing.

However, I chose to approach this painting like a poem. It turned out to be the Dragonfly in the Ether. This idea did not come from my analytical mind. I looked there but all I got was over used symbolism. So, I coughed the dragonfly up from my gut.

As you can see, I used a different wood then usual. A few weeks ago, I visited Leon Mott ("Axis Bold As ... Something", among other commissions) to see the guitars that he makes and rebuilds. He kindly gave me a piece of padukah and suggested that I experimented with using it for a painting. I thought it would work for this one. It was a thin piece, so I made a back frame to hang it from instead of the simple hangin' hole I usually drill in back.

I also broke my own "acrylic paint only" rule and used india ink for all the black to get a different effect. I opted not to put down any gesso at all. I sanded down parts after I painted to make the background less defined, more hazy.

I don't know if any of this worked, but I feel I need to start moving it and doing some things differently. I don't want to make the same painting over and over, again. I don't want to end up at booth at the mall drawing funny pictures of Barbara Streisand and Jamie Foxx. But this is "Paint-on-Demand", so maybe that's where I should be.

I've had some questions as to why I haven't posted Beth's "Axis Bold as..." painting yet. Well, she hasn't finished it. She told me that she thinks painting is boring. (She has a point). If Beth doesn't finish soon, I'll post the unfinished version on that entry. It has a rattle snake in it.

Efharisto poli, Nick. ... And thanks for the wood Leon.