Picking Up the Pieces

Working at my Desk this Morning

Throughout his life, he expected much . . . and throughout his life he was disappointed . . . . But he believed deeply that the existence of art–and especially the creation of it by himself and others–was a way of embracing and yet transcending what William Butler Yeats called “the fury and the mire of human veins.” The question was: As an artist, how to be enmeshed in the human experience and yet transcend it? How is it possible to cope with the disastrous aspects of one’s own personal experience and at the same time rise above the suffering that it produces? For Motherwell, the answer lay in his art. He was quite literally kept alive by the act of painting.

Jack Flam, “Introduction: Robert Motherwell at Work,” Robert Motherwell: A Catalogue Raisonne, 1941-1991, Volume 1: Essays and References

Those who follow my blog are aware that I spent the past sixteen days in St. Louis, tending my father in St. Louis University Hospital. The struggle has been exhausting for him, both in and out of ICU. He has improved somewhat but still has not been released for rehab. I had to return to Texas because I could not let my business slide any longer. I cancelled two important events and am now feeling the pinch from those decisions.

The Robert Motherwell reference above soothed my spirits this morning, as I acknowledged about ten years ago that art, for me, was more than a hobby, more than a vocation. Throughout my St. Louis sojourn, I realized more than ever how much art feels like my life blood, my very oxygen. Picking up the brush when I returned home gave me a sense of strength and hope and a connection to life that I haven’t felt for a couple of weeks.

Completing New Work at the Drafting Table

Paddington Still Likes to Lounge in the Studio as I Work

Completed 8 x 10″ watercolor of one of my favorite New Mexico scenes along Route 66

Completed 8 x 10″ watercolor of my Friend and Fishing Buddy, Ron Darr

I managed to complete a pair of small watercolors I had started as demos for classes taught recently. I now have them in frames and ready to present to the public. I have also returned to Studio 48 here in Arlington, and replaced eight of the nine pieces I had hanging on display since the gallery went through its transformation last month. I have a watercolor class scheduled for June 14 in this gallery, and look forward to working with others in this medium.

New Display of my Work at Studio 48

The rest of the Display

There is so much still to do that has laid dormant since my departure. It feels good to put the word back out to the public that I am once again open for business and am glad to be back at the task.

Thanks for reading.

I make art in order to discover.

I journal when I feel alone.

I blog to remind myself I am not alone.

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Tags: County Line Magazine, David Tripp artist, Eyes of Texas Fine Art Gallery, gallery at redlands, Palestine Herald Press, recollections 54, Studio 48, Studio Eidolons