Daddy and Daughter - April 5, 2008

This blog celebrates creativity, but no blog, no poem, no painting can do justice to the work of art in the red jacket.

Nothing as precious or as tough or delicate.

We just finished playground time...celebrating LFM's 6th birthday.

Good times! Good times!

Chuck Heston RIP

Always enjoyed a Charlton Heston flick. My favorites include "Omega Man," and "Planet of the Apes." There was something poetic about the misanthrope finding himself defending humanity. And I liked his ape cameo in the remake of Planet of the Apes.

Picture below from the Agony and the Ecstasy, as Michaelangelo, courtesy of NYT.

"You can take my paintbrush when you rip it from my cold dead hand!"

Big Day

Today is my daughter's sixth birthday.

The miracle is not that she survived. The miracle is that I survived...no heart attacks, no strokes...there is still time.

She's a precious, bright and beautiful young girl!

And she has the best and worst of both me and my wife, it's scary!

Sometimes...

...you have moments where, despite certain realities, you feel that you are alone in the world, without a net, without any force to guide you, with nothing but your own moral compass, and nothing but your own intution and your own self-reliance to guide you.

it is at times the worst feeling in the world, because you feel like you are being sucked into a black hole...

and it is at times the best feeling in the world, because are you confident that you can overcome, without anyone else to help you.

today, for this american primitive, this is one of those moments.

i try not to wallow in it...instead i glory in, i revel in it, i thrive in it.

i am alone...naked and free, relying on no one...and i am content.

The "Pornography" Series - Pieces Completed

Thought it would be worthwhile to share progress of completed pieces and the Muse piece, which needs more work.

INT - The Muse (Still in Progress)

In the screenplay, this scene would take place in the morning, after the Writer and the Painter enjoyed a nice evening with his friends at his cottage. Deciding what to do with the storyboard and, of course, the delicate work of completing each female form.




INT - Next Steps

This captures the Painter thinking through how to implement his existential movie. Included is the [non-existent] novel that would be the basis for his movie, "Sexistential." The media are technically mixed, as I use a sharpie to write down the "next steps" on the bar napkin to the left. It is just a coincidence that the title of the book is cut off and the word "SEXIST" appears (although it seems to be cut off in the photo). You can see the full name of the novel on the spine.




INT - What's My Motivation?

A tribute to Kubrick, to making movies, and perhaps even a statement about the role actors play in movies (including existential erotic ones) from the perspective of directors. Notice the male and female actors are simply forms, in contrast with the more fully fleshed out (yet to be completed) characters in The Muse.




EXT - Cottage in the Tropics

This is where most of the action and the dramatic tension, between the Painter and the Writer will take place. At this point, the Painter will give his monologue about his enjoyment of women. The almost cthulhian look of the volcano, with tentacles formed in the lava and the smoke above...even the clouds and the palm tree...are pure accident.




INT - Painter Reading NYT

A favorite of mine. Already discussed below.

The Prequel

Back in 1995, I started painting, for the first time, with watercolors. This piece is actually called "Pornography," and plays more to the cliche of the image and is not relevant to today's screenplay or depiction.

I found this and 37 other watercolors in a trunk while cleaning out at my old house. Along with lots of poetry. In light of the subject matter of the moment, I thought it would be fun to share.

INT - Painter Reading the NYT