The Hand Sees - December 1983 - pencil crayon on paper - 22 x 28 inches
I was about to turn 20 years old when I drew this self portrait. It was a Christmas gift for my girlfriend at the time. Then some years later, last year as a matter of fact, that I received a phone call from a second hand store I frequently shop at called Antiques and Funk. They said that they had purchased a picture of mine from someone and continued to describe it to me. I was in a bit of a shock actually but then found it really interesting. What was the story? I wondered. Had my old girlfriend finally decided that she did not need to be reminded of me or had she in fact gotten rid of it years ago and it has seen other owners?
I went to the shop to view the picture. It was in immaculate condition. I was thankful of that. This same girlfriend has a couple of other early paintings of mine that I hope are ok and kept safe. If they were not still loved, given the opportunity I would buy them from whoever had them. These other two paintings can be viewed in an earlier post here. They are called Hope For One and From Jungle To Jungle.
Through Time Altered Minds - December 1983 - acrylic on canvas - 34 x 40 inches
Here is another self portrait that goes beyond the usual facial recognition and speaks also of body language and mental states of altered reality.
One day while sitting and stoned, I became self aware of a certain body position that I felt I was often in. I had not seen it reflected before nor did I ever consciously think of this position but there it was and it was my body remembering that I do this more so than my mind remembering this. It was a contemplative position because I was high and staring off into space.
The background for this painting comes about from my interest in wood grain and also of wood molding trim in houses and the different styles associated with different eras of houses. Compare this wood molding with the wood molding in the picture The Rose Still Grows that I have in an earlier post. Anyways, I did most of this painting at a friends house where I copied the molding and squared off the general composition from what was there. The two poles running vertically were water heater pipes running through the floor. The figure (me) was not part of this painting until later. Even though the idea was there to add me I contemplated it for a long time (yes, more sitting, staring...) because it was a cool painting before I arrived, with it being a bit more abstract and perhaps a bit more marketable (?) I like how all the surface areas have an angular or curvilinear movement of line or grain through it. I've never had hair like that, so I'm not sure what that is all about, even though there are other renditions of me in other works with the same hair.
Through the years many people have thought that I did my paintings with an airbrush, but that is not the case. I use ordinary animal hair brushes for all my painting.
To Stop A Passing Eye - October 1983 - oil pastel on paper - 20 x 20 inches
