I was so excited after I ran 12 miles I wrote the President and totally forgot about it. Stupid endorphins. I just was so jazzed about running after being a smoker. In 36 years I wouldn't have thought it was possible.

I read this letter from WWI to the President (? not sure who the President was) from a soldier. It stayed with me. The letter was extremely repetitive about kicking the Kaiser out, and listed the following: GOD, the President, and the dear old US of A.

mousetrap

I almost lost my head. I put a sign up on a roof and just after putting hardware in realized the ladder was now on the other side of the sign. I took all but the center hardware out of it and turned the sign 90 degrees and perched it in a position that left it with a surprising amount of velocity once it started. The sign weighs about thirty pounds.

I had a good opening at Brooks Dental on Thursday. I did however get an odd comment... a compliment in a sense. "I really like your work, I just wish I could afford it." It's an odd thing to hear. I do have a formula or a rule of thumb that I go by and I do feel strongly that it is logical and I'm not going to change prices of paintings to a lower price in hopes that I'll start selling a lot of them. I wonder if I had a lot of money in the bank and was paying a mortgage instead of rent if that would reflect in my pricing- I wonder if it would reflect in the paintings themselves too.

This photo is for Mickey and Aaron at Artco. It's cedar planks joined on the back with one by twos. The wood shrank a lot as it dried and I think if I had to do it over again I'd purchase a inventory of wood to dry and distress before beginning the project. There is a video of me 'distressing' the sign but it's not a sexy as it sounds.

I wish I remember the name of that place in SoDo. Lots of gothic by in the front window. I think there was a safe painted in the window also... ? It's right by the strip club.

mothers day

moms. everybody has one. one of my favorite painters Dean Benish once said that if you mom likes your painting it's no good. he showed with Philip Guston- or at least studied under him, my memory is foggy.

I was watching this move.... it was sort of a walk around with different philosophers and this one lady had it right. I don't remember exactly what she said but something to the effect of designating meaning finitely leads to no good end. Absolutism and singularity is a bad deal. People that purport to know the truth in a linear unquestioning way have no ethical substance.

This may lead me into my aversion to talking about any art. Especially art that I've made. When writing or talking about it upon reflection is never 100% correct. Whenever anyone talks about their work I do cringe but after some time has passed I do have to admit I get a little jealous. Selling your competence I think is more about showing your confidence. I'd like to be more specific here but no good examples come to mind when thinking about what not to do when talking about your art.