an artist date: sketching with the masters

From April 25, the perfect date¹.

I’ve noticed recently how many of my favorite thinkers, artists, musicians, and philosophers spent/spend an good amount of time consuming literature, art and music themselves – acknowledging their teachers and influences.

^{I was thinking about Cy Twombly’s line style, and saw this rock that looked like it had a bad weave. So I titled this markup sketch “Cy T’s Toupee” in honor of his birthday. I hope he had a great sense of humor, he certainly was a fine and spirited painter.}

In my younger artist years, I spent a good amount of energy trying to be authentic. So much so that I purposely tried not to imbibe too much work from the masters. This was short-sighted, and quite frankly, not even possible. We are all swimming in the gifts of the arts and literature, and the culture these gifts create affects us daily (thank goodness!).

So, to make this right, here are loving shout outs to Cy Twombly, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Sir Francis Bacon, three painters I admire. My phone markup pieces are not meant to be reproductions, but symbols that carry the energy of appreciation. If they were alive today, I hope they’d feel seen, and maybe even invite me to tea.

I hope you enjoy these, and take yourself on a perfect date with your artist self² soon.

^{Inspired by painter Georgia O’Keeffe, my daily walk, and a good friend. Georgia O’Keeffe was the first artist I learned about from another “real” artist. I understand why she loved the desert. I can feel the cool night and air that dries my nose and won’t be held inside my lungs, but keeps me nonetheless. The stars pierce the sky like pin pricks, and the ground is illuminated by dried bones and clay dust. A single flower in outline, a waiting face and patience.}

^{Phone markup on photograph, inspired by nuclear family, bodily autonomy in the days of Trump’s GOP, tree bark, and oddly ethereal and sometimes disturbing painter #FrancisBacon}

FOOTNOTES

I never get tired of Miss Congeniality
↩︎
The concept of an artist date comes from a classic book for creatives of all kinds, Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. ↩︎