Brain Studies

The human brain is weird
and wonderful
and horrifying.

The unseeable, but magnetically scannable master that controls our bodily functions
That connects the dots and finds patterns, real or imagined.

It’s the only organ that can trick you
to make you hear what isn’t there
see clearly when your eyes are closed.

You’re reading this thanks to your brain
I’m writing it thanks to mine

Your memories are stored here
Your reality is processed here
You are yourself here.

Until it breaks.


Now a place vocabulary where can’t
Effervescent in a bad way

Two or three words, easy to grab,
but none of them are the right ones.
The only certainty is a constant,
screaming slash of pain.

Misunderstanding questions
Not finding words to answer.
Writhing in pain
A number between 1 and 10
Green, breakfast, what do you like
FOUND A NUMBER: 2

These are some very small oil paintings I’ve done to prepare for a larger canvas. Still debating color choices, but it’s been more about expressing the feelings around it, and the forms to use to best approach it. I’m not an abstract painter, but I think I’m going to have to lean into that for these subjects.

I’ve been too reliant on accuracy, both in words and in drawing. I need to let go, as my brain did, and fall into the vagueness of emotion and movement. If I can be true enough to that, it will be accurate.

If you’re interested in my works in progress, sketches, etc, I plan to post more frequently on my Ko-Fi page. My website will serve as a place where I’ll post finished work.

Up, Up and Away

meltyduckswatmar

I painted this 24 x 12″ canvas in May of this year. It showed at the Orange County Fair from July to August, and now it’s back in my painty little hands!

I came to call them “melty ducks” and I like to think they’re mildly miserable in that melty muck. All of them are trying to pull themselves up and out of the goo, and now one of them has done it! He floats away uncertainly. The misery below is miserable, but at least it’s familiar. What about the others? Are they excited? Jealous? Proud? Indifferent? How do their feelings affect the one as he floats off?

Oil paints are goopy melty fun — the perfect medium for goopy melty creatures. I associate oils with school assignments, where we painted from life. I had never done a completely imagined oil painting. I started with a very dark blue base coat and worked the values up into the light.  It’s still quite a dark painting, especially considering how bright my work usually is. It’s moody, but hopefully just enough to be eerie and not mournful.

If I were to do a second painting, I’d explore what awaits this floating blob when he finally turns his head up to the future.

This painting is for sale! Shoot me an email if you’re interested.