In's and Out's

Finally, a new post! It's been a busy, what? eleven days since I last wrote?

It's been a time of tying-up loose ends - and of trying to make ends meet - all with, how shall we say? spotty success? at best?

But I'm a diehard and while I may have my moments of discouragement - days? weeks? :) - I always seem to land on my feet - pulling out of it and ending-up on the other side.

Rewind to October 27th when I admitted to havin' gotten into a creative slump. Seems writing about it and admitting to it was all the 'surrender' I needed; and with that came a renewed enthusiasm for my art. But with the self-imposed deadline for the Exigency Project looming - I'm now at least three or more canvases behind schedule - and with persistent, nagging doubts about how well the visual story was holding together, I revisited my preliminary sketches. Sure enough, the complicated and somewhat convoluted storyline* needed an overhaul. The problem was just as I remembered it: How, in god's name, do you reduce to just 30 canvases five decades of personal experience, together with the experiences of the hundreds of men I've known throughout the years? and try to make some type of social commentary at the same time?

Call it the interplay of unknown forces at work in the universe, (or more likely, the subconscious continuing to work on a problem 'behind the scenes,' while the conscious mind deals with what's in front of it), but the answer to my dilemma came that night when I wasn't even thinking about it. I heard from my own mouth, "Keep it simple," while I was trying to help someone else over the phone.

After I hung-up, I lined-up all my sketches in a huge circle around the livingroom. With 'keep it simple' still in mind, it became obvious that I was trying to pull too many socio-cultural influences into the storyline mix. Not only did that overcomplicate what I was trying to say, it clouded the underlying and simplest story of them all: the fragmentation of a man's personality caused by conflicting social demands, the resulting downward spiral into despair, the epiphany or turning-point, and finally, victory through courage and truth. Now THAT'S simple, and something everyone should be able to relate to. (Everyone's had problems they've had to overcome.)

Since then, with an eye toward simplification, a few old sketches were discarded and twelve new ones added. (Some, I might say, are my best, showing the dynamism and 'presence' I hope to render on canvas.) (A couple others have to be redrawn but we won't talk about that. ;) But most importantly, with this new focus, there's an added confidence in my abilities and hope for the project that's hard to describe.

I kinda laugh now because it seems that the world really does reward action, or positive aligns itself to positive, or something. (Uh, prolly just the superstitious nonsense I've learned getting airtime in my head.)

Anyway, while I was working on the new sketches, it occurred to me that it wouldn't be a bad idea to get all the sketches at least matted so I could present the story to curators of art centers… see if I couldn't drum-up some advance interest in an exhibition. Oh but god, the mats I cut myself are awful and buying precut mats just rubs me the wrong way - having to deal with the constraints of the precut mat opening - either having to draw something to fit it, or scanning, resizing, and printing the drawings to fit. But as if to prove that the positive aligns itself with the positive of the universe, last Monday, precut mats went on sale for 50% off at one of the local stores.

Okay, so that may not be a total 'sweet,' but it at least made my little matting project something a bit easier to live with.

Maybe robbing Peter a bit to pay Paul for the moment, I bought the store out, snagging 22 of the 11x14" mats they normally stock. Add to those the six I already had on-hand from when I was dabbling in photography, and I have only two more to buy at the regular price after they restock 'em. Plus, I figure, having the sketches mounted with some consistency will be a benefit. Too, if a sketch just can't be made to fit, I can always take the mat into a framing shop and have them adjust the opening. Cool.

Hell, who knows, the collection of matted sketches may end up being my first exhibition. Now that'd be sweet.

Okay, what else?

I've returned to eBay. You can caulk that up to 'necessity being the mother of invention.' (Or 'poverty being the spark of capitalism?')

Driving home from the store I hatched a plan to see if I couldn't make my art start working a bit harder for me, maybe scare up some needed funds, at least enough to start covering the constant expense of materials. This time I offered up a giclée reproduction of one of the Exigency sketches - something I'd prepped for a promotional mailing - matted just like the composition of its corresponding painting.

Needless to say, my last eBay experience was less than positive, yielding a grand total of a minus $1.20, (cost of placing the ads), so even with this modest offering - a small thing beginning at 99 cents - my expectations are low. But hey, I figure even if it doesn't sell, throwing another 20 cents at an ad couldn't hurt… at least I'd be learning the ins-and-outs of eBay.

We'll see what happens.

(If you're interested, hit the eBay logo on my website home page. Or go to eBay and search for "jdean" in the "Art" category.) (Simple.)

Well folks, there's more to report but I've run outta time for tonight. Until next time…

Cheers!


* "Plots within plots," as was said in the movie, Dune.