On the Blue Side | Redtree Times
I once wrote a short story called 'The Best Blues Singer in the World,' and it went like this: 'The streets that Balboa walked were his own private ocean, and Balboa was drowning.' End of story. That says it all. Nothing else to say. I've been rewriting that same story over ..
Follow the Heart | Redtree Times
Look at every path closely and deliberately. Try it as many times as you think necessary. Then ask yourself, and yourself alone, one question... Does this path have a heart? If it does, the path is good; if it doesn't, it is of no use. --Carlos Castaneda, The Teachings of Don Juan (1968) The pa..
Fare Thee Well, Hobie | Redtree Times
Farewell, my dearest sister, fare thee well: The elements be kind to thee, and make Thy spirits all of comfort! Fare thee well. --William Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra Lousy day yesterday as I lost my longtime studio partner, Hobo. Her hyperthyroidism, high blood pressure and the sheer weight of..
I Like It Like That | Redtree Times
To appreciate a work of art, is it okay to like what you like, and the heck with the art critics and experts? Absolutely. –Thomas Hoving I came across this quote from the late Thomas Hoving and thought it would be a good opportunity to show off an illustration of him done by the late David Levine, t..
Call of the Blue Moon | Redtree Times
He who Doubts from what he sees Will neer Believe do what you Please If the Sun & Moon should Doubt They'd immediately Go out --William Blake, Auguries of Innocence My annual solo exhibit at the Principle Gallery opens in 6 weeks, on June 14. One of the first pieces I completed for this ex..
Stringing Thoughts Together | Redtree Times
String theory has the potential to show that all of the wondrous happenings in the universe - from the frantic dance of subatomic quarks to the stately waltz of orbiting binary stars; from the primordial fireball of the big bang to the majestic swirl of heavenly galaxies - are reflections of one, gr..
Echoes of Time | Redtree Times
I said that the world is absurd, but I was too hasty. This world in itself is not reasonable, that is all that can be said. But what is absurd is the confrontation of this irrational and the wild longing for clarity whose call echoes in the human heart. --Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus:…
But it’s far, far from me… | Redtree Times
And the sky is black and still now On the hill where the angels sing Ain't it funny how an old broken bottle Looks just like a diamond ring But it's far, far from me --John Prine, Far From Me One of those mornings. Busy, with plenty to do, and everything seems out of rhythm.…
Chagall’s Test | Redtree Times
When I am finishing a picture I hold some God-made object up to it–a rock, a flower, the branch of a tree or my hand– as a kind of final test. If the painting stands up beside a thing man cannot make, the painting is authentic. If there’s a clash between the two, it is…
Moon Listening | Redtree Times
The day was when I did not keep myself in readiness for thee; and entering my heart unbidden even as one of the common crowd, unknown to me, my king, thou didst press the signet of eternity upon many a fleeting moment of my life. And today when by chance I light upon them and…
Intermediary | Redtree Times
Between two worlds life hovers like a star, ‘Twixt night and morn, upon the horizon’s verge. How little do we know that which we are! How less what we may be! The eternal surge Of time and tide rolls on, and bears afar Our bubbles; as the old burst, new emerge, Lash’d from the foam…
RedTree: Stand Tall | Redtree Times
Give me a place to stand, and I will move the Earth. – Archimedes This quote is actually a condensed and long accepted version of the words of Archimedes. It was originally about the power of lever in physics. He actually said: Give me a lever long enough and a place to stand and I will…
Trust Your Eyes | Redtree Times
He knows all about art, but he doesn’t know what he likes. –James Thurber I am fully immersed in work for my June show at the Principle Gallery right now. I need to get to a large piece on the easel that is waiting for its final touches which has me chomping at the bit…
Fromm/Credo | Redtree Times
I believe that the fundamental alternative for man is the choice between "life" and "death"; between creativity and destructive violence; between reality and illusions; between objectivity and intolerance; between brotherhood-independence and dominance-submission. --Erich Fromm, ..
Creed/ Everyday Gods | Redtree Times
Here’s my creed, against Benjamin’s. This is what I believe: ‘That I am I.’ ‘That my soul is a dark forest.’ ‘That my known self will never be more than a little clearing in the forest.’ ‘That gods, strange gods, come forth from the forest into the clearing of my known self, and then go…
RedTree: Continuum | Redtree Times
In this dark and wounded society, writing can give you the pleasures of the woodpecker, of hollowing out a hole in a tree where you can build your own nest and say, "This is my niche, this is where I live now, this is where I belong." --Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on&helli..
Society | Redtree Times
Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist. He who would gather immortal palms must not be hindered by the name of goodness, but must explore if it be goodness. Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind. Absolve you to yourself, and you shall have the suffrage of the…
Artists in the Real World | Redtree Times
Artists who live and work with spiritual values cannot and should not remain indifferent to a conflict in which the highest values of humanity and civilization are at stake. –Pablo Picasso I always worry about alienating people who come to this blog to read about art and are greeted with my opinions..
Our business is to wake up… | Redtree Times
The world is an illusion, but it is an illusion which we must take seriously, because it is real as far as it goes, and in those aspects of the reality which we are capable of apprehending. Our business is to wake up. We have to find ways in which to detect the whole of…
Eclipse Day | Redtree Times
Be not blind, but open-eyed, to the great wonders of Nature, familiar, everyday objects though they be to thee. But men are more wont to be astonished at the sun's eclipse than at his unfailing rise. --Orchot Tzaddikim It's Eclipse Day. Here in western NY they are anticipating throngs of e..
To Dare, Again | Redtree Times
It is very dangerous to go into eternity with possibilities which one has oneself prevented from becoming realities. A possibility is a hint from God. One must follow it. In every man there is latent the highest possibility, one must follow it. If God does not wish it then let him prevent it, bu..
Schrodinger’s Irises? | Redtree Times
The task is…not so much to see what no one has yet seen; but to think what nobody has yet thought, about that which everybody sees. ― Erwin Schrödinger I came across this quote from physicist Erwin Schrodinger that deals with dimensional perception. I have to admit to not knowing much about the quan..
Making Do, Again | Redtree Times
How often have I found that wanting to use blue, I didn’t have it so I used a red instead of the blue. –Pablo Picasso Pablo Picasso is probably the most quoted of artists, though many things are mistakenly attributed to him. It’s a case that if it sounds interesting and you’re not sure who…
Illusion or Search? | Redtree Times
Perhaps I am doomed to retrace my steps under the illusion that I am exploring, doomed to try and learn what I should simply recognize, learning a mere fraction of what I have forgotten. --André Breton, Nadja (1928) The words above from Andre Breton, widely renowned as being the founder of the Surre..
If You’re Young at Art… | Redtree Times
Artistically I am still a child with a whole life ahead of me to discover and create. I want something, but I won’t know what it is until I succeed in doing it. –Alberto Giacometti The short statement above from the late artist Alberto Giacometti perfectly captures a feeling that has been with me fo..
Funny How Time Slips Away | Redtree Times
As wave is driven by wave And each, pursued, pursues the wave ahead, So time flies on and follows, flies, and follows, Always, for ever and new. What was before Is left behind; what never was is now; And every passing moment is renewed. --Ovid, Metamorphoses It will come as no surprise to anyone who..
Easter/ Were You There | Redtree Times
Whenever we encounter a human being in such a way that we feel absolutely certain of the infinity of that person's worth and the eternity of his or her life, that is Easter. --Eugen Drewermann, Dying We Live: Meditations for Lent and Easter Can’t say that I am a religious person, religion never..
Obstacle or Opportunity? | Redtree Times
Isn’t it strange how princes and kings, and clowns that caper in sawdust rings, and common people, like you and me, are builders for eternity? Each is given a list of rules; a shapeless mass; a bag of tools. And each must fashion, ere life is flown, A stumbling block, or a Stepping-Stone. –R. L.&hel..
Not Anytime Soon | Redtree Times
The writer who loses his self-doubt, who gives way as he grows old to a sudden euphoria, to prolixity, should stop writing immediately: the time has come for him to lay aside his pen. --Colette, Speech on being elected to the Belgian Academy If the words above from Colette, the French writer who liv..
