Bricks

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A little background info….

I’ve been away for a while, in case you haven’t noticed. I needed some time to reflect, think about where I’ve been, where I’m going and most importantly, where I am.

And it all comes down to bricks…well, sort of.

When I first really got going working in colored pencil, I lived in Greenwich, CT. Somehow, and for what reason I can’t figure out, I became drawn to drawing (Ha) buildings with bricks. I sweated tears over each individual rectangle, making sure it was perfect.

Then I landed quite happily but totally unexpectedly in Manhattan. Again, loads and loads of bricks to be drawn! I still was sweating over each and every single detail.

 

PREWAR

So, then due to circumstances which are beyond explaining.  I landed in Queens, a little community called Sunnyside.  And much to my delight, I found bricks!  By now, I was taking those little rectangles in stride.

GUARDIANS, BY ROXANNE BALDWIN

Then after 20 years of ups and downs and all arounds in NYC, I ended up back in Connecticut in a small city called Danbury.  It’s as a large of a city as I want to deal with for a while.

And whaddya think I found there?  My first picture there, bricks.

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And bricks and cats.

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After this much needed break, guess what I start with?

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And a familiar door.  Yes, I know it’s October, I started this pic in May.

And Poof, it was gone

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I’m talking about the post I just wrote, and lost.

Ah, well.  Facebook keeps reminding me that I haven’t posted in a while.  I apologize for my absence.  The truth is, I’ve run straight into a brick wall of an artist’s block. I’m as stuck as  a car in a muddy ditch.

This has happened before.  I’d lose the excitement of my work, and come up with some horrid pieces.  That’s exactly what has happened now.

I thought the change in seasons would revive me, but no.  It’s time to take a break and play around with other creative outlets.  But I’ll be back.  Ready to start fresh again.

So, in the meantime, I’m leaving you with a drawing I did many years ago, of a season like this….spring easing into summer.  It was a fruitful time artistically for me, going back many years to when I lived in Greenwich.  Goodbye, but only for a while.

All in a Day’s Work

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I’m kind of struggling here.  I’m trying to catch the excitement that I had for the artwork I did in New York, but have yet to capture in Connecticut.  Most of my work here, has come out boringly representational.  I kind of realize the elements I’m missing…

I did put human objects as subject matter, and work heavily on a design with them.  Abstract them, to a certain point.  Here are some NYC that show my focus.

The closest thing I’ve done like that in Connecticut is this.  It leans too far the the pure representational side.

Anyway, I think I know what I have to do to get back on the road!

It’s Raining In New York

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As well as raining here.

My friend just asked me the other day if I regretted moving from NYC  to Connecticut.  Truth is, I don’t.  I think I already went into how I remember the romance and excitement of the City, but not the humdrum stress.  Like the idea of New York City in the rain.

Of course, there are some things I miss and always will.  For instance, the white cherry blossoms at the beginning of spring.  The skyline at night:

In general, I miss a lot of the human made parts of the vista.  Yes, I enjoy nature, but for art, it starts to lack an interesting focal point. Yeah, really.

So, in honor of the memory of what is not really New York, here are some ATCs I made while I was trying to think of a way to make money.  Funny thing, I never did find out a way..

 

Turn, Turn, Turn

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There was  a song big in the sixties, during the folk music era.  The lyric went something like this;

To everything, turn turn turn…there is a season, turn turn turn, and a time to every purpose under heaven.

Some of you, I know, remember this song.  Some of you, will remember it because your parents played it.  I think it was made popular by Peter, Paul and Mary, but I’m to lazy to Google it to be sure.

 

For me, the season has been spring, but the purpose of the time wasn’t art.  I had family issues, a new job that turned into a horror show, and all sorts of sundry events and mishaps that life takes from time to time.

And so, finally,  I can turn, turn, turn back to my artwork!

Almost Paradise

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I’ve been away for a while…lots of upheaval in my personal life, some good, some bad.  I’ve started a new day job, which means, until I’m settled in it, I don’t have the energy for artwork.  Money is nice, but in the meantime, spring is rapidly running away from me.  There’s always next year, at least, I always hope there is a next year.

So, almost paradise:

May Day! May Day!

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So, it’s the first day of May.  Spring has finally gotten here, and May is my favorite month. November is my least liked month, but that’s another story.  And so it goes.

In my personal life, I’m about to lose the woman I think of as my mother-in-law.  She will transition in a few days to what I believe is a better existence.

There’s something dis-harmonic about death in the spring; something that runs counter to the direction the rest of nature is taking.  While life and flowers are blossoming anew, death seems out of place.

However, if I truly believe we have a better existence after death….maybe it isn’t so out of place.  Perhaps it signals the blossoming of life on another plane.  That’s what I’m going to choose to think, and it may possibly be true.

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