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Simple On the Surface

4/2/2020

8 Comments

 
​"Simple On the Surface" - mixed media on wood panel, 11" x 18" x .5"  Ready to hang (back has been pre-wired for hanging).  Available here and at Artfinder.

WARNING!  

THIS POST CONTAINS SALTY LANGUAGE!

While not giving a fuck may seem simple on the surface, it's a whole new bag of burritos under the hood.  I don't even know what that sentence means, but I don't give a fuck.  A bag of burritos sounds awesome, so let's just go with it. MARK MANSON, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck


Yep, I've gone there.  To the land of books I've postponed, put off, set aside and procrastinated about. .  This one is a big ol' smack in the head.  And given the world is trying to cause me one big feedback loop from hell in my thoughts, now seems to be the PERFECT time to stop giving too many fucks about the wrong stuff.  I will let you know how it goes.  In the meantime, if you see a girl throwing a bag full of (insert more expletives here) off the second story balcony, don't worry, that's just me doing my homework.
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Simple on the Surface
Let's follow the book's train of thought for a minute, shall we?  Here I am, safe at home, stocked pantry, lights on and an AMAZING new love bringing me coffee and kisses in the shower each morning (yep, I said it), and yet if I pay attention to the world (news, social media, my neighbor) I feel like I should be filling my head with worries about all the things I can't do anything about...and then I feel guilty for NOT worrying enough and I wonder if something is wrong with me for not worrying more.  Which makes me worry.  Mission accomplished, news cycle.

Manson's argument is that we only have so much room for caring about stuff (fucks given, so he says) and should not rent that room for caring to the entire 350 million things a day we are bombarded with out there.  Funny that he wrote this before the current Eggplant that Ate Chicago (see prior post) began taking over the world. Hmmmmm.  If we have finite room for caring....then we should choose carefully what we care about.  Rationing the number of fucks given, so to speak.

​Now that I've infused your day with excessive salty language and the thought of a bag of burritos, here is a meme to use in the event you decide to liberally exercise your right to be less concerned about some things.

About the painting:  beginning with a composition in gesso'd gray scale, then adding the requisite 800 million layers of acrylic and gesso mixed with acrylic paint.  Care taken to isolate shapes using rubber wedge and small, flat brush.  Finished with oil pastel.
8 Comments
Carl Stoveland
4/2/2020 01:25:31 pm

Honestly. Not giving flaming f*ck is how I have survived since 2016. More caring is radiates out from my family then friends then town etc. I stopped feeding noise into my system to avoid the feedback loop from hell. I'm still engaged, but cautious not to get sucked into the vortex. No daily news pressers for my. I filter it thru the NY Times andPreet Bharara's Stay Tuned and Cafe Insider podcasts. I then inoculate my psyche with a health dose of On Being from Krista Tippet and my friends in the art world.

BTW the painting is sublime keep knocking them out of the park!

Reply
jen
4/2/2020 01:49:26 pm

Carl! Flaming f*cks! ha ha! Love that. Thank you for the tips on news sources that filter. And for the words "inoculate my psyche" - whoa. Stealing that!

Reply
Dotty Seiter link
4/2/2020 01:27:35 pm

Jen, just so's ya know, this member of your audience came of age when a college conversation might, and did, go as follows:

friend: want to get a coke at the student center?
me: fuck, yeah!

This current series you have going is effing awesome, and contains precisely the don't-give-a-fuck energy I yearn to more fully bring to my own studio shenanigans : ) Thank you for lighting the path!

Reply
jen
4/2/2020 01:52:35 pm

Dotty! I will now think of you as a salty language goddess. :) Thank you for the feedback on this series - it has me mesmerized. And truly not giving a flying teacup about how much time I love to spend painting! xo

Reply
Carolyn L
4/2/2020 02:44:46 pm

Fuck, yeah! I have found myself using this salty language more and more these days! I have learned to just turn off, mute, or walk away from all the foolishness that is surrounding this incredibly serious crisis of a pandemic that is surrounding us!
I am really loving the bold, energetic colors you are using in this series, there is lots of loud conversation going on here! And, btw, you two love birds keep playing along..... :)

Reply
jen
4/2/2020 04:33:45 pm

Carolyn! ha ha! Made me laugh. :) "Loud conversation" - I like that description! And yep....love birds playing over here. Sometimes a pandemic has a tiny silver lining!

Reply
Carol Edan link
4/3/2020 06:13:42 am

Coming from a much older gen not so used to the term but getting used to it, although not using it much. Honestly wish I could turn off the noise but finding it a difficult task. Sometimes feeling like crawling in bed all curled up and waking up when this is all over!
Loving your positive paintings and hoping to push myself to start,,just need the push!

Reply
jen
4/3/2020 03:11:43 pm

Carol! Turning off the noise is soooooo hard! The studio helps me a ton. We can create a world to hibernate in on the canvas, yes? You GOT THIS! Love your work, and can't wait to see what this wild world situation inspires in your art. :)

Reply



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Here's the blue wild, where
tiny dreamers ride beasts, speak
​ birdsong, hold the moon.

(by poet Mary W. Cox)
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​Art prints available on request
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