Only I Will Remain

"Only I Will Remain" - acrylic and charcoal on gallery wrapped canvas, 16 x 20 x 1.5.  Ready to hang..  Available here and at Artfinder


Fear is the mind killer.  Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration.  I will face my fear.  I will permit it to pass over me and through me.  And when it has gone past me I will turn to see fear's path.  Where the feat has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain. 
 - DUNE, Frank Herbert

Just a little progress is freedom from fear.
- Bhagavad Gita

​Let's talk about fear.

It can literally freeze you in your tracks.  Once, long ago, in a dark U-Haul parking lot late at night, a man pointed a rifle at a handful of college kids who were changing a flat tire.  All the kids ran except me.  My feet would not move.  My body would not respond.  I felt paralyzed by fear.  I stood there, the man and the rifle behind me, and did not move.

Only I Will Remain

This is an extreme example, but still...

In smaller ways, fear freezes us in place, unable to take risks, feel feelings, try new things, set boundaries, change things that so need changing.  It is no different in art, where the fear of taking creative risks keeps us stuck in a rut and reformulating the thing we already can do.  Fear is the mind killer.  

But a little progress, like taking one step when the feet really don't want to move, is freedom from fear.  That first step is everything you need to take the next one. Ready? Set? GO! 

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​About the art:  using a reference photo notan in a four value study, creating a rough sketch with charcoal and dark paint on canvas.  Building layers of titanium white and titan buff. mixed with the charcoal and/or dark paint, adding slight color with the addition of some blue and raw umber.  Resisting the temptation to overly define, paying more attention to the movement and texture of the paint and the layering of shadows.  Liberal use of water sprayer and rubber wedge.