When in Doubt, Wear Red

"When in Doubt, Wear Red" -  mixed media on cradled wood panel, 12 x 16   Ready to hang.  Available August 11-12 at Fusion Gallery.

WHEN IN DOUBT, WEAR RED
- Bill Blass

You, dear reader, who so graciously accepted my prediction that space helmets would be all the rage this fall, might also have been wondering if RED is the color to wear in space.

I say YES!

As an artist, I have a love/hate relationship with a lot of colors.  Red is one of them.  It screams of power and passion and also blood and fire.  There is a lot of emotion in red.  

I am drawn to red paintings, red dresses, red walls.  And apparently red houses.  Yet on my body, red is something I shy away from.  Take a look inside my closet and you'll see black and gray and white and maybe blue.  Neutral and nothing else.  Red feels overwhelming. 

When In Doubt, Wear Red

For this painting, a pen and ink mounted on board and then painted, red was the only choice for her shoes.  Isn't she, in her way, Dorothy? In another land, dressed in her finery, adventuring with the locals...as long as she has those shoes, she can always find her way home.

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so much gratitude to instagram.com/burnsidestudio for this pic

Dear reader....an anniversary of sorts passed this week.  Five years since being hit by a car while cycling. What do we do with these things?  We make art.  

A book's spine holds all the pages together⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
yet lets the reader open, thumb, sift, devour.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
As the book ages, so does the spine⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
pages come away⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
seams split⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
the book lays wide open⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
splayed to the world without resistance⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
can you hear it sigh⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
and surrender?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Splayed⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
my own spine⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
age and injury⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
sigh and surrender⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
softly, gently open⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
and now the light gets in.⠀