What shows
how little
we know?
What can be is
oft far less than
what we expect.
What is now
has never been
what it was.
07/25/2024 j.g.l.
value beyond
Simplicity.
Is there emotion in austerity?
Humanity?
What do you see when attempting
to define your limited visibility?
Minimalism, abstract impressionism
or incorporeal thought.
Less is more, but is it enough?
Texture, tone, and value beyond
your current scene. If you take it to an
extreme, you will question
what it means.
What is really there?
What line do you cross?
Can simplicity be complicated, or
should it even be attempted?
07/23/2024 j.g.l.
Mondays are just young Fridays
Things will not go as planned. Intentions will be disrupted, even overlooked, in the aftermath of an unexpected reality.
Where you are headed will not be the place you end up, undoubtedly or undeniably. No matter how hard you attempt to make each gesture, brushstroke, promise, prayer, or pastime as perfect as you believe it can be, many times you will not arrive at a perceived destination. All too often your endeavors never hit the mark; at times your work may be better than expected (celebrate those moments), but everything (even your judgement) is subjective.
You are not limited to, or by, the colours in your paintbox or progression of your process.
Imagination is as limited or expansive as you want it to be. Give it time to blossom; in certain instances, you may even have to reel it in. This is all about possibilities, no matter which media, method, or style you are beholden to.
You owe your art (or life) nothing but your presence; the value comes from the practice, as rudimentary or spontaneous as it is or will become.
07/22/2024 j.g.l.
I'm like a pencil;
sometimes sharp,
most days
well-rounded,
other times
dull or
occasionally
broken.
Still I write.
j.g. lewis
is a writer/photographer in Toronto.
All This Emptiness
Posted on July 21, 2021 by j.g.lewis
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Rush hour streets are, again, thick with traffic. Sidewalks, at times, are bustling with shoppers and office workers as we slowly get back to some semblance of order.
The pandemic is still not over, but we are returning to routines that have been removed from our lives for months.
Some things are not coming back.
The signs are everywhere.
That restaurant you used to regularly frequent has its windows papered up. What used to be your regular morning Starbucks has closed; and another one down the block, and another.
Space for Lease placards hang in windows at strip malls, at street level, or looming office towers. Once-busy retail strips, popular with the fashion-conscious, do not offer the selection of stores they used to.
For a while we are going to have to get used to all this emptiness.
It’s uncertain.
We’ve probably guessed it would be something like this, for more than a year we’ve been hearing how business is struggling.
We’ve all felt it.
But now, as we are again out and about, there is less and less choice.
It’s not just small independent stores; there are some national chains that have had their problems. Surely we will learn about more closures before we see any big grand openings.
Truth is, nobody knows where this economy is headed.
Politicians can gush and guess but that not the real truth. There have been economists that have tried to put a figure on the cost of COVID-19, and the answers might be as inflated as they are unbelievable.
However, the costs will, likely, be higher.
Many people no longer have the disposable income they used to have; some no longer have jobs.
The economy is fragile.
We, as humans, are fragile.
The signs are everywhere.
