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.
Mondays are just young Fridays
Posted on August 2, 2021 by j.g.lewis
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Last August, feeling a bit down as COVID-19 stretched into another month of isolation and physical distancing, I decided to take a step that would force a little bit of happiness into me.
I undertook a one-month self-imposed ‘Art Immersion’.
There wasn’t a great deal of planning to it, and the plans continually evolved, but the essential theme was to take part in art each and every day.
I took my camera with me on my morning walks. I visited the art gallery weekly. I read about the artistic process of others, and I sketched and I wrote and I consciously created whenever I could.
One of my favourite activities was settling in for my ‘non-judgmental’ art sessions where I would paint by the lakes hore an hour or so at a time. It was concentration on the process, not the product.
I knew it was good for me.
I could feel it.
Come September, I settled back at my desk and made progress on a manuscript that had been bothering me for a while. For he next few months I approached everything with a little more vigor.
Art is my comfort zone.
Yesterday, while sipping my morning coffee in my usual park, I pulled out a pencil and sketchbook and admired the flowers on the trees in the 19th century garden. It wasn’t a long session, but it got me thinking.
I decided I was due for another ‘Art Immersion’.
Let’s face it, this whole COVID thing is hanging around longer than we thought possible, and I need to clear my mind of the confusion that seems to have settled in again. A little extra art, right now, would do me some good.
Now, I have a few specific projects in mind. I’ve got a manuscript that needs more attention and, in March, I started to, again, paint with oils. I’ve got a few large paintings underway, but I believe I need some more random hits of art, a few more trips to galleries, and a little more of an attitude adjustment.
I believe I need the stronger focus this month is intended to provide.
08/02/2021 j.g.l.
