Save the Date: Art of Caring

Saturday, August 28th 

5:30p - 7:30p

The Art of Caring
@ the Clark Opera Memphis Center
6745 Wolf River Boulevard

Art of Caring is a reception and silent art auction that benefits the Baptist Trinity Hospice House and the Kemmons Wilson Family Center for Good Grief. This year the event is taking place in an exciting new venue. I hope that you'll make your calendar and consider joining me. This year I'm donating another large piece from my To Send a Prayer series.

"Release" by Richard Fudge

2010 - mixed media, acrylic

24"x48" on wood panel

To purchase tickets or for more information about Art of Caring, please call 901-227-7123
or email jay.atkinson@bmhcc.org

Daily Doodle #33

So Much Pain – When you have something immensely painful happen in your life, you have to hope that there's some grand purpose for it. You have to believe that one day it will all make sense and ultimately be to your benefit. That you'll see the beauty others miss or have greater appreciation for that which you took for granted before.  Course, if your journey through this land of pain for is long, you begin to wonder at the amount of damage. What scars will you have to live with?

Recommended listening: "So Much Pain" by Star & Micey; "Tin Man" by The Avett Brothers

Daily Doodles on hold

I've missed a couple of daily doodle posts this week.  No, it's not that I've been slacking off. I've been hard at work on this giant commission painting. This sucker has been in the works for 3 months and it's finally near completion. I will be so thankful to have my living room back.   

The sketch.

The first panel. It's nearly complete. Just needs a couple of touch-ups. 

The second panel. Also very close to completion. Just need to draw in the balloon strings. 

I plan to complete them this weekend and then be on the lookout for an art opening at my house. I've got some new work up and you can join me in toasting the completion of this monstrous project.  

Daily Doodle #32

Circulation – I'm still playing around with the question of Joy.  Where does it come from or enter into my life? Where does it go?  How do I express it?  How do I share it?  How do I lose it?  How is it stolen?

Recommended listening: "Kick Drum Heart" by The Avett Brothers;  "Even If It Breaks Your Heart" by Will Hoge

Daily Doodle #31

Forgotten – This weekend, I had one of those rare conversations where time passes unnoticed, you open up more than usual, and the waitress just knows to leave you two alone. In the midst of the personal and philosophical questions, I was asked this seemingly simple question, "So where do you find your joy?"  Up to this point, it had been a lively and thoughtful discussion. But at this question, our table just went silent. This should be an easy question to answer, right?  For the life of me, I didn't know.  And that was a shocking realization... well, i guess i lost my source or sense of joy. I've been more focused on simply surviving this. Like a man running out of a burning house, my joy was something i forgot to grab and lost in the fire. Whatever my source of joy was before, it's lost now and can't be retrieved.  So it's with more awareness that I'm keeping an eye out for joy. It's time to shift out of survival mode.

Recommended listening: "Love, Where is Your Fire" by Brooke Fraser; "Long Gone Away" by Drew Holcomb

Daily Doodle #30

Kiss the Girl – I started this page on Friday but didn't finish it till Saturday. So I'm just now getting around to posting it. I'm still playing around with collage and you'll probably be seen a lot more of that.  So one of my favorite songs by the Avett Brothers is All My Mistakes -- "But I can't go back. And I don't want to. 'Cause all my mistakes, they brought me to you."  Mistakes can be okay. In making art, you have to get over the fear of making a mistake. You can't get better or grow as an artist if you're frozen in place by the fear of making a mistake.  Sometimes you just have to take a risk. Sometimes you just have to go for it. Sometimes you just have to shut up and kiss the girl.

Recommended listening: "All My Mistakes" by The Avett Brothers; "Let It Be Me" by Ray LaMontagne

Daily Doodle #29

Custody – She got the dog, but I got Memphis.  850 miles separates Memphis from Minneapolis and I am thankful for every single one of them. The fact that I don't have to worry about running into my Ex such a huge benefit.  I'm not one of those people that puts down Memphis and constantly whines about living here. I love Memphis. Last weekend, I went on a six art opening tour starting in East Memphis and ending in Midtown at the P&H.  "This is the place where my troubles die. Gimme my space, gimme my space. Under...Memphis skies." Under Memphis Skies by Grace Askew.

Recommended listening: "Touching the Ground" by Brandi Carlile; "Under Memphis Skies" by Grace Askew

Daily Doodle #28

Blown: to fail or break down, as from being operated under extreme or improper conditions.

There's a lot of hopes, dreams, and plans that I had when I got married. I was blown away when became apparent that that it was headed for divorce. My future plans and goals that I had been pursuing. Blown. My sense of trust. Blown. Sometimes it feels like a tornado cut a path through my life. I feel like I've cleaned up most of the mess that it made, but figuring out how to rebuild is a challenge.

Recommended listening:
"I use to think that things were meant to be
So farewell to the old me
farewell to the old me
My life is working better now
It's always changing anyhow"
– Farewell to the Old Me by Dar Williams

Artist's note: I was trying for a visual reference to blowing out a candle and not something violent. Blown out, not blown up. 

Daily Doodle #27

Not that easy – I thought I'd try something different today.  So this doodle is mixed media and collage.  I came across this pattern for an apron. It had 3 styles to choose from and for some reason it really cracked me up. Each style had a very different drawing of a model. One model was very contemporary, one was classic, and the third was very conservative. Why not just one model to show the different lengths? The aprons didn't look all that different. It made me think that this wasn't a pattern for an apron but for a type woman. Like that these pattern pieces came together to make a certain style woman.  I think we can get that way about dating. We can have these certain pieces of criteria that we look for and we hope that it all comes together to create the person we want. But there's a lot more to it than that. You can't boil it down to a simple list. It's not that easy.

And when things don't work out... again it's not that easy. You can't just cut out those memories and start over. The alterations are going to take time.

Recommended listening:
"But I’m gonna be happy
without you around
I’ll figure it out
And I’m gonna be happy
just give me some time
I'm gonna be fine"
– Happy by Ellery

Daily Doodle #26 (kinda)

Down 'n Derby – Now to be fair, this is not a doodle.  This is a woodcut print by Dirty Printmakers of America. They were at the Brooks for the premiere of Flipside Memphis season 2.  Later that day, I went to a Memphis Roller Derby double header. So to me this print is representative of my weekend.  It may not be my work, but I did "help" make the print and it is in my sketchbook.  Anyway, this is my project and I say it counts. 

Daily Doodle #25

All's Fair in Love and War – We're not in high school anymore. There are no rules. If there are, they rarely matter. Mostly, it's anything goes. Or at least, that's been my experience. 

Daily Doodle #24

Foul Weather – I can't say that I've been in a good mood lately.  I've got some worries on my mind that are brewing.  I don't have a date lined up for the weekend and that irritates me. The company of a beautiful woman can really brighten up an otherwise dismal week.  So if I look a little dark and brooding this weekend, I'm just a little off because I'd like to catch a break. Just for a spell no more car troubles, stuff breaking at the house, or drama at the office... oh and a date.  Is that too much to ask?

Recommended listening: "Trouble" by Ray LaMontagne, "The Go Getter" by The Black Keys

Daily Doodle #23

Endless – Why is it that the short work weeks can often feel longer than a regular work week? Wednesday felt like one of those endless days where the clock continues to tick but hours and minutes never seem to pass. When I got home last evening, this slowed sense of time lead to high levels of productivity. I made a quick trip to Home Depot. Took the dog for a walk and watched the sunset at the park in Harbor Town. Then I installed a new light fixture when i got home. AND added a few touches to a painting. 

Daily Doodle #22

Hungry – I've had a couple of songs stuck in my head lately.  Maybe if I get a sketch down on paper, I can clear my head of them... but then... yeah, probably not.

Recommended listening:
Hey there Little Red Riding Hood, you sure are looking good.  You're everything a big bad wolf could want. "Little Red Riding Hood" by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs  


You've been over here in the dark so long. I ain't no doctor, but I know what's wrong...
You never been rocked enough. You never been rolled just right

"Never Been Rocked Enough" by Delbert McClinton

Daily Doodle #21

Incomplete – Even thought I feel as though I've gotten through the heartbreak, there is this thought that my heart can never be restored to its original state.  It's covered in scare tissue (i mean scar tissue, but somehow that spelling error seems poetic. so I'll leave it.). It's hardened. It's slow to feel. It doesn't work like it should. Like important pieces are missing.

Recommended Listening: "The Limit to Your Love" by Feist, "Paper Bag" by Fiona Apple

Daily Doodle #20

Shattered – To cause to break or burst suddenly into pieces, as with a violent blow.  This doodle is based on a sketch i did around the first of the year when I was dealing with my divorce.  I didn't feel like my heart had simply been ripped in two or broken, but shattered like glass.  Glass is difficult to clean up because it's hard to find all the pieces and slivers.  You could easily cut yourself in the process.  And gluing it back together is really out of the question.

Recommended listening: "Ashes and Wine" by A Fine Frenzy, "Bend Before It Breaks" by Brandi Carlile

Daily Doodle #19

Conical Ring – Charlotte Jewelry of Memphis has these really cool interchangeable rings. My doodle doesn't give them justice.  Anyway, I've been thinking about buying one since February.  I even at one point drove down to the store with cash in hand to purchase one, but the store was closed. It was in the process of relocating to South Main. Well, between that time and now, I've had some unexpected expenses such as AC problems at the house and a dead car battery. So I'll have to save back up.

Daily Doodle #18

Crossroads – I feel like this a lot lately.  The path that my life was on has ended.  So here I stand at a crossroads.  Where to now?  The options seem limitless and overwhelming.  It's also exciting in some ways.  There are avenues that are now open that I previously felt were closed to me.  But in a way, it's very frustrating to be here at this point again.  

Recommended listening: "The Weight of Lies" by The Avett Brothers, "This Road" by Seabird, "Hope for the Hopeless" by A Fine Frenzy