Rectangular fishpond with ducks and lotus planted round with date palms and fruit trees, in a fresco from the Tomb of Nebamun, Thebes, 18th Dynasty. Originally in Thebes, Egypt, now in the British Museum, London, U.K. Painting on plaster, 72 x 62 cm.
Anonymous asked: Hello! I want to encourage you in your work. Your work is lovely and true and that is what sets every person free. Thank you. Peace to you.
I’ve tried a lot of different things. Here’s the process that’s been most fruitful for me:
I sit down, quiet my mind, and focus on a particular person—someone close to me, or someone I’ve met that day who opened themselves to me. I try to focus in on a feeling that I want to give them, or something I want to tell them. Once I have that feeling, I draft a bunch of images and words and try to feel out which ones get at that feeling. If it’s a close friend, I’ll draw on our common languages. I try to fit all the images together into something coherent, then cut away until I have something that gets at what I want to say.
I’ve found that the more closely I can get at that feeling, the more successful the piece is.
If I can’t find any images, or if I’m feeling frantic, I’ll try to soak for a while in things that feel very True. I’ll read the bible (Isaiah, Psalms, John) or other poetry, or listen to certain music until I’m re-calibrated.
a story about me: there was a point i decided that everyone could be able to
draw or paint “beautifully” (which i understood as creating likeness and realism) and i stopped being interested in that
immediately because i figured it wasn’t worth my time then
(posting this early!! next part will be up next saturday)
– “Boxes” is a long-form experimental comic exploring how we interpret and internalize the world around us. read from the start patreon link in bio - no pressure, but any little bit helps!
