end of days

Last day in the studio this year, and what a year. I finished my friend D A Adams' new novel last night, to my mind his most mature work yet. A line jumped off the page while reading it, and while I know he didn't pen the sentiment I'll give him credit for putting the thought in front of me like a roadmap, "luck is opportunity meeting preparation." There you have it.

One thing I've learned through the years is you have to be prepared when those opportunities present themselves. The word "yes" is one of the most powerful in the universe, but to say yes, you have to be ready. High quality of images of latest work? Yes. Do you have a card? Yes. Do you want to collaborate? Yes. The studio discipline cannot be overstated, but without the ability to get what is in the studio into the hands of those who ask for it, however offhandedly, it is little more than a monastic life for one's own pleasure. It doesn't become art until people see it.

I was able to work on some more studies today and the large painting is dry enough for a second coat of mars black. I'm ambivalent about the studies today; there are moments to them, but I will have to practice to get what I see inside my mind down on canvas. I'm playing with different whites and different blacks, but so far I love mars black the most. I need to move some work to buy the canvases I want built.

Alone in here the train rolls by and the sun warms me through the loading door. The chill is leaving the plank floor and the bricks are ochre earth tones from the light coming in. There's Howlin Wolf on the speakers and a cigar beside me and this year ebbs into another. I moved in to this studio in January 2008, and I sat in the loading doorway and wrote in my sketchbook that I was home. Despite the issues, I love this space and I've never felt more at home or more productive in a working space. I experience the same joy every time I walk through the door.

Within the next few weeks I will build some new painting walls, a horizontal painting surface and do some much-needed cleaning to get ready for the large work. Housekeeping yes, but necessary to be able to stay focused. The winter will set in, but so be it.