I recall the power of  black & white photography to  create some interesting images especially when  there are people included in an already interesting place and that the mood of the image through the manipulation of light and dark and gradation of gray, and I was really enjoying being able to go drive around the countryside around Springfield, Missouri, to find interesting subject matter to shoot, using too much, the old Ford as a prop in many images taken in the field, but now, looking back on it I only wish I had done more despite the criticism of the teacher and  other students that I used it too much which only reinforces the fact that you should only follow your own vision and not worry about the opinions of others especially when in a creative endeavor - tune them out!  and when an opportunity like going to New Orleans for Mardi Gras comes about, be prepared to take as many shots as you possibly can and so yeah black & white is rewarding and a good way to learn snappage but color is many times stronger in creating very powerful & emotional images but the color photography process and equipment and supplies are very costly especially for a starving student so there was a boundary  with B&W  and to some degree printmaking had the B&W wall along with an elaborate tool & supply requirement although some color could be introduced but painting presented much less money drain without the light & dark only boundary so I thought why hold back which resulted in a few of these hard- colored compositions that kind of worked. ‘There’s no point of hanging a painting on the wall when the bare wall looks just as good.’ ’If you can’t distinguish between good and bad in the arts they disappear.’ 

Journey on, then what next to explore but three- dimensional  imagery and the totally fascinating process to create it  from wax to metal with lots of heat energy to understand the metal itself, the underlaying reality,  a cast sculpture  offers the possibility of combining light & dark & color & shape & texture along with the ability to hint at what is not there as well as showing  what is, an how that changes in light and in the eyes looking at  the object

which is to say above all

and I painted on and with anything; canvas, closet doors, cardboard, old tents, whatever being always broke  living a pizza/beer existence and living in cheap shit-holes in a very weird time  

print making required much more time and talent than I had or able to give and once away from being able to use the school’s equipment in the print studio never able to  do it

tourist snap at the huge New Orleans drunken street party in 1971, which is an interesting place full of dangerous interesting people and an absolutely ruthless police force  so lots of B&W fun

Indeed, Steven Pusey was nowhere to be found around here

seek only your own approval in that which you do and then do a lot of it.

“Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Steve Jobs (2005) You've got to find what you love; Stanford commencement speech

OPRetrospection

OPRetrospection