Low Resolution

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High Resolution is over rated. A little bit of grain is warm. Something that looks good in analog and feels comfortable on the eyes. There’s something to be said for that.

In 2016 I’ve committed to doing at least one ink drawing every week. That’s an easy goal. A low resolution. Persistence and consistency matter more than ambition with these things.

2 years ago, 2014, my resolution was to work out once a week without fail. I did it all year. Easy. I didn’t even define “work out.” Just committed to an hour of effort a week. Last year I upped it to attempt 500 running miles with a minimum of 365. I almost hit 400 by years’ end. But if I had set out to do that in 2014 the thought of it might have worn me out.

Accomplishing big goals is about committing to do something do-able, first. Not sure where I’ll take this drawing commitment but so far I’m hitting about 5 a week. I’m already feeling them get more involved…feeling more inspiration around choosing what to draw. Feel free to follow this experimental resolution on instagram to see where it goes [+].

Dickinson’s Hope

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These days, Ben Sayers is an emergency room doctor by profession. He made this great set of compositions with his turntables when he was in school circa 2001. Most of the narrative in the tracks revolved around science and chemistry but it segued to the mind, imagination and spirit — connecting an array of brilliant threads.

We were both big fans of Rob Swift and Prince Paul. You can hear that influence in most of the tracks. Humor woven into really imaginative soundscapes and rhythm.

I recently came across the Emily Dickinson poem “Hope.” It took me a minute to pinpoint how I knew the words. I remembered it from his project. So I asked him to let me upload the whole set to YouTube as a playlist.

The Facebook Buddha

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A page posts an image referencing something.
A bunch of followers agree!
Another follower disagrees and litigiously shows that he has read books on the matter.
Others disagree with him pointing out perceived folly.
Others try to exemplify their own loftiness.
Others criticise his judgments.
Others criticise criticism.
He comments to disagree.
All are scratching an itch.
None are satisfied.

Blue Moon

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“But he learned more from the river than Vasudeva could teach him. He learned from it continually. Above all, he learned from it how to listen with a still heart, with a waiting open soul, without passion, without desire, without judgment, without opinions.”

– Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha

This image is a composite made of 3 separate photos taken last Friday in the Northern Neck during the Blue Moon.

Home On The River

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As referenced in my previous post, the river means “home” to me. To that point, I have a connected appreciation to the osprey that live on the water. They play, hunt and raise families on the water. It provides everything to them. After 35 years of trips to the Northern Neck, I’ve only recently started paddling the creek near our house. Being on the water in a quiet boat allows me to feel even closer to these animals.

Never the Same

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“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” This idea is at the root of why I love to take sunrise shots of the river. On one hand, I get better at understanding my lens and my light all the time. On the other hand, even if I didn’t, the shot would be different every single time. The sunrise moment on this strip of land in front of this channel to the bay is my existential pinpoint of home. I coined my own mantra for this intersection of place and time. “The river takes me home.”

Preem Toon

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Illustrated Primo

Working on a book cover for a hip hop journalist. He’s compiling his rap mag interviews from a time before twitter. This illustration of GangStarr / DITC chairman of the boards, DJ Premier, nods to a time still a bit further back; the hey day of sugar cereal and Saturday morning cartoons. I imagine Premo as a guest ally on Scooby Doo a la The Globe Trotters, Captain Caveman or Phyllis Diller. And for some reason that makes total sense.

Meditation Modes

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Kundalini

My new year’s resolution this year was to do better with sleep and practice meditation. On the back end of a 10 mile run, in a deep meditative state, I had an experience. A breakthrough more or less. It took me months to process it but it sort of felt like this. An objective interpretation of a subjective experience.