Paint, Schmaint.

Painting is an attempt to come to terms with life. There are as many solutions as there are human beings.

- George Tooker

If you asked me, I wouldn't be able to even begin explaining the deep exploration of the soul that emerges while painting. Yes, at the risk of sounding pompously ambiguous, I did just make that claim. I'll leave it to other pompous old white guys to put the words in my mouth -- that's what they're there for, right? Right. Many things in life are simple. To breathe. To eat. To enjoy. To please. To cry. To hurt. To run. To feel. To paint. When I paint, everything feels simpler. It's just me & the canvas, narrating a conjoined story to each other. We're forming a formal, informal dialogue. We fight, we make-up, we coalesce. It's simultaneously the most frustrating and satisfying endeavor, but I love it nonetheless. I hadn't actually painted in about 2 years prior to this quarter, which is utter blasphemy, but I've been learning a lot (even if it's just discipline) in my painting course. I'm learning to let go. Of myself, and of preconceptions. . . it's a difficult process though, with many sleepless nights. If you ever have the opportunity to paint, I encourage you, take the chance.