Harley Brown's eternal truths....

[makinart]

OH, YES, FRUSTRATING

Got your letter, Sonni, and lived every word of it.

You speak as an artist that I understand. Because I'm part of what you describe. In fact, I've not mentioned this before, but I have been on a sort of hiatus in my art. Taking a semi leave from my easel. Yes, I've been doing some works, but very few. Maybe getting in contact with "Harley." Trying to figure if he's worth knowing. I'll get back to you on that.

The "frustration" never ceases. I have many, many colleagues who say the same word. If we don't get frustrations once in a while, we're really not living; we'd be robots, not humans. For me, I've been digging into the complexities of life and discovering that I've not even touched the surface. But the joy is in the searching. And as I've said many times, for me there is no ultimate goal.

So, Sonni, you are doing better than you think from this observer's point of view. Carry on as the original person you are.

It seems we have other things in common. Like not quite understanding Rothko. Few do. And those who talk about him, each have their very own interpretations.......which is totally understandable. It couldn't be otherwise.

I have a certain affection for de Kooning's and Rauchenberg's works, as they carry me back to art college days when somehow I "got it." I did a portrait of de Kooning for my "Confessions" book as a kind of homage. Rauchenberg has a phenomenal sense of design that is his own. He could throw oddball things together and make them compelling to look at.

Mother Nature has it all over us. She can play with us with grand majesty or tickle our nerve ends just slightly. She makes the choices and we interpret what she might be up to.
-Harley-