I’m reading Jasper Johns: Privileged Information by Jill Johnston. It’s part biography, part criticism. I chose it because I like her writing and this book is easy to read unlike some art writers. My favorite art writer is Calvin Tompkins. I think it’s because he is trained as a journalist and not an art critic.

The Jasper Johns book is great but there are no reproductions of his work in it. He wouldn’t allow it. Maybe he had a fight with the author. I need to go to the library and look up certain works so I know what specifics she is referring to. Especially since she talks a lot about the Season Paintings that he did in the 80s and that I am not familiar with.

I am reading The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zapon. It’s quite wonderful suspenseful, literary and adventurous. It’s about a teenage boy in Barcelona during the Franco regime that finds a mysterious novel and sets about to find out what happened to the author. His life begins to mirror the book. Vivian lent it to me. Mitzi had recommended it also. I think that Scott MacLeod would really enjoy this

I had a good dream last night. Friends were suddenly putting on some sort of nightclub at their house. I took money at the door. Captian and Tenille came to play! They were super nice and looked really young – something I commented on in the dream. I don’t remember them actually playing but I remember there was a problem with the admission fee. It was six dollars but most people had a ten. I couldn’t make change so I was only letting in people with exact change.

Last night I dreamt that I was to go food shopping with 2 East Indian women. They had a big old american car and the door handles were made of horn wrapped in fur. I got in the back seat and there was a leopard. I was scared and I let it sniff my hand like a dog. The leopard liked it when I scratched it behind the ears but I was still scared.

Earlier in the dream I was taking over some sort of cafe. The most crowded area had people looking at slides with those little magnifying things. I decided that they would be required to buy coffee because there were so many people.

Paintings by the amazing Mark Hamer except for the poodle which is a weird 3-d thing. I could never paint this well.

My photos are very influenced by painting. Although given a choice between viewing a painting show and a photography show, I’d probably choose the photography.


I started painting in order to take close ups of bits and pieces. I’ve been painting for about 2 months now and the paintings are beginning to have a life on their own. I think there are a few that stand on their own. My photography is so digital that it’s a nice contrast to have something else to do that is so analog and messy. I still see the paintings as process towards the photos as final product. I am learning and experimenting with color and I’m studying Joseph Albers’ Color Theories. I’m finding it all very enveloping and exciting. I’m just grazing the surface and dying to go deeper, I’m only just beginning to understand how to approach gesture. I haven’t done anything besides photography and video for 20 years so I’m thinking a lot about my previous days with paint and the people that were around then.

I'm reading Arthur and George by Julian Barnes. I've enjoyed his books before and this was short listed for the Booker prize last year. I had a hard time getting into it. I'm not too crazy about the Victorian period, but now I'm having a hard time putting it down. I'm about a third of the way thru.

I haven't written here in a while. I just read the The Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster ( thanks Michele!). Paul Auster has long been one of one of my favorite authors. This book is wonderful. It has Auster's usual themes of loners brought together thru circumstance. But this book is much more joyful than his usual offerings. I couldn't put it down and read it in 2 days.
Now I'm at a loss of what to read next.