This week I highlighted the case of Eudes Pierre, a mentally ill man, gunned down during an episode that required mental health professionals, not nervous cops. We have not begun to grasp that lack of understanding by police can be the far greater crime. May we learn from our terrible mistakes.
Below are my Eudes Pierre sketches.
Video of my first lines using a mechanical pencil.
How the forms are slowly developed onto watercolor paper.
Adding wash to Saunders hot press.
Video of the building technique. Saunders acts like fabric, absorbing the pigment deeply into the fibers. The texture is very like skin.
The final Eudes Pierre piece.
Next was the portrait of Bri Lyn, a Texas nurse who granted me permission to use her story of her overworked ER. Unlike during the wave of last year, she is getting more days off. But the crowding is hell, as is watching (the unvaccinated) suffer.
I managed to get to the MoMA this week and encountered David Hammons’ Untitled (Night Train), which is a circle of whiskey bottles sitting on a pile of coal. The museum writes that it was a kind of tribute to John Coltrane, and, because of the Thunderbird labels, Charlie (Yardbird) Parker. I could see that when I thought about it. But my title (of course) was:
Portrait of Joe Manchin.
Finally, the program from the opening night of Rigoletto at the Met last night. Lucky to get tix (the Met is not sold out these days, no surprise). I thought it was a brilliant rethink: setting it in 1920’s Europe. The voices and acting were very strong. Especially Rosa Feola as a fiery Gilda.
Here are some sketches of the audience. There were men in top hats wearing their soup-and-fish and a guy in a Hawaiian shirt with a mask to match. One lady made great progress in her crossword during intermission.
Have a great week. Be safe, be creative, make noise. Let’s save democracy.
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