sometimes one moment can take root in your mind and demand perpetual exploration. it shows up scattered across various future moments, mirroring + extending itself. evolving while staying entirely the same.
a lot of my art feels like this, though perhaps none more so than our dreams are the same. born of a moment at the oregon coast, this artwork has been a metaphorical rock in a pond.
i was sitting alone in the quiet backyard of the house my partner and i were renting for a long weekend. our pup had wandered off to investigate a potential bunny sighting and i was taking a moment to myself after the hubbub of getting the outdoor fireplace going.
i remember the moment so intently, most likely because of the smell in the air. a cool pacific northwest ocean breeze was hitting the onshore evergreens, mixing with the wood smoke as it curled up into the summer evening. i sipped some wine and, as i sat back in the large adirondack chair, i looked up to see the moon rising beyond the trees. it was perfectly nested in the negative space formed by their bows. it appeared to almost be navigating the misty clouds as they migrated in from the water.
i had a serene pause as i took in the moment that was quickly followed by a feeling of panic as i reflexively thought that i should go grab my camera and capture the scene. you see, i was at the coast to take a break from doing just that, bringing my devices into every experience. i used the time instead to practice something i’d wanted to do more of, resting + seeing what shows up.
so, i just sat there.
i enjoyed the view; the sounds of my partner tinkering in the house; the coziness of the pup as he popped up into my lap. then the clouds fully obscured the view and i looked down to see the book i was midway through sitting there beside me – dune.
as frank herbert’s name hit my eyes, my mind shifted to how he must’ve experienced a very similar night, possibly many, as he was formulating that very story along the oregon coast.
“…the novel originated when he was assigned to write a magazine article about sand dunes of the oregon dunes near florence, oregon. he got over involved and ended up with far more raw material than needed for an article. the article was never written, but it planted the seed that led to dune.” — wikipedia
it struck me how similar we all are, how connected, through time and space. i looked up and saw that the clouds had parted again, just enough to reveal the growing silhouette of the lunar orb as it hung there.
the next morning i woke up with the vision still to mind. so, after my coffee brewed, i sat down with my sketchbook and captured what felt like a version of a shared dream.
the sketch sat for a few months as i contemplated if and how i wanted to move forward with it as an artwork. i initially thought i’d create a vellumworks piece based on the sketch, but every time i sat down to it i paused. one crisp morning in october, again with a fresh cup of coffee, i decided to bring the concept into procreate and progress the work digitally instead.
as i tinkered with the piece, simultaneously moving through day-to-day life (and yes reading the dune series), i found myself working through additional explorations. i had a desire to play with color as a way to tell different stories, to evolve while staying the same.
with a flow originally born from my resonance explorations (which were emerging at the same time) and colors based on primaries + secondaries, that have been slowly forming an opinion across my non-monochromatic artworks of late, eventually what emerged was an unsuspecting set.
what i love about these pieces, which i am lately referring to as ripples, is their feeling of being equally complete and ongoing. they are neither here, nor there and yet, they persist. they have an opinion and demand your attention, much as the oregon coast evening did mine.
“nothing stops until dead and perhaps not even then, because each life creates endless ripples.”
— frank herbert, chapterhouse: dune
so far i’ve minted four of these sand + primary color dichromatic pieces as editions to ethereum and a dark toned, monochrome piece as an edition to tezos. intriguingly the tezos minted piece — gravity, i. — serves as a style bridge of sorts between the resonance series and its colored counterparts. (note that i’ve named its archetype ‘void’ and that irony is not lost on me.)
a few months ago i would’ve said i was done with this set, but as i write this today (on paper!), i have at least one near term artwork brewing. illustrating these as they reveal themselves has become half the fun…it’s my own small reminder-to-self that it’s okay for things to take time.
speaking of things taking time, i’d like to highlight and do a very special giveaway for something that took m. s. bourland loads of time — an ebook + audio edition of her debut novel, death-bringer! yes, it’s a book and an nft. epic, right?
as a collector of her novel myself, i was gifted the opportunity to share the love and pass on the goodness to another. to enter, simply reply to this post as a comment with your favorite color. i’ll do a random draw of all the entries monday, march 20th and announce the winner in my next post.1
as always, thank you for reading and / or listening this week. if you enjoyed this, please hit the 🖤 and help others discover my writing + art.
do you have questions or comments? i welcome them, drop ‘em below + be sure to enter the giveaway.
see you wednesday!
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btw my podcast intro/outro music is by giants’ nest, check them out!
the giveaway is for an nft novel, minted to the ethereum blockchain. once a winner is chosen, they will be contacted via email to confirm their ethereum wallet, which will then be conveyed to m. s. bourland who will transfer the nft at no cost. see here for more giveaway details.
lovely!
Your writing is so descriptive, m - the setting with the fire, trees, moon, and pup made imagine so clearly what that would feel like and it got me so stoked for warmer weather here in iowa.