Mark Johnson Art Blog Wonder & Whimsy

Square Foot 2012 AWOL Gallery

So yet again I’ve submitted 3 pieces to the AWOL gallery annual Square Foot Show. This is a Toronto show that requires all submissions to measure exactly 12″ x 12″, be no more than 5″ thick, and able to be hung squarely on a wall. The gallery hangs one, two or all three of an artists submissions depending.

The Dancer

The Crane Visits

Spring Rising

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Myth Becomes Dream

I was thinking about the stories of time gone by. Stories that have become myths. And these myths in turn, as the ages pass, have slipped away. New people, new lands, new stories, each in turn slipping into that deep and faraway place we sometimes connect into and call it a dream.

 

acrylic 24″ x 18″

 

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Evolution in Action – The Creationist Dinosaurs

Evolution works with populations. Individuals are irrelevant (unless there crops up a group of individuals who release a game-changer such as self-replicating nano-bots, a sustainable black-hole released into the earths core, fantasy of that ilk). That Darwinian fact is repeatable – evolution deals with populations, not with whatever group is caught up in surges of silliness over religious affiliation or geographic origin.

A view of the city skyline from across the street.

Kuwait City Towers

I’ve been to Kuwait City a couple of times now and I am always struck by how creative and beautiful the modern towers are there. They look like the sails of pearl fishing boats, or waves, or palm trees. Curves, insets, spectacular uses of openings and windows. The first time I was ever made aware of the architecture of that place was when I ran across a photo of the Water Towers of Kuwait. Amazing. They are even better in person. And if you go up inside please note that the deserts in the restaurant are delicious.

Kuwaiti Tree Dancers

The hotel in Kuwait City didn’t have any place for me to sit outside and enjoy the view, so I ended up spending a lot of time in our room drawing. Luckily I’d prepared for this, and was able to get a set of 4 Tree Dancer drawings finished.

A man standing next to a tree with a briefcase.

Words Written Down

I read a lot. Always have, hopefully always will. I don’t retain much. But from time to time I think of writing down some particularly articulate capture or thought. I had the happy thought that my Blog is a good place to collate these words that have accumulated over the years on scraps of paper, pages of sketchbooks or key strokes in various word processing programs. Wake up all over again to how many people have thoughts that are worth sharing. And you never know. Someone out there in the wide open spaces of teh World Wide Web just might find these snippets interesting or of value.