Desert Soul

Desert Soul (Mating in Captivity). Acrylic & pastel on masonite, 48 x 48 inches. © 2010 by Kathy Crabbe So much to do, sometimes a list can be overwhelming!

Art-making quiets and focuses the mind onto the present until all else drifts away - kinda like meditation, a simplification, like water for a parched desert soul.

Desert Soul (Mating in Captivity). Acrylic & pastel on masonite, 48 x 48 inches. © 2010 by Kathy Crabbe

I stare at my canvas, this time it's made of tempered masonite. I've primed it three times with house primer on the smooth side and once on the rough side, to prevent warping.

It is a large square 48" x 48" and it's presence is firm and solid compared to the wispy, delicate yet surprisingly strong surface of silk that I've been painting on for the last three months. My husband bought one large sheet of masonite 8' long and cut it in two for me.

Desert Soul (Mating in Captivity). Acrylic & pastel on masonite, 48 x 48 inches. © 2010 by Kathy Crabbe

The day is grey, the rain is coming and my feet are cold - there is something wrong with the heater.

I've been reading Artillery Magazine - the Sex Issue and in particular one article, "Art With Benefits" by Josh Herman and am thinking about this quote from Jilda "To me, art must evoke something within us - be it joy, sadness, reverence or lust. An object which fails to do that is merely pretty." And although my work is abstract I feel it is also emotionally charged and sexually symbolic. I'm not painting sex per se, nothing so literal. But instead passion, emotion - intimate emotion.

Desert Soul (Mating in Captivity). Acrylic & pastel on masonite, 48 x 48 inches. © 2010 by Kathy Crabbe

This is a journey into my own expression of intimacy - a poetically abstract journey, minus the depiction of flesh - save that for the pornographers.

This masonite surface is so slick, hard, shiny, like new ice - not sure how to navigate this world yet.

The following day: Suddenly I feel happy.

I think I like this masonite surface.

"It's a long, long, lonely ride to find the perfect lover for your lover."

From the song "The Taxi Ride" by Jane Siberry

Musical Ambiance: The Speckless Sky ~ Jane Siberry