Tag Archives: painting

Making Bold

Posted on July 31, 2018 by JMN

They say seek forgiveness, not permission, if you’re bold. I make bold here to respond publicly to a fellow blogger with whom I am enjoying a rewarding exchange of views — one of several bloggers who kindly respond to me … Continue reading →

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“Tibi Dabo”

Posted on July 28, 2018 by JMN

“… et ait ei tibi dabo potestatem hanc universam et gloriam illorum quia mihi tradita sunt et cui volo do illa.” Copyright (c) 2018 James Mansfield Nichols. All rights reserved.

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The Road of Paint: Zadie Smith, “Henry Taylor’s Promiscuous Painting,” New Yorker, July 30, 2018 issue

Posted on July 26, 2018 by JMN

[Henry Taylor’s paintings are transfixing for me. I’m infinity shy of his league as a painter, but I was touched by the “road of chaos… road of paint” phrase that Zadie Smith uses to name the path that Taylor has … Continue reading →

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Botticelli Deconstructed

Posted on July 24, 2018 by JMN

youtube.com/embed/m4j4RwzE6j4 Hannah Gadsby on the “Birth of Venus.”

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Make Someone Smile

Posted on July 18, 2018 by JMN

“Graffiti is one of the few tools you have if you have almost nothing,” the street artist Banksy wrote in 2001. “And even if you don’t come up with a picture to cure world poverty, you can make someone smile … Continue reading →

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“Found Doggerel”

Posted on July 13, 2018 by JMN

This gallery contains 1 photo.

Found Doggerel “The stock market has predicted nine of the last five recessions,” said a lawyer slicker than dear guts hanging from a doorknob. Christ, the narcissism of minor differences! No one is the suppository of all wisdom. His thrusting … Continue reading →

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Who wants to die a sad and broken person?

Posted on July 13, 2018 by JMN

This gallery contains 1 photo.

Who wants to die a sad and broken person like Melville — show of hands? One berates the ether doggedly with “this is me” effluvia. When, what, how much to reveal vexes continuously. Thrust, parry, withdraw, resurge, repeat. To trim … Continue reading →

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Variation on a theme — for the daughters

Posted on July 12, 2018 by JMN

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? The egg came first. A hen is only an egg’s way of making another female. (Deference to Samuel Butler) (C) 2018 James Mansfield Nichols. All rights reserved.

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“Wanted Dead or Alive”

Posted on July 10, 2018 by JMN

Steve McQueen stares at the viewer from a sitting position in the lefthand space — steely eyes, cowboy hat. Two stubby rifles dominate the righthand space: “A sidearm like nothing any lawman or outlaw had carried before — The MARE’S … Continue reading →

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The Painted Word

Posted on July 8, 2018 by JMN

In my twenties I fantasized an artistic project called “The Painted Word” — standing language on its head by meticulously brushing it on canvas. (I didn’t know until later that Tom Wolfe had used the phrase for the title of … Continue reading →

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