difficulty (i always cry at weddings)

 

A general sense of disquiet and why-is-this-happening these days, a kind of confusion around a system that revolts against elitism, incompetence and malfeasance by electing even more bloated, degrading examples of elitism, incompetence and malfeasance. It’s full-on kleptocracy now. Add in some natural disasters and things start looking biblical. And very difficult to remember that just because destroying an existing social order for the sake of some imagined ideal (Greater Russia, Shining Path, Khmer Rouge, China Rising, Make America Great Again) is irrational, understanding that idea doesn’t keep people from doing it. You can stop making sense on that one; dissect the errors all you like but criminals and true believers aren’t much bothered by argument and theory. As I tell my Gen Z kid all the time, being right about the bus schedule doesn’t change the fact that you need to get to school. Feelings do not make the weather. Still, like a collage, you can reaarange how things fit, or how you see them. Of course, in the end, all you can do is make sense of your own life, which is often hard enough.

draw things paint things write things make things, number 309 … The Man in the Orange Castle

 

New Tinyletter today. Wrote it with my brain and my hands. Not AI but who cares, if I could write it in cursive on the backs of old envelopes I would do that, too. You can read it here. 

draw things paint things write things make things, number 308 … failure

 

Some thoughts on failing, which seems to be happening a lot these days. 

five prints on photo paper

Five prints of original ink drawings on photo paper.

Each 5 x 7 inches.

Loosely tacked to lightweight archival board and packaged in a cellophane sleeve.

too late

three sugars with cream

the soldier

desert places

the boxer

The originals were ink brush straight to paper.

Meant for framing but can be displayed as is on any bookshelf, mantle or even cubicle space.

An affordable, decorative set. 

packaged in a clear sleeve with lightweight archival board

I prefer drawing to talking. Drawing is faster, and leaves less room for lies. 
— Le Corbusier

shipped with care

everything from my shop comes with an extra art surprise

buy from people, not corporations

buy things made by human hands, not computers

escape from the dreaming planet ... give the gift of original art

this set is on Big Cartel, but you can find more of my work on Etsy

 

Inktober, so far

 

so don’t go

original painting on aluminum panel

8 x 10 inches

a texture-rich painting meant as a compelling accent for a bedroom, mantle or office area (even sitting quite easily in the corner of a cubicle)

badger is leaving (perhaps vanishing)

Everything is made out of Magic, leaves and trees, flowers and birds, badgers and foxes and squirrels and people. So it must be all around us. In this garden-in all the places. 

— Frances Hodgson Burnett

I'm leaving because the weather is too good. I hate London when it's not raining.  

— Groucho Marx

Badger hates Society, and invitations, and dinner, and all that sort of thing. 

— Kenneth Grahame

varnished: a durable artwork that can be freely handled

suitable for framing but also stands on its own

shipped with care

everything from my shop comes with an extra art surprise

buy from people, not corporations

buy things made by human hands, not computers

escape from the dreaming planet ... give the gift of original art

you can find more work at 

https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/cigartinstories

and

https://society6.com/darryljoelberger

Ring Found and Glass Eye

 

“Ring Found” and “A Glass Eye”   

two original gel monoprints on found paper, with typewriter text  

each 8.5 x 9.25 inches  

image patterns in French sky blue, fawn brown and emerald green with darker line and type marks  

on found paper — pages torn from a discarded book about the French Impressionists  

the writing is original and my own …   

I took out an advertisement in the classifieds.  

It read:     

Ring found. Public beach at Withering Place.  Real diamond? Describe it and the circumstances of losing it. Box 1457.     

I had found no ring, of course. But I was bored,  and wanted some mail, which was so hard to come by  in those days.  

and   

Something gleamed beneath the dresser. Lamont searched in tiny patterns with his flashlight.  It was a glass eye. Look at you, Lamont said.  As he squatted down to retrieve it, two fingers  already forming a pinch, Lamont could feel but  not hear the various cracks and pops in his knees  and back. He cursed while his chunky cop shoes  twisted and squeaked beneath him. And while he  could feel the sudden cold, the appalling wrongness  of the shadow which suddenly loomed at his shoulder,  he did not hear its approach. After the second hammer  blow, he heard nothing at all.  

each print lightly tacked to foam board  

packaged for gift giving in a clear cellophane sleeve  

meant for framing but can sit on a mantle, shelf, or corner of a cubicle as well  

two artworks in conversation  

shipped with care  

everything from my shop comes with an extra art surprise  

buy from people, not corporations  

buy things made by human hands, not computers  

escape from the dreaming planet ... give the gift of original art  

you can find more work at Etsy and Society6

8-bit retro game design

Retro, 8-bit, vintage, gaming ... call it what you will, I just had fun with some designs. You can find them on sorts of things here. 

didn’t you think it was suspicious

two original gel monoprints (one unique impression only) on yupo paper

8 x 10 inches each

lightly tacked to archival board

yupo paper is a never-tear, waterproof, tree-free synthetic paper

these gel monoprints are single impressions only 

the text (in pencil) reads:

didn’t you think

it was suspicious?

i did

but i

did not see

meant for a frame

packaged for gift giving in a clear cellophane sleeve

shipped with care

a pair of complimentary artworks meant to enliven any living or working space

Suspicion always haunts the guilty mind.

— William Shakespeare

One moment her mind was as blank as the desert; the next minute the snake of suspicion had slithered into her thoughts and raised its poisonous head.  

— Thrity Umrigar

shipped with care

everything from my shop comes with an extra art surprise

buy from people, not corporations

buy things made by human hands, not computers

escape from the dreaming planet ... give the gift of original art

you can find more work at etsy and society6

the scheme (your boundaries mean nothing to me)

the scheme (your boundaries mean nothing to me)

three original artworks in mixed media

on paper mounted to card

5 x 7 inches for each

a trio of small paintings that, together, tell a story

a kind of graphic short story, in confessionals from Shelley, Jennifer and Anne, who all have different perspectives (the Rashomon effect)

inspired by a quotation … 

We are in a waking dream... We see worlds where others scheme. 

— Hamza Yusuf

varnished: a set of durable artworks that can be freely handled

meant for framing but work perfectly fine on their own

shipped with care

everything from my shop comes with an extra art surprise

buy from people, not corporations

buy things made by human hands, not computers

escape from the dreaming planet ... give the gift of original art

you can find more work at Etsy and Society6