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One Way or Another– At Principle Gallery
Talent is insignificant. I know a lot of talented ruins. Beyond talent lie all the usual words: discipline, love, luck, but, most of all, endurance.
–James Baldwin, Conversations with James Baldwin (1989)
James Baldwin was asked in a 1984 Paris Review interview about what advice he would offer to aspiring writers. He said that there wasn’t much that he could offer except to write and find a way to keep alive. Put in the time and effort. Do the work.
He then uttered the lines above. They really struck home with me when I first read them a few years back. They come to mind again as I reflect on how I have had the great fortune to be getting ready for the opening of my 25th solo exhibit at the Principle Gallery.
This 25-year run certainly has been built on a combination of all the elements that he mentioned– a little talent, discipline, love, luck and, most of all, endurance. I believe I have made the most of what little talent I possess by simply doing the work and sticking to it through thick and thin. As a result, my dogged sticktoitiveness has made room for luck and serendipity to come along for the ride, opening doors of opportunity for me, including my long relationship with the Principle Gallery, that I may not have encountered otherwise.
I am grateful for it all. Maybe that’s while enduring the past 25 years has felt like it has passed in a flash.
It has given me the only life I am qualified to lead. I said something like that recently to a group of high school friends at the memorial service for my friend Brian. I hadn’t seen some of them for 40 years or more and most were highly successful in their fields. I was kind of embarrassed when they congratulated me on my success and I replied that it was the only thing I was qualified to do. I think they thought I was being modest or self-deprecating.
But I meant what I said.
For me, this is the only life that allows me to work alone in a manner that suits my needs. The only life that gives me the time and space to thrive in solitude with avenues in which I can express myself and continually experience small forms of catharsis on a daily basis. It allows for all my emotions to freely range without the need of wearing a public mask. It gives me autonomy and purpose without trying to be something I am not.
It’s not always easy. In fact, sometimes it is very difficult in many ways. But that is just life, isn’t it? This way of life fits me in a way like no other way can. I seriously believe– no, I know— that I could not survive doing anything else for long.
You can say a lot about me, but I endure. In life. In my work.
I’ve been shooting for this 25th show for a couple of years. Setting reachable goals is one way I have endured. I am trying to figure out my next goal. Getting in 25 more years of painting is one but I don’t know if that is a reachable goal, given my age.
I will figure it out. That’s a big part of endurance– just figuring it out.
That I can do– one way or another.
One Way or Another is also the title of the painting at the top. It’s one of the smaller pieces, 12″ by 12″ on canvas, from Continuum: The Red Tree at 25, opening this Friday, June 14 at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria, VA. There is an opening reception from 6-8:30PM on Friday. Please stop in and take a look around. Maybe chat for a bit.
I talk about persistence rather than endurance, but I suspect its the same quality with different names. Much of what you’ve written feels familiar to me. I especially like this line: “It gives me autonomy and purpose without trying to be something I am not.” That probably helps to explain why I so enjoy spending my days working alone on the docks.
Yes, I think both words are pretty much the same though persistence, to me, infers the one being persistent is actively trying to achieve something where endurance feels somewhat more passive. And, yes, one of the wonderful parts of working alone is not having to wear any kind of mask or be anything other than yourself, as you well know.