Automatic DrawingThis little piece of artwork from about ten years ago has a curious story behind it. It was a sketch to illustrate one of my songs, the idea being a homeless angel, in case it's not clear. Now, when I do such a thing I start with the face, working from nose outward. My wife at the time was watching me draw and exclaimed, "That's Arley!" And so it was.
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The curious aspect (besides the fact that I had no one in mind as I sketched) was that Arley had recently died! He wasn't even an aquaintance of mine, only a friend of a not very close friend. Arley was an ex-con who wrote poetry about prison life and my friend used to accompany him on upright bass while he read. They performed here and there around town.
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But Arley passed on, and I did a random sketch of a face and he emerged... I could not have done a more accurate charictature if I tried, but there it is. There have been a few occasions when I've felt like a conduit from another dimension, which other artsy-fartsy types like me have reported as well. It always leaves you thinking something along the lines of, "Hmmm... how about that?"

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