She is the dance of all the world’s oceans
She is the depth of mystery and the vibrating soul
She is the peeling back of all that is hidden
Full Moon Over Chapala
Luna Ilena Sobre Chapala by Clinock. 17×14 in. 43×46 cm. Acrylic on paper.
Xochi Quetzal Artist and Writer’s Residency. Chapala, Jalisco, Mexico. October 2019.
the music may be too loud,
there may be too many smiling teeth,
you may feel an uncontrollable madness in the night.
but do not fear the spinning lights,
the painted faces, the dizzying rides,
the smells and smoke and mirrors.
it’s only El Carnaval come to town
to break open the darkness,
summon the unexpected
and disrupt reality
briefly,
with magic.
Carnaval by Clinock. 17×14 in. 43×46 cm. Acrylic on paper.
Xochi Quetzal Artist and Writer’s Residency. Chapala, Jalisco, Mexico. October 2019.
Lola and Smudge. 17×14 in. 43×46 cm. Acrylic on paper by Clinock.
Xochi Quetzal Artist and Writer’s Residency. Chapala, Jalisco, Mexico in October 2019.
My Mexico paintings are influenced by my surreal and sensual experiences in this other culture that I have grown to love over many years of creative visits.
Lola and Smudge is the first of the Xochi Quetzal Chapala paintings that I will post until they are done.
Why are we not all born with a jester attached?
To be with us until we die. To keep us awake.
To remind us of the truth.
To fill mortality with laughter and the jingle of bells?
If the jester listens to her jester as the brain listens to the heart
She may eventually find peace amongst the flow and thrust
of our twisted ribbons.
Are we finally saved then, can I relax now
or did i get it wrong again?
It was only yesterday was it not
that the ferryman winked at me?
And although the days are losing definition
I’m certain it was the same day
you made a necklace out of acorns
and hung it around my neck, laughing.
We are blessed and sacrificed at the same moment.
The breast to the memory stone.
Not a circle but a spiral and all is suddenly Carnival,
bright and loud and gilded,
showing the folds and creases of pockets and wallets and bags
as we leave them at the door.
And unburdened
we are now
free to dance.
The Jester’s Jester. 18×14 in. 46×36 cm. Acrylic on panel.
Painting and poem by clinock.
…and I feel fine.” (REM).
“I’m beginning to hear the teachings of my blood pulsing within me. My story isn’t pleasant, it’s not sweet and harmonious like invented stories; it tastes of folly and bewilderment, of madness and dream, like the life of all people who no longer want to lie to themselves.” Hermann Hesse
Qua. 16×14 in. 41×36 cm. Acrylic on panel.
With every breath
I feel the world within change
and yet, recognizable
Haiku by Clinock
“Breaking through the solid grid of references”
Thank you Jana for this perfect line. @jana_h_white / http://www.poetryoflight.org
The Profundity of Change. 20×16 in. 50×41 cm. Acrylic and mixed media on panel.
~~~~~~
“Therefore, love your solitude and try to sing out with the pain it causes you. For those who are near you are far away… and this shows that the space around you is beginning to grow vast…. be happy about your growth, in which of course you can’t take anyone with you, and be gentle with those who stay behind; be confident and calm in front of them and don’t torment them with your doubts and don’t frighten them with your faith or joy, which they wouldn’t be able to comprehend. Seek out some simple and true feeling of what you have in common with them, which doesn’t necessarily have to alter when you yourself change again and again; when you see them, love life in a form that is not your own and be indulgent toward those who are growing old, who are afraid of the aloneness that you trust…. and don’t expect any understanding; but believe in a love that is being stored up for you like an inheritance, and have faith that in this love there is a strength and a blessing so large that you can travel as far as you wish without having to step outside it.”
― Letters to a Young Poet
“When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.”
― Kafka on the Shore
“We are no longer the knights who say Ni! We are now the knights who say ekki-ekki-ekki-ptang-zoom-boing!” – Monty Python
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