I Am the Joke and Weirdly Thrilled

4 hours ago(edited)

This Old Artist Walks Into a Bar and the Bartender Says, “Yup Man, That's the Joke!” 2026. Oil on paper, 18 x 24"

Have I got a tragic hero story for you! Last Thursday I spoke about my 20,000 Paintings Project on our Black Ivory podcast. Specifically about the durability of the paper I was using, which I thought was appropriate but turns out to be the worst. The paper is not “oil friendly”. In fact, over a brief amount of time, the linseed oil breaks down the paper until there is nothing left but chewed up pigmented cotton fibers. The paintings could last up to 50 years, but after that, confetti’d down the memory hole! Oh boy, I just might be the art world’s greatest village idiot!
Well, that’s nearly 400 paintings to receive special notice on their storage box covers:

Do not open box to let in air or light, or it will poof back toxic paper dust.

I just ordered 100 sheets of primed paper, safe for oils. However, they’re smaller in size (11 x 14"), which can’t be helped because the larger is unaffordable. The dimensions can grow over time if my financial situation improves. I will meet my painting quota today and tomorrow with gesso-primed loose canvas. Tuesday I take a day off to travel to Cooperstown to pick up disintegrating paintings I was trying to sell in a gallery (none sold, phew). They’re in frames, so I’ll hang them up in the studio to watch them wither away every day in unison with my self’s demise.
I guess it’s just a minor setback in the entire 20 year scope of the project. I’ll just double down and push out more paintings to catch up.
In a way, there is something timeless and romantic about a disintegrating archive. As long as the story gets told. I am serious about putting the notice on the box covers of the stored paintings. Like my ashes in an urn. I’ll print out thumbnail images and titles of the contents, so their memory will remain.
God help my lazy idiocy! What a perfect nothing to hang my hat on!

Judging By the Gestures of This Scribble Bird, One Can Deduce Its Inevitable Migration From the Genocidal States of America 2026. Oil on paper, 18 x 24"