01/02/2025
Studio 516. 40" w x 26" h. Ink on paper. This is my last drawing of 2024 and my last drawing and last tribute to me art studio in the South Bronx. I came to NYC with almost nothing but a suitcase and a dream that I could have my own art studio and become a great New York painter. I feel like I've captured the chaos and character of my studio in this last drawing and I'm really going to miss it. I wrote a poem about how I feel but it's about apartment and my art studio and I guess this whole chapter of my life.
Studio 516.
This old room, worn down by the creases, cracks, and the old stains of time.
Just cracks and fissures where the foundations once lay.
Old memories cling to it like roots and tangled vines.
Each leaf, a victory won.
Each thorny stem, a trauma laid bare.
Old ghosts haunt the outside door.
The spectres of old arguments laid to rest
and the ghosts of better days gone by greet me and wave in wisps of glowing light.
"Is this goodbye?!" I cry out
Only to be greeted by thundering silence.
I make my way to the door.
It dawns on me how many have walked these halls before,
mere guests passing by.
Old paint stains glossed away with a bright white brush.
If I looked closely I could the old marks left before me.
Brushwork done by old masters long forgotten,
Nameless but not for a few hues and speckles of color
hidden away like a closely guarded secret.
As I turn to leave I hope someday another starry-eyed traveler will look close and I'll finally be seen.
I'll miss you studio 516.
You were a strange and beautiful dream...
lost and gone away but not without a fight.
I turn out the light.
#2025
