VERBAL ALTERATIONS

When asked to show my work at a gallery in town, all I had were old paintings, nothing new to show at the moment, so I thought I’d breath a different sort of life into them by posting poetry beside each painting and through the course of the show, I’d drop in the gallery and “alter” the paintings with stenciling the poetry right onto the canvases. A few paintings sold to collectors who said they couldn’t bear to see me do this to the paintings. Not one verbally altered painting sold at the show. Not that it matters. I still think it was a fine idea and it’s one of the first times I presented my writing to a public audience, marking a significant moment in the trajectory of my life and work.