87th Place Oak Lawn, Ilinois

87th Place Oak Lawn, Ilinois -- painting by Douglas Brent Smith, 1977.

I lived with my mother for a brief time in 1977. My girlfriend at the time, Annie, wanted to escape herself to Florida (haven't seen her since) and so she plotted with my mom for me to move to Oak Lawn. The first gift my mom gave me there was a blue T-shirt that said "Wellinthehellis Oak Lawn, IL?".

Jack, Mom's husband, was mostly on the road working but when he was home he'd often give mom a hard time so she wanted me there to calm things down. Jack and I got along great but he was an alcoholic and would hit mom -- but not when I was there, which was why I was there.

After I returned to New Jersey Mom would eventually have Jack arrested and Jack straightened up. He stopped drinking. He became safe and loving. They had some happy years together.

This painting is a self-portrait. I was blessed with lots of time so I painted. Gosh, how I loved painting. I used acrylics because they dried fast. I'd spend all day painting with shows like the Match Game on TV or listening to WXRT stereo.

Jack asked me once "When are you going to get a job?" which was a perfectly fair question. He even arranged an interview with UPS for Johnny (his son) and me. Johnny got the job, I didn't is how I remember it but maybe I didn't even follow the lead to the interview. I don't remember. You could say I was a slacker. I thought of myself as bohemian. Beatnik. Cool. But, I should have gotten a job.

While I lived there I landed the role of The Divine One in the play "When North Is East and South Is West." which is where I Sally Craig Christianson, who both Del and I fell madly in love with, but she was already married so we were simply wonderful friends -- constantly laughing and hanging out backstage.

Also during that play I met Nena. She lived not that far from me and not far from Bob Armstrong so we'd sometimes share rides home. Bob drove a beat-up Ford Pinto with a rusted out drivers side floor. Nena sat on my lap. I recommend that as a way to get closer together, but not as a safety practice.

Nena and I had one date before I left Chicago to return to NJ. It was a fun time walking around the Loop. We had lunch at a diner. Neither one of us had much money. I remember her counting coins with her hands hidden under the table. I think (I hope) that I picked up the tab.

Nena backstage at the Playwright Center in Chicago

It was enough I guess to spark a flame, or at least a correspondence, that lead to so much more.

How's that for context for this self-portrait? I've got to admit, I like it.

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With Every Available Device

With Every Available Device -- painting by Douglas Brent Smith, December 1976. This is another of the series of acrylic paintings that I did in Oak Lawn, IL, living with Mom and Jack for a brief few months. My favorite art movement is surrealism, and this one clearly emulates the work of the surrealists, in particular Yves Tanguy . When I moved from Colorado to Newtown in 2016 I threw away a number of my paintings, many from this period of time. I did not like them enough to keep them, I guess although I feel some regret at heaving them, one can't save everything and I live in an apartment that's about 600 square feet. No real storage room. This one survived the cut.

Do The Math

Do The Math -- pencil sketch by Douglas Brent Smith, 20 October, 1999. Is it odd that I don't usually draw in pencil? There is so much more opportunity to make changes in pencil, both additions and subtractions. Somehow, though, ink has usually been my choice. I think it might have something to do with contrast. For this rendering I increased the contrast in the file and saturation to bring the drawing out more. I also did what I could to minimize the notebook lines, even covering over the holes and cropping beyond the wire binding. I'm not sure what my head was thinking at the time -- we were shopping for a car to replace the Chevy Cavalier that "drowned" in a storm.

Machine Work

Machine Work - collage by douglas brent smith, 1980-81 Note: As a part-time security guard, I sometimes would read books to pass the time. One night my job required me to guard and observe a location from my car -- a black 1966 Volkswagen beetle. It was night, so I brought a kerosene lantern to read by. It was almost like camping out, as long as I kept watch on the construction site and reported anything out of the unusual. Nothing was out of the unusual. That has nothing to do with this collage, except for the one line on John Updike. Run, Rabbit, Run.

Keep Moving

The whole universe is in motion. Keep moving. -- doug smith

Dune of Destiny

Dune of Destiny - collage by douglas brent smith, 1979

H.B.E.

(pretty little almond eyes sleeping next to me breathing such sweet loving sighs questionless and free pretty little almond eyes snuggle close to me) with unexpected joy i find you with your welcoming radiance a once illusive happiness floods into my soul reckless and free a thousand wild laughing tingles glowing from the flow of days with you and nights with you and secrets we both know (high brown eyes h.b.e. waking next to me whispering about your dreams such sweet certainty pretty little almond eyes share this world with me.) -- douglas brent smith

douglas brent smith

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