douglas brent smith

  Truth and Bull - sketch by douglas brent smith, 1989. Have you ever felt completely upside-down?  "How do I know that you're telling the truth." "Because I always tell the truth." "Well, I know that's not true." "How do you know?" "Because it can't be true. How do I know that anything you say is true if I can't trust what you just said." "Because I am 100% truthful." "That's bull." "Or is it?" Feeling upside down, the conversation ended. Were they any closer to the truth? Likely, not. - dbS -  Here's another version of the image with more saturation, allowing you to see some of what is on the back of the page, and adding more color:

  One Spirit One Energy One World - collage by douglas brent smith, 16 November 1991

  Levitating a Small Guitar - sketch by douglas brent smith (probably 1991). "Do you think that he could levitate a large guitar, that is to say, a normal sized guitar as well?" "No doubt. It might take some practice, though." "Does it come naturally?" "It comes with practice." "That is more like a ukulele than a guitar." "Nope. It has six strings. Guitar." "Small" "But he could also levitate a large guitar. Maybe one wasn't available." "Well, you've got to start someplace." "Yes." - dbS - 

 It's Time For A Change - collage by douglas brent smith, 1 August 1991

  Badminton, sketch by douglas brent smith, 1991 It is only a doodle. A quick sketch that started out as a space ship but somehow ended up looking like a badminton birdie. Still, I like it, so here it is. 

  Angel Wall - sketch by douglas brent smith, 1991

  Falling Piano - collage by douglas brent smith, 01 June 1989. Below is the same collage but with a slightly different color saturation. I don't know which one I prefer, so I saved both versions. What do you think -- A (the one above) or B (the one below)? When I was a kid there were several old comedy movies that featured a piano falling from the window. And, didn't John Cage compose a piece of music that involved a falling piano? It must make a large noise followed by a big pile of wood and strings. Fortunately, life is not as riddled with falling pianos as it once seemed.   -  dbS  - 

  The Deal - collage by douglas brent smith, 21 November 1988. "What's the deal?" "You tell me." "Is he selling that giant bowl? "What if it's not a bowl?" "I think that it's a bowl." "Why would he be selling it? Unless it's more than a bowl." "Do we know for sure that he's selling it?" "No." "Then what's the deal?" Sometimes I strain to understand something and fail. It doesn't make me strop trying to understand it, I just don't get anywhere. What's the deal with that? Other times, things are so elegantly simple that I understand them right away. Or, at least think that I do.  How do we know for sure? -- dbS  - 

  Not Much Room For Guests - collage by douglas brent smith, 29 May 1989 "Why don't you make bigger works of art?" " Do mean, by size?" "Yes. Yours all seem to fit in a notebook." "That's the point. Large is hard to store, and I've moved around so much -- proof of the difficulty is that the larger works of art I did do have disappeared." "Gone?" "Yep. Some mysteriously, and some in a brutal purge after my last move." "After your move? So you paid to have them move and then got rid of them?" "Yes. I didn't even take pictures of them. They no longer pleased me. They no longer represented me. They were mostly paintings from my first stay in Chicago. They were fun to make. I remember episodes of The Match Game playing in the background and soap operas -- or listening to WXRT on my humble stereo. I really should have had a job, but instead, painted. I really should have made collages -- and sometimes ...

  It lights up in the dark - collage by douglas brent smith, 1 January 1989. This was a bit of a departure for me and got me going on tearing the paper. I enjoy the textured effect and the versatility it adds. I still mostly use scanners (sewing scissors are my favorite because they are sharp and articulate) and still tearing sometimes.  You may have noticed that this does not really light up in the dark.

  Mineral Wealth 2 - pen and marker sketch boy douglas brent smith, 1989. An album cover for an unrecorded, unreleased album.  Here is the full page in Journal #26, "Communication" where the concept of the album, song titles, and evidence of water damage all appear. Clearly, I was having both a) fun with markers, and b) delusions of grandeur.  Mineral Wealth 2 with song titles

  Face In The Crowd - pen and marker drawing by douglas brent smith, 1989 At the buttom of the drawing you can see the effect of water on the paper. I feel lucky that my journals weren't more severely damaged or even burned completely up in the fire at Elm Street. I spent hours afterwards drying them out in the sun on a trampoline, carefully turning page by page and giving each page some drying time. This is from journal #26. I was up to journal #41 at the time. Fortunately, not all of them were drenched.  

  Horizontal Hold - collage by douglas brent smith 29 May 1989

 Dreaming of Mineral Wealth - collage by douglas brent smith, 21 November 1988.