Jim O'Neil's photos

The play last night was Neil Simon's 'Sunshine Boys'. Colored pencil on 12" X 12" colored paper.

Busy day. I just finished ordering a N'Orleans St's jersey for a friend to take back to Japan for her son and... am taking my guests out to dinner and a play a bit later. I needed a little relaxation, hence these two sketches. Cran D'Arche Neocolor II crayon on 6" X 6" colored stock

No deep meaning, no obscure social content, not a major opus, -just a few scratchings. Caran D'Arche Neocolor II crayon on 6" X 6" colored stock

Back in the early fifties, when TV was young(er) and black and white, I happened to catch sight of Ethel Merman making a stage entrance. The camera caught her backstage first and her face was utter pathos, shoulders slumped, strained.... But as she received her cue and strutted out on to the stage in view of the audience suddenly, quite suddenly, she shines! Radiant, happy, joy, electric, she shined!! That was my first real introduction to what acting, -any presentation, is really all about. Mixed media on 12" X 12" colored paper.

Stopped and took this last night after the watercolor society meeting.

The pioneer park art and cultural center affectionately knows to everyone as "The Pickle Barrel", due to the building's shape.

Next to the cabin at Harding lake side the rotting remains of an old home-built, fun-built paddle wheeler. Previous owner spent much time making and enjoying it, probably back in the fifties. The kids enjoy the the rotting hull today while the parents caution; "Be careful!". "Get down from there right now!". watch for nails!", How many times have I told you, stay off that!" -grin!-

A few days back we drove past Gold Hill, down the Parks Highway a bit and stopped to sketch the frozen Tanana River in the valley below.

The end of a perfect day at the lake. The recoil start rope on the snow machine engine broke! Actually it was the end of a very nice day, little problems like this occur, you fix them and move on. Pen and watercolor on 6" X 9" 170 pound paper.

Interlude from playing on the ice and snow. My son playing the guitar, my friend, Kumiko, singing along... in Japanese and my granddaughter, Sanoe (AKA Peter Sam, I don't know why, ask a 3 year old!) dancing to the music. Pen and watercolor on 6" X 9" 170 pound paper.

I got to thinking, there is a lot in common twix modeling, zen meditation, the "primitive mind" and hunting. All are involved in now, right now, and only now. Starting with the "primitive mind" and hunting: Years back I used to hunt moose with an Eskimo buddy, Henry Baily from Noatak. Often hunting just consists of sittin' & waitin'. I'd often get restless, stretch, move around but he'd just sit there unmoving. Unmoving until game appeared and then he'd be up, alert, limber and ready to shoot. Me, even though I'd stretched etc., I'd be ready, when the game showed, long long seconds behind him. When we were waiting sometimes I'd ask him what he was thinking about, he'd say "Nothing", and really mean nothing. He was just waiting for the game. Basically all higher mental functions are at rest and only the primitive mind, the lizard brain, is alert, the muscles are all relaxed but ready to act when the time is right. Meditation: One stops remembering, planning, etc., and is just there right now, living in the moment. I suspect modeling, by really good models is much the same, the inner voices are quiet, the past isn't even past, it just isn't and the future is not even a concept, there is just now, that moment, that relaxed state when one is living right now. Ink and woodless colored pencil on 14" X 17" 50 pound paper.

Ink and pastel on 50 pound, 14" X 17" paper

Just as I was falling asleep last night these images started wandering through my mind... Colored pencil on 6" X 6" 120 pound colored stock

Colored pencil and pastel on 6" X 6" 130 pound black stock.

I was listening, through Youtube, to a number of renditions of 'House of the Rising Sun'; Woody Guthrie's, Odetta's, Joan Biez's, etc., and sketched this while listening. Colored pencil on 6" X 6" black 130 pound stock

Just doodling. Saturday I took my Japanese guest to an art gallery where a Czechoslovakian glass blower was making glass sculptures. One piece he was doing was a clown around 3 feet tall. His sculpture wasn't at all like this picture but thinking about his clowns influenced my sketching today. soft pastel and colored pencil on 12" X 12" colored paper.

The result of last night's 2 hour life drawing session.

I happen to tip my tablet and the model saw this while I was sketching... she started laughing & had a hard time re-capturing her pose. Charcoal on 11" X14 " Bristol vellum