visual art selections > decades of daily journal cards
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Bugs on ceiling not there - 1984
This one surely gives a sense of what it feels like when your nervous system won't cooperate!
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An appearance by the Mystic Fish - 1984
A sense of humor pops up frequently in these small pieces and gives a feeling of why people liked Phil, in spite of the fact that his illness made this hard for him to believe or trust.
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Yak Yak Yak. . . Don't You Think? - 1985
Miro' is written three times on the back of this card. Though, of course he never copied the artists he admired, Phil would learn from them, use elements of their style and ethically give them credit.
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Does It Go Poof? - 1986
Another amusing title for an appealing organic design, drawn from life - more representational than Phil's usual oevre.
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In the window doing well so far - 1985
a notation on the back of this card says, "deep resistence to work."
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In the yellow bus - 1986
Woah! What a scarey Field Trip! (Phil was pretty freaked out by riding busses.)
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I might do something I regret - 1986
. . . an eloquent summation of what he was up against. Mental Illness is very real. No one who had a choice would willingly subject himself to the terrible lonliness it brings with it.
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From a Broom At Bruces'
This image from 1982 exemplifies the intriguing abstraction of everyday objects that populated Phil's mind and art.
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Before a visit to Bruce
Bruce was an important friend from their youth, who was loyal to Phil for many years. They talked on the phone a lot and kept in touch in spite of the frequent paranoia that often kept other friends and family at a safe distance.
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Oh, the Red Light Was My Baby and the Blue Light Was My Mind - 1986
It was difficult for Phil to travel more than several miles away, since he had to walk everywhere. He could not afford a car, or handle the pressure of taking a driving test - and though he tried many times to take D.C. busses, he was too afraid of people to manage. Making the 15 mile trip to Bruce's was a rare happening. This was in 1986, when Phil was 36 years old.
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The Dead Man - 1986
The death of Bruce's father affected Phil and he commemorated it.
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untitled - Oct.4, 2014
. . . from a serious series of boxed, narrative sets about the state of humanity and the world.
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Notations from the BACK of the previous card. untitled - 2014
. . . explaining Phil's purpose in making these images and what he feels is valuable about his current most successful pieces.
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untitled - Feb.10, 2015
Made shortly after our departed mother's birthday, this painting was inspired by a set of earrings.
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STOP IT! - Feb.13, 2015
The title is integral to the piece. Phil explains this series on the back of this card (next image.)
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Notation from the BACK of the previous piece - Feb.2015
This is the 7th card in a narrative set, which is a part of a series of unbound "Books" made and stored in boxes during the last years of his life.
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untitled - May, 2015
The text and the huge bull'seye say it all.
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title is part of the piece - June, 2015
Phil had become disenfranchised with any influences from Buddhism and tried repeatedly to dissuade me from my interest in it, which partly stemmed from the fact that Buddha urged his students NOT to follow him like a guru, rather to test and question and make up their own minds.
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untitled - July, 2015
Third page in the set of cards called the "Second Time Book 21"