"Something That Never Comes"

In the distance I searched,

In a place where there was only emptiness.

A vast land filled with fog and broken dreams.

I sacrificed my search of hope to at least find sadness,

But found nothing.

I was embraced by the chasm of depression,

Happiness polluted by hollow words.

Footsteps that could no longer be lifted off of the ground and knees that have grown roots,

I was lost,

Nobody came to my aid,

Instead I was left to weep for an eternity as I searched for infinity,

I dipped my hands into love and only felt what it is to be broken,

I am lost.

I have chosen to forget emotion,

Give up attachments and plea for nothing.

I have taken refuge in isolation because it is the only love in which whom has not fully destroyed me.

Isolation is my only guarantee, and you,

You told me I could find you in the midst of these times,

But I have long forgotten life in my search through poignancy,

Looking for another answer besides that nothing will come.

Hope belongs to us all,

But it was stolen by manic disbelief, dismembered and left in areas where creatures now lurk. In places we once found beauty and are now too afraid to go.

Incapable of progression due to the comfort of isolation, we can’t be hurt if we have nothing left to give nor can we be hurt if we have nothing left to be taken.

I yearned that I could find an emotion that is somehow connected to forgiveness,

But as I search through these limitless planes,

I have forgotten what hope was.

Forgotten what my search entails and have embraced the only understanding that I am assured.

Poignant Existence - Final

 

Poignant Existence - Travis Hayes

I'm happy to say that, I'm finished with this piece! Due to traveling, commissions, and other random events. I've stared at this piece much too long. But Overall, I'm happy with the results. Due to prior posts I wont go into detail of progress or anything of that matter. This piece, along with future pieces will be partnered with poetry where you can find on my website: www.travishayesillustration.com

Also, I think that I've decided that this will be my last piece done entirely in Photoshop. I feeling of holding a brush is something I miss oh-too much.

Poignant Existance - Beauty in Darkness

Happy new years. O.O

Hopefully everyone gets a great start to their year and it is full of many successes. The key to that is, work hard. And.. "Photo references, photo references, photo references" E. Fortune/Chris Payne.

For this piece, I've had a bit of a round-about time. Originally, I had wanted to do a quick, simple study in reference to Chinese paintings. As I did the thumbnails, I had wanted to focus on more of the concept and the idea of doing a traditional painting.

The idea behind this piece originally started as someone in a place that does not really exist (limbo, I suppose) while grasping on to the last feeling left . While brainstorming, I realized that it's a difficult task to objectify an emotion to hold on to - so doing what I tend to do... I used dying/growing plants as emotional references. =] The flower being held will be the last living/colorful flower, while the rest will be muted/withering.

While working on the traditional piece though, I had made a few mistakes that I wasn't too fond of and realized that I didn't fully think of everything and had jumped the gun a bit too quickly due to excitement of being able to touch brushes again here in China. (Not showing photos of that..)

Another issue that I tend to run into is, it is hard for me to fully plan a piece. Which is why I think that I work better in photoshop for the time being. I enjoy being able to move small things around, turn and adjust, add and take away as I'm working on it. For this piece in particular, I get to figure out how many flowers/rocks I want as I finish everything as a whole instead of having to plan every rock, which isn't always the most fun. && Along with this, if I do decide to adjust the color back to the typical brown feel of traditional Chinese pieces/make a variant version, photoshop makes it a much easier task until I'm confident enough for those long term traditional commitments.

During the process, I feel that it's nice to step back, turn the painting around (which is done frequently), and figure out what needs to be done. I like to take notes while working so that I'm able to remember/be as nit picky as I need to so I understand how much I have left to do.

Lastly, I think that it's nice to keep a mood board around. It helps me remember that these other people are amazing artists, and my work needs to fit into the mood board and not show a lack of quality.

So, to 2014.. I wish you all the best. To making art /raises glass\.

P.S. -- I agree with Luis, the lack of being around creatives is tough. So, thank you all for this blog & let's make history. I am humbled <3