"Vasta Gucho, Me Amore: In English"

Semi Abstract Hog

Vasta Gucho are two words that are in the title of this painting.  If you know anything about my art, and the syntax attached to it, the titles follow the random consequential nature of my style.  The titles themselves take on a meaningful explanation that just doesn’t exist without them.  It all works together in this painting.  I made up the two words 25 years ago maybe when designing my first portfolio.  Those two words, when randomly translated mean “Yo Ven-Diga”.  This was during the infant days of the internet. 

I had to use good old fashion printers and rely on the high cost of some company that charged ridiculous prices to print out good quality pictures of my art.  I was extremely poor at the time, so this was special to me, saving up and spending money on what eventually found its way into the hands of several fortunate collectors.  The title page of this first portfolio was a blurred picture of me in front of a focused setting in one of my studios while I was in the US Army.  In big print I wrote the words “Yo Ven-Diga.”  Why I do not know, they just seemed to fit and flow off the tongue.  They are not English words, I know that, but I have had an unusual affinity towards them for many years now, they have appeared in several paintings.  The “Me Amore” part of the title is an address to my desire for love and to be loved.  It’s a plea to a being that has not existed in my life since I was 18.  I should have named it “Ode to Kristen Bills”.  

This painting is raw, it’s exactly what I have been practicing for over the last 550 days, as of Sept 2023.  It is a direct result from tons of uncomfortable sketching.  Dali said “Drawing is the honesty of the art. There is no possibility of cheating. It is either good or bad.” and I not only see it but have lived and practiced his sentiments, wholeheartedly.  This piece quantifies all those efforts in this world for me.  The painting came out very easily over a few days and I am absolutely in love with it every time I see it.  I have nicknamed it personally as “Hog” because it reminds me of some sort of creature, a four-legged beast of sorts that exists nowhere but in the relationship of my mind and this painting.  Maybe you see it.  Also, if you happen to know or meet Kristen Bills, tell her I miss her, and that occasionally she appears in my dreams and brings comfort.