October 21, 2008

Profile of a Typewriter


24" x 30" — Oil/Canvas — 2008
• SOLD

This is a big departure from pears. Much more complicated, but a blast to paint. It's an Underwood #5. Gigantic and heavy. My wife found if for me at an estate sale. It's useless and entirely broken, but you can't tell in painted form.

I once came across a piece of computer software designed for writers that has the intention of trying to somehow eliminate the plethora of distractions the computer offers. The idea is that if you're a writer, sitting down to get some work done can be difficult when everything in the world seems like an easy double-click away.

Once upon a time writers had only either a pen and paper or a simple typewriter. A blank page was a blank page. Judging by the way things are now, it would appear we're losing our ability to focus. Sitting in front of a blank page with no browser icon to double-click would have required tremendous focus.