This is a piece I did in High School, 1989 I believe. Okay now I'm feeling a bit old. LOL. It is from my AP portfolio series. The face in the piece was someone that I had a giagantic crush on. Of course he was straight and of course he had no idea. However, that didn't stop me from being completely obsessed.
I was a VERY emotional teenager. I'm not saying that I am no longer, but the water just runs deeper now. At the time I was convinced I was in Love. Obsessive, Irrevocable, Endlessly-driving, Earth-shattering, Soul-destroying LOVE. Whenever he was around, I couldn't speak or think or breathe. I joined a school function (which shall remain nameless to protect the innocent) simply so that I could be nearer to him. I was lost in the throes of my emotional intensity. I was silly and out of control and ignorant. I'm just glad the only thing broken out of this was my teenage heart.
The paths we walk to get to today are strange indeed. I cried a little upon seeing this piece again. It has been so long. This whole week has kind of been bringing up ghosts. I met someone a few days ago who reminded me very much of myself around this age. Friggin'
Pluto in Capricorn unearthing the dead for yet another trip down undead memory lane. I suppose there is something to be learned here, but for the life of me I do not know what it is. Love hurts? Yeah, Yeah. Obsession makes for great art? I dunno. I was at least lucky enough to have this piece published years later on the
cover of an
RFD issue.
Working on this piece and all the others in my AP portfolio is where I developed my love for
Berol Prismacolor pencils. I can't live without them now. My involvement with Prismacolor pencils is very close to my relationship with
Sharpies: obsessive and driving and I always end up with neato piece of art when I'm finished. I guess I haven't changed so much after all.
This piece actually became the seed of a trio of pieces. The second and third pieces were Death and Devil, respectively. I'll have to dig around and see if I have any copies of those two to post. They were given away as gifts many moons ago.
Recommended Listening:
This song and album were my soundtrack during that time.
George Winston
Thanksgiving
December
{Berol Prismacolor pencil on Colored Paper}
The Compass of the Dawn and Compass of the Underworld. I was tempted to call the second piece The Apple of Eris,
but I realized that our lady's apple would not nearly be so telling.
The second piece is less about the sewing of discord and more about
navigating the darkness. 
I've always been fascinated by Kirlian Photography. That shot at the beginning of X-Files embedded itself in my head (of course) and is mixed up in there with all the other occult stuff.
These three mandalas are all centered on the internal, the discovery within. In the first mandala, Furtex, we discover a small bit of knotwork at the center of this flowering vortex of fur. The mandala also seems to be taking place in pool of shimmering light.
I usually don't link to such viral videos, but I actually stopped and watched this one and it moved me to tears. He is such an eloquent speaker for a nineteen year old. I didn't realize that I had been waiting to hear these words 'from the horse's mouth as it were. I watched it three times and found myself crying. Please take a look. 
