Sunday, April 28, 2013

Friday, April 26, 2013


"Things hidden in my head" Copyright 2013 © Ronald D. Isom, Sr.


"Do you ne'er think what wondrous beings these?
Do you ne'er think who made them, and who taught
The dialect they speak, where melodies
Alone are the interpreters of thought?
Whose household words are songs in many keys,
Sweeter than instrument of man e'er caught!"
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 'Tales of a Wayside Inn'


Thursday, April 25, 2013

I just don't get it.


Recently, I have been fielding question about my art from from residents of the independent living center where I reside. One of the most common questions relate to where I get my ideas and occasionally someone will mention that that my work “look like” some known artist. Those questions are usually veiled attempts to suggest that my work may not be original. A particularly difficult question or response is always some form of “ I just don't get it” or I like pictures of things I recognize.” These ego related questions are the most annoying. The questions and opinions are not new, I have been asked the same questions and heard the same opinions from students, family members and friends for over sixty years.

Originality is a ghost and one could question philosophically whether originality really exists. What really matters is our personal approach to art and the way in which we express our experiences and influences on a canvas; that is the high point of art and art criticism; anything else is a moot point and ego driven drivel.



"Things hidden in my head" Copyright 2013 © Ronald D. Isom, Sr.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Organic undergrowth


boscage, boskage, brake, brush
brushwood, bush,coppice, copse, 
thicket, understory, underwood


"Things hidden in my head" Copyright 2013 © Ronald D. Isom, Sr.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Horror Vacui





Horror vacui art is an art form that expands on Aristotle's theory of horror vacui (that nature abhors a vacuum, and therefore empty space will always try to fill itself with a gas or liquid to avoid being empty) and includes visual interpretations in artwork.

Horror vacui artwork involves the artist leaving no piece of the canvas uncovered. There is a fear of empty space in the works of any horror vacui art, and so artists will cover every inch of their canvas in detail to avoid leaving any remnants of blank space.

 Horror vacui art had been practiced by ancient Greek and Islamic artists, and was even evident among the many indigenous tribes of Central and South America. However, with regards to the term horror vacui, this is credited to 20th century author, scholar, and critic Mario Praz. Mario used the term to help describe the suffocating atmosphere created by Victorian Age interior design. 





"Things hidden in my head" Copyright 2013 © Ronald D. Isom, Sr.

Monday, April 8, 2013




"Things hidden in my head" Copyright 2012 © Ronald D. Isom, Sr.

“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.” 
― Albert Camus


Thursday, April 4, 2013




Human nature is not fixed: humans are able, when forced by life conditions, to adapt to their environment by constructing new, more complex, conceptual models of the world that allow them to handle the new problems.

"Things hidden in my head" Copyright 2012 © Ronald D. Isom, Sr.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013



"Things hidden in my head" Copyright 2012 © Ronald D. Isom, Sr.

Asemic poetry 0001
Mind haunted
Time in doubt
Purpose of  journey
Old age
Obtuse connections