Art, Conversation, and a Bit of Country
Portraits, podcasts, & prairie songs
Dear Friends,
I’m back with another short update—this time with a mix of art, conversation, and music.
First, here’s an older portrait from 2022 I made of Shannon. I’ve been reflecting on past work lately, seeing how my approach to drawing has shifted over time. There’s something satisfying about revisiting these earlier pieces— often, there’s a lightness and freedom to our earlier work that that is hard to retrieve once the gaps in our knowledge become more filled in.
A work of art, once it’s out in the world for awhile, was made by a different person than you were before. Know what I mean? To astounding affect, at times. The same is true for music. I often feel wholly separate from the person who made my early music, to the point of being baffled as to how I even made it. This speaks to my belief that we are makers, but also participants in reflecting something which comes from a source greater than ourselves.
When was the last time you had a dream filled with buildings, landscapes, people, or concepts that you could never intentionally produce in waking life?
As such, we are like prisms, bending light. Reforming source material made up of the million impressions, experiences, and inspirations that pass through us—some consciously chosen, others absorbed unknowingly. Art, in this way, feels less like pure invention and more like an act of translation, a revealing of something already present but previously unseen.
Perhaps that’s where knowledge comes in—not as a means of controlling or originating, but as a way of organizing this raw, ever-flowing material. It gives us tools to more effectively shape, refine, and mold something meaningful from the chaos with intention. This ends up reflecting our own unique take on what it means to be human. And this is why there will never be one too many artists. The world will never again have access to your singular, prismatic reflection apart from you.
A Conversation on Art & Meaning
Recently, I had the pleasure of returning to speak with Gabriela Handal on her video podcast. We dug into some big questions about art—intent versus craft, conceptual versus visual art, and the ways we define “good” art. I always enjoy chatting with Gabriela, someone whose artistic work and boundless curiosity I truly admire. It was a rich discussion, and if these topics interest you, I’d love for you to check it out.
🎧 Watch the interview here:
Inspiration Lately: Folk & Country Tones
Lately, I’ve been drawn to the raw honesty of folk and country music—stories woven through simple, beautifully played songs. These albums have been on repeat:
🎵 Woodland – Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
- In my humble opinion, Gillian Welch is one of the best living songwriters, and this new album is a bit of a departure from previous work, with it’s Fleetwood Mac influences and Rawlings’ shared songwriting stylings, but it’s a grower that gets more brilliant with each successive listen. Be sure not to miss the final track, my personal favorite.
🎵 Good & Green Again – Jake Xerxes Fussell
- Low country music for hipsters. But with a lot more depth to the musicianship than that, incorporating strains of rag, country, and folk all done so deliciously on my own instrument of choice: a clean, tone-dialed Telecaster. But Jake’s presence and voice is really what makes this album special.
🎵 Keep Me on Your Mind/See You Free – Bonnie Light Horseman
- Brand new band to me, also in a folk/country vein, but with excellent, creative songwriting and chemistry, just heaps of chemistry. Don’t miss “Singing to the Mandolin” and “When I Was Younger.”
If you’re in the mood for something warm, a little wistful, and rich with storytelling, these might be worth a listen.
As always, thanks for being here. If you check out the podcast or give any of these albums a spin, let me know what you think!
Until next time,
Kevin 🐊