The Leveret: January 2019

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Tundra Dweller

The Arctic hare (Lepus arcticus) is a species of hare which is highly adapted to living in the Arctic tundra, and other icy biomes. The Arctic hare survives with shortened ears and limbs, a small nose, fat that makes up 20% of its body, and a thick coat of fur. It usually digs holes in the ground or under snow to keep warm and sleep.

Arctic hares look like rabbits but have shorter ears, are taller when standing, and, unlike rabbits, can thrive in extreme cold. They can travel together with many other hares, sometimes huddling with dozens or more, but are usually found alone, sometimes taking more than one partner.

– Source

See also the previous posts:
• Snowshoe
• Hare in the Snow
• Winter Hare

Image: E.J. Perken.

Monday, January 28, 2019

Winter Light

Spring passes and one remembers one’s innocence.
Summer passes and one remembers one’s exuberance.
Autumn passes and one remembers one’s reverence.
Winter passes and one remembers one’s perseverance.

– Yoko Ono

Image: The Leveret.

Friday, January 25, 2019

The Land Around

Clive Barrett is a British born illustrator, author, designer and sculptor who says his work is inspired by the "history, myths, and traditions of the land around" him.

To visit Clive's official website, click here.

Art: "Hare" (acrylic on canvas) by Clive Barrett.

Sunday, January 20, 2019

Morning Coffee

See also the previous posts:
• Morning Coffee (2018)
• Morning Coffee (2017)

Images: Subjects and photographers unknown.

Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Snowshoe

The snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus), also called the varying hare, or snowshoe rabbit, is a species of hare found in North America. It has the name "snowshoe" because of the large size of its hind feet. The animal's feet prevent it from sinking into the snow when it hops and walks. Its feet also have fur on the soles to protect it from freezing temperatures.

For camouflage, its fur turns white during the winter and rusty brown during the summer. Its flanks are white year-round. The snowshoe hare is also distinguishable by the black tufts of fur on the edge of its ears. Its ears are shorter than those of most other hares.

– Source

See also the previous posts:
• The Hares of the Americas
• Hare in the Snow

Image: Photographer unknown.

Monday, January 7, 2019

The Art of David Jester

The following is excerpted from artist David Jester's website.

This current series of paintings was inspired by gay life online, how we present ourselves to each other, how we treat each other.

There are lots of ways we communicate in the gay community, through phone apps and websites, dating sites, hookup sites, and groups pages inside social media platforms. And in all these I started seeing declarations where guys outlined their preferences, but not in the positive sense, rather the negative. And in broad strokes too – "No fats," "No fems," "No Asians." "Are you clean?" was often a text I would get, or "Clean Only" was used as a declaration. I began to wonder, What is clean anyways?

Stating ones preferences in the negative was almost affronting, and so I wondered how fine the line was between taste and discrimination. Had we really fought for years for equality only to discriminate against each other?

I have always been drawn to the pool in my art. Metaphorically, it's filled with water, and so are we. Body fluids and cleanliness were a jumping of point for this current series; those who are inside the pool and those who are outside and the different viewpoints and the views are often distorted ones - just like the conservative views of the gay community, and vice versa. I love distortion and so it is a frequent part of my work and I enjoy pushing the abstract shapes that occur in water environments. Pool cleaners hum around working to make the water crystal clear like Prep and meds do within our veins. The pool is another world that is part of the world around it - just like the gay community is an integral part of the overall society. The water in the pool and us has been shared by every other living being since the water developed here - there is a history to it.

When I was in school years ago I started painting guys in pools. I often get compared to David Hockney by followers on Instagram. It used to "get my goat" as they say, because I paint nothing like him and I think the comparison is simply due to involving a pool. But as I thought about it, there is no doubt that he was a huge influence on me. I remember seeing "Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)" when I was a kid and being in awe. There in the painting was the pool I felt I belonged to, the pool of gay men, portrayed and honored by the entire world, out in the open. Not hidden or something to be ashamed of. I felt accepted by the world through this single piece of Art. It was transforming on a personal level. While Hockney showed the pool to the outside world from the outside, I wanted to show that world from inside the pool.

[This current series] started with a small group of archetypical behaviors but has expanded and become a snapshot of our community as I have experienced it. Our community is so rich and diverse, and I can only paint so fast, but is slowly unfolding, each painting like a chapter in a very long story. Bears, Otters, Twinks, Daddies, Asians, Blacks, Latinos, Caucasians, Queers, Masculinity, Femininity, Judgement, Joy, Fear, Desire, Love, Curiosity, Sexuality, Exploration, Thrupples, Couples, Discrimination, Taste, Bondage, Submission, HIV . . . all have made an appearance in the story so far. The truth is as the series unfolds, I am starting to see it as a family portrait of sorts. Recently I saw a Facebook post by a friend where he said family is lost and family is chosen. This series is my chosen family.