And finally, the original sketches for the two lucky “myrmidons” who made the cover of @chutchi2 Chris Hutchinson’s poetry chapbook Meanwhile, Myrmidons out now from #anstrutherpress In reading @chutchi2 Chris Hutchinson’s poetry manuscript Meanwhile, Myrmidons, I got into the word myrmidon. A cool word, but was a bit fuzzy for me. I remembered vaguely that there was a classical source and also a potentially negative connotation. These days, you may choose to go google myrmidon at this point. That’s what I did and was reminded of the soldiers who fought for Achilles, relentless and loyal, in brown or black armour suggesting their association with ants. Myths include the transformation of ants into people on a lonely island as the origin of the Myrmidons and an offbeat take on the Zeus seduction narrative in which he takes the form of an ant! The negative connotation comes from modern extrapolations of that loyalty and relentlessness as akin to the subservient menace of various species of “hired ruffian” (wikipedia’s turn of phrase). I often think of some of my flat line drawings as sculptural, especially ones that are standing figures in space. I trace this back to the “sculptural figures” in the drawings of William Blake and of Jack Kirby, but especially to Henry Moore. From an early age, I loved Moore’s drawings, a large selection of which hung on the walls of ramp that used to connect the first and second floors of the @agotoronto on the east side of the building leading up to the magical gallery of Moore plaster casts. I was thinking about Moore’s exploration of recurring motifs, such as standing figures and also some of his helmet heads and helmet-like forms such as Atom Piece. The result was a number of “myrmidons” such as this one. #draw #drawing #drawings #drawingoftheday #art #artists #artistsoninstagram #myrmidon #myrmidons #poetry #canadianpoetry #chapbook #poetrychapbook https://www.instagram.com/p/CRbbr3zNAKp/?utm_medium=tumblr

In reading @chutchi2 Chris Hutchinson’s poetry manuscript Meanwhile, Myrmidons (forthcoming from #anstrutherpress), I got into the word myrmidon. A cool word, but was a bit fuzzy for me. I remembered vaguely that there was a classical source and also a potentially negative connotation. These days, you may choose to go google myrmidon at this point. That’s what I did and was reminded of the soldiers who fought for Achilles, relentless and loyal, in brown or black armour suggesting their association with ants. Myths include the transformation of ants into people on a lonely island as the origin of the Myrmidons and an offbeat take on the Zeus seduction narrative in which he takes the form of an ant! The negative connotation comes from modern extrapolations of that loyalty and relentlessness as akin to the subservient menace of various species of “hired ruffian” (wikipedia’s turn of phrase). I often think of some of my flat line drawings as sculptural, especially ones that are standing figures in space. I trace this back to the “sculptural figures” in the drawings of William Blake and of Jack Kirby, but especially to Henry Moore. From an early age, I loved Moore’s drawings, a large selection of which hung on the walls of ramp that used to connect the first and second floors of the @agotoronto on the east side of the building leading up to the magical gallery of Moore plaster casts. I was thinking about Moore’s exploration of recurring motifs, such as standing figures and also some of his helmet heads and helmet-like forms such as Atom Piece. The result was a number of “myrmidons” such as this one. #draw #drawing #drawings #drawingoftheday #art #artists #artistsoninstagram #myrmidon #myrmidons #poetry #canadianpoetry #chapbook #poetrychapbook https://www.instagram.com/p/CRXjNQmt2Fo/?utm_medium=tumblr

In reading @chutchi2 Chris Hutchinson’s poetry manuscript Meanwhile, Myrmidons (forthcoming from #anstrutherpress), I got into the word myrmidon. A cool word, but was a bit fuzzy for me. I remembered vaguely that there was a classical source and also a potentially negative connotation. These days, you may choose to go google myrmidon at this point. That’s what I did and was reminded of the soldiers who fought for Achilles, relentless and loyal, in brown or black armour suggesting their association with ants. Myths include the transformation of ants into people on a lonely island as the origin of the Myrmidons and an offbeat take on the Zeus seduction narrative in which he takes the form of an ant! The negative connotation comes from modern extrapolations of that loyalty and relentlessness as akin to the subservient menace of various species of “hired ruffian” (wikipedia’s turn of phrase). I often think of some of my flat line drawings as sculptural, especially ones that are standing figures in space. I trace this back to the “sculptural figures” in the drawings of William Blake and of Jack Kirby, but especially to Henry Moore. From an early age, I loved Moore’s drawings, a large selection of which hung on the walls of ramp that used to connect the first and second floors of the @agotoronto on the east side of the building leading up to the magical gallery of Moore plaster casts. I was thinking about Moore’s exploration of recurring motifs, such as standing figures and also some of his helmet heads and helmet-like forms such as Atom Piece. The result was a number of “myrmidons” such as this one. #draw #drawing #drawings #drawingoftheday #art #artists #artistsoninstagram #myrmidon #myrmidons #poetry #canadianpoetry #chapbook #poetrychapbook https://www.instagram.com/p/CRSerrWNipU/?utm_medium=tumblr

In reading @chutchi2 Chris Hutchinson’s poetry manuscript Meanwhile, Myrmidons (forthcoming from #anstrutherpress), I got into the word myrmidon. A cool word, but was a bit fuzzy for me. I remembered vaguely that there was a classical source and also a potentially negative connotation. These days, you may choose to go google myrmidon at this point. That’s what I did and was reminded of the soldiers who fought for Achilles, relentless and loyal, in brown or black armour suggesting their association with ants. Myths include the transformation of ants into people on a lonely island as the origin of the Myrmidons and an offbeat take on the Zeus seduction narrative in which he takes the form of an ant! The negative connotation comes from modern extrapolations of that loyalty and relentlessness as akin to the subservient menace of various species of “hired ruffian” (wikipedia’s turn of phrase). I often think of some of my flat line drawings as sculptural, especially ones that are standing figures in space. I trace this back to the “sculptural figures” in the drawings of William Blake and of Jack Kirby, but especially to Henry Moore. From an early age, I loved Moore’s drawings, a large selection of which hung on the walls of ramp that used to connect the first and second floors of the @agotoronto on the east side of the building leading up to the magical gallery of Moore plaster casts. I was thinking about Moore’s exploration of recurring motifs, such as standing figures and also some of his helmet heads and helmet-like forms such as Atom Piece. The result was a number of “myrmidons” such as this one. #draw #drawing #drawings #drawingoftheday #art #artists #artistsoninstagram #myrmidon #myrmidons #poetry #canadianpoetry #chapbook #poetrychapbook https://www.instagram.com/p/CRJtA8ItiRU/?utm_medium=tumblr

Here’s another piece that came out of reading @chutchi2 Chris Hutchinson’s poetry manuscript Meanwhile, Myrmidons. Look for the chapbook from #anstrutherpress! Then you can come back here and see if you think you see elements of the poems that were lost consciously part of this drawing: “What I Want Isn’t What I Want to Want”, “In a World Called Love, Money and Fame”, and “The Angel of History Sings”. #draw #drawing #drawings #art #artists #artistsoninstagram #poetry #canadianpoetry #chapbook WHAT I WANT ISN’T WHAT I WANT TO WANT My life’s so far behind it thinks it’s outstripping the sun. Each place replaced by the image of a place. My seesaw tilts to the east, then collapses back under the weight of the present moment’s infinities. Next, out west, the Pacific breathes and I think I hear the colours of its tongue and throat, see the textures of its lips as it sips the rocky shore. https://www.instagram.com/p/CRIVEiWteVm/?utm_medium=tumblr

Artwork for @chutchi2 Chris Hutchinson’s poetry chapbook Meanwhile, Myrmidons forthcoming from #anstrutherpress. Cover design by Erica Smith. Happy to get to contribute to a great new book. Look for it over at the #anstrutherpress website. #draw #drawing #drawings #drawingoftheday #art #artists #artistsoninstagram #myrmidon #myrmidons #poetry #canadianpoetry #chapbook #poetrychapbook https://www.instagram.com/p/CRFwZ6_NxNq/?utm_medium=tumblr

Contemporary Art Hates you, a manifesto by RM Vaughan. I resisted purchasing this for a few good days, the title exhaled too much crankiness from an art writer who’s probably been around a few blocks already and myself, as someone who still breathes art making everyday with bright eyes on the blood, sweat and tears of a pretty unrelated day job, well why do I need to spend the $10 on something I probably know or will find out later already? The title kept eating away at my innards though so I concluded, what the hey, curiosity killed the cat. Artists create, critics complain, none of it really matters and I already know what makes me get up in the morning. Added that art is a damn lonely pursuit and I think artists at least on some level seek human connection of some kind, whether that be an embracing or a volatile one. Even Gogh had Gauguin to bicker with about painting after all. An easy, pretty accurate read worth a good chuckle, it reaffirmed some thoughts I had already. I rarely leave my studio, my egotistical self tells me, “Why bother, everything I like about contemporary art is, for the most part, here!” This Marc Maron bit comes to mind, about how awful bored he gets the minute he steps into an art gallery, he loses his breath, has trouble holding himself up and needs to lean against a wall, just to keep his head up. It makes me laugh because I feel that way sometimes, I’m not proud about it, artists should support one another, to survive is difficult enough! Regardless, it comes with an element of truth. Short and sweet with a lovely jaded succinctness, this little grouping of paragraphs made for a good painting break, the perfect entertaining bathroom read. When I was done I wish it was longer but the abrupt finish was a nice little reminder that probably, contemporary art still hates my guts. I left the bathroom not in complete hopelessness but actually feeling lighter, ready to paint again. Whether contemporary art hates me or not, or I feel I have something to prove or don’t, I realize my passion for painting still burns hotly bright in this love, hate, toxic relationship. #rmvaughan #anstrutherpress #manifesto #contemporaryarthatesyou #artreview https://www.instagram.com/p/B9TGrj6AGQO/?igshid=t98rkyk4gcki

ANTON POOLES