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Bad Art From Too Many Emotions — Motivated by Fear pg179

Colorful companion to my memoir The Incompetent Psychic

Mernie Buchanan
2 min readJan 15, 2021

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Low Gravity series: Splotchy c1989

1994

Nothing I had tried to either stop or control my infatuation with liquor had worked. Unless these were the best liars I had ever encountered, it seemed the AA remedy was effective for a lot of people — many with truly appalling stories. That no one lectured or said, “You have to,” made it palatable to just sit and listen. I kept going to meetings, since large chunks of every evening were suddenly free. I made a vow to give AA one year, and in that year I would do the steps. Someone said she had been wary of being brainwashed in AA until she realized her brain could use a good scrubbing.

As with millions of everyday drunks and addicts before and after it worked. To my everlasting surprise I stayed sober and no, it wasn’t easy. — From Chapter 9

I’ve created thousands of drawings and paintings in sixty years. The piece above is the ugliest of the 170 I chose to include this companion to my book. It is drab watercolor, splattered ink and colored pencil on heavy paper. The mixed media might also include rat pee, as it was stacked on a back shelf near a hole by the water heater where they got in. I lived a block from ancient wharves, and Norway rats were occasional visitors. I also…

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Mernie Buchanan
Mernie Buchanan

Written by Mernie Buchanan

Seeking sunnier landscapes I left Woodstock NY for Tucson where I'll teach painting & finish a scifi novel. Images are my originals. Links at mernie.com

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