These drawings are from two relatively recent trips. I am pushing my work hard towards capturing the atmosphere and energy of place. Instead of changing anything in terms of the ‘hunt’ for images, I am pushing the aesthetic range of the work, applying heavier darks and playing with a little bit of colour. In this my 50th year, I feel the need to shake everything up (perhaps reflecting the dire state of the world). Maybe like perception itself, I am eager to capture more than just the visual but the wider sensory landscape. That also means overlapping action and impressions. I am getting there but a next top secret reportage project will likely reveal much more. Enjoy these musings on places and faces.
Life's Too Short For Nuance 
Hi Lou,
Long time no see. But we’ve been thinking of you. Maureen has an every-saturday-morning printmaking student who was in a bad way. The old-maid director of the municipal art school where she studies called her work “degenerate,” which got her depressed. She was depressed already, due to a complicated childhood. It occurred to me to dig up that little book, Life’s Too Short for Nuance, you published, what, 15 years ago, and show it to her. I told her, “This is our friend, Lou Netter, he’s ‘degenerate,’ too. She loved your work and it brought her right around. That, and some wise-woman counseling by Maureen and the lost lamb is off and running. Did you know you were therapeutic?
So, what have you been up to, besides getting renowned? We love this later work, too. Does your next, secret, project include motion? Or AI? Just a guess. As I remember, you had a daughter. That was a long time ago. Would she be a teen-ager now? Does she draw, too? Maureen is officially retired, but she still keeps her hand in printmaking. Lately she’s been working weekends with young people (including our own great grandaughter, who is 11 years old) and finds it rewardiing. I would send you some links to her websites but we lost them in the Word Press crash and burn. Don’t ask me how that happened–one of the partner companies got miffed and shut down the shop. Unbelievable. Leaving many thousands (millions?) of trusting customers hung out on a limb.
I have just finished another book, an offshoot of the one you did the cover for, all those years ago. I think I have become a better writer. But mainly I’ve gotten old. I’ll be 82 on April first (When I was born my 15-year-old mother burst into tears. She didn’t want an April Fool’s baby.) Let me share with you the three secrets for growing old gracefully:
A first-rate national health system. Ours brought me back from cancer. 2. A loyal wife. 3. A sense of humor. We laugh a lot.
That should get you through, as far as it goes.
I find it great watching our ex-country go down the tubes, but I’m acutely aware that they might be dragging us all with them. What’s your national status these days? American? Irish?
Needless to say, we would love to see you show up at our door one of these days.
All the best and keep on doin’ what you’re doin’…
Mike and Maureen Booth
P.S. Send your phone number and Maureen will WhatsAp you some family photos.
I completely missed this! So good to hear from you. I will reach out on messenger for more details. So good to hear from you. Big hugs to you both (and the rest of the family)! So glad my crazy work could provide comfort. Not nearly as crazy as the actual world these days. Love to you and all