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explorations in iphone notes

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2023/09/09

September 9, 2023
The stump of a thick tree, with a birdhouse mounted at the top of it. The front of the birdhouse looks like a face: the circular entrance is the mouth, with a nose and two round holes placed above it. The birdhouse also has two devil horns and, behind the stump at the base of it, something sticking up from the ground that looks a lot like a pointed tail. In the background is a flat plain, with mountains in the distance. A bird is flying off in the sky.

2023/09/08

September 8, 2023
A tall, oddly, thin building stands in the middle of nowhere. It's a dark, starless night. The building is about three stories high, but only as wide as two ordinary-sized doorways; imagine a three-story walk-in closet with no windows, except one at the very top on the left side of the building. That window is boarded shut, but something is clearly going on inside, judging by the eerie green light filtering between the boards. The door is closed, but the same light is trickling underneath it. The door has some papers stuck to it. The lower left side of the building seems to have a chunk taken out of it. The most distinctive feature of the building, though, is the giant vertical sign bolted onto the right side. The sign is about 2/3 as tall as the building itself and has the word "Diner" on it in glowing, radioactive-green lettering; the same color as the light from inside the building. The light from the sign illuminates the ground under it. Perched on top of the sign is a large bird that looks like a raven. In the background is the blurry suggestion of a treeline.

2023/09/07

September 7, 2023
A pink blob that looks, vulgarly put, like a blob of chewing gum that someone stepped on. Embedded in the blob are two googly eyes, like those from a craft store; a gold star sticker; and a rainbow sticker that looks almost like a smile.

2023/09/06

September 6, 2023
A tall, rectangular object about the size of a small apartment building. The object has a human face. The lower left corner of the object is missing, a giant chunk taken out of it by a small figure with a shovel. The figure appears to be digging into the object, and the face is looking directly down at the figure.

2023/09/05

September 5, 2023
A large bird-like creature stands on a branch at night. The creature looks a little like an owl, with long pointed ears, but has a face more suggestive of a cat. In the center of the creature's chest, there's a round, brightly lit yellow window with someone looking out of it. The creature's eyes are also round and yellow. The creature stands against a starry sky.

2023/09/04

September 4, 2023
A small path—or perhaps a brook—in the foreground, winding across a barren, uneven landscape. To the right of it is a small sign post. Looming vast in the distance is a large, foggy shape of a mountain. The sky is filled with a turbulent collection of clouds surrounding what is either the moon or the sun.

2023/09/03

September 3, 2023
A rough, sketch-like rendering of a mask. The technique suggests a blend of pencil and paint. The right side of the mask is crimson, and has dimensionality, as though molded or carved from a material; the left is black, and, while the area around the eyesocket looks three-dimensional, most of it is flat, as though sketched out in charcoal. The mouth is stretched wide in a smile revealing a white surface, suggesting teeth. The right side of the mouth has blurry vertical lines on it, as though dissolving into static.

2023/09/02

September 2, 2023
A stumpy stone pedestal stands in the middle of an empty grassy area. On the pedestal is a small, child-sized statue, arms out. The right hand holds a long, crooked staff reaching down to the ground; the left hand holds a flaming torch. The statue is wearing a giant pointed Viking-esque helmet with three horns on it. The helmet is about the size of the statue itself. The background and sky are empty, suggesting an open, barren area.

2023/09/01

September 1, 2023
A figure wearing a black suit and a tie. The figure's head is a spouting, flame-shaped jet of blue and green, with a yellow center. This is not as disgusting as it sounds. It's not clear whether this is a flame or a substance, but such distinctions are of dubious relevance when the subject matter is metaphorical.

2023/08/31

August 31, 2023
A large, furry, red creature with two legs and three horns. The creature appears to have a large blue iridescent rock embedded where its face would be.

2023/08/30

August 30, 2023
A mountain peak, a clear blue sky, and a bright yellow hot air balloon drifting in the top right. In the top left is an eagle, high above the mountain. There is no more to this place than this.

2023/08/29

August 29, 2023
A vast desert plain. Above, the sky is black and starry; below, a light blazes on the horizon, less like a sunset and more like a bonfire. Hanging above the plain is what appears to be an asteroid with a huge eye on it. The eye is looking down at the desert, where a tiny figure stands, both arms raised, seemingly signaling to it.

2023/08/28

August 28, 2023
A narrow path winds between sharp, pointed crags covered with trees. The part of the path closest to the viewer is in shadow; ahead, the path is brighter, sunlight spilling between the crags, suggesting an open area ahead. High in the sky sits a blazing sun; a sun that looks like it would be more at home on a desert than mountainous terrain. There are no people in the scene.

2023/08/27

August 27, 2023
A face shaped like a tall shield: flat on top, with a curved, pointed bottom. The top half of the face is occupied by a single eye on a dark, textured background, roughly suggestive of a Cyclops wearing a leather mask. The lower half of the face is red and ordinary looking: nose, closed mouth. Surrounding the face is a textured gradient. The colors of the gradient are the inverse of the face: a red gradient on the top, a black gradient below.

2023/08/26

August 26, 2023
A green sky, and a powerful tornado reaching down from it. The tip of the tornado ends with a human figure at the end of it, as though the person's head is the tornado. On both sides of the tornado/person are jagged lightning bolts. The person is standing on a barren hill with no other details around.

2023/08/25

August 25, 2023
A cliff, and then a ravine. It's that part of the evening where it's mostly night: not quite black, but a deep blue. Parked on top of the cliff, at the left, is a car with its lights on. To the right, the cliff drops into a sharp, rocky ravine, filled with weeds and small trees. Down in the depths of the ravine is a person hunting for something with a flashlight. In the background is a blurry suggestion of woods. There's no moon or stars in the sky. The sky is empty.

2023/08/24

August 24, 2023
A sun blazes over a mountain valley. On the left side of the drawing, sloping down towards the right, are a series of mountain peaks, the ridgeline highlighted in red. The sky itself is a garish, impressionist blend of red and green. The sun is white. The shaded part of the mountains are black and blue. The drawing is rendered in a rough, impressionist texture, suggesting either a woodcut or heavy brushstrokes.

2023/08/23

August 23, 2023
A cat sits on a cube-shaped stone placed on a small, grassy hillock. There are weeds growing around the stone. The cat is looking over its shoulder. The scene is rendered mostly in blue and green, with a rough texture that suggests a woodcut.

2023/08/22

August 22, 2023
A figure with two legs, no arms, and a head that takes up over half of its body. The figure is set against a deep blue background; the front of it is lit starkly by red and green light. The figure has a quiet, blank expression on its face.

2023/08/21

August 21, 2023
A large person with a shaved head and a suit and tie, apparently walking down a city street at night. Behind them is a streetlight; further behind are the suggestions of skyscrapers. The whole scene is rendered in rough textures and bright red, green, and blue, suggesting a neon woodcut.

2023/08/20

August 20, 2023
A small house sits on a hill at sundown, sharply profiled against the red horizon. Above is a full moon. One window in the house is lit. A small road runs over the hill past the house, descending into the darker area at the bottom of the drawing. To the right are a few trees. The drawing is rendered entirely in red, green, and blue: the basic colors. The most fundamental colors.

2023/08/19

August 19, 2023
A hillside, gleaming in the moonlight, possibly covered with snow. In the sky sits a blazing full moon. The whole scene is blue. Cast sharply in the moonlight, moving up the side of the hill, is a shapeless lump of a figure: a troll-like creature with large paws, a heavy brow, a long nose, and white, staring eyes. It appears to be transfixed by the full moon. This, for anyone who is familiar with Tove Jansson's Moominland series, is the Groke: out and about on a night when no one but the Groke would be stirring.

2023/08/18

August 18, 2023
A tree stands next to a house. The house is a simple, blue, rectangular shape, occupying the lower left quarter of the drawing. The tree is a tall, leafless trunk with sticks for branches; it might be dead. Sitting in the hot yellow sky, positioned in the fork created by two diverging branches, sits a blazing red sun. This is the sun of desert at high noon. The window in the house is dark. Placed inside it is a single candle. The style of the piece looks impressionist: bright colors, lots of strokes.

2023/08/17

August 17, 2023
A rough, humanoid shape—its silhouette would resemble a person in a cave painting—stands in what appears to be the middle of a desert. The sun blazes behind it. Everything is red with heat; a glow around its legs suggests the ground is radiating energy. The figure is facing the viewer, arms stiffly straight on both sides, an inscrutable expression on its face, zombie-like. To the figure's left—your right, that is—stands a barren, leafless tree. Both the figure and the tree cast long, red shadows.

2023/08/16

August 16, 2023
A tall, two-legged figure with no arms and fin-shaped spikes running down its back. The figure has a long neck, and the neck is curved around so its head is looking directly at its chest. However, the neck is coming out of the top of the creature's head, not below its jaw, as would be the case for a person. The creature has a large, circular mirror hung around its neck like a medallion, and it is inspecting its reflection. Placed in front of it is a very large black egg. The whole scene is rendered in fine-lined black-and-white.

2023/08/15

August 15, 2023
A figure, wearing a black shirt or robe, visible from the chest up, staring at the camera. The figure is set against a slate-gray sky with a row of clouds above it. The figure has its mouth open in an apparent scream, both hands clapped to its cheeks. The figure's head is more like an icon than anything human—not much more than a yellow sphere; two large white ovals that constitute empty, staring eyes; another black oval for a mouth. Someone familiar with emoji would recognize the iOS "scream" emoji; someone familiar with art would recognize that emoji's inspiration. If I were the pretentious type, I'd say something intelligent-sounding about how this is the most meta thing I've ever drawn. It is, but I'm not.

2023/08/14

August 14, 2023
A figure wearing a blazing red-orange mask, which stands out starkly against a dull, winter-gray background. The mask looks like it is carved from wood, with a ferocious expression: a sharp, frowning mouth with white teeth exposed; a precise, curved mustache; and two large, staring eyes underneath thick, heavy eyebrows. The mask is vaguely shield-shaped, and someone paying attention might note a similarity to one of the monster mask emoji in iOS. The mask is disproportionately large compared to the figure—they're the same size—and the figure, clad in featureless gray clothing, is also holding a staff. There is a dull moon in the sky. In front of the figure stands a small leafless tree.

2023/08/13

August 13, 2023
A large, furry, yellow sphere hovering above the ground, set against a dark indigo background. The sphere has no eyes or facial features, only a huge, yawning mouth. Anybody who's played Pac-Man might note a certain similarity. Here, however, is where the similarity ends; the figure also has horns and a phosphor-green halo hovering above it. Pac-Man, it seems, plays both sides.

2023/08/12

August 12, 2023
A black background. In the foreground is a blue, octopus-like creature with four short, triangular tentacles. The creature has empty eyes, and extending from the middle of the right eye downwards is a straight-edged seam that suggests this may be a mask or a costume. No one appears to be inside it. The creature is illuminated on two sides by a neon green light and a bright crimson light.

2023/08/11

August 11, 2023
A sky heavy with red clouds, like those from a forest fire. A worn-looking sun hangs in the middle of them. In the foreground is a large, rectangular structure, like a castle wall. This takes up the lower left quarter of the drawing. In the top right of the wall, at the very edge, is placed a warning sign: an exclamation point in a triangle. Set in the middle of the wall is a rectangular window with a rounded top, like a castle window. Sitting in the window is an unassuming-looking creature with long ears. Normal people would look at it and say something like "oh, a rabbit!" An understandable error, but a dangerous one; for this is a demon rabbit.

2023/08/10

August 10, 2023
A ludicrous, vaguely tree-shaped structure: a narrow, trunklike base supporting a large, misshapen object with circular crimson windows scattered about it. This is a building, if a building looked somewhere between an alien machine part and an asteroid. Dangling and protruding from various points on the structure are vinelike plants and twigs. In the one rectangular window on this thing stands the shadowy silhouette of a person. This building is planted on a grassy hill.

2023/08/09

August 9, 2023
A blue background on which is placed a white shield. The white shield has an orange, birdlike symbol on it, vaguely suggestive of an eagle or thunderbird. There is a star where the bird's head would be. Pasted onto the shield in the upper region are two googly eyes.

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    All work © Chris Silverman