Applying acrylic paint on large wood canvas, San Diego-based artist Nathan DeYoung creates poetic works of art. In this series titled Windows & Mirrors, each of DeYoung's pieces are accompanied by a personally written poem.
DeYoung offers an inquisitive exploration into the human condition and seeks to better understand those around him. He uses the intimate observations of others as a muse and creates characters that allow him to fully analyze and interpret those to whom he is closest. “By revealing and destroying his characters in frenzies of shape and color, he ventures to grasp, uncover, and expose the often hidden, with the hope that insight into others and their actions will enable a deeper understanding of himself.”
“Like Exploding (Accepting) Neon (Dreams)” (piece above)
Like the ships built in bottled sand,
Passion assembled promise (piece by piece) in fragile neon tubes,
A promise of more than (or were it greater than?) the sum of its amateur hands,
Tracing careful lines to attract the open eye wide,
I attached skin to color, to expose a liar working for honesty,
I connected power lines to sleepless nights, to illuminate the anatomy of distraction,
Than I built a glowing human sign (so I could sleep next to a glowing human), that reads “Look what I've built, it tries so beautifully”.
“A change- A gift”
As dark welcomes light and the air readies itself for the sun,
you'll think about those times,
times spent lost in that vast desert of variables,
walking knee deep in the sand with colossal expectations,
honestly attempting to perform magic tricks with lying hands,
desperately searching for the calming oasis found between lying eyes…
Your occupied hands welcome an eye like a half hearted smile welcomes a coward, and you know this burden of weighted thoughts will gladly accept your misgivings as an invitation to dine…
Yes, you will think about those times,
for the last time,
and than you will never look back,
you can never look back…
Instead, you will close your eyes and feel loving feathers and exhausted breath carry you to an endless sky,
you will be sewn together weightless and be reconstructed to glow between vast and influenced rainbows that look down upon the weight and the sand,
and when your eyes reopen they will glimmer and shine of new perspective,
they will shine of feathers and simplicity,
and they will reflect nothing of where you have been.
“A thief- A lesson”
I applaud the thief,
the winged watchman that saw our priceless possessions foolishly handled,
between our soft skin simple questions turn white to grey,
turn adult to child,
for we are not machines,
errors are eminent, and the thief knows this,
he will seize the opportunity and strike…
I applaud the thief,
I'll say I should have known better,
but I did know better,
your supposed to keep your enemies closer,
so I'll keep you closer,
I'll keep you here… safe in my death grip.
“A solution in vivid color”
Lend me your skin and i'll mock you in delicate shades of white,
And in the sugar rush that will follow as we assume and I devour,
The full understanding that loved and empty agreement,
That flammable mixture of senses,
That taste of bitter, ginger fingers, candy apple thighs, cherry bone marrow,
All beautifully served with mixed signals and finished with encouraging words,
As we assume and I devour,
That sweetly sickening toxic risk,
That bore connected letters,
Which grew into words,
That died as complete sentences when pushed through straight teeth by lonely lungs,
(The friction!) that created a small spark right in the heart of the great candy rooted forest,
Friction than presented the problem and the solution…
The spark/ the fire/ that great forest at night that now burns for all to see in vivid color.
“when adult games conquer healing temples”
If your body is your temple,
insects fornicating with bacteria have found a safe home here under your watch,
willing to settle a misplaced debt, ill destroy moments secured by well thought out plans,
now that were older,
the stakes are higher,
the stars are closer,
and my closed eyes will bear the fruit of your evil.
“Conversatwins with mirrors”
We are compromised ornaments,
Dirty, but still hung for the occasion,
Occasion = opportunity,
This occasion is an opportunity to mimic light,
To attract and steal,
This is feeding time,
This is what we do, and my how we make a mess of things,
Confusing and posing with half ass gestures and crooked smiles We will take it all,
All the shine and glimmer from your trusting, open face (Yes, even that tiny sparkle in your eye) will be ours,
But don't worry! They will be put to good use I assure you,
Oh they most certainly will!
They will be wrapped and folded ever so carefully into delicate ribbons that will adorn our faces,
A victory mask of sorts,
Masks like you could never imagine,
Oh it will be marvelous!
We will shine like pink dreams,
And we will get away with it.
“once you begin”
once you begin,
your never going to stop,
when the weight of liquid becomes the weight of lost futures,
you'll bathe in dreams,
laugh at broken promises,
and sleep on a floor of white,
empty, scared, meaningless white floors.
“O' intimacy and the aftermath”
dancing through obnoxious screens of color,
we happily dismiss the weight of our actions,
first instincts may be best,
but don't remind us quite yet,
instead enjoy the hypnotic, organic shadows of our journey to find that the answers we seek are only perfect in their complexity,
and too soon our childish dance will attract the fury of consequence,
and when it speaks,
it wont whisper
