text messages Richard : [Fran]
Aug 24
Btw so the apple we
used in the drawing is
still in my fridge
Gonna eat it before i
start work this
morning... and we'll
see what happens!
[What a weird month
Richard!!! Mercury is
coming out of
retrograde soon and
things should start
getting better. I think
we have 5 planets in
retrograde rn. I was in
the hospital with neck
pain. Am home now
waiting for test results
to see if my artery has
dissected again
What a year!!!!]
Fran your health and
peace of mind mean
more to me than any
work of art Sending
you a steady flow of
love & healing vibes
24/7
[Ditto tho and thank
you for being you]
Aug 29
[It's working Richard,
thank you sooooo
much!! I had to go to
the hospital at the
beginning of the week
coz they though I was
dissecting another
artery. I'm not, one of
my disks has slipped a
bit further and is
pressing down on
some spicy nerves. I'm
all good, in pain but
have weed
Aug 30
Fran, I am totally
overjoyed & relieved!! :)
though I'm distressed
you're still in pain :(
mercury in retrograde
has passed, and the
pain too shall pass
Sending you a steady
stream of refreshing
autumnal healing
vibes!! (for the whole
long weekend & up to
your birthday at least)
So I'm about to start
work on Day 6 of your
'Aphrodite' portrait
Yesterday I started
detail work in the upper
right corner... and it
looks Fabulous!! If the
rest of the drawing is
this good, it's gonna be
epic!! Should finish
late Sept I'm thinking
[Me toooo, I've been
having endless
migraines and I needed
this not to be a scary
thing. Omg I totally
forgot it's almost
October, soon
starbucks will release
their basic white girl
autumn menu and I
can finally drink a
pumpkin spice latte
been dreaming about
that since February lol
Sending you happy
healing creative
autumn vibes, its
almost autumn
I'm very excited for
the Aphro portrait! Maybe
we can do Aphro's dark
side at the end of the
year with wintery
trees and maybe some
snow]
btw so i kept the
'apple of Paris', that we
used in the session, for
3 weeks in the crisper
of my fridge Took it
out, peeled it, & cut it
into four wedges just
before i started the
drawing Hand to God,
it was the most
delightful piece of fruit
I've ever tasted!! :)
OK I just reached this
part in the book I'm
reading now Aphrodite/
Venus has two natures:
Aphrodite Urania, the
goddess of pure
exalted love; &
Aphrodite Pandemos,
the goddes of lust &
sex Anyway we
have to do both these
versions, for sure I
cannot wait to see how
you interpret this I
know it will be
magical!!
[I can't believe that
apple lasted that's
amazing!! Let's do
Pandemos next. All of
your pieces are utterly
magical]
Sept 10
Fran so the Aphrodite
drawing is about half-
finished and looking
great Should be done
about the end of the
month. Sending zen
vibes across country to
you, and a steady flow
of unconditional love
as always And I will
always love you, that'll
never change
I'll send a better
quality pic when the
drawings finished
Fran, i need to know to if
u think we'll ever do art
together again. If u
don't, please let me
know okay, and I'll
move on Either way, I
just want you to know I'll
always be here for you
[I'm getting weird
messages from many
ppl this week. I'm
going to assume
everyone is having a
weird week and not
respond]
Sept 12
Fran drawing your
eyes this morning, and
I'm sorry about the
other day i miss you
lol
[You're allowed to feel
however you want. It
was a weird week with
many weird things
happening. I miss you
and absolutely
adore the masterpiece!!
Everything will be good.]
Sept 25
Fran shout out to let
you know I'll be
finishing your Aphro
portrait in the next
couple of days and it's
totally magical! My
friend from Kabul came
over to see it, and her
reaction was, 'Wow! It
feels like she's alive!'
(a thumbs up from
Afghanistan!) I'll
photograph it this
weekend & text u the
pics next week... I miss
you so much
Oct 2
So I've been having
work done in the apt
the last few days & my
nerves are totally fried
:( they finish today
thank god :) so I'll
photograph your
portrait & send u the
pic tom morning You
look fabulous, I would
say wickedly enchanting
Oct 3
Fran so I'm putting
together an email of
'Aphrodite' and the six
other large format
drawings we've done. I
thought u might like to
see them all together
Send it to u later this
morning. Please let
me know what you think of
them I miss you so
much... like every day
Oct 4
[Richard I am blown
away!! I had a bad
migraine all week and
now I'm sat here in awe
of your creations]
Thank you Fran!! but
the Magic is all yours!!
I hope & pray that
migraine eases up i
know how brutal they
can be
Oct 5
Fran I've been thinking
about you all morning,
and I'm so concerned
about the pain you
must be having with
those migraines :(
hope ur feeling better
today!!
Oct 6
[I'm resting so hard, I'll
be good i promise. How
are you doing?]
Oct 7
Fran hope ur feeling
better every hour!!
Wanted you to see a
good quality detail of
the drawing Anyone
who sees this & thinks
you're not a magical
woman... is an idiot
Oct 9
Fran I hope I'm
remembering the date
right, but I'm pretty
sure tomorrow is your
birthday! Sending you
a steady flow of
Aquarian comfort &
healing vibes for
tomorrow with love
& affection for all the
art we've created
together... miss you
so much!!
[It is tomorrow 1010
I'm in rough shape but
I'll be good. Thank you
so much Richard
how are you doing?]
Just want you to know
I'm thinking of you all
day long I only wish I
could be there to hold
your hand
Oct 12
Fran sending you a
steady flow of love this
long weekend
Wishing with all my
heart & soul that you're
feeling better! I do care
about you so much
Nov 3
So this week sometime
I'm planning to start a
drawing called
'Aphrodite's Heelz', as
a sort of 'addition' to
the large drawing. As
far as sexual
connotations, I'm
wondering if i should
make it a little edgy, a
lot edgy, or not edgy at
all. After all, Aphrodite
was definitely not a
shrinking violet You
have a say in this
Whatever u want They
are your shoes after all
Please let me know
what you think
[Omg Empress is still
my favourite!! Can we
do Empress 2?]
[I think Aphrodite Heelz
could be surrounded
by whips and chains]
Fran whips & chains
is what i had in mind
more or less... i
promise u won't be
disappointed
[We could make it really
dark and leave some
weapons around it too]
I'm totally inspired!!
This drawing is gonna
knock their sox off!
[Maybe a machete with
some blood on the tip]
Nov 6
Fran, speaking of
elections, you have my
vote as Most Fabulous
Woman on Planet
Earth! :)
[Awe Richard!! I would
incite a riot and start a
one woman revolution]
[You are an absolute life
saver Richard!! Sending
you all my love. Thank you
for being you!!]
Awesome! I'm totally
releived! Ur the best!! :)
Nov 7
[What if Empress2 was
dark. Like the empress
leading her people
into war]
Fran we have an
amazing connection!! I
was gonna text u later
suggesting we do
exactly that! We gotta
make this happen!!!
Text u in a couple of
days with some ideas
I'm thinking the next few
years we can create an
amazing body of work
together!
email message Richard : Fran
Fran
So I think this drawing turned out to be magical
I did my work as an artist, but the magic is all
yours. Myra, the girl from Kabul, asked why you
weren't holding out the apple at arms length,
which was the more traditional pose for Venus
But what you did was much more compelling
& unique. And I didn't have to say a thing!
just hit the shutter. Which was pretty much the
case for all the sessions. Like I said, the magic
is all yours
I would love to know how you feel about this
drawing compared to the other six. At Joyeaux
Cafe once, you said you preferred 'The
Empress' by far. I think I love them all
equally. And you were totally amazing in
all of them!!
So the other large format I included here,
of Minori, was done in Mar/Apr 2014. It
was the last large format drawing I did
with anyone other than you. I was working
on the outline of this drawing the first day
I met you. And the next drawing I did was
the first portrait of you
This is my journal entry for that day I
met you
"12th (Wednesday) [Minori Yoshikawa
contemplating the Instrument of Surrender]
Myle describing the dim sum in Richmond
Didn't think much of the food, & thought Bianca
looks better in photos than she does 'live'. Both
of us think Cindy gained weight. Text from Eve,
'How bout Fri?' Nice conversation with the
girl in the bong shop on Davie. Told her about
the artwork, & she said she was interested in
seeing some of it. Would be nice to do a
portrait, & was thinking she might be right for
'Reefer Girl'. Text from Reanne this evening,
saying her friend in the Aquilini office said
someone's coming back to the Canucks,
& someone is on the way out"
I guess you could say this entry is a mixture
of something profound that changed my
destiny as an artist, and a bunch of trivial
shit. But essentially I think life boils down
to just that. You mentioned the other day about
having ideas in your head for years. You're right,
and I STILL would love to do 'Reefer Girl'
with you!!
Before I met you, as an artist I was fortunate
to meet, and do portraits of, a lot of talented,
intelligent, attractive women, from all over the
world. But that first session with you, wearing
green & black... Wow!!! You totally blew them
all away!!!
I've done so many collages of you, like way
above a hundred, and the one I included here
was the first one I did. And I loved doing
every single one!! I was amazed how
inspired I felt working on them!!
Anyway, I counted them up just this morning
and
'Aphrodite of Saturna' is the 225th separate
image (large format, portraits, photo collages)
we've created together in 10+ years. And we had
so many ideas for the future. And I would love to
do them all, but I'm worried sick I'll never see
you again, much less create art together I guess
it's up to you. Whatever you decide though, I'll
always be here for you. And I WILL always love
you!
