11/07/25 A Beautiful, rainy Friday evening in early November...

With a glass of bourbon more than half empty, I sit down to blog a post from ERS. The sound of tires on wet pavement, rhythmically rolling past the open window behind my head is soothing; almost as much as the bourbon. The two of them together offer the self-delusional, self-prescribed perfect combination for this moment.

It isn’t easy being an artist. It isn’t easy being human. Struggle is part of the play, regardless of station.

I’ve spent over 30 years pouring myself into the world of my work. It was a place initially forged from the gleeful madness of boundless creativity. Two dimensions?, three dimensions?, it didn’t fukin matter, I was alive and I was all in. For the longest time, I never even came up for air. As one project began to wrap, another would scratch its intent on the back of my skull, insisting for the freedom that expression yields. It was during this time that a mantra emerged. That mantra has attached itself to every one of my artist statement since; “I work to rid me of them. And them of me.”

Those three decades of ceaseless and boundless exploration have produced a claustrophobic inducing, yet neatly ordered body of work. There is so much work! But what have I really done to reach my peeps? Nothing of real substance is the answer. A few erratic posts of inconsistent nature, followed by brief and pathetic parties of one’s own pity do not a social media presence make.

Two years ago, the person I loved the most in this world chose to leave. His death had a singularly focusing effect; “What the fuk am I afraid of? What am I waiting for?” It was during this time that stock was taken of all ambition and lack of follow through. It was in this period that Earle Rock Studios (ERS) came out of its chrysalis. After engaging in many activities designed to take me outside to see how others saw what ERS meant as a brand, an ethos coalesced and a strategy was formulated.

As much as I had poured myself into the development of my art, I would now have to do the same but opposite to find those who would resonate with the world my work represents. Where the opposite comes in is from the perspective of analytics. Giving oneself over to creativity is, in many ways, far less daunting than taking a step back and learning to look at data as rational information that displays the preferences of algorithmic trends. Then, learning to tailor what, how, when and why I represent my work sans passion, becomes another challenge to be met.

While going viral is either delusional or a rarefied privilege for the lucky, the realization that time is the constant factor among factors begins to sink in. Just as it took time for me to develop in my work, it will take time to develop a dialog with those who resonate and find value with what my work represents. It will take time to grow as a content provider who puts forth value ladened material.

I want to thank those who believe in ERS and find value, even at this cruel and early stage. I want to thank those have participated in this endeavor. After all, this is all part of the human play.

That was terribly cheesy but another glass of bourbon was calling my name and that was the quickest way to wrap up this post. Thanks for reading.

Earle Rock

Earle Rock Studios