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EMOTE CONTROL © 2009 Keith Halonen    oil on panel    48¼×29¾ in / 123×76 cm    $ 24,000 US THIS PAINTING IS A GOLDEN RECTANGLE

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My instinct is to stick to "safe" depictions of neutral beauty. Occasionally, though, I will risk making a statement. In this case, I'm expressing my conviction that there's a plethora of drug abuse going on in the form of mood elevators.      I'm not so sure some level of depression isn't normal. Think about it. Unless you're living in a cave, you get news overload on a daily basis and the ratio of bad news to good is heavily weighted to the negative side. Nobody throws a parade for emotional stability. If you wake up every morning all chipper and optimistic, you haven't been paying attention. This is not to say you should accept being maniacally depressed but it's understandable that there's plenty to be upset about.      In this modern world, a certain level of anxious discontent is a sign of health. It doesn't make sense to medicate health. Such pharmaceuticals should be reserved only for the most extreme cases of clinical depression. It should not be the province of big pharma to convince individuals (through advertising) that their depression warrants such radical drug treatment. Such diagnoses ought to be strictly between the individual and his or her medical providers. There are no quick panaceas for existential angst. We owe it to ourselves to work at the establishment of and control over our own mental stability, in so far as we are able. As with physical exercise, the more we discipline our own thoughts and behaviors, the stronger we become.

Detail from EMOTE CONTROL

Here again note my concealed signature. The title is at top left in this painting, and the signature at top right.

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