For years now, I have been drawing houses on fire. Not accurate depictions but more like doodles and stick houses with flames that people have confused for mountains. I draw them anywhere, doodling while listening to a talk or at a conference for example. While watching tv, in waiting rooms, in cafes, and in virtual meetings. I draw them on random papers or in actual notebooks with the sole purpose of having houses on fire drawn in them. And, images, or videos, of houses on fire have always drawn my attention, although I have never really seen a house on fire. But if Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller were correct when writing the song, “Is That All There Is?” sung by Peggy Lee in 1969, I shouldn’t have my expectations of seeing an actual house on fire very high. And no, I do not wish nor want to literally burn houses. I don’t have a reason for it.
Drawing houses on fire is just something I do. I don’t know where the need comes from, but I do feel the need. There is a need, and I respond to that need. I like that the drawings are always different even if they are similar. I like that I can always play with how I draw the flames. Over the years, the houses have always been much the same, but the flames have changed. These changes in the flames, or how the flames are drawn, are not always instantly evident. Other times these changes unfold while I’m aware of what’s happening. The flame used to be more geometrical, pointy. Someone said once that they looked like mountains. And, in a way, flames can be like mountains, high, unreachable, imposing, and majestic, full of colour, dangerous, mysterious, mesmerizing. I like that when I draw a house on fire nothing is demanded or required from me. It’s just me and the houses on fire
andreacoyotziborja.com 