Steve Ehret is known in his home state of Ohio and throughout the Midwest for his murals depicting colorfully bizarre monsters which, while bug-eyed, toothy and with sinewy limbs, seem like they wouldn’t hurt a fly. In their world they are having more fun than wreaking havoc, so much so that if you were to encounter one you would almost want to pet it – although your hand might come back a bit slimy. In his current exhibition, Resting My Bones at The Art Center in Corvallis, Ehret has a few examples of these monsters, yet there are a lot more figures that could best be described as demons, personages not of another world but of our own. That is, Ehret might be exorcising his own personal demons in this series of mixed-media paintings and ink drawings, as the literature for this exhibit mentions his “struggles with death, separation and fatherhood.” Yet his experience is relatable, not only in its specificity but also in ways we might deal with other real-world negative forces.

What are our demons? They are many and they are various, born out of the traumas we experience in our lives. And in that they are specific to the individual, I will not bother with a list. What all such demons have in common, however, is that they are formed by our reactions to external forces, most notably in situations that involve others. The demons are also shape-shifters who, despite our diligent self-reflection, are known to put on a new mask to continue to infiltrate our psyches. Even so, with persistence it is possible to overcome them. Artists often engage in this process through their art making: think of Munch’s Scream, or more complexly, Picasso’s Guernica, or Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights. The history of art contains many more examples, some horrific, and some comical.

When I walked into the gallery, I thought of favorite artists from my youth, namely Ed “Big Daddy” Roth and his Rat Fink characters, and Ralph Steadman’s illustrations for Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail. In my research, I found that Ehret counts John Krifalusi’s cartoon The Ren And Stimpy Show among his early influences, which makes sense. All of these associations gave me the immediate impression that humor was key to Ehret’s approach, affirmed when I started reading titles for some of the work: Hank said he got a new spirit guide.; Begging to God for a spring fling.; The squirrels do be biting.; and Took the recycling out. Had me a time.

Joyce is the only one on the block that hasn’t brought up her trash can. is emblematic of many of the smaller mixed-media works on watercolor paper. This painting has, by my count, fourteen characters populating the space. Thirteen appear to be drawn with pen and black ink. Their faces are distorted, sometimes with distressed expressions or large blocky noses. One appears to wear a mask. Only one is solid black with gray teeth, eyes and other markings. 

Similar all-black, singular figures can be seen in a number of other paintings in the exhibition. I am told by the Art Center’s curator, Jennie Castle, that these are meant to represent the artist. Yet all of the figures, whether they be in black ink or brown paint or a white medium, are clearly unpleasant beings, disfigured by their own shortcomings (or, if you will, their personal demons), among which, at least in the case of Joyce, is perhaps their judgmental nature. The artist stylistically separates himself with the little all-black figures, perhaps as a narrator or observer, and as such, uses that position to add a little levity to the situation via a title that performs as a punchline for absurd pettiness and other foibles.

Ehret’s humor is also in evidence, albeit in a slightly different manner, in a large triptych at the back of the gallery. The same ghoulish faces are there, yet these three paintings have a lot more color (more on that in a bit) and feel more like all-over collages or a scattering of vignettes than containing a linear narrative. Accordingly, instead of one title for the ensemble, each panel is titled separately. Left to right: “It’s”; “All”; “Good.”  So, is this even a triptych? First of all, there is a space between the three paintings, something you won’t typically find with a triptych, as they are usually butted up against each other. Add to that, each is priced separately.

In fact, I know a little of the backstory. In the original layout for the show there was to be only two of the large panels on the wall (making it a diptych) but Castle thought the wall needed to be filled out more and asked Ehret to paint a third piece to accompany the other two. Imagine the artist being asked to paint another piece at the last minute. He acquiesces while maybe muttering under his breath, “It’s all good.” And based on this reaction, he names each of the three pieces separately as “It’s”, “All”, and “Good”. Granted, I may be overthinking the issue, thereby exhibiting one of my own personal demons.

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The title for the show inevitably reminded me of a line from Otis Redding’s song, “Dock of the Bay: “Sitting here resting my bones, and this loneliness won’t leave me alone.” Redding sings that he’s “wastin’ time” as he’s sad for leaving home, when it may also be that he is finding solace in watching the ships, the rippling of the water, etc., which is all rather calming in my book. 

While Ehret was in town prepping for the exhibition and opening, he produced one more piece, Moon Patrol, a four-panel mini-mural that wraps around from one wall into an inset and onto another wall in the gallery. Having many of the hallmarks of the other work on view, Moon Patrol is set apart by larger swathes of pastel paints that lend it an abstract quality. These passages are perhaps best described as cloud formations and provide viewers a place to rest their eyes away from the content that we might see as unsettling, just as when having a bad day one might seek relief from the birds and their songs in the backyard. 

So how does Egret find respite? In an upcoming podcast episode, Ehret and Castle discuss his work ethic and method. He works fast and most every day, which allows him not only to be very prolific but to develop his already considerable skills as he goes along. It took Ehret less than 24 hours to complete Moon Patrol, including the time it took to go shopping at a hardware store for mis-mixed paints that a customer had declined.  

There is an adage in twelve-step groups “Stay busy, stay healthy,” and as much as I dislike self-help aphorisms, provided one can drag oneself out of bed, this one seems to actually work. For artists, it helps to have an exhibit to prepare for, yet in general, if one can turn the saying into a habitual practice, it becomes a tool in the fight against malaise, depression, or other impediments to feeling fulfilled — all manifested through our demons. After all, whether it be a matter of content or form, making art is first and foremost problem solving. 

Resting My Bones runs until May 2 at The Art Center in Corvallis. The Art Center is located at 700 SW Madison Avenue and is open Tuesday through Saturday from 12-5 pm. The aforementioned interview will air April 15 on TAC MAKES: a podcast. Ehret’s mural work is also on view in Portland at 1615 SE 3rd Avenue.