iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

The dance has begun, starting with the shoes. 40 × 40 acrylic on canvas. Work in progress.

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charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

The painting is done. The painter is not. Still Dancing

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charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

The dress got here first. She’ll be along shortly.

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charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Well, there’s one of them. The other appears to be taking her time. Still Dancing — in progress. Acrylic on Canvas, 24x36

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charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

It always looks perfectly reasonable at this stage. Give me a few hours.

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charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Gloria Steinem 24x24, acrylic on canvas Somewhere between the blue glasses and all that hair, she showed up.

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charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

A new one begins. Gloria Steinem, 24 × 24. Started with the blue glasses. Now we see where she takes me.

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charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

The universe continues to amaze me. Architecture of Kindness was painted as a trilogy about how we reach, hold, and find one another. This week, all three stayed together—given as a gift of gratitude to someone who has given so much to others. The paintings chose their person.

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charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Chez Bleu 30 × 40, acrylic on canvas A regular crowd. Inspired by Billy Joel’s Piano Man. 'La, la-la, di-dee-da…'

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charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

In Progress. A couple more souls to finish, then the background.

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charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

The pianist finally has his piano. A little mahogany, a little nightclub blue, and enough keys to let the music begin. 30 × 40 acrylic in progress.

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charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

A sailor and waitress enter, and the woman in the corner has lit a cigarette. The pianist keeps playing. 30 × 40 acrylic in progress.

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charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Today, a regular appears. The rest of the room is still waiting. 30 × 40 acrylic in progress.

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charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

New work in progress. A blue wash became a crowded room, and I began painting with the pianist. Before I could paint the room, I needed to know who was holding it. 30 × 40 acrylic. Working title: Chez Bleu

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charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Hold, 2026. Acrylic on Canvas, 36 x 24 in.

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charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Reach, 2026. Acrylic on Canvas, 24 x 36 in.

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charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Dolly in rollers, still somehow glamorous. “There is no such thing as natural beauty.” Maybe that was part of the magic. Dolly Acrylic on canvas, 24 × 24

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charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

'What the Wind Carries' Acrylic on canvas, 30 × 40 in. Some things leave us. Some things remain in the air. Honorable Mention, juried exhibition.

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charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Before the Splash Acrylic on canvas, 24 × 24 in., 2026 That wonderfully suspended moment when dignity still seems possible.

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charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

The Catch. Finished. 30 × 30, acrylic on canvas.

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charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

The Catch ‘Got my good looks. We’re trying not to make a big deal of it.’

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charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

The Catch. Day two. Here’s its body now.

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charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

The Catch. 30 × 30. Calling it a day. Apparently, I started with the important part.

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charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Just Another Day Every day he starts the same way. Soap on his face. Find the mirror. Reach for the razor. Step into his shoes. Straighten the uniform. It’s just another day. And with that, another day is done.

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charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

War is hell. And apparently, even there, one still shaves. Tomorrow, hopefully, I’ll bring this one home.

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charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Ron is still holding the spotlight. Now the rest of the morning is beginning to arrive around him—the other soldier, the mirror, the tents and barracks. Trying to keep the humor without losing the weight of where they are.

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charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Ron is still holding the spotlight. But now the other man is beginning to arrive too. The mirror is next.

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charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Ron is beginning to arrive. The jacket colors are still a little loud. That’s okay. I can quiet them later if they don’t settle down once more of the canvas is in. For today, I’m stopping before I start fixing things that don’t need fixing.

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charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Today, I’m painting Ron. He was Mike’s best friend in Vietnam. No grand moment here. Just young men, far from home, going about the ordinary business of another morning. Those ordinary moments can turn out to be extraordinary. Sometimes it just takes a little patience for the reveal.

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charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

I started with a photograph of Mike taken in Vietnam nearly sixty years ago. I thought I was painting the photograph. Turns out, I was painting something else. Elsewhere. Read Here: charlespresti.substack.com/p/elsewhere

charlespresti.substack.com

Elsewhere

The photograph is nearly sixty years old.

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charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

He’s been waiting patiently while I try to figure it all out. Today, the world around him started showing up.

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charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

A little further along. At some point, you just hang onto the painting’s belt loops and see where it takes you.

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charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Yesterday, I was building the atmosphere. Today, his face began to emerge.

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charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

This morning’s conversation. Today, I’m building the atmosphere. Right now, I’m mostly listening.

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charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Today, a painting began. 30 × 30 • Acrylic on canvas This is my husband, Mike, during his service in Vietnam in 1968. Nearly sixty years later, this photograph is becoming a painting.

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charlespresti.bsky.social @charlespresti.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

We don’t make ordinary things important. We pay attention until they reveal that they already are. Maybe the extraordinary has been hiding in plain sight all along. ART LIVES HERE Acrylic on canvas • 24 × 36 in.

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