...hands as tools.

Some things can only be done by hand. Hands make, bake, rake. They grow pyramids at Giza and big heads on Easter Island. Murals from Bonampak to the Sistine Chapel are by done by hand. Every masterpiece and classic rock song was made and played by hand. Being hand-made reflects authenticity.
Strawberries are picked by hand.
No gizmo or computer or robot or mechanized system will ever replace the most sophisticated tool available: the hand of the worker. This is the worlds most valuable yet undervalued and exploited resource.
I think about the hand and the dreams of those who work with them daily.
Here's one 24"x48" painting in progress from my laborers series.

...stop the war on art!

The War on Art?
It was never declared officially but the war on art is really a war on things made by hand. Things that take time and experience and craftsmanship and artfulness to make. Things with patina. Things with tool marks. Things with brushstrokes!
Things that are not born on an assembly line in China. Things that are not obsolete in a month or two years. Things that are not destined for a landfill or floating debris vortexes in the Pacific Ocean.
Perhaps it's a war on spirit more than art. Because true art lifts the spirit and is born from the spirit of an artist. Artists love the process. It's a vehicle for channeling emotions, ideas and values. The result is the shared gift known as dance, poetry, song, painting...
Oddly enough, the war on art is sometimes an inside job. Because art is not really elitist and unaffordable and available only to those with bucks.
Small bucks can make magic!
Make some magic happen at your local art studio. You'll be glad you did and so will the artist.