Tommolino said that he would let me do the studio visit under two circumstances: one, that we drink a bottle of fine brandy together, two, we play chess. Being an obligatory creature I had no objections to Damons clauses. Then he smiled. That’s what Damon Tommolino is like: a morsel of truth encased in an even finer casing of truth, which is always humor, the heart of the Universe. There was an even more exacting truth all of this that I was aware of. If I stood to produce any coherent work myself I would need to seek out the visionary eye of somebody who I trusted. That’s where Abi Prince came in. Abi is a Panman Production colleague, but more importantly a visionary filmmaker and editor that I knew could handle the surreal nature of this encounter. Regardless we were not about to take any chances so Damon made sure to keep filling Abi’s glass with fine African Shiraz. What was recorded that evening was the delicate, unadulterated, result(s) of the incident of three artists coming together to make sense of the world around them through each others eyes.

I remember one night I had my camera with me at one of Pedro’s parties. Damon was playing on a stand up piano and singing. He looked like he was a world onto himself. Like a moth to light I whipped out my camera and began filming him. I don’t think he knew at that time. Later he asked if I had the footage of that night. Sure I did. Damon laughed. The synesthisthetic events of an artist existence are perfectly matched with the color of music. Are the colors coordinated with the notes? There is very much a musical composition that Damon is painting. Every time, every canvas there is rhythm, there is tonality. Some are solo performances and in others there is an entire orchestra playing. When you look you can see the sound, you can hear the color. That is a relevant accomplishment.

Ill just say it once and then we can all forget about this. Behind every man, this time there being two, there is a great woman. That’s it, now to the main program. Damon, like the line he employs so masterfully in his paintings and sculptures has a tenderness to him. He paints it how he wants it to be. There is a softness to a very harsh exacting structure. There is a cradle for the universe that is not asleep, as maybe you would want it to be. Damon will be the first to admit the aesthetic polarity of his own workings, be they inner and outer. For one thing, he is not a person who is at all afraid, but at the same time he is one of the most hospitable and inviting blokes: who has allowed me the pleasure of dreaming on their couch.