Ex post facto...

Ah, back from my big solo show weekend in DC. I actually arrived back here yesterday morning, but it has taken about 24 hours to decompress.

First, let me state that the opening was great! I had an incredible time, the exhibit looks great ( thanks to gallery director’s Kate Fraser’s and my partner George Thomasson’s hanging great eye for hanging an exhibit - there really is an art to it).

I would guess that including those that were in the Art Tour, there were about 200 people that came through the exhibit that evening - give or take 20. I had to give 2 different speeches on my work over the course of the opening, which, while unexpected, went over well.

I saw many old friends that I haven’t seen in quite a while was able to introduce them to some of my newer ones who came to the event as well. The one thing that was forgotten to do was to take photos!

Everyone just became so caught up in the moment, it seems to happen at every show. I do have some pics of the gallery taken the next morning which Kate will email to me. I’ll post them as soon as I get them.

The exhibit in DC will run through October 12 so stop by the Fraser Gallery in Bethesda and check it out.

My next exhibit will be in Baltimore at the Light Street Gallery. That show is titled "Ex post facto" and it runs from Oct. 19 - Nov. 26, 2005. I think the opening reception will be held on Saturday the 22nd.

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Here's something interesting - I was surfing the web late last night and I ran across an shop in Arizona that sells prints of my work. The place is called S!mply ARTrageous. True the name is stomach wrenchingly awful, but they did chose to offer some of my work so I can deal with it. What’s strange for me is that they sell these prints without any info on the artist behind them. So, basically the person that purchases the print will never know that I was the one who painted the original unless they run across that info somewhere along the way.

It was a very peculiar sensation seeing prints of my work offered for sale like that without any involvement, but that is the nature of the print business I guess.

I think that they carry three of my works. Here's one here. It's the "Oath Taker" and it is simply described as "a girl looking intensely ahead".
Funky.
Speaking of funky - here this for all of you technocrats....


That's high-tech a la 1981 for you.
William Shatner certainly has changed over those 24 years eh?

Though I still get a kick out of him. Here's something else from that year...



And here is the current incarnation...



Time - can't live with it can't live without it.

In memoriam....

Bob Denver - aka Gilligan. A true television icon, and from what I have read, a wonderful and loving person.

Rest in peace....


Bob Denver
January 9, 1935 - September 2, 2005

And the band played on....

I came across this image online today - don't ask me how or why...


Words can not express......

Arrrrrggghhhhh!!!!!

Almost 2 weeks since my last update! I have been amazingly busy however. I can't go into details yet, but here are some tidbits...sold one house, bought another, someone died, created 4 paintings, negotiated publication of work in yet another British Fine Art book, met several new people, entertained out of town guests, several dinner parties, overdrank a least twice, found a 5 dollar bill floating in pool...

I'll be back soon with more posts - my solo show in DC opens in a little over 2 weeks! Aaiieeeee!!!!

Here's one of my latest works...

In memoriam....

I was saddened to learn of the death of actress Barbara Bel Geddes. Though she was most known for her portrayal of Miss Ellie Ewing in the television show "Dallas", I thought that she was wonderful in Hitchcock's masterpiece "Vertigo". Her character in that film has a timeless irresistible spunk about her as well as incredible pathos.


Barbara Bel Geddes
October 31, 1922 - August 8, 2005

Staying Busy....

Just taking a quick break from the studio for a quick visit here. I've been a busy painting boy. Here's a recent one:

(click for larger version)
Which I am posting courtesy of a wonderful new image hosting site called ImageShack which I will use over and over again methinks.
I spent most of last weekend with my wonderful friend Michael Bell. He and his lovely wife Lisa came to visit. Of course,that meant that Michael and I had about 3 hours of sleep and a gallon of vodka each as we spoke with great intensity about art, life, and love. We even found time to make a great little painting together (of which I will post a pic of here later). When we're togther, we're like Van Gough and Gauguin and I treasure him for it.

I'm a compassionate mime....

It’s no secret that I’m a liberal Democrat and proud of it. So, I love it when I run across little gems online like the following Flash cartoon parody entitled “Leave It to Bush”. I find it laugh out loud hilarious - with special appearances by Samuel L. Jackson and Christopher Walken!

Click the image below to view:


I was also very pleased to read this morning that Bush's approval polls are at the lowest yet (38%!!). And what’s even more amazing is that fewer than half of those polled now think he's honest and six out of ten think that the country is “headed down the wrong track”. Those are amazing numbers and they tell me that this country is finally starting to wake up and see what the hell is going on here in the name of “freedom”.

READ THE ARTICLE

The world may never know.....

My partner George and I went out to dinner last night with our friends Larry and Tom. We took them to a recent discovery called “La Quezelteca”. It’s a wonderful Mexican restaurant in the middle of nowhere. It’s huge ( it may have been an old skating rink at one time), the food and service is great and very authentic, and on Wednesday nights they have kick-ass $1.99 Margaritas.



I wish this were it, but it isn't. Though, it has a simular look and feel minus the giant hats and cool retromobiles. After we finished and we’re on our way out, Tom discovered a huge glass canister filled with Tootsie Drop Pops.

So, we each grab one (my favorite is Raspberry), and we head back home. Which is when this little guy pops into my head.

Which made me say with my best Mr. Owl voice
“One. Two. Three.”
“CRUNCH”
“Three”.

This of course triggered the same imagery in the heads of everyone in the car and a friendly debate began as to when the commercial was on air. I did some online research and discovered that it first aired in 1970. The year in which I was 5 years old.

I also discovered that it is known as one of the most popular commercials of all time and that when you put “owl” and “tootsie” in a Google.com search engine, you will get over 35,000 hits.

Wow.

I couldn’t seem to locate an web cast version of the commercial, but I did find this.
CLICK HERE
Just looking at the graphics made me feel briefly like a wide eyed happy little boy…

FREEDOM OF SPEACH IS AMERICAN!!!

It's a little after 9PM and I've been in the studio most of the day. I received a nice email from my friend Randi Rhodes today about my latest work. She's a kick-ass wonderfully liberal talk radio personality out of NYC. We fell into an internet friendship about 2 years ago shortly after I first called her show and she went to my site live on the air.

I think she is amazing and I suggest that anyone with liberal sensibilities tune into her show. I stream it live off of airamericaradio.com or you can do the same thing at her site at http://www.therandirhodesshow.com/live/

We email each other about this and that and, well, I just think she's amazing.

So, I haven't done this in a while but here is a WTF??!! for today.... First, the official WTF photo lead in.


It's an article from the Progressive magazine about an art exhibit in California.
CLICK HERE FOR ARTICLE

Now, especially if you're an artist like myself, that article will really make you say WTF??!! After I sent the article to my friend Randi, she emailed me back this
"The world is becoming a place I don't recognize as my own."

Alas. By the way, here is the latest work that I finished today. It's titled "Chapeau VII" and it measures 36" x 36". Acrylic on canvas.

I have been in high-production mode I’ve been spending most of my time in the studio. Above are the last two works that I have completed. The top one measures 36” x 36” and the bottom, 48” x 48”. That one took me longer than I expected, but I’m happy with it.

Back in the studio today though off to Philadelphia tomorrow. Have a great weekend folks...

Studio Day.....

It's a heap big studio day for me. SO, I thought that I would post a few recent lomos to keep my hat in the blog ring.


Hip shot of a vanadlized statue behind bars outside of an old Italian cafe in Philadelphia.


The smallest street (or so I've been told) in Philadelphia


A sadly empty playground in the Center City area of Philadelphia


A very cool full moon shot


I took this photo last Summer as a huge storm came rolling in. Notice the odd giant green inflatable beach ball that found it's way into the cornfield after escaping from the sticky hands of some squealing child. I wish I had been able to film how wonderfully surreal it was with electric blue lightening crackling and deafening thunder clapping to watch this ball gently roll in from nowhere and then glide with the wind across the cornfield only to disappear into the darkness of the oncoming storm. It was magical.


Same storm - you can see how quickly and unexpectedly it came from the patch of blue sky and billow clouds underneath

I decided to focus on one current events subject of interest and draw one card for clarity from my Tarot deck. The subject I foucsed on was the current situation in London after the recent bombings and the unfortunate shooting death of the innocent Brazilian man thought to be connected to the events. The card that I pulled was the 7 of Coins


This is a card of assessment during a time of high energy or rush activity. This is certainly appropriate based upon news accounts. It seems that, while guarded, Londoners are reaccessing the situation and the bombings as well as the shooting. It could be a call to formulate a less chaotic repsonse. In any case, it is also a suggestion that more of the "rush activity" lies ahead and that it would be prudent to learn now from what has happened before and plan accordingly before the next situation unfolds in the future.

I'm an engineer not a brick maker!

RIP Scotty....




James Doohan: March 3, 1920 - July 20, 2005

Studio day....

It's another day in the studio for me, but I thought that I would share some of these lomos that I got back this AM. These span a time period of last summer to early winter of this year (and range in location from Rehoboth Beach to Fort Lauderdale) as I have a bad habit of throwing film in different collections about the house and then developing them at some point in the future when I'll be surpised by what I have on film. I still have about 20 more rolls to develop before I'm caught up...

It's a HE MAN way of not getting old.....

What the??? I believe that I have just read the most bizarre copy for an advertisement that I have ever seen...Click this image below and read the little story on the ad that appears on the right of the page that begins with the words "Leonard Wood".

Beyond the fact that the circa 1921 ad is rife with homoeroticism (though I doubt that was the goal) it is just SURREAL beyond comprehension. My eyes squinted and my head shook trying to comprehend the inner meaning ( love the for "Fagged Faces").

I have visited old-fashioned barbers in my day. If a razor wavering barber who's chair I was laying supine in began speaking to me like the one in the ad, I can only imagine the horror that would run through my head... "Oh Christ! Just my luck.Trapped like a stuck pig in the chair of a deranged razor wavering barber who decided to choose this very moment to completely disconnect from reality".


The last paragraph of the ad reads like it could have come straight from something like this...



In any event, I've been very busy in my studio and will be for the next several months or so. I may only be able to update every other day or so for a while. Here are my last two works....



The above work was a portrait commission work of a friend's father based on a photo Booth photo taken of him in Ocean City, MD about 1955. It measures 36" x 36". And this work...


I just finished yesterday. It's for my show in DC in Sept. It is also 36" x 36". So, that's what I've been up to here by the beach. Check back soon for more.

The House Of Juicy....

It was a dark and very foggy morning on the beach today....




It made me want to make those sounds like a lighthouse foghorn. Try "Bahooooawwww" - in your deepest basest voice humanly possible...






Even the usually maniacally smiling white-trash mannequin seemed heavy-hearted by the gloom....

There were those however (usually vacationers) who were determined to enjoy the beach no matter what the weather..


There were also some lovely horseshoe crabs and countless hideous jellyfish bodies and parts...


But by far, the oddest thing I saw this morning were these....

They were abandoned on the dock on the edge of the beach. Stylistically stomach-churning, they stuck out in the fog like a sore thumb. Why would some one leave these? Then again, why would someone even wear these to begin with?

On one of the pink and gold lame decorated sandals is the word "House" in an Old English type of font. On the other, are the words "Of Juicy". What? What does that even mean? I can only assume that it is some sort of guttural sexual innuendo.

Perhaps I have crossed a threshold in my life where I am no longer able to comprehend the meaning of such shoes, not unlike those unfortunate enough to be referenced in that forlorn Christmas Tune by Doris Day "Toyland" - "once you cross it's borders, you may ne'r return again."
If that be the case, then that's a border that I need not look back upon, ever.