Missing Link Art

2011-12-09T14:49:00.008-05:00

Action packed non-stop painting!!!

Echo was my buddy for several years. She was my loyal assistant at my cafe for several years. She now lives with a loving couple in West Seattle.

The Banking System is painted on yet another painting tossed to the curb.

Sunset on Kappock Street was previously called Alt+Ctrl+Del. It's painted on a canvas found in a dumpster in 2001. The little monkey needed some extra stuff to look at so the evolution took a decade to complete
.
This canvas was found in the Bronx leaning against a telephone pole atop a pile of garbage. The One Train is the result of a long restoration process.

Started several years ago, Soup is Good Food is finally finished and ready to hang on your wall. My friend Saundra Valencia gifted this wood and masonite surface for me to paint.

This canvas was given to me by my friend Nic Grace. Explosive Joy is the same dimension as 108 but was formatted vertically instead of horizontally.
Here's a before/after set for this painting titled 108. This canvas was given to me by my friend Nic Grace.

Originally started in March 2010, this painting 7 Days was part of a 7 day painting challenge based on a different suggestion each day during the creation of the piece. My multi-talented friend Nico Lund created this challenge.

Saturday December 10th at Nupasa Gallery on Airport Way these pieces will be featured with new work by Tina Routt. Nupasa is Tina's gallery and workspace. It's located directly across from the Elysian Brewery in Georgetown. The work will be showing all through December.

Once again, all of my paintings are made using found canvas. Half of the pieces were made from paintings discarded in dumpsters and in piles of garbage on the side of the road. The remainder were given to me by friends who acquired them from people who up and split never to heard from again.

2011-07-20T14:20:00.006-04:00

I put a few pieces in the Caravan show Friday 7/15. The theme was mobility, appropriate as the show was placed in a beautifully restored Airstream Land Yacht. My friends, Brenda and Tim Scallon have spent the past year converting the trailer into a mobile art gallery. The Caravan currently resides on the side of their home in West Seattle.

The event was a blast. Grace Dager displayed her animated re-constructed toys. 'Frank' entertained the kids and adults alike with his comedy and prestidigitation. Tim played guitar in the back yard. Despite the rain and cold July weather tons of people came and partied like rock stars. Wesley Willis would say it 'whupped a race horse's ass!'

The new paintings I made for this show are all acrylic on wood panels. There are several smaller paintings left over from my show at Freshy's last April that also have the theme of mobility. check out the review and interview down below.

http://westseattleblog.com/2011/07/west-seattleite-to-open-mobile-art-gallery-in-an-airstream-trailer

2011-07-20T14:14:00.004-04:00

'Pigs is Pigs' was created for The Bushwick Book Club's performance of Howard Zinn's 'Peoples History of the United States'.

If you don't know by now what the BWBC is check 'em out here - http://www.thebushwickbookclubseattle.blogspot.com/

I've been making paintings for many of the BWBC events. For the August show I'm making a series of paintings to accompany a song I'm writing. The book selection will be S.E. Hinton's 'The Outsiders'.

The painting here is acrylic on found canvas. I will be posting the before image shortly so you can see how the finished piece evolved. Big thanks to my friend Nic Grace for supplying the raw material.

2011-07-20T14:10:00.003-04:00

The Mix in Georgetown has some new signs for the sidewalk. The guitar playing gal is soon to be featured as a t-shirt design.

The Mix is a live music venue in Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood. Live music Tuesday through Saturday and kick ass bar grub. The Best Happy Hour (3-7pm) east of the Duwamish River.

Maggie's Late Night Ride

2011-05-19T00:24:00.007-04:00

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This was started during a holiday party at Jeff Taylor's space in Burien. Painting while the party was happening below from up on the hydraulic lift was a blast. Ton's of cool old auto and garage memorabilia, cool old cars and toys throughout the space inspired the finished piece. Maggie is the little dog pulling the green car over the town.

Full Throttle Bottle Show: Babes and Bottles

2011-05-14T13:41:00.005-04:00

I made a series of pinup girls drinking out of bottles for a show at Full Throttle Bottle beer and wine shop in Georgetown. I added clock faces. Many don't work hence the title of the show 'Even a broken clock tells the correct time twice a day'.

The show went up in April and I was in ATX for a spell when the reception was held. The show has been continued through May so I get a second chance to hang out at the shop and meet people, drink good brew and sell some damn art during the Georgetown second Saturday 'Art Attack'.

King of Hearts

2011-05-14T13:37:00.004-04:00

This painting was made for my friend Pete's birthday. He does amazing construction work on homes so I thought this was appropriate. A rare moment when appropriate and art exist in the same paragraph in my world.

I Found It!!!

2011-05-14T13:29:00.004-04:00

My friend Dave Storm and I have been playing music together now for nearly a year. We call our project 'Eureka!'. I made this as a gift for Dave. It's the pulp mill in Eureka CA

Who Speaks for the Trees?

2011-05-14T13:12:00.004-04:00

I made this as a birthday present for Tomyris who turned two this year. Tomyris has a stuffed plush Lorax that she would take everywhere. I thought to immortalize the Lorax doll as with most toddlers, stuffed toys generally have a brief life span.

Cock Sock Porter

2011-05-14T12:56:00.004-04:00

I was at the Mix http://www.myspace.com/mixseattle in Georgetown a while back. It was cold and rainy as usual and I really wanted a warm coffee drink. At the time the Mix only sold beer and wine so Eroyn Franklin who was bartending (and an amazing artist) and I collaborated on creating a cocktail using Starbucks Via instant coffee, sake and Georgetown Porter. Not too shabby. Chris Crumpler (a porter aficionado and one of the most bad ass drummers came up with the name). The rooster painting is yet another of many found canvases that I spruced up. The painting is now displayed at the Mix behind the bar.

The Green Girl Ain't No Dummy

2011-05-14T12:11:00.009-04:00

gree

The Green Girl is a mannequin body that I found, painted and pieced together. Arms are from different mannequins. She was all banged up and scuffed so after much sanding and patching the paint was applied. A bright almost neon green made sense at the time.

Green Girl was my shop mannequin at STUFF Cafe for a few years. She traveled up and down the coast and to festivals all across the NW with John and Kara, the owners of 'Not a Number', a cool politically left leaning novelty and gift shop in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle.

After she came home to roost, she worked as both a model for paintings as well as photo model for dozens of vintage rock concert t-shirts that I sold on eBay. She traveled to NYC and back to Seattle.

During my employment at Smarty Pants, a sandwich shop/bar in the Georgetown neighborhood of Seattle I lent her striking beauty to the owners so they could display their hats and shirts. Since my departure from Smarty Pants this April, the owners have refused to return her to me. On a side note, they have also refused to give me my last paycheck. The paycheck even as pitiful as it may be is still a legal matter the state of Washington would have a field day. The Green Girl being held POW or who knows, she could be lying at the bottom of Puget Sound for all I know, is beyond contempt. I wouldn't put it past the school yard bully mentality of these people to have simply destroyed the Green Girl. If they prove me wrong and return her like the so-called responsible adults that they claim to be then I would be highly surprised. That's another fun project lined up for summer. I love fun summer projects.

Catching up with Missing Link Art

2011-05-14T11:53:00.004-04:00

windy puget sound
view from Simon and Bonnie's place post absinthe binge
do I easily offend you?
holy crap! more flippin' detail
more detail from banner
detail from banner
The banner just got even more doodled.
Two Walls Gallery- Vashon Island
The past 6 months have flown by in a total blur. Working way too much. The cold damp winter and even the cold damn spring have shifted my focus to a more sonic outlet for creativity. Still been painting like a mofo but haven't the time to post what's been happening until now.

The joint show with Zeke Brucker from Rung Studio that was up for nearly 3 months moved in its entirety to Vashon Island to the Two Walls Gallery. The Two Walls is exactly that: two walls that run the length of a building occupied by retail shops.

The Rice family, owners of the Blue Heron, an overpriced gift shop that specializes in dream catchers, driftwood art and pseudo-native tribal themed nature crap apparently had issues with many of the pieces displayed. Despite the fact that many of the island folk actually dug the work, the Rice family deemed some of the art as offensive to the point where several pieces were literally removed from the wall. Then there was the idiot who was so upset by a two headed cat painting that she not only removed it but laid it carefully on the floor and covered it in paper.
The story was this woman had recently lost a cat. The story behind this painting was that I too, lost a couple cats that meant the world to me. One day I would love to meet this person and let them know what a total retard they are. Same goes for the Rice family of Vashon Island.

But I have better things to do such as make more paintings and music. Now on with the show!

9/11 Show at Rung Studio Georgetown Seattle WA

2010-09-22T16:25:00.048-04:00

Those of you who already know me well, know my thoughts on the controlled demolition of the World Trade center on Tuesday, September 11th 2001 as well as the other planes involved in Pennsylvania and DC. I am firm in my belief and no amount of persuasion could make me think otherwise. If the evidence and overwhelming information of the Bush/Cheney/Bin Laden connections, the events that led up to this day, the physics of building demolition and remarkable photos and video taken as the towers fell isn't enough to convince you to question the people who run the show on this rock, then I don't feel the need to waste my time explaining my views.

In no way do I intend to dishonor the memory of the people who died in the planes, in the buildings or the people who died in the rescue efforts. This is indeed one of the greatest tragedies that ever happened on American soil in 2001. I wouldn't say it's the greatest tragedy in the history of the USA if you compare it to the ongoing war on drugs in our inner cities and borders, long term incarceration of African Americans for marijuana simple possession, Native American genocide, slavery, and Juggalos. It's a tragedy nonetheless and the people who died that day were victims of a much greater tragedy and that is the absolute power grab by the leaders of the New World Order.

These paintings are my way of being able to laugh in the face of a dying planet and the greedy idiots who think they are in charge.

If you don't agree with me, I understand. It's not a popular position that I have. Much love to the ones who know the truth.

Fuel for the artistic fire. Peaches macerated in whiskey, bananas, honey and corn chips.

Work studio. Sometime around 3 in the morning on a day I don't remember.

They spelled my name correctly.

View of mount Rainier from the Rung Parking Lot.

Simon asked me to put something up on the dry erase board as long as I had a beer in my hand at all times. Rusty brought the Kenny Rogers LP.

The lobby of Stageworks Productions.

Simon Clark, John 'Zeke' Brucker, Bonnie Schneider-Clark & Rusty Urie - Rock 'n' Roll Parking Lot!!!
The RUNG building.

Saber Tooth Gob [Smilidon Gigantus Excrementum Feteo]- acrylic on found canvas $1000

Ti' Swaq': The pronunciation “tea-swawk” is acceptable though it really should be pronounced with more character given to the final K sound. To be more accurate, the word should end with a coughlike exhalation of air “Think of blowing out a candle.” as told by Satiucum to www.indiancountrytoday.com- acrylic on found board $175

Gladys- acrylic on found canvas $225

Tiki Muse- acrylic on found canvas $175

OMG LWTF.BBQ NOA >: - ( ATM NEHW BP SNAFU PU! CWOT- acrylic on found canvas Seattle WA $225

When fishing for carpet sharks, Cthulu prefers a traditional snell knot to secure the hook as they tend to twitch violently and have unpredictable bursts of strength until proper anaesthetic can be administered- acrylic on found canvas Seattle WA $500

What's eating Al Gore?- Acrylic on found canvas $125

WWJDD [What Would Jesus Daring Do?]

Our Lady of DelMonte- acrylic on found print Seattle WA $500

First successful feline cojoined head transplant- acrylic on found canvas with bonus Siamese cat collage on back $450

JayCee- acrylic on found print BX NY $150

Xrayted- acrylic on found canvas BX NY $500

Vortex- acrylic on found canvas Willmington DE $550

From Her to Toxicity- acrylic on found canvas Seattle WA $750

WWJD [What would Jesus Drink?]- acrylic on found print Seattle WA $250

Don't ask me 4 Shit- acrylic on print with LED display. Batteries included BX NY $175

A Discussion- acrylic on found board BX NY $550

Ultra Kaijin Eiga Jesus- acrylic on found print Seattle WA $450

This show was part of the second Saturday Art Attack Georgetown art walk at Rung Studio http://rungstudio.com/default.aspx. Also see http://www.stage-works-productions.com/index.html . These are the wonderful folks who invited me to show my work at Rung.

Thanks to all who came down that night to make it an amazing evening. Thank you for all who helped me forget the last couple hours of the night as we worked our way through the bars of Airport Way. The sign of a truly eventful night is not remembering the best parts.

For those who couldn't make it, please come to the October 9th reception. I have been asked to collaborate with another amazing artist, John 'Zeke' Brucker www.pickledmonkeystudio.com for the next art walk.

This series of paintings are all acrylic paint on found/reclaimed canvases that had existing landscapes. All the surfaces were found in dumpsters, estate sales, garage sales and thrift stores all across the country.

I took some photos of the paintings in the condition they were in when I found them so you could see how the process began.

All the paintings have the titles listed below each photo. All are for sale.

The piece below is painted on a found print that has a red LED light display embedded in the picture. It operates on 2 AAA batteries. Neato!

10 years of deep fried pickles and schnitzel in Ballard WA

2010-04-15T19:55:00.003-04:00

This November 20th will mark the 10th anniversary of when the Peoples Pub in Ballard opened its doors and began serving late night pub grub and reasonably priced, fully loaded drinks, German beers and entress. My latest work for the Pub is planned to be screened on shirts and pint glasses for this milestone.

A pickle duking it out with a pig in a battle for a tasty, lightly breaded champeenship.

Dude, Where's my Dick?

2010-04-15T19:51:00.003-04:00

This was my piece for 'The Sick Show' at the Black Lab gallery in Ballard WA 2002. Add batteries and you have a fully functional operation game with real illnesses. It's painted with acrylic preserving as much of the original character art as I could. This is in the collection of Saundra Vallencia.

STFU

2010-04-15T19:46:00.005-04:00

Thought this would make a great all weather tattoo. I thought after I came up with this I should add 'pretty fucking please' but ran out of space.

Some old Toast gems in West Seattle

2010-04-15T19:37:00.004-04:00

Monster Truck Jon has these and others in his collection. These pieces are from 1998 or 99. They are acrylic, spray enamel, collage paper and permanent marker pen. The surfaces are heavy cardboard and paper. They all have a heavy coat of spray fixative. I built up collage and painting in a thin wash over the assorted images creating a somewhat transparent image super imposed on bad advertising, porn and classified ads. We shall discuss the secret bonding agent at a later juncture.

7 day art challenge

2010-04-15T19:27:00.003-04:00

My friend Nico presents random 7 day art challenges. Each challenge is well thought out and makes for engaging brain waves.

The following are the instructions and the results of my answers for each step of the challenge.

Here are the long awaited instructions for the challenge:

Below this email there is a list of 6 answers waiting for you.

Take this list of six things and make art!

“What?!?!? “ you cry. Okay, here is what I am hoping you will do.

I envision that this will be one piece of art, worked on, and slaved over for seven straight days. Your theme includes the random inspiration from these questions that have been answered by someone other than yourself.

Use the hyperlinks to loose yourself on the web, and find yourself on a path that brings you to some sort of inspiration. However, pace yourself. Choose your medium(s) wisely; pick a size that feel big enough to be spontaneous, but not so big that you are overwhelmed with the space to fill.

Try not to read ahead to closely to the next day’s answers. Keep it fresh! Spontaneous.

Day one, take Answer #1 and let it be the stage for your composition

Day two, take Answer #2 and find inspiration to make that color real in your piece

Day Three, learn about this word, find reference of it in random places, let this discovery influence your work on this day

Day Four, how does the image effect you. Is it ugly, strange, annoying, lame, fascinating…what is your first reaction to it…include this feeling as you work

Day Five, find out more about this place in history, let it evolve your work somehow on this day

Day Six, let this quote inform your next step.

Day Seven, allow yourself to pull it all together, add to it whatever you feel it needs.

On Day seven we can all try to figure out who had our answers, and I will post a list at the end of who got who!

*post a jpeg everyday of your progress

*good luck

Your Answers:

1. My little hut in the damp woods was woven from windfallen branches and

floored with springy fir twigs which provided a soft and pleasantly fragrant

place to sit and read.

2. Winsor and Newton (student) Pthalo Green plus Ultramarine

=The Bay

3. Maladjustment

Inability to react successfully and satisfactorily to the

demands of one’s environment. Though the term applies

to a wide range of biological and social conditions, it often implies an

individual’s failure to meet social or cultural expectations.

4. http://roifo.livejournal.com/6230.html

5. Death of Douglas Hyde, first President of Ireland (b. 1860)

6. “Living well is the best revenge.” George Herbert (1593 - 1633)

I worked odd hours that week so I combined a couple steps and documented the progress in 4 images, 4 different sessions. I worked on this as I was working on the Freshy's show. Is it done?

Show at Freshy's in West Seattle 3/11/2010

2010-03-13T01:04:00.007-05:00

My friend Amber who owns Freshy's coffee shop in West Seattle asked me to put up some art. This was my first show of new work in Seattle in over three years. I made a series of small postcard sized paintings inspired by my 2 month journey across the US of A.

http://www.freshyscoffee.com

22 4x6 and 5x7 postcard sized paintings in all. The series is meant to tell a story, however each painting also stands on its own. They are each selling for $125. The whole series is $1700. It all started with a velvet painting of a moonlit desert landscape that I found in Albuquerque NM. I added a little pink bug-like character and that was the idea that spawned the rest of the series. The velvet painting is $250. Images of the velvet panting will be up as soon as I get back to Freshy's with a stepstool and some extra lights.

West Seattle has an art walk every 2nd Thursday of each month. Despite the fact that Freshy's is a bit of a hike from the hub of the art walk, on a cold rainy night there was an amazing turn-out. Jessica, Jimmy, Isis, Maya, Jeff, Kelly, Michael, Brooke, Tim, Eli, Brenda, Tim, Chris, Tasha, Brian, Jason, Nate, Jon and Susan - Thanks to Amber and Jen for rolling out the red carpet. thank you all for coming down. It was great to see so many friendly faces. After the reception Tim, Nate, Eli, Jason and I continued the celebration at the Viking Tavern in Ballard.

The photos are a bit blurry. My lighting wasn't so good. Stay tuned for an update soon with better quality pix.

First painting of 2010

2010-03-13T00:39:00.009-05:00

Fireworks at midnight in Ouray CO
Katie with her painting
Katie, the sweetest pup
Katie loves her stuffed animals. They are covered in drool and mangled beyond recognition but she loves them just as well.

I spent two relaxing weeks in Ouray CO. I arrived on New Year's Eve in time to celebrate with my sister, brother in law and friends Anne an Pierre. Pierre's band OHB played at Obrien's Pub, Ouray's place to be any day, but the NYE party was like no other. First, it was a huge full moon. The light of the moon reflected off the snowy mountainside lit up everything bright as day.
OHB stands for O'Brien's House Band btw.

Ouray is truly a magical place in the winter. While I was visiting, the Annual Ice Festival and International Ice Climbing Competition were happening so the town was a little more bustling than usual.

Pierre and Anne's dog Katie has cancer and it disintegrated her hip bone causing her to lose use of her right rear leg. The vet gave her just a few weeks to live. She beat the odds and is still kickin' it as of this writing over 3 months later.

Last Show in NYC for 2009

2010-03-12T23:47:00.010-05:00

My last empty glass in the city for a long time...
Niagara Bar at midnight
Nari Kim.
Nick, Pat and some dumbass
Roland
Aleks
Anne Yen and Phil Kaffen. Anne's animal illustrations are kick ass! http://www.annedrawsanimals.com
Hey Ho Let's Go by Yoshitomo Nara on the wall of the bar!
The show in full swing! The Room was packed.
Ashkan Sahihi, a mind blowing photographer and Ashlyn Marquez.
http://ashkansahihi.com
how could you not have a smile on your face at this show?

I decided to move back to Seattle and take a couple months to travel and visit friends across the US. Some friends I haven't seen in over 20 years. I participated in a group show at Niagara Bar on December 17th 2009. It was my second show at Niagara. There was a great turn out and the show doubled as a last chance to see some friends before heading west.

The show theme for me was Jesus paintings since it was so close to the Christmas holiday. Most pieces have been around a while. One new piece I was really excited to show was the 'Don't Ask me 4 shit'. Joseph and Mary are strung out on speed and chain smoking on the strip. Baby JC is hooking them up with some 40's of Budweiser. The painting has LED chase lights buried in the background that flash. As with most of my Jesus paintings this newest piece was painted on an existing print. The flashing lights are part of the design. The lights run on 2 AA batteries. Photo and Video of the new piece will be forthcoming.

Niagara is at the corner of Avenue A and 7th Street. It's got a really cool Joe Strummer Mural on the side of the building and has and amazing gallery space. The bar is affordable for NYC, always friendly servers and cool Yoshitomo Nara drawings on the walls inside. The Antagonist Art Movement curates the shows once a week on Thursdays. You can find them on Facebook as well as Myspace. http://www.antagovision.com is their website.

Living in New York for almost 3 years was an incredible experience. I learned a lot at the classes I took at SVA and made some remarkable friends.

don't ask me 4 sh*t

2009-10-23T11:27:00.002-04:00

This is an acrylic painting on a found print. The part that unfortunately can't be seen in the photo is a red LED light that flashes in the background of the print. It runs on two AA batteries. I am working on making a video to capture this effect to share with you. Until then enjoy the painting on its own.

new work for the Caravan Gallery

2009-10-23T11:20:00.003-04:00

SOLD
This piece was made specifically for my friend Brenda's mobile art gallery. She's currently working to refurbish an Airstream trailer into a roving art gallery. This piece is acrylic on wood measuring about 12" square.

Monroe Cinema Mural

2009-08-11T22:24:00.012-04:00

I just got back from Monroe NY. I spent two days making a mural this past weekend at the Monroe 6 Cinema movie theatre. Sunday was my birthday so it was an extra cool way to celebrate. The theme I decided on was B-Movies. I made a really brightly colored tribute to classic B-movies, sci-fi and horror films.

I put well known movie characters in old cars at a drive-in movie. Godzilla is making popcorn with fire from his mouth and the 50 Foot Woman is catching what she can in a bucket. She straddles a drive-in movie sign. The marquee says "It came from Monroe in 3-D". Giant Ants are crawling over the hill to catch popcorn. A green Zombie hand comes from out of a grave to pluck a piece of popcorn. King Kong is hanging on the Empire State Building. He holds an unwinding film reel. The film reel goes off the main wall and wraps around the side wall for just a few feet. Kong sports a bowler derby as a nod to the website www.bowlerhatcinemas.com, the website for the Monroe Theatre as well as the other movie houses owned by the same owner, Kasey Gittleman.

In the cars are Darth Vader, the Mole People, Klaatu, Vampira, Tor Johnson, Bela Lugosi, Freddy Kruger, ET, Michael Myers, Dr. Zaius, the monster from This Island Earth, The Robot Monster, the Scream monster, the Crawling Eye, A Dalek and the Creature from the Black Lagoon.

The Moon with the rocket ship in his eye above the trees is from the classic 1902 Le Voyage dans la Lune.

I made a hand gesturing for parons to enter theatre 4 styled after old movie signs with pointing fingers. In the lower right corner of the mural is a giant octopus who is signing the back of the movie screen with my name.

The mural was over 9 feet high and 19 feet wide took over 15 hours to complete. Towards the end Mika helped get the last few pieces of the puzzle completed. She helped fill in some solid spaces and added black paint to the film reel.

I am posting a chronological evolution of the mural from the original wall to the uglamourous primer coat phase to the last splash of color.

Albert Hoffman's Bunnies

2009-04-26T10:04:00.001-04:00

I was recently commissioned by my friend Rick Griffith www.matterstudio.com to make several bunny illustrations for an event he is participating in at the Denver Art Museum www.denverartmuseum.org. The event coincides with an exhibit of psychedelic posters from the 60's and is called Untitled #20 [Trip]. I am thrilled to be part of this project. Go to both of the highlighted websites in this posting and spend a while browsing through each. Matter Studio is awesome. Check out their archives, the Democratic National Conventon stuff and their store. and the DAM ain't too shabby neither. I'll be posting colorized versions of these trippy little rabbits soon. The day of the event falls between the day Albert Hoffman dropped acid for the first time or what's become Bicycle Day and the day he departed this world.

The top 5 images are a couple of the bunnies that didn't make the grade and the originals that were hand tinted for a show at Niagara Bar in the East Village. Sold a bunny that night.

Bathing Suit Season

2009-04-26T10:00:00.000-04:00

As the weather warms up, the clothes come off. Everyone's thoughts are on going to the beach and what's underneath all those winter layers. It's also oil spill season and soon beaches all around the globe will be coated with thick gooey stanky black crude oil from wrecked tankers.
This painting is a modified sunset I found at a thrift store back in 2002.

Bicycle Season

2009-04-26T09:54:00.000-04:00

It's almost May and the weather in NYC is warming up. Time to start riding my bike again. I have passed the 6 month waiting period the doctor recommended I avoid riding my bicycle. Tomorrow I pick the bike up from the shop where it's getting a tune up. I plan on riding for a couple hours around the city. The accident in October besides breaking my jaw and my skull, messed up my from wheel and the brakes. This little painting is a pseudo-self portrait.

random arting for my friends

2009-04-26T09:28:00.000-04:00

A while back I got one of those chain letters on facebook. Normally I pass on such letters as generally they are some kind of weird 17 magazine style personality quiz. When I was bed-ridden for 3 weeks after my bicycle accident I would be all over stuff like that but this time around I passed. The letter sat there for a few days and then I saw a few of my friends responses to the initial letter posted on my home page. What caught my attention this time was the subject matter.
As I dismissed the letter quickly as just another "fill in the blanks about me me me" survey, I did not notice it was more than that.

I don't know where this letter originated but my friend Kevin forwarded it to me and a couple dozen other friends of his. The jist of the letter is that the fist 5 people who respond to the letter get something made especially for them by the sender on condition that they in turn pass the letter on to another couple dozen people with the same directions. Make 5 things for the first 5 people. Making something could be a silk screened t-shirt, chocolate chip cookies, knitted scarf...no limits as long as it's made by hand for the person who replies. Can't be something laying in the bottom of the sock drawer.

I gave in and posted my own letter to 25 people. The response was almost instant. There were a couple instances where multiple responses came really close to each other so I ended up making 8 paintings for the respondees as well as one for Kevin who sent me the letter in the first place.

These illustrations that I made fit the personality of each of the people who are getting them. The technique I used for these has been something I've been working with for a while and really like the results. On bristol board I use soft pencil, india ink, brush and quill for the initial drawing. I then add acrylic paint in a similar manner as watercolor. When I scan them the results to me look even better than the original. This was a fun project and I'm glad I finally answered the letter.

The subjects are as varied as the people for whom the paintings were made. I have the greatest friends in the world. I made portraits of the Starland Vocal Band, David Lynch, Ira Glass from This American Life, Yoda smoking a doobie and Spinal Tap. I also made some tattoo flash inspired pieces : an octopus, a pug dog and a seahorse. Finally I made an illustration that I personally like the best of all of the lot and that is a monkey wearing a Pac Man shirt contemplating throwing some poo.

Ruthie "the Boo" - the latest in pet portraiture

2009-04-05T15:32:00.000-04:00

My friend Meghan commissioned me to make a painting of the Boo. The Boo is a sweet Boston Terrier Pit Bull mix. She has a very cute face and was a pleasure to paint.

Paintings from the Rose City

2009-04-05T15:18:00.000-04:00

I visited Portland OR while on my trip to the Pacific Northwest. My friend Dave Smith has a nice little collection of my work in his recording studio. A couple metal TV trays with pinup girls and a smoking Jesus painting brighten up the basement studio. The pinups I made from classic 1960's photos. They are acrylic and enamel on metal trays. The smoking Jesus is another one of my mutated religious print adaptations. The way JC was posed in this Sacred Heart image lent itself perfectly to placing a bong and a lighter in his mitts.

Working Girl

2009-04-05T15:02:00.000-04:00

This set of 3 little paintings was from a show at the Black Lab gallery in Seattle Wa. Brenda Scallon, one of the gallery owners and a good friend bought them. She has them in her house along with dozens of art from various people who showed work at the Black Lab over the years.

They are painted on little 8x6 inch boards in plastic gold ornate frames. I found the frames at Archie McPhee in Ballard.

Brenda is an accomplished musician. You can hear her music by going to www.myspace.com/daughtersofjoyyeah

It's All Crap

2009-04-05T13:44:00.000-04:00

This painting has a great back story. My friend Lucy gifted me several large canvases before she left Seattle in 2001. I created my 'It's All Crap' painting on this massive 3 by 8 foot mural sized canvas. It depicts the traffic congestion Seattle began to deal with in 2000 after initiative I-695 passed. Check out the story on this initiative. It basically killed all funding for public transportation and development of bike friendly roads and paths in the Washington state. It increased the automobile congestion incredibly and to this day the roads have become exponentially more clogged.

The viewpoint of this painting is looking west towards the Olympic Mountains, Puget Sound, Downtown Seattle, Queen Anne Hill, Fremont and Seattle Center from just above the center of the ship canal bridge on I-5.

There was an incident that gathered national attention that year when a young woman leapt of the bridge on I-5 that spans the ship canal in Seattle. This incident blocked traffic for hours as she threatened to jump over the railing. People tired of waiting for her to decide whether or not to take the plunge began chanting for her to jump just to get it over with so traffic could resume. There was also a school bus shooting and of course the ever growing mass of crap that began taking over the city once known for a strong anti-consumerist attitude.

This painting was shown at the Peoples Pub, Habitude Hair Salon, Aurifice Internet Cafe, The Ballard Firehouse music venue and the Black Lab Gallery over the course of a year. I moved my studio to Capitol Hill from Ballard in 2002. I had to move my oversized paintings strapped with duct tape on the roof of my Honda Accord in the rain. I leaned the large paintings against the wall at the doorway of my new studio building as I looked for a place to park. Upon returning 4 of the pieces were missing. This was before I knew about Craigslist so I used the Stranger personals to put out a notice about the missing art. No replys so I just accepted the loss.

In 2008 I got a call from my good friend Sage in Seattle. I had moved to NYC at this point. Sage had just moved into a group house south of Captitol Hill and was excited to let me know there were two of my paintings displayed in the living room. I was both delighted and somewhat disturbed by this news. My main concern was not to spook the tenant of the house who 'found' the art and have him run off suddenly taking the paintings with him.

I advised Sage to use his words carefully when approaching the room-mate in question. I suggested not being accusitory and simple let the guy explain how he acquired the art while informing him that I wanted to get the paintings back. I was willing to pay the full cost of shipping and even offered a more than reasonable price should he want to keep them.

Sage's room-mate flipped out unfortunately. Guess he had some unresolved guilt issues. Too bad because I didn't want to accuse anyone of theft. I accepted his story of how he assumed the art abandoned and figured he was rescuing them from a fate at the city dump. This is an explanation I can live with but the fact remains, however they were acquired they were still my paintiings and had not been paid for and were not gifted so I wanted them back.

Trouble brewed in the household and things were tense for several weeks as this guy and Sage were at odds because of the misunderstanding about the art situation. Sage ended up staying in the house and the other guy left. The paintings also stayed. When I visited Sage in Seattle this March I got to take some great photos. The paintings are way too big to have returned to NYC, at least on this last trip. I'll figure out a way to freight them back east eventually. For the time being they are in safe hands and have a good home.

Sage is an amazing human being and a great friend. He is an extremely performer, comedian, puppeteer, magician, clown, stiltwalker, drummer and all around cool dude. You can see his stuff at www.myspace.com/thepettingzooplayers and www.stiltangel.blogspot.com.

Jenny Jet

2009-04-05T13:38:00.000-04:00

I made this painting for my daughter Jenneve's 10th birthday. She calls her band Jenny Jet. I got a chance to visit Seattle at the end of March and was able to give it to Jenneve in person. Best part was, she had no idea I was coming to town. She's quite the artist herself.

Buckwheat Hendrix

2009-03-01T19:24:00.000-05:00

In DC I played bass with Buckwheat Hendrix for a brief spell in the summer of 1992. I didn't get so far as to play live but had a great time. Suicide on vocals, Joe on guitar and Wes on drums making an awesome noise. I was replaced by Mark Nickens as I couldn't commit to the band at the time. I was writing songs and playing guitar in another project called Spiritbomb and even that was short lived as I was making plans to move west to LA spring '93.

I did get to make this flyer for their first DC Space gig. The original color copy inspired by the Jimi Hendrix Experience's 'Axis Bold as Love' cover I believe is still in Suicide's collection. At least I hope it is.

OUCH!

2009-02-28T10:56:00.000-05:00

I have been learning how to tattoo. Last August in Baltimore, my friend Jim gave me a tattoo liner and a shader for my birthday. His wife Tara let me give her a tattoo in her leg where she has an ever growing collection of little fisrt time tattoos. My first tattoo application on someone else ever. Tara likes zombies and I like monkeys so a zombie monkey seemed fitting. Jim, who's been a tattoo artist for over 13 years walked me through the process step by step with the patience of a saint. www.saintsandsinnersink.com.

I have since been working on my own legs and a couple friends here in NYC have volunteered their hides for the cause of my getting to be a better tattoo artist.

I will be posting photos of the actual tattoos on another site soon.

I have been making tattoo inspired art recently as I have been learning the craft. The first big piece I made is also on my upper left leg. I call this one 'OUCH!' appropriately enough. It's a Dio de los Muertos inspired piece of a skeleton tattooing another skeleton. It's a double self portrait in a way. More to come...

What Would Devo Do?

2009-01-17T10:17:00.000-05:00

Another in my ongoing series of altered Jesus paintings. This print I discovered already framed and ready to go. Are we not Messiahs? We are Devo!!! The spuds in the background really pull the piece together as JC gazes off into the horizon deep in thought about future plans in this atomic age. I am including the before and after.

GOT AN URGE GOT A SURGE
AND IT'S OUT OF CONTROL
GOT AN URGE I WANNA PURGE
'CAUSE I'M LOSING CONTROL
UNCONTROLLABLE URGE
I WANNA TELL YOU ALL ABOUT IT
UNCONTROLLABLE URGE
MAKES ME SCREAM AND SHOUT IT
IT'S GOT STYLE IT'S GOT CLASS
SO STRONG I CAN'T LET IT PASS
I GOTTA TELL YOU ALL ABOUT IT
I GOTTA SCREAM AND SHOUT IT
AND I SAY YEAH

Frida Kahlo paintings

2009-01-01T21:45:00.000-05:00

SOLD
SOLD

These were both commissioned by Mika as gifts for our friends Nilda and Chris as birthday gifts.
For Nilda's painting I selected themes found in several Frida Kahlo pieces to enhance a portrait of the artist. For Chris' painting I was asked to make a portrait of her daughters enhanced by Frida images. Both were painted on found canvases that were already framed.

Graffiti Show

2008-12-05T06:26:00.000-05:00

Tonight, December 5th is a cool group show at Zealous [www.myspace.com/zealousinc] in the Riverdale neighborhood of the beautiful Bronx. Several artists are showing work inspired by graffiti. A few are actual graffiti writers and a few artists that are making work for the show with graffiti themes.

I fall into the second catergory. I have made my territorial pissings on walls and other public surfaces but never really got bitten by the graffiti bug. I love the art form but I was more into indoor stuff- music, sleeping, drinking...

Who knows, maybe now I'll get the fever to throw up some letters or urban heiroglyphs.

For now I am sticking with learning tattooing, the ultimate graffiti as far as I'm concerned and tweaking existing images by adding my own warped humor.

The painting of Jay Cee is my contribution to the Graffiti show. I am including before and after images. This is the latest in found paintings and prints that have my own special extras. This one was really nicotine stained but had a great image and the frame is the icing on the cake.

I guess this answers the question WWJD? that is What Would Jesus Doodle?

From the collection of David & Jackie

2008-10-31T21:21:00.000-04:00

SOLD
SOLD
SOLD
SOLD
SOLD
SOLD

Besides being dear friends, David and Jackie have been my most steady patrons. At just about every one of my shows in Seattle they would take a painting home. Between my work that they purchased and the gifts I gave them over the years they have quite a collection of my art in their home. They have the best taste in music and an amazing garden in their back yard in Seattle.

These pieces were produced between 1998 and 2002. They were made during a time when I was painting on anything I could get my hands on. I used a lot of cardboard back then since I couldn't afford canvas. I also did a lot of pieces combining a collage background treated with a semi-transparent paint wash over which I'd make a figurative image.

The mouse and the opossum were from a collection I made one year for winter holiday presents. Everyone on my gift list in 1999 received an animal totem painting based on a set of Native American divination cards featuring various critters. Each animal had some symbolism much like a deck of tarot cards.

The pin-up of the woman picking up the banana is a collage/painting from a series I made of pin-up girls superimposed on collages of porn and old comic books.

The flamingos and the monkey paintings came from a large series that I cranked out while smoking lots of weed, drinking coffee and watching television nonstop for 2 days.

The bottom painting was an adaptation of an old comic book style advertisement series for Postum, a decaffeinated alternative to coffee from the 1950's.

the hall pass: update 1

2008-10-23T22:45:00.000-04:00

In my previous entry I mentioned this hall pass for Mika's school was cool enough to steal.
It was just stolen! Now to make a new and improved pass.

the hall pass

2008-10-12T16:58:00.001-04:00

Mika asked me to make a hall pass for her to give her students. The paper passes I designed for her last class were getting lost. This one will last a little longer unless someone decides it's cool enough to steal, which it is by the way.

Squeaky Clean Part 2

2008-09-27T12:40:00.000-04:00

My first art sale in the Big Apple!
Meg, Mika and Toks.
Nicole, Gloria and Nilda.

Roland and Anne.
Kev and Michelle.

No sooner had I arrived in NY from Baltimore I was already getting ready for my first solo show here at home. The postcards I made arrived on time and looked awesome. Then I get the word the show needs to be postponed a week. Some unforeseen circumstances arose and the Chelsea Wine Vault was closed the planned night of my show.

It worked out just as well because the 12th was a rainy mess. The 19th was a perfect late summer evening so the trade off was worth it.

The paintings looked awesome against the brick wall. The wine flowed and the event was a success! Besides Matt, Anne and Roland from my last class at SVA showed up. Gloria, Nilda, Nicole and Mika journeyed all the way from the Bronx. Michelle and Kevin, two of my dearest friends and greatest living photographers made it. Toks and Meghan showed up fashionably late.
The painting of the two ducklings sold immediately. I still have to find out to whom.

After the reception we managed to find a place that could accomodate 10 of us on short notice for celebratory drinks. If you ever want to spend 15 bucks on a margarita, go to Los Dados. Three kinds of tequila mixed with frozen blackberry puree and the bonus... a lime half turned inside out filled with some funky smoky tequila that one is supposed to drink as a shot. In my old age I have become a cheap date and really appreciate cocktails like this one.

I especially enjoyed a night of enjoying the company of such good friends.

Painting Charm City Red

2008-09-27T11:52:00.000-04:00

all the velvet ducks in a row.
L to R: Karl, Susan, Me
Tara greets people as they arrive.

My first show in Baltimore was amazing. My art looked amazing on the walls of Saints & Sinners. Jim did a fantastic job of displaying all 23 pieces. I ran around like a chicken with its head cut off to get snacks and libations and barely got everything set up when the first guests arrived.

First on the scene was Karl Kriemelmeyer. I hadn't seen Karl in over a decade [I am going back down to see his facemelting psychedelic band Astronomy Dominatrix play in DC @ the Velvet Lounge October 29th, so should you]. Susan Mumford and Kim McDaniel both showed up next. I worked with Karl, Susan and Kim at the Nightclub 930 in the mid-late 80's. Sandie, Geoff and Shawn from PassionFish Gallery in Hampden showed up. That was an honor. They have one of the coolest art spaces in Baltimore. Cory Floyd, one of my oldest friends made it as did Franke, another dear friend from way back. As the night progressed the crowd got bigger and the beers got smaller. We all moved around the corner for food and drinks at Duda's Tavern. Softshell crab sandwiches, sweet potato fries and cold beer to end a really hot and steamy day.

The next day I spent the afternoon watching and learning from the best as Jim inked 4 very different pieces on 4 very different people. Hurricane Hannah brushed past the city. We got soaked and a few branches came down but no storm surges or major damage.

Sunday was a welcome break from the oppressive humidity. I spent the day in DC visiting friends and relaxing before the return to NY. A detour through Wilmington, Delaware yielded a major score at a Salvation Army. I found an enormous landscape already framed for $20. It's been a long time since I've found a decent abandoned masterpiece to rework. I'll be posting the make-over results very soon.

Thanks to all who made it despite Friday rush hour traffic and the impending storm.

Squeaky Clean: what ever happened to those orange pieces of wood with the blue dots?

2008-09-01T17:58:00.000-04:00

SOLD

SOLD

10 acrylic paintings on wood are now showing at the Chelsea Wine Vault in the Chelsea Market on 9th Ave West between 15th and 16th streets in NYC. www.chelseawinevault.com. My good friend Matt Barteluce has been too kind to let me show my work there for the month of September. The reception will be Friday September 12th from 6-8pm. With a little overlap there will be a free wine tasting from 4-7 that afternoon featuring wines from Italy. All the more reason to go.

This series of 10 paintings are studies of vintage rubber bath toys from the 1950's and 60's. I collect these odd little critters and thought it was high time to give them props. I really like the way the grain and various imperfection of each wood piece enhances the image that is superimposed. I was asked to do a 'clean' show in the sense of not illustrating anything too controversial. Not everything I do has boobies, monkeys, robots or robot monkey boobies and this little exhibit clearly shows I am able to make a cohesive collection of weird little critters that will please the entire family.

Hence this show is titled Squeaky Clean.

Each painting is selling for the amazingly reasonable price of $125. Paintings can be purchased at the Wine Vault or through my Paypal account.

Velvet Goldmine show @ Saints & Sinners Tattoo-Baltimore MD

2008-08-14T18:32:00.000-04:00

Joe Stummer SOLD
Tom Waits
Frank Zappa SOLD
Dave, Kurt & Krist
Ozzy Osbourne
Patti Smith
Henry Rollins SOLD
Siouxsie Sioux
Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Jimi Hendrix
Iggy Pop
John & Yoko
John Lydon
Fred, Keith, Kate & Cindy
Pat Benatar
David Bowie
James Brown
Johnny Cash
Nick Cave
George Clinton
Robert Smith
Depeche Mode
Debbie Harry

23 brand new paintings of musicians who influenced me a whole lot. I only had enough material for 23 portraits. I could easily continue making portraits of musicians who inspire me. Stay tuned to this here bloggy thing to see more portraits. These are all 12 x 8 inches, acrylic on velvet. The show officially opens with a reception Friday night, September 5th from 5pm-9pm at Saints & Sinners Tattoo & Piercing 1610 Thames Street Baltimore 21231. All these paintings are for sale at the amazingly low price of $125 a piece.

Velvet Goldmine

2008-08-03T13:24:00.000-04:00

I'm putting the finishing touches on 23 portraits of musical artists who have really inspired me. The paintings are all on black velvet. No Elvii here, no sireee! These artists are all innovators and have truly unique visions. They are all people who became successful doing what they do for the simple love of doing it. I could keep making portraits as there are hundreds of musicians that influence me, but I only have so much time and space for this particular show. The people portrayed in this series as a whole collectively are responsible for shaping my musical tastes and strongly influence my painting style as my work is painted in a rhythmic manner to the tunes on my stereo and in my head.

The show will up in September at Saints and Sinners Tattoo in Baltimore's Fells Point neighborhood. The reception is Friday September 5th from 5pm to 9pm. This show is part of the Fells Point Art Loop. I will be posting the whole shebang in about a week.

SoCo Mural

2008-07-30T22:23:00.000-04:00

I am working on a proposal for a mural. The proposed site is in Fullerton, CA. I am really excited about this opportunity. There is a huge turn-out expected for this competition. I just finished my design and am working on the proposal itself now, with some help from friends. The deadline is in late August and I will find out mid September if my design was chosen to go on the wall. SoCo is the name of the district in Fullerton where a major renaissance is taking place. It's 'South of Commonwealth Avenue' and a very happening little spot.

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Seattle cafe culture

2008-07-19T20:29:00.000-04:00

When I lived in Seattle I spent a lot of time sitting in cafes being that dude with the sketchbook drawing pretty girls. I worked as an art model and when I wasn't being the subject of someone else's art I was studying people around town.

Beautiful girls are by far the most enjoyable subject to draw. Dogs are second followed by old people with all the lines and years of character development. I did most of my drawing at coffee shops, bars and on the bus.

On all of these I used a Pilot Precise V5 fine pen. No pencil or eraser was used ever. I still use this pen frequently when not using my quill.

These are a few selections from the sketches of girls and a couple dogs at various sidewalk cafes in Seattle.

more work in progress

2008-07-13T10:15:00.000-04:00

I've been prepping these little wood squares for some time now. Thought I'd use them for my Baltimore show in September. Last week I just got the big effin' idea to make my velvet paintings instead. Now that I'm committed to the velvet for the show I am using the wood pieces for something else. Something sick and wrong but oh so right. Gob and Dash are awesome helpers. If you every need a quality control expert and editor, Dash is the man. He is always moving around the room observing my work with his critical eye. Gob is the go-to guy for choosing color and composition. Gob definitely has the emotional connection to the art and channels the muse.

Marly and Gertie

2008-07-05T18:07:00.000-04:00

SOLD
SOLD

More images from my pet portraits. These two sassy lassies are my sister Maureen's and my brother-in-law Craig's pups, Marly & Gertie. They are sisters. They are the sweetest pooches. Lots of energy and lots of love. The canvases were a thrift store score. Maureen and Craig added the frames.

The Mermaid Parade

2008-06-29T12:03:00.000-04:00

Went to the Coney Island Mermaid parade last Saturday with some of the Dr. Sketchy's crew. We dressed as art monkeys and got baked in the sun. It was an amazing parade. I felt just a tad bit underdressed. Some of the paraders had the most amazing outfits and just about all of them pertained to mermaids or something oceanic. This is a painting I made featuring a sexy mermaid preening on the beach and a love-lorn robot risking rust and corrosion to be with her. This canvas was found in the garbage behind my apartment building in Ballard, Washington. It was already framed and the seascape was painted. I added the city skyline and smoggy green cloud in the distance as well as the robot, mermaid and toxic waste barrels bobbing in the surf. It's still in my home 'gallery'.

I'd rather push my Chevy than be seen driving a Ford

2008-06-13T20:56:00.000-04:00

I love old Chevy trucks. I got Bertha from Seattle artist Chris Bruch in spring 2003. Bertha is a 1970 1 tone Sea Green pick-up. She took me down to San Francisco, out to the desert of Eastern Washington, the Olympic Rainforest, Belingham, Portland and points inbetween. She helped haul funky old furniture and boxes of stuff to my cafe and my art studio. She was a real stunner, turning heads every block. She was a good friend. Before moving to NY last year, my friend Victoria took her. I'm happy she stayed 'in the family'. On beautiful late spring days like today I sure miss her. Today would have been a perfect day to take Bertha for a ride to the woods.

The Green Room Mural @ Moe's Mo'roc'can Cafe

2008-06-11T21:01:00.001-04:00

Shortly after completing the Laundry Room Studio mural in July 1996 I was introduced by Barrett to Jerry, one of the owners of Moe. Moe was one of the funkiest, eclectic nightclubs in Seattle. The music they booked was all over the place. It reminded me so much of the old 930 club in DC. The decor was heavily sideshow/circus themed downstairs and had an art nouveau lounge upstairs. The cafe had amazing food. Excellent microbrews and stiff cocktails flowed and the all you can eat pasta happy hour was a life saver.

I was asked to paint a trashed and neglected room in the basement to make it more comfortable for bands to chill out in before and after gigs. I continued with the 'UFO/little green men theme' I had started at the Laundry Room. The lost alien wandered in a lush garden paradise with giant flowers, butterflies, a koi pond and a lagoon with a gentle waterfall. This was sort of how I felt as a new arrival in Seattle. Not exactly paradise but damn near. I was definitely a wide eyed alien wandering through this new green city. Prior to painting the room, Marilyn Manson had splattered some kind of nasty goop all over the walls.
Next door in another slightly larger room Roman, a brilliant visionary artist painted a very trippy alien visitation of his own.

Once the paint was complete I fixed dozens of rubber frogs to the unpainted brick wall, rolled wall to wall astroturf out and added some lawn chairs to complete the sense of being an a otherworldly backyard BBQ. This project paid a little bit, fed me and got me a good buzz for months and eventually led to my working at the club doing other art projects, construction, coat check, security and cooking. I made some lifelong friends along the way.

Moe closed its doors in 1997. The mural was unfortunately destroyed.

'Citizens in Hell 3' group show in Seattle

2008-06-07T21:58:00.000-04:00

I'm participating in the third 'Citizens in Hell' show at Artcore Tattoo Studio/Gallery on June 15th. Art core is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Seattle. I was part of the first 'Citizens' show and missed last years as I was on the road bound for NYC. The line-up of artists is amazing: Kelly Lyles, Sara Lanzilotta, K. Amarak Waters, Roger Wheeler, Cliff Hare & Kamilla White. I won't be able to make the show in person but just having work alongside these other folks whose art I love is the ext best thing to being there.

The work I chose to show portrays some characters from my neighborhood in the Bronx.
They are all pen & ink with acrylic on paper.

Laundry Room Recording Studio, Seattle WA

2008-05-26T19:08:00.000-04:00

In May 1996 I painted a mural at the Laundry Room Recording Studio. The studio was in the Greenwood neighborhood of Seattle. The studio, owned and operated by my friend Barrett Jones is now in South Seattle as Greenwood has become built up with condos and Starbucks.

It started out as me painting a refrigerator. The front of the fridge was a big fat green buddha being served a hot pizza from a space alien. On the side was a busty green Kali dancing with cigarettes, booze and other vices. The Kali, Buddha and UFO were painted with glow-in-the-dark paint. All around the fridge I wrote the lyrics to 'If Six Were Nine' by Jimi Hendrix. Again, painted in invisible glow-in-the-dark paint, the letters were only visible when the lights were off.

Over the next month I continued to paint the entire studio, floor to ceiling...and then the ceiling.
The front office had a Pacific northwest, woodsy, motif. On the north wall was a Cascade mountain range with dancing Northern Lights above the snow capped peaks. There was a doobie puffing Sasquatch that resembled Homer Simpson inner tubing down a creek. In the corner was a little bug-eyed alien wandering through the woods and his UFO was parked in the shady pines. They both glowed in the dark. On the eastern wall was a full sized log cabin that incorporated the actual door into the engineering room as part of the trompe l'oeil mural.

In the cabin window a green Elvis Presley watched Jimi Hendrix play his burning guitar on the TV while another bug-eyed alien looked over his shoulder. They day after I painted the window scene there was a yard sale across from my house and there was an old window that fit perfectly around the Hendrix painting.

On the south facing wall a busty angel, monkey and smoke breathing dragon frolicked in a waterfall passing around a smoking apple. There was a lot of not so subtle marijuana imagery on the walls. Welcome to the Pacific Northwest!

In the back room where the fridge was I painted a massive snow topped Mount Rainier with a family of aliens flying in their saucer on vacation, alien kids sporting Mouseketeer ears. Barrett had a great green pot leaf neon that fit perfectly on the face of the mountain. On the interior wall I painted the back of the cabin with Robert Johnson picking his guitar. On the north wall was a heating duct that ran from floor to ceiling that became a tree trunk. The leafy branches of the tree spread up and out across the wall and ceiling. Beneath the tree sat Yoda and Christopher Walken, peacefully passing a glass pipe back and forth. Star Wars 20th Anniversary was coming up and I had serious Yoda on the brain. Barrett had just finished recording the soundtrack music for Touch, the Paul Schrader film. Christopher Walken was in the film and we all were fans of Walken so in fitting tribute he made it to the mural.

While the mural was being made bands were either rehearsing, jamming or recording. The energy from the live music added some serious punch to the painting. I always love painting rhythmically while music is in the background but what a treat to get to paint while musicians like Pilot, the Chauffer, Churn, Shawn Smith & the Foo Fighters were rocking out.

Electric Windows in Beacon

2008-05-24T09:53:00.000-04:00

Last weekend Mika, Nilda, Nichole and I made the pilgrimage to beautiful Beacon NY for the big Electric Windows event. 24 artists made paintings to go in the windows in an old electric blanket factory off Main Street. The event took place over 3 days with most of the artists painting live on the street Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Although my work was not part of this event, I think so highly of Open Space Gallery and have really fallen in love with the community in Beacon that I am compelled to add my images to the pot. You can see more from the show by going to www.electricwindowsbeacon.com.

...and now a word from our sponsor

2008-05-19T10:27:00.000-04:00

this is a little selection of some of the sign work and design work I've done for clients. That would be people who paid me or bartered their services for my art.

From top to bottom:

Peoples Pub: Ballard's best meeting place and late night nosh. World famous for proper drink prices, fine German food and Fried Pickles. This eye catching sign gets you coming or going with a happy cuke saying 'Bitte' on one side and 'Danke' on the other.

Around Town: This was a little homegrown events calendar. An awesome idea for a portable schedule of movies, concerts, sports and night life that just never quite caught on. I designed the logo and lettering.

Joshua Billings Experienced Carpenter: A business card with a logo and letters that I designed. Pretty much says all there is to say on the card.

Fantastic Plastic: A cool little record/CD shop in the Greenwood neighborhood of Seattle. I hand lettered the window sign and designed the logo. When I applied the one shot paint it was about 30 degrees outside. I could barely hold the brush. Luckily the owner, Bill kept a full keg of home brewed beer in the back of the shop. That at least made the chill bearable.

VAIN hair salon: This hand-lettered sandwich board was made for VAIN hair salon when it was still on 2nd Avenue. The letters were designed freehand, no computers or stencils. I did quite a bit of painting for Victoria, the owner of VAIN in the first couple years of the shops existence. There will be more photos of murals from VAIN in an upcoming entry.

The Starving Artist: Another quality hand-lettered sign for a little used art supply shop in Ballard, Seattle. The Starving Artist was on the ground floor of the Sunset Hotel which burned down in 2000. The building was fully rebuilt in 2005 and now houses several upscale designer boutiques and overpriced artists 'lofts'.

it's all crap!

2008-05-15T16:25:00.000-04:00

This painting was made on a canvas that was the twin to the Hattie's Hat painting in the previous post. This was my best appraisal of the growing traffic problem Seattle was facing. Made during the summer, fall and winter of 2001 this over-sized work was how I saw what was once beautiful livable city turned into a parking lot over-run by greed and consumerism. The perspective is from the middle of the Washington Bridge that spans the Lake Union mouth of the Ship Canal to Lake Washington. The viewer has a panoramic view of Seattle sweeping from downtown on the left towards Fremont on the right. Directly ahead would be Queen Anne Hill and beyond that the Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountain range. Since 2001 the actual traffic situation has begun to resemble this painting more and more. So much that moving to NY so living without a car for a while would be a possibility.

meet you friends and relax here

2008-05-13T22:56:00.000-04:00

Hattie's Hat is a Seattle watering hole with a long sordid history. An old Ballard sailor bar, Hattie's has quite the history and hauntings to deserve its place in the historic register. I had the fortune to work there for just over a year right after the turn of the millenium. At that time, Hattie's was a haven for artists and musicians to connect with like minded spirits. Now it's sadly become a shadow of it's former self as the owners have been blinded by greed and lost sight of what made it such a cool place to get wasted and waste time in the first place. This mini 3' x 8' mural was created in the summer of 2001 to commemorate the best parts of the 'Hat'.

the long arm of the law

2008-05-13T13:05:00.000-04:00

Officer Hambone here is keeping the streets safe. He's one tuff donut powered crime fighter.

Remembering STUFF Cafe & Collectibles

2008-05-12T19:29:00.000-04:00

It's almost been 3 years since I closed the doors to my cafe in Seattle: STUFF Cafe & Collectibles.
STUFF was ahead of its time, big time. For those of you who don't know about it, STUFF was a collectible shop that specialized in mid-late 20th century pop culture, kitsch and just plain weird shit. STUFF offered the finest espresso, pizza, soup and desserts. There was live music 5 days a week. I could make an entire blog on the cafe alone. I have enough pictures to keep a daily blog into the next decade. I wanted to include the cafe on my art blog because it was an interactive art installation as well as a business. I featured locally made art, clothing and jewelry as well as gallery style shows. The design of the cafe itself was a 3D version of my paintings. The images are from a Japanese magazine called Lightning. I have to dig around for the English translation.
A posthumous blog for STUFF will be a reality soon.

For Hank

2008-05-12T18:44:00.000-04:00

I made this painting of a pipe smoking, single string banjo pluckin' cyclops turtle on a turtle shell for my friend Hank Nolte Holte. He gave me the shell to paint as part of the trade for electrical work.
Hank hooked me up with most of the electrical work at my cafe in Seattle.
He also gave me a couple hundred old blues and classic rock LPs. The shell came with me to New York. I've tried to get a hold of Hank to send him his shell and the phone numbers I got for him
are no good. If you're out there, Hank and somehow find your way to this site, the shell is safe until it gets in your hands.

SOLD

Painting Beacon Red

2008-04-19T13:41:00.000-04:00

The Tote Bag show at Open Space Gallery in Beacon NY was amazing! Over 100 artists presented custom totes. To my surprise, mine was sold immediately! this tells me I'm on the right path. Before the show Mika and I strolled around the town checking out other galleries and shops.
It was a perfect day- blue skies ad warm, not too hot, not too cold. Perfect! Checked out the cute little farmers market on the riverfront ad tasted some great wine. We got a caramel bar and an espresso brownie that were damn near orgasmic.

Spring has really hit NY and I was inspired to clean my studio and organize my work space so I can actually feel comfortable and get some stuff done. Now I just need to get a drafting table and a solid chair so my back doesn't kill me. I'm painting on the floor right now. Always have. Lately painting on the floor doesn't make my back feel so great. Getting older does that.

An unexpected toothache has derailed me momentarily. That should get fixed next week.
This week is going to be spent putting together an electronic portfolio and new Thee Choad pages for the comic book.

tote bag

2008-04-03T14:14:00.000-04:00

I just finished my tote bag for the upcoming group show at Open Space Gallery in Beacon NY. I call it 'Consume, Shit, Die'. This show will feature 100 tote bags customized to raise funds for the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, a NY based organization committed to environmental advocacy and education. This is a really cool show as the list of artists contributing work is mighty damn impressive. check out the Open Space website www.openspacebeacon.com. The reception is Saturday April 12th from 6-10pm.
The gallery is located @ 510 Main Street
Beacon NY 12508.

monkeyshines

2008-03-28T23:54:00.001-04:00

SOLD

I love apes. Gorillas, chimps, lemurs, baboons, orangutans,

simians, yetis, sasquatches, sock monkeys, bonobos, and all sorts of primates. Humans I suppose would have to fall into the primate category and as weird as they are I still like 'em.

current events

2008-03-26T11:55:00.000-04:00

Designed the cover of the latest issue of OMG Weakly. On news stands now! oh, wait...sorry, it's sold out already. damn.

Spring is finally here!

2008-03-24T09:58:00.000-04:00

I am looking forward to getting back outside and drawing the vibrant life on the streets of
NYC. Inspired by the slightly warming climate and extended daylight hours more images drawn from life on the sidewalks will be coming soon, Today's post is something I pulled from an old sketchbook. John the Can Man was a 5 year old child in a 50 year old man's body. He would walk around my hood collecting aluminum cans to sell at the recycler. This was made in front of Cafe Bambino in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. I like the NYU Sweatshirt he's wearing. Found it funny that now I'm living in NY and the recycling is considered an annoying option.

The art shows I participated in were awesome! At the Avenue A Sushi event I tried to take pictures but it was too dark and the flash from my camera only washed out the work so I had to let that one go. At the Zealous opening, I got so caught up in the moment as I was excited to actually meet other artists living in the Bronx that taking photos just slipped my mind.

First NYC show!

2008-03-20T08:20:00.000-04:00

My first NYC show is tonight at Avenue A Sushi in the East Village. It's a group show and I am excited to be part of it. Other artists in this show are Heather Polaski, Meghan Burke, Hilary Doyle, John Stack, Shawn Cupid, Sarah Montero, Alison Milonakis, Erik VonPloennes, Mike A, Katie Odermatt, David Corcoran, Alana Delts and Frank Santiago Jr.

Tomorrow is another show at Zealous, a cool little store/gallery here in the Bronx. The top images are from the Zealous show. Pink, Rhode Island Avenue, Corcoran, Spy Camera, Daily News, Dean & Number One are the titles as you scroll from top to bottom. Each one is about 9"x 11" acrylic on board. The theme of the show is 'Scene without a Voice'. My pieces are all paintings of homeless people, a 'scene' which to me truly has no voice in this world.

I am including some images from the last Open Space show in Beacon. It was a great show featuring Polaroid composite by Patrick Winfield. I also added a new link to my friend Jason's cool new website, www.jasontmiles.blogspot.com.

Lily

2008-03-15T11:24:00.000-04:00

I made this portrait of Lily, the chihuahua, for my friend Meghan on her birthday last year.

Pepito

2008-03-11T22:36:00.000-04:00

This is a portrait of my friend Michelle and her little dog Pepito. I did this portrait 'Big Eye Style' inspired by the Keane paintings of the 1960's as requested by Michelle. Check out her amazing photographs at www.michellepedone.com.

I went upstate to Beacon NY to the Open Space Gallery for a great art opening. Beacon has an artwalk every second Saturday of each month that is well worth experiencing.

'Thee Romulans' record cover

2008-03-07T09:07:00.000-05:00

'Thee Romulans' 7" ep Made in Billyburg was a very limited release on the That Taint Music label.

XXX: Vices and Naughty Bits

2008-03-04T20:05:00.001-05:00

SOLD

SOLD
SOLD
SOLD

These are some slightly more 'adult' themed pieces. They are actually more more big kids who never truly 'grew up'. Top to Bottom: Drunky Bug, Full Beaver, I Don't Do Windows, Skunky Bud, Coffee Bat, 2 Dogs Fucking [sold], D'Ohhh!, The Old Swimming Hole [sold], George & Jane [sold], I Yam Woddeye Yam [sold], Blowjob.