Daily Keemo 12.31 - Bring On The Music

To Be Completely Honest

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To be completely honest I have no idea what "hickory dickory dock" means. I suppose I could take a minute and google it and come up with exactly what it means and its origins and who wrote it and the other facts about the song. However, I'm afraid that all that information will take away the special place this song holds in my heart. You see, I grew up on Hickory Street and to all the kids growing up on Hickory, this song had a whole different meaning. There was about 8 of us that ran around back then and when someone sang that song I think all of us swore it was written for us. (we were very young and what the heck was a "dickory dock" anyway). Even now, much older and many miles and years between today and those old days, I still think of Hickory Street and how moms house is still there and how we raced our bikes up and down it and we all grew up there and kissed our first girl there and learned everything we needed to get old and move on and outgrow those days. So, I think maybe I do know what a "hickory dickory dock" is but I am pretty sure it is not what you may find if go out and google it. With that... Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo 12.29 - Blue

I Have To Stop Dreaming Of Other Places

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I get blue. It is winter here. It is cold. It gets dark early. I look outside the window now and all I see is white, broken up by the color of the other houses and passing cars. Everything else is covered white. There is no grass or pavement or leaves or trees. It is all white and I need to stop dreaming of other places when it is like this. I am going to leave it at that and go warm up my coffee and see what everyone else in the house is doing. I hear laughter downstairs and isn't there a saying that is something like, "where there is laughter, there is warmth"? Well, if not, then I just made that one up and you can quote me on it. I guess that is it for now... With that.. Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo 12.27 - Happiness

I Will Take Two Of Those And Call You In The Morning



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I know this seems obvious but you really gotta do what you makes you happy. I'm going to go on a limb here and say that most of us pass most of our days doing a whole bunch of stuff that we do for every other reason but happiness. Odds are there is a job you that would rather not be done and then there is all the time you waste in a car daydreaming in a traffic jam or in a line somewhere or you can insert another place you were or thing you did that was for every other reason than happiness. I can think of a few off hand right now but I'll save those for another day. Then there are the other times, the times in between those moments when you find yourself doing something that actually makes you happy and you are doing it for no other reason other than it makes you happy. I know this seems off track with this painting but it isnt. This is one of those times for me. The time when you allow yourself to paint a silly portrait and paste it to a silly wood veneer and the only reason is because it makes you smile when you do it. Does there always need to be a reason other than that? I hope not. With that... Enjoy!



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Daily Keemo 12.24 - Sized Perfectly

Sized And Measured Perfectly

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Behind me the entire wall is painted with a diamond pattern that is sized and measured perfectly so the pattern of diamonds fit perfectly within the space. Only one wall in the studio is painted this way. Each diamond is about 18 inches tall to give you an idea of the size. I didn't paint the diamonds. She did. I could not paint something so perfect. She can. Her stuff is perfect. Always. Im not using the word "perfect" with any hint of a derogatory tone. She doesn't strive for perfection, everything just seems to end up that way. When I sit here at the desk and look at these lines and colors and scribbles and ink and acrylic and words I can see these big perfect diamonds out of the corner of my eye I am in awe because she can do it all in one piece of work where I keep doing another and another and another and never quite getting there. I guess that sums us up her and I. Her lines and shapes are perfect and my lines and shapes don't strive to be. They are both there and have thier value and need each other to reinforce what makes each one unique. With that... Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo 12.22 - Old Friend

Talking Over The Dull Sound Of People



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We ran into each other as I was walking out of the pub. This was the second time I had bumped into someone that I knew walking out of that bar in as many times as I had been there. It was good to see him again. We hadn't seen each other in a couple of years. He looked a little older as I am sure I did too. We talked for a long time even though it was cold and the snow was falling but I was warm with beer and he appeared warm with his hat and scarf and gloves (Classic Michigan attire) and we just kept talking over the dull sound of people laughing and talking from inside the bar. We finally parted ways. He went inside the bar and I walked down the sidewalk toward my car and the voices faded away behind me until it was just the sound of my feet and the hot air coming from my mouth and nose and the thought that it is nights like these that are perfect for coming together with old friends. Well, here is to him and to old friends and to the time and distance that separates. With that... Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo 12.18 - Botched Interview

She Kept Wanting Me To Think Like Her About My Art
9" x 12" x 1.5" - Acrylic and Ink on Canvas



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The lady who was interviewing me said thought that most traditional galleries would never take on my work because it relies too much on the words to complete the piece of artwork. I couldn't think of anything else to say, so I said, “I think it is because I'm not a very good painter.” trying to joke my way out of going through this conversation again. “I don't think that is true. I just think the words can interfere with the viewing experience.” She said. “Well, I'm not worried too much about the galleries. If I was to write a list of reasons why I paint day in and day out, you would not find the words, “Get Into A Gallery” anywhere on that list.” I replied. There was an awkward silence. This conversation always ends up this way. I never get why some people have such a hard time with the words. “I guess I like to think that I am not just making a painting. I hope it is more than that. I hope that it all helps create a relationship with the viewer, the subject and myself.” “ Do you think it works?” she asked. This went on for another 10 minutes or so and we weren't getting anywhere and I could tell she was not happy with how this was going and after we hung up the phone I sat quietly for a minute and thought again why I am doing all this with the paints and the words and long hours and the tired mornings and realized I should probably get back to the paints and finish this painting and just keep doing what I do.... Enjoy!

(Note: I never did hear from her again and the interview never got published.)

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Daily Keemo 12.17 - Ninja 1 of 8 - Japanese Series

Ninja 1 - Japanese Series

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I have said many times over the years that to many people take thier artwork way to seriously. That is not to say that artwork does not have an important role in our lives or in our day to day meandering but when it comes down to it I just remind myself that there is a reason why the brain surgeon gets paid the big bucks. Enter the Ninja. Those of you who follow my work are familiar with this idea. Every art collection, no matter how serious, needs one. Shoot the more serious the better. Sitting there in your art collection, just waiting for the moment to unleash it's fury, the ninja will strike when the time is right. Be careful. Respect the ninja and respect is what you will be given in return... it is the ninja way...Enjoy you art!

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Daily Keemo 12.16 - Vodka Cranberry

A Night of Cranberry and Herbert

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I feel I have been tucked away at the desk for a long time tonight. I have been sipping on a vodka and cranberry and I'm sure that there is a real bartender name for that drink but it seems irrelevant as I listen to Gwyneth Herbert (Hi Gwyn!) on the computer speakers and think about how simple things can become when you are sitting alone in a room listening to good music and sipping a vodka and cranberry. I suppose sometimes it is just as easy to complicate things in those situations too. For now though, we will keep it simple. As I write this, my phone is ringing downstairs and I know I should answer it (everyone does don't they?) but for now the desk is just right, the cranberry is just right and the music is just right... Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo 12.15 - Music Does The Body Good

Think Of The Music You Can Make

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This is the fifth in the guitar chord series: DM7. I have to be honest with you, this was a chord that I struggled with for a long time. I think it was just that I don't have the biggest of hands. It also probably had something to do with the fact that I wasnt super intersted in learning all the chords in the book. So, sometimes I would come up against a chord that my fingers didnt like and I would just skip it. (that is easy to do as long as your are keeping your guitar playing to your parents basement.) Anyway, eventually the fingers got around this one and it gets handed out just like the others and those days seem so long ago when I just skipped it because it didnt feel right. I guess if you give anything enough time, you can learn to live with it and even grow with it. Think of the music you can make with the more chords you have in your bag. With that...Enjoy!

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8 Ninjas. Badass.

2009 Keemo Calendars Are Here!

2009 Keemo Calendar - Limited Edition

On Ebay | In The KeemoStore

Once upon a time there once was a London design firm named Made In Earnest who was putting together a calendar for 2009. At this same time, many miles away, there was a painter named Keemo who was busily creating paintings. Magically, the sound of Keemo's brush strokes travelled across the ocean and landed into the ears of Made In Earnest. Made In Earnest decided to seek out the source of this sound for they knew it was this brush that they were destined to have for their calendar. It was only a matter of time before Made in Earnest was able to locate the source of that brush stroke and a friendship was made and a calendar was created and the world was saved. Oh wait, the saving the world part isn't true but all the rest is, I swear!


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Daily Keemo 12.12 - David Lynch

Accidental Portrait Of David Lynch On Paper From 1870

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Hello, my name is Keemo and I have an addiction. I am a Lyncho-o-holic. Yes, it is true. I am addicted to all things David Lynch. From Special Agent Cooper to Inland Empire, I can't get enough. I am not going to attempt to explain the reasons why because I think his work says it best. (Maybe it is simply because he is one of the few people I have heard use the word "golly" like he actually meant it.) Anyway, I'm not going to go on and on about this one and just let it speak for itself.... Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo 12.09 - Winter

Right Thing To Do At The Right Moment With The Right Person

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The snow has been falling for three days straight. We bundle up in coats, hats, gloves, scarves and boots and we take walks around the neighborhood and it is usually dark and the snow appears to be falling directly from the streetlights and collects on trees, cars, buildings, houses, street signs and us as we walk and the hot breath steams from our mouths and we make small talk and catch up with each other after being apart for the day. These walks are beautiful and so is she under the streetlights and the falling snow and on the way up the drive I grabbed a couple snow covered frozen branches and gave them to her like snow flowers and I know it sounds cheezy but it didnt feel cheezy at the time as it somehow seemed the right thing to do at the right moment with the right person in the right place. So, with that, here is to people that walks were made for and if you know someone like this I highly recommend you put on your shoes and go see what is happening under your feet... Enjoy!



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Daily Keemo 12.05 - We Are Not So Different

We Are Not So Different, You And I

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When I was younger I used to feel like there was no one like me. I clung to that idea for a long time and sometimes even consciously attempted to reinforce the idea. As I got older I realized that I was not that different from everyone else and that everyone else is not that different from everyone else and somehow we all end up worrying about the same things and doing essentially the same things day in and day out and while the details may be a bit different, the overall progression of our days are very similar. Im not sure exactly where I am heading with this or what point I am necessarily trying to make. I suppose I made it already and if my theory holds true, that we are not so different, you and I, then you already get what I am saying and I can stop with all this right here... Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo 12.02 - Music For The Masses

These Are The Things I Think About

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This is the fourth in the guitar chord series: C#M7. For some reason the # symbol and the number always seems out of place to me when I see it in music. It reminds me that music is very mathematical and systematic. It reminds me that underlying all music is order. (I guess that is why it is referred to as an "arrangement.") Without that order music falls apart. I guess, why it seems out of place is that I respond to all music on some emotional level and in that emotional response there is little room for order. However, with such order in music it makes me think that there must be some complimentary system of order that exists inside that processes music and organizes (for lack of a better word) into something that our emotions can connect with. Now, the more I write this the more it all just seems silly. The talk of order and emotions and the relationship between them. Im surely not qualified to write on this topic and I am pretty sure that this is not the forum. Either way... these are the things that I think about as I paint and listen to music and daydream about the chords and structure and color and sounds and in all of this is an answer to something I am sure...Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo 12.01 - Whiskey

It Was His Drink And I Was Thinking Of Him

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I decided I would mix up a highball tonight because that was his drink and I was thinking of him. I remember he would come visit us in the summer when I was a boy and he would sit out in the sun in a folding chair in the center of the backyard with his shirt off drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon and the top of his head would be beet red with sun burn but he didn't care. He was peaceful out there and he would ask me to fetch him a tomato from the garden that he planted out back and he would eat it just like an apple and then he would ask me to grab another beer for him and he would let me take the first sip of the beer and then laugh as I made a sour face and shook my head side to side and said it tasted gross but secretly I loved it. I loved all of it; his visits, the sun, the garden, the back yard, taking sips of his cold beer in the summer heat, the tomatoes, the way he could sit quietly out there and seem just fine with that. So, with that, here is to him and to us and those hours in the summer when life was simple and it consisted of just us two... Enjoy!

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