Daily Keemo. 1.30. Ordinary Object

People With Objects #1: A Radio
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It is simple. I love portraits. All of you who follow my work know that is pretty much all I do. Portraits. Yeah, there are stories in there too but that is just part of the portrait. (I will save the long winded tangent about art for another day, possibly over a beer or three.) Well, anyway, this is the first in the "People With Objects" series. All of the portraits in this series will be of real people I know, and yes, people who know me, know who the person in this #1 in the series is. I'm sure I'll be hitting up friends and family and others to pose for the series. (yes, pose, do people still do that for portraits?) I don't know...either way, just having a bit of fun with all this and hope you do too. With that.. Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo. 1.29. One Of Those Weeks

Your Moment Is Left Over From Others Who Were There Before You. (1870)
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It has been one of those weeks. You know the kind. You work too many hours, you come home late, you don't see much of your family, you eat left overs from the fridge standing in front of the sink while everyone is already in bed and the kitchen is lit only from the small light over the stove. You can look at the things spread around the counter and table and get a good idea of what went on around the house while you were gone and you feel peaceful only because it is so quiet and you can't help but relax into everything because you are finally home....Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo. 1.28. 100 Paintings

100 Paintings #2
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I like artwork that creates itself. When the story of the piece actually IS the piece. Now at first glance, some of you may look at this and think, "oh this piece is not very original, that is very pollockesque." I think you might be wrong and let me explain. Since I usually work small, I tend to run off the paper all the time. So, I always work on top of a heavy thick paper surface. (this way I don't get paint all over my desk, table, counter, etc...) This surface travels around with me so I can paint in hotel rooms and airplanes. Well this is that surface that has been used for the last 100 Keemo paintings. So, when I look at this piece I think of the last 100 pieces of artwork and I think of all the hours and days that have gone into this and all the people that have those 100 paintings and how they are spread all around the world from Norway to the UK to Romania to Hong Kong to the USA to Canada to Switzerland and I like to think that whoever has this piece has a little bit of every one of those paintings... Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo. 1.27. Your Moments

Your Moment Is Left Over From Others Who Were There Before You. (1870)
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It has been one of those weeks. You know the kind. You work too many hours, you come home late, you don't see much of your family, you eat left overs from the fridge standing in front of the sink while everyone is already in bed and the kitchen is lit only from the small light over the stove. You can look at the things spread around the counter and table and get a good idea of what went on around the house while you were gone and you feel peaceful only because it is so quiet and you can't help but relax into everything because you are finally home....Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo. 1.26. Night

Everything Is Just Beyond The Shadows Of My Desklamp
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I couldn't sleep last night. I layed in bed and thought about all the stuff going on. (All the stuff that happens beyond the world that you read about in these paintings) There was moonlight coming in from the side of the curtain and it illuminated all the items on the dresser. There is a painting on the wall over the dresser that we bought when we were young and didn't have much. I thought about those time and those days and decided to get out of bed and go downstairs. I stopped in the kitchen and poured a small glass of wine from the bottle that was left over from dinner. The clock on the microwave read 3:19. "It's as good as time as any," I thought and went up to the desk and turned the small desk lamp on and started painting. What does this painting have to do with all this? Well, I suppose it has as much to do with my sleepless night as does the moonlight, the curtain, the items on the dresser, the painting on the wall, those times when we didnt have much, the quiet, the wine bottle, the clock on the microwave, the desk lamp, and the dark house and the brushes and the water that painted it. I suppose that all those things are here, in these colors somewhere. Actually, I'm sure they are...Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo. 1.21. Honesty.

I Have To Be Honest
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I have to be honest. I took some "non-drowsy" cold medicine earlier because I have been feeling like junk all morning. (All the classic cold symptoms. Good fun.) I may have not be drowsy, but man things just aren't right. (Im glad I am not operating any heavy machinery right now.) Anyway, the rest of the house was quiet so I decided to get a little painting done and here is one from the day. You know, now that the non drowsy part is wearing off, I think it is time to go lay on the couch and let the cold do its thing. (Where is that drowsy stuff at?) Maybe pop in something from the David Lynch Lime Green Set and call it a night....Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo. 1.20. Robber.

If I Were A Robber I Would Look Like This.
(I Am Not So I Don't)
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This is one of those portraits that just comes along and it is really just better off without a story. Sometimes they just tell their own story and I think that this is one of those. So, with that... Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo. 1.15.09. She Likes Pink.

She Likes Pink. I Like Black.
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She likes pink. I like black. I guess in some contexts that may say something about our personalities but I dont think it really does. I am sure those two colors imply something different to everyone of us and in many cases may even be considered complete opposites. She likes pink. I like black. Before I started writing this I thought I would use the colors to illustrate the differences between us that are ultimately threaded back together by other more important things but now I am thinking that I have written that story many times before. Actually, I guess I am writing that right now, aren't I? So, I guess I will leave it at that... She likes pink. I like black... Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo. 1.13.09. Red Yellow Green.

The Color Of Movement Is Red Yellow Green
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The table was small. By the window. We sat across from each other for a long time. We talked. There were flowers in between us on the table. There were bluffs of snow out the window behind her. It seems less and less frequent that opportunities like that present themselves. You know, those times when you just sit and talk and don't feel like you have to do anything other than what is happening at that moment. Maybe I should reword that, it seems less and less frequent that I make opportunities like that happen. I know I work too much and these last couple years more than ever. I tell myself there is a reason for all those hours over the paints and working but sitting there at the table with her I have a hard time remembering why those hours are so important. We talked and drank and ate for a long time and outside the world went by in cars and trucks and the street light went on, over and over; red, yellow, green and we sat there still, just the two of us and we just let it all go on ahead without us for a change....Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo. 1.12.09. Kissing Christians.

The Bible Commands Christians To Kiss One Another
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This is the 14th in the "Book of Facts" series. I was going through a bunch of books that were stored away in boxes. I ran across this old book of facts. It is just page after page of facts. After about 2 pages, I thought, "this is perfect!" Well, on this page was one that I was just not expecting to see. "The bible commands Christians to kiss one another. See Romans 16:16." I think that this is one of those cases that a comment by me is not necessary and I'll just let this one go on its own. So, with that...Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo. 1.11.09. Tres Blind Mice

A Beautiful Day For An Education


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This is another example of a childrens song that seems really twisted when you actually read the words. Let us set the stage first. On a beautiful day for an education, a first grade classroom somewhere in the world, gathers around to sing some songs. "Let do Three Blind Mice!" says the teacher. "Yeaahhhh!" reply the kids. And then they begin:

Three blind mice. Three blind mice.

See how they run. See how they run.


They all ran after the farmer's wife,


Who cut off their tails with a carving knife,


Did you ever see such a sight in your life,


As three blind mice?





Well with that... who is in the mood for a song? ... Enjoy!



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Daily Keemo. 1.9.09. California.

It Means More If You Fall Down Along The Way

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I left Michigan with 3 other guys. The destination was San Diego. We each had our own reason for leaving. Its tough to say exactly what their reasons were but my reason was simple; That is where she was. I wasn't sure what I was going to do when I got there but that didn't really matter at the time. I guess it was less about what I was going to do and more about who I was going to be with. We were down to our last 4 dollars between us by the time we got to Las Vegas. There was no way we were going to make it to California, so we each took a $1.00 and played the nickel slots in some casino next to a McDonalds. Somehow, we ended up winning around $120.00 between us by the time we left. We walked to McDonalds, celebrated with a hamburger and coke and hit the road. That was the first time in my life I think I counted myself very lucky. We headed westward and eventually made it to California. We were to meet her at a spot on Pacific Beach. I had never seen the ocean. I had not seen her in many months. After driving many hours, we pulled the car up to the spot which overlooked the ocean and when I got out I could see her down by the water with her pants rolled up and shoes in hand wading in the ocean. I remember her wearing a flowing white shirt. She was beautiful and this place was beautiful and that moment I knew that this was the second time in my life that I was truly lucky... Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo. 1.8.09. Chicken And Egg

Insert Chicken And Egg Reference Here (1870)

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We like to think of technology as being something that is a recent invention. Computers, ipods, laptops, cell phones, email and all the other really technological stuff that is going on in the fields of medicine, mathematics, science, etc... (can't even guess what the military is dreaming up right now) I think of my grandfather not being able to work a VCR and I remember him saying how "everything nowadays is so new and complicated". With all that said, I found this advertisement from 1870 for the Technologist and it reminds that technology is not new at all. It is happening every day and will continue to happen as long as we are all here and evolving we will sure need our tools to evolve right along with us. (insert chicken and egg reference here). Anyway, I know I am doing a really poor job of making my point so I am going to just cut right to it. We evolve. Our tools evolve. That is technology. (oh yeah, and never lose touch on how to program your VCR.) ... Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo. 1.6.09. You No Tell Me, Is Im Wrong?

You No Tell Me, Is I'm Wrong? (first of 2009)


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The holidays have ended. It is January 2, 2009 and I am sitting at my desk thinking about what I am going to do with this empty year in front of me. There are a few unfinished paintings laying around. I am listening to Lightning Hopkins on the computer and he says over his guitar, "You know I'm a stranger here... You no tell me, is I'm wrong." (I am no expert but I pretty sure that those are some of the best lyrics to any song ever.) I put the brush into the paint water and sit back and listen a bit to what else Lightning has to say. I decide to pack in the paints for a while and try to catch up my email. The first email in the queue was from another painter friend with the subject "Loosing my head. Happy Holidays". I respond to his email and turn back to the paints. I think back to this empty year ahead and for once my head doesn't feel lost at all. It is all paint and music and friends and family and in the end it will all be just fine...Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo. 1.5.09. Ninja 8.

Ninja 8 - The 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!

The paper is a Japanese art newpaper. (Many thanks to Anne for sending over after her recent trip to Japan. I owe you.)

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Daily Keemo 01.02.09

A Nineteen Year Walk

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It is the classic beginning of the classic coming of age story. I was 18 and just finished high school and couldn't leave that small town fast enough and I knew that there was this whole new world out there waiting for me to run around and make all kinds of mistakes in. The day before I left to go out West, we went for a walk through a neighborhood park, and I could tell that I was hurting her alot by leaving the way that I was. I could also tell that she knew she had to let her son go and find out what things were about. My memory of that day was one of beauty. I can still see the big huge Michigan trees dropping leaves around us as we walked. The light was perfect and so was the world for the first time in a long time. Her memory of that day was one of sadness and regret. Over Christmas as we talked and shared stories, she brought up that day walking through the park. She was still sad and had feelings of regret. "I knew that you were going to struggle down the path you were choosing," she said. Looking back I know that it was the path that was necessary and that I was letting the destination choose the path and not the other way around. (there is a difference.) I suppose I think often of that walk in the park and remind myself that I am still on that path and I have not yet arrived at the destination. I guess I am still just walking in the park and yes, she is still walking there with me... Enjoy!



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