Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Daily Keemo. 7.28. The Dog Two Tents Down That Barks At Every Freaking Person That Walks By




The Dog Two Tents Down That Barks At Every Freaking Person That Walks By

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We were sitting around the campfire and it was dark and her face was lit up by the flames at our feet and we were sipping off the same bottle because it was just how it worked out at the moment. "Well, at least you will have plenty of subjects for paintings after this." "You can say that again," I replied. She was referring to all the characters that were surrounding us at the campground. I got up and went to the car and got a pen and a scrap of paper and went back to the fire. The dog was asleep in the dirt in the moving shadows of the fire. "Let's make a list so I don't forget," I said. We replayed the whole day over the bottle and the fire and the list grew as we revisted each moment. So, when I got home, I started right at the top of the list. "The Dog Two Tents Down That Barks At Every Freaking Person That Walks By."...Enjoy!


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Monday, July 27, 2009

Daily Keemo. 7.27. What Is Important Depends On What Side Of The Window You Are On




What Is Important Depends On What Side Of The Window You Are On

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The city was still moving on the other side of the 11th floor window. It was late but everyone knows the city slows down differently than everything else. The bottle of beer I picked up in the hotel store was sweating and forming a ring of water on the glass desktop and in between brush strokes I was daydreaming about things and I couldn't help but feel rather insignifcant looking out at the thousands of other windows in the other tall buildings in view. It's these moments that I think of all the people doing important work with important people and making important decisions and I look down at the insignificant white paper and there is an insignificant spot of red paint that dripped on it and I drink from my insignificant beer and look back to the window and think about how the red spot on my paper could be connected to everything that is going on outside of the window and I dip my brush into the water and smear the red dot around until the red dot is now a pinkish smear and I go to work on the portrait of me thinking about all these things while the city moves on without me... Enjoy!


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Thursday, July 23, 2009

Daily Keemo. 7.23. Girl With Broken Arm Buying $5.00 Worth Of Ten Cent Candies




Girl With Broken Arm Buying $5.00 Worth Of Ten Cent Candies

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We were sitting around the campfire and it was dark and her face was lit up by the flames at our feet and we were sipping off the same bottle because it was just how it worked out at the moment. "Well, at least you will have plenty of subjects for paintings after this." "You can say that again," I replied. She was referring to all the characters that were surrounding us at the campground. I got up and went to the car and got a pen and a scrap of paper and went back to the fire. The dog was asleep in the dirt in the moving shadows of the fire. "Let's make a list so I don't forget," I said. We replayed the whole day over the bottle and the fire and the list grew as we revisted each moment. So, when I got home, I started right at the top of the list. "Girl With Broken Arm Buying $5.00 Worth of Ten Cent Candies"...Enjoy!


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Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Daily Keemo. 7.22. Three Years Is Long Enough




Three Years Is Long Enough

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We were out on the patio. Just the two of us. We were at the Winchester on Wealthy St. I was drinking Arcadia and she drank water and occassionally she took sips off my beer and as we talked I could see my reflection in the lenses of her big sunglasses. Dinner came while were looking at photos of an old of friend on my phone and there were many photos of his new baby and all the photos had a sense of something that was beginning and it made me think that I am a long way from a beginning, or an end for that matter, and I realized that it doesn't seem right to think in terms of beginnings and ending but only thinking of the stuff in between. (that is really the hard part)... The waitress brought another Arcadia and I took a healthy pull on it and it tasted good and I overheard the woman behind me say to her friend, "Three years I was with him and that's it. It's over." Your could hear her broken heart speaking in her words and for some reason three years didn't seem that long and then I realized that it was long enough. It is long enough. Enjoy!


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Monday, July 20, 2009

Daily Keemo. 7.20. I Should Have Just Written It This Way




I Should Have Just Written It This Way

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Some people just have a glow about them. As I type that I can hear others using that phrase in past conversations to describe other people. That is a phrase I am pretty sure that I have heard my mother use before. I don't know what causes it or makes it possible to spot it but I do recognize it and I also am recognizing that it is difficult to write about this without sounding like a hallmark greeting card or the drunk lyricist of an 80's power ballad. (spandex and hair long in back to boot!) Well, I guess I should have just written the story like this: As I sat and painted at the table by the water and she walked around in the sand with pants rolled up to her knees and looking a long ways away, I knew what I saw and it was beautful... Enjoy!


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Thursday, July 16, 2009

Daily Keemo. 7.16. I'll Put The World On Pause And Try Again In The Morning




I'll Put The World On Pause And Try Again In The Morning

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To be honest, I guess I am just not in a people mood tonight. I don't know exactly why. I feel like it has been a day wasted in negativity from almost everyone I ran into. (minus a couple.) I suppose, if I was to learn anything from my psych degree I should assume that the root of the issue is likely to have more to do with myself and less to do with everyone else. So, to keep it simple, I thought it best to paint some kind of animal tonight. (even though it still more human looking, wouldn't you say) I'll try again tomorrow after a good nights sleep and for now it is just this animal and I'll put the world on pause and try again in the morning... Enjoy!


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Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Daily Keemo. 7.14. The Two Devils




Two Original Keemo Paintings - Two Devils

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Well, it was time for a change. I am one of those people who genuinely believes that change is good. That isn't to say there isn't value in tradition or patterns but embracing change will lead to much more than the comfort that you get from the predictability of doing the same things over and over and over. From experience, I can guess exactly what a brush will do when I cover it in orange and move it across the paper. You do something enough and you just know. This is what lead me to the new linocuts series. I just needed something new. Carving the linolium blocks for these prints was something I had not done in years (15 maybe?) and it was nice to not really know what the outcome was going to be and it was just fine to be satisfied with whatever the outcome was because during the process it IS ALWAYS about the process and never about the product and the value in that process is never translated into the value of the finished piece and like usual I guess I am starting to write about more than just painting and the creative process but also about our days and nights and the time we have to move around this place and we all have the choice to stick with what we know or try a new path. Here is to trying the new path... Enjoy!


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Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Daily Keemo. 7.8. Nothing Is Ever All For Nothing




Nothing Is Ever All For Nothing

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Before we pulled into the gas station we were talking about how great it would be if we didn't have to think about a mortgage and college tuition and all the other stuff that comes along with leading the lives we lead and we could just travel and paint and see things and meet people and eat tasty food and all that stuff. (Everyone has had that conversation haven't they?) I looked at her and I could see that future and it looked wonderful and I got out I started pumping the gas and she walked inside to get something and leaning next to the car I stared down the row of cars filling up with gas and couldn't help but think that we were all going in different directions and none of the directions is necessariliy the right one. As I was finishing up I could see her coming through the doors with small pieces of paper in her hand and when she saw me she waved them above her head. "Whats that?" I said when she got closer. "College Tuition," she said. I could see they were lotto tickets and I laughed and we drove home and I was positive the tickets in her hand had the winning numbers. Well, it goes without saying that we did not win just like the millions of other people who played but in the end we both knew we wouldnt and she said to me, "you should paint on them so it isn't all for nothing." You know, nothing is ever all for nothing... With that, here are our losing lotto numbers... Enjoy!


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Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Daily Keemo. 7.7. All In A Days Hustle




All In A Days Hustle

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We sat at the stop light at the intersection. (This is the same intersection that I wrote about in the preacher painting.) It was a Saturday afternoon. Our windows were down and this young guy approached our car and asked for the time and we told him and then he quickly went into this line about being a local college student and he needed to make class but his car ran out of gas so he needed money for a gallon of gas and on and on and he rattled if off so smoothly I would have given him some money if I was carrying some but I wasn't. He thanked us and walked away. Forward two days later and I am heading through there on Monday morning 8:00 AM and I am three cars back in line and I see the same guy running to my car. He points to wrist through the window and mouths the words, "what time is it?" I can't believe it, so I roll the window down and tell him, "8:05". He then slips into the same exact line he gave me on Saturday and it is no wonder he is so good at it, he is well rehearsed. I let him finish his sales job on me and since I still don't have any cash on me I ask. "What class are you late for?" "Math," he responds. "Math?" I ask. "Math." he says. "Well, sorry, I don't have any money," I say and he walks away. (I didn't know they simply taught "Math" at college.) You know. If I had had some cash on me I would have given it to him anyway, even though I knew he was hustling and was just trying to earn some money. As I was daydreaming on the rest of the way to work, I couldn't help but think that our jobs were not that different... With that here is his portrait... Enjoy!


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Sunday, July 5, 2009

Daily Keemo. 7.5. A Closed Door Doesn't Mean Something To Everyone




A Closed Door Doesn't Mean Something To Everyone
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A long time Keemo collector sent me an email last week mentioning that her car had been broken into and everything in it was stolen. I had that happen once and it just, well, sucks. (Not sure how else to say it) Well, after a couple emails back and forth, I thought I would do a little portrait of the above mentioned, you-know-what, in hopes it brought a little smile back to her. With that...Enjoy!

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Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Daily Keemo. 7.1. Sales Is Sales Is Sales Is Sales




Sales Is Sales Is Sales Is Sales

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A lot of stuff happens on this intersection. I drive through it five days a week. I have seen car accidents. I have seen police with their guns drawn, pointing them at one of the buildings. I have seen drug transactions through the window of a car waiting at the red light. I see the same lady at the bus stop on the corner as I drive through each morning on my way to the place that takes way too much of my time. Today, it was a preacher on the corner in a very nice suit and his face was red and sweating from the 90 degree heat of the afternoon but he didn't look uncomfortable as he "had the good Lord to keep him cool" as I overheard him saying from the sidewalk. I thought about that for a second and thought what a lucky man he was that "the good lord" kept him cool but it was hard to believe that it was true as the heat came in through the window and carried his words into the car made me hot and uncomfortable and wanting for the traffic to start moving again so the air would start to swirl. A lot of stuff happens at this intersection and his suit was very nice. ...Enjoy!


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