Thanks Everyone! Does 20% sound OK

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone reading this blog who has been so supportive of my artwork. I appreciate all the great emails, letters, comments and all the other good stuff that has arrived in my mail box.

To show my appreciation, you will be able to get 20% off all your purchases at http://www.keemogallery.com/.

Just enter the discount code of: newsite2009 when you checkout. It will be good until Feb 1st.

Did I mention, you also get free shipping? Well, its true.

Thanks again for everything. You have all been wonderful.

Kindest regards,
Keemo
http://www.keemogallery.com/

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 12.16 - 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 12.12 - 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 12.05 - 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 11.25 - Germany

From Germany. With Love.

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Recently, I have been working on some "mail art" projects with artists from other countries. These recent mail projects made me remember the "old days" when you actually took time to sit down and write letters and put effort and thought and creativity into postcards and letters. Now it is all just email and texting and IMing and that jazz and while I am huge proponent of all those things, I still like to see real words on real paper written by a real hand. So, with all that in mind, I decided I'm going to try something a little different with this series. This is a postcard. A real hand made postcard that will be sent just like a real postcard with a real message. This one will not come wrapped up with nicely in an envelope but will travel like nature had intended it. Postage stamp, weather and all! So, with that... Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo 11.22 - Drinking For The Wrong Reasons

A Vague Story About The Effect Others Can Have On Your Heart

or (I drank a little more and probably for the wrong reasons)


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I remember when he left I walked around with a heavy heart for about a year. I am pretty sure that during this time I drank a little more and probably for the wrong reasons. I am pretty sure many of those sleepless nights where because of him leaving. I am pretty sure that I caught myself at times just staring out of window a long way from that moment. However, it wasn't depression, it wasn't sadness, it was simply this strange void inside in the spot where he used to reside. As time passed though, I realized that in a way I was free from him now and lugging my heavy heart around was no real way to exist as a human being. I also realized that all those things he had said had no truth and I could begin living the life that I wanted to live. Who "he" is in this story, is not important. What is important, is I suppose many of us have a "he" in our lives and we just need to see that life is good all around and we all have value and the tricky part is just seeing our own value when we look at the mirror into ourselves and no longer see something in us that really doesnt exist. With that, here is to learning that life opens up when you walk without a heavy heart ... Enjoy!



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Daily Keemo 11.21 - WWKeemoD

The Bible Has Trouble Proving Something

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This is the 13th 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 wierd facts. After about 2 pages, I thought, "this is perfect!" On the others in this series, I would highlight two or three facts on the page but for this one, there seemed to be just one fact that was worth pointing out. Fact: "It cannot be proved by the bible that Jesus Christ ever smiled." I'm not sure what to make of it... but you know that is what makes this fact a good one. So, with that...Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo 11.12 - Sore Head

Moments Are Strung Together With Other Moments
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I often think that life is made up of small moments that exist independently from the moment before or after them. My paintings are always about these brief moments. However, all of us know that this is really not the truth. Moments are really strung together with other moments almost like christmas tree lights. Let me try to explain using my life last night. It is important to understand that there was a number of things that had to get done last night. (I'll save explaining why) Anyway, there was lot that needed to get done. So, in my typical fashion I started working on something that wasn't on the "need to get done" list and started on the "want to get done" list. So, I started with replacing the clutch lever on my motorcycle. It was getting cold out in the garage, so I was hurrying. It wasn't working out like I had planned. The thing stalls when I kick into first gear. Ugh.. So, that ends up taking longer than I had planned and now I am behind on getting the other stuff done. So, I hurriedly, go about other things on the list. Then I reach the item on the list that reads "pick up bed from moms house". So, my daughter volunteers to drive and I'm still hurrying around. She goes and starts the truck. Its dark and cold and rainy now. So, I see that the garage door is still open. So, I hit the garage door and it starts to close. Just then I think. "I should probably bring some tools to take the bed apart. So, I hit the garage door button again, stopping the door just about face level. I duck under the half open garage door and rush into the garage gathering up my tools that were all spread around from working on my motorcycle earlier. (Did I mention it is cold and rainy and I am hurrying?) So, I gather up the tools I need, turn and make a beeline out of the garage, looking down at the tools in my hand and completely forgetting that the garage door is not open all the way. With a fast paced walk, I walked directly into the lowhanging garage door with it catching me right across the eyebrows and forehead. It literally knocked me right to the ground. I got up still in a hurry and went to the truck only to see my daughter laughing hysterically (I mean hysterically) because she thougth I was joking around. We proceeded to get the bed and now my forehead has some nice scratches directly between my eyes. As I was riding along in the truck, feeling the ache in my skull and feeling a little dizzy, I couldnt help to think how all the moments prior to hitting my head, were actually leading me directly to that moment. So, with that very, very long story, here is a portait of the scratches on my forehead and a portrait of life when you try to fit more into a day than you have time to do so... Enjoy!

(Sidenote: My daughter told me later that I was laying on the ground for about one minute. I thought it was 5 seconds. Yikes!)

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Daily Keemo 11.05 - Music To My Ears

Its Ok To Let The Notes Fall Off The Strings Like Leaves
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This is the third in the guitar chord series. I remember when I learned this chord (and all the other chords that require that you lay your finger across all the strings). I could barely do it. I would strum the chord and it sounded horrible. Those first few days I would strum and get to that last string and it would twang or thud or something. I must have been 14 or so and I think that at the age I was still driven by the idea I was going to be a rock star. The more I learned about the guitar and being in a band and gigs and MTV the less I believed my own illusion with myself as a musician. I was probably 17 or so. (I just don't have that "inner rockstar". It's not who I am) I am pretty sure that every kid who picks up a guitar at that age probably goes through the same progression. With that said, that was the best thing that I could have learned and I think about that often when I pick up the guitar and play it simple and easy with no big ideas and no big dreams and the notes fall off the strings like leaves and it just seem like the way music should be made. I'll leave the other stuff to the real rockstars. With that...Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo 10.30 - Lenny

I Don't Make A Habit Of It
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I don't make a habit of doing portraits of famous people. It's not really my thing I guess. I have only done a handful over the years. Well, after listening to some old Lenny Bruce recordings a couple weeks ago, I decided that a Lenny Bruce painting was in order. I won't go on about why I might consider a Lenny Bruce portrait to be necessary because he is the kind of person that speaks (spoke) for himself and nothing I paint or draw or say or write will really have any bearing on your impression of him whatsoever. (that is the trouble with portraits of famous people, I tell ya) Well, with that... Here's Lenny...Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo 10.25 - Lotto Loser

Lately, Listening To NPR Makes You Do Things You Normally Wouldn't Do
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I had been driving for a long time listening to NPR and all they talked about was the economy and recession and 401Ks and people preparing to jump out of windows and the stock market and I am pretty sure one economist actually predicted the end of the world as we know it. (and yes, I feel fine) That leads me next to standing in a long line at the gas station. I was daydreaming about all that stuff and thought, "what the hell, I'm going to play the lotto." I laid 3 dollars down and as I drove home I briefly entertained the idea of winning the "Mega Millions." "I could paint all day," I thought to myself. I thought of all the people who I would send money to. The list was long. Well, needless to say, I didn't win. Just like millions of other people around the world who were driving home from the gas station envisioning a different life. Well, maybe I'll try again next week. Or maybe not... Enjoy!



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Daily Keemo 10.24 - Art and the Economy

10 Reminders That Creativity Is Not Linked To The Economy
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All you hear about now is either the economy and the election. Now, Im not one to mix politics and art. Never have. (To me it is like using motor oil as topping for your ice cream sundae. Thats just me though.) That leaves the economy and all the surrounding stuff and I suppose that there is some politics in there with it but at least money (or lack of it) is something that we can have some tangible relationship with which leads me to a daydream this afternoon about how to actually comment on this place we are all at. (I mean everyone else shares their two cents, right?) So, with that, I thought I would share my two cents with these drawings... Actually, it is my 250 cents! ... Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo 10.02 - Paris

Portrait On A Paris Postcard #16

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This is the 16th and final piece in the "Paris Postcard" series. I was looking over my bookshelf and there was a bunch of papers shoved between a couple books. Among other things there were a bunch of postcards that were of different photos taken in Paris during the 1920's. This one in particular is called "The Louvre". All the postcards are very Paris and they make me want to travel and get out of the US for a while and see the other parts of the world where things are new and even simple things are filled with wonder. With that, here is the last and number 16 of the series... Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo 09.26 - Music

Down In The Valley

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I wish I could write words as good as these:

Down in the valley, valley so low

Hang your head over

And hear the wind blow



Can't you hear the wind blow, my love

Can't you hear the wind blow

Down in the valley, valley so low



Have you ever been lonely, lonely

Have you ever been sad

Did you ever really, really want some one

And really need them bad

Bad, bad, bad, bad



It was down in the valley

The valley so low

It was where I held you so tight

How could I ever let you go



I remember the first kiss

Oh, how it filled me so

Now all that I can feel right now

Is that cold wind blow

... Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo 09.25 - Bones

Like The Paints, The Night and The Quiet

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It's 3:19 AM. It is Friday night... oh wait, Saturday morning. The house is quiet. It has been quiet for a long time now. I listen to a book downloaded from itunes. I have arrived at this point in my life where there is no time to drop everything and lay on the couch and get lost in front of a long novel. (I miss those days) Somewhere along the way, I learned that I can listen to books and paint at the same time. They go well together. Like the paints and night and quiet. The story on the speakers is about Vampires and humans and love and life and death and all the other stuff in a good vampire story. As I paint and listen I think about the life and bones under my own skin. I am aware that all this flesh and bone really is temporary and I imagine to have a life like the vampires in the story. (Don't we all!) I grab another piece of paper and attempt to draw the bones under all this that move this body about. With that...Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo 09.24 - Throat

Words That Are More Than They Mean #1
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The story for this new series is simple. It also requires that I don't write a story to go along with it. Just as the title says, this series is of "Words That Are More Than They Mean". We all interpret things differently and all words carry different meaning with each of us. So, this is where you work your magic and stop a minute and allow yourself the luxury of slowing down a bit to think about what it can mean to you. With that... Enjoy!


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