Daily Keemo. 8.22.11. The Intersection Of Then And Now. A Series.

The Intersection Of Then And Now. A Series. #5

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This is the fifth painting in a new series that resurrects forgotten, old photos and brings them back to life with painting. These photos are of complete strangers and have been discarded by their owners and are likely to get passed on to a place where they will be gone forever. Looking at these photos I can't help but think about the people and how some have now passed on or are very old but in all cases they have been disconnected from this particular piece of their past. It is these paintings that are meant to give them a place in the present as well into the future as they take on new lives in a new context. At the very least, these are meant to honor the people in the photos and the time that spans from the photo to now... Enjoy!

Daily Keemo. 8.8.11. Everything Else Was Covered In Dust

Everything Else Was Covered In Dust

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This was her music. She took piano lessons as a young girl. She told me that the long, pasty white fingers of the old woman teacher scared her as she would point to notes on the page in front of them. She told me how she smelled like powder on the bench next to her and her makeup caked a bit in the wrinkles in her face. She told me that over the piano where big wooden utensils that were carved out of wood and they were covered in a layer of dust and that everything else was covered in dust. She told me the piano teachers husband had died long before her piano lessons and you could tell that other than teaching the kids she was very alone. I picture her as a little girl in the late seventies sitting on the piano bench and soaking all this in and filing it away as her teacher wrote "Good" on the top of the page or the "1 & 2 & 1 & 2 &" under the notes. I see her in her childhood handwriting, "Circle all of the F#" and then it scribbled out and makes feel like I am there and we are all there somehow because I know we all have some memory that isnt too far from this one. (maybe just replace the piano lessons for something else) Either way, as she discovered this old book from her childhood and she gave it to me asking, "is this something you can use?" "I would be honored," I said.... So, with that...Enjoy!

Daily Keemo. 9.9. Never Lift A Brush And Move Paint

Never Lift A Brush And Move Paint
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Some of the best artists I know never lift a brush and move paints or use a camera or spin clay or know color theory but they do other things like engineering, historian, school teacher, prison guard, handyman and I could keep going on because they are all real people and are all sincere people who are nothing but themselves and give themselves to their craft and at the end of the day are the kind of people that you can sit across the table from and raise your glass to because you know their art is real art and that the friendship and kindness that goes with it can never be put down on canvas and that is why there are these words, I suppose, because my portraits never say what I mean but only pay homage to them and this portrait is the historian who sent me this book called Julian's Interest Book, printed in 1888, because he thought I would appreciate it or maybe use it before it got sent off to the eternal recycle bin of history and forgotten forever and with that a reminder that the art is almost always about how you get to the end of the painting and not where the painting ends up. With that,...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 11.05 - 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 11.03 - Hope

At The Intersection of Money and Hope Series - #1 - 1948
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This is the first painting in a new series called "At The Intersection of Money and Hope". This particular painting is on 100 shares of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company that was purchased in 1948. (Yes, this is are real shares) Lets take a quick look at what happened with the PRR:

The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy," the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The PRR was the largest railroad by traffic and revenue in the U.S. throughout the Twentieth Century and was at one time the largest publicly traded corporation in the world. At its peak, it controlled about 10,000 miles (16,000 km) of rail line. During its history, the PRR merged with or had an interest in at least 800 other rail lines and companies. The PRR corporation still holds the record for the longest continuous dividend history: it paid out annual dividends to shareholders for more than 100 years in a row. The budget for the PRR was larger than that of the U.S. government and they employed approximately 250,000 workers. In 1968, the Pennsylvania Railroad merged with its rival, the New York Central Railroad, to form Penn Central Transportation. The ICC required that the ailing New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad be added in 1969. A series of events including inflation, poor management, abnormally harsh weather and the withdrawal of a government-guaranteed 200-million-dollar operating loan forced the Penn Central to file for bankruptcy protection on June 21, 1970. The Penn Central rail lines were then divided between Conrail and Amtrak.

Normally, I would put my own comment or story on these peices but I think this story speaks for itself and probably speaks to all us to some degree.... Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo 10.21 - Man And Beast

Good For Man And Beast. 1889.
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119 years ago you could get away with this. You could get away with promoting a product to be good for you AND your beast. The list on the left the illustration lists the "Cures For Man" and the list on the right lists "Cures for Beast". And if that doesn't win you over for this lovely, one-stop product, the catchy tag-line that reads, "Cures Garget, Sore Teats and Bags, and all Sores and Sweelings on Cow and Oxen." Hey, if it helps the sore bags and teats it must do wonders for facial wrinkles! Either way, fun stuff from a time long ago when man and beast sipped from the same medicine spoon... Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo 10.13 - Boston 1930

Strangers' Directory. Boston. 1930.

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Some of you may remember a couple pieces recently that were based on a 1930 travel guide of Boston called the "Strangers' Directory" This is a portrait on the cover of that portrait. Just as I was saying on the other pieces, I can't help but think of the Boston tourist council sitting around a table trying to come up with this marketing campaign. "Well, what do we want to call these strangers coming in from out of town?" "How about strangers?" "That is a great idea!" "Strangers it is!" I could go on and on for all the other fun things surrounding the "Strangers Directory" but I think its best left up to your imagination. Have fun!...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 09.29 - WWKD

What Saying Of Our Saviour Does This Picture Illustrate? 1870.


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I don't ever say this about my work (especially out loud) but I am going to say it now. I like this painting. Don't get me wrong. I'm not bragging or self inflating my ego or saying that this is a phenominal piece of artwork that is going to go down in the art history books next to the all time greats. Nothing like that. I'm simply saying that somewhere in this picture is something that speaks directly to me. Actually, isn't that what we all look for in artwork? We might even say that it is technically the job of artwork. I think it is the lines or maybe the fact that the paper is 138 years old or the fact that the content is completely religious and there is irony somewhere in here or that the 138 year old message is the same exact message that is preached now and is probably the same message that was from the beginning and somewhere from then to now a whole other world has opened up and ideas and lines and color and people all continue to move forward while if you look right below the neck, underneath it all, is the same old question... What Saying Of Our Saviour Does This Picture Illustrate? I guess that is my answer. With that... 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 09.04 - Blood

King Of The Blood. Cures All Humors. 1889

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(Yes, this one is really 119 years old. "King Of The Blood". That is a marketing slogan for the ages. I just love the phrase "Cures All Humors". Just can't beat it.)

So, lets see... this page is 119 years old, I am 35 years old, the wine I am drinking right now is only 3 years old, this painting is about 6 hours old, this story is minutes old and this moment is now. I suppose all time and history always come together at this point of now. By the time you read this, now will gone. I was going to say something like, "it's funny how things work" but that really isnt appropriate. It is just the way things work. King Of The Blood, 119 years old and it's here now. With that... Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo 08.27 - Paris

Paris #15.

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This is the 15th 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 about 15 postcards that were of different photos taken in Paris during the 1920's. This one in particular is called "View of the Eiffel Tower". 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.. Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo 08.20 - Wonder Drug

No Diet, Wonder Drug Proved Successful! 1957.
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You know, alot of what I like about design from past decades is how different alot of it is. Different techniques, different ideas, different angles, different fonts, different graphics, different design tools, different printing techniques and then I run across ads like this one from 1957 and realize that while alot of that has changed maybe alot still remains the same about us. I'm pretty sure that I just heard the text from this ad, "Proved Beyond Any Question of Doubt!" and "No Calorie Counting" and "Reduce Without Diets or Exercise!" and "Eat What You Like!" on TV earlier while watching a bit of the Olympics. There is a saying that is something like, "the more things change, the more they stay the same." I suppose that this may illustrate that just perfectly. With that... Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo 08.11 - Florida

Famous For It's Cleanliness

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An old flyer from a boat tour down in Florida. This has to be from the late 50's or early 60's. One of their many slogan was "Famous For Its Cleanliness" How great is that. Another was "The Best 2 Dollars You Can Spend". They even boast "Alligator Wrestling" Well, I suppose this speaks for itself...Enjoy! (Another great find from B&J. Thanks!)

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Daily Keemo 07.31 - He Man Body

Here Is The Kind Of He-Man Body You Could Have.
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I dont even know where to begin with this one, so I'll let it speak for itself. Starting with: "Here is the kind of He-Man body you could have." Or how about: "Develop A Strong He-Man Voice" or how about: "Investigate Accidents" or the ever popular: "$500.00 for your child's photo" and lastly: "Family Piano Lessons". Take your pick. It's all yours. Good fun from 1949!...Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo 07.17 - Bedroom Fashions

32 Page Catalog of Bedroom Fashions
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I suppose this one doesn't have much of a story. That is OK for a change I suppose. It's almost midnight anyway. It has been a long day and somehow ending the day with a portrait on an old avertisement from 1959 just seems right. I think I will leave it at that and leave it to you to make up your own on this one... Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo 07.08 - Boston Strangers Guide

The Stangers' Directory. Boston, 1930.
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It was the name that got me. "Strangers' Directory" This is actually from a 1930 travel guide of Boston. I can't help but think of the Boston tourist council sitting around a table trying to come up with this marketing campaign. "Well, what do we want to call these strangers coming in from out of town?" "How about strangers?" "That is a great idea!" "Strangers it is!" I could go on and on for all the other fun things surrounding the "Strangers Directory" but I think its best left up to your imagination. Have fun!...Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo 07.03 - The King

The King (on Wood)

I have this stack of papers, magazines, clippings, and other stuff that I collect that I think I might use some day. The stack was getting a bit unruly. So, today I thought I would go through it and see what I could work with and much to my surprise I find this 1x4 that I swore I already painted on. I remember cutting it out on the saw in the garage. I remember bringing it in to start working on it but somehow it ended up at the bottom of my pile. Hmmmm... I don't know... I know I forget stuff, get too much going on, next thing I know I'm off in another direction. I guess the good thing is that I eventually find my way back to it. Like this piece of wood I suppose. With that here is to lost things that are found... Enjoy!

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Daily Keemo 06.26

The Devil Is In The Details. Part 2. 1958

Im fascinated by marketing. As much from the designer side of it as the consumer side of it. As I have mentioned many times before Im particularly fond of older commercial design. It's funny though how the message itself really hasn't changed that much over the years. The graphics got fancier but the underlying message is the same. I really can't find a better example than this advertisement from 1958. (This could probably apply to any of the weightloss products on the shelf right now.) One last thing, this is part 2 of 2. The devil shape in this one has been cut out of the advertisement that was used in Part 1. Well, with that...Enjoy!

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