The Story
I lay on the floor and think of
the past and
doubt my place
in the present and
wish that there were
answers written in
the cracks across the ceiling.
Self doubt is change
dressed up in
the clothes of yesterday.
.
I lay on the floor and think of
my flight that leaves soon and
wonder what really happens in the open air
up that high.
Self worth is self doubt
dressed up as
someone else.
... Enjoy!
The Intersection Of Then And Now. A Series. #5
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!
Everything Else Was Covered In Dust
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!
The Story
This is the next painting in the cowboy series. To be honest I wrestled with even selling this painting. It is the first one in a while that I really wanted to keep. I even know right where I would hang it. However, I have long thought that holding on to my own artwork prevents me from moving forward and trying new things as painter. So, dang it, it has to go. I know that may sound silly but it seems to work for me and as a painter it is usually more about the process of painting than where the painting stops but this falling cowboy has it's hooks in me. So long, Cowboy. With that... Enjoy!
The Story
This is the next painting in devil series. It is also another that is on a page from the religious pamphlet that I found from 1870. It just seems somehow fitting that devil series is making an appearance on these pages of an old religious pamphlet. I am guessing there is some room for dialog there but on this occasion I think I will just let the artwork hold up my end of the discussion.
Not to mention, I just love the picture of the octopus.
... Enjoy!
Better Than Ending Up In A Trash Pile Somewhere
The paper in this painting is from a book that was given to me a present. A school was closing up North in Marquette, MI and all these books were going to the trash heap and would be gone forever. Someone was nice enough to save one of them and we can now do something with it that will hopefully last forever. (Well, I won't be that presumptuous saying it will last forever, so I will just say it will last "a while longer".) Either way, it is better than ending up in a trash pile somewhere under other books and garbage and plastic and diapers and banana peels and old socks and everything else we throw away because our time with it has come to an end. Well, hopefully, the ending of this school results in a beginning for the rest of us to enjoy for a long time to come.
... Enjoy!
Portrait Of The Devil With Flowers And The Apostle
The next painting from the devil series. Normally, I tend to get decrative with the paints, especially in the face but with this 140 year old page from an old book called The Sabbath Home, it seemed like a good idea to leave the face alone and let the imagery show through. Maybe it was being brought up in a lower-middle class Catholic family in the midwest but it just seemed like the perfect imagery for the context. There is a story here and there is a portrait here but I can't help but think that depending on who you are and how much you care about such things both of those take on your own meaning with this and that is the point where everything comes together.
... Enjoy!
So, lets see... this page is 121 years old, I am 37 years old, the wine I am drinking is only 4 years old, this painting is about 2 hours old, this story is minutes old and this moment is right now. I suppose all time and history always come together at this point of now. By the time you read this, now will gone and 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. Portrait of the Devil, 121 years and it's here now. With that... Enjoy!
I Can't Help But Imagine
(or more reasons to create your own life with your own hands and own mind)
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I have this old songbook from the early 50's. It was saved from the dumpster at an old school that was closing in the Upper Penninsula. (I know someone who happened to be there when they were cleaning it out.) The book was actually still being used in the music class up until they closed the doors of the school. She said that there was alot of old books and other things that were still being used but they just didnt have the money to keep everything up to date. (That eventually grew into not having enough to keep it open). When I look at this old song book though, I can't help but imagine all the boys and girls that sang from and read this closing page which was meant to be inspire the kids to keep moving forward with their study of music. I also like to think that maybe it really did inspire some of the kids and that they are now grown adults inspiring others with their music and that somehow these old music books aren't all left for the trash or to end up being just part of a painting that doesn't want to let it all go... Enjoy!
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Memories Are Made Of This
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It is Saturday today and there is music as I write this and there are paints too. The green, red, white, blue and black that you see here and many other colors to my left that are laying and waiting and did I mention there is music? I have the music library on shuffle and up now is Dean Martin and he is singing how "Memories Are Made of This" and what a damn fine song that is to hear right now and I know in the back of my mind that this moment will probably be one of those that gets forgotten when I look back 10 years from now. I suppose that is exactly the reason that I write about these small moments that happen during a day that will be forgotten in between all the big moments and so maybe by writing all these down day after day that Dean Martin is hitting it on the head and memories are indeed made of this...Enjoy!
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So Long And Thanks For All The Green
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OK. I have to be honest on this one. Today is my wedding anniversary and there are other things I should be doing that sitting at these keys and screen. I am fairly certain there would be none of these paintings and writing and the hours and work if it wasn't for her and all the support through all those years of self doubt as painter. So, I am afraid that is all there is for the story. I am going to be keep it at that and save the rest of the words for a proper painting and the proper moment... Enjoy!
It is The End Of Summer And The Breeze Through The Window Is Calming
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I am not even sure where I came across this old book. It is from 1870 and as it claims it is an illustrated religious magazine "for the family". For some reason I am drawn to this old religious stuff. Maybe it is the midwestern Catholic upbringing that didn't practice what it preached mixed with graphic arts mixed with the psych degree mixed with who knows what else. Either way, I suppose it works for me and who knows maybe it makes me revisit what is going on in my own belief system for a moment and in the end that is always a good thing to do...Enjoy!
Realizations Are Always The Result Of An Equation
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A painter in Michigan is working on a warm Saturday afternoon. A ninja linocut on an advertisement from 1870. The painter in Michigan pauses as he does the math and then exclaims, "Holy mackeral that is 139 years old!" Extra care is then taken with the orange watercolor to not rip through the old paper. It dries on a table in the backyard under the afternoon sun... Enjoy!
Some Simple Slight Of Hand
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With the line of: "NOW... for the FIRST TIME... as if by MAGIC!" you would think that you are really in for something great. With the number of illustrations, photos and the amount of text, this product must be unbelievable. Then as you start to get the big picture you see that what you are really in for is not magic at all but some simple slight of hand. (I might not even go that far. Maybe magic in 1957 was a little different than it is now) All you really end up getting is some paper with a hole cut out with hairdos on them. You hold them up to your face and you can have a hairstyle by Flavio. ("the hair stylist to the stars"). It also seems odd to me that this is the "first time" that this product was available. Wow. 1957. The year that brought you the first frisbee, Ginsberg's Howl printed in England, Lennon and McCartney first meet, the Little Rock Nine, Machinac Bridge opens, the first Boeing 707 flies and last but not least, Card Board cutouts that have hairdos on them that you can hold up to your face and see what you would look like with that hairdo... as if by MAGIC!... Enjoy!
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I Can See Lots Of Reasons To Start Praying
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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 one. This is actually 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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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!
50 Foot Movies For $2.00
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I was gone this weekend. When I got back there was the mail from Friday and Saturday on the counter. There was a 6"x9" yellow envelope in the stack. Just like the ones that I send alot of paintings in. (you know the ones). I skipped past all the bills, junk mail, magazines and go right for the yellow envelope. In the space where the return address should have been it just said "A Collector." I opened it up a bit cautiously. There was no note inside but the rest of the contents were wonderful. Clippings from old newspapers and magazines. Some even had dates written in pencil on them. So, to whoever you are, (I know you are reading) thanks for the wonderful clippings. Thanks for taking the time to package them up and send them out. (I wish you would have included a note and a name so I could return the favor). Well, until you come forward, here is the first from yours stack. 50Ft. movies for $2.00... Enjoy! (Oh yeah, and those titles are a bit adult-ish. At least for 1957 standards)
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!
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!
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!
