posted: April 22, 2010

I know there is some controversy regarding awards, competitions, etc. but I for one am totally behind them and so therefore am completely blown away by the inclusion of my work. This year [after swearing I would NOT enter], I was lucky enough to get into both the Communication Arts Illustration Annual and The American Illustration Annual. It's only my 5th and 2nd times respectively. I think.

CA The Road to Manhood Client The Los Angeles Times AD Paul D. Gonzales

AI AFRIKA/AFRIKA Personal Paintings

posted: April 19, 2010

All That Follows by British novelist Jim Crace is a story about a disaffected, 50’s something saxophone player [Leonard] cum couch potato and his dysfunctional adventures.

AD: Judith Pryor

Here’s the article: http://tinyurl.com/y2l3mc2

posted: January 31, 2010

”There’s an irony to fabricating an alternate self.... I realized that one could literally forge one’s career by the idea you instilled of yourself in others...” Norman Mailer The Spooky Art
"If one man can do it, another can!" Anthony Hopkins The Edge.


2000-2010: Musings on the Scary Decade [Director's Cut]

The tenth year anniversary celebration is the first of the major milestone anniversaries. Initially, I never thought that I’d even be able to do it at all, embrace the digital world that is. I’m no Luddite but I do lack the temperment for directions, tools, recipes, machines, following rules and jumping on popular bandwagons [I can barely work a screwdriver, rejected 8 Track out of hand, resisted CD’s for the longest time too and forget iPods - I decided that I don’t like music THAT much!]. I did have the very first Macintosh though and a few susequent Apple SE's but strictly for word pro type stuff. Looking back on it though, it’s hard to imagine getting as far as I did without a computer but now here it is 10 years down the line, a little bit poorer but not in debt. It was a roller coaster ride to say the least. This February and throughout the upcoming year, as we here at Scaryjoey.com celebrate this special 10th anniversary, we will be thinking about the durability of our commitment for another full decade of exploration, problem solving, fun, shape and paradigm shifting and fear. Oh, yeah, FYI the gift item is TIN!
 
 

The Legend of Scaryjoey Part 1

I have always been someone else. A doppelganger. Anyone who has known me intimately invariably evokes a “Jekyll/Hyde” comment at some point, and although I don’t buy the Astrological card, I am, in fact, a Gemini. Gordon Brook-Shepherd, in The Austrians, A Thousand -Year Odyssey [I’m 100% Austrian], cites an illuminating Austrian proverb that succinctly sums up this duality: “One Eye Laughing, One Eye Crying”. It’s the National character for Chrissake [and this, I find out when I’m forty nine and thanks to my ex wife]!

That might sound like it came straight out of the DSM but I am NOT Bipolar [ although, I do have intimate experience with that disorder and actually WORRIED about it myself until someone asked me if I'd ever woken up one morning and bought airline tickets to China out of the blue!].

In my formative years though, I was to all the world Böse Bübe, the evil boy, the rascal, garbled nomenclature from my Austrian American family. Over the years I’ve been everything from “[Fied] the Pigs” to “The White Isaac Hayes”. After art school and my first few jobs, I was always Joseph Daniel Fiedler, all three, all the time. So, in addition to Yin Yang [to put a positive spin on the duality], I’m also blessed with a solid biblical moniker that has a reasonable cadence to boot.

The Legend of Scaryjoey Part 2

“Scary” grew out of a climate of increased vigilance from both the Politically Correct and the Identity Politics movements at a time during which I had just moved from the Rust Belt to rural, Northern New Mexico [in order to escape a brutal divorce and a subsequent near fatal breakup -1996]. At that time I detected a kind of paradigm shift away from any notion of having “opinions”, especially if they bordered on this side of critical thinking, pessimism, skepticism, or any form of cynicism or “harshness” whatsoever. I call this Anti-judgemental-ism. or Mr. Rogers-ism. Apparently I am, if not quite, VERY opinioned by ordinary pedestrian standards.

In addition, at that time, heterosexual men were becoming a type of target for many marginalized or “liberated “ women. For the sake of a less punitive term, let’s just say that to many, heterosexuality represented a boring and self-limiting choice and that straight men had become ciphers. After all, wasn’t it James Dean who said that to be single gender oriented would be like...”tying one of your arms behind your back”? It was especially bad in Taos, the out-post town and it 's a lot to think about, even now. I guess I’m missing out on a whole lot.

But straight as I am and coupled with a climate [Post 9/11] where my creative output was often referred to as emotional**, dark, depressing or dismal I had gotten myself a purulent cosmic soup congenial to an oozy metastasis; an acrid effluvia, permeated with almost supernatural reactive tenacity. I know it’s “low-class*” but I retain a strong streak of knee-jerk “fuck-you-ism”, a holdover from my plebeian roots. What, did they think I was an aristocrat or something? As photographer Mark Hobson confided to me one cold, rainy night in Pittsburgh, "I'm not Saint Francis of fuckin' Assisi!". The whole thing stank of a reactionary Fascism of the Left, which I suppose makes sense considering that they were reacting against the newly virulent Religious Right. It was almost as if the Left had gone so far as to have come 'round to the Right!

The Legend of Scaryjoey Part 3

In the mountains of Northern New Mexico there are many people with narrative, exotic names like Raven, Evening, Moonbeam, Rain, Welcome, Royal, Juniper, Galen and Sage. They are New Agers, left over Hippies and children of left over Hippies from the Sixties and Seventies [Taos is/was a Mecca for them, the very people who spawned Identity Politics in the first place]! Remember, this is where Dennis Hopper made EASY RIDER [HINT: Captain America & Billy].

Also, in the Native American/First Nations population exists a tradition of name giving. Names such as Red Willow, Pretends- Eagle, Many Goats, etc. are quite common. Culturally on the local Hispanic front, [Santa Fe was a Spanish capitol 100 years before Plymouth Rock!] I heard such winners as Total, Menga, Brazos de Oro, Plomo and Viejo among others. It was in the air.

So there I was, a creative, straight male with a college education and a career, lot’s of opinions, no Hippie nickname and living in Taos, New Mexico! It was the makins' of a perfect storm! KA-BAM! In came the East Coast Dash of Harsh, cynical, judgmental, motherfuckin’ Scaryjoey! The alternative to Have a Nice Day! And this before the advent of the 2nd Bush administration and the revivification of the nickname. But then, it was mainly just to amuse my friends.

Just so you don't get the wrong impression, I LOVED it there! It was my very own world filled with blue skies, blue tailed skinks, Mountain Bluebirds, Lazuli Buntings, Taos Blue [I even knew a guy named Blue!], Kiva Fireplaces, awesome red or green chile sauces and Pinon smoke. And I didn't even mention the Buffalo dance, Rutger Hauer or the German Trust-afarian woman!
OK, so there was a contingent  who insisted that I was dark, that my work was dark, my world view was...”dark, dark, dark*”. Even my agent at the time said that I was..."seven shades of brown!". Well, I thought fuck’em then, I’m Scary Fuckin’ Joey! Let’s turn that around, package it, spin it backwards and sell it! It was also a time of branding and reinvention. We are now constantly in the process of reinventing ourselves so as to be better able to cope with an unclear but distinctly digital future and to capture a greater market share. Besides, it makes good sense to have a cool handle on the net and Fecal Face was already taken!

The Legend of Scaryjoey Part 4

Viola! Scaryjoey made an international debut at ICON2 in Santa Fe, New Mexico due to the good graces and keen eye of Jack Unruh who selected me to be Sergeant at Arms for the conference [some of you may remember the memorable Voodoo stick Jack had made for me-I still have it!]. I guess that Jack thought that I looked just like the kind of bad motherfucker needed to police a rowdy crowd of industry folks. Nobody gave me any shit the whole time and remember that was the one with all the cool in-fighting, paper throwing and everything! And that, as they say, was that.

Scaryjoey.com. was launched on a Mac G4 in 2000 to coincide with the millennium [it’s easy to remember!]. I think that Scary is about a lot of things, but Scary is most importantly about contradictions in a Punky, Catholic sort of way. Scary is layers. Scary is a sponge. Scary is an attitude. Scary is a collage. Scary is a scrapper and most of all, Scary remembers and to Joe Average-man, apparently, that’s really scary.

I crave the return to just being who you are and being good enough as it is. Today, we’ve all become quasi-mini-celebs, spouting our bullshit for dollars, fishing with wit-bait. My in-grown toenail becomes YOUR news! Fellow ‘Burgher Andy Warhol’s dictum about 15 minutes of fame really has proven to be the truest, most prescient thing ever said as far as I can tell, and obviously he wasn’t lamenting his paltry half of the gender argument either. I wonder if he ever fellated James Dean in the back room at Max’s Kansas City? Betcha! "FACTOIDS: James Dean starred with Dennis Hopper in two of his [only] three films. Hopper knew Warhol from the LA art scene [Andy's very first solo show was at Irving Blum's Ferus Gallery in 1962]. Also sharing two out of three films with Dean is none other than Sal Mineo. Probability: VERY HIGH!"
PS I'm still using the G4 [I call her Lucille] and I couldn't have done a lick without my High Desert "tech guy" Howard Roemer @ Brainwax.com . We have a pair of real Silver Foxes*** living in the forest behind our house too!


*Actual quotes faxed from a very prominent illustrator whom everyone loves.
** Actual AD quote from A-list client.
*** NOT the Charlie Rich type.

posted: December 28, 2009

..."In December, even the Professor walks fast!"

Japanese saying

This is a time of transitioning, of year's end reconsiderations and of tying up loose ends. In that spirit, I present some recent work.  Wishing all the best for 2010!

posted: December 21, 2009

I thought that I'd post the COMPLETE version of my Holiday tale [which has been serialized on Facebook the past couple of weeks] here @ the D.


Enjoy with a cup of cheer!



Santa's Elves are beginning to awake from their long slumber!

The faint scent of Camembert and reindeer urine fills the frigid air.

Dimly lit by oil lamps, a breakfast of salted seal blubber and weak tea.

There is a vast Gulag of Elf Comit [work-camps] stretching from Nunavut to Svalbard. After their sleep, the Elves will begin their work.

Factions of the Arctic Claus Suomi [tribal sect] have lived predatory lives for many centuries keeping the Elf Suomi in perpetual bondage.

Seasonally migratory, a single Claus Suomi can travel over 400,000 miles in a year circulating among the various Comit as well as delivering the “toys”.

Each Claus Suomi is ruled by an elder know as a Santa. The Santa presides over each Suomi with the authority of a mullah and is a representative in an Apatty [Diet/Parliment], which convenes once each season the date of which is determined by a roll of “dice” -Skira, carved from the skull bones of a maternal ancestor.

Each biannual Apatty is a gathering of tribes, which includes all active Santi. The occasion can last as long as one week or more and usually involves many hours of deliberation on internecine squabbles [Raguloki] involving the most mundane, quotidian sort of jurisprudence.

However, the Apatty ceremony also contains many moving scenes of intense, transcendent, devotional ecstasy whereby the yearly “lists” [Koma-guchi] of the children are read aloud, by firelight to the mournful sounds of a Flippa [a type of ancient, Pan-Asi-Arctic flute] and accompanied by the bovine-like lowing of the Elves.

Every Santa has a choice of wives from which to call “Mrs.” in a manner similar to that of a harem. The “Mrs.” Claus run the day-to-day affairs in the Comit such as administering to the many Elves, feeding the caribou as well as the Santa and of course submitting to fornication [not only with the Santa but also with any friends of his who might drop in, not unlike the practices of many Inuit groups seen in movies].

This “sharing” is known as doing “Boo-Boo” to the Claus and more recently as “Messing with Pu-Pu” to the younger generation. At this time of year, it is said that large congregational bevies of naked “Mrs.” Claus can be spotted by low flying planes frolicking in snow drifts as close as 100 kilometers from Wapusk National Park, near Manitoba.

The “Angel Frolic”, as it is known to those who study the Claus Suomi, serves as a female bonding practice similar to that found among the Sili-ahols of the barren northern Pacific atoll of Paaketpuul, but using snow rather than sand for the ritual.

The Claus and Elf Suomi have herded caribou for hundreds of generations enduring the harshest conditions offered by our blue planet. Snow, ice, deer leather, dogs, seal meat and the occasional polar bear are all they know. Their world is a swirling, frozen bubble, a snowy ice dome above the cold and dark water of the Arctic Circle, just several feet below them.

It was a little over 200 years ago that various factors convened to jeopardize fragile Polar living conditions, which had reached an extremely low point for the hardscrabble Arctic Suomi. Rising temperatures, famine and devastation to caribou herds due to Caribou Wasting Disease [CWD] wreaked havoc in the frozen north.

At that time, a mercantile sales rep in the Northern Territories, working free-lance and on commission out of Fargo, North Dakota, happened upon a former associate of a minor forestry administration worker from Manitoba in a bar called “Le´Clifford” just outside of Leaf Rapids, near Granville Lake.

The sales rep went by the name of O. Lenoir and the former associate’s name was Bill. In a lengthy, ethanol fueled and often-rambling conversation, Bill revealed to O. Lenoir that his friend [the minor forestry administrator] had known for some time about the plight of the Artic Suomi [“snow eaters” and “icicle suckers”, he called them time and again].

In a ripe voice punctuated by a productive, fruity cough, Bill suggested that the forestry administrator had indicated that the Suomi were desperate and were willing and ready to talk to “the out-side” and that they would “collaborate” in any way that they could in order to obtain enough money to feed their herds and fornicate.

This, by the way, was all by the by and really just a miniscule tangent of the actual protracted conversation, mentioned as casually as all that and then dropped just as quickly. But, O. Lenior had an entrepreneurial streak in him and so he took the initiative never the less.

Three days later he wrote to a supplier, with whom he had worked with previously, and inquired as to the availability of a certain, cheap doll that he had recalled seeing in a shop catalogue that his wife had looked at during their recent holiday in Winkler, a small town close to the US border between Morris and Drayton.

Lenoir had an idea! By convincing the Santa Claus Suomi, through connections provided by the minor forestry administration worker from Manitoba, to act as “distributors” for the recently launched enterprise of Yakov-Lenoir & Sons Mercantile Associates Inc. of Fargo, North Dakota, O. Lenoir started a chain of events that has yielded one of the most enduring and commercially successful business partnerships extant.

The minor forestry administrator, whose name was Vigaasa, was handsomely rewarded with an enticing position in Prince Albert National Park, which is just outside Saskatchewan.

According to surviving documents retrieved from Yakov-Lenoir archives after the Great Fargo Fire of 1912, we now know that, among the items that O. Lenoir ordered in that very first shipment [besides the cheap doll], were several sets of Chinese handcuffs, fake plastic vomit, Venus Flytrap seeds and imitation horse droppings arranged in a fancy box to simulate fine chocolates.

Lenoir had a peculiar sense of what people wanted, a fact exemplified by a surviving engraved note that accompanied the inaugural shipment which bore the mysterious inscription “Born of Gristle” in green foil on a plain, oak-tag card. Arcane as the slogan was, Lenoir’s impeccable, savvy selections on that auspicious occasion were soon sold out from Alberta to Ostrov Kotel’nyy with numerous items placed on back-order.

It didn’t hurt that Lenoir’s wife was cousin to a man connected by family to large rail concerns who commandeered a surveying expedition in the North West Territories for that purpose. Rumored to have the ear [he was present at the signing of the Oregon Treaty in 1846] of a James Knox Polk, soon to become the 11th President! The man was Constantine “Smooth Connie” Le´Clifford, owner of the bar where Lenoir met Bill.

Over the years, the Santa Claus Suomi [SCS] have accrued tremendous wealth and power. Due largely to the enthusiasm and prescient thinking of O. Lenoir, the SCS persevered to become second only to the Vatican as a powerful nation state. Their pan-cultural significance, having been established beyond question, is sealed.

That is, until the recent inquires over transparency regarding their unique and deeply entrenched business ties as well as allegations of certain ethical lapses [White Slave Trading and Polygamy] have shed a spotlight on this shadowy world, a world hovering somewhere between sweat and ribbons, tears and ice.

A commission based in Linkoping is currently looking into allegations that the SCS have close ties to Norwegian Cosa Nostra [NCN] and subsequently, large American manufacturing concerns.

To date, no one has been able to produce evidence confirming these allegations. The solitary witness according to The Guardian is an aged Lithuanian sailor [Lisspn Jaak] who claims to have run Barbie Dolls to Minsk under the aegis of immunity by smuggling them through customs in the diplomatic pouch during the Brezhnev administration.

Should it be proven true that the SCS do in fact have ties to commercial entities, should the Yakov/Lenoir/Claus triad see the cold light of day, then it would appear that the Elf Comit are set to become the next Bangladesh.

Will the fragile ecosystem of our great frozen north become overrun with corporate invaders and more chilly maquilladoras? Pacific Radio is already reporting on talks between KFC and the SCS. When reached for comment, Linkoping Commission Chairman, Maalmo Szczecin was unequivocal saying only that…”it’s too fackin’culd up ‘ere!”

To make matters worse, if the SCS react negatively to pressure from the Commission, it could perpetuate a “blow-back” not unlike that certain Middle Eastern Fundamentalist Splinter Groups [MEFSG] inveigh upon “imperialists”. In a video released early last year SCS’s Borland Ostersund stated clearly that there might indeed be “disruptive actions” should Linkoping push too hard.

What form these “actions” might take is anybody’s guess at this point. Few are willing to rule out sporadic, mysterious E. Coli outbreaks and “low impact” tactics such as needle jabbing and excessive, advertent gang farting [swarm flatus] in crowded areas especially during peak holiday shopping hours.

Already, in parts of northern Norway near the town of Trondheim, there are reports, again in the Guardian, of finding Elf saliva on several “toys” purportedly found in dumpsters located near popular shopping centers. To some analysts, it appears, the fight has already, technically, begun.

The Yakov-Lenoir & Sons Mercantile Associates Inc. of Fargo, North Dakota is hardly a household name and with good reason as the nebulous firm has employed impeccable deceptive finesse in the area of corporate subterfuge and public relations. But who is it then, who hasn’t heard of Santa Claus?


The innovative Yakov-Lenoir branding strategy is perhaps the most enduring in the history of marketing. Linking an attempt at boosting sales, using the most unusual slogan in history, to a 2,000-year-old religious holiday and implemented by dwarf-slave Eskimos, Lenoir’s entrepreneurial gamble grew into a massive, profitable enterprise not to be rivaled since the times of Charlemagne. Happy Winter and a Scary-Merry Christmas Everyone!

posted: October 28, 2009

This is so cool!  I love this part of the process!!!


HOPE TO SEE YOU IN LAS VEGAS!

posted: October 14, 2009

Just like late period Elvis! Earlier this year, painter Eric Joyner [you know him, he’s the “Robots and Doughnuts” guy] invited me to share a show with him in Las Vegas, Nevada. The result is TRANSITIONS and it opens with a November 5th preview and an artists’ reception on the 6th, which is also a “First Friday” gallery crawl type of deal. So if anybody will be in the Las Vegas area on November 5 & 6TH, stop by the Trifecta Gallery for a little cool art interaction. Trifecta Gallery has shown work by the likes of Eric Joyner, Thomas Lee Bakofsky and the late Jack Endelwelt [former illustrator and super painter] among others.

I have five new paintings on paper that have never been shown. Eric will be showing some new directions as well. I really have to thank Eric for initially inviting me to Drink & Draw in San Francisco, which inspired me to really lay into my sketchbooks [prior, I was more of a scrap-booker/doodler], which resulted in the paintings that you’ll see in the exhibit. It forced me back into the actual, mimetic drawing aspect of image making. A personal confession: for me, mimetic drawing is like the “slow blues” of art. To a guitar slinger the “slow blues” are the ultimate test of “skill”. It’s the fundamental element –everything else is icing the cake. OK, I’m thinking that if I keep this up, I’ll get “good”. At this time, this work represents the best that I can do.

I’ve never been to Las Vegas so naturally in the spirit of Bugsy Siegel, Hunter S. Thompson and Jack Kerouac I decided to turn the whole affair into a road trip. First stop is to drop off the paintings in Las Vegas, then on to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon for a few days then east to Lake Powell and the Grand Escalante National Park. After that, heading west to Zion National Park, Utah and then back to Las Vegas for the openings. I believe that the Hoover Dam is in there somewhere too. I expect that the weather in November will be pitch perfect for a trip like this. Hope to see you at the spinach dip [or the crap tables, whatever!]. Shake your moneymaker –we gonna pitch a ball!

posted: August 4, 2009

I saw that headline on CNN and loved it so much I had to use it here. Catchy subject line? You betcha! But really, here's a new piece for Plansponsor Magazine, the only text/subject was man vs machine. That's it! I painted it all by hand, the old fashioned way. AD S. Buzelli.  More later...

posted: June 30, 2009

Here’s another sketchbook from last winter/spring. I was fascinated by the “Facebook” phenomena and started to draw nothing but [almost] faces. Naturally I mined the whole of the history of art to do so but whatever, it was fun. Actually, it’s more work to scan and upload than it is to do it. You can see it HERE. See what you think.

posted: June 22, 2009

Life in Nevada City.

Have you ever seen Lance Armstrong in a race from this close? Man, I’m no sportsman but this was an awesome, mind-bending experience for me! Ever since Armstrong announced [only last week on Twitter!] that he’d race in the 49th, there’s been quite a buzz around here. To see dudes [and dudettes] of this incredible stellar magnitude in competition really puts things into perspective. It’s not exactly like art. The difference between Good and Great is much more level and obvious, leaving little room for ambiguity. BTW, Shepard Faiery designed Lance’s bike! We had the pleasure of partying with Ms. Brooke Miller; the only USA women’s champion the night before the race too, which added a layer of unique complexity to the whole gig! Also on hand at the race were Levi Leipheimer and Chris Horner of the Astana team. Armstrong won hands down, lapping the other 130 riders into oblivion. Here are some pix...

posted: April 14, 2009

I don't care what anybody says about the death of print, newspapers, Old School, etc. I love the New York Times. FOR ME it's a major American cultural expression. Period! And when I get a call from that institution for my "work" I am in hog heaven. Period. It's amazing what one small job can do for your self esteem. Almost better than Prozac! Here's a piece in today's Science Section about Parkinson's Disease. AD Peter Morance. Period!

posted: February 2, 2009

Tonight's the night.  Just remembering a cold February night 50 years ago!

posted: December 23, 2008

posted: December 9, 2008

 
Following up on a topic mentioned recently, and a piggyback to boot, I thought… Isn’t it an interesting situation when clients ask you not to repeat cliché warhorse/chestnut approaches to visual problem solving? The current bizarro-war/econo-politic is really straining the limits on this, isn’t it? It’s quite a dilemma. On the one hand, one can easily understand it but on the other, even though there’s considerable pressure to invent new ways of saying the same old thing, have the average editor’s or reader’s minds really expanded as far as ours are expected to in the few hours we have to problem solve and sketch?  I doubt it, but I could be all wrong. Eliminating certain popular or cultural icons prima facie might imply that not even knowing them in the first place might have currency and that’s exactly where I was when I started [prior to “getting” an education] and apparently where we are now!  Everything-but-the-kitchen-sink minds demanding outside-of-the-box solutions designed for quick-read audiences. Think outside of the box only so long as everybody understands which box. Most likely it’s the television [like pornography, I quit television when I reached adulthood]!
Thinking outside the box, which once conjured images of Francesco Goya or William Blake, has come to mean different but quick reading. Does this address some manner of newly evolved visual intelligence [attributed to the hyper-visual digital world] OR could this be yet another example of that anti-expertise, non-hierarchical, anti-elite, and "democratic" aesthetic that’s going around [Illustration 2.0]? Or is it both?  After all, “getting it” quickly and thinking might not be divergent paths but I do think that icons like shorthand imply a kind of quickness. Homer Simpson or Sophocles, which is in the box?
Perhaps Poetry Slams and Karaoke were the first hints, art-like events that common folks could understand like boxing matches or baseball games replete with scores like a fucking beauty pageant for Chrissakes! Iron Chef is more SNL than any Reality. Even Colonel Tom Parker wouldn’t have thought that up! Trying to come to terms with the multiplex convergences that constitute the current climate makes reading Derrida, Foucault et al seem like bedtime stories for children. I suppose that today more people expect, understand and even DEMAND OUTside over INside?  With the comic book the dominant narrative mode today you’d think that at least there would be a greater appreciation, dare I say veneration, of the pictorial image, even if content is as thin as newsprint and has never been MORE cliché? Never the less, I see clichés nearly every time I look at major media from magazines to feature films. WTF?  Has the outside become the inside?  Yes, but what kind of image is it? The outside-of-the-box kind! It’s all commodity art after all, isn’t it?
Anyway, here are two examples from my recent work.  The first is from Plansponsor Magazine and is about GM cutbacks: AD Soojin Buzelli.  The second is from Canadian Business Magazine: AD Tim Davin.  Both QP’s and in both cases, even though I had virtually impenetrable manuscripts [they might as well have been written by Derrida], the perceptive AD’s immediately tossed out simple, synoptic phrases like “cutting something” or “ bear on a globe” which helped cut to the chase immensely. Otherwise, I’d have literally spent hours trying to re-invent the wheel or whatever. No doubt without success. Twitter: Thnk U!

posted: October 8, 2008

Guitar, Bass, Drums / Featuring Ry Cooder, Nick Lowe, Jim Keltner, Plus Juliette Commagere
A Benefit for the Richard deLone Special Housing Fund (which assists those with Prader-Willi Syndrome)

I had the unique opportunity to see the legendary guitar virtuoso Ry Cooder in a very rare performance last week. Sorry, no photos were allowed.   I got within 7 heads from the stage [which is only about three or so feet high]. The Great American Music Hall is a dream venue, as exists only in the imagination elsewhere.  Joachim Cooder’s [Ry's son] band opened [featuring Juliette Commagere up front].  Juliette and her sister are the female voices on Ry’s colab with Cuban guitarist Manuel Galvan, Mambo Sinuendo –which also has Keltner and Joachim on percussion. She's glamorous and GLAM, plays the Keytar and sings on lots of Cooder albums besides. She said that she wasn’t nervous, BUT she had just met Steve Earle downstairs [it was as exciting as all hell]!  The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival was opening that very evening in Speedway Meadow [Golden Gate Park] with Robert Plant and Allison Krause so there was considerable buzz [nearly everyone who is or was anyone plays there]. Commagere's group has a heavy 80's synth sound with lilting vocals by the gorgeous Ms. C. and a quartet with cello, brass and violin. Then the deLone family came on to thank everyone for coming out to support their foundation [Prader -Willie syndrome] and that yes, both Ry Cooder and Prader -Willie are RARE!  Father Austin deLone played accordion. As they thanked the musicians for lending a hand they were especially thankful to Elvis Costello [who always seems to be around here] and next thing you know there he was onstage, playing guitar and singing from 12 or so feet away, I nearly peed. He did 3 songs from so close it might have been at home. Then another break before the guys took the stage  [I stood from 7pm till 12.30!].  The band was superb in every way.  Ry and Lowe look ancient though, Keltner must have a coach, he looks youthful and fit. Ry used only 3 axes; a Strat, a Tele and some little electric thing I’ve never seen. [All  pushed thru vintage fender amps].  The songs stretched all the way back into his early career with a heavy emphasis on country-ish poppy Rockabilly stuff [How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live? From his debut album RY COODER updated with lyrics about the previous nights vice presidential DEE-BATE]. Also threw in Fool For a Cigarette from PARADISE AND LUNCH. Imagine The Everly Brothers with Steve Cropper-type-of-thing. Maybe that was for Lowe?  BTW He’s great. Quite a showman.  Cooder too, he’s a major mugger and overly dramatic like an old bluesman or Grand ol’ Opry country star. A real hot dog! I was surprised. I thought he’d be more serious, less Leon Redbone more Mahavishnu John Mclaughlin. No pick either. When he touched that aspirin bottle to the strings I went to another place.  I’m not kidding.  You cannot imagine.  I aspire to that place, man!  Pinky Heaven! After a rousing John Lee Hooker number [This Is Hip! from Mr. Lucky], Elvis joined them for the encore.  I was lucky.

Meanwhile, I had gone with my neighbor Mark [he drove] who is a project manager for big architectural projects [SF Jazz, etc.].  He ducked out for air after Elvis played and never came back.  He hadn’t eaten. I thought that because he was tall, he didn’t want to push back up front.  After the show, I couldn’t find him so I called his mobile number.  He was in the hospital! He’d passed out on the sidewalk! Never even saw RY!  He’s OK though but it was quite a drama.  I think that it’s a plus to have a sidewalk incident at a Ry Cooder concert on a balmy night in San Francisco, at least in my humble estimation [as long as it’s not TOO serious].  I’ve got Mavis Staples tix for next Wednesday. I’m hoping Ry makes a guest appearance there [he produced her most recent record].

 

posted: September 30, 2008

 
Considering the circus-like atmosphere of our current econo-political climate, here’s a fitting little event that I’m involved in.  Many of you might know that I’ve been a vegetarian for 33 years [like Kerri says, it’s like not driving a car!] so the compassionate nature of this anti cruelty art event was very much to my liking.  I missed the opening but it looks like it was pretty cool, not to mention, large.  The artist roster includes the eminent Richard Downs, David Brinley, Kim Scott, and J.S. Berger among others.  Thanks to Gale Hart of A Bitchin Space for a cool opportunity!  Here a few pix, more can be found @ A Bitchin Space.

The 2nd Annual Circus Show & Other Atrocities juxtaposes the dark, painful lives of performing animals with the fun, amusing atmosphere of the carnival. The show has over 100 national and international artists. The performance line-up starts with Dan Piraro, creator of Bizarro, who will be joined by comedian and MC, Keith Lowell Jensen, singer Larisa Bryski, plus jugglers, belly dancers, firebenders and other performers, freaks, artist-made midway games and rides, as well as raffle prizes including original artwork and more with proceeds donated to animal protection groups.

On display in the gallery through Closing Reception October 11th.

A Bitchin’ Space 
2114 19th Street
Sacramento, CA  95818
 

posted: September 16, 2008

 
Here are a few  SKETCHBOOK style projects that I recently completed.  The Boys article was a lead piece for the Hartford Courant on the different ways girls and boys are socialized [with emphasis on boys] in making the transition from high school to college.
The Facial story is part of a series of HEALTH related topics for Hour Detroit Magazine [the Detroit City Mag] and evokes the 'balance" involved in this particular procedure.
Cardio Care is also from that series but for a different AD and basically talks about new procedures available at local hospitals.  It was the only article that I actually had text for [other than just a synopsis].
 
 

posted: August 6, 2008

In the history of warfare, only two nuclear weapons have been detonated offensively, both by the United States of America during the closing days of World War II. The first was detonated on the morning of 6 August 1945, when the United States dropped a (uranium) gun-type device code-named "Little Boy" on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The second was detonated three days later when the United States dropped a plutonium implosion-type device code-named "Fat Man" on the city of Nagasaki. These bombings resulted in the immediate deaths of around 120,000 people from injuries sustained from the explosion and acute radiation sickness, and even more deaths over time from long-term effects of (ionising) radiation. The use of these weapons was and remains controversial.

I've been to Hiroshima and have rung the peace chimes over a mound of ashes of 10,000 people.

posted: July 31, 2008

Art Dorks Invade Chicago August 9, 2008

DVA Gallery

The Art Dorks are a cyberspace collective with brick and mortar applications. Originally the brainchild web community of CNN’s Brendan Danielsson, the Dorks quickly evolved into a collective. Their work is really not easy to define; influences range from the 1980’s to the 1880’s and they each bring a different feel to the mix. While Dorks tend to associate with the lowbrow kind of thing, don’t define them by that. All share a love of drawing and whether they make monsters or meat, robots or rabbits, it is work that revels in and celebrates growing up in a pop, sci-fi, kung-fu cornucopia of a culture.  My kind of razzamatazz!

posted: July 21, 2008

I got an email last week from illustrator Richard Downs inviting me up to see him in Nevada City [CA].  He said that he’d be appearing that Saturday as a giant Spanish puppet [Higante] in a children’s parade with his wife Gwyn’s Afro-Cuban drumming ensemble at the annual World Music Festival.  How could I refuse, especially on the heels of the Stauffer-stock Karaoke sing-off the night before in San Rafael?  It was a hippy- dippy, tie dyed weekend, that’s for sure.  Here are a few pix to prove I’m not exactly bull-shittin’ you, man!

posted: June 2, 2008

The legendary Ellis MacDaniel [Bo Diddley] is dead at 79. NYT story. 

Lyonnaise potatoes and a pork chop!  Shave and a haircut - 2 bits!  The barnyard chicken scratcher is gone! Here's a model of innovation and style that has impacted generations!  In addition to his ground breaking branding and singular guitar styling, his album covers from the 1950's and '60's are among the great gems of commercial art.

RIP Bo baby!

posted: May 21, 2008

Awhile back I bought my first Moleskine Sketchbook, you know, the one that Hemingway used.  Now I've become addicted to making pictures in them.  I draw mostly from 2 dimensional images, images that have already been translated from 3D to 2D.  Images like old Dick and Jane readers, my Golden Guides, a 1960 Matchbox Cars catalog, etc.  I also try to draw from real objects as well [much harder to do].

I read that as a superstitious Spaniard, Pablo Picasso thought that making pictures would help stave off death.  Here I go.....you can check it out @ Scandal, the Narrative Sketchbook and  Regular Sketchbook.  You can also look at the Sketchbook page on my website.

posted: May 12, 2008

Bayside ArtBeat Berkeley had the opportunity to check out the studio of Bay Area illustrator John Hersey this sunny Saturday during the San Anselmo Open Studios tour.  Hersey, originally from Vancouver, BC, has been on the San Francisco scene for quite awhile and is considered to be one of the founding “fathers” of computer illustration.  Besides juggling illustration jobs for practically every major client in the universe, he also teaches “ digital tools” at The California College of Art [CCA] in addition to being a husband and father of four.  San Anselmo is a sleepy leftover hippy town nestled in the lush greenery of Marin County, just across the Golden Gate Bridge.  

Quote:  " When you hear the term Small Business, well, illustrators are the smallest!"...J. Hersey

HELP THIS MAN STAY IN BUSINESS!  WRITE YOUR REPRESENTATIVES AND OPPOSE THE ORPHAN WORKS BILL HERE!

posted: May 7, 2008

RIGHT HERE!

posted: April 1, 2008

I want to introduce 2 cool dudes from the West Coast, who just happen to be former students [College for Creative Studies, Detroit], David Chung [aka The Chung] and Serge Gay Jr.  David came to the program from Hong Kong via Buffalo and Sege came from Haiti via Miami or something like that.  Right now, David is working on [sounds like DOING it all!] Spaceballs TV, designing and laying out the animated series [images are actually animated elsewhere] for A DAY JOB and painting for various exhibitions at night [in this, his first year out of school he has been included in the Miami Art Basel fair as well as many others].  He is a participant in the new TOYS show [sponsored by Mattel], which opens in LA @ 1988 Gallery tomorrow night.  Each artist was asked to alter a Volkswagen mini-bus model.  The Chung turned it into a vibrator!  Check it out!

Serge was the whiz kid at both his art magnet high school in Miami and at CCS.  He can draw so well and so naturally, it makes adults feel queasy.  He’s living in San Francisco and doing T-Shirt designs, painting for exhibitions and music video art.  Recently, he did pieces for Snoop Dogg and The Bled. 

posted: March 11, 2008

La Luz de Jesus Gallery's
11th Annual Group Show
"Everything But The Kitschen Sync"
March 7- March 30, 2008

La Luz de Jesus Gallery
4633 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90027
323) 666-7667

See the whole show online: laluzdejesus.com

Some of the many, many artists

LOU BEACH, JOSEPH DANIEL FIEDLER, BARRY FITZGERALD, MARY FLEENER,  JOHN FORTES, HAL MAYFORTH, JOEL NAKAMURA, ERIK SANDBERG, KIM SCOTT, MARK TODD, DANIEL LIM, NATHAN OTA, JOHN BERGER...

To my mind there’s nothing like a ripping, art weekend spent in Los Angeles to get my culture on.  Make that Hollywood and you’re communing with the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Raymond Burr and Wink Martindale along with the Lowbrows, pimps, rockers and club hoochies.  First stop: Musso and Frank Grill on Hollywood Boulevard.  M&F is Hollywood’s oldest eatery, celebrating 89 years this year. They feature old fashioned martini’s [gin, vodka, lemon drop and Manhattans only PLEASE!] and have served them to just about everyone that you’ve ever heard of.  The ceiling is varnished with cigarette smoke. Luckily, I dropped by just after the Johnny Grant memorial held earlier at the Pantages Theater [Monty Hall and Bob Barker were there].  Johnny was the “honorary” mayor of Hollywood and an M&F regular.  Many spillovers came back for another round and to chat with Manny the bartender [reputed to be Johnny’s double] just about the time I got there.  Man, it was worth charging admission for but I only paid $5.00 a beer.  The martinis are only $7.50 for a 3-ounce drink and the things that I overheard were gold.  When was the last time you heard the name Mamie Van Doren in real time on Hollywood Boulevard?

Of course the real reason I was there was for the opening parties for the annual group show at La Luz de Jesus Gallery [also on Hollywood].  Thursday was a sleepy press preview, some Los Feliz street grub [Cobras and Matadors, Fred’s 62-visiting with The Chung who is currently working on Spaceballs TV and several exhibitions] and then early to bed [energy conservation off-sets carbon footprints]. 

Friday was a whole day [noon-4pm] of galleries.  We [Univ. of Kansas’ Barry Fitzgerald, Sac Town artists Kim Scott [Art Dork], John Berger-all artists in the show-] covered the entire Culver City art enclave: Mandrake Bar, Blum and Poe, Black Market, Corey Helford, Lizabeth Oliveria, and of course, Billy Shire Fine Arts.  Note:  Dave Cooper’s show BENT @ BSFA was fabulous! Next, Happy Hour at the open air Cabo Cantina on Sunset.  Man, is this ever the place to adjust your attitude! 2 for 1 margaritas [they ran out of margarita glasses so I got mine served in a pint glass!] and a customer floor show worth passing over TV for.  For a little while and $40, you’re Chet Baker in Baja. Whew! After re-grouping, we hit Another Year in LA Gallery [housed in the former Capital records pressing plant on N. San Fernando-I bet that they pressed MEET THE BEATLES there!] where an exhibition of new work by David Wetzl was opening before moving on to La Luz. 

As always, La Luz delivered the modern art party vibe in all it’s LA lowbrow tattooed glory.  Also popping in late were Nathan Ota and Daniel Lim [Illustration faculty @ Otis] Martha Rich, Freda Gossett Clayton, Esther Pearl Watson and Mark Todd [Art Center, all]. The late night Hollywood crawl included a stop by The Frolic Room [featured in LA Confidential], Big Wang’s [for a whiz-John said that there was “something*” going on in the bathroom before he got in-] and pizza slices on the street while watching the clubs disgorge at 2am. Chick Fights. Shaky, Shakin’, Shake. Thumpa-thumpa.

No visit to LA is complete without a slice of banana cream pie for breakfast at Mel’s on Sunset [the diner which served as the drive-in in George Lucas’ American Graffiti].  Yes, they have valet service and psychopaths screaming about how Tom Cruise brainwashed Katie!

A fitting ending to my trip: as I approached Oakland on the drive home, I was passed by a large posse of Hells Angels [a first for me!].  Here’s to Sonny Barger, Jack Nicholson and Hunter S. Thompson! Gonzo man!

* A drunken emo couple humping.  It was cute in a Cameron Crowe, bad white kids, The New York Dolls down the street, in-door out-door wings bar, garish lights, TV interviews and palm trees kind of way.


Share Your Hollywood Faves....

posted: February 25, 2008

NEXT MONTH AT LA LUZ de JESUS GALLERY

La Luz de Jesus Gallery's
11th Annual Group Show
"Everything But The Kitschen Sync"
March 7- March 30, 2008

ARTISTS' RECEPTION
Friday, March 7, 2008 ~ 8:00-11:00 pm

Drawgers night in Hollywood with Hal Mayforth and Joseph Daniel Fiedler [among others] on the red carpet [literally]. Come join in what Details Magazine calls "the biggest and best party in Los Angeles."  You should’a seen us the last time!

From the La Luz website

La Luz de Jesus Gallery was established in 1986 in Los Angeles, California as the brainchild of entrepreneur and art collector Billy Shire. Shire is considered largely responsible for fostering a new school of art in Los Angeles prompting JUXTAPOZ Magazine to dub him "the Peggy Guggenheim of Lowbrow."

Some of the past shows have been groundbreaking, introducing unknown artists who have become great names in the modern art world such as Manual Ocampo and Joe Coleman, and hosted Robert Williams' art exhibits before he became a household name.

La Luz de Jesus Gallery
4633 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90027
323) 666-7667



Some of the many artists

JOSEPH DANIEL FIEDLER
BARRY FITZGERALD
MARY FLEENER
JOHN FORTES
HAL MAYFORTH
JOEL NAKAMURA
ERIK SANDBERG
KIM SCOTT
MARK TODD

posted: February 11, 2008

The first time that I had heard of it was at Zingerman’s Roadhouse in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Zingerman’s style is much in keeping with today’s’ manner of explanatory-storytelling-marketing.  Each specialty item is explained and illustrated on the walls [Today, we want more information before we decide to buy or eat something].  Point Reyes Bleu Cheese was one of those wall items.  I’m a 90% vegan.  I don’t typically eat cheese if I can avoid it but Point Reyes [California] looked awesome to me from the descriptions.  I once lived within walking distance of the Rio Grande River in Northern New Mexico [where they filmed Easy Rider].  I now live a short day trip away from Point Reyes!  I wondered how many folks out there have ever been to Point Reyes?  I was out there this weekend to help bust out of the February blahs.  PR is an odd mixture of rolling heath, historic dairy farms, dramatic cliffs, seals, whales, elk, deer, mountain lions, soaring raptors and a raging Pacific Ocean.  It’s a little like a safari where you can get the best garlic fries and local field greens salad [at Drakes beach] while watching the water and sky for critters.  How’s your February?  Here are a few pix.

posted: January 28, 2008

I had the cool opportunity to catch the legendary master of the Hammond B-3, Booker T. Jones, [yes, that’s Booker T. from the MG’s] Friday night at one of my favorite watering holes, the Rancho Nicasio roadhouse in Marin, County.  Turns out that BT lives in Tiburon.  Although not backed by Steve Cropper and Duck Dunn [from the MG’s], the vital Mr. Jones threw down a rousing set on his B-3 portable.  It was chilling to hear those deep earth, throaty organ rumblings live and close up [he couldn’t have been closer in my living room].  Those chords have permeated the rock’n’roll firmament since 1962 when Green Onions was released.  The MG’s were the Stax records house band and backed almost every great southern fried soul song in the great American songbook [Dock of the Bay, Soul Man, Knock on Wood, Midnight Hour, etc.].  They were the tightest, badest mother fucking rhythm section ever in the history of the world!

I first heard of  Rancho Nicasio when Van Morrison open his US tour here a few years ago [I missed it] for an audience of 200 [I think that he lives in nearby Fairfax].  It turns out that for the past 10 years, the rancho has been owned and run by veteran Texas blues stalwart, and “the Queen of Texas blues”, Ms. Angela Strehli [Lubbock] and her husband [I don’t know his name but he was in the band Pablo Cruise and managed Huey Lewis and the News].

Not much has changed since this classic bar and restaurant opened in the 1940s. Nestled in the beautiful, rolling hills in the heart of Marin County, Rancho Nicasio boasts a saloon, dining room, showroom and outdoor barbecue pit. The place is as big as all Texas and furnished with a fireplace, stuffed deer heads, wagon wheels and cowboy memorabilia. The large bandstand and dance floor are the heart and soul of this unique place. Live blues, rockabilly, country and swing music are served by local and national acts. Dinner-and-a-show packages are available in the main showroom.  A huge outdoor patio, complete with picnic tables, open barbecue pit and beer stand is the place to be on hot, sunny afternoons. The gold and silver record studded bar has a tradition where regulars buy drinks for each other, even when they aren't there. Folks are pleasantly surprised to see their name with a drink next to it on the white board behind the bar.  You really have to see the Nicasio Valley in daylight to appreciate it’s awesome beauty.  It looks just like the set of an old western with rolling pastoral hills, cattle grazing, a ball field and a white church steeple.

The funniest parts of the story are that one, rock writer, cultural documentarian,  Greil Marcus was at a front table, and two, I  was grousing [as usual] about how old the audience was [ the guy on the left knew BT from a Heart Attack Class they both did together and the woman on the right did “Engery Work” including non-surgical face lifts]! The dance floor looked like a geriatric hospital social! I hate getting old.  Man, 40 was great, but...BT can really kick some ass!  The closer was Time Tight.  Killer!

Booker T. Jones

Rancho Nicasio

posted: December 18, 2007

It's been a  whole year on Drawger!  Thanks to all those busy readers and Santa's helpers! It's been a blast.  Do I owe some money?  JSD, I owe you one.

!PEACE!

posted: November 13, 2007

As I promised, here are some images that I made over the past month or so, including a painting for the Mark Murphy/Robert Berman exhibition GREEN.  Here's the blurb:

Joseph Daniel Fiedler is a Berkley based artist who has created “In The Future All Monkeys Will Be Plastic.” In 2006 he began a series of paintings and mixed media works around the general theme of imperialism. Joseph wanted to weave a thread that incorporates the various issues, historical, personal and quirky. “I have been a vegetarian for well over thirty years. I find negligence and cruel treatment of animals repugnant. As imperialism evokes domination so too were animals dominated by force, brute strength and gross ignorance.” The recent murder of Mountain Gorillas in Africa is a case in point. Pollution, deforestation and habitat reduction have decimated untold thousands of species. Now, our fragile planet is threatened. Moral, agricultural and animal husbandry issues have a direct impact on sustainability, climate change and population growth. Joseph asks, “Is this a manifestation of animal blowback?”

posted: November 1, 2007

I apologize for being lax re the blogspots recently but I’ve been hit with a rather heavy workload and as much as I like looking, I’m just not so inured with seeing the world through a lens [like a tourist instead of a participant].  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve taken my camera along but never out.  I’ve made over 20 paintings since the beginning of the month [all but 2 of them jobs- and those 2 were 24x24 inches big].  If you want to know “nervous” give it a try.  And I admit, as a traditionalist, I use every item in the Museum of Forgotten Art Supplies [including alkyd oils].  I’ll post some of the work soon enough but I just wanted to skim some of the East Bay ArtBeat stuff that got swept under the cracks in the meantime.

Caught the transcendent Pharaoh Sanders kicking off the San Francisco Jazz Festival this year at the appropriately awe inspiring Grace Cathedral.  In the piece, called “Sacred Spaces,” Sanders and a lone sideman on piano and hand drums cajoled the beejeezus out of the sonorous acoustics of the cathedral’s nave.

Caught up with Richard Downs at home during the annual Nevada City [CA] Open Studios tour. Downs [a founder of Picture Mechanics] and fellow Illoz [er] studied at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif. These days, he executes his work almost entirely on a computer in his studio [actually the hill-top pool house –surrounded by a screening wall of thick bamboo –another brother behind the grass curtain!] in Nevada City, Calif., where he lives with his wife, artist Gwyn Stramler, and their daughter, Jillian.

SF’s Mark Ulriksen did his wonderful dog and pony show at the California College of Art [Potrero Hill campus], which was open to the public.  Spotted in attendance were fellow Drawger Robert Hunt, Bob Ciano, Josh Gorchov, John Mattos and David Pohl.

A similar rag tag contingent met for beers and BS at the Mayflower Inn in San Rafael.  This time joined by local digital gurus John Hersey, Mick Wiggins, Gordon Studer, Isabelle Dervaux and Craig Fraizer.

The Berkeley Art Museum [BAMPFA] in conjunction with UC’s Digital Media department is co-sponsoring a hybrid course called Rip/Mix/Burn: Digital Media 0101 that I’m sitting in on.  It’s run by UC’s Richard Rinehart and kicked off last week with a lobby party and interactive artworks drawn from the BAM collection.

Art Dork Travis Louie was in from Red Hook NY for his part in a group show at The Shooting Gallery.  Man, his work is SMOOTH!

That’s all for now but look forward to a special report from Germany and Austria from the folks at Beer & Pencils!

posted: October 24, 2007

I probably don't fully understand it and I know that it's not sexy, but has anyone else seen this add from the WSJ?  It's confusing and reminds me of old warnings that I've heard.  I hope that it's just nothing.  but...


The advertised site is "offering" maps, charts, portraits, etc. from the WSJ for sale.."an instant license on a pay per image basis." ..." the journal's finely researched and executed images are endless" .

posted: September 18, 2007

Previously, I’d only driven through the Panhandle [Cadillac Ranch, the 72 Ounce Steak, or the World’s Largest Cross anyone?] or had a beer at airports but this past weekend I got to finally sleep in Texas! *  The occasion was the Austin City Limits Festival [3 days/130 bands] held in beautiful Zilker Park along Lake Lady Bird [actually the Colorado River] right in the heart of rockin’ Austin. Nano and I flew down for a southern fried party weekend. We stayed at the swanky, luxe Teutonic-Texan exclusive B&B run by Drawger homeboy Marc Burckhardt and his wife Janice [literally within walking distance to both the festival AND the former home of sister Texan Janis Joplin!]. We were joined by Texan turned LA illustrator/designer Lee Bakofsky and Latitude AD Terry Baughman from Dallas.  To say we drank a lot would be the understatement of the year-but it WAS hot! Very hot!  I had no idea! Festival warnings spoke repeatedly about DEHYDRATION, sooo…. ACL showcased [among many awesome bands] 3 major headliners: Bjork, Bob Dylan and the no-show White Stripes. I finally got to try the legendary Lone Star Beer at the coolest outdoor patio bar you could ever want to live at [The Shady Grove].  Here are some highlight pix…

* At least I don't think that I ever slept in Texas!

posted: August 31, 2007

Michael Jackson, a leading world beer expert has died. He was 65.

Let’s bend a solemn elbow.

Story

posted: August 26, 2007

A Beer & Pencils Summer Special!

Do you like beer?  Of course you do! Do you like towering Ponderosa pines and Sierra Mountain air?  Ditto! Well, I missed you this weekend at the 18th Annual Brewfest in Grass Valley, CA.

Hosted by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company and and sponsored by SPD Markets & Volz Brothers Automotive, the Fest featured brews from over 35 microbreweries - everything from wheat lagers to amber ales to stouts to hard ciders with over 100 different brews altogether. Fair style food vendors of sausages, BBQ, roasted corn, Mexican food, ice cream, wine & non-alcoholic beverages plus the 'Cold Shot Band' all under gigantic Ponderosa pines.

Lots of tattoos, big guts and unfortunately BOTTLED BEER! 
My top choice was Black Diamond Blonde and Heffe.

The festival was a benefit for Music in the Mountains

18th Annual Sierra Brewfest 2007
August 25, 2007 ~ 3-6:30pm
Nevada County Fairgrounds, Grass Valley, CA

Here’s the Brewers List

Alaskan Brewery
      Amber
      Summer
      IPA
Anchor Brewing
      Steam
      Summer Ale
      Liberty Ale
Anderson Valley Brewing
Boont Amber
Hop Ottin' IPA
Auburn Alehouse
      Old Town Brown
      Gold Digger IPA
      Gold Country Pilsner
Back Street Brewery
      Viking Weizen
      Rambler Double IPA
      Pacific Pale Ale
Ballast Point Brewing
      Amber Ale
      IPA
      Pale Ale
Black Diamond
Belgian Blonde
      Amber Ale
      Hefeweizen
      IPA
Blue Frog Grog & Grill
Hefeweizen
      Blonde
      Red
Blue Moon
      Blue Moon Wheat
      Honey Moon Summer Ale
Boulder Beers
     Hazed & Infused
      Mojo IPA
Sweaty Betty Blonde
Butte Creek Brewing Company
      Organic Pilsner
      Organic IPA
Coastal Fog Brewery
      Pale Ale
      Amber Ale
      IPA
Fifty Fifty Brewing Company
      Pale Ale
      Belgian Wit
      Porter
   
Firestone Walker Brewing Company
      Double Barrel Ale
      Hemp Ale
Fox Barrel Cider Company
      Apple Cider
      Pear Cider
      Black Currant Cider
Full Sail Brewing
      Amber Ale
      LTD Seasonal Ale
Hoppy Brewing Company
Total Eclipse Black Ale
      Stony Face Red Ale
Kona Brewing Company
      Longboard Lager
      Fire Rock Pale Ale
Lagunitas Brewing Company
      IPA
      Seasonal Ale
Leinenkugles
Sunset Wheat
Lost Coast Brewery
      Great White
      Downtown Brown
Mad River Brewing Company
      Steelhead Pale Ale
      Steelhead Double IPA
New Belgium Brewing Company
      Fat Tire
     Skinny Dip
     Organic Wheat
New Castle Brewery
      New Castle Brown
      Kronenberg
Pyramid Brewing
Hefeweizen
      Curveball
Redhook Ale Brewing Company
      Long Hammer IPA
   

Sacramento Brewing Company
      Hefeweizen
      Red Horse Ale
Samuel Adams
Boston Lager
Shipyard Brewing Company
      Fuggles IPA
      Sea Dog Blueberry Wheat Ale
Sierra Moon Shine Homebrew Supplies
      Pilsner
      Vienna
      Bock
      Raspberry Wheat
      Blackberry Wheat
      Pale Rye
      IPA
      Organic Brown Ale
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
      Pale Ale
      Anniversary Ale
Stone Brewing
      IPA
      Pale Ale
Sudwerk
      Pilsner
      Hefeweizen
      Marzen
Widmer Brothers Brewing
      Widmer Hefeweizen
Wolaver's Certified Organic Ales
      Organic IPA
      Pale Stout Wit
Wyder's Cider
      Pear Cider
Raspberry Cider

posted: August 10, 2007

For those of you in the Sacramento area:

I’ll be showing new paintings and a print series!

Toyroom Gallery presents: Pie in the Sky
Bettsy Kluga, Amanda Wachob, John Fortes, and
Joseph Daniel Fiedler

Aug 17th thru Sept 8th, 2007
Opening Receptions: Friday August 17th & Saturday August 18th, 7pm till Late

Toyroom Gallery

907 "K" Street
Sacramento, Ca. 95814
916. 446.1400
Regular Gallery/Shop Hours 11am to 7pm Tues-Sat 12noon to 5pm Sunday

Closing Reception: September 8th (Second Saturday) 7:pm till Late

posted: June 26, 2007

Beer and Pencils is taking a Summer vaca. I recently strung up some Christmas lights in the bamboo outside the studio and set up a Tiki Torch and a hanging candle: time for summer fun!  If you want to escape the pigeonhole, belly up to some drinkies from South of The Border.  Cut the dust with style and a touch of green, multicultural allegiance [and quite a bit of pure, cane sugar]. Bebe!

Pisco

Pisco is a clear brandy, popular for centuries in both Peru and Chile. The white muscat grapes, from which pisco is distilled, were first grown in Peru by the Spaniards in the 16th century. At that time Peru and Chile were both part of Spain’s American empire. When they became independent countries, both claimed the liquor as their own. Today, the grapes are grown in only two places—around the town of Pisco in the Ica Valley of Peru, and in central Chile in the Elqui Valley, called the “zona pisqueria.

The name Pisco comes from a Quechuan (Incan) word, although there is some dispute as to what it actually means. Some believe it comes from the word “pisquo,” that literally translates as “flying bird,” referring to the effect it has on the drinker, while others believe it is the name of the clay pots in which the Indians stored “chicha” (Andean corn beer). Another theory has to do with the Peruvian port of Pisco. In the 1700’s, the King of Spain banned wine from the colony, so most of the grapes were made into the brandy. The port grew very popular in the 19th century as seamen flocked there because of the lucrative trade in guano. They drank the local brandy, which eventually took the name of the town itself.

Although they are made in the same way from the same variety of grapes, there is a difference in sweetness and alcoholic content between the two countries’ piscos.

A popular drink in Chile is the “piscola,” a mixture of Pisco and Coke. The national drink of both Peru and Chile, is the rich “Pisco Sour.” The dispute has gone on for decades .

6 ice cubes
2oz Pisco
1oz liquid cane sugar
1 egg white
Shake well in drink mixer(1min. hard) pour into a glass and add 3 drops of Bitters on top.

Cachaca

Cachaca , [kah-shah-sah –sounds like you’re already drunk doesn’t it?], is a distilled spirit obtained after fermentation and distillation of Brazilian fresh sugarcane juice, sometimes aged in oak barrels before being bottled. The alcoholic liquid is known by many names, including garapa doida, pinga, parati, and cana. Only the true Brazilian liqor boasts the rich, earthy taste similar to that of un-aged tequila, with aromas of charred sugar molasses and a drier taste than rum.

The Caipirinha is Brazil's national cocktail made with Cachaça, sugar and lime. Cachaça is Brazil's most common distilled alcoholic beverage. Like rum, it is made from sugarcane, however, cachaça is made from sugarcane juice whereas rum is made from molasses, a byproduct of the sugar refining process. It is common to substitute vodka or rum in drinks made with cachaça, including the Caipirinha.

The Caipirinha is well known both inside Brazil and around the world. The beverage is the national drink of Brazil, and is enjoyed in restaurants, bars, and many households throughout the country. The International Bartender Association has designated it as one of their Official Cocktails, adding to its worldwide recognition and appeal. The IBA has labeled the Caipirinha as one of the 50 greatest drinks of all time. Outside of Brazil, particularly in the United States, the availability of cachaça is limited, so few bars serve the drink.

1 lime
2 ounces of cachaça
Sugar to taste
Ice cubes

Wash the lime and roll it on the board to loosen the juices. Cut the lime into pieces and place them in a glass. Sprinkle with the sugar and crush the pieces (pulp side up) with a pestle. Add the cachaça and stir to mix. Add the ice and stir again.

You can also make a pitcher of caipirinha. Figure out how many people and multiply amounts. If you can't find cachaça where you live, use a good vodka. The drink will then be called caipiroshka. No vodka? Use white rum and you will have a caipiríssima.  Caipirinhas made with sake are all the rage in Rio I understand! If you lack a pitcher, a 5 gallon gasoline can will work just as well.  Don’t forget to shake it up. Ask Walter about this.

Both pisco and Cachaca pair nicely with California’s mild marijuana laws, so kick back, you’re almost there!  Margaritaville way down low.

posted: June 11, 2007

For those of you in the San Francisco Bay Area,

Varnish Fine Art Presents Duck Soup: Ana Bagayan,
Michael Beck, Justin DeGarmo, Joseph Daniel Fiedler
June 12th to July 28th, 2007 Opening Reception: Thursday June 14, 7-10pm

Varnish Fine Art
77 Natoma Street, San Francisco, CA 94105

415.222.6131.   www.varnishfineart.com

LIVE & IN PERSON!


Plus!

For those of you in the NY Area!

The Art Dorks Collective and McCaig-Welles Gallery present the
Exhibition Art Dorks Squared, June 16-July 5, 2007.
Opening Reception: Friday, June 15, 6-10 pm. 

McCaig-Welles Gallery
129 Roebling Street, Suite B, Brooklyn, NY 11211

718-384-8729     www.mccaigwelles.com

posted: June 3, 2007

For those of you in the LA Area, The Art Dorks Invade LA!

The Art Dorks Collective and THINKSPACE Gallery present The Art Dorks Collective Group Exhibition at THINKSPACE Gallery, June 9-July 7, 2007.

Opening Reception: Friday, June 8, 7-11 pm.  THINKSPACE Gallery
4210 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90029

323- 913-3375   www.thinkspacegallery.com

Featuring new works from:
Shawn Barber, Robert Hardgrave, Travis Louie, Brendan Danielsson, Chris Ryniak, Meagan Ridley, Kate Ridley, Dave Chung, Anthony Pontius, Kim Scott, Jeremy Pruitt, Gregory Jacobsen, Chris Mostyn, Matthew Pasquarello, Justin DeGarmo, Joseph Daniel Fiedler, Mark Elliott, Heiko Mueller, Jason Murphy, Mike Burnett, Johnny Yanok, and Jad Fair.

I have four paintings in the show.  Hope to see you there!

posted: May 30, 2007

Tim Biskup opened an exhibition of new paintings at Billy Shire Fine arts in Culver City this weekend.  The works have a darker tone than usual due to the impact of some unspecific episode in Tim’s life.  They are especially beautiful, hand crafted works both large and small, which exhibit an unusually high degree of craftsmanship.  The color sense is super cool too.  A challenging avant-garde percussion ensemble was there for ambience.



Tim Biskup Ether

Exhibition: May 26 - July 7, 2007

Billy Shire Fine Arts
5790 Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
Phone: 323-297-0600
Email: info@billyshirefinearts.com

Proprietor: Billy Shire
Director: Annie Adjchavanich

The gallery is open 12 noon to 6 pm,
Tuesday through Saturday and by
appointment.

Billy Shire also owns the Soap Plant/Wacko store and La Luz de Jesus Gallery.

posted: May 1, 2007

Geez!  It must be the end of the school year or something.  There is so much cool shit going on.  Man, there’s nothing like a major university town in a world- class city.  So I went to this last night.  It was an awesome panel discussion – the highest possible standards and the most rigorous intellectual depth.  Introduced by Chancellor Robert Birgeneau no less [with full media coverage].

From fables to modern cinema, stories are more than entertainment. They are a powerful way to inform, influence and persuade.  The Goldman School of Public Policy is hosting a panel on how policy practitioners of every stripe can use storytelling techniques to humanize and bring to life complex policy issues. Panelists will discuss how policy makers can use storytelling techniques to communicate and gain support for policy options in a democratic society.

Panelists: Sid Ganis & Nancy Hult Ganis, Norm Pattiz, Robert Reich
Moderator: Linda Schacht Gage
Sibley Auditorium, Bechtel Center, UC Berkeley
Time:  6 pm

UC Berkeley

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Linda Schacht Gage
Linda Schacht Gage is an Emmy award winning broadcast journalist and lecturer at the Journalism School.

Nancy Hult Ganis
Nancy Hult Ganis is a producer/writer with more than 25 years experience as a television, feature film and documentary film producer/executive. Her focus is on American democratic values and institutions-particularly public education.  She co-produced the recent film Akeelah and the Bee.

Sid Ganis
Sid Ganis is the President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and founder of Out of the Blue Entertainment. Prior to founding Out of the Blue, he held various positions in Sony Pictures, served at Paramount Pictures as president of the motion picture group, and was senior vice president of Lucasfilm, Ltd.  He produced the film Big Daddy.

Norman Pattiz
UC Regent Norman Pattiz is founder and chair of Westwood One, America's largest radio network company, which manages or distributes NBC Radio Networks, CBS Radio Networks, the Mutual Broadcasting System, CNN Radio and Fox Radio News.  He serves on the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees all U.S. non-military international broadcasting, including Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Free Asia, which produces popular radio programming in the Middle East.

Robert Reich
Robert Reich is a public policy professor at the Goldman School, former U.S. Secretary of Labor, and author of eleven books. He teaches courses at the Goldman School on leadership and social change, and wealth and poverty, and has written about the role of narratives in politics.

Next week, stayed tuned for the opening of Shawn Barber's new show at the Shooting Gallery!  Meet the Beat!

posted: April 26, 2007

If you're going to be in the San Francisco Bay Area this weekend, check out the West Coast version of Anahata, the Kim Maria benefit art auction at Varnish Fine Art.  The preview is at 6 pm and the auction starts at 7 pm.  There will be work from over 40 artists donated for the event.  Kim is the wife of illustrator Craig La Rotunda of Revelation Studios.

Varnish Fine Art
77 Natoma Street
San Francisco, CA 94105

posted: April 23, 2007

Gallery 1988 opened it’s San Francisco branch Saturday night with a rockin’ show titled The Indie: An Art Show Celebrating the Alternative Press which coincided with the APE Alternative Press Expo at the Concourse Exposition Center. SF 1988 is the sister y of LA’s Gallery 1988 which was opened in 2004 @ Melrose & La Brea in Hollywood by Katie Cromwell and Jensen Karp. 1988 is best known for the bust out monster shows [featuring dozens of artists] Remixing the Magic [partnered with Disney] and I Am 8-Bit.  The shows [according to the 1988 website] have generated up to 90,000 hits a day in web visits and untold sales.  1988 has been featured in such press outlets as: US Weekly, Juxtapoz, Jane, Playboy, The Washington Post, The LA Weekly, CNN and MSNBC to mention just a few.

The large room was packed shoulder to shoulder by the time ArtBeat got there and the buzz was huge. The crowd was due in large part to the nearby APE Expo, which would wrap up the next day. Everybody was set to kick back and party down in the city celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the $ummer of Love. AND buy art.  The red dots were dizzying-they even had a sales area set up on the floor with a manned cash register and piles of prints and unframed art. I felt like I was witness to a new art merchandising prototype [Strap on the Nitro!]. The party was hosted by Dave Crosland, Food One, Scott Morse, Strangeco, Hi-Fructose and Johnny Love Vodka.

LA Curator/Organizer Jon Gibson [he put together I Am 8-Bit too] told me that most of the artists were Pixar guys “… doing shit on the side…and a lot of surfers”.  Which goes quite a way in explaining the generally high quality of the work shown and is indicative of the intensity of the rich creative milieu in the Bay Area. For a complete list of participating artists see the 1988 website.

The Indie: An Art Show Celebrating the Alternative Press
April 21-May 12, 2007

SF Gallery 1988
1173 Sutter @ Polk
San Francisco, CA 94109 USA
Tue-Sat 12-7
Sun-Mon CLOSED
415.409.1376

BaySide ArtBeat Berkeley: Meet the Beat!

posted: April 16, 2007

This is the fourth installment in the Beer & Pencils series. Beer & Pencils is a post designed for curious, imbibing illustrators with discerning palettes. This installment features some favorite Belgian brews.  First of all, you might wonder, what is a picture of a church doing in a post about beer?  Answer, EVERYTHING!

Belgian beer comprises the most varied and numerous collection of beers in the world. Belgian beer-brewing's origins go back to the Middle Ages, when monasteries began producing beers. The high esteem accorded to Belgian beer is supported by such beer experts as Michael Jackson [not THAT Michael Jackson!]. Today there remain 125 breweries in the country, producing about 500 standard beers. When special one-off beer styles are included, the total number of types of Belgian beer exceeds 1000. FYI Belgium has a population of over ten million people, in an area of around 11,700 square miles, just a bit larger than the area of the state of Vermont.

Belgian Beers might not be the first choice for casual drinkers looking to “pound a few” after they cut the grass. They can be challenging and an acquired taste. The complexity of flavors can lead the tippling novice to decry “ Fuck! This ain’t beer!” but to those who persevere, a whole new world of drinking pleasure awaits! 500 years is a lot of R&D man! To fully appreciate the wide variety of tastes in Belgian beers, any given beer should be served at its "ideal" temperature (which is usually in the range of cellar temperature: 8–15°C or 46–59°F) and in the appropriate glass. This allows one to “nose” the brew much as in wine tasting.  Without the nose, you miss quite a bit of flavor.  No bottle drinking here, mind you! Oddly enough, the vast majority of Belgian beers are sold ONLY in bottles [presumably due to “in the bottle” fermentation or conditioning]; tap beers tend mostly to be pilsners. Although Belgium is best known internationally for its unique ales, it is the common bottom-fermented pilsner lager, which heads the lists of both domestic consumption and exports. These beers are often called “table beers”.  The best-known brand internationally is Stella Artois [never a bad selection!]. Stella has been brewed in Belgium since 1366.  Correct me if I’m wrong but, doesn’t that make it older than Columbus?

The Styles

White beer [Wit] I’ve mentioned this in my first post but to re-cap, White is particular kind of wheat [rather than the typical barley] beer, commonly called witbier in Dutch, or Weizen in German, which often contains spices, such as coriander and orange peel. A 400-year-old style that died out in the 1950's, Pierre Celis at the Hoegaarden brewery revived it.  Hoegaarden is my fave so far. Not quite a pilsner and not quite a wit is Duvel. Firstly, its extreme, pilsner-pale color is amazing considering it's ABV approaches 9%. Duvel is generally considered Strong Golden Ale. It is “clean” tasting - that is the favors that are most apparent are Scottish yeast, French barley malt and Czech hops. Its clean taste totally fails to reveal it's intense strength. Duvel is Duvel, imported by VanBerg & DeWulf.

Trappist These are top-fermented ales brewed in a Trappist monastery. For a beer to qualify for this category, the entire production process must be carried out by, or supervised by, Trappist monks on the site of the monastery. Dude, that’s sanctified drinking if ever it was! This fact alone raises the drinking ante to celestial levels.  Monks know how to party big time [hint: they invented Champagne – also fermented in the bottle!]. Only seven monasteries currently meet this qualification, six of which are in Belgium and one in the Netherlands. No other breweries are entitled by law to apply that name to their product [imagine getting busted on that charge!]. Between the six abbeys about 20 beers are brewed. All are top fermenting, relatively to very strong, bottle conditioned ales.  Here’s a quick overview:

ORVAL Orval is the oldest of the brewing monasteries, founded in the 11th century by Benedictine monks [remember B&B?]. The single beer they produce is probably the driest of the Trappist ales. They began brewing prior to the French Revolution.  If I had to pick just one bottle to take with me to eternity, it would most certainly be an Orval! I swear to god!  You just have to try it to see what I mean.

CHIMAY The most “commercial” of the Trappist brewing entities, this monastery has a history of taking beer production very seriously. The term "trappist" was popularized by Chimay (1850). It was there that Father Theodore and the famed “brewing scientist” Jean De Clerck developed much of the brewing theory that makes Trappist beers what they are. Their 3 beers are available in a variety of sizes, including magnum bottles of Grand Reserve.  If you don’t care for the sour, dry taste of typical Belgians, try the Blue Label [9% ABV] on for size! Chimay on tap signifies a designated drinking spot.

The other monasteries are WESTMALLE. WESTVLETEREN, ROCHEFORT and ACHEL. I’m not personally acquainted with all of them at this time, although I just tried a Rochefort [9% ABV!]. Quite good, like Chimay and I had an Achel that I found at Wild Oats in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was super good, like a jacked Orval with unusual flecks of particulate matter in the head [looked like oatmeal].  Baby; I’m working on it! Two more to go and I’ll cop the Trappist medal! I know that I can do this!

Lambic (including Gueuze and Fruit Lambics) Unique to Belgium in its origin of creation and distinguished by their tart taste, Lambics are neither top-fermented nor bottom-fermented, being prepared through spontaneous fermentation by wild yeasts said to be endemic to the vicinity of Brussels. Lambic can be broken into three subclasses: Gueuze, Kriek [cherry] and Framboise [raspberry - they also do peach], and Faro. Not a Pink Squirrel or for the faint of heart! I don’t care what anybody says, Framboise is an awful good drink!

Other types of Belgians include: Flemish, Red and Saison [seasonal, bottle-conditioned farmhouse pale ales]. I’ve sampled Saison Dupont [the most well known] and Moinette.  Both are excellent, orange/amber in color and a bit “wild” which enhances their appeal.  Actually, this is what bikers SHOULD be drinking instead of that Bud Light and Silver Bullet stuff! I say; match the beer to the man [or whatever]!

Rule of thumb: It doesn’t matter if you like it, just drink it, OK!

SIDE BAR
NOTE FOR NEW YORKERS Café´de Bruxelles


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almost immediately.

posted: April 3, 2007

Bayside Artbeat Berkeley was on the road in LA this weekend for the opening of Illustration West 45, the annual exhibition of The Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles, which was held at “lowbrow” central, Billy Shire Fine Arts in Culver City [Shire is the creative force behind and founder of the famous La Luz de Jesus gallery in Los Feliz]. The “pre opening” party was held at the super stylin’ Mandrake Bar where artists Scaryjoey [aka Joseph Daniel Fiedler] and Cathie and Marilyn Bleck mingled with independent designer-publisher-impresario Mark Murphy, his fiancé Tera Johnson and Nancy Nelson from the Berkeley Art Museum [BAM]. You have to look hard if you’re going to go to Mandrake; there’s no sign [note to designers: signs are passé´]. But do go! This is absolutely the coolest bar you could ever imagine.  The guy next to me at the bar talked about buying art, real estate in Culver City, homeless people shitting on the porch and smoking Silver Haze while artists set up a video installation in the back “gallery”, and folks played guitars on the patio [ I drank Red Stripe with Patron Anejo- a South of the Border Boilermaker]. Not to be missed is the only “decorative” art, a large Raymond Pettibon print “I Thought California Would Be Different” by the bathrooms! Totally chill!

SILA was fortunate enough to have gallery space for their annual exhibition donated for the second year in a row by Shire.  The gallery at BSFA is well appointed, and quite large for “alternative”.  The show was beautifully hung by Billy and Annie too. Judges this year were: Greg “Crayola” Simkims, Jim Auckland, BSFA’s own Annie Adjchavanich, Mark Murphy and Yuko Shimizu. On hand were SILA’s Alyce Heath, illustrators Martha Rich [complaining that she shouldn’t really be there], Mark Todd, his wife Esther Pearl Watson and their daughter Lily [also complaining], Bob Dobb, Erik Sandberg, LA Times AD Liz Hale and ThinkSpace Gallery’s [Silver Lake] Andrew Hosner with wife Shauna. Drawgers Alex Murawski and Joseph Daniel Fiedler had work in the show.

The Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles’s 45th Annual Exhibition Illustration West at Billy Shire Fine Arts Gallery, thru April 7, 2007. Billy Shire Fine Arts Gallery, 5790 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232 [between La Cienega and Fairfax] 323.297.0600

Mandrake Bar
2692 S La Cienega Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90034 [Between Venice Blvd and Washington Blvd, Culver City] 310.837.3297

posted: March 26, 2007

SILA West 45

For those of you cats in the LA Area!

The Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles presents it’s
45th Annual Exhibition West at Billy Shire Fine Arts Gallery, March 31-April 7, 2007.  Opening Reception: Saturday, March 31, 6-10 pm.  Billy Shire Fine Arts Gallery, 5790 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232 [between La Cienega and Fairfax]

323-297-0600

I have four paintings in the show.  Hope to see you there Baby!

posted: February 28, 2007

Jumping right onto the celebrity show and tell bandwagon, I thought I’d post MY story. 

Near the end of the famous “Rat Pack” era, Dino had to take time off to recuperate from a bad hernia operation.  Apparently, he had “strained” himself in Palm Springs moving a refrigerator for his ailing mother! A client of mine was a job printer who worked for a lot of sketchy nightclub owners with reputed “mob” ties.  Mostly I did cheesy napkin and matchbook graphics for him. One day he mentioned that the Chairman was looking for a temp to fill in for Dino and before I could say Ring-a-Ding, I was on a bus to Vegas!  Since I couldn’t sing or dance and I wasn’t funny yet, I mostly hung around the casino lobbies and corralled the “ponies” for later on.  Of my time spent with the guys, I can only say that the public image of the Rat Pack was not really representative of the actual goings on.  There was a lot more talk about athlete’s foot and support hose than broads and booze for starters, let me tell you!  The biggest thrill of all was watching Sammy and May through the motel keyhole in our pajamas.  We laughed so hard that the tinkling ice in our Manhattans gave us away!  If we only had cell phone cameras back then!  This picture was taken at the Sands. My face is yellow from jaundice that I caught from an infected Philippina hooker Sammy set me up with in retaliation for spying.  At least I can say that I’M still alive!

posted: February 23, 2007

This is the second installment in the Beer & Pencils series. Beer & Pencils is a post designed for curious, imbibing illustrators with discerning palettes. This installment features hearty UK brews. OK, call me a shite head, but there are just way too many excellent UK beers to choose from so I have to be very strict and limit them to only those I’d blog home about.  Most serious beer drinkers know them anyway, but I’ll give it a toss.

Samuel Smith’s This is the yardstick brewery.  No fooling around here.  This is definitely not a brew for what our Governor calls “girlymen”. The real McCoy in every way! The Old Brewery at Tadcaster was founded in 1758 and is Yorkshire’s oldest brewery. Samuel Smith is one of the few remaining independent breweries in England. The rich Samuel Smith strain of yeast at The Old Brewery dates from the early 1900s. Hops are hand-weighed by the master hop blender, and the brewing water is drawn from a well sunk over 200 years ago. First introduced to the U.S. market in 1978 by Merchant du Vin, Samuel Smith beers quickly became the benchmark ales for the emerging craft beer movement. Absolutely nothing tastes like Sam’s.  Each product is quintessential and singular. If you know the Edouard Manet painting, A Bar at the Follies-Bergere [1881-2], you know that a Sam’s sits on the bar [next to Bass Ale –the oldest trademark in existence BTW]. Check it out!

Tetley’s Pub Ale My favorite beer in a can. The hyperbole is all true. Brewed in Yorkshire, England, Tetley's has been England's best-kept secret since 1822. It is the perfect blend of barley, hops and water from deep below the Yorkshire Dales. Opening the can triggers the release of Nitrogen from a floating widget to ensure you get the same dense creamy head for the delicious smooth mellow, malty flavor like a real draught pull.  It’s a beautiful pour, like a well-made Latte. Trust me on this one!

Green King Abbot Ale I survived harsh winters in Detroit with this libation [and did a lot of jobs with a pint handy]! The history of brewing in the Suffolk town of Bury St. Edmund’s can be traced back as far as 1068, just 20 years after William the Conqueror first stepped ashore in England. In that year the cerevisiarii [ale brewers] were chronicled in The Domesday Book as servants of the Abbot of the Great Abbey of St Edmundsbury: hence Abbot Ale, the name given to Greene King's premium cask beer. It was in 1799 that Greene King first began production of its exceptional ales and the brewery still draws water from the well sunk into the same chalk beds under Bury St Edmunds. Also a widget can.

MacAndrew’s Scotch Ale Absolutely the best label in the industry [well, there’s Pinkus Pils, but that’s German] with a taste to match.  Not common. This beer is better known in the States as MacAndrews Stock Ale. In Scotland, this type of beer is called a Wee Heavy - a style similar to a barley wine but is usually maltier and darker. The rest of the world generally calls it Strong, or Scotch Ale. Also marketed by Merchant du Vin.

Boddington’s Pub Ale Boddingtons is originally from Manchester.  It has been brewed for more than 200 years. The Strangeways Brewery was founded by two grain merchants, Thomas Caister and Thomas Fry, in 1778. Brewed in Manchester since 1778, Boddingtons contains 3.8% and 4.1% alcohol-by-volume in cask. In September 2004, InBev announced plans to close the Strangeways brewery and move production out of Manchester to Lancashire, South Wales and Glasgow. However, the brewing of Boddingtons cask ale was moved to Hydes Brewery in Moss Side, Manchester. Also widget can. Similar to Tetley’s and commonly found on tap.

Fuller’s London Pride They have this on tap at the Pelican Inn, a really fine, traditional English pub next to the ocean at Muir Beach out on the west coast of Marin County.  FLP is very well balanced with just the right amount of caramel and bitter.  Unusually good drinking. Fuller's beers have a unique record. Since CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) first held their Champion Beer of Britain competition, Fuller's have won the Beer of the Year award five times. Fuller’s beers have been best in class no less than nine times and ESB has been voted Best Strong Ale an unprecedented seven times making it something of a legend. London Pride is a smooth and astonishingly complex beer, which has a distinctive malty base complemented by a rich balance of well developed hop. At 4.1% a.b.v in cask (4.7% ABV in bottles) London Pride is an ideal “session-strength” premium ale. Its flavor has been likened by Stephen Cox, beer writer and former campaigns director at CAMRA, to 'the sensation of angels dancing on the tongue...'! No wonder I get cotton mouth!

Now, let’s get out and work so we can afford this shite!

Scarys’ Rule of Thumb: It doesn’t matter if you don't like it, just drink it, OK!

SIDEBAR

I love Half Sour Pickles. Pickles and beer, that’s my thing. Don’t forget, you’ve got to eat them while they’re green and crunchy [and hope that they stay down]!




Half Sour recipe from Tommy J’s Kitchen
1/3 tsp. whole coriander seeds
1/3 tsp. brown mustard seeds
1 or 2 whole allspice
1/3 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/3 tsp. black pepper corns
1⁄4 tsp. dill seeds
1 – 2 Tbsp. dill weed
2 or 3 pieces broken dried bay leaf
4 – 6 cloves garlic
1⁄4 cup pickling salt
4 cups water
8 or 9 pickling cukes

First, buy some pickling salt. Look for salt that specifically says “pickling salt.” That’s because pickling salt is simply plain, pure salt. No iodine, no additives to ‘ensure free flow,’ no nothing. Just salt, sodium chloride, NaCl, that’s all. Even Kosher salt, these days, usually has additives (presumably Kosher additives, but still . . .). For a pickling brine of any kind, just plain salt is best.

This is a cold, fresh-pack approach to pickles. No heat, no boiling, no sterilization in the autoclave, or canning in a boiling water bath, no antisepsis of any kind other than normal kitchen cleanliness. In other words, against all the rules promulgated by the FDA and every other official food agency. So if you want to stay out of the hospital, be scrupulous in your cleaning.

The process itself is pretty simple. Dissolve the salt in the water. Grind up all the dry ingredients except the dill weed and the bay leaf in a mortar. Chop the garlic. Wash the cukes and pack them in the jar. Dump in all the dry stuff, all the garlic, and pour in the salt water to cover everything. Wait. Chill.



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Warning! Excessive consumption of Alcoholic beverages can cause serious debility.  If you experience a loss of appetite, income, weight or relationships discontinue usage almost immediately.

posted: February 21, 2007

I believe the term is "trope".  It's like a meme, Richard Dawkins' term for a cultural gene.  It's how we transmit culture from one brain to the next.  Like a virus.

This painting was done for Mark Murphy for a Lucha Libre show at the Anno Domini Gallery in San Jose back in late 1999 or so.  The small version was the "sketch".  I based the image on El Santo or "The Saint" a famous luchador who never took of his mask.  I thought it was funny how the Catholic culture of Mexico embraced the violent, vulgar antics of the luchadores as well as the matadores so I combined the two in a luchdor with stigmata.  One needs blood to be entertained these days.  And big tits!. I guess some things never change!

Some people really seem to be bugged by Mexican Wrestlers for some reason I've noticed. I think that it's funny. Happy Ash Wednesday!

posted: February 19, 2007

Giant Robot San Francisco opened 8x10, a group art show of forty artists using the rawest of writing instruments (pencils, pens, crayons, markers, etc.) and a stock frame size [8X10]. Contributors come from indie comics, crafting, street-art, and fine-art backgrounds.

The theme was 8x10, so basically anything went as long as it fit an 8x10 format - mostly all the pieces were pencil/ink drawings with little to no color - some of our favorites were a skeleton tree with hands made out of bones for leaves and a spine, ribcage and skull for a trunk some others included a little girl with either a sleeping or dead whale and a bee eating a dead hummingbird! Some highlights from the evening included the lively senior senior who came to view the show fully equipped with her walker, orthopedic shoes and FACE PAINT!!  It was clear that her favorite piece was a line drawing of a naked woman sitting spread eagle with the dialogue bubble of "hello kitty"!  Seeing this the old lady replied "hello kitty...more like hello PUSSY...hey how much for this one?"  She then managed to run over just about every member in the crowd trying to "walker" her way through the already tiny and cramped gallery. Of course, as always there were delicious snackies of gummy bears, red vines, almond cookies, multi flavored crackers and capri sun. In other words, it was a typical Giant Robot show, the crowd was small this time, and after about 20 minutes we found ourself satisfied and heading back out into the foggy Haight Ashbury night.

Giant Robot San Francisco

Squirrel Master L reporting for BAYSIDE ARTBEAT BERKELEY

Meet the Beat!

posted: February 16, 2007

I can't say when it was made [could have been anywhere from 1956-61 or so!  Viva la lapiz!]

posted: February 16, 2007

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!
Sunday, February 18

posted: February 14, 2007

I did a job for the San Francisco Chronicle recently.  It was about a woman who, although from the Bay Area, suffered severe burns in an unexplained accidental explosion in Boston.  Her long recovery was sustained by her dream of once again riding her bicycle in Golden Gate Park. That goal was realized.

The story ran Sunday, February 11. I got this email later that day:

Just wanted to thank you for the illustration you did to accompany my 
essay, "Pedaling My Way Back Home," in today's Chronicle Magazine. I 
appreciated the sensitivity with which you depicted my experience.

I also felt very touched looking at your preliminary sketches in your 
sketchbook.  I felt fascinated looking at them, since you were able 
to portray my experience in a way that really spoke to me. X

It’s not the usual case.  Often we work away and never hear from writers involved in projects.  Or, if we do hear anything, it’s most likely an art director telling us how the editor doesn’t understand our ideas [it almost doesn’t matter what AD’s themselves think anymore]!  It’s heartening to me to know that I was connected in such a way as to ACTUALLY approximate the authentic expression of an idea.

Pretty Cool!

BTW TWIMC Sorry for working for them.

posted: February 12, 2007

Normally, I don't go in for doing too many portraits as uncommissioned samples.  I did recently with my little series of colonialist/imperialists but I'm not about to paint Hilary Clinton without commission any more than I am to do something about Mutual Funds for myself. BUT I DO HAVE A POE!  I did it as a classroom demo about 2 years ago in Detroit. Shawn Barber was visiting my class that day so we did a little painting contest-demo right in front of the students.  I did Jim Morrison, Popeye and Poe while Shawn painted Ray Charles.  Makes sense, huh?

posted: February 11, 2007

Illustrator Jason Holley was in town for the opening of his exhibition "Forever is Nothing" at the SR2 Gallery on University Ave. last night. SR2 is Sacred Rose Tattoo [you can see the shop in the back of the photos]. 


Holley, whose work is considered to be among the most stylistically unique in illustration today told me that he'd made all the work for the exhibition in "about three months." and that it was created specifically for SR2.  Interesting feature is the sculptural, 3D effect created by cutting the paintings out and mounting them on light, wooden armatures. Holley considered the work to co-exist as a series of pairs with larger, more sculptural pieces positioned next to more traditionally framed work.  It is a very impressive gesture and a real boundry blurring proposition for an illustrator to undertake.  Holley lives in Los Angeles and teaches at ACCD.  He is also a musician.

All photos by FIEDLER  and Squirrel Master L.

Forever is Nothing
Paintings by Jason Holley
SR2 Gallery
1728 University Ave
Berkeley, CA 94703

thru March 21st

sacredrosetattoo.com

BAYSIDE ARTBEAT BERKELEY BY SCARYJOEY: Meet the Beat!

posted: February 11, 2007

For all of you interested in the artistic sublimation of the imperialist urge!


By Michael Kimmelman [from the NYT]

There was a time, a couple of centuries ago, when a proper military invasion, even a losing one, included an army of doctors, engineers, economists, botanists, zoologists, translators and artists who made sense of the place being invaded. Napoleon's campaign in Egypt, militarily, was a notorious failure (he fled in the face of an insurgency), but his team of savants, as they were called, took notes, drew maps, gathered specimens and documented ancient and modern sites. From this they produced, after nearly 30 years, in 23 huge, sublimely illustrated volumes, "Description de l'Égypte," one of the great encyclopedic surveys, a monument of colonialist ambition.

"NAPOLEON ON THE NILE," at the Dahesh Museum, includes, from the "Description," engravings of Egyptian bugs and animals by Étienne Geoffrey Saint-Hilaire and Jules-César Savigny, painstakingly precise views of Karnak by Jean-Baptiste Lepère and Henri-Joseph Redouté, and panoramas of contemporary Egypt. The French savants documented Egyptian ethnic and social types too, a typical European venture at human classification: an odious endeavor in principle, although, as it happened, in the engraved portraits by André Dutertre, a catalog of humane and dignified individuals.

The "Description" conjures up, from an era before photography, not just a remarkable sense of eternal Egypt but also an enlightened imperialist's constructive desire to find order in what is unfamiliar and foreign. Call it an eternal lesson. Through April 29, 580 Madison Avenue, at 56th Street, (212) 759-0606, daheshmuseum.org.

posted: February 8, 2007

Speaking of inspiration, I gotta mention beer.  More specifically, White Beer, Wheat beer, Weiss Beer, or Heffe-Weizen depending on where you come from [or where IT comes from!].  Maybe inspiration isn’t the right word, but it’s something like that anyway.  Well, it’s a supply, like pencils.  I asked my accountant many, many years ago whether or not I could deduct my beer expenditures.  I reasoned that since I used beer in much the same way that I do pencils, and that if I could deduct the pencils, then why not the beer?  Needless to say, I’m still with the same accountant after 17 years!  No, I can’t deduct!

My featured brews today are two of my all time faves: Spaten Franziskaner [Germany] and Hoegaarden [Belgium].  For those of you who don’t know, beer made from wheat originated in the Belgian lowlands in a town called Hoegaarden.  Belgian brews, unlike their Germanic cousins, were not subject to the Reinheitsgebot [see below] and so were open to various flavoring additives such as Cloves, Coriander and dried orange peel.  These additives lend a distinctive caste to the taste of Belgian Whites [and honestly, even though I’m 100% Austrian, I prefer that].  German brews, under the strict purity laws, do not use additives and so have fewer peculiarities in their taste.  Either way, White beer is normally served with a lemon wedge to temper the yeasty flavor.  I suggest using Meyer lemons [if you can find them].  I discovered the Meyer after moving to the West Coast in June.  You may not be a citrus head like me, but dude a Meyer can make you stop and consider.  Well worth the effort and extra expense.

If anybody has figured out a way to deduct libations, please let m know before I send out my taxes!

SIDEBAR
Reinheitsgebot [German Beer Purity Law]

Beer brewing has been regulated by law in Germany for over 800 years. A long-standing tradition to which all German brewers still remain true today:

 German Beer Purity Law from 1516

 "How beer should be served and brewed in summer and winter in the principality"

 "Herewith, we decree, order, express and wish, together with the Privy Council, that from this day forth everywhere in the Principality of Bavaria, in the countryside as in the towns and marketplaces, wherever no other specific ordinance applies, from St. Michael's Day until St. George's Day a measure or head of beer shall not be sold for more than one pfennig Munich currency and from St. George's Day until St. Michael's Day a measure shall not be sold for more than two pfennigs of the same currency, nor a head for more than three haller. Violators of this decree shall be punished as prescribed below. Whoever should brew a beer other than Maerzen, is forbidden, under any circumstances, to serve or sell a measure for more than one pfennig. We especially wish that, from this point on and everywhere in the countryside as well as in the towns and marketplaces, nothing is to be added to or used in beer other than barley, hops and water. Whosoever knowingly disobeys this decree will be severely punished by the court having jurisdiction over him by having his barrel of beer confiscated whenever this offense occurs. Whenever an innkeeper buys beer at the prescribed price from any brewery in the countryside as well as in the towns and marketplaces, he is allowed to resell it privately to the lowly peasantry for one haller more than the price of the measure or head of beer stipulated above."

 (Translator's note: "measure" and "head" were units of volume and "pfennig" and "haller" were monetary units in use at that time. "Maerzen" was a somewhat stronger beer brewed in late winter, which is still brewed today.)

Please stay tuned for more faves.  No arguments!

posted: February 5, 2007

Yesterday at around 4 pm, the Queen Mary II sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge making it the largest ship ever to dock in the San Francisco Bay. The ship is one of the largest afloat and cleared the bridge with only 30 feet to spare.  They actually had to wait until the tide went out to accomodate it. It was a big deal and an impressive site to behold.  Now I have three major historic moments:  the funeral of Japanese Emperor Hirohito,  drinking at the SOI bar until 5am, and now this!

posted: February 2, 2007

I just saw the Botero Abu Ghraib paintings.  I don't know how many folks got to see them when they were shown at the Marlborough Gallery in NY, but this is the first time they've been shown in a public institution in the US.  Pretty interesting stuff.  The small drawings were really nice too.  The paintings were painted over a period of 14 months, most of them very large.  Botero is a Colombian [from Medellin-I'd imagine he knows about scary!]. 

If you get a chance, drop by. The paintings are on display in the Library of the University of California, Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law and are sponsored by The Center For Latin American Studies.  Through March 23, 2007

clas.berkeley.edu

More images at The Marlborough Gallery

posted: January 29, 2007

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SaFTm2bcac&mode=related&search=

Intellectual Property  is a super complicated, challenging, topical, and relevant issue.  This is a wonderful, concise way to explain an aspect of it. It takes about 20 minutes but it's well worth it.






davidpohl.com

posted: January 17, 2007

Recently, I made several paintings with overt political content  combined with an element of portraiture.  The New Holofernes shows an update on the nefarious feme fatale, this time though, it's the severed head of Henry Kissinger on display.  It's been suggested that the old butcher himself has been behind the Administration's policy on Iraq. 

Napoleon, the proto-typical military aristocrat.  A model for all to come after him and the smithy of the modern war forge.

V. Lenin, the schemer revolutionary. 

Each in their own way influenced the politcal climate that we all share.

For more images see the Colonial Sketchbook

posted: January 10, 2007

Inspired by the recent demise of noodle legend Momofuku Ando  I’ve put together a fond remembrance of a few other great stars in the snack and fast food firmament. Too often the shifting sands of time and the vagaries of fickle public taste wash our creative endeavors away.  Let’s take a moment to honor those innovative entrepreneurs who came before us.

O.D. McKee

O.D. McKee died at the age of 90 in the early 1990’s [exact date lost]. McKee founded the McKee Bakery in Chattanooga, TN in 1934 or ’35 [date seems to be in dispute] after selling his car for collateral. McKee was always searching for “a better way” to do things and so when he made changes to his oatmeal cookie formula [making it softer] he created one of America’s most beloved snack foods.  He put two of his soft cookies together with a fluffy filling in between and sold the cream pies for a nickel. It stands to reason that what started as a job selling snack cakes out of his 1928 Whippet would result in the development of “Little Debbie” snack cakes [named after his granddaughter]. Today, O.D.’s business, began in the back seat of his car, has sold billions of all 75 varieties of his snack cakes in all 50 states, Canada, and Mexico. Who among us hasn’t tasted a Little Debbie? McKee Foods Corporation is the largest private employer in the Chattanooga area with more than 5,000 workers.

For more information about the famous snack cakes, please visit
www.mckeefoods.com.

Victor Dorman

Victor Dorman [1915-1995] was a Brooklyn native and earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration at New York University in the mid 1930’s. He was responsible for putting paper between slices of cheese.  Dorman took over the Dorman Cheese Company, which had been founded by his father Nathan in the late 19th Century.  The company was sold to the Beatrice Foods Conglomerate in 1986. 

Until the late 1940’s, cheese had been sold in bulk.  In the 1950’s, the U.S. Slicing Machine Company developed the interleaver, a machine that cut a slice of cheese, placed it on a conveyor belt and then, with mechanical fingers, laid down a sheet of paper or parchment.  Victor Dorman was the first person to do that.  With the advent of supermarkets and self-service, there was a need for packaged products with longer shelf life.  Mr. Dorman’s company became known for its registered trademark slogan “The Cheese with the Paper Between the Slices”.

Mr. Dorman died of heart failure related to muscular dystrophy in Delray Beach, FL at the age of 80.

Frank Dorsa

In 1953, capitalizing on the “fad” for frozen foods, Frank Dorsa [1907-1996] took his family’s successful waffle batter and invented the process and machinery for producing frozen waffles. Overnight, homemakers everywhere went from “slaving” over hot waffle irons to popping “Eggos” out of the toaster! Mr. Dorsa’s son Frank and his wife Marilyn own the Delta Queen carwash in Los Gatos, Ca.

posted: January 8, 2007

I don't know how many folks caught this, but Momofuku Ando passed away after suffering a heart attack on Friday.  Ando, born in Tiawan, was the founder of the Nissin Food Products Company [1948] of Japan.  In 1958, Nissin introduced Ando's breakthrough product Chicken Ramen which later [1971] became the famous Cup Noodle, or Cup Of Noodles as we know it.

Ando is survived by his wife, Masako.  The Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum [1999] in Ikeda City, Japan commemorates his inventions.

posted: January 8, 2007

Awhile back I posted a piece about a series that I did called "Lies About My Grandmother".  In that post I was only able to show the six smaller pieces [ those that fit my scanner ]. One of the two main items in that series is a 40X29 inch canvas.  I just learned how to "tile" images that are larger than my scanner [ Umax Powerlook 2100 XL, 11 X 17 bed ] and am now able to show that larger work. Here it is. It's NINE scans!

posted: December 26, 2006

James Brown and I go back quite a way, to about Cold Sweat probably, around 1967 or ‘68.  There are a few records that you can pinpoint as pivotal, records that have “that” sound, the sound that was so totally different that it spun your head around and jerked you out of the complacency of a lower class suburban residential existence.  Sounds like Albert King’s Crosscut Saw [I think that I’d only heard Mambo on an old United B.B. King release], Wilson Pickett’s Funky Broadway, Eddie Floyd’s Knock on Wood and of course, Cold Sweat.  That was some exotic assed jive of a polyphonic mix down for me let me tell you!  I didn’t have to travel to get the gutbucket feeling way down low.  It literally jumped out of the grooves.  You could smell it.  I didn’t have much money, in fact I had no money at all, but I managed to get tickets to go see the Say it Loud I’m Black and I’m Proud! Tour.  It was my very first LIVE concert.  That was a lot of new stuff for me.  I remember that James Brown “designed” his own clothes [the dude was artistic] and the band had TWO drummers!  Two drummers!  That was a first.  My girlfriend K. got a big smooch from Maceo Parker right from the stage.  It was really dynamic.  She later went blind from diabetes and died but I don’t think it was related. I saw him several times after that. It's alway struck me how much I learned about the world from James Brown records.  Nearly everything I know about sexual relations is derived somehow from JB.  Communicating with the ladies and other "interpersonal" expressions, JB!  Unfortunately, I realized this so late in my life that I was not spared the grim reality behind the muse.

James died the other morning from CHF [Congestive Heart Failure].  Christmas morning.  My father died one year ago this week of CHF too.  I hope pop gets to meet James Brown in heaven.  Maybe he’ll get a brand new bag.

posted: December 24, 2006

End of Year Reflection Blues


Some people feel that the year is ending and other people feel that the year is beginning.
Loos Loferés, 1998

Currently, I’m trying to develop a type of visual iconographic lexicon that can be drawn on freely and in combinatory ways for making pictures [and money] that resonate in a certain way, I suppose, for certain people.  I can’t imagine being liked by a large mass audience such as In-And-Out Burger fries are in California for example.  What’s that all about anyway?  I never aspired to KFC and I only ate that stuff when my parents foisted it on me.  Now, I try to follow certain retinal cues as well as those with literary- historical- intellectual associations.  Some are rational and some are whimsical and interweaving the two seems to make nice pairings.  In addition, some things are purely formal.  It all looks a little sloppy to me, but at any rate, it’s fun to do and it’s good work if you can get it.  I am so totally the Cottage Industry Guy [It sounds like Garage Band.  Maybe that’s a good title for an illustration themed TV show]!

Anyway, so far I’ve gotten natural forms, especially those with the imprimatur of amateurish instructional images, somewhat retro [old dictionary illustrations] stuff, various tools and scientific products [as too are random archetypal actions like a high diver, wood chopper or a ball player doing heroic or mundane things] and icons. 

Not too long ago, I started to make paintings of the various forms of lettuce.  I had noticed that I didn’t see much lettuce [or greens of any kind for that matter] in painting today [my goal is to be the “painter of lettuce”] and began to incorporate them along with pictures of waterfowl cribbed out of my Golden Nature Guides [One must not forget the underlying political connotations here as well!] all juxty with the anon symbolic stuff.

The ducks led to bird people [the founding fathers of ornithology- yes! even ornithology is sexist] and eventually hunters shooting. An old litho of John Audubon reminded me of Jesus so the grisly back-story of the Birds of America became Audubon Jesus!  The weapons also resonate with the current war vibe. I see forced repetition as a kind of Zen like exercise [I’m not at all naturally inclined to any sort of physical exercise myself] that helps stimulate creativity and helps achieve a healthy, interconnected body of work.  I have to force myself into it.  It’s like an arranged marriage. I believe that the love will come to those with patience.

I love the idea of just making up a picture, meandering here and there, finding this or that and connecting them somehow with the story and the whole history of art.  I’m not at all interested in replicating a camera [after all I do have a mind AND binocular vision!], but I’m not above mimesis now and again.  I love early Renaissance masters like Giotto and Piero. 

Those are our true ancestors. Well, mine anyway. They just started painting [mostly due to the particular demands of their difficult and unforgiving medium-fresco]. Sure there’s a theological objective and a sketch but after a sound arrangement is made, you’re off on a wonderful trip just like Billy and Captain America.

I love that trip as much as I love real road trips. You always come across something that you don’t expect and as I’ve been told [in Michigan], “sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear eats you.” Oh, and it’s good to do this while listening to Otis Rush [I once sat next to he and his wife at a bar in Chicago where he was on the bill. Every time I hear him, I think of Miller Lite!]. You can substitute Albert King Live at Montreaux 1973 if you’d like.  They’re both grumpy old men.

posted: December 20, 2006

Here's a little peepshow on a small job that I just sent off.  The client is Arizona Highways Magazine.  The AD is Barbara Denny. I've been doing a small picture for their column Along the Way for most of this year. I almost always end up with a keeper.

This was for a piece called Revenge of the Birdlady and was about an overzealous birdfeeder who captured the market in the author's neighborhood in the desert.

posted: December 5, 2006

My First Post.