WIP - Old Wars, New Wars, End of War

Whoa...

This canvas pretty much fills up my small studio, making it seem even more immense than it is.

Title: Old Wars, New Wars, End of War
Inspiration: NIN: 12 Ghosts II, The Doors: The End, NIN: A Warm Place

Plans: Let me preface this by saying that my reference point for an old war is Vietnam. Obviously I know there are much older wars, but I am looking at this from my point of view, not an historical point of view. I plan on dividing this canvas into thirds. The divisions will not be obvious, and one will flow into the next.
I will start with Vietnam at the bottom, flow up to the desert wars, and then, at the very top, have an explosion, or something that resembles my work, Great Cities.
I admit, this is a very pessimistic view of humanity and war because I am saying the war the will end wars is nuclear. But, a lot of times, that is the way it seems.

Unattended Fire

This may be evidence I am collecting to support my theory that, much like the plot in Idiocracy, this country is full of stupid people, followers and idiots, and we only have a limited time left. I mean look a the amount of people who follow Glen Beck, Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh. All of that just equals a damned shame. But freedom of speech is there for all of us - including the idiots and the zealots and the idiotic zealots.

Photo: I watched this fire burn nearly out of control on the sidewalk in front of a motel room by the drive-thru I was waiting in. I hope the owner of the fire was right inside the room watching it, but somehow I doubt it.

Viceroy of Vixenology

I signed up to be a regular contributor to Sublime Rush. I had to pick a title...I think Viceroy of Vixenology would not be suitable...mostly because it implies both male and female. To be completely feminine in this title, it would have to be Vicereine of Vixenology. I was discussing my title dilemma with a friend last night, and he thought that since it is based in the UK, I should be a Knight. So Sir LolaPeg. So then we wondered if females can be knighted. Turns out, they can. But they are called Dame. And now I understand why the word dame implies a brassy, strong female. Dame LolaPeg. So, what I ended up with is a multiple choice of Producer, Communicator, or Contributor. Yep. just keepin' it real.

Pollock

Last night I watched Pollock for the first time. I admit that I did not know a whole lot about the artist before, other than the fact that people make fun of his work...or they claim that anyone can do it. I disagree. Or maybe I agree that someone can, but why should they? Unless it is for an educational exercise.

After learning about him and his history, I think I have come to appreciate him and how he evolved, or maybe devolved. It seems like he found a higher self in how he worked with the paint. It is a different kind of abstract for sure. It does not look like anything. It is just a man whipping paint onto the canvas. Why not?

I still think I think like Pollock. He used liquid paints. He let the paint do what it wanted on the canvas. He likened it with chaos. He was close to nature. He was a drunk...I am not a drunk, but I have an addictive personality.

Gah, he was a fucking mess. But, I appreciate that kind of a mess. I know he was an Aquarius, but I bet his ascendant is Pisces. I would love to look at his birth chart. He was not for this world...or maybe he was not for his time. Or perhaps he was just in time.

I hate that the film he made about his process did him in and made him feel like a fraud - it seemed like that was his undoing, as self-doubt is with so many artists. Self-doubt should be beautiful because it keeps you honest, self-aware and humble. It makes you keep on trying and trying harder to achieve better.

What I appreciate most about him was letting go of structure. I think when you let go of so much of the structure of realism, surrealism, etc., painting is about energy and what is in the soul. There is something that pulls from a higher source within the artist...and maybe that is the chaos.

Collaboration - Viva Mixed Tapes

Viva Mixed Tapes is the collaboraton that is most on my mind. I want to veer toward my other style and method of art making. I am excited about this one because I am working with my friend Iaian on it. He has mad skills and is self-taught, as well. He is a pop artist. So we have someone who admires Basquiat and Warhol, with someone who admires Warhol, but behaves like Pollock (not intentional). So, Viva Mixed Tapes came about when he was one his way home from the gallery late one night and he asked me what we would do without our iPods. Then we started talking about the love and thoughtfulness that goes into making a mixed tape for someone and how that is just long gone. Sure, I imagine people still burn a CD or two instead of sending a play-list, but those mixed tapes were hard to make, so they were always made with love. Viva Mixed Tapes! I am sure this collaboration will embody that kind of love and appreciation, as well.

Photo: iPhone with Shake It ...it is a close-up of my Tessla lamp.

Wondering

I shot the photo above at at restaurant that leaves all of the hot sauces out on the counter for you to take to the table. I tend to always grab the one with the safety wrapper on the bottle. This one had it, but was still low on the hot sauce. And I could remove the lid without tearing the safety wrapper. So, that left me wondering if I should use it. Even though the other bottles on the counter were opened, and I have used opened bottles before...because that is what you do...it is what they are there for. But, this was weird, so I did not use it. Because it had the safety wrapper, I wondered more if it was safe, or if it was a trap.
Paranoia cha cha cha.

Currently In The Studio...

My to do list is f-ing ridiculi

So, now I am going to write in this blog for a bit because I am an insane procrastinator. Let's talk about my addiction to Life Cereal. Now I am talking about the straight-up, original Life cereal that my not-so-little anymore "friend" Mikey use to pedal as a child actor. I love it. I need to have at least one bowl of it a day. And fuck the serving size on the box. I could live on Life cereal, so its name is very appropriate.

Gaia and Mother Earth and Awesome People

Well, I am totally high right now (On life, silly. That's right: Life Cereal.), so 'tis a great time to write in me blog. I had a good week, even though someone was missing from it...just for now though...

The painting above is called Gaia: Forgive My Weakness. It is about Mother Earth and her fragility. Although, would she be so fragile on her own?

I know some men who emphatically say that they are awesome. I often find that I think they are awesome, too. Although their lack of humility might tend to turn me off, since they are charming and talented, I tend to eventually agree with their self-assessment. Then I find myself telling them they are awesome, thereby perpetuating their self-myth...well, I guess it is not really a "self"-myth if others think it is true, but you know what I mean...their persona....What was I saying? Wait, where the fuck am I? ........

My Brain...Now a Cover Model!!

Yes, that's right. Amy Hooton's painting of my brain is on a medical journal cover.

Wake Up

You've got a right to be wrong,
If it is wrong to be right.

The moon is breaking apart,
The world is ending.


Wake up.














Ride the highway west.

Photos: Taken with my iPhone and then altered with Shake It.

From One Holiday to the Next

Provoking The Viewer with Color

I have often been heard as saying, "I wish I went to art school". But, in the same breath, I can explain to you why I am happy I never went to art school. The latter has much more influence in the freedom of expression within my artwork. If I had gone to art school, I am not sure that I would feel as free to throw 5 paint colors on a canvas just to see what happens. I have taken several classes on graphic design and they have included color theory. But that is just a light, surfacy overview of a deep ocean of information. So, I am not 100% art-school free. Let's just say I have enough knowledge to be dangerous...nah, actually that saying would imply I think I know more than I do. Instead, I know enough to know that I know very little at all about color theory.

Yet, I love color. Someone has suggested to me that I dull my canvases down...actually, a couple people have. But, to me that would be like selling out to please the masses. When I use the bright, intensity of a color without dulling it down, I do it with purpose. It is a statement I am trying to make in the painting itself. It is not because I ran out of my perfect-gray mix. It is not because I am matching a color-requirement from the Crate and Barrel line. It is because I have an emotion in mind that has to do with a current situation in my life and I relate it with color, and that color is often intense. And a lot of times people pick up on the emotion...even without the title and even though the work is abstract. Sometimes they relate it to their life and their experiences and they let it speak to who they are. I like that just as much. My work is not just about form and color, it is about how form and color speaks to emotions.

The following are just a few of the books on color theory that I own and enjoy referring to: