300 - White Elephant Gift

I went to a Christmas Party this year where we were suppose to bring a white elephant gift. Earlier in the week, I decided that I don't like white elephant gift exchanges when people try to unload their junk on each other. Yes, some present can be funny, but rarely does one get a gift that they don't want to throw away.

So this year, I wanted to give a gift that wasn't junk and kept the spirit of the white elephant. Here is my painting of a white elephant. I may do a new white elephant painting each year.

I kinda like this guy and am bummed that I did not try to get my own present.

295 - Destination Postcard

Some friends of ours in Lawrence (we go way back to the days at the University of Kansas) have created an arts group called B.A.L.M. - beauty, art, life movement. BALM will hold events/gathering for artists around the Lawrence/Kansas City area to meet and share work with each other. These events usually revolve around a theme. One event was to create "destination" postcards. The results were pretty good and Darin (Mr. BALM) worked it out to show these postcards at the Art Affair Gallery in Baldwin, KS home of Baker University.

Here are the three postcards that I submitted to the show:


Raingirl in Paris
4X6, mixed media
$60

I guess I have been creating a series of Raingirl images. At some point I should try to put them all together in a book or something. On this piece I thought of the destination of where I first saw Raingirl and took her picture in front of the Centre Pompidou in Paris on a rainy spring day.

This postcard was created using chipboard, graph paper, grocery bag, ink, acrylic paint, a map of Paris, and yellow architectural trace paper.


Conversation
4x6, mixed media
$60

...or maybe my better working title was "two old birds." This was a photo I took of two old ladies in one of Venice's many piazzas. They just looked classic or maybe timeless is a better word. Their apparel is great and they fit in with the Italy's old architecture. It's like right on queue they got up and left their homes and arrived at the right time to meet.

This postcard was created using chipboard, graph paper, grocery bag, ink, prisma color marker, and a photo.

Migration
4x6, mixed media
$60

The previous postcard got me thinking about geese and migration and the images of those birds and that process. It is Autumn here in Kansas. The trees are losing their golden leaves and the geese are heading south. I just wanted to celebrate one of my favorite seasons of the year.

This postcard was created using chipboard, greentint Stenobook lined paper, ink, prisma color marker, acrylic paint, and crayon on newspaper clippings.

285 - Waterfire - 08sep2007

A couple weeks ago on a Saturday night, E1 and I drove down to the Plaza to check out an art installation event called 'Waterfire.' Basically, Brush Creek was set on fire and it was all sequenced to live music. Speaker boxes were placed all along the creek and the echoed out everything from classical to Gregorian Chant to opera to Spanish flavored tunes. It was very peaceful and quite hypnotic not to mention the wonderful smells coming from the burning logs that were floating on braziers along the river. A large crowd came out for this event. People were lined along the creek and standing on top of the bridges. People of all ages were out. Kids were rolling down hills and playing at their parents feet. Middle age couples were on blankets with wine and cheese. And everyone was strolling along the walk. The streets along the creek were closed for food booths and gypsy street performers were gathering crowds. It was a good time. They are going to have this event again in October.

249 - 21 Oct 1998

[sketchbook]

I don't remember anything about this day.

It was a Wednesday.

It looks like a Wednesday picture.

248

Friday 13 October 2006

[sketchbook]

This picture is made up of a couple events from that day. The cattle is taken from a picture of a cattle drive that happened right outside our office at 11:30. Some cowboys and cowgirls in the spirit of the American Royal thought it would be grand to drive the cattle up Wyandotte in downtown Kansas City. We all took the opportunity to leave our desk to cheer on the effort. The people in Spain do it right when they run with the bulls. This cattle drive was anti-climatic and was over as soon as it started...but I would watch it again - every year.

Later that evening after my soccer game and after we put the kids to bed, I met up with BB to see a dreampop band from New York play at the Record Bar. It has been a while since I have been to a show. We had a great time, Asobi Seksu was really good and really loud. By the time we left our ears were ringing and we smelt like cigarettes.

247

wednesday, october 11, 2006

So, looking back at my old sketchbooks has put me in the mood to try be more mindfull of the 3 or 4 half empty sketchbooks that I have lying around.

I did this quick sketch for the "beagle" series of paintings that I have done. Maybe I will paint it next.

246 - October 15, 16 1998

244 - old sketchbooks

Last week, we were cleaning out our basement and I ran across a box with some of my old sketch books. There were a series of books that I did for a few years in a style of "sketchbook journaling"...if that is a real word or style? Every night before bed, I'd try to put a creative pause on the day with anything that might of resembled itself significant - a left over ticket stub, flyer to a show, menu, business card, newspaper, etc.

It was fun.

I should pick that back up again on a more consistant basis.

But for now, I'll leave you with some of the images.

Tuesday 13 October 1998

233 - spaceships in the sanctuary

Young boys have the unique ability, when they are bored and are void of all toys, to use their imaginations and make or see spaceships out of the mundane objects at hand - a pen and binder clip for example.

Every time I look down to the front of our church sanctuary, I see this spaceship swooping in ready for attack.

As these boys grow older, I guess they never really loose this ability.

231 - pet art

230 - First Fridays

229 - Leonard Cohen // I'm Your Man

227 - razor study

Check out their website. It's quite cool in that sci-fi futuristic utopian society sort of way.

224

223

222

201 - a painting for doc

Here is a painting I did for my friend, Doc. The real painting isn't as dark as the picture shows. We leave today for vacation in Colorado and we are staying at Doc's condo (the moose lodge) in Silverthorne. We'll be back late Friday night. See you all later.

I really should be sleeping now, but I am always like this before a big trip.

200 - here it is!

I have been hanging on to this post for a few days. I don't know why? Like is it more special than number #123? So, I am getting it out there and over with. I haven't been posting a lot lately. It's not really lack of material (because I've never had good material), but of being busy and not having much time. I have been more busy than normal, because (1) we are going on vacation this weekend and we need to get ready, (2) all the stuff I need to get done at work before I leave, and the most important reason (3) is all the 2-hour season finales that I tape and watch at 10 pm. I am glad that a lot of my shows are now over, so that I'll have lots of free time this summer.

So, here it is - Post #200 and my ridiculous gift to you is some temporary office sculpture around my desk. Enjoy!

A Sharpie cap, a paper clip, and a screw. The key was to attach them all in a way so that the paper clip cantilevers assymetrically and does not touch the desk nor fall over.

In the office there are all sorts of people - skinny ones, fat ones, bald ones, the yes men, the suits and ties, and the eccentrics. Taking a group photo for marketing purposes is always fun.

Plastic and steel, light and shadows, movement and stillness.

Maybe for the group photo, we can have everyone look up. This way, we eliminate the double chins.

valentine - into the heart of a boy...

I helped Goose make a Valentine for mom. He loves projects and is such a 'hands-on' guy. I try to encourage and promote it as much as possible. We gave it to Vernal this morning. I painted the 'boring' blue and placed the letters and provided restraint. Goose added the strokes and heart of a boy...i want to stay for a while. (18X24)


We painted this in the basement, which serves as an indoor playground during the cold weather days.

crayon paintings