hometrackinggin & juicesoundtracktestimonialsnotes to self

Thursday, May 04, 2006

in mourning the loss of

...my favorite bagel, that is, cindy, i (mistakenly) shave my head.
in mourning the loss of my hair, and further saddened by the discovery that i have rather large ears, and now resemble a young nosferatu...
i don a hat. permanently. for the next 2 months.

*to explain - i was giving myself a trim, but (for the second time now) i accidentally left the guard off the clippers. thus, shaving a huge bald spot on the right side of my head. i tried balancing it out by shaving an equally bald spot on the left side, but i started looking too much like vanilla ice, so i got rid of all of it.

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

my favorite food

cindy and i, and an unidentified flying bagel, at the kansas city international airport."mmm...bagel sandwich! yummy bagel sandwich, come to me. come down from the heavens above... and get in my belly. come to papa!"

sadly, cindy flew back home to birmingham,al today. another tearful farewell, of which we've had far too many already. i wept like a little jew boy who just lost his favorite bagel. cindy, being that bagel.

and no, i'm not jewish.

but my bubby is.

Monday, May 01, 2006

parting shots

most of you know, that while i was on the road, i started various photo series for entertainment and art purposes. one of which was bathroom shots, a series of self-portraits taken in various bathrooms throughout the country. i, at first, did it solely to entertain myself, but as i progressed, i realized there was a purpose to what i was doing. these photos were my way of marking where i'd been, not only to myself, but to others. my way of leaving tracks, or footprints, in the sand, along the wandering paths i had taken.

on this nite, i found it only fitting to take a few parting shots in the bathroom of teller's gallery. not only as a way to commemorate my past experiences, but also to serve as a reminder of what is most important of all. that is, TODAY.

goodnite from me and cindy

"bye, bye."
"eww! gross! we're kissing!"

a very special thank you to

deb rust (part-owner of teller's gallery and bar in columbia, mo) for booking me, or should i say, finally giving in to my demands.

i had pestered her for 2 weeks, back in october 2005, to put me down for a show here, but she kept "forgetting." it wasn't until late november when i called her from colorado springs,co, that she finally inked me in for may 2006. to which i say, thank you deb! thank you.

as a side note, my art show coincides with Teller's 8 year anniversary. show your support by going to teller's, and buying a bunch of my art... and a drink or two.

the new stuff

i had originally intended this exhibit to be a collection, not only of my previous artwork, but of new work, relating to my adventures on the road, and experiences in columbia, mo, as well. unfortunately, i found this to be very difficult as my brain was, and still is, incapable of processing all of the information of "living on the road," having "just gotten off the road." i have since come to the conclusion, that i need to finish telling the story, that is, writing about my experiences on the road, via this website, before i begin making physical artwork about it.

having said that, i did manage to squeeze out 4 new pieces for this show, and i started a handful of others that will eventually see the light of day.


"tigertown"
my tribute to columbia, mo, "my home away from home," and also home of the univ. of missouri tigers. thus, explaining the title of this piece. this multi-layered, mixed-media painting, is based on one of my many photos of the TIGER building, the most visible and recognizable building in downtown columbia. its bold neon letters, spelling TIGER, can be seen blocks away both day and night.

this is the first painting i started upon arriving in columbia in mid-march, and also the last one to be finished. and to be honest, i kind of hate it. i see it as little more than a decorative piece; my version of "hotel art," if you will. and to be just that, a pretty picture, it sure was a bitch to make. and the frame was no easier. i unfortunately, and often painfully, custom-make all of my frames. though, this one does look quite snazzy in person. my hope is this piece will find its way (aka be sold) into a local home or business here in columbia,mo.


"a boy named james"
i view this as my first official roadtrip-based work of art. a loose self-portrait, based on a sketch i did while "on the road." i was originally thinking of kelly, who i met in st. louis (remember?), when i was drawing it. i seem to associate the phrase, PUNK AS FUCK, with him a lot, explaining why those words are written across this character's chest. but as the sketch developed, i realized i was drawing someone who resembled myself, more so than kelly. by adding my patented corduroy winter hobo coat to the scrawny bearded boy, pictured above, i only further turned, what was at first, the thought of kelly, into a portrait of a road-weary, punk as fuck, james. that's me!

"munich"
based on one of my favorite sketches from years past. people seem most intrigued by the title of this piece. i had asked cindy to suggest a title, after i struggled to come up with one myself. she looked at it, and without hesitation, offered, "munich", to which i immediately agreed. it, just fit.

looking at "fingerprints on the bathroom wall" through a mirror
another old piece i finally wrapped up. from my ongoing series, THE GOOD LIFE, based on a life-changing dream i had a few years back about a serial killer, with good intent. this series is, in many ways, my life, and my life's work. in addition to the ongoing visual art, THE GOOD LIFE series, is also being developed into a screenplay, or novel. coming soon!

in regards to this piece - the subject is, technically, me, aged 2-3 years prior, standing in front of a bathroom mirror with red fingerprints, suggesting either paint or blood, on the walls in the background. i set the painting in a frame of bathroom tiles, to further integrate the image and its environment.

taking a peek around the gallery

more eye-catching than the artwork on the walls, is the dude in back with the 'fro. i found it hard not to photograph this guy. i think he is, strangely enough, a perfect complement to my paintings. even the person up front seems to thinks so.

(artwork from top left to right) "the bubby", "deconstructing burlet", "out with the old...", "daydreaming", "francis", "campbell", "dude with 'fro"

new piece!!- "fingerprints on the bathroom wall" and "suzanne"

followed by "a victim of potential"

"untitled(self-portrait)", "tim's antagonists", "(free me from) the safe path"

"big sights, big city"

"a little ditty" and "another fish in the sea"

"donn"

and a sad, lonely fellow "listening to the mice"

*this is just some, not all, of my artwork on display.

the not-so-free wine

one of the requirements for putting on this art show, was that i had to purchase a case of wine (12 bottles of alice white-shiraz, to be exact), to supplement the free, delicious food provided by Teller's (the gallery/restraurant i'm showing in). it wound up costing me $60. $5 a bottle. not bad, but not exactly free. still a little too much for a kid, like myself, with no job or income.


not many people showed up. outside of my posse, that is. and those that did, didn't even seem to be aware a reception was going on. but it turned out to be quite nice, as cindy, myself, and my aforementioned columbian friends, were left to drink a case of wine by ourselves.

of course, we only managed to get thru 3 and a half bottles. i took the rest home and have since thought about drinking myself silly until the day i leave columbia,mo.

my columbian friends

(left to right) mr. kyle (of local band, "c'mon natalie, his name is snake." i'm currently doing their graphic/web design stuff. more about that someday soon), sarah, laura jean binkley,

my cindy (once again), and liz (karate-chop! you might recall her from this, this, and this. strangely enough, we're friends, and she's definitely not a bitch)

not pictured, but who also get props - downtown nick brown, jonny pez, and alex sutherland (cool guy/photo-journalist who is writing an article about me. more about that someday soon too).

the reception in tigertown

bunny with beard. that's me!

i've been involved in enough of these things (receptions) over the years, either for myself or others, to know, it's most important to have a good time over anything else.
i don't put much stock in the number of people who show up, or how many pieces sell, or how many compliments, or critiques, i receive. it's all pretty irrelevant (though it would be nice to sell a few pieces, as i am broke as hell). and let's face it - just as many, if not more, people show up at art receptions for the promise of free food and wine, as they do for the artwork itself, anyway. it's just a socially acceptable excuse for rich, and poor folks alike, to booze it up. so, i've learned to keep my expectations extremely low, if existent at all. and on this nite, i'm just grateful to be spending my time with a few close friends, and one very special person...

cindy!!
(she flew in from BIRMINGHAM, AL to see me! yey!!)

in my room

life of a deranged, starving artist.
pictures compiled over the last few weeks, leading up to my art reception.
all taken in my bedroom/studio.