I don’t have much time to write anything, as I’m in the process of getting my bar ready for it’s grand opening this Friday, but wanted to post a link to this interview I did for one of my favorite websites, fecalface.com.
Trying to squeeze as much time as possible out of every day, but I probably won’t have any new art up for another week or so as I get my life in order….
Falling Sky
This is the first piece I’ve done in a while that doesn’t include one of the black objects. I was thinking along the lines of an apocalyptic occurrence. At some point the Black Towers will cause extreme & disastrous changes in our world, one being the sky bleeding, or “falling”.
These next few weeks are going to be pretty crazy, as my bar is finally opening this Friday. I’m still trying to accept the idea that I’m actually going to be a bar owner now, that I’ll be linked to Brooklyn for a very long time now. The reality of the whole situation hasn’t really set in yet, but I’m aware of what a massive change this is going to have on my life. I’m mostly concerned with losing time to make art, but I think as the bar gets all it’s kinks worked out, maybe I’ll actually have more time to paint. This is what I’m aiming for, to own businesses that can eventually run without me, leaving me free to pursue the things I truly care about. I’ve taken a step forward.
Black Pyramid 1
The black pyramids are conduits through which the Ancients can travel or transfer energy. This piece it meant as just a simple introduction of the pyramid to the larger Black Tower mythos. As with all the black objects, I’m still figuring out the meanings of these things & what roles they play in relation to the towers. A partial of this painting was used earlier this year for a Midnight Masses concert poster that I posted a while back. This is the full scan of the painting.
I’ve got a bunch more new stuff I’m either starting up or finishing, including a painted drum head & album artwork for Midnight Masses new EP, as well as more new paintings that should be finished in the next week or so. Also some shows lining up for early 2010 which I’ll post about as the dates are finalized. Happy to be
busy.
Also, check out this site of Bichon Frises in art.
One more thing in honor of Obama being in NYC for the U.N. Summit…
A lot of new paintings up on the site today. I’ve been working on this one, The First Tower, for months & am relieved that it’s finally finished. At times I would just set it aside, let it gather dust, then return to it with renewed enthusiasm. Lately when I find a painting becomes tedious, I just take a break from it rather than giving up on it completely, and I feel like this piece benefited from my relaxed approach to it. A lot of my work deals with repetition, in a technique or in the actual subject matter, & that usually leads to some monotonous painting. One way that I’ve learned to combat the monotony is to work on 3 at least 3 paintings at once, so I can go back & forth between pieces & not get bored painting clouds or trees or color strips over & over again. My biggest struggle right now is not giving up on a piece midway through. I’m constantly critiquing my work, stressing about something that doesn’t look perfect to me, agonizing over tiny spots or mismatched colors that no one else will ever see. I’m trying to fix this, to let myself enjoy the act of painting more, rather than approaching it with a “succeed or fail” attitude. I’m learning more with each new piece, becoming more comfortable with my techniques & subject matter, & not thinking so much about what it all means and how each piece is connected. The Black Tower mythology is still the driving force behind everything I’m painting, but I’m expanding, thinking about space & other worlds, breaking the Towers down into the building blocks used to create them. I’m going to be introducing many new symbols in the next group of paintings, crystal stars & nebulas & holes in the sky…..
The First Tower is just that, the first ancient black tower, here before the Earth saw it’s first terrestrial life-form. This tower is the source of all the others on Earth, the starting point for all the black objects appearing, the meeting place of The Ancients. The First Tower looms over an archaic range of impenetrable black mountains, reaching far into the atmosphere, beyond any height ever reached by man-made structures. This is where it all began, and ultimately where it will end for us as a race. The Tower will stand long after we have disappeared, bearing witness to our birth & death, all the while releasing it’s darkness into existence, setting forth powers & influences over every living thing. This will be the last tower I paint for a while.
“When the long winter nights come on and the wolves follow their meat into the lower valleys, he may be seen running at the head of the pack through the pale moonlight or glimmering borealis, leaping gigantic above his fellows, his great throat a-bellow as he sings a song of the younger world, which is the song of the pack.”
Epic Jenga(*) tower.
My friends (all New York residents) were passing the time at happy hour yesterday by playing Yahtzee & then moving on to Jenga(*), at first not realizing the irony of playing a game where you’re building a tower on the anniversary of 9/11. There were 3 Finnish seamen (seriously) on shore leave hanging out at the bar, stomping obnoxiously to the music with their wooden shoes (again, seriously). They took notice of this game of Jenga(*) being played & took offense to it, asking with great exasperation: “Do you know what today is the anniversary of?!?” before stomping out of the bar in disgust.
* a detail of note, the Jenga game was an off-brand, with the name “Jumbling Tower”.
I was reading all my friends different posts in regards to the anniversary of 9-11, & my friend Sarah’s comment stuck with me: ” I think today is only the 2nd 9/11 ann’y that has been rainy or cloudy. Every other one was clear and sunny just like in 2001 which made it extra eerie. I’m glad it’s raining.” I’m also glad it’s raining.
Had to post this as it really excites me to see Great Whites showing up along the Atlantic Coast.
Abandoned automotive shop (?) somewhere along HWY 22 near Ft. Ticonderoga, NY.
Wanderlust permeates my every thought. I can’t believe I have to wait 10 more months before taking off on my epic U.S. roadtrip. Fly, time, fly.
Lyon Mountain, NY.
Also, the photo of Peewee that I took for the unleashed dog ticket got on Cute Overload.