The Stones Project

This is epic. This is the coolest piece I've done. This is the coolest framing job of my work. This is why I do these.

This is why the fellow had me do these:

As a kid I always loved the Stones … tried to learn everything I could about them: first it was Mick, then I started learning about Keith, then Ronnie … in the three of them, I see the flash, the grit, the fun … but the beat holds it all together.  

I read this passage and it stuck with me: "There's an old saying among those who have know the Stones a long time. It's that Mick wants to be Keith, and they all want to be Charlie. Why Charlie? Because he's genuinely hip, he's got innate good taste, and understands restraint. Charlie kept his family together, and he never got off on the star trip that the rest of them did. He's just Charlie Watts and when the job's over,  he goes home and feeds his horses."

Who knows if it's true, but it's a great reminder when I'm sitting in my office all day not to get caught up in the perks of being a corporate exec … do the job and go home spend time with my wife, call my mother more often, enjoy the sunshine and my garden. Work comes around again tomorrow … until it doesn't.

Andy Warhol

I usually accept people on the basis of their self-images, because their self-images have more to do with the way they think than their objective-images do.

They always say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.

Isn't life a series of images that change as they repeat themselves?

- Andy Warhol

The Swagger of the Stones

Jeff Skonieczny writes a blog called http://www.imagineechoes.com/. He digs music. Good music, with a tendency towards prog rock. His blogger avatar is a photo of John and Yoko holding their "War is Over" poster.

That says it.

Oh, and he's quite opinionated. Not shy about it either.

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One thing I never mind doing is bashing the Rolling Stones. In my opinion, the Stones are one of, if not, the most overrated bands in rock. However, today, I'm feeling a change of heart. Instead of focusing on what the Stones lack, I think for once in my life I'm going to acknowledge what the Stones have.

One thing nobody can deny is the Stones' staying power. Somehow they remain in the same conversation as The Beatles, and their tours still to this day gross enough money to alter multiple third world nations.

The Stones are stellar performers. Much like Kiss, their live performances are the heart and soul of the group. Mick Jagger has a stage presence and swagger that none of The Beatles had. There are very few who put out the same kind of energy that Jagger delivers, even at the ripe age of 66. The Stones have enough great songs to get them through a pretty lengthy set. While I don't think their albums hold up all that well, they have some stellar singles, and it's those singles that get them rocking their shows.

So while my feeling towards the Stones isn't necessarily bright, I can't deny what they have earned. There's a reason why they are held in such high esteem, and in my opinion, it has more to do with the bands swagger rather than their songwriting capabilities. The Stones have the kind of energy and bombast that defy just music, they're an institution which all live acts should hope to aspire to.

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Peace.

On The Wing

So I'm shooting for at least one blog post a week, instead of once a day. Clearly my priorities and time have shifted. Which is a challenge in the sense that I can't promote my business as I did. I'm having to figure out what will be more efficient and effective, and before doing it.

The way I promoted my art before was rather haphazard. I've got fun stories about specific commissions and projects, like the one about these 5 pieces going to a guy in New Jersey for his new place who emailed me not only knowing who he wanted, but sending me the images he wanted as well. Yet selling pieces was hardly predictable or consistent. I'm hoping it can be. It feels like new territory for art though. Artists typically don't look at their work as a business in the typical sense, I don't think. Maybe I'm wrong. So I don't quite know what I'm doing, basically. It's a little scary.

I mean I want to be able to support a wife, a daughter, and 4 dogs with Vinyl Art. But I don't want to go the traditional gallery representation route. Nor is my art traditional in the first place. I've felt that way a lot in my life, in no man's land a bit. Not as grandiose as charting new territory or anything. Just not normal. But then what's normal?

I can't just wing it anymore though. Fumbling is unacceptable now.

I need to fly. I'm learning how, on the wing.

Peace.

Human Being Human

There's a difference between a noun and a verb. The problem is that "being" is both.

All people are good. Not all people ACT good, er well.

Peace.

SOLD - Mick Jagger 08/21/09

Can You Hear The Music? [EC]

It's been awhile since I added to this collection. I haven't had any takers yet on my Vinyl Art tied to charity. Maybe this one'll do the trick.

The Stones are one of the bands that I pretty much always listen to when I paint them. Today I was inspired by the first podcast on a new blog. It's about the Stones' "Some Girls". I was led to Basement Vinyl by a tweet from @JohnCleese. They're going to talk about albums they've collected on vinyl over the years, some 300 of them!

Fortunately, they seem to like my art, based on a tweet back to me. So that's good. I never know how people who love listening to vinyl will react. I've never really cared how those collectors who don't care about the actual music react. You know, the ones who don't play them because they're preserving the value of the record. But I do care how people feel who love vinyl because it sounds better than digital.

I know I care what they feel because I know how I feel about vinyl. My 1000 or so records mean a lot to me. The music in them, in those grooves, has been vital in my life. I start to tear up, feeling moved, just thinking about how much, in fact. I wake up with music in my head, music that if I keep "listening" to will put me back to sleep in a minute. Music drives my creativity, fills my soul. I don't paint on my records. I listen to them when I get a chance, even the really rare ones. There's just something in the fact that each record is an actual physical reproduction of the music. I just love'em.

So, in honor of the start of Annie and Pat's sharing of their collection, I'll donate the $100 to the charity they have on their site, Community FoodBank of New Jersey, in the name of the buyer. Also, again if there happens to be a bunch of interest, we can do an informal auction or something. Let's help them start their blog off with a bang!

Peace.

Sex, Drugs, And The Rolling Stones

I realized I hadn't painted the Stones! Since I just did all 4 members of Led Zeppelin, I thought I'd do the same for Mick and company. Both bands put out such a large amount of amazing music, both with strong STRONG blues and R&B roots. Rockin' music, man. "Monkey Man" off of "Let It Bleed" is currently my favorite song, but all of "Exile" is amazing too. Late '60s and early '70s, wow. I know the times were troubled, but the music thus inspired was intensely good.

Everything about the period was intense. Whether it was the popularized drug culture or the free sex movement or the social unrest and rebellion, extremes were tested. All I can say is, for better or worse, when you search for Keith Richards images on Google, you get a lot of pretty women and puffs of smoke. How are he and Lou Reed still alive?

Peace.

Mick Jagger 10/29/08