Show And Tell

http://thegoodfoot.com/gallery/exhibit/43/daniel-edlen

This past weekend, Vinyl Killers 7 was open and is now online. My 5 pieces are still available and can be bought online.

The show looked HUGE! Every year it keeps getting bigger. This year, Jason used my Tom Waits from last year for the poster. Very cool.

The nice thing about these group shows is the new audience that gets exposed to the concept. Recently it's become apparent how helpful taking advantage of every opportunity for exposure can be, online and off. Profiles with online galleries I created long ago have brought new customers while the new video has done the same.

All it takes is one person at a time. I've said that before, but it deserves to be mentioned again. I really don't pay much attention to the ups and downs of the numbers of people following me on various sites. That doesn't have any impact on my business. I sell work to one person at a time. Heck if someone sees my work online somewhere, gets the concept, and moves on, that's great! If they bookmark it, share it, or contact me, even better. But I don't expect people to follow all that I do. That'd take, well, as much time as I take doing it!

So I show you what I do, as I do it, and tell you about what's going on that's relevant. If you get hooked, cool! If you say to yourself, "Hey that's neat!" and think about it months later when figuring out a birthday present, awesome! If you go, "Wow!" and then tell all your friends right then, beautiful!

That's how the ripples spread, and that's how that one person connects. That's how I get to do what I do, that I love SO much. So thank you for what you do that helps. You, one person.

Peace.

Beginning With The End In Mind

Herbie Hancock, on my favorite single, "Rock It", will be the 5th piece for this year's Vinyl Killers show at The Goodfoot in Portland, Oregon. Since Jason used my Tom Waits for the poster, I wanted my pieces to be really good this year. The others are the Thom Yorke, Frank Zappa, Jay-Z and Michael Jackson I painted recently. I like the black on the label on these.

I really like how my paintings are turning out these days. Not that I didn't like them before, but they seem to be better. To me anyway.

I do basically start each piece with the end in mind. I mean, I have the image already. In a broad sense I am simply replicating the original photograph. I'm not insecure about that fact anymore, as I've recognized the value I add, I put into the piece, but it is true. All I really try to do is make the painting look like the photo.

It's all dots and dabs of white paint. That's all it is. I look at where the white is in the photograph and put it on the record. I'm not even really thinking about the fact that it's a face while I'm painting. Then, in the end, voila! It's kind of fun to see it develop, which you can do here.

My painting can be a metaphor for Life, if you like that sort of metaphysical philosophical thing. Which I do. In Life, if you have a dream, a goal, a picture in your head of how something will look when you get to where you want, you have a much better chance of getting there. Sounds kind of obvious when you think about it. People don't get what they want usually because they don't know what they want!

This has been on my mind a lot with the course I'm on, so I'll ask the question again, "What do you really want?"

I'm asking you.

Peace.

Focus On Course

That line. That line from "Swimming With Sharks". "What do you really want?"

It's a vital question. Your life won't go anywhere without the answer. Well, it will, but just not anywhere you want. We need dreams. We need to write those dreams down. We need to tell people about them.

It serves our need to be connected, to grow, to contribute. To be human.

I've got some big dreams, ones that will really just be goals for my whole life. I want to read all the books I want to read and go all the places I want to go. I want to feel physically fit. I want to be a good father.

I've got some other big ones that are more, well, directed. With end points.

I want Paul McCartney to be aware of my work. Yes, that Paul McCartney. He played at the first David Lynch Foundation benefit concert, but I just missed out being able to send a portrait of him to sign. Wasn't time, according to the Universe. Who am I to argue? But I want him to know about what I do, and if I can get one of him in his hands someday? I'll melt.

I want to put out a book of my Vinyl Art. It's going to be called "Groovy Portraits". I've bought the .com domain. I've started working on the text. First I'm going to put out an Ebook version to spread it around. You'll know about it. Then, I don't know how, but it'll be published someday. And I'll get to sign one for you.

I want to make something of the 33 abstract sculptures I did in my last years in art classes. I've shared a couple sculptures, figurative, with you before. These I haven't. And I won't until I'm happy with how they're being presented. They are the most personal art I've done, ever. They are me. Well, they are me then. Becomings. That's what my old art teacher called them. Me. Becoming me. I'm still doing it. So sharing those the way I want is a lifetime goal. The biggie.

We'll see. But it all requires focus. I'm learning. I'm on a course.

Peace.

In Memory Of Michael

"Thriller" was one of the first cassettes I had, from my uncle I think. I remember the dancing, the video, the glove. An entertainer like no other, that chin jutting out, those hips popped. Remember the time?

Peace.

I've Been Doing This 3 Years?

This Zappa is one I'm going to send to Vinyl Killers this year. It'll be my 3rd year participating in the show. It feels like so long ago that I started marketing and selling my Vinyl Art. It's gone by so fast.

It's interesting to look back at something you've done for quite awhile, day in, day out, and see how things have changed, progressed. When I started out, I had vague goals, vague ideas of what I wanted to happen. Beginning with the end in mind, as Covey says, but broadly. My main goal was exposure. And it's happening! Kinda cool.

Sure, day to day sometimes it seems like nothing is happening in a broader scale. But looking at a chart of RSS subscribers that looks like the best stock chart ever is encouraging. My goal is for that to continue, for more people to hook into my blog and hopefully read a good number of posts. I know there're a lot. I'll be highlighting my favorites.

Let me know which you've dug!

Peace.

Get On thegoodfoot.com

I didn't do James Brown like last year, but I did do a bunch for this year's Vinyl Killers show up in Portland, OR. Half sold! Woohoo! Happy Halloween!

The John Lennon on the top row and the three with blue backgrounds on the second are still available at http://thegoodfoot.com/gallery/artist/daniel-edlen/. You can buy them online there.

Jason, the owner of the Goodfoot Pub and curator of this year's show did an amazing job. Below is a picture of just one wall. Mine are kinda in the middle with the blinding reflections.

You can see all the pieces in the show here. There's also a news story here about the show with a couple sentences about my work specifically. Looked like a pretty cool scene. Hopefully I'll be able to go next year!

Peace.

Real Gone

Value is strange, no? It isn't real, but just as it is determined by humanity, it also determines how humanity will act. Fear, greed, judgement, comparison are all born out of value, even though it is relative.

In today's world, it seems the media has no time to explore depth. Hence the extreme importance placed on packaging, image, facade. The storefront of our world hides the turmoil within. Discord develops along with broken people. Where is reality? Who is Britney Spears?

Value is flattening. When a cost is placed on something, it becomes a commodity. It is spoken of as though all it were was that cost. Money, something intended only to hold value in the interest of making trade more efficient, has become all people see. People are in general so focussed on amassing more value, they do anything but. They collect, they exploit, they greedily look for every way to take advantage in order to get more money.

When was the last time you thought about the people who make the goods you buy or provide the services you use? They are selling their LIFE to you, as you are to those who pay you in your job.

We need to appreciate PEOPLE, not the value they create for us to take. I'm lucky in that, firstly, I get to do what I enjoy, and secondly, I usually get appreciation for what I do. I get to feel connected to the goodness in people. It is there. Behind the ever thickening facade created by societal value lie suffering, broken real people.

Where has your real gone?

Peace.

Buy Now - Tom Waits 09/30/08

Advancing The Ball

Jason, who's running Vinyl Killers 6, let me know that he'd most likely sold the Miles Davis and Tom Waits I'd sent him. The show doesn't start until the END of October! So he's letting me send more pieces by the Oct. 8th deadline.

I found this Miles Davis image on the cover of "Tutu" and I painted it on a greatest hits compilation. I've also found a reissue of a double album of Tom Waits, so I can do two pieces from that. Apparently, Waits is very popular in Portland, OR.

Hopefully, more will sell and more people will find out about what I do. I keep reaching out myself to let people I think would be interested know about it, but word of mouth is the best. You can explain to people what my work's about with the passion you have for your music.

I'd love to know stories about people's reactions to my pieces. If you have any, let me know! Post'em here as comments if you want!

Peace.

SOLD - Miles Davis 09/30/08

Blues For Thee, Vanilla

Value = you. You'll see
where I'm going, eventually.

Last year I participated in Vinyl Killers 5, a show of artwork using vinyl records as canvas in Portland, Oregon. I sold a James Brown and Bob Dylan. I've got a link to the show's website in my linkroll off to your right. This year I'm sending Afrika Bambaataa, Miles Davis, John Lennon, Bob Dylan, and this one of Tom Waits.

I first found out about Tom Waits when I watched him in Jim Jarmusch's Down By Law, a great movie that also stars John Lurie and Robert Benigni. All 4 of these people are brilliantly creative. If you aren't familiar with their work, I'd urge you to explore.

I'm noticing that all the creative types mentioned in this post are distinctive, strongly individual, unique, and defiant. Types that live on the edge of creativity and culture. Remarkable.

But you are remarkable too. Even if you don't have a page on Wikipedia or a cult following, you are perfectly valuable as a human being. Think about the people killed back in 2001 on this day, each with a story, each with value.

Anything that you do or create, any ripples you send off, any effect you have on those around you, is your value, is part of "you". I was sitting listening to this Tom Waits album while my iRecord turned it into a reasonably accurate digital version and started thinking about everybody involved in creating the piece of art I was going to create using the record.

I end up thinking about that a lot, as I realize how we share our value. The people who have a part, any part, in your story have value to you. I mean the people who made the steel that became the machine that pressed the record that got released by the record company, bought, listened to, and sold to the store where I bought it are important to me. And so are all the people along that path. Get it?

So be remarkable as you are. Be you, the best, the most authentic you that you can, even if you are vanilla instead of homemade pumpkin caramel with whipped topping.

And thank you for being part of my journey, for as you read this, you exchange your attention for my creation, mutually sharing value, neither seeking gain.

Peace.

SOLD - Tom Waits 09/11/08

Giving The People What They Want

The final presentation of artwork is vital to its marketability. People want to receive something they will be happy to hang on their wall as is with no complications. It needs to be professional and showcase the piece effectively. It's also an issue a lot of people bring up, everybody has an opinion. I try to take them all in and see how I feel about it. I am constantly re-evaluating my framing options.

I want to keep the pieces "affordable and portable", a quote from the owner of Wild About Music. I want them to be dramatic and simple, focussing attention on my painting. I'm going to get a frame from Gary of http://www.rockartpictureshow.com/ to try out. When I initially was looking into options, his patented frame caught my attention. I couldn't afford it then, but since Robert over at http://www.collectingvinylrecords.com/ connected us, maybe it'll work out. The frames are endorsed by The Smithsonian and Rock'N'Roll Hall of Fame! Pretty cool. They even have space at the bottom if I wanted to make a little plaque.

I'm also still deciding about doing ones without frames, using clear-coat to protect the painting. They'd be much easier to ship, but not as professional looking. It does make for a dramatic presentation though. I did get great response at Vinyl Killers.

Another idea is framing the record alongside the album sleeve so both are fully visible, like they frame gold records with the original album sleeve next to it. This is a cool idea, especially when the album I've used has an iconic sleeve, like "Dark Side". This is the opposite of no frame though: more expensive, harder to ship, and less portable. So we'll see! I'm open to any ideas you might have. If you want to see a bunch of examples how the pieces look the way I frame them currently,

CHECK OUT MY SITE AT: http://www.vinylart.info/

and let me know what you think about the issue of presentation in art.

For The Love Of...

I was listening to The Verve's live recording of "Gravity Grave" on "No Come Down" while I was painting this Willie Nelson and something clicked inside reminding me of why I'm doing this artwork. The passion that true music-lovers share for the music that means so much is powerful; a raw emotional bond that you can see in someone when they "get it". Getting moved to tears by music is a gift for which I'll always be thankful.

So it made me all enthusiastic-like, which was good timing because Herbertos on Flickr found me and let me know about his Free Art Seattle Exhibition. Pretty cool idea, to have art up for a month in a cafe and then give the art away. The deadline is Jan. 5, so I'll probably do a couple for it, most likely with the clear coat and no frame like I did for Vinyl Killers 5.

I may also have gotten my first call from a visitor to the R.A.R.E. show earlier this year! I didn't expect anybody to contact me from there because most of the "Really Avid Record Enthusiasts" consider vinyl sacred, and even repurposing unplayable discs for art made them shudder. A few, though, had thought what I was doing was cool, certainly different than anything they'd seen at a vinyl collectors' show. We'll see if a commission comes out of it!

If you haven't seen the other commissions I've done, you can take a look at several if you:

CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE AT: http://www.vinlart.info/

and go to the online gallery. Plenty of time for holiday gift commissions!

SOLD - Willie Nelson 11/28/07

Ripples From Vinyl Killers And Newport Nights

I'm trying to get to these orders before hopping the pond to London. The request for Jerry came through the Vinyl Killers show and Damian Marley came through Newport Nights at Primitive Kool. I'm working on a ZZ Top which came through Wild About Music. I also delivered the pieces to Red Dog Gallery downtown which might lead to more connections. Great place! If you're in the area you should check it out this Friday after 7pm. They're #70 on the PDF map.

We bought memory foam neck pillows and ear plugs for the flight. Next is organizing all our clothes and vital items. Getting a bit nervous about dealing with airports and public transportation in another country, but it'll be a fun adventure. Hopefully I'll have something profound to say when we get back. For now, though, (yes, I'll say it again) there're new ones in the gallery, so:

CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE AT: WWW.VINYLART.INFO

and we're off!

The Godfather - Vinyl Killers

This James Brown is for a show in Portland called Vinyl Killers - http://www.craptastica.com/vinylkillers/vkmain3.htm

The sheen is from the acrylic clear coat I sprayed on liberally. Made my garage smell lovely, but it'll protect the painting without needing a frame. I've thought of using resin, but this was much easier, other than a slight ventilation problem. The effect is kinda cool, almost glossy with the grooves smoothed over. Most of the submissions are spray paint, but Klutch said mine'd fit in. We'll see. The show is at a place called The Goodfoot, which I didn't know when I choose The Godfather to paint, so a cool connection there.

I can't go to the show because we're going to San Diego that weekend to see my 16 pieces at Primitive Kool. You can see those in previous posts or when you:

CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE AT: http://www.vinylart.info/

and help me get the buzz going!