Under Construction; No Dust

The nice thing about having a virtual gallery, instead of one made of brick and mortar, is redoing it doesn't require closing up shop during construction. Handy.

In my last post, I introduced new genre labels for my blog posts. This week I'm going to revamp my main site gallery to be more user-friendly. Each piece is going to have its own page, bookmarkable and shareable. The pieces are going to be the actual pieces, instead of representative images. And they are going to be organized both alphabetically and by genre. Cool.

I realized after creating the blog post genre labels that I have enough pieces to do this now. The gallery will have the pieces listed for sale with PayPal "Buy Now" buttons, or will show the pieces as on consignment or sold. This'll make it much easier to tell people which pieces are on your wish list. Nice.

I'll be letting my newsletter subscribers know first when the change goes live, along with some other cool personal and art-related news. If you're not on my list, you can simply email me at the address above and let me know! Easy.

Peace.

Nina Simone 10/19/09

Head-On Profile

Something hopefully very cool is developing. The fellow who bought the 3 blue jazz pieces, including Miles Davis, is working with me to create a professional video profile! Using our new Flip videocam, my wife recorded me as though I were answering interview questions about my Vinyl Art. I then recorded myself painting this piece of Miles Davis. It'll all be editted together with music and stills and timelapse shots into a clip to share online.

I was really nervous filming myself. I'm not familiar enough with how I sound, let alone look, on camera to know how to do it. Fortunately my wife is honest! After half a beer I both sounded and looked much better, apparently. Yeah, I'm a light-weight. ;)

But having grown up an introverted listener, speaking about myself, especially in public, has always freaked me out. I'm bad enough writing about myself without questions to answer. And you should've heard me give my high school graduation valedictorian speech! I'd wished I hadn't done as well in school after that.

I do like talking about my art, answering questions. That's why I redid my 'About Me' page on my site as a Q&A. Along those lines, oh readers of mine, I'd love to know what other questions you have about me or my art. I am really open and, when prompted, can ramble until my wife tells me I should stop. ;)

So, what do you want to know?

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.

Plans For Vinyl Art

Above the couch next to a guitar, perfect! These are the blues trio that Ryan commissioned. I've posted a few other pieces as they hang. I love seeing them on other people's walls. From the beginning it's interested me to know how people decide where to put them. I even started a discussion on my Facebook fan page so people can chime in.

Ryan got excited about my work on Twitter and since he'd already gotten his print from Hugh MacLeod he decided to put more art in his new office. This makes sense, buying my art during a move or remodel, so the space can be planned or laid out with the art in mind.

I've just gotten a very exciting opportunity that hopefully will lead to a whole bunch more additions of my work to offices and media rooms. I'll be letting you know about it as soon as I get confirmation.

Peace.

Broke Artists

There are two aspects of the iconic tortured starving artist: torture and starvation. Lovely.

Starvation usually applies to artists' common difficulty in making money. While making money is important to survival in today's world, it is but a tool, a means. The goal of becoming both a millionaire and an artist seems built on ego, on comparison, on insecurity.

Torture is more interesting to me. Do artists have to be broken? Do they have to be broken to become an icon in pop culture? The examples in both music and art abound. Cobain, Morrison, Pollack, Warhol, Beethoven and Van Gogh. Why are they seemingly remembered more crisply, more dramatically?

I think the answer is that artists do have to be broken.

Really?

See, all people are broken. Some deny it, and we are broke to differing extents. We look to the artist to reveal their own inner torment. Maybe because it makes us feel better about ourselves, or maybe worse. But it makes us feel. That's what art it supposed to do.

Am I broken?

Yes.

I have deep-seated insecurities that refuse to let go their grip on my gut. I probably don't seem it. Maybe that's a problem. I strive to focus on my art rather than me. My portraits on vinyl and in books come through me, are a part of me, but I hope they connect more with you and your memory than with my stuff. I figure who needs someone else's stuff to worry about when you've got your own?

Does that make me less of an artist? Does that mean that I'm not even an artist by definition? Does my art make you feel? I guess that's for you and pop culture to decide.

Peace.

SOLD - Monk, Miles, Trane 08/09

P.S. Yes, you see correctly, these are blue. Painted on "Blue Monk", "Kind Of Blue", and "Blue Train", these are one commission, probably my coolest yet. And I will use color again, for a premium.

What's Not Painted, Played

If it were all notes and no air, it wouldn't be jazz.

Peace.

SOLD - Charlie Parker 06/09/09

Following The Followers

Today, like every Friday on Twitter, is #followfriday. For those who haven't the foggiest about Twitter, basically you can label updates with #[blah] so your tweet will be grouped in with a larger trending, or popular, topic. The hokey word play of followfriday just became a routine for people to tell other people who they like following and why. It helps expand your Twitter circle, which can get to feeling real small real quick.

I don't follow everybody who follows me. I do, however pay attention to who is following me, especially when they direct tweets at me. I decided to turn the idea of sharing who you like around and share who likes me. So I do #followerfriday.

On Twitter, I have the benefit of knowing who is watching and reading along regularly, for the most part. However, here on my blog I only know those who've followed using Google's friend connect, or who've subscribed via email, like my friend Rodney. I've got some 50 people right now presumably regularly reading this blog who I don't know.

I'd like to.

To that end, I'm going to try not moderating comments. I explained before why I'd stuck to moderating them even though some people in other circles consider it a surefire way to discourage commenters. Basically, I wanted you to know I was listening because you'd know I was forced to decide to accept or reject every comment submitted, and it is my blog and I wanted to avoid having to delete spam comments.

But I want you to feel totally free to leave whatever comment you'd like. I want to know anything about yourself you want to tell me, like what music you like right now, what you think about American Idol or Grey's Anatomy, or why you keep up with this blog. Anything.

So we'll try it.

Peace.

Funk It!

When I was younger, Herbie Hancock's "Rock It" was my introduction to synth-funk. I loved it because of the video and sounds and their innovative connection to Peter Gabriel's "Big Time". Both still give me chills.

Later on, Us3's "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" refreshed my interest in jazz, reintroducing me to Herbie Hancock and his work on Blue Note. That led me into the funk of Lou Donaldson and Grant Green and Jimmy Smith among others. Talking about music that makes you move!

Peace.

Herbie Hancock 04/03/09

In a Silent Way

The Columbia Years of Miles Davis' recording career produced In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew among others that are amazing creations, some of my favorite jazz. Muted trumpet sends me, man.

For me, what's amazing about Miles is what he says by not saying. The space between. His concise powerful blasts and soft lulls have the impact they have largely because he's not always talking.

He's leading.

Peace.

SOLD - Miles Davis 04/02/09

Jazz Appreciation

My dad loves jazz. Hence I do. We got to see Dave Brubeck, one of his favorites, when I was little at Pepperdine University in Malibu. When I learned how to play the piano, "Take Five" and "Blue Rondo a la Turk" were the challenges I took on from a book of Brubeck sheet music. Jazz is hard to play. This month is taken to appreciate it.

Structured improvisation. Jazz is amazing because there is a magical balance between the written music and what the performer contributes. Space is provided. Discussion is expected.

Musicians live in the moment. I paint a portrait and, yes, do lose track of time, but then the painting persists. The moment of creation has left an artifact. Musical performance, even if recorded, doesn't really leave a trace. The vibrating air that carried the creation of the performer to you is still there, but bears no mark of having been involved in the art produced.

Jazz takes this a step further as each performance is created uniquely by design. This connects performer and audience as memory is truly the only record of each concert. In other genres of music, it is the solo which offers the performer the opportunity to express the moment as they connect to it. I love when Stevie Ray Vaughan or Carlos Santana or John Bonham or Gregg Allman spread out and let it rip.

Thus my favorite recordings are those which provide the structure of a written composition with the chance for play.

So when Dan Davis of the local news channel asked me to pick an album to play on camera, what did I grab? My vinyl copy of "Time In". It can be heard in the background of my news interview.

Who do you think strikes that balance best between structure and improvisation?

Peace.

Dave Brubeck 04/01/09

Happy Birthday To Me!

I treated myself to a trip to the local record store which has had the most new releases on vinyl. I found this Amy Winehouse new. I also found Lennon's "Imagine" and The Verve's "Urban Hymns" used on vinyl, both pretty dang rare.

I picked the hottest photo of Winehouse I could find in high resolution. I'm not totally sure the piece is done. What do you think?

I know I'm not selling it, though!

Peace.

The Power Of Suggestion

Impressionists played with light in their paintings. We see light, not the absense thereof.

So I paint highlights. It gives me kind of an advantage, using a black surface. I can just suggest the image. I'm not painting the entire thing. The vinyl does a great deal of the work for me.

This is the first of hopefully a series of pieces for a fellow who loves the Blue Note recordings done at Van Gelder Studio, some of the best funk jazz ever.

I get a little nervous painting fabric and instruments, as faces are more recognizable. I received a comment on an old post which I responded to, thinking I'd probably write a post about this idea. Humans recognize faces first. We're so good at it we see faces when there isn't one really there. Just a hint of the 2 eyes, nose, mouth configuration and we finish the face in our minds.

Suggestion. Just the suggestion of a face is enough.

Another issue is the recognizability of the image I use. When I use an image that "everybody knows", like the Lennon I did last week, our culture has done a great deal of the work for me. The iconic image makes it easier to get past the "who's that?" question and go straight to "that's cool!" Our minds don't even realize we do it. If I accurately suggest the image, you don't think about it at all.

This isn't to say that it's easier to paint a face, or to paint an image that everybody recognizes. I do have to do it accurately, and when everybody knows that face, it's easier to criticize. But it is only a suggestion, an editted version of reality. In fact, the more I edit, the more I leave to you to fill in with your imagination and memory, the more likely it'll look "right" to you.

Certainly makes for a dramatic impact when you see the light.

Peace.

SOLD - Miles Davis 10/13/08

Good Gracious

[EDIT - 09/24/09: I received an email from Bob Guthridge, the photographer of the photo from which I drew inspiration for these pieces. He's asked that I credit him and supply his email address: bob@bobguthridge.com]

This is for the Mississippi Valley Blues Society. They asked me for a piece after they saw my donations to the Alabama Blues Project. Apparently the recent flooding in the region severely limited their fundraising and forced them to put on more events to make enough money to then put on their big annual festival supporting the music. My piece will be available at their upcoming concert and silent auction on Nov. 7th.

I'm trying to use my work to do good. I like the idea that my work can help support our music, our culture. I need your help in this too.

My pieces for the School of Rock are all still available. I also extended the opportunity to have 25% of the proceeds from any commission placed before Oct. 15th go to the school if you want.

Also, all the pieces in this series are still available. They are painted on a specific collection of records I received in trade and I will give $100 of the $175 directly to a charity of your choice. All you'll do is send me two checks, one to me and one to the charity. I'll even suggest organizations if you're interested. I will also be painting more in the series soon.

If you have a way my art might be able to help human creativity and culture, please let me know. It's all part of my plan to lead us to

Peace.

DONATED - B.B. King 10/08/08

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

The Kids Are Alright

This was on an A-frame out front. I love the lower case.

This hangs from the ceiling inside the front door. The place is actually a hallway that by day is the entrance to the local VFW. They put down rugs and a backdrop at the end of the hall behind the stage to turn it into a concert "hall".

Here's the school's vinyl sign hanging on the wall just inside the door.

Here's a view of the wall of my art alongside the chairs. People walked right next to the paintings so a lot of'em stopped and checked them out. I think several thought that the images were somehow printed on the records. It's a weird problem to have: having to explain that they are handpainted instead of printed or screened or computer generated. I guess it's a compliment, but it's a marketing hurdle.

Paul put up information about my process and the availability of commissions. My wife came up with the brilliant idea to print up half-sheet commission forms for people who might want me to paint somebody else. If the order is placed before the middle of October, I'll still give the %25 to the school for their scholarship. Hopefully some people picked'em up.

They made this snazzy name sign. It was all sparkly and looked great on the gold wall. That wall color was nice. It and the rugs created a warm feeling in the place.

Me! My wife was so proud. During the gig, they introduced me and told the audience about the percentage going to the school a couple times. The kids were really appreciative and the general manager of the school thanked me a bunch.

None sold that night, but the Billie Holiday and Howlin' Wolf are going to be in the school's fundraising silent auction at the House of Blues on November 1st. So hopefully I'll get them some money then.

It was so cool to be able to connect my art with an organization that gets kids excited about music! My main point with my art is to celebrate the music, and to inspire kids to pick up an axe and learn how to riff like Jimmy Page is awesome! They played Zeppelin, Who, and other classic bands' music along with some originals by the kids. The drummers for the band were excellent, so I hope they saw my Moon and Bonham. They played "London Calling" and while I didn't use that album, I did paint Joe Strummer of The Clash. So my work fit right in with what the school's about. I really hope I get to continue to draw attention to them.

So, check out The Paul Green School of Rock!

Peace.

A Break In The Story

I've got this link above so that people who find my site and blog after buying a piece of my art can connect with me.

The only thing I don't like about selling my work on consignment is that I don't get to connect with the buyer. I don't know anything about them or what their plan is with my work. I don't mind, it's just that part of what I really enjoy with selling my work is knowing who wants it and why.

I was doing my state sales tax and realized that I've sold 5 paintings of this image of B.B. King, all through consignment. It's great that people are responding to my work strongly enough in the context of a retail shop to plunk down a chunk of change to take a piece home. Very gratifying. But I would love to know the story behind the purchase.

Maybe someday I'll find out.

Peace.

ON CONSIGNMENT - B.B. King 08/20/08

The Details Are Hazy

It was quite difficult to find a good photograph of Elmore James. All were small and fairly grainy. When that's the case, my painting ends up with less refinement. Not worse, just less detail. Makes for a slightly stylized if not sometimes more dramatic portrait. Still can capture the likeness and spirit though, I hope.

This is the third and final piece I'm sending to the Alabama Blues Project silent auction. Check out their site and if you're going to be around Tuscaloosa on September 5th, maybe check out the event itself!

Peace.

DONATED - Elmore James 06/24/08

Being In The Now, On The Way To Then

To all the artists out there, it's hard isn't it?

It's hard to discipline oneself to stick with it. Your own schedule, your own goals, your own temptations and distractions.

Mine's currently family. Not a bad thing at all. So it's even harder.

So, how do we balance short term pleasure with long term success? It's a rather good deep question that just came to me this very moment. And I thought I had nothing to say a minute ago.

I have a lot of eastern philosophy in my brain, the whole "being in the now" thing. This isn't a license to do whatever feels good, but it does lead me to go with the flow maybe a little too much. As a teenager, cross eastern philosophy with existentialism. Boy that was fun. But now I have responsibilities to myself and others, and to my art, and to you. So I might've swung too far the other way now, with an endpoint of workaholism. Hmm...

So do I go swimming with my neices? I did paint one already today...

Peace.

DONATED - Bonnie Raitt 06/18/08

Actually Giving

[EDIT - 09/24/09: I received an email from Bob Guthridge, the photographer of the photo from which I drew inspiration for these pieces. He's asked that I credit him and supply his email address: bob@bobguthridge.com]

Getting involved feels good. Getting asked to get involved feels even better!

For the Alabama Blues Project silent auction: B.B. King.

I wish more charitable organizations would follow this approach of getting people involved. People like stories. "I actually got to help build a house for a homeless family in New Orleans!" They like connecting with those they're helping in a more meaningful way than just sending in an annual check. "I actually bought a goat for a family and get correspondence from the little one taking care of the new source of food!" My wife and I were thrilled to get to pick out a book to go into a new library for kids supported by a charity. Thrilled because instead of getting to the register at Borders to be fed a line like, "Would you like to add a $1 to your cost to donate to ..." we were entreated to pick any book from the store to buy and have set aside to actually get put on a shelf for kids to read. "Some kids are going to get to read 'The Giving Tree' because we bought the actual book for them!"

We ended up spending way more on the book for the kids than the one we were getting for ourselves.

Actually.

Peace.

DONATED - B.B. King 06/16/08

Seeing Truth

Back when I was a pre-schooler, my mom put me in a program in a lady's backyard called Monart. It was my first art instruction. Mona Brookes was apparently testing a new method of teaching children how to draw. What it taught me was seeing without prejudice.

I don't mean prejudice as in the racial or sexual types. Take that to the extreme, I mean seeing without any judgment or intepretation of what I'm perceiving. I was trained to turn off the normal filter through which we see things, no longer abstracting from my perception anything other than shapes and colors. While painting Taj Mahal, it isn't Taj Mahal I'm painting. It's a collection of shapes distinguished by their values and their boundaries.

This skill leads to the philosophical desire to avoid categorizations, to reject descriptions in words, and to cease assuming. I try to take in my perceptions without analysis and certainly without opinion. If you can do this, you can see without the voice in your head telling you lies, like Ruiz says in "The Voice of Knowledge", you can appreciate the perfect beauty of all this world presents you, and you can love without qualification.

Sounds corny, sounds like what I was objecting to in Ruiz's book yesterday, but I guess I mean "love" in the sense of accepting everything Life is. It's kind of a peaceful feeling, but also sort of disconnected. To be a part of humanity means communicating with language which inherently labels and categorizes with nouns and adjectives. If we could communicate without speaking normally, we'd be set.

Hey, wait a minute. Look at the painting of Taj Mahal above. 'Nuff said.

Peace.

GIFTED - Taj Mahal 05/30/08