Family Focus

Until March next year, I'll be "out of the office". Abbey will be about 2 months old then, if all goes well with her year-end delivery, and that feels like a good amount of time to devote solely to our growing family. After that, I'll take care of business again, responding to emails, blog posts, tweets and so forth, and painting commissions.

Besides Abbey's birth, I'll have the Bookmans show sometime in January. So definitely check in come March and I'm sure I'll have news to share. This business of Vinyl Art has been built on moments when I say "That was unexpected", so I'll bet there'll be surprises too.

Like Alice Cooper signing a piece to auction for Ear Candy Charity.


Happy Holidays and New Year!

Peace.

Coming Soon To A Bookmans Near You

Yesterday I delivered 20 pieces to Bookmans to be distributed to all 6 stores around southern Arizona. So exciting. The cafe in the Mesa store is open and looks terrific, but the show will coincide with the grand opening soon. I'll definitely let you know the date when I do.

I found this album at Bookmans. Totally cool. I didn't think I'd get to paint Bogie unless I started painting on film reel cans or something. I've talked before about actors I love. Film is definitely a big part of the culture that has shaped my aesthetic, that I'm thankful for in a big way, visually and musically.

This is a list of a good number of movies that stick with me, in no particular order:

Holiday
Tank Girl
Elf
The Usual Suspects
Blue Velvet
Wilder Napalm
Sneakers
Hugo Pool
Being There
The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen
Fight Club
Joe Vs. The Volcano
No Country For Old Men
Spaceballs
The Big Lebowski
Batman Returns
The Fifth Element
Kafka
Monty Python & The Holy Grail
Hook
Yellow Submarine
Up
I Heart Huckabees
Mixed Nuts
Hudson Hawk
The Shawshank Redemption
Good, Bad, and The Ugly
The Truman Show
Silence Of The Lambs
Meet Joe Black
The Natural
Barton Fink
The Last Temptation Of Christ
Casablanca
Monster In A Box
Halloween
Hellraiser III
Dick Tracy
Falling Down
The Sandlot
Scrooged
Who's The Man?
Wings Of Desire
Pulp Fiction
The Shining
Orlando
Max Headroom
Pi
Rashomon
The Professional (Leon)
Big Night
Field Of Dreams
The Untouchables
The Fisher King
The Princess Bride
A Fistful Of Dollars
Zorba The Greek
M*A*S*H
Feris Bueller's Day Off
Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
The Odd Couple
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
Men In Black
Willie Wonka And The Chocolate Factory
Home Alone
After Hours
Glengarry Glen Ross
L.A. Story

What do you think? A few surprises probably. What would you add?

Peace.

Ignorance Is Not An Answer

Earlier today I talked about "yes". Responding and receiving yes as an answer is satisfying when backed by a good gut-feeling.

Ignorance isn't an answer. Yes, no, and maybe-so are.

Peace.

SOLD - Frank Zappa 12/15/09

For You, Yes

It's nice to hear "yes". It's nice to be able to say "yes".

It can lead to some unfortunate situations and events, like the death of Michael Jackson, though. Thus it requires listening to one's gut to figure out if a "yes" is possible and positive.

Usually I can say "yes". After all, creating for you what you want is largely why I do what I do. But I treat everybody uniquely, as you are unique, answering every question the best I can when asked. As I type "Peace." uniquely every time, with intent and desire, I answer "yes" with presence and enthusiasm.

This Michael Jackson is a gift for Bob Bookman, a thank you for my upcoming show at all 6 Bookmans locations in southern Arizona. As details have been worked out, they've said "yes" to my requests, making me feel appreciated, valued. But their "yes"'s have all come after careful consideration and planning, making me feel confident in the decisions behind the "yes".

MJ wasn't so fortunate.

Peace.

Authenticityness And Life

I like making up new words that are just a bit different than what dictionaries present. This is most helpful when a word has become so bogged down with buzzissicity or cultnotation and I don't want to convey all that crappage along with what the word actually means. See?

Authentic is one such word. Merriam-Webster says it means genuine, actual, and real. Nowadays, though, it's applied to people who appear to mean what they say, I guess, and do what comes from the heart. In essence, "keeping it real". What the heck does that mean, really?

If you mean "not fake", then what is fake? What's a real fake?
If you mean "true to one's character", then what is not true to one's character? What's a poseur?

How do you do that? I mean you are what you do. Is as does. So if you act like a fake, then it's authentic in that you, well, are acting like a fake.

I just get all fidgety when labels are applied that are buzzwords and have weird connotations. Who needs all that baggage?

As far as I, myself, am concerned, what I can say is that what I write comes from my gut. I don't set out to manipulate or game anybody. Yes, my intent is to promote and sell my art as well as share of myself, but that's what I'm here for in the first place. What you see is what you get. I just try to make sure my "packaging" matches my "product".

What I do, what I accomplish, what I gain are Life experiences. That's all anybody can hope to gather, to accumulate, to get. Life. That's authentic.

Live it.

Peace.

SOLD - Otis Redding 12/10/09