Steps Ahead (Or, In Front Of The Footsteps)

In the Table of Contents off to your right, the Introduction is called "Steps Back" also featuring a painting of all four Beatles like this one. This piece is for my first baby barterer, http://tinyurl.com/VAbaby.

Now I'm looking forward, setting my dreams down on paper, organizing my goals accordingly, and committing to what I really want.

It's empowering to see progress. I'm still seeking balance, as I do tend to go too far sometimes with change, but I like the feeling of accomplishment.

One challenge, a big one, to my Vinyl Art venture is creating a new trail in the world of art. Still unclear even really how to characterize what I do in traditional terms, I'm not sure where the right people are to connect, to share. I hope eventually to bring them to me through various means of exposure, but I have a lot of seeking to do. A lot of unanswered questions. How cool! I love not knowing things.

So, where do you think I could engage people in conversation about music, art, and/or human creativity in general who might also be intrigued by my work?

Peace.

BARTERED - The Beatles 09/28/09

Preparation Prevents Perspiration

So yesterday I didn't do a post because I kind of overwhelmed myself. I got so excited the night before about my Bookmans news that I bit off more than I could chew with my to-do list and I ended up discouraging myself. When really I had done a lot.

I have to be careful with myself, because I tend to swing pendulums to extremes. From no change to let's change everything! But being prepared is a good thing. I'm learning that for sure. And I'm learning that shortcuts are long on cost, end up causing more work down the road.

My website is one example. What seems like ages ago, NOTCOT did a post about me. It's one of those 'what's cool' sites. I had a huge traffic spike to my website. But I hadn't really designed it well, procrastinating because I couldn't make it perfect. I was amazed that I had even one sale directly from that post. I got freaked out because I didn't have any kind of inventory control or note about variations in commissions or anything. Sweating bullets that morning. Frenzy.

Now, my site's in better shape, partially because I was preparing for this. So now I'm ready. Not sweating. Excitement.

I've gotta get painting!

Peace.

What's The Sense?

How do you think? Is it in words? Images? Sounds? Smells or tastes? Feelings?

I've got words, images and sounds up in my brain. But words usually trump. It's sometimes annoying, no? I know I just want to turn off the stream of conversation my brain seems to have with itself. It gets in the way of what I want to do. That's why I paint. With music on.

Ahhhhh.

It really does sort of turn into meditation. I don't think in words about each dab of the brush. I don't think in words about each moment of music. It's very peaceful. I think that means, while words are dear to me, my passion lies with music and art.

Funny how what I ended up doing every day combines both. Makes me feel really lucky I sometimes get paid to do it. Those moments fly by, leaving me wishing for more daylight.

Do you do what makes time fly for you? If you do, it's cool isn't it? If you don't, why not? What's the sense?

Peace.

Sell Hard

Am I revealing too much? Am I dealing too much?
Am I revealing my dealings too much?
Three a day I must get paid, if supporting my family
with my art someday. So I sell hard.

Quite awhile back one told me I should
write like I paint, with music that is good
playing behind, driving my mind.
Letting it flow down my spine. So I sell hard.

Trivial pursuits in pursuit of being known,
man if it were that easy, to get shown. Alone
sitting in front of the box, taking hard knocks,
but persisting for little Abbey. So I sell hard.

Yep, the little one on the way, can't wait for
the day. She'll turn my life upside down, more-
over make it whole. But I gotta stay in control
of it to make a go of it. So I sell hard.

But do I hard sell?

Peace.

ON CONSIGNMENT - 08/25/09

Hard To Sell

I knew if I hung these up I'd have a hard time taking them back off the wall and shipping them off. I knew it.

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

Three For Thursday, Three Times!

Syd Barrett of early Pink Floyd is for our friend Doug's son's birthday. I'm giving it to him in exchange for an awesome collection of '60s and '70s albums. Doug, like my wife and I, is nuts about music. In fact, he and my wife met at a concert when she was following the Black Crowes during their early days. I'm not sure what I'll do with the albums he gives me, but it'll be special.


Mike Love of the Beach Boys is another one for the David Lynch Foundation! The Beach Boys are doing a benefit concert early next month for DLF and they decided to have me do another one to auction. So cool. Mike is going to not only see this, he's going to sign it! Hopefully I'll get a picture of him doing so, but at the very least I'll get the painting back signed to frame, so I can take a shot then. I'll keep you updated about the David Lynch and this piece as far as the actual auction.

This Hendrix is for the guy with stellar taste who also commissioned the Peter Gabriel, Roger Waters, and Jim Morrison I painted recently. They look so cool together, it's going to be hard to part with them. But I'll take a shot of them framed all together before boxing and shipping them.

Speaking of commissions, I also just got a commission this morning from another guy with awesome taste. He wants Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Thelonious Monk on albums with 'blue' in the title, IN BLUE! So cool. I've already bought the albums on eBay and am really looking forward to painting them. Another set of three.

Things are really getting exciting right now for whatever reason. A friend online noted that it seems I have something new going on every day. I hope it stays that way as I roll with more commissions, more exposure and more charity connections. My goal is to, sooner than later, be able to support our family with my art. And, since we're about to have a baby in January, I need to be working on probably at least 2 pieces a day. We'll see. I'm hopeful the Universe's plan heads in this direction. I'm trying to do what I can.

Along those lines, I've got over 50 fans on Facebook now! Pretty sweet. A bunch of people I don't even know yet. Even better. I really hope that page can be a gathering place for people who like what I do, and human creativity in general, getting some good discussions going. Make it about music trivia or deep philosophy, whatever, I'm game. I'll jump in when I have something to say and I'll post updates of relevant exciting stuff. So, if you're on Facebook and haven't yet, check it out!

Also, I'm still doing my monthly email newsletter with continuing stories of my life and art, presented in a little bit more organized fashion than this blog. If you'd like to subscribe, please email me and let me know!

And on a 3rd front, following the 3 paintings and commission of 3 pieces, for those out there reading regularly, please share this blog. At the bottom of every post, there's a button to share the individual post on pretty much every social site out there. The same button is in the sidebar if you want to share the whole blog. The more people who know, the more people who know! :)

Peace.

Keyboards: Rhythm AND Melody

The keyboard solo in "Riders On The Storm" is what hooked me on The Doors. I'd played piano from the time my parents put me in Yamaha school, sight-reading mostly. Since then, keyboards have been usually my favorite instrument in a band. Manzarek blew me away, especially when I learned from a documentary that he sometimes sang for Jim in concerts too.

Who's your favorite keyboardist?

Peace.

SOLD - Jim Morrison 08/18/09

In Appreciation Of Powerful Exposure

I love "Animals" and "The Final Cut" personally. Besides the albums with Syd Barrett, I think they might be my favorite Pink Floyd Albums. This isn't anything against "Wish You Were Here", "The Wall" or "Dark Side Of The Moon" as I tend to LOVE full concept albums. And Floyd is the king, as far as I'm concerned. There's just something about those 2 albums, maybe because most people tout the others so much.

I'm not much for trivia. I honestly don't make it a point to learn in depth about bands I like, their histories. I just love the music. It's kind of like my art. I don't want you to have to know my major in college or that I'm an only child to appreciate what I do. That's one reason why I do what I do, because it is basically pop art. It celebrates our common popular culture. I'm not focussing on mass consumables like soup cans, but I am paying tribute to people who've changed our world en masse as individuals. Roger Waters was powerful.

That's why when the powerful expose the personal, it's that much more raw and impressive - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKKOsVS3VQ4.

Peace.

SOLD - Roger Waters 08/13/09

P.S. On the subject of exposure, I just got REALLY great news about my show upcoming at Bookmans. If you want to know the story, please subscribe to my monthly newsletter. To do so, just email me at vinylart@danieledlen.com. Thanks!

The Majesty Of Peter Gabriel

So a fellow commissioned 4 pieces today! He even knew which albums he wanted me to use. Check this out: Jim Morrison on "The Doors", Roger Waters on "The Final Cut", Jimi Hendrix on "Are You Experienced?" and Peter Gabriel on "So".

Right?

Even better Gabriel is his, as well as my, favorite artist. Of course "Sledgehammer" and "Big Time" on MTV introduced me to him, and I know I've talked about him before. But here's why he's my favorite:

Shock The Monkey
Dancing With The Moonlit Night (Genesis live)
Digging In The Dirt (live)
The Rhythm Of The Heat

Peace.

SOLD - Peter Gabriel 08/12/09

We Need Music To Keep Us Sane

Yeah. Well said by Ann who commissioned this Neil Young. Here's how she explained why she wanted the piece:

"I would like Neil Young on the Rust Never Sleeps album. Also, if possible, I would like Neil's picture to be of him at about that time... so, younger than the one I saw of Neil on your website.

My brother died when he was 23 - very unexpectedly. He was a great fan of Neil (as am I). He had been learning to play "The Thrasher" on his acoustic guitar. About 2 months before his death, my brother and I went to see the Movie - Rust Never Sleeps.

Neil is my hero - but it would also be my own private reminder of a special memory of my brother, Mike."

That's why I create these.

Shortly after Jason died I wrote http://vinylart.blogspot.com/2008/05/music-keeps-me-together.html. It's long-winded and philosophical, as I was trying to get a handle on an unhandleable event.

Still trying.

Peace.

SOLD - Neil Young 08/04/09

The Glue

My wife's brother, Dustin was in town last week to visit. Such fun. He and my wife have a very similar sense of humor, the same as their dad. I love having family over. Makes our home feel even homey-er. Family is what makes us all stick.

Those of you who get my email newsletter knew we were possibly thinking of moving to Indiana pretty much just to be closer to her brother living there. We won't be doing that, at least until our baby's born early next January. So I get to paint the John Lennon animals in the nursery.

As with my wife and I, music has meant a heck of lot to Dustin too. A guitar player, he's an obvious huge fan of Zeppelin. I was working on the above piece, which I glued together with Super Glue this morning, so he loved getting to watch me paint a couple that ended up in this:

http://current.com/items/90575098_led-zeppelin-vinyl-art-timelapse.htm

He had on his iPod the Great White covers of Zeppelin. Holy smokes! Couldn't tell the difference right off. Watch this with your eyes closed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOV7kAGt1vs

By the way, if you don't get my newsletter, I just sent one out this morning. If you'd like me to add you to my mailing list, email at the address at the top of this page and let me know! I'll send you the new one.

Peace.

Led Zeppelin Vinyl Art Timelapse

"So what can I say? It's all about the 'Immigrant Song'." - Icky on "Sarsippius' Ark" by Infectious Grooves.

Peace.

Looking Up, Or The Order Of Detail

These're a couple of the cellphone shots I took while painting Robert Plant and John Bonham, rounding out the 4 from Led Zeppelin I started yesterday. Next I've got to get more clear coat to protect them, and then I get to glue them together! Should turn out pretty cool.

I'm also going to try another timelapse YouTube clip, basically a slideshow stitched together. Then you'll get to see these 2 completed. Should turn out pretty cool.

If you've been checking out my cellphone shots you'll have noticed that I usually start at the bottom, the neck or chin, and work up, finishing with the eyes. This is entirely arbitrary, habit. The only reason the eyes usually come last is because I have to use a smaller brush to do the details, the highlights. Saves washing out brushes more than necessary, maybe laziness. But I decided to try starting with the eyes for Plant, just to see what it'll look like in the video piece. Gotta experiment! Should turn out pretty cool.

Peace.

Business Matters

Back in April of '07, Shelley at Wild About Music gave me a chance.

That chance has allowed me to do what I do today.

WAM had a location in Santa Monica, CA across the street from where my mom regularly eats breakfast. She'd been on the lookout for places that might be interested in my Vinyl Art. See I'd sold them only through word of mouth locally to people either my wife or my mother-in-law knew. The goal was to be able to pay my own health insurance for a year. If I could do that, then I'd be able to keep going.

I needed a more steady source of sales in order to follow my passion. Wild About Music was a perfect fit for my work. SXSW was coming up in Austin, so Shelley, after looking at a packet of inkjet prints of photos of my early work, decided to show several during the craziness in Texas. The Led Zeppelin Page and Plant and the Stevie Ray Vaughan I sent sold before the festival even started.

Since then, both the Zeppelin and the SRV pieces have done consistently well. B.B. King, Willie Nelson and others have sold occasionally. But thanks to the sales from WAM, I was able to pay my health insurance.

As the economy tanked, art sales predictably have dropped. Fortunately, my online presence has kept me afloat with sales here and there and now has led to more opportunities for wider and more focussed exposure.

But Shelley's still there, with a couple pieces of mine in the front window and a bunch more hanging on the wall as you go downstairs from the merch section to the gallery section. Last month the SRV sold again.

So I'm doing something special, for Shelley and hopefully for my art. I'm sending her the double portrait above. It'll be marked at $325, less than what 2 separate pieces would be, even though my costs, all told, are higher. I want to draw attention to her store, my art, and as a result our precious memories and culture. So go if you're in the neighborhood. Because business matters.

Peace.

ON CONSIGNMENT - 07/22/09

I Am, Without Words

I unfortunately found out about Stevie Ray Vaughan the day he died. The local jazz station, KLON, was playing nothing but his music, as well they should've. Since, I've bought several albums including some amazing concert bootlegs. I wish wish wish I could've seen him perform. There are no words.

I found out about Jill Bolte Taylor today. She's not dead. Amazingly. I'd heard about this neuroanatomist who'd survived a stroke and written a book about the experience, but I'd never pursued learning more. Fortunately, happenstance led me to watch her TED talk on YouTube this morning.

If you haven't heard her tell her story before, click on that link in the previous paragraph and allow yourself 20 minutes to be captivated. What she communicates, I'm not entirely sure how she was able to say it with words. It's absolutely completely overwhelming. It is Life, both individual and eternal.

And that's what I've struggled with for years. Long ago I had a BIG problem with words for awhile. I whittled everything down to the statement "I am", fundamental to both the logic of Descartes and the spirit of the Tao. I couldn't figure out what even that meant at the time though.

In her talk, Taylor resolves my struggle by so simply, so clearly differentiating the left and right sides of the brain. I won't even try to restate it. Just watch it. What I will say is that, in my oversimplification, "I" is the left side and "am" is the right.

But really it's like trying to say in words what SRV does with his guitar. So please, watch both clips.

Peace.

Regifting In A Good Way

This was great. I got a call from the woman who bought this Stevie Nicks for a friend. She wanted to surprise her friend with another piece of Stevie Nicks by me! She said the friend shows off the 1st piece all the time. So gratifying.

This make me feel more than doubly good because it means that not only did someone enjoy receiving my work as a gift, but someone else enjoyed giving it so much that they wanted to do it again!

SOLD - Stevie Nicks 07/13/09

Love Is Not Capital

Larger-than-life performers like Michael Jackson and Freddie Mercury often live personal lives with few close "true" friends. They sacrifice their own happiness to give it to those for whom they perform in what Hunter S. Thompson called "The Curse of Fame". Mercury was quoted as saying, "When I'm performing I'm an extrovert, yet inside I'm a completely different man."

The outpouring of love from fans of MJ since his death last week is our way of giving back to his soul, wherever it may be. It's a recognition of how much we take from public figures. Love cannot be paid like money, it cannot be capitalized upon. It is a different form of communication altogether.

Love is unlimited in space and time, unlimited in amount, and unlimited in power and action. I just don't get why our society is so caught up in accounting, in keeping track of who owes us what. It sucks souls. It alienates individuals. It polarizes groups. It squashes passion.

I just wish there was a way for humanity to focus more on giving love than taking capital from those who choose to share their creativity and passion with the world.

Peace.

SOLD - Freddie Mercury 06/29/09

Sometimes You Just Know

Last year, I got one real entry for my contest. And it was a real good one. This is a post of my thoughts about it with a shot of the winner's Jerry hanging in his home and link to his entry. This year, I've gotten great entries so far, with 5 days to go. I'm humbled by the submissions and honored that you've taken the time and attention to share your stories.

When I saw the photo of Jerry I drew inspiration from for the piece above, I just knew it would make a great piece of Vinyl Art...

... I'm sorry, what?

I. What? A shudder, you know, the bad tingly feeling going down your spine out to your fingers, just hit me. I just saw the news. I'm typing slowly, forced to by the tears welling up.

The 50 year old child is gone.

I had a weird sickening feeling earlier today as I waited for my wife to have lunch with me. Wasn't sure why.

Now I know.

Rest In Peace, Michael.
Jerry Garcia 06/25/09

One Man's Trash

I'm so excited I got to do this!

These records were beat, man. A couple had been shoved into the sleeves along with other Beatles records. This is why I love being able to do what I do. A friend had saved the other couple from the leftovers of a neighbor's garage sale, destined for the landfill. Beatles records. Nobody who didn't want to piss off their dads by playing crappy records on his fancy hi-fi would've played these, but they're Beatles records!

This is what I've been waiting to be able to do with my unframed pieces since I started clear-coating them. After painting and clear-coating these 4, I glued them together with Super Glue. I'm hoping I get to do other groups like Led Zeppelin this way, but I don't run across records without sleeves very often. The albums I get with sleeves, I'll normally do framed and won't throw the sleeves away just because. So I need your help. I need commissions of these.

Now, last week I said that the price for unframed single ones will go up to $150 at the end of the month, when my contest is over (which, by the way, only has 24 entries thus far). At that point I will begin offering pieces like this one of the Beatles for 10% less per portrait, plus shipping. So this one would be $540 instead of $600 individually. (I've got to find out what shipping will be, but it won't be too bad.)

I want to do them that much. I'm basically paying you to let me do a whole group and arrange the portraits myself. Plus, you'd only need 2 nails to hold up all 4 records :)!

Peace.