It’s what I imagine him saying, this total superhero of a guy. All concerned and stepping up to the plate. Holla. Acrylic and metallic paints. Drawing from the great expressions of Gary Frank.
Again, the damn lighting. I’ll get it figured out soon, but you get the idea, ay?
It’s called ‘What the Fuck?” Heavily inspired by the genius art work of Frank Miller.
Sorry about the lighting, figuring out the best way to shoot my work. Shotguns don’t work either.
This is my second plein air painting with Arthur. He is a technical whiz in so many areas. We had our easels out along the Red Road, painting. It was pretty cool to be outside with people driving by, painting this awesome scenery. I was one of THOSE artists. But, I got bored so quick with trying to get everything exact. It’s not for me, the world is bigger than that.
This is the second piece that was taken by someone with a discerning eye. It’s one of my faves, and is huge, about four by five feet.
It’s called ‘Durga Come Save Me,’ painted in 2005. I showed it first at the now (sadly) defunct Noble’s Diner (best fries!) in Mountain View, to good response. I showed it in Hawaii, too, for REVO and at Kalani.
Durga is a Hindu deity, and similiar to the Greek Athena, sprang from the energies of elder gods in a time of need. Both ladies are warriors, and Durga kicked this demon’s ass that no one else could. To quote: “All the energies of the gods united and became supernova, throwing out flames in all directions. Then that unique light, pervading the Three Worlds with its luster, combined into one, and became a female form.” This demon was killing and destroying everyone, as it had tricked one of the other gods into granting it immortality. Durga showed up, rode a lion into battle with her ten strong arms at the ready, and chopped his head off. She is sometimes shown with four or eight arms, too, when she is not on the battlefront.
I was reading an issue of Vogue, and saw a dress that is truly a work of art, by Oscar De La Renta. So I put her in it, because if/since these gods are alive today, they would want to be in all kinds of magnificent robes. They’d do it up.
I discovered Durga while I was working for the Berry Co, designing websites. A cubicle. Not me. And with everything else going on in life, the idea that there is a deity for overcoming impossible circumstance shook me and my cubicle UP. She hung over my Anchorage bed for a year, watchin’ out, at the ready. Maybe she’s doing that for someone else now? Hm.
It’s called ‘Looking Elsewhere,’ and is one of two paintings that were stolen off a wall at a friend’s place in Downtown Hilo. This was back in 2007. Awww, shucks. Keep yer eyes out, yo.
This painting worked me over. I couldn’t decide where to take it, how to take it. I would get so pissed. It was me (again) looking at demons to find new ways to deal. Finally I got fed up, and had an epiphany. If you keep feeding your demons, they just gonna stay there. So, this is me sayin’ ‘eff this, objectifying the past to find new ways that work. Besides, what is the definition of crazy?
So, I took it to be a blessing that it was taken off my hands, hope it has a happy appreciative home.
I was a little nervous when I first started wearing this shirt out. Heck, so were some of my friends. It’s dicey, true, to wear in an Alaskan straight bar, but totally different in the context of the gay bar scene.
I got so tired of it, the lack of reality, of seeing the same faces for years and never having had much of a conversation apart from checking out and sizing up. There’s a lot of fear in the queer scene. So instead of bitching about it, I decided to confront it. And ya know what? Everytime it’s worn out, guys respond. I’ve gotten hella love for this shirt. Guys get it. Maybe not the ones who are too caught up. I don’t think the shirt registers with them as they coast by, on their spawning ritual round the bar. Ahh, gay love.
So the shirt is 15 bucks.
For a long time I tried to change things in bar life, now I just call it out when I feel like it, and have my own damn time of it in the meantime. Go No on Prop 8!
This was both my first oil painting and plein air painting. I don’t have a title yet, don’t know why.
The work came from my year and a half spent mentoring with Arthur Johnsen, a technical master who lived down the way from me along the Red Road, in Hawaii. The afternoons and evenings spent in his awesome studio space I treasure – I learned so much, and we had great conversations about everything. It took us a minute to get used to each other, as our styles and backgrounds are so different. He supported me, though and that is priceless. He also taught me how to screen print my stencils, so holla for the shirts, y’all.
This pic is 500, and I am open to negotiation. I’ve learned with art to ask for what I want and think a piece deserves. You can do that too, with a piece you want. Talk about it, you’d be surprised what the artist will work with.
I titled it ‘Self-Portrait #1,’ as, well, it is. First one. I’ve done another one since, and I like what they do for me. In terms of how I view myself, and how that changes. They are significant for the artist in that. I love Van Gogh’s self portraits, the energy he put into them. He was on one, I tell ya.
Egon Schiele is another favourite of mine. I bit one of his flyers from back in the day for one of my own. It was a good show. good flyer.
This painting had two different owners. The first traded it back in because her husband thought it was too intense for their home. They got this cool fish pic I did. The second snapped it right up, and it’s prominently displayed in his Seattle home. It takes all kinds, which is great.
