The Art of Shawn Huddleston

New Blog! New Site!

2009-03-08T22:58:00.003-04:00

Hello all! As the title suggests, I have upgraded my website and blog.

Website: http://www.shawnhuddle.com

Blog: http://shawnhuddleston.wordpress.com/

This blog will no longer be updated (never really did a great job of it anyway)!

Thanks very much!

So Much to Update...

2008-09-03T14:37:00.010-04:00

I have been traveling quite a bit lately (some for pleasure, some for work) and haven't had any time to update anything. There's a lot to get to and it might not be in order, but let's just get down to it:

My first California show and thanks to David at denM Gallery for making it happen. If you're any where near the area, go check it out. Here's the work:

Political Forest
Mixed media on canvas
18" x 24"

Pay at the Pump
Mixed media on canvas
16" x 20"

You Left us in a Lurch

Mixed media on canvas
9" x 12"

Electoral Bloom I
Mixed media on canvas
8" x 10"

Electoral Bloom II
Mixed media on canvas
5" x 7"

Also, here's an older piece I never got around to posting:

Metro Subset
Mixed media on canvas
16" x 20"

Detail

I also have a ton of photos from the Inked Souls show at Art Whino last month. Had a great time there and will hopefully get those up in the next few days...

Shoe Progress

2008-08-01T16:03:00.004-04:00

Step 1.
Pour a tall Vodka Tonic. Lime, of course. Stare at the fresh, white shoes.

Step 2.
Remove laces and mask off area where you don't want painted (unless you think you can work mega clean in which case you don't need it. I definitely did.)

Step 3.
I read somewhere that you need to rub the finish off of the area to be painted with some Acetone or else the paint will crack pretty easily. I didn't want to take the chance of that happening so I bought the stuff and used like 1/100 of it on the shoes. I've got heaps left if anyone needs some.

Step 4.
Apply some watered down acrylic paint and let dry.

Step 4a.
Do the same thing to the other side.

Step 5.
Threw a little spraypaint on.

Step 6.
Skipping ahead a little, I used more acrylic for the red and some black gesso to apply the little character head I've been doing lately.

Step 7.
Threw a couple coats of spray varnish on for security purposes.

Step 8.
Remove the masking tape and have your wife go out and hook up some fat black laces to bring the whole thing together. Thanks Chel.

Step 9.
(not shown)
Looking at the finished product, I realized that the red bit of my design was the exact logo for Target. I took some metallic gold acrylic paint that I have had for two years (and have used once before this) and applied it on top of the smaller, center circle. Turned out pretty sweet. The gold matched the stitching and the soul of the shoe.

That's it. I had a lot of fun with this and can't wait for the show opening tomorrow night! Come out if you can. Details.

My Current Interview

2008-07-30T14:50:00.004-04:00

Many thanks to Brandon Bloch who made this happen and did a great job of it. Also to Current for putting me on and Art Whino for their ongoing support.

Wall Mountables

2008-07-23T14:15:00.006-04:00

Here's a collection of photos from the show the other night. Had a lot of fun and pummeled my fair share of $1 cans of Natural Light.

Loved this piece

...and these

Chicks dig the business cards

Wall Mountables Show Tonight x Other News!

2008-07-18T08:00:00.004-04:00

Wall Mountables is tonight! I love this show and hope you all can make it down to Adams Morgan for it. It runs from 7-9pm and more info (including how to get there) can be found here.

I've also finished the custom kicks for the Inked Souls show at Art Whino coming up along with a painting that goes with them. I also managed not to be lazy and document just about every step of the way in getting the shoes done and will post everything when I get a chance. I want to present it right for the three people that read this blog (I'm one of them).

In other news, I've accepted a very nice invitation from denM Gallery out in Redlands, CA to show a few pieces for an upcoming show out there in September. More details soon.

Come out tonight- Adams Morgan is always fun! Have a beer (it's going to be hot) and stop by to say hi to your boy. If you're lucky, you might even end up with one of my fancy new business cards that I printed up here at work when nobody was looking.

Juxtapoz Coverage

2008-07-11T15:15:00.002-04:00

New Show for your boy...

2008-07-11T12:13:00.001-04:00

Check it out!

Come check it out.

New Paintings

2008-07-02T15:07:00.003-04:00

Two new paintings:

"K" is for Secrets
Acrylic / Mixed media on canvas
12" x 24"

Admiring Subset
Latex paint / Watercolor / Ink on canvas
16" x 20"

I also need to get crak-a-lakin' on some new pieces for the DCAC 1460 Wall Mountables Show and I also have a show coming up at Art Whino where I need to paint on some sneakers. Pretty cool. I've never tackled that before and hope I don't screw them up!

I was also video interviewed recently and once I get more details on that release, I'll let you know.

New Painting

2008-05-22T12:55:00.000-04:00

Distance is its Own Rewards
Mixed media on canvas
12" x 24"

Lacrosse is Over...

2008-05-07T12:15:00.003-04:00

...and that means I can paint again. It's too much of a time crunch to try to do both well and while I love coaching and being around the game, it's nice that it has an end and I can get back to something else I really enjoy. So, be on the lookout for new works very soon.

Yuri's Night

2008-04-09T08:24:00.004-04:00

In what has been described to me as "the St. Patrick's Day for space," Yuri's Night will be celebrated at Art Whino this Saturday night. I have one small piece in the show entitled "Passing the Laugh Test." Unfortunately, I rushed to meet the submission deadline and was unable to snap a photo. More info above.

Wise Choices

2008-03-03T13:43:00.003-05:00

Wise Choices
12" x 24"
Mixed media on canvas

This was my submission for the Johns Hopkins "Art and Addiction" project. Really enjoyed doing this and hope it makes it into the show and book. I took more of a collage approach on this one and actually planned it out a bit more than I usually do. It has also spawned two more (in progress) which I plan to take progress shots of and post here. More info on Art and Addiction, here.

February Show @ Art Whino

2008-03-03T13:30:00.002-05:00

The show at Art Whino was a great time as usual and I've got some pictures to prove it. Check out my flickr page!

Show @ Art Whino Tonight!!!

2008-02-22T12:46:00.002-05:00

Wrapping Up for February

2008-02-08T13:59:00.001-05:00

I was shooting for five pieces for the next Art Whino show, but I managed only four. It's one of those things where you think you have so much time (and in reality you do), that you take a couple nights off here and there and then all of the sudden, you're up against the deadline! So the moral of the story for myself is to either work faster or don't take any time off. As it stands right now, I have about 40 days to put out five more......

This Much
Mixed media on canvas
18" x 24"

Detail Shot

Ticket to Crumble
Mixed media on canvas
24" x 48"

Detail Shot

All in all, I really like the four I'm putting out and think it should be a pretty good showing for me in terms of what I'm up to. I have to admit though that Ticket to Crumble was a different end result, and I liked it alot. Going out of frame and not rendering the subject was different for me and I found myself dying to throw some shadows and highlights in there. More like this one may be on the way.

First Piece in '08

2008-01-28T13:15:00.001-05:00

Hey, it's been a minute but here's the latest:

Ill Seeds Spawning Personal Growth
Acrylic on canvas
24" x 48"

Detail Shot

In other news, I went to the J. Coleman opening at Art Whino and had a good time. I got lazy though and didn't take any pictures. I did, however, manage to trip going UP the stairs to the gallery and smashed my forearm into the hand rail and bent my big toe into some position to where it feels like it's broken.

I have to have new work delivered down there by February 7th and I'm pushing for five new pieces. So far, I have.................one completed! Possibly two (not sure I want to show it or not). So I'll be painting like mad for the next two weeks and will post as often as I can.

Last Piece in '07

2008-01-03T12:45:00.000-05:00

Wrapped this up just before the stroke of 12 on New Year's Eve.

Take Hold
Acrylic on canvas
20" x 24"

Also, the next Art Whino show is rapidly approaching and I'm way behind! Below is the info. Come out and have a drink, have a laugh, and stop by and say hi.

Click little image above.

Art Whino Show - December

2007-12-21T09:55:00.002-05:00

Here are some photos from the Justin Lovato show at Art Whino. I had a few beers (many thanks to Tom and his friend Rick, I believe!) and my camera is jacked up at the moment so you'll have to put up with blurry photos and poor presentation. Highlight of the night: Meeting Sonny Jerguson. That's right, ol' number 9 was in the house.

Lisa Selby's work. Pretty powerful stuff. Even more so in person.

That's Shane in the shadows in front of Emily Greene Liddle's work. Shane owns the joint and is a super nice guy. As are his staff. Cheers to everyone there.

Photos really don't do these justice, but these works are really beautiful. Richard Salcido.

Elstabo was in the house.

My work.

People gathering in the Justin Lovato room. He has got some really nice work up and the installation was really well done and super fresh to boot.

Garry Booth's work. Love this stuff. Everytime I see it, I dig in my pockets looking for some scratch so I can purchase one, but no luck. I gotta get in touch with him to see if he would remotely consider a trade or something. I gotta have one.

Rick Reese's work. I get the same feelings as above when I see his stuff.

Thanks again to Shane and the Art Whino staff. See you again in January!
Happy Holidays and all that.

Say Whaaat!

2007-12-14T10:00:00.001-05:00

Say Whaaat! show was last night. I didn't stay long at all because I'm wicked sick right now, but it seemed pretty cool and I managed to get a few photos despite my wonky ass camera.

Definitely parked on money Water St. Love it down there.

M Street. Georgetown.

Good crowd on hand. It was so crowded that homeboy at the door wouldn't let me in until I made him check the list a second time. Good music too. Props to the DJ, whoever he was.

The toys.

It was cool to see so many different approaches by the different artists. A few of them made me think about how to step to one next time...

Dig the pistola.

That snake was pretty rad.

Awesome.

Pretty.

Emily Greene Liddle's submission. She actually based her toy off one of her paintings which is of a strawberry with a massive hook through it. Good idea and she definitely killed it!

There's my boy by the middle pillar.

He's all grow'd up and out in the world.

Thanks again to Dan and Kickballers for the opportunity. Next up: Art Whino show tonight. Can't wait!

Next Show at Art Whino

2007-12-07T12:22:00.001-05:00

Just dropped off three new pieces to Art Whino yesterday for the next show which features some bad ass work from Justin Lovato. Should be a really great show and I'm looking forward to seeing his stuff. Details:

Opening Reception
December 14th, 6pm-12am
Art Whino Gallery
717 N. Saint Asaph Street
Alexandria, VA 22314

Some come out and show your boy (me) some love! I'm pretty excited about what I'm showing and even though it's only three new pieces, I was really grinding to get them finished and it's nice to have accomplished that. I also try to approach each of these shows as a mini solo show for me in a way, so I try to stay productive and bring something new each month. Keeping it fresh.

Shark Attack!

2007-12-07T12:12:00.001-05:00

This is my submission for the Say Whaaat! show at Kickballers in Georgetown December 13, 8-11pm. Come out if you can! These vinyl toys will be put on eBay for auction December 18-25 will all proceeds going to the Capital Area Food Bank. So I've done my good deed for the year!

KICKBALLERS
3285 1/2 M St. NW
Washington, D.C. 20007
tel 202.337.1260

This was a lot of fun to work on. I basically spraypainted the hell out of it (it was already painted by the manufacturer) with white gloss, did my little acrylic thing to it, designed and had some vinyl cut for me to apply, and then sprayed it down with a bit of varnish. Voila! This was my first toy project and I hope to get more. Thanks to Dan for the opportunity.

Please Advise

2007-11-28T14:28:00.000-05:00

I've finished another painting. It feels good to paint every night and be as productive as I have in the past 3 weeks or so. I'd of course love to multiply my production by about 3, but I'll take what I can get and run with this for the length of its course.

Please Advise
Acrylic on canvas
11" x 14"

Also, I'm coming along on the vinyl toy front as well. Will post some progress photos in the next day or so.

Permission to Smile

2007-11-20T13:47:00.000-05:00

Here's the latest painting.

Permission to Smile
Acrylic on canvas
11" x 14"

Very busy at the moment trying to get some new painting together for the next Art Whino opening and also working on a fun project for the Say Whaaat! show next month. More on the latter in the next few days!

Push & Shove

2007-11-13T15:01:00.000-05:00

Just finished this last night although after looking at it today, I may make a few touch ups. I also need to varnish this joker and build out a simple strip frame. Trying to work faster but it's tough. I suppose it comes with time.

Push & Shove
Acrylic on canvas
24" x 30"

Art Whino Opening and Overall Update

2007-11-12T13:06:00.001-05:00

The opening at Art Whino was this past Friday night and was heaps of fun. I met a lot of very cool people including Rick Reese who was awesome to talk to and has some incredible work up. Some of the opening photos are here. Thanks to everyone who came out.

Here's me looking like a wide-eyed moron. Whatever. It was a great night and I was thrilled to be a part of it!

In addition, I am going to try to update this blog more often. I'll be honest, this show at Art Whino was a pretty big deal for me and I'm realizing the importance and power of self promotion. So, I'm going to be much more active and will try to post updates as they occur.

Speaking of which, while at this show, I landed another show in Georgetown in December. It's a vinyl toy show and they'll all be auctioned off on eBay for some charitable cause. I got my figure Friday and will take photos of the process along the way. I should also have more info on this show very soon so stay tuned.

Wall Mountables Show

2007-07-24T13:14:00.000-04:00

The show opening came and went and fun was had by all. Thanks to everyone who came out. My camera is acting a little wonky, but here are a few pictures from the event....

My numbers. I "acquired" these Lucite wonders from a gas station one day when I was vacuuming out the ol' jam jar. Thanks to Gary for teaching me Cockney slang for car. Anyway, I figure they rape me with their gas prices everyday and that a little getback was in order. I like how they turned out and they were received with enthusiasm. It was a pleasure talking to a lot of different people about them.

These are my eggs that were a lot of fun to do. I'll admit that I'll miss them hanging to dry in my studio though. I won't miss walking into them though when it was dark and I forgot they were there. That's what I get for hanging them head high. At any rate, this show has a $100 prize for "best use of space" and I thought my eggs were a shoe-in....

...And this is the guy who runs the joint announcing that I did not win the prize. Instead, they selected an artist who installed a bathroom medicine cabinet with some photos inside. I didn't check them out because I was a little bitter. It shouldn't be a competitive thing and I should be happy for that artist, but I'm a petty person and I wanted the Benjamin, baby.

My wife Chelsea in the foreground and her sister, Erin, behind her. We all had a good time and I was glad that they came. Right after I took this picture, Erin asked me to see how it came out and just as I was turning it around to show her the screen, I dropped the camera. I managed to catch right before it hit the ground but the beer in my hand went everywhere and soaked this one dude and others sadly caught shrapnel as well. I felt like an ass and if that guy is reading this, I apologize. Again.

Erin telling us something outside of the gallery. That's my brother-in-law, Matt, in the foreground. He's got rad Montreal stories to share and good movies on his iPhone.

Getting Bigger...

2007-07-02T12:40:00.001-04:00

"Back"
30" x 40" x 2"
Acrylic/Mixed media on canvas

I scooped this canvas up on the cheap and I'm glad I did: I really like working a little larger than what I'm used to. It allows me to feel a little more free and develop "regions" within the composition. I don't know, it felt cool. I guess I actually a little more pressure at first too though. You can't really tell, but this has so many layers of paint on it as I started over about six times. But, I'm happy with it now and here it is.

Going to do the 1460 Wall Mountables show again this summer at DCAC so I've got to get busy. For those of you not familiar with the show, it's an open show where they grid the walls off at 2' squares and your work has to fit within it. It's really fun, but I'm realizing it's a contradiction to what I wrote above about working larger. Oh well. I've got some sweet gas station numbers (the ones that slide into the marquee to tell you how much gas has gone up) that I'm working with and will exhibit at this show. Don't ask how I acquired them. Photos to follow...

New Joint

2007-06-06T15:54:00.001-04:00

Leaving the Ridge
11" x 14" x 1.5"
Acrylic/mixed media on canvas

Checkout

2007-04-16T09:36:00.000-04:00

Checkout
9" x 12"
Acrylic/Mixed media on canvas board

Free

2007-04-04T12:38:00.000-04:00

Free
11.5 x 17.5
Acrylic/Mixed media on wood board

Working on two more at the moment and I think I should be able to wrap up one of them by the weekend.

Juxtapoz!

2007-03-20T08:05:00.000-04:00

Hell yeah. I was chosen for reader art on Juxtapoz.com

Gone

2007-03-07T13:03:00.000-05:00

Gone
22" x 28"
Acrylic/Mixed Media on canvas

Office Design

2007-02-01T14:13:00.000-05:00

Going to paint on my office wall. I'm lucky to have an "art-friendly" boss. Here are the early stages.

Squirrels are no joke....

2007-01-09T15:41:00.000-05:00

I was out on my deck this morning and witnessed the coolest chase scene I have ever scene. There were about 10-12 squirrels and they were all going after this one who was doing his best to elude the pack. It was crazy though because most of the chase took place in the trees where these crumbsnatchers were not only going up down them but leaping like 6 feet between some of them. it was so graceful and chaotic at the same time. Crazy. Then I got to thinking like "What did the one squirrel do to piss the others off so bad?" Seriously, in the squirrel world, what could one do to enrage such a large number of his peers. I have my theories but I'm keeping them to myself.

In the midst of all of squirrel watching, I am also taking a break from painting for a couple of weeks. We are moving and things are hectic right now. Besides, all of my things are at the new house. I am going to draw a bunch though and will maybe post some of those.

Later.

On a very sad note.....

2006-12-20T09:45:00.000-05:00

Tall Oaks lost a legend recently with the passing of Mr. Charles Goodspeed. A father to Matt and Chris, Chuck G., as we affectionately called him, was a dear friend to all of us. His memory and all of the stories involving this fine man (and there are a heap of great ones!) will live with us forever.

Many of these good times were relived the other night when we got together at Chris and Melody's house and these are a few pictures of that event.

Into a story...

Bottoms up bitches.
Shotguns = Good times.

Queers.

Stalker.

We love you Chuck G.

Cheap way to Philly

2006-12-19T11:39:00.000-05:00

Since I will never get around to actually uploading and posting my pictures of my trip to Philly to see Blaine Fontana's opening, "The Manifest Soup Transcripts of Four Corners" at Lineage Gallery this past September (I'm such a slacker), I'm going to post a link instead.

Here it is: link

One Man's Trash.....

2006-12-05T12:37:00.000-05:00

Slacking big time on the blog, but I have a couple of new pieces to share. I found these wood pieces in the trash by my office and really dug the rugged, dirty state they were in. I cleaned them up a little, but wanted to keep that gritty feel.

Here they are:

Remembering Beantown
Acrylic/Mixed media on wood board
18.5" x 18.5"
This is loosely inspired by a trip up to Boston in October.

Focus Too
Acrylic/Mixed media on wood board
18.5" x 18.5"
This is sequel/continuance of my Focus piece which basically deals with me having too much crap on my plate.

That's it for now.

Back Up!!!

2006-10-24T11:28:00.000-04:00

Gone and buried is rockpillow.com but from its ashes, shawnhuddleston.com has risen! Check it out! There's a link to it just to the right on this page so you have no excuse.

I will be updating this thoroughly very soon with details and photos of my trip to Philly, a trip to Boston, and plenty of art news. Stay tuned!

shawnhuddleston.com

Finish Line

2006-09-22T13:02:00.000-04:00

Whew! I've been working hard trying to finish this piece for the GRACE show submission deadline and I'm happy to say that, in the eleventh hour, I completed it and submitted it and three others this morning. What a ride. Very fun, but very tiring.

Here's a couple shots of it:

Taking a Dip in the Pool of Suck
Acrylic/Mixed media on wood board
12" x 26"

Here's a detail:

I'm taking the night off from painting and am going to recharge for the weekend. I have a few ideas floating around my bean for the next painting and want to take the time to sketch them out and get the major elements just right. The minor things tend to sort themselves out as "happy accidents" and I'm cool with that seeing as though I'm a bit of a control freak.

So that's all for now. The ballgame was a great time despite the result but when your team is in last place in the division and twenty games under .500, you kind of go into the park with low expectations. There really is no better way to spend good times with your little girl than at a ballgame though. We had a blast.

Oh, I have another lacrosse game this weekend. I play in a men's indoor league and we had a "friendly" last weekend and did pretty well. Once we gel a little bit and learn how eachother get down, we could be a contender. Plus, we have these boss jerseys and our team name is Reston Monkeyhouse in honor of the Ebola outbreak in '89. We're also getting some shorts made up with a cool mad monkey logo on them. I'll post pictures once we get them.

Oh- rockpillow.com is going to be back up very soon. Stay tuned.....

Long Time, No Blog

2006-09-20T10:06:00.000-04:00

Right. Super busy lately between work and well, life. I worked 12 hours yesterday and then stayed up until 4am trying to finish a painting I'm working on. I am submitting it and three others to a juried show that'll be in Reston early next month. The rub is that the deadline is Friday and I have a decent amount left to do. It was fun staying up painting though. It brought back memories of staying up way late back in the day because I couldn't walk away from a drawing. Good times but it comes at a cost as I only had 2 hours of sleep. Makes it hard to be at work but the light at the end of the tunnel is that I'm taking my little girl to the Nats game tonight and she is super excited. So am I. Might be the last one I/we make it to this season. I'm going to try to find my old glove from when I was a real little kid and give that to her tonight.

Anyway, I have a lot to update this blog with but need to leave it for another day. Soon. Promise. Like anyone cares....haha

Do Not Touch - Wet Paint!!!

2006-09-08T17:26:00.000-04:00

You'll Have to Excuse my Egg Friend
Acrylic/Mixed media on wood board
11" x 35"

Here's the latest. I finished this last night for the Reston show and delivered it this morning. Here's a few detail shots:

Mega Detail

That's about it for now. I am starting a new piece tonight and feel really good about it already. Still need to post photos of the trip to Philly. Soon.

Chosen

2006-09-01T10:34:00.000-04:00

Alexandria takes two! I received notice late last night that they chose two of my paintings for the show next weekend running through October. Below are some details about the outdoor festival part of the show show next weekend in Old Town but it fails to mention that all the works will be relocated to Alexandria City Hall.

Also below is some information on the Reston show that I'll also have two pieces in that is going on at roughly the same time. It's good to be busy!

Leaving work early and headed up to Philly despite Ernesto's efforts to keep me in. Should be a fun drive in the rain and wind. I plan on taking some pictures of the whole event so be on the lookout for a post in the next few days.

____________________________________________________________

Laters.

Quick Hitter

2006-08-30T12:44:00.000-04:00

Hey- Gotta be quick on this one but it's been a while and I wanted to get something up. Took the annual beach trip which was well deserved after that trip to Orlando. Had a blast hanging out with the family with little to do and nil agenda.

While I was down there, I cranked out these two wood plaques I took down with me.

She Wasn't the Youngest or Most Beautiful Flutterby, But She Was His Flutterby
Acrylic/Mixed media on wood plaque
6" x 12"

After a Lengthy Discussion, The Two Agreed to Disagree
Acrylic/Mixed media on wood plaque
6" x 12"

Gotta jet. Going up to Philly Friday for the Blaine Fontana show opening at Lineage Gallery. It's gonna be good times.

........and we're back.

2006-08-15T12:56:00.000-04:00

Customs Agent: Do you have anything to declare?
Me: Yeah, don't go to Florida.

Orlando has got to be one of the worst places in the country, if not the world. I suppose if your a big fat redneck with a big fat sunburn and a big fat family and you dig water parks, it's a good place. But it is horrid otherwise. The only redeeming quality to the entire place was an Irish pub called Murphy's Arms. Had a great time there one night and drank Guinness all night with a lovely English couple. Actually, Orlando is swarming with Brits. Apparently, they save up and go there for holiday. A shame that Orlando is the barometer to which they'll measure our country up to.

On to art news....
I took the family downtown to pick up my pieces from the Wall Mountables show only to discover that I had sold one! I was hoping for better than one out of five, but it's a start and in all honesty, I was very surprised to see that not much sold there at all. Not sure why since there was a lot of great work there. Maybe it was all overpriced. I probably saw about 10-12 blue dots out of maybe 150 pieces of work. So to be one of those 10-12 is pretty flattering. My drunk friend from the opening did not sell anything including her $400 piece of rubbish. And she was telling me that I underpriced my stuff. I will be laughing all the way to the bank. Literally.

So that was a fun experience and I can't wait for the next. After a few phone calls, I learned that the jury was still reviewing the work for the Alexandria show and that we should find out in the next day or two if anything has been selected.

In addition, I am entering two pieces into another juried show that will be in Reston from September through November. I'm coming in on the tail end of the submission period so hopefully there will be some wall space left for the kid.

As promised many posts ago, I have finally taken good pictures of Old Trees for New Coin which is one of the pieces I'm entering in the Reston show. Here 'tis:

11" x 35"
Acrylic/Mixe Media on wood board

Detail 1

Detail 2

Bye for now.

Cliffhanger

2006-08-03T14:24:00.000-04:00

Forgot to mention that Chel and I locked ourselves out of the house last night. We were bringing some things in from the car, went to open the door, and nothing. Wouldn't turn. The thing is, the kids were inside asleep. The moment I have been waiting for.....

So since the day we moved into this house I have been awaiting this moment as I have been dreaming of climbing up to the deck. The first part was easy. I was able to climb to the top of the fence with minimal effort to where I could stand easily. Now came the tricky part- I had to somehow get my long ass leg up high enough to get my foot onto the deck flooring while reaching up to grab the railing. I spotted the drain pipe halfway up that distance that would have been great but tested it and it was not stable. So I finally get my foot up to the deck floor (my hip flexor was taking a beating at this point and I was in flip flops which didn't help) and it keeps sliding down the deck front causing me to do a split like six feet up in the air. What the hell? I realized that many moons ago at one of our happy hours when I kind of fell into the big citronella candle (one of those jobs that are supposed to keep the mosquitos away), I knocked a bunch of hot wax out of it and it landed where I was now trying to get a foothold. I must have worn a spot of it off and was now able to get my foot to stick. Here goes nothing. I hoisted myself up with everything I had and I was over the rail like Jackie Chan. Home free. Chel might dispute the Jackie Chan part as she was able to see through to the deck from the kitchen window. Whatever. All I know is that I made it up there and for a minute, A MINUTE, I felt like a kid again and it felt good.

Coming soon: I climb the chimney up to the roof to adjust the satellite dish. Just kidding. Maybe?

Bye for now.

The Show, Summer Colds, and Orlando

2006-08-03T11:46:00.000-04:00

Hello to all of my fans. I hope the two of you are doing well.

So I have to leave for Florida tomorrow and am not looking forward to it. I have a lot of work to do once I get down there and to top it all off, I have a summer cold which is the worst. I feel like crap. I'll suck it up though and try to do a little blog while I'm down there.

The show opening was last week and was a heap of fun. Chel and I went down there and went in, looked around, and then left to drink a couple of pints at The Angry Finch. Good times. Then we went back in and the joint was packed! I preceeded to drink a few PBRs and had a nice conversation with a fellow artist that I hung my work next to earlier that week during the install. She was really cool and said that I had a few fans roaming around and that they had come by while I was of course out drinking Guinness. Part of me thinks she was embellishing a bit due to her apparent level of sobriety (lackthereof really) and the fact that she kept going on and on about it. She also told to raise my prices and still insisted on it after I told her that this was my first show. Meanwhile, it was her first show as well and she was trying to sell some piece of crap 3D piece for like $400. So needless to say, I took her advice for what it was worth- not much. She did have a couple of nice pieces though and I feel a little bad for bad-mouthing her. She was nice and it was good to meet her.

I didn't get any blue dots on my labels that night, but I only saw two pieces in total that sold, so I'm not too worried about it. Here's a few pictures:

I wish the chick wasn't in the shot, but this Adams-Morgan. Great place and a very cool place to hang out on a Friday night. Lots of little bars and restaurants and lots of little bars. Did I mention the bars?

The curator announcing that I didn't win the $100 prize for Best Use of Space. Wasn't really counting on it though.

Lots of people drinking and talking. Good times.

My four little crakheads. They're all grown up now.

Mine's the black and white character with the big nose. Lots of good work at this show including a cup attached to the wall by a piece of string that had a label on it asking for "Pubes for Peace." Kind of funny. I was tall enough to look into the cup and didn't see any. No peace I guess.

So all in all, it was fun and I hope to do it again soon. Should find out this week or next if they picked one of my pieces for the Alexandria show.

Also, this big fella came to reside on the side of our house the other night. The picture doesn't do this joker justice. His wing span was about 6 inches and I saw him eyeing the kids. I think he could make off with one of them so I got them inside the house very quickly. I Googled him and couldn't find anything about him. Must be some South Reston mutant breed. Yikes.

Bye for now.

Wall Mountables Show

2006-07-26T18:03:00.000-04:00

Hi. So my Nats beat the Cubbies in dramatic fashion and ended up sweeping the series which is good stuff. Monday morning I put a broom on my co-worker's desk who happens to be from Chicago to remind him that his boys got swept. Still funny....

I just got back (literally) from installing my pieces in DC for the Wall Mountables show which opens this Friday night 7-9pm. If anyone is in Adams-Morgan then and wants to see some good work, stop by. Like anyone is reading this....

Here's the postcard:

It was kind of nuts getting down there. I took the Metro in because I didn't want to contend with parking but as it turns out, the train was crazy busy and there were multiple parking spots right in front of the gallery. Go figure. I got there and was snaked on some spaces by some guy who was waiting for me to go get tape for my space assignment slips (we were supposed to tape them to the wall so as to call dibs for the spot). That was kind of shady, but I ended up getting some better spots instead so it all worked out. I hung my pieces and got to talking with this really nice woman who was hanging next to me which was cool. She had some really nice work and honestly, the whole place was filling up with good stuff. I can't wait for the opening. Should be fun.

Bye for now.

Take Me Out.....

2006-07-21T12:01:00.000-04:00

....to the ballgame tonight. Nats vs. Cubs. It supposed to rain though. Suck.

I wrapped up a painting last night and worked further on another one that I'm not really feeling. However, I've had a few like that before and they've turned out alright. We'll see. The palette is all wrong though and it's real bright and vibrant and saturated. I think I hate it. I don't really know any other artists so I wonder how many other painters feel this way half way through a piece. I can't imagine that I'm the only one. Again, we'll see. Maybe I can pull it off.

The DCAC show is next week. Can't wait. A little nervous, but it will be fun. I've never done a show before so I have a lot of questions about the installation part of it. Do I bring my own hammer and nails? Tape measure? Is that sort of thing provided? I'll either call and ask or just bring my own stuff and live and learn. I think I'll go with the latter.

What else? Still hot as a pistol here. Oh, here's a picture of me as a grumpy lacrosse coach back in March. I coached at my old high school and can't wait for next season. Good times.

Bye for now.

Blah blah blah......blah blah blah blah

2006-07-18T13:21:00.000-04:00

Yeah, not much going on. It's hot as hell here and I'm starting to relish the fact that I have a desk job. For now anyways.

We had a really busy weekend. My son was Christened on Saturday and we had a bunch of family in town and had a really great time. Thanks to everyone involved, especially my in-laws who had the party at their house. Great time! Also, thanks to the family that traveled such a distance to be here. Wouldn't have been the same without them.

Now that they're gone though, I can get back to painting and plan on staying up super late tonight to do so. Can't wait. I've got one that's just about finished and am eager to start a new one after that.

Will have more to report tomorrow.

Bye for now.

Go Navy.

2006-07-13T12:49:00.000-04:00

So I had to go to Annapolis yesterday for work and having gotten up there a little early, I went by a few galleries to check out some work. Saw some decent stuff but it's all the same subject matter up there. I mean, you can only look at so many paintings of harbors, crabs, boats, etc. before it gets a little boring. I know it's Maryland, but c'mon - try something different. Fun nontheless and a good way to kill some time.

Annopolis....from the parking garage.

Main Street. The harbor is behind me.

These looked good together.

I liked this one.

Cool alley.

Stopped here for a pint. Mmmmmmmmmm..........pint.......

So I got done with what I was there for work-wise and drove home in one of the most insane thunderstorms. It was nuts.

Didn't get to work on anything last night, but I did clean up the studio and took a few pictures.
Here's the before:

And here's the after:

Bye for now.

The Iron Horse

2006-07-12T10:22:00.000-04:00

I am continuing to pump out paintings and I finished another one in the wee hours of the morning last night (or this morning depending how you look at it). I got about 3 hours of sleep, but it was worth it. This one is called "Old Trees for New Coin" and is about 10" x 38" on a bookshelf I ganked from my office. I actually have three of them which is great because I really liked working with wood. It's very smooth and the paint glides on. So, the premise of the painting is more of a comment on how a bunch (and I mean a bunch!) of old trees have been ripped out of the ground to make way for construction over the past ten years here in Reston. The pisser is that they plant these little tiny saplings to almost try and make up for it and they're dwarfed by the structures. It's the right thing to do (to re-plant), but those little trees have always represented the death of old ones for new business, which ultimately is in place to make coin. So there you have it.

I also went out and got some frame kits for a couple of paintings and put those together last night too while my daughter and her friend danced and sang to the "Karaoke Swamp" extra feature on the Shrek DVD. It was a fun time and the frames came out really well. I like seeing my stuff as a finished product. Very rewarding. However, as some of the exhibits I plan on participating in approach, I am feeling kind of funny about selling my work. There is such a personal connection with the work due to the time spent with it, that it seems very strange to part with it. But, that's just part of the whole deal I guess and I'll put my purse down now and just sell the stuff. Hell, I always have the pictures and can order prints I guess. This is, of course, IF it sells. Kind of cheeky to assume that it will.

I'll post a picture of the painting soon and will also take a couple of shots of the studio. It needs to be cleaned due to some family coming in for the weekend, so I'll get some good before and after shots.

Bye for now.

On the Mend

2006-07-11T10:22:00.000-04:00

Post pitbull attack. Notice the three straw drain in her chest. She's now the family juicebox. Poor Gia...

The good news is Gia is doing much better and is making a speedy recovery. It was quite a weekend though as we had to take her back to the emergency vets and the entire thing ended up costing us about $1450. Without going into details, it was paid back to us so I guess that's good news too.

As for some art news (there hasn't been much of that here), I have been painting quite a bit and have entered three pieces into a juried show which will run sometime in September in Alexandria. Should find out if any were selected the week of August 1st. Stay tuned.

I also have the DCAC "Wall Mountables" show in a few weeks which is an open show but is a good starting place and a decent event to put on a resume. I have four little framed pieces for that and hopefully they will sell. Having not sold a piece of art yet, they will be priced fairly low. I need to build a base while staying reasonable.

So, that's about it for now. I am still website-less and it's driving me nuts for some reason. I like having my site and I'm starting to miss it. I have an offer for free hosting which I'd like to jump on but it's been tough trying to connect with my guy. So, hopefully soon.

Bye for now.

When F!@#$%# Pitbulls Attack

2006-06-22T20:09:00.000-04:00

So I'm trying to get a little exercise today after work by shooting some hoops up at the neighborhood court, right? Well despite the heat, I decided to take my dog, Gia, with me to get her out of the house. We're walking along the backs of these houses right near the court and I hear this dog barking. I didn't think much of it since dogs in houses bark at Gia and me all the time whilst walking. All of the sudden, a loud ruckus accompanies my seeing a screen door being blasted off its tracks and this crazy ass pitbull come charging at us. Next thing I know, it's a canine tornado as the two start fighting to the death. Sadly, the other dog got the better of Gia and was on top of her like a savage. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to try and grab the dog because I didn't want to get bit and my attempts of alerting someone by yelling, "HEY!!! COME GET YOUR DOG!!!!" about four times wasn't working so I threw the basketball at this bastard. Nothing. Luckily, the ball (my new one that I got for Father's Day- thanks Chel) bounced right back to me and this time I really cocked back and nailed him again. This snapped him out of it but then he looked at me and I thought I was going to have a little man vs. beast thing going on. Not the case thankfully. He started trotting back to his house, which is when Gia started to go after him. I yelled at her to "come" before she reached him and he went up some stairs to his deck and Gia came back to me.

I took her home and after a quick damage assessment, I had to take her to a emergency room vet due to a semi-large hole in her chest which was see-through to her innards. I ended up dropping $811.12. However, they assured me that she will be just fine and that we can probably get her tomorrow.

Next: Contacting the owners. Stay tuned.

Planning the Attack

2006-05-12T10:18:00.000-04:00

I try to set goals for myslef within the course of a year so that I am always working towards something and not just letting the days go by. My goal for this year is to have a gallery show. I don't care if it's in a real gallery or a a little cafe at Lake Anne. It doesn't matter and I'll tell you why:

1. It's something I've always admired and wanted for myself, and
2. It'll mean that I'm staying active artistically and producing work.

So once this idea was hatched, I started doing a little research and started looking at galleries. I soon came to the conclusion that the area I live in seems to suck compared to areas like LA, San Francisco, and New York where the art scene is massive and seemingly abundant. So then I got to thinking that maybe what I was looking for on the interweb isn't on the interweb. It's in the streets and in the galleries and your area is what you make it. It's not like I can pick up and move to the more creative cities at the drop of a hat in order to fulfill my artistic needs. I have a family to think of and it's up to me to make this happen for myself where I am.

More later.

\

The Maiden Voyage

2006-05-12T10:02:00.000-04:00

I have caved. Everyone and their mother has a blog and I have given in and started one too. What the hell? The intent of this is really for myself and I doubt I'll ever share it with anybody. So why even write this stuff as if there is an audience in place? In case I get one, I guess.

I have a lot of thoughts daily about things to paint and other ideas/feelings that may spawn a more firm thought worthy of artistic attention and I often forget them or lose the steam I had at one point of conception. So, this is to serve as my cyber-mind or internal notebook. I'm starting to bore myself....