I’m sorry for being rather inattentive to this blog, but I’ve had a bunch of things going on. And the biggest of things going on is that we are moving to Milwaukee. It’s where my work is, where our families are, where my sense of a visual sensibility of the world exists. Milwaukee is not perfect by any stretch, but it’s an imperfect that I understand.
I’ve learned a lot from these past six years in Boston. I’ve learned how to be an observer. I’ve learned the importance of being anonymous. My work has gotten better. The way I think about art has become more sophisticated and critical.
But Boston is a frustrating city for creative people. There is a palpable drought of creative resources and outlets; being four hours from New York City will do that to a town. Boston is good for a lot of industries: high tech, healthcare, education, etc. But a city can’t and shouldn’t be all things to every field. Art got the short straw here, and that’s okay. There are other places to paint.
I’ll always be connected to Boston. My family lives here. My doctors and nurses are here. Misia’s job is based here. But I want to go back to Milwaukee. What Milwaukee lacks in financial stability it makes up for in community connections. Milwaukee has heart, and you can’t put a price on heart.
See you soon.
I’m writing to apologize for my lack of posts since the Bieber fever. I have been furiously working on a commission, but I can’t really post pictures for some time. Logos, copyrights, trademarks, etc. But I have been doing a lot of drawing. Given its immediacy, it’s sometimes a lot more satisfying than painting.
On a different note, last week was the first time I fired a client. It was for a sign painting job, and I had been working with this client since October (!). She was indecisive from the start, and the final straw was when she questioned whether I’d make sure to impart a positive energy into the actual paint as I made her sign. Which was a menu board. For a 400 square foot coffee shop. It was my mistake to agree to adjust my estimate and design multiple times when I should have put my foot down a lot sooner. Firing her was the best thing I’ve done for myself in a while. And it makes me appreciate all my awesome clients. I will never ever take them for granted.
So, on that note, I’m taking tomorrow off. It’s my birthday, so I’m playing hooky and seeing a matinee. I leave you with this present, a series of photographs featuring women laughing alone with salad. Enjoy.
You may have noticed a few changes already. The header image has changed (those are some of my old brushes), and the layout is a little different. I’ve added a “share” feature on the bottom of each post so that you can post links to Facebook, Twitter, etc. The biggest addition will take me a couple days to complete, but I’m hoping it will be up and running soon: an e-commerce store that will allow you to buy work directly from this site! In the meantime, pardon my dust and thanks again for visiting.
Today, I passed the 10,000 view mark on this blog! I can’t thank all of you enough for checking in on the regular and enjoying what I have to share. I promise to keep up the good art work and the mediocre technological skills. Onward and upward! To the future!!! Of art made!!!! In my basement!!!!1!
I applied for the 2010 Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn. I never thought I’d exhibit my work in a craft fair, but as my work gets smaller and less expensive, it seems like a good place to hawk my wares. And I think my handmade cards and my new chicken paintings are a good fit among the hipster consumer set. Plus, the thought of sitting in McCarren Park in Brooklyn for a couple of days in June seems like a lovely way to spend a weekend.
But ugh, online applications. Sometimes I get the same anxious feeling that I do when I’m converting foreign currency in my head after a couple of drinks. Like, did I do that right? Did I press the right button? Did I accidentally pay $600 for a Lowenbrau?
The nice thing about the application process is that it’s quick. I’ll find out by March 12. Then the fair is in June. Bing bang bong, just like that. I may apply for Renegade Los Angeles as well. Look at me, being all join-ey and stuff. Cross your handmade fingers for me!
I want to extend a big thank you to everyone who has visited this blog so far. I really appreciate all the kind words of encouragement about my work and this site. In the past, I’ve disguised my technical laziness as some sort of iconoclastic reluctance to change. But not no more, kids! And for realsies, your comments and emails have meant a lot to me. You’re all so encouraging, like a warm, soft, e-blanket of niceness.
This blog ‘o mine is pretty new, and I wanted to let you all know that I will be making some improvements to it in the next week or so. I have some new images of my current work that will be posted soon (courtesy of the wonderful Sara Stathas), as well as a great feature where you can buy my work directly from this site!
I also wanted to thank my friend Anthony for helping teach me how to operate this here computer machine. Without his invaluable help and patience with my electronic incompetence, this blog would have been made of construction paper, charcoal briquets, and grain alcohol.
In this picture is my dog, Penny, being chased by Zoe, Anthony’s dog. As Penny gleefully cavorts through the yard, Zoe gamely plays along, never tiring of Penny’s spaziness. Fitting analogy of Anthony and I putting this blog together.
I first saw this print by Clifton Burt posted by a friend on Facebook, and I fell in love with it. It gave me feelings. It’s exactly what I feel all the time. And, it’s a haiku.
I showed it to my girlfriend, and the first thing she said was “buy it.” She understood right away why I loved it. She is the type of person who hems and haws over the purchase of a sandwich, so when she said “buy it,” I knew she meant it, and I knew that she gets me to the core. That’s love, kids. Happy VD.
I’ve been a little melancholy the last couple days. Contributing to the gentle storm clouds lingering above my head, I learned that my aunt Ellen O’Neill passed away yesterday. Ellen was dealt a bad hand from the get-go, but she gamely sat at the table for longer than I think she even thought possible. She had been on dialysis for several years, and had been going every day for over a year. Ellen lived in public housing and took the bus every day receive her dialysis. The treatments took a physical as well as mental toll on her system. Deciding she was tired, and with her doctor’s permission, she took herself off her treatment. When my cousin Susan visited her in the hospital on Monday, Ellen told her, “I just got so tired of waiting for the bus in the cold.”
Sometimes when a gal is blue, she takes herself to a matinee. This afternoon I saw Crazy Heart , and it was like a beautiful, well-placed punch to the gut. I love movies that give me feelings. I love films that speak to what it is to make things and the driving force behind those feelings. The Hours, High Art, and the documentary chronicling the execution of Isaac Mizrahi’s spring collection Unzipped are three films that come to mind that give me those same feelings. Crazy Heart is like your favorite Tom Waits song.
Here’s to Ellen O’Neill, and to music, and to good stories.
I just wanted to point out that I have a small news page with links to articles about me. As if this whole blog isn’t enough about me. If you’re looking for a more exhaustive list of accomplishments and accolades (and really, who isn’t?) please click on my CV link.
