Mocha Latte doodles

The humidity drove me to wander around Greenwich Street and into the Benvenuto Cafe. First order was a tall iced mocha latte. I then ordered up a salmon wrap and off to the window to write/doodle some. This heat has just worn me out. Now off to the gym, my local 'cooling' station.

Piano - Fin - I promise

Went out early this morning to put the final touches on my piano. All of the pictures are right HERE.

Final Day of Making: "Play Me, I'm Yours"

Having taken Luke Jerram's words to heart, "Piano's are a canvas for everyone's creativity", and "When the pianos land on the street they'll belong to the people of this great city".... I spent much of the day finishing the piano I had started to paint yesterday. By taking elements from Tribeca Park and creating a Narrative of forms and shapes this is what I have come up with so far:

UPDATE: I recently found out the talent behind these pictures. See my Samuel Jones post above.

Still Life: Pear

May Flowers...

Calamus at 150 - Opening Tonight

Walt Whitman's 'Calamus at 150', is a group exhibition inspired by and celebrating the 150th anniversary of the publication of the Calamus edition of Leaves of Grass. This exhibit opens tonight at the Hudson Guild Gallery on W. 26th street in Chelsea and runs thru June 1st. Organized and curated by Jim Pavlicovic and Jim Furlong, this exhibit is part of several events in conjunction with the Walt Whitman Project. From the Projects website:

The "Calamus" edition of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass caused a sensation when it appeared in 1860. This exhibition celebrates the 150th anniversary of the publication of this revolutionary work of art, whose impact is still felt today in many artistic media. Leaves of Grass was revolutionary in its bold use of free verse to declare openly and loudly the wonder and physical joy of the body and its sexuality. The "Calamus" poems celebrate homoerotic love, opening cracks in the stranglehold of Victorian mores on public expression of sensuality and acknowledging it as a basis of the happy and well lived life.

My submission is a watercolor/collage painting, 22x30, entitled "Portal". To create the painting I put down a very wet pigment on 300# watercolor paper, and then layed ginko leaves and twigs onto the pigment and then covered it and let it dry. I then removed the covering to reveal the leaf textures. The collage was then added.

Here is a detail of my painting "Portal":

April Flowers....

Floating in the Absence of Reason - Opening Tonight

Floating in the Absence of Reason is the title and theme of our ArtGroups opening exhibit tonight at M & H Art and Framing at 9 West 20th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues from 6 to 9pm. Gallery hours are Monday thru Friday 10-7 and Saturday from 10-6.

I'm exhibiting one of my Sumi ink scrolls. The scroll is 21" x 10 feet. It's a very versatile piece and can be hung either in the horizontal or vertical position, and rolled out to any length. M & H hung the scroll vertically on a wall and had it rolled out about 4'.

I have been drawing and painting these scrolls for awhile now, this is my first time exhibiting one in a gallery.

Tonight: Universal Diversity 15

ArtGroup for Gay and Lesbian artists fifteenth annual Universal Diversity exhibit is tonight at the Center.

My painting "All Dressed Up", 10 year old Keith Haring, will be in the show.

The Center is at 208 West 13th Street here in Manhattan off of 7th avenue. The reception is tonight, 24 September, between 6 and 8pm. See you there~!

Keith Haring, All Dressed Up

Today I prepped and framed my Keith Haring painting for an upcoming show. I was in a rush and wish now I would have floated it on a black mat instead of a white one, but it's done. The opening is next Thursday at the Center. I came up with the above image by taking a quarter of the painting and messing with it in photoshop.

"All Dressed Up" is a painting of Keith Haring when he was 10 years old. The photograph that I used for the painting really caught my eye, made me smile. At some point every kid gets dressed up. It's never comfortable, but one always felt special. I'm not sure why he was dressed up on this particular day, but the emotions in his face and his stance evoked memories of my own life as a kid when I got to dress up for a special day.

Not your Parents Art

This piece didn't sell when it was exhibited last year, so it was hanging above my sofa for several months. Not sure if it's because people couldn't see what it was about(?) or because they DID see what it was and didn't want it in their home.

I do admit that it is a specific piece that is more appropriate for the bedroom or bath rather than the living room. I've often told people that you can just switch the pictures around (or separate them further apart on the wall) if you don't want your mother to 'figure out' what it is the painting is trying to "say".

Onscreen Pollock

The painting has a life of it's own.
I try to let it come through.

Jackson Pollock

Create a "Pollock" of your own like the one I did above at the Jackson Pollock by Miltos Manetas website.

Paris

PAINT ME VALENTINO

I have repainted my Valentino for the upcoming TOAST weekend. Watercolor on paper, 7" x 5.5", Rudolph Valentino, from the movie "A Sainted Devil".

A Nice Sunny Relaxing Spring Day

I need a vacation

Monday Monday

When your apartment is to small for a dog, you get a silver pig.. all the fun and no clean up.

Spreading the T.O.A.S.T.

The TriBeCa Open Artist Studio Tour is a free, self-guided tour of approximately 100 artists' studios throughout TriBeCa. Bringing artists and the public together, it provides an opportunity for visitors to interact with the artists and see their artwork at the source, the artist’s own studio...

Today I took my bundles of T.O.A.S.T. pamphlets and hit up all of the independent coffee shops in the neighborhood. ..and the library.. and anywhere else I could drop off a few dozen or so. The Tribeca Open Artists Studio Tour this year is the last weekend of April. I will be one of the participating artists this year for the first time... opening up my small studio on Duane St. Saturday and Sunday, April 25th and 26th. Here is a map of all of the studios.

TENT CITY

Ever since Lisa Ling spotlighted a large tent city outside of Sacramento on the Oprah show, I've been noticing more and more articles of tent cities popping up everywhere in the US. The one in Seattle, "Nickelsville", is named after Mayor Greg Nickels. "Nickelodians live in fuchsia tents and are bent on protesting Mayor Nickels's policies on the homeless.. good for them~!

I guess most tenters feel that living in a tent city is safer and provides support as opposed to being homeless on the street or trying to get into homeless shelters. A tent also is a place to leave your possessions so you don't have to carry them around all day.

Well, last Fall I did a major clean out of my apartment. I went through every box, every shelf, every drawer, the cabinets... all the while shifting my tent from one side of the closet to the other.. I made several trips to Housing Works by subway and basically got rid of about 20% of my apartment.

But the tent? I kept it,, I may need it some day.

Hello Hello

posting posting one, two three...

Well,,, it's Black Party weekend here in NYC and as most "full moons" go, I'm working to de-stress the masses and put me in my happy zone for the afternoon. Have a great gay holiday and to all a good time. So, what better time to start a blog? ...