Mural: Bloomin' Days Windows

I volunteered to paint a storefront in downtown Kenosha for Bloomin' Days; got assigned the future Bob Chinn's on 7th Avenue. My friend Andy helped.

We weren't trying to outshine any of the other windows but I got tired of painting flowers and decided to paint Boticelli's Birth of Venus. Andy realized I was upstaging his giant cartoon bee, so from there we just painted a bunch of famous masterpieces (yes, Andy Warhol counts).

Here is what we learned:

1. Painting tiny detail with window paint markers is difficult but doable.

2. Kenoshans want Bob Chinn's to open, BAD. To everyone who shouted from their cars: Yes, we are the owners and yes, the restaurant is already open. We are serving delicious crab out of the basement in secret; all you have to do to gain entry is go around to the back, knock 76 times, wait 10 minutes and then sing "Power of Love" by Huey Lewis in perfect pitch.

3. I probably shouldn't have given my phone number to the weirdly intense older man on the motorscooter who stopped to ask if I would design a painting for the side of his van. Hopefully this won't lead to my abduction.

Bloomin' Days is June 6th and 7th... for more info visit: http://bloomindays.exposekenosha.com/

I Take Pictures With Bands

I do the news on an AM radio station and sometimes the FM rock station next door has bands come in. Sometimes I haven't heard of them, most times I've at LEAST heard their name and can recognize their popular song. Most of the band members don't say much and they wear their sunglasses indoors.

Still, I take pictures with all of them for the same reason that people eat peanuts: there's no GREAT reason to do it but they're right here in front of you so you might as well.

So far, none of my friends have been very impressed by any of my pictures with somewhat-famous bands. Hopefully someday I will meet someone who thinks Tantric and Theory of a Deadman and Alterbridge are gods and they will think I'm really cool for having met them.

That's all. As you can see, this post is not art related but I just needed to put these photos to some good use. I hope you're impressed. More to come.

UNFINISHED ART:: Watercolors

These are two watercolors that have been in the works for a LONG time now:

:::LITTLE ISAAC
I don't know if that's his real name but he seems like an "Issac". He is a real boy who lives in Kenosha and attends a KUSD school. I took his photo when I worked as a school portrait photographer last year. He just stood there listening to the photographer (chin up, chin down JUST a little bit....) and seemed so chill. He had the demeanor of a wise old man.
He was so goddamn adorable; I took out my own camera and snapped a picture.

This next one is Patti...(Patty? Pattie? It doesn't matter):
She's one of the famous muses, Patti Boyd, the lady who was married to George Harrison and then married his best friend Eric Clapton. She inspired "Layla" and "Something"...which are two of the greatest rock songs.

:::PATTI
I started reading her autobiography ('Wonderful Tonight') back in December and I got all revved up to paint the cover because:

1) Her story is so interesting, not that I aspire to marry a famous musician (I don't) BUT if I were to, I would've wanted to marry a Beatle (not Paul) OR Eric Clapton (because he was really foxy back in the day, minus the heroin addiction)

.....AND....

2) because the cover photo was so great. It was taken in the 60s when she worked as a model in England. I think this was taken outside her and George's estate.

Anyway -- I slowly became disinterested in her book after the exciting stuff happened (when she left George for Eric); that's about the same time I stopped painting this.

I've grown attached to the way they look now so I really don't know when/if I'll finish them.