Pop Up Sale at Dumbo Arts Center

These are the three small paintings of mine for sale at DAC's winter fundraiser. All are oil on panel, 2009. Go take a look, the last weekend in February, 30 Washington Street in DUMBO, Brooklyn. There are lots of artists participating so there will be lots of work for sale, and all are priced to move. I've priced mine in the 150-200 dollar range, for example.

Embrace, 12Wx9H inches.

Swimsuits, 12x12 inches.

Burlesque [smile], 12x12 inches.

The Fine Art Adoption Network

A pretty cool initiative: the FAAN.

My FAAN page.

Also, will be putting some stuff in the Dumbo Arts Center's Pop Up Sale. The last weekend in February, sportsrockers.

The Wolf Man

Remake of the old Universal b-movie classic The Wolf Man comes out today. The wolf man was probably my favorite of the old Universal monster stable when I was a kid, and seeing the original again as an adult, I really think it stands up as a nice little atmospheric chiller. Helps that it has a great supporting cast for a b flick. I won't run to see the new one, but I'm looking forward to catching it when I can. I wrote a little about the original, and the Chaneys here, a few years ago.

heaven forbid...

...that NYC schools should have two snow days in a row. Thanks, Mayor Mike, for the crappy morning.

two days in brooklyn

Yesterday, a fresh couple inches of snow on the ground. Went for a run in Prospect Park in the morning and rediscovered how dazzling white and brown can be. The sun looked like a pearl, or the moon, in the overcast sky. Today, almost all the snow is gone and the light is crisp and sharp, the sky that unbelievable blue, the buildings in sharp, sunlit relief; and the real moon is faint and pale in the low western blue.

More snow to come tomorrow night. Probably enough for some serious sledding on Saturday.

Studio boots

january stuff

Busy work, record keeping type stuff, shooting photos of the work, etc. Not my favorite thing to do, but have to do it. Also, some photo work in preparation for having my work featured in the next issue of the LIU Brooklyn literary mag Downtown. Will be out in the fall, I'll keep you posted.

I'm not proud of it

But here are two things that always make me laugh:

1. The car rental commercial with Tennis Great John McEnroe. "Choose any car??!! You canNOT be serious!!!!" Gold.
2. Every time - every time - that Owen Wilson, as a tiny cowboy, calls Ben Stiller "Gigantor" in the Night at the Museum movies. Every time.

Like I said. I'm not proud of these things, but they are true. Have a nice day.

a few random new year thoughts

Jason Bay is a Met. Maybe, just maybe, it's time to allow myself to get excited about a new baseball season.

Also, Andre Dawson elected to the Hall of Fame: this makes sense to me. On a purely gut level, as a guy I watched on TV as a kid, I've always thought the Hawk belonged in the Hall.

Great trip to Toledo. My son had a blast with the cousins and his grandma. Had a nice birthday dinner out with family. Met my oldest newphew's fiancee's family. Saw the Zoo lights. Caught a couple movies, both entertaining and fun, but nothing great: It's Complicated and Sherlock Holmes. And met my sister's nice new bf, too. A really great visit.

That's right, a birthday. Have entered what I'll call my Jackie Robinson year. That means I'm 42.

That's another iPhone photo up there. Our Mr. Met Christmas ornament.

Toledo's great to visit, but it's always even greater to be back in NYC.

Holiday Card, 2009

This year's holiday card, linocut on card stock. Am torn between calling it "Candy Cane Triumphant," or "Behold, the Power of the Cane-Shaped Peppermint Stick!"



I kid, I kid. Anyway, warmest holiday wishes for now and the New year. Peace on earth, good will to all. And candy.

weekend update

My son earned his yellow belt in karate. We brought in and decorated our little live douglas fir. And went sledding! Very cool to get so much snow so much earlier in the winter.

untitled

Messing around with some of the leftover postcards from last winter's show. Painting and shmearing over them with oils.

That time of year again

Check out last December's posts for the holiday cards I've made for Christmases past. Scroll down a bit.

We've started sending out this year's card, and I'll be posting it here soon, too.

Bergen Street Comics

Bergen Street Comics is one of the sparkling new and charming little shops on Bergen between Flatbush and Fifth, and I finally stopped in on the way to the studio yesterday. Something for my wife had caught my eye, and of course I also found something for my son and myself. In the interest of the season, I'm going to keep those titles to myself for now, and just say that it's a great little shop, warm and welcoming, even to a big waterlogged slob like me stepping in out of the rain.

I will say that what I found for myself is 'The Hunter,' a graphic novelization of one of Donald Westlake's Parker novels, by Darwyn Cooke. I've had a scrap from the NY Times on my wall for months, from a review, and it had caught my eye because of the cool, three color palette, punchy black inking, and pulpy, noirish subject matter. A link to my B movie paintings that I thought I should pay attention to, especially since I think one of my projects in the new year will be some two-color linocuts.

Nice folks at the comics place, and I plan to go back. I just wish my son liked the fancy schmancy hot dogs next door. It's also down the block from Melt, where we ate for our anniversary, and which is not, despite my brother's fervent wishes, affiliated in any way with a gourmet mac n cheese place in Cleveland.

smattering

Went bowling this weekend. Channelled my inner Dude. Despite growing up in Toledo, Ohia, I was never a big bowler. But this weekend a friend had a birthday celebration that included rolling some balls at the lanes in the Port Authority. Lotsa fun. Our son had a blast, too, and my wife was rolling unconscious for a while, three straight strikes and a couple spares.

On our way from the lanes to dinner at a homey little Italian place, walking along the edges of Times Square, it snowed a little bit--big, wet, floppy flakes that glistened in the night air. Christmas lights and headlamps reflected in the slick black streets. Beautiful night. "God, I love this dirty town!"

Sunday we saw Fantastic Mr. Fox. I am a Wes Anderson fan, and I'd put this up there with my favorites of his. The whole stop motion world seems perfect for his stagelike, neoclassically balanced images. Really a fun, beautiful, touching film. We watched Up again on DVD this weekend, too, and that is even better than I remembered. It will be a tough call between those two come Oscar time [and don't forget Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, which is also a really fine and funny animated film. but I think the Academy will overlook it because of the silly title].

Oh, and there should be a moratorium on the use of the old saw about second acts and American lives. Maybe, fifteen minutes of fame, too. Sick of 'em.