Tampa was a great success (thanks, Iron Chic!), Sarasota was a lot of fun, and Wednesday night I did my first Downtown (Jacksonville) Artwalk from Burrito Gallery (which also went really well). Here are a couple photos of the table set-up I had for prints and of (most of) the art that I’ve got up on the wall right now.
AND DID I MENTION that, while in Sarasota/Bradenton, I explored new and foreign territory? I had never built anything before and don’t know shit about carpentry but it’s not like I’ve ever known anything about art and I haven’t let that stopped me! So I took some measurements, bought some lumber, and built a platform for my bed and furniture, inside my van. I’m pretty proud of it and now I’ve got extra storage space to keep my larger canvases (and whatever else). And even though (right now) I only have a couple, I really doubt that I’ll be so lucky as to sell all of my pieces at my Burrito Gallery and Chamblin’s exhibits, so this will come in handy in April when it’s time to pack up and leave Florida for my next adventure/exhibition. Here are some photos of the process and the new/improved set-up inside my little mobile studio/home.
I really enjoy the little life I’ve been building for myself (and that includes living out of/sleeping in the minivan) but… I just climbed into a real bed and am about to eat some cookie dough and watch an episode of The Simpsons. And that sounds pretty cool too.
Last night went well enough that I can justify getting down to Sarasota by way of tagging along with Iron Chic and selling/painting at tonight’s show at Skatepark of Tampa. It’s really hard to watch Iron Chic play and not just smile the whole time so I’m pretty excited to extend my little punk rock weekend by a day. And to see some people I care about in Sarasota (even though I gotta head right back up to Jacksonville on Wednesday morning so I can be at Burrito Gallery for Artwalk). ALL GOOD THINGS!
I’m at a print shop in Gainesville, replenishing my stock again and getting the first batch of prints for my two most recent paintings.
And as I wrote that out, they’re ready to go so I’m gonna hit the road to Tampa and bag these little guys up once I get down there.
Friday, I sold art at the Civic Media Center in Gainesville. Drove back to Jacksonville last night and sold at the Four Families album release show. AND NOW – after seeing Gord post something about Atlanta – I’ve keenly deduced that not only are Iron Chic playing in Gainesville tonight, but they’re playing with Off With Their Heads and The Slow Death! Couldn’t be more excited. I hit up Johnny to see if I could sell art at the show tonight and – now that I’ve got the go ahead and know that I can make some money to cover gas – am about to hit the road and drive right back to Gainesville.
Things couldn’t be going better lately. That (and the fact that I’ve been off Adderall for MORE THAN A WEEK now) has had an interesting effect on my artistic output. I’m less in my head, less troubled, and painting nonsense like this:
“Yo – I Painted a Fuckin’ Unicorn.” 2/28/14. Acrylic paint. 16×16″.
My favorite element of the painting is the arrow at the bottom center – directing the viewer’s attention to the unicorn. You know – IN CASE ANYONE’S HAVING TROUBLE FINDING IT.
UPDATE! / ADDENDUM!(April 24, 2014)
In April of last year, I was at an art fair kinda thing, where I met an artist named William Somma. He asked me if I’d like to collaborate on a painting. He threw a bunch of colors onto a canvas and then handed it off to me so that I could paint a bunch of my funny faces on top. The result was our painting, “Limp.” When it was done, he asked if I’d like to do another. He threw a bunch of colors on the second canvas but they didn’t dry before the day was done. I took it home with me and didn’t pick it up again for almost a year. That second painting (eventually) became, “Yo – I Painted a Fuckin’ Unicorn.”
Here’s the thing… None of Will’s colors were still on the canvas by the time I was finished with it. His texture was still underneath my paint but I felt guilty about it. I argued with myself over whether I should acknowledge that this was the same canvas (and risk hurting his feelings) or say nothing and – should he ever ask about the canvas – LIE and say that I lost it. In the moment that I decided to share the painting online, I didn’t even think of the whole dilemma.
A couple days ago, Will sent me an email: “Hey, question… I was browsing your paintings and I noticed the unicorn one. Is that the one I gave you at Art Pool underneath? The texture made it turn out pretty neat.”
Holy shit, that kid’s got a good eye! That was a year ago!!
I told Will all about my guilt and shame and he was totally cool about it. The whole thing was a giant relief.
AND CHECK IT OUT: Now my Unicorn painting has a way better story! Being mentally ill sure keeps things interesting!
