TOP 10 Comments of 2013 on DREGstudios.com!

Of the nearly 2000 comments left here on my website, I decided a few years back to begin a Top 10 list at the end of each year to dignify some takeaways from those brave enough comment on my work.  I always welcome the conversation and enjoy hearing the points of view of my visitors.  There are certainly advantages and disadvantages alike to allowing Anonymous commenting but I always say, "bring on the crazy!" Bedlam on the comment forum just adds to the atmosphere right?  Here's my own Top 10 favorite comments from 2013...

SOLUBLE HEROES Opens In One Week!

My very first exhibit of 2014 will kick off right after New Years!  The Coup will be hosting a collection of my paintings during Clarksville's First Thursday Downtown Art Walk on January 2nd from 5-8PM.  The exhibit will be up for the month of January and on display for Tour of Wurdz on January 11th where I'll be painting live!  Drop by either event to see me in person and get a gander at some pop surrealism on canvas and wood!

Happy Christmas from DREGstudios!

Many returns to each and every one of you- my family, friends, collectors and audience.  Your eyes are the gift which keeps on giving and I'm grateful for it year-round.  Happy Holidays!

For this year's custom Christmas Card sent out to my extended family all over the world, I borrowed a message from John Lennon and Yoko Ono.  In 1971, they released the song Happy Xmas (War is Over) along with a billboard campaign in New York City declaring

WAR IS OVER! 

IF YOU WANT IT.

TOP 10 Christmas Movies of ALL TIME

Tis the season for cinema as Christmas Day is a huge movie day.  Some families gather 'round the TV for reruns of their all-time favorites which air seasonally on network television.  Television has been a vessel which has integrated film into the tradition of the holidays.  Likewise, the theaters have adopted Christmas as an official release date for a handful of films each year (all of which are usually surrounded by Oscar hype.)  Some of the films which make my own Top 10 list are classics which cannot be exempt from notoriety while others may be found a bit unconventional...

The Once and Future dOOdle

“We cannot build the future by avenging the past.” 


"Only fools want to be great.”  

“If people reach perfection they vanish, you know.”

- T.H. White, 

The Once and Future King

Southern Pop Surrealism INTERACTIVE is OPEN until 2014!

If you missed the Opening Reception for Southern Pop Surrealism INTERACTIVE a couple of  weeks back, make sure to drop by No Egrets Tattoo & Gallery to see one of the most unique exhibits ever displayed!  For the next two weeks, you can still bring your smart phone to scan the QR codes on the title of each painting which give you access to videos and process pictures of how the art was created.   Each work of art is a collaboration fusing the art of myself, Wolfman Bennett and Jesse Shaw.  There's nothing like seeing a painting with your own eyes and these will be up to drop your jaw until the end of the year!  No Egrets is located at 1128 College Street here in Clarksville, TN.  Stop by before the end of December to see it all in person including the live painting we created at the opening on December 5th- "Three Sharks."

Click HERE for pictures from our OPENING RECEPTION!

Click HERE for a STREAM of SOUTHERN POP SURREALISM!

The Leaf-Chronicle showcased one of our paintings as the banner art for their article on Giving the Gift of Art last week!

Genuine Exclamations!

Yesterday, we had "Forced Exclamations" but today they are genuine...

 “I wanted change and excitement and to shoot off in all directions myself, like the colored arrows from a Fourth of July rocket.”

  
- Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

Forced Exclamations!

"An exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke."

-F. Scott Fitzgerald

TIS the SEASON

I just finished up ordering the 2013 DREGstudios Custom Christmas Cards!  Each year I create a new card featuring my artwork to mail out to collectors, friends, family and other likable social misfits.  If you're a frequent reader here at DREGstudios.com then you are included in that crowd so send your mailing address to dregstudios@gmail.com to get on my list!  If you've already been getting the cards then the new one will be out in a week or so unless you've moved since last year- then you better email me also to update your address!

Click HERE to see my 2012 Christmas Card!

Click HERE to see my 2011 Christmas Card!

Click HERE to see my 2010 Christmas Card!

In Memoriam: Nelson Mandela

"Portrait of Nelson Mandela" (inks on bristol / 2013)

Late last week, a shutter of the most inspiring human energy was released with the passing of Nelson Mandela.  South Africa's first black president was the epitome of the human spirit and lived by example of his strength and will.  It is rare a man leaves such a legacy as he has.  The long and fruitful 95 year life of this revolutionary will be celebrated for centuries to come as we honor and hopefully experience the ideals he fought so hard for.  Today I share with you my tribute to Mandela in pen and marker...

"If I had my time over I would do the same again. So would any man who dares call himself a man."  -Nelson Mandela

TOUR of WURDZ RETURNS!!!

Go ahead and mark your calendars because 2014 is gonna bring the local arts and music scene full circle.  TOUR of WURDZ returns on January 11th hosted by The Coup (118 University Ave / Clarksville, TN.)  It's been a minute since the MOST OPEN Open-Mic on the Planet (and in the Universe) opened her ears to us locally.  There's more info to come in the following weeks as we hustle-bustle through the holidaze including info on my first exhibit of 2014 which coincides with TOUR of WURDZ!!! For now, here's the galactic poster I designed...

skeeeeeeeeeeew dOOdle!

I picture this guy playing a mean banjo at a hog roast...

Skeetdidle yer ass upta ya merma's herse and grab dadday's gitfiddle. Drop em ontha stumps cuz thisun gonna get hot!  Pass datdere bottla shine round git down and sit down ta listena pappay play... 

CLICK on over yar fer uh helluva good time of dOOdlage!

Southern Pop Surrealism Interactive OPENING RECEPTION

Thanks to all the folks who braved the impending doom of the threat of inclement weather to give us a great audience Thursday night for Southern Pop Surrealism at No Egrets Art Gallery here in Clarksville!  We were delighted to see all the reactions to these collaborative paintings from the past two years.  Nothing compares to the thrill of viewing them on gallery walls with folks showing a full range of emotion from laughter to terror from the imagery!  If you missed the opening reception, you can still drop by No Egrets Tattoo on College St during normal business hours the entire month of December to see the paintings and also watch the videos of us creating them LIVE (on average, each is about 3 minutes time lapsing over 4 hours of painting!)  Here's some candid moments from our opening and live painting session...

SOUTHERN POP SURREALISM opens THURSDAY NIGHT!!!

Here's a dose of quintessential Dirty South Surrealism which the Wolfman and Jesse threw down over the weekend at Austin Peay to advertise our show opening this week...

I'm truly excited for this Thursday evening's Downtown Art Crawl here in Clarksville.  Along with Wolfman Bennett and Jesse Shaw, I've been looking forward to putting on this interactive exhibit for a very long time.  I had the idea last year to incorporate the time lapse videos we've been making the past couple of years into a gallery setting through QR codes.  These codes displayed on each work's title block will give the audience the chance to watch how we created each painting live on their phone or mobile device while in the gallery!