KEEP DOiNG the RIGHT THiNG!

This afternoon I received a strange phone call as I was heading to work from the bank.  A guy on the other end tells me he's knocking on my apartment door (which I moved from a year ago.)  When I ask why he's trying to find me he says I don't know him but he has something for me.  I felt a combination of both being intrigued and creeped out by a stranger tracking me down with these vague motives.  He went on to say, "I hear you have a painting missing. Well, my buddy took it but didn't have the balls to give it back so I'm bringing it for him."  Needless to say, I was over the moon at this news!

The day after the opening reception for my current solo exhibit SOLUBLE HEROES, one of my favorite paintings took a walk from The Coup during a concert.  For the past month, over 100 folks have shared around a Reward Offer on Facebook for me in an attempt to track down my stolen artwork, "Imperial Octopus."  Thanks to everyone who spread the word and helped bring this mysterious art heist to a conclusion.  All your collective energies really came through with the Universe!  It was a good story with apparently a lot of alcohol involved.  I told the guy to thank his friend for doing the right thing and I took it as the highest form of flattery!  No questions asked; no hard feeling- I'm just delighted to have my painting come home!

SOLUBLE HEROES closing this week...

If you haven't dropped by The Coup here in town to check out SOLUBLE HEROES, you have just one more week to brave the bitter cold and pop your head in. The venue offers a really neat organic and vegan menu during the day and you can catch any number of musical performances at night. Through Sunday you can also see a collection of my original paintings (with prints still available!)

Click HERE for Pictures from the OPENING RECEPTION!

 Click HERE for THE COUP's website!

BRAiN MeLTiNG dOOdle

"If only we could pull out our brain and use only our eyes."

 -Pablo Picasso

"The brain is wider than the sky." 

-Emily Dickinson

"The individual, man as a man, man as a brain, if you like, interests me more than what he makes, because I've noticed that most artists only repeat themselves"

-Marcel Duchamp

SPiTTiN' MAD dOOdle

Spit it Out...

"Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured."

-Mark Twain

"Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned."

-Buddha

Get FURIOUS at the dOOdle ARCHIVE!!!

TOP 10 Movie Picks of 2013

I have to say 2013 was by far the hardest year for me to choose my Top 10 favorite films which I share here annually.  As each year passes, movie studios and independent filmmakers learn more and more about how to grab their audience.  Along with this comes the cheap thrills of mindless/flawless action packed CGI which has recently written itself into a circle with destruction porn- hours upon hours of aliens, superheroes and natural disasters trashing landscapes.  Don't get me wrong- it's great but with my list, I'm looking at acting, writing and most importantly if the movie is taking me somewhere I've never been before.  I'm looking for movies which make the hair on my arms stand up, make me blush, make me smile or make me cry.

"LOW FIVE" NEW Speed Painting from TOUR of WURDZ

Check out the time lapse video of the painting Wolfie and I slung at TOUR of WURDZ: A Celebration of Life at The Coup here in Clarksville over the weekend...

Portrait of Alex and Ally

Inks on Bristol / 2013

This weekend I got to catch up with several of my folk when TOUR of WURDZ returned to town.  I also finally got out another belated Christmas portrait to my good friend Big Al.  I wanted to do something special for him this year.  Back in January when we were remodeling our house to move in, he was a lifesaver on more than one occasion.  Of course, I've been anxious to share it but had to get if framed and delivered first!  Here's Alex with his better half, Ally...

TOUR of WURDZ: A Celebration of Life

TOUR of WURDZ has always been a Celebration of Life.  The most open OPEN-mic in the Galaxy made its return last night at The Coup here in Clarksville.  Nearly ten years ago, our agent of the Universe and shaman Gikuyu Wamuiru first created this event.  Yesterday marked the 34th time organizing a collaborative atmosphere where musicians, authors, artists and just plain folk express themselves live for one evening.  I did a live painting in The Coup's front gallery with Wolfman Bennett throughout the evening.  Meanwhile, the stage opened up for authors to read poetry while Derek Weatherspoon kept us entertained on guitar.  TOUR of WURDZ has the same energy and spirit no matter the size of its collaboration.  We've seen a six hour line up of bands culminating in metal mosh pits and we've seen a room full of two dozen folks seated in folding chairs to fill an art gallery with stories and poems.  Last night was a wonderful experience and fitting return to the roots of what TOUR of WURDZ is- an open sharing of expression.  Couldn't make it out last night?  The COUP will be hosting the event again on Sunday, April 20th so stay tuned for TOUR of WURDZ REDUX!!!   Here are some pictures of what you missed!

PUNK@$$ dOOdle

"To me, punk rock is the freedom to create, freedom to be successful, freedom to not be successful, freedom to be who you are. It's freedom."

-Patti Smith

"To me, punk is about being an individual and going against the grain and standing up and saying 'This is who I am.'"

-Joey Ramone

In Memoriam: Baby Girl

In typical slacker artist fashion, I got most of my Christmas portraits out kinda late this year.  Last week, Paul and Becca got their presents when my Uncle Harry drove up to spend the week with them for New Years.  Their main gift was a portrait I made as a memorial for their pit bull, BG who passed away recently.  Baby Girl was a member of our entire extended family of friends.  She had the greatest smile and defied any stigma associated with her breed.  The dog was full of love, full of tricks and had a life filled with joy crisscrossing the country with my Sister the past several years!  I wanted to capture her smile first and foremost and went from there.  Becca got the best picture I could ever ask for with BG's baby boy Dubs looking at the portrait of mamma...

Rare to form, I forgot to scan the artwork before I got it framed so here's a shot of the finished product before I sent it up north...

Inks on Bristol / 2013 / 7in x 5in

In Memoriam: Ryan Distelrath

5in x 7in / Inks on Bristol / 2013-2014

After ending my work week today, I finally delivered a belated Christmas present to Ed and Pat (the parents of my late friend Ryan.)  I've known them for well over a decade now since I first met their son.  In turn when I moved to Clarksville, Ryan introduced me to damn near every local friend I have now outside of a few artists.

I've wanted to draw a portrait of Ryan since he first passed away little over two years ago but I probably wasn't ready.  I wanted the picture to be fun and capture his spirit- I wanted it to be something he would like.  Ryan turned me onto comics, music, cult movies and all sorts of pop culture consumption which kept us up many a night through hazes of smoke, drink and unforgettable laughter.  You can spot references to Mystery Science Theater 3000, Yellow Submarine and Donovan's Mellow Yellow Album in the illustration.  I felt my buddy laughing while I was sketching psilocybin mushrooms in a portrait for his parents where Alfred E Neuman's brains were exploding out of a mug of beer!  I could see him grinning ear-to-ear when I gave it to them.  Good thing they had a son like Ryan who was very open about his idea of a good time and never held back from anyone.  He was fearless and I cherish the memories I have of him standing on top of the world with me.

SOLUBLE HEROES Opening Reception

My solo exhibit SOLUBLE HEROES opened tonight at The Coup (118 University Ave) during Clarksville's Downtown Art Crawl.  I had a good bit of fun hanging out with the folks at their new venue as well as the artists and friends who dropped by.  This body of work fused the painting from two one-night exhibits in 2012 and 2013- My Hero / My Villain and Soluble Fish.  If you didn't get the opportunity to see either in person, you can get it ALL at this new show!  The exhibit will be on display the entire month of January and during TOUR of WURDZ on Saturday, January 11th where I'll be painting LIVE!  Here are some pics from this evening's reception...

2013: The Year in Review at DREGstudios!

The past year brought me to lay eyes upon more than one milestone in my life.  The last three years have certainly been the most productive creatively and personally as I ride the waves of life out with you folks.  I've said more than once this week there is no need for new beginnings in 2014 because the path I've walked as of late is on a tremendous trajectory!  If you like what you've seen out of me, be ready for the same because there are BiG things coming for my art over the next twelve months!  As always, thank you very much for stopping by and I'll be looking forward to your eyes this year! Happy New Year!

Here are some of the highlights from my work here in 2013 at DREGstudios...