It was Saturday, April 11th

A Day in a Life Beatles For Sale On today's schedule was a trip to the Country Cottage Framery. But first, I needed to stop at the post office to mail out a print to Colorado and 10 note cards to Missouri. As I was finishing up preparations, I got a phone call. It was from Jess at the Country Cottage Framery. Someone was interested in purchasing my original portrait of the Beatles in a piece I call "Norwegian Woods." WOW! This was great news! And later that day when I had finally made it to the framery, I met the proud new owner of my portrait, in person. We had a great chat. He had many encouraging and supportive things to say. He also pointed out he had brought something to be framed as well... While My Guitar Gently Weeps Yes, I know, Jimi Hendrix did not write or play on this song but I have this Beatles theme going here with album and song titles, so please, bear with me. ...The piece, he had brought to be "re-framed" was my portrait of Jimi purchased back in December during the Country Cottage's 20% Holiday Sale! So, it appears John, Paul, George and Ringo will be sharing a wall with Jimi! Now, the reason I was at the framery was to get these two pieces framed for the FIGURATIVE ART SHOW, coming up in May. Polythene Pam I hadn't thought about any names for these pieces until this Beatles theme popped into my head this morning with the sale of "Norwegian Woods" (and the fact, this blog was being "composed in my head" all day long) -- it just seemed more and more appropriate to avoid the usual fine art name of "Untitled 1 and 2" and go with Mean Mister Mustard and Polythene Pam. And actually, Pam here was already being considered in another Beatles themed collage. She was going to be the "big teaser" in a piece I was going base on the Lennon and McCartney tune, Day Tripper. Mean Mister Mustard You may have seen both of these pieces in my Life Drawing posts. But something may have struck you as "something different" about them. I created this "torn-look" in Photoshop to illustrate the look I gave these two drawings. I tore them from their larger 18 x 24 inch pages. As I often draw many sketches on one sheet, I wanted these removed. Jess, my framer, is going to "float" them on matte board when she frames them. I'm looking forward to seeing how they COME TOGETHER!...

ART and TRIVIA For Saint Paddy's Day

Today is St.Patrick's Day and today according to the MARCH show... March 17, 1905: Eleanor Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt are married. "What say we put a little touch of Irish whiskey in your tea, Ellie, eh?" FOUR YEARS AGO today I was finishing up something. Something "not GREEN at all." In fact, something "VERY RED." Curious? It was home stretch for a piece I knick-named "RED EMILY." I never photographed or scanned this piece in it's entirety when it was finished. What you're looking at is the "most finished" copy of the image I have. That is, outside of it's frame. I do have some pictures of those. One includes where it now hangs on a wall in a house somewhere in New York. A wonderful librarian bought it! Just something curious I found in my archives. ENJOY!

The process...

This image is featured on my website for the month of March. So, here's... THE STORY behind the picture of POE I wanted to do "another Poe" My original "Poe" --the one titled "Edgar Allan Crow," that combined the author's portrait and a raven-- was well received. But I always wanted to take another shot at the troubled and mysterious Edgar Allan Poe. First, I had worked up a rough sketch of his portrait. I scanned that in and combined it in Photoshop with a photo of myself leaning against a church wall in Ireland. (I had my file of photos from an Ireland trip opened as I had just used one of a river for my Virginia Woolf portrait). The photo was manipulated somewhat and re-proportioned to fit in the archway of the church to make it look more like a door. When my rough was finished, I printed it out and began drawing "on and into" it. I left a lot in the face to be drawn from scratch but allowed the transparancies created from the quick masking and layer effects used in Photoshop for this under drawing to stay "as is." When it came to open space of the door, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. At one point I thought a woman's face filling the opening might work and began lightly sketching it in. But as I hadn't really planned it out, I started second guessing myself. And finally, just "scribbled it out." That scribbling became the smoke-like effect that now fills that void. It originally was very black on that side of Poe's face and body. "Coming out of the shadows" did have an appropriate look to it, however, in "fixing this mistake," I do like how the light grey-blue helps define that side of the portrait and centers the focal point to Poe's face. A "happy accident" I guess you might call it. But I see as just a part of the process -- sometimes you don't know where something might take you.

You Say It's YOUR Birthday!

TONIGHT AT BAND CAMP When we do HONEY DON'T, I'll sing: Rock on, George. One time for Ringo! ...and be thinking of ya on your BIRTHDAY anniversary!

Almost time for next show!

CHALLENGE: Designing a poster that didn't rely on images of those celebrating birthdays for my MARCH show. SOLUTION:

"One good thing about music..." Bob Marley

It's a little late for his birthday anniversary but my MARLEY cards were delivered yesterday!

slatts' FEBRUARY Show

IF YOU'RE LOCAL... THIS STARTS TODAY! Bob Marley b. February 6, 1945 d. May 11, 1981 Jamaican musician, singer-songwriter and Rastafarian. "My first colored pencil on batik was of this "first" in the world of reggae music. His smile looking back at me in February 2006, encouraged me to "go ahead! try it, mon!" February 9, 1964 The Beatles made their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show to a television audience of 73 million people. February 12 Charles Darwin 1809 Abraham Lincoln 1809 Christina Ricci 1980 February 12, 1967 Keith Richards (with Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithful) become the first of “the famous rock stars busted for drugs.” February 13, 1945 Kurt Vonnegut survives the Allied firebombing of Dresden, Germany. This will become the inspiration for his best-selling novel: Slaughterhouse Five February 22 George Washington 1732 Drew Barrymore 1975 February 23, 1956 Marilyn Monroe becomes the legal name for Norma Jeane Mortenson. George Harrison b. February 25, 1943 d. November 29, 2001 English rock guitarist, singer-songwriter lead guitarist in The Beatles. “The “Quiet Beatle” was never really quiet— though sometimes silenced­—his contributions are all crystal clear.”