08.21.08
Posted in Art at 1:58 pm by Fletcher
Since the second of my commissions is rapidly coming to a finish - I feel it is now safe to show off what I have been working on - but unable to show for fear that the recipient might see.
I came across this place on one of my epic walks with my bride to be - we would hit the streets of NYC on her visits and just go… No direction, no agenda. Walking for the sheer pleasure of it. She got to see parts of the city she would never have come across on her own, and I would use it as a reason to trek thru parts of town I normally would not see.
I love it for its beat up failure. The dreams of some hardworking immigrant gone by the wayside. Was it health violations? Did the family move? Were they beaten by the chino-latino joint down the block? I could only see paper cartons filled with noodles being eaten by busy office workers, who were one day forced to go somewhere else because their fave lunch place had closed.
Man, I embrace my dark nature.
Permalink
08.18.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 12:45 pm by Fletcher
I get a regular delivery of a design magazine; since they offered it to me for free. I don’t really read it as much as check out some of the interesting snippets of what advertisers are doing. Since I consider most of them to be the most vile of creatures - playing on our weaknesses, fears and image issues - I gotta keep an eye on them.
I was taken aback when I was looking at their latest self-congratulatory article (and it seems like EVERY issue has some sort of ‘awards’ fluff piece: 9 outta 10 sycophants agree; the Advertising that appealed to Most Internet Pervs is….) when I turned the page and saw this ad for an advertising technique:
For those who are too busy to click on the thumbnail: its a ‘Peel & Lick’ form of advertising. This one in particular is a ‘taste’ of Welch’s Grape juice.
Are these guys #^@%(^! kidding me? I’d just as soon take a syringe from a bum in Junkie Alley and jab it into my neck. This is a throwback to John Waters ‘Polyester’ which used Smello-vision:
Odors, especially Francine’s particularly keen sense of smell, play an important role in the film. To highlight this, Waters designed Odorama, a “scratch-and-sniff” gimmick inspired by the work of William Castle and the 1960 film Scent of Mystery, which featured a device called Smell-O-Vision. Special cards with spots numbered 1 through 10 were distributed to audience members before the show, in the manner of 3D glasses. When a number flashed on the screen, viewers were to scratch and sniff the appropriate spot. Smells included the scent of flowers, pizza, glue, gas, grass, and feces.
Does anyone else see the potential for evil here? ‘Hey, lets get people to try what they think is grape juice, but then switch it with 2 month old gym sock juice!’ Has anyone even tried these? What kind of weird cancer causing chemicals do they make these things out of? ‘Hey, lets add isoamyl acetate with potassium hydroxide and see if people will lick that!’
I’ll give away a free copy of Half Life 2: Episode One to anyone who will try it.
UPDATE: It seems I am not the only person who feels this way. Read page 2 to get the icky feelings…
Permalink
08.13.08
Posted in Art, Life at 10:24 am by Fletcher
The greatest joy there is is when something you create with your own hands is given as a gift.
Sara, a longtime friend and fan of my work, got married last year - and as a wedding present, I gave her a painting that she had always liked. She was so taken with it that she had it framed and proudly displayed in her home, prompting an email (with photos) saying how everyone really likes it, from guests to the mailman - even the guy who had framed it.
So it was a real pleasure when I got a phone call from her new husband, earlier in the year, asking if I could be commissioned for a piece for their One Year Anniversary. And since tradition dictated that first anniversaries gift is paper - a watercolor painting would fit the bill.
The toughest part was figuring out what to paint. Since this was a sign of her life as it is, and of the coming years, I wanted something to tie in with her past - and since we met when I was living with her brother - it seemed fitting that I paint a landmark that she would identify with and have a connection to. Obviously, some tourist spot or historical landmark was out of the question. What could I do in my style? After much deliberation - it hit me. During her visits - where was the one place we’d always end up? Where would we get supplies when the gang went out on the town? Where would we go after the night out for late night snacks? Our local deli.
Anyone that has lived in the city will instantly recognize the importance of the local deli and a good one will not only have coffee and the paper, but bandaids, phonecards, candles to put on birthday cakes and WD40. Stuff people need. Ran by people with the barest grasp of the English language, but still greet you with a smile because in their hearts they know: you buying their overpriced stuff is paying for their kids education.
So it was a real delight when I got this missive in my mailbox:
I just received my anniversary painting and I am blown away!
You couldn’t have chosen a more fitting subject, I LOVE IT!!!!
they always did have the best chicken parms at 4 in the morning!
And now I can breathe a sigh of relief - because I also had 2 or 3 other paintings that I had in reserve (in case this one was a bust) that I couldn’t post, in fear that she’d see them. Look for these in the coming days…
Permalink
08.11.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 9:26 am by Fletcher
Close off sections of Manhattan to vehicular traffic; let people roam at will and cut down on the emissions.
Why, oh why must they do this AFTER I move out?? Sigh.
If anyone happened to be there for this; drop me a note and tell me what it was like!
Permalink
08.07.08
Posted in Uncategorized, Life at 11:14 am by Fletcher
I’ve been watching the story about Bruce Ivins with great interest. The fact that he committed suicide and then the authorities have pretty much indicted him has kept my attention lately. For more than one reason, it had my attention and I found myself checking for updates more and more often than I usually do - my disdain for the media put in check by my unerring need to see how this story panned out.
Let’s say that I have more than a ‘passing curiosity’ about it.
I was there when it happened.
If you look back in the articles I’ve posted over the years here, you’ll see that I’ve made mention of the ‘Major Metropolitan Newspaper’ that I used to work for. It was the New York Post - I usually avoided calling it by name, partly to avoid grousing about a former employer (because, hey - you never know) and because I did like the cache’ that came with it; the way people’s eyes would light up when they asked where I worked - I got many a free drink because of it, and I made more than a few friends because of the discussions it generated.
There was something about being in the middle of a newsroom, of having people shouting out what was happening all over the globe at that exact moment, monitors blaring newscasts 24/7, copy-editors composing witty headlines to sum it all up… We were still reeling from 9/11; nightly jaunts to Langan’s to dull the overload from so many hours of non-stop chaos, seeing our co-workers and comrades come back from being buried in rubble, the sirens, the endless waiting for the next shoe to drop. Between the work, the stress, the lack of sleep and the booze - nerves were stretched taut.
And then the Anthrax Attacks began.
At first it was just another ‘what now??!!’ moment; another ball of angst and shite to throw on the compost heap. It was a far-away thing, down in Florida, on the radar, just another sign of how the world was crumbling - a bit here; a bit there. But it was still far away. We had our drama to deal with and if some publisher in the deep south got hit with a whack-job mailing poison to his op-ed column then it got promptly filed under “Not My Problem.”
Until we got it.
There was a huge flurry of activity and a lot of cops floating around the office that day. I thought that Dunleavey had gotten into another fight and some pissed off copykid was pressing charges. I had asked my buddy Delmo what had happened. He told me that Op-ed was shut down because Johanna had opened an envelope with white powder in it. Not Johanna, the poor girl who ripped a tendon in her leg dancing at the Christmas Party; not Johanna who I went to the Steely Dan concert with and used her injury to get us front row seats while I assumed the identity of the head features editor… She was out. Taking Cipro. It was being passed around like a bowl of candy. People were afraid. The FBI was there and asking questions. People were assuming it was Bin Laden. No one wanted to touch anything, to eat in the office. Weirdly though, the smoking room was packed with people who touched all sorts of things and then brought their hands close to their mouths and noses… We were the walking infected. Op-ed was walled off in plastic, like the quarantine setup they used in E.T. People came down with all sorts of mysterious maladies. I had walked off the job when the guys in the moon-suits came in to spray the whole place down and they didn’t tell me it was happening, as in - right next door. If they didn’t blow stray anthrax spores on me, I’m sure the toxic chemicals would have been a blast to inhale. So I walked off the job and got drunk. Pissed that we couldn’t do anything to get back at the bastards who did this.
We did strike back. Medications were given, and we didn’t lose anyone. We mourned those who had fallen to this new disaster. Hadn’t we suffered enough? We struck back with words - those who had caught this virulent disease and live to tell had written impassioned responses - telling how they would not be cowed. That in this dark hour, we would not be defeated.
And we did it in NY Post style.
Like I said; I’ve been watching this story with great interest. As soon as it started creeping back into the headlines, it brought me back to where I was at that time. Living in a money pit loft that I had absorbed from a heroin junkie who fled the state. Living with bunch of money sucking roommates that seemed intent on destroying said loft with all abandon. Dealing with being abysmally single in a city doomed to be a crater in the near future. My nightly forays to the pub taking a toll on my wallet and waistline. I made a few enemies in those days, I pray for forgiveness as much as I pray for the strength to forgive. And when people I worked with, friends and comrades, had died, mercifully from things other than terrorism - I found that I could no longer bear working there. I had left - probably prematurely, and ended up doing one of those weird lateral moves that seems to take a lot of energy and make no sense in the long run…
But, hey - I ended up here: In the Midwest. I’ve got a job and a girl who loves me enough to make it permanent. And all told - things could have turned out a lot worse. I just look back on the person I was and wonder how I managed to keep it all together, to not sink or fall, to somehow keep pushing forward - no matter what was thrown in my path…
Permalink
08.04.08
Posted in Uncategorized, Life at 11:24 pm by Fletcher
Ladies and Gents - it has now been ONE FULL YEAR since I gave up smoking.
Not one cig, drag, dip or chaw.
Mind you, I see no immediate running of marathons and I do miss the beer & cigarette, or coffee & cigarette or lighting up after a good meal.
I do not miss the smell on the clothes and I do feel like my olfactory senses have rebounded. And I certainly do not miss the disgusted looks the former girlfriend / current fiancee would give me for flicking lit butts into the street. And I will admit that I do thank Mayor Bloomberg for the free patches that got me to quit - without them I probably would have strangled the majority of the tri-state area.
I am thankful for the money I’ve saved - it truly was being wasted. Especially when I would chainsmoke at the pub (and greatly contributing to my hangover) and I am profoundly grateful for the adoration that fiancee heaps upon me for having quit. When she squeezes my bicep (cause I’ve been exercising to boot!) and she squals with delight - well, hell - who wouldn’t quit??
Info for NY’rs to help quit smoking can be found here.
Permalink
07.29.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 12:41 pm by Fletcher
Considering the amount of positive feedback I’d gotten over my ‘new’ style - Rural Decay, as I call it:
I started my second one - based on a tree I saw in a swampy area in one of the Metroparks. Suffice to say, as I got underway with it, laid down my initial sketch and started painting - I reached a logical breaking point and set it aside to dry and to take stock of where I was.
Ye gods, it looks like a amateur student painting.
Any artist worth his salt will tell you that regressing is one of the hardest things to do. Trying to do a tempera painting in the style of First Grade can daunt even the most seasoned of artists. Even a non-artist will be challenged to ‘draw like a child’. Its something we lose as we get older - something in the way our brains form.
In looking at my latest - I got the distinct impression of ‘High School Art Student’ flavor. I can’t decide if this is a good thing, a happy accident, if you will. Or if I just plain suck at nature scenes and really need to practice.
Permalink
07.22.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 1:03 pm by Fletcher
So, since the announcement of my future nuptials, my bride to be has been scouring the internets looking for banquet halls, church info, honeymoon ideas, other wedding mishaps, dresses, reception favors, shoes, cognitive therapists and a good eye doctor for correcting the nearsightedness brought on by all the searching…
Since she spends a fair amount of time at my apartment, getting fed good meals and taking me to the beach - she naturally spends a goodish amount of time looking up stuff online as I bustle around, paint or cook. I was interrupted one of these times by a loud raucous cackle, one that was part hysterics and the other part sheer horror. Rushing to see what was amiss, she pointed to the screen, hand on mouth - barely able to speak…
On the screen was a ‘virtual wedding party’. It seems she found a site that would allow you to create a 3D wedding scene, modifying the way people looked, skin tones, outfits and whatnot. The user was limited to a handful of choices and the template had a look of early 1992 ‘virtual reality’ - the people looking less realistic than Ken & Barbie dolls, the setting looking like it was designed by Mattel.
What I cannot wait for it a photo of my entire wedding party - as a basis of comparison.
Permalink
07.16.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 12:09 pm by Fletcher
Got this bit of good news in my inbox:
Hello friends and neighbors,
We hope this email finds you well. We have missed you, so we’re very happy to announce that we are returning to our stoop tomorrow, Thursday, July 17th. You can find us from 7:30 - 9:30 am. We’ll be offering some old favorites (vanilla creme, cinnamon sugar and lavender glaze), as well as something new (rhubarb muffins). We can’t wait to see you once again!
–
D’Lovely Girls
I have sampled their wares and if you find yourself in the vicinity of 7th Ave & Lincoln Pl. in Brooklyn, you’d do well to stop by.
Permalink
07.14.08
Posted in Life at 10:54 pm by Fletcher
For those who didn’t get the email; rumor; or panicked phone call - it is true:
I’m getting hitched! The love of my life will truly become my bride in April!
(a little backstory can be found here)
And it turns out, she’s a bit of a blogger herself; once she got onto the Knot and could tell our story… (Read our wedding blog here)
And now to dispel the rumors:
Cheryl had written an email to quell any questions people might have had at work - since we do work in the same office. As she put it: ‘No, that is not a Princess cut diamond engagement ring on my finger. Its an Asscher cut.” (call me biased, I still think its one of the cutest jokes I’ve heard!)
Being part of the progressive couple that we are - I’m not content to just get the ring, rent a tux and show up at the church on the right day and time - I’m helping in what ways I can (since I’m unfamiliar with the region, getting a reception hall is OUT). So, I’m looking into honeymoons and apartments we can both enjoy. Which means that I am investigating the better part of the Caribbean and any place with a hammock, a beach and drinks with paper umbrellas. I won’t mention the life of crime I must adopt in order to pay for said honeymoon. Suffice to say, I think I can get by on one kidney…
So, since the engagement, my time is spent on discussing the merits of which dining hall has the best decor? band or DJ? Can I get my NYC friends to come all the way out to the Midwest for a wedding? Can I sing a song at the reception? What the $#!^ is taffeta?
And reading a lot of ‘How to Make Marriage Work’ articles on the web…
Permalink
« Previous entries ·
