04.28.08
Posted in Uncategorized, The Living Situ, Life at 1:00 pm by Fletcher
I was coming back from an adventure in the Big C, looking around - getting the lay of the land and discovering what is where and how the local public transportation works, when I decided to get some groceries.
The local supermarket is called The Giant Eagle. A far cry from Food Emporium, D’agostinos or Gristedes. An unsual supermarket. A bigger than usual supermarket - and something I am unaccustomed to: a liquor aisle.
So I load up on supplies and snacks and hit the streets homeward when I notice a pair of cop cars in front of the bank next door. Parked diagonally. With people milling about outside.
They just had a bank robbery.
Weird, I thought - how was it even possible in this day and age? It wasn’t until a few days later I got my answer.
I just swapped service on my phone to a less expensive plan, and got a rebate check back to boot. As the only branch within commute distance is right in my office of employment, I stooped in early on my way to work top deposit the rebate check. And was shocked by what I saw.
The tellers were sitting out in the open.
No walls. No inch-thick Lexan protecting them. No shallow pass-thru tray to slide your check. No armored lazy-susan to spin bulk cash deposits. Just a woman in a bank uniform at a desk. I could have reached out and smacked her if I chose. The only type of ’security’ I saw was a bank of cameras on the wall behind the tellers.
‘What kind of trusting sheep ARE these people,’ I thought? ‘No wonder the bank got robbed.’ In NYC, if someone even attempted a stickup, they would be mocked and ridiculed. Bank tellers would proudly drop their pants and moon the robbers, taunting them from the safety of their bulletproof walls. It wasn’t until later that my girlfriend explained that they’re ALL like this.
Weird. I should go into the security biz and sell these people a good healthy dose of paranoia….
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04.24.08
Posted in Uncategorized, The Living Situ, Life at 12:43 pm by Fletcher
You can’t praise a place without turning to the flip side and pointing out what is wrong with it (or what NYC has over this place).
Whole Foods - Yes its overpriced, yes its pretentious as hell, but dammit - I like their seafood counter bar none. I miss the butcher counter too.
K-Town - Need a Korean BBQ joint at 4:25 in the AM? You got it!
NYC Brick Oven Pizza / NYC Bagels - hey, its the water.
Dip & Under the Volcano - Two pubs that cannot be recreated anywhere else.
The Met - Yes there are quality museums all over the world, but the Met was the one I could get lost in, repeatedly and always find something different each and every time.
Bryant Park - Best people watching period. Plus free movies in the summer.
And lastly, my friends - obviously, what make a place a home. Miss y’all!
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04.20.08
Posted in Art, Life at 4:56 pm by Fletcher
What a Friday.
I got a callback from a gallery in Columbus, one interested in my work. They wanted to see me, 5-6 pieces of original art Friday, 5 PM sharp.
Cheryl, the ever supportive girlfriend, said she’d drive. And get a visit with her brother and brand new nephew. We spent the better part of the day selecting which paintings I had (and there weren’t many) that best represented my body of work, printing up 8 x 11 glossies of the work I couldn’t bring and getting spiffed up before hitting the road.
It was warm and sunny on the road, we had the sunroof open and the radio blasting, conversation and hopes both animated and energetic. Then we hit the traffic.
Luckily, my liaison at the gallery, Tony, was also a bit bust and called at that exact moment to ask if we could maybe delay our meeting for half an hour? Perfect. It was all working out.
We hit downtown Columbus and both fell in love with the art district, North High St. Very East Village laid back with outdoor cafes, small galleries and to my amazement, a Utrecht’s Art Supply store, a chain I never thought I’d see outside of NYC again. I was so amazed to see it that I had to stop in and impulsively but some Micron markers and was delighted to still have my discount card on me. The cashier told me that ther is one in The Big C, and the owners have lessons and product demoes, and that I should sign up…
Read the rest of this entry »
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04.17.08
Posted in Art at 11:57 pm by Fletcher
Can’t post, have an artist review at a gallery in Columbus - wish me luck!
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04.16.08
Posted in The Living Situ, Life at 5:50 pm by Fletcher
In a momentous change such as moving halfway across the country, one cannot help but notice subtle differences in where one was living and where one dwells now - in that spirit I’ve been comprising lists of these things and will throw them out there as random observations.
Therefore, in no particular order, here is a list of the things i truly am digging about my new location…
No waiting at the bathroom - Having had roommates of one variety or another over the years, I’ve noticed a Murphy’s Law type of situation, where the one time you take that bet to drink a gallon of water in 5 minutes is the exact same time your roomie comes down with food poisoning, passes out in the bathroom or a has a severe case of girlfriend who takes two hour long showers…
Swiffers - I am so obsessed with the fact that I have a floor than can, and has, been Swiffered. I love hardwood floors but the industrial type places I’ve lived in would reduce a Swiffer to splinters in mere seconds, as a matter fact, I’ve seen them cry at the mere sight of them.
NO SIRENS - I heard my 1st siren roughly a week after I moved in, dopplering off in the distance and went to my window to judge its distance and direction and relative volume. What shocked me was that when I pulled back the shade for a look, the fire engine was passing in front of my building. Not 100 feet away. And the volume was low enough that I could have slept through it.
NO HONKING - I’ve also seen rush hour here, and my street gets one lane full of cars, all moving at a very sedate pace, yet none of these people seemed to care, or had a life crushing agenda that needed to be punctuated by leaning on the horn to demonstrate both importance and arrogance…
Gas Stoves - Its been years since I had gas (go ahead, snicker, I did) but the combination of a gas range and a broiler sent me charging to the supermarket for a steak and all the trimmings, I cannot wait to make braised lamb chops with rosemary in such a manner.
Living Costs - True, I no longer live in Manhattan, but, my rent & bills were cut in half and my space doubled at the same time. Plus a six-pack of PBR’s - the beer of choice while drinking out can be had for $3.76 a six pack. You can’t even get a single beer in a bar in the city for that price, and last I looked, a single Sam Adams ran $2.50 each at a deli.
And finally, its my place - I don’t have to get dressed for no one. So excuse me while I play TF2, paint or eat breakfast, lunch & dinner in my boxer-briefs…
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04.14.08
Posted in Art at 6:15 pm by Fletcher
The last of the ‘Shannon in the Window’ series…
Fun to go back to a black & white painting, haven’t done one in a while and of course I dig the grittiness of the style. What I have learned from this exercise is that I need much more work on drawing hands. A lot more.
So, I’m going to look at life drawing classes, if there are any that will fit in with my schedule and get back to some basics. Lord knows, I need ‘em.
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04.11.08
Posted in Art at 7:51 pm by Fletcher
Now that I have caught up on all my email and some serious TF2 mayhem, I can also start relaying some of the work I’ve been doing while internetless…
Only I can’t.
I’ve got two commissions I’m working on, and there is a high probability that those who are receiving these artworks are also readers of this online journal. Which is lame, because they are both works I am happy with. One is an oil painting and another is a huge watercolor - both of city scenes, both of NYC and both turning out faster and better than I expected.
I’m also working on my last of the ‘Shannon in the Window’ series, but as it isn’t 100% right (still have problems getting hands to look just right) I’ll have to wait until the girlfriend approves it.
What I can show you is something that is rapidly coming to be known as ‘The 20 Year Project’ - it was stuffed in an old portfolio, an old watercolor painting that, if I’m not mistaken, was started when I was a young art student in high school. If that is the case, I really don’t want to think about how old it is… What I DO want to do is to finish it.
And compare how the new stuff looks right next to the old…
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04.09.08
Posted in Life at 4:50 pm by Fletcher
Wow. Finally. Have. Internet.
Seems like forever since I’ve been able to go online - was limited to small email checks at the girlfriend’s pad. I had tried to get Time Warner Cable - but for some reason they just could NOT get their collective heads out of their asses, so I went with DSL and surprise, surprise: AT&T had their act together. Quick, professional and easy to work with.
So, I’m back online and have a bajillion and a half emails to read and respond to - I sold some prints, I’ve been painting like a madman since I haven’t had internet to distract me and I ‘interviewed’ at my former employer - going back to work part time as I try and hustle myself as an artist - and many other things to regale you with.
Namely the differences between NYC and the Big C.
But right now; I need to catch up on some Galactica and Team Fortress 2.
But here is a pic of the New Fletcher Studios.
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04.05.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 1:09 pm by Fletcher
Having established myself in the midwest, I am still without internet at my new digs.
Rest assured, it is forthcoming, as is updates on the adventures of the NYC artist transplanted in the country…
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