I was shocked to see signs that the Murdoch-ian Empire is starting to crumble. In addition to Fox news viewership declines, other branches of his agit-prop machine are hurting:
Murdoch did not provide many details on the company’s cost cutting, but said one example was the merging of back-office operations of his two high-profile New York holdings, The Wall Street Journal and tabloid daily the New York Post.
He also plans to close 10 of the 17 U.S. printing plants that produce the Journal.
I can only imagine the mix of stuffy WSJ folk mixing with the Post’s motley crew of degenerates…
In other interesting tidbits - I just wrapped up the Laurel Films demo reel:
in addition - The Director called and left me a voice mail - we might have a very interesting project in January…
The one good thing about my fiancee’ being away is that I am tearing through tons of work.
The Director and I just hammered out a demo reel for Laurel Films (YouTube link shortly) and if features some of the best graphics work I’ve done to date. It features both trailers for ‘Sovereignty’ and ‘The Look Away Life’ plus some jazzy titles that I came up with.
On the art side; I’ve got one mini- painting almost done, a large experimental piece (Rambleshack II) well underway and a huge watercolor city scene that I just sketched out:
Between wedding plans, visits from the parents, the job - who has time to paint?
I do.
I’m trying to get a couple of paintings into a show at CSU, so I’ve been working on that - plus trying some watercolors for our ‘Save the Date’ invites as well as the actual wedding invitations.
Another painting I had done to potentially sell as a commission. This one I happened upon whilst walking home one cold January night. I had gotten off of work at the Archive and was rushing home to hug my radiator, when I was struck by the light surrounding a pizza joint on 33rd St. The scene looked like it was straight out of a Hopper painting - and despite my shivering, I was able to pull off a shot of it…
And you know - I never had a slice from that place either…
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.
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…
Now that both are officially open, I can announce that I have works in TWO shows simultaneously.
First up: Mac Worthington Gallery. The curator was particularly excited that I do urban landscapes, particularly my NYC scenes. Which leads me to believe that my new ‘rural decay series‘ might sell well back in NYC…
Secondly: Your Work 2008. Yes, its held at a Utrechts, but hey - here in the midwest one must get art where one can. Besides, even though its an art supply store - they have a real sense of art community, holding product demos, life drawing classes (sadly I can’t go to these as it is during my work week) and the occasional show.
Funny, this is the most exposure I’ve ever had as an artist - and I have to admit, I relish it.
Now if you’ll excuse me: my ancient (12 yr old) CRT monitor has been making sparking noises and shutting off randomly - I wanna deal with it before it blows up on me…
Since I am getting a bit of recognition for my NYC paintings here in the Ol’ Midwest, I figure I ought to start painting stuff out here to bring back to the Big City…
The painting below is the first of what I will dub ‘rural decay’ and thus far, I like the way it is going…
For the longest time, I’ve been trying to get my own texture maps to work in the Source Engine - the one that powers Portal, Half Life 2, Team Fortress 2, etc.
I’ve managed to get my own maps into the Doom3 engine with little problem, but - D3 seems more suited to plastic and metal, while Source seems, I dunno, more organic. I think that part of it is that Source does the most realistic water I’ve ever seen in a game, and also does the best physics as well.
The trick now is to work out all the bits and pieces that I wanna do - because I’ve got a potential moneymaker idea - I just have to implement it, test it and then try selling it. BUT, I also have a kick butt TF2 map idea, one that centers around the large Hadron Collider at Cern, so if there are any mod-makers out there interested, give me a shout.
