More Damn Flowers

Don't know why, but lately my ideas have become more linear, literal, & oddly (for me) kind of pretty! Maybe I'm just addled, or, maybe I'm finally reacting to very significant changes I've undergone in the past few years. Who cares? Not me. All I know is this is what I do every day &
that's good enough for me.

Process

Airbrushing for me is 90% prep-work, 2%painting, & the rest figuring out what it is I'm doing & why am I doing it.

I like everything about this process. Even the tedium of cutting, & masking for hours, just to get a little paint to do what I want. I actually find the taping & masking to be as close to a meditative state as I get. It turns off the noise & leaves me in a peaceful place (or maybe that's just the drone of NPR in the background).

I also like the idea of paint attaching itself to a surface without me touching the surface.

My favorite part is the obvious: The Reveal.
After all the masking & covering up, it's like
Christmas for a little kid who knows what he
asked for but may get a big surprise instead!

I even love the surprises (mistakes)! That tells
me the painting has other ideas, & they're usually
better than mine. They present challenges &
keep my mind open & relatively limber
Airbrushing for me is 90% prep-work, 2%painting, & the rest figuring out what it is I'm doing & why am I doing it.

I like everything about this process. Even the tedium of cutting, & masking for hours, just to get a little paint to do what I want. I actually find the taping & masking to be as close to a meditative state as I get. It turns off the noise & leaves me in a peaceful place (or maybe that's just the drone of NPR in the background).

I also like the idea of paint attaching itself to a surface without me touching the surface.

My favorite part is the obvious: The Reveal.
After all the masking & covering up, it's like
Christmas for a little kid who knows what he
asked for but may get a big surprise instead!

I even love the surprises (mistakes)! That tells
me the painting has other ideas, & they're usually
better than mine. They present challenges &
keep my mind open & relatively limber
(for a geezer).

One of several Self Portraits

This is about as literal as I get.

I like to paint what I can afford.

After painting some pretty fancy food, I started craving one of my Chicago favorites. Everybody's got a favorite red hot joint & it's usually the one they went to as a kid. I still miss Sammy's Upsidedown when it was on Division between LaSalle & Clark. I was raised in S. California where the the hot dog is not treated with the appropriate reverence, so I never really tasted a good one till I over here in 1973.

 And for those who insist on ketchup, Wisconsin's right next door.

Drying Time

Drying time can get pretty boring. There are only so many Law & Order SVU reruns a guy can watch. So, my new d.t. hobby is playing with photos, iPhone apps, and Pixelmator on the mac. I don't know if this stuff is art (don't much care), but it sure is shiny. Plus, it doesn't ruin my clothes.