crappy hand of haiku

So I just finished a big #finealt (trying to come up with a name for what I do, trying) thrift store painting featuring a giant Rick Moranis head.  How did I get here? Do I have a love for Rick Moranis? Why would someone do this to a perfectly good painting?  While I can't always mind map an art project, I have a pretty good idea where this one came from. It starts with #meetingnotes.  Meeting notes is an ongoing project of mine that organically started as I had to go to meetings at my day job  Many of these meetings didn't pertain much to me, so I started drawing to a) pass the time and b) work on my drawing skills.  When I started, I made mostly doodles.  Over time I began working on more complicated and intricate sketches of people (mostly celebrities that I admired).  I would post these on my instagram on Fridays to the she-grin of friends and fans.

Last night, Em and I got to go to Artworks Secret Art show. Patrons of the arts pay for tickets that give them a voucher to purchase 5 x 7 original art pieces from hundreds of local artists from around the Cincinnati area.  When the doors opened to the gallery, everyone streamed in to find pieces they wanted to snag before anyone else got them.  Em and I patiently waited and walked through the crowds looking at other peoples work, but also trying to find my stuff and see if anyone picked them.  We found all three and as the night went on all three were picked!  I was so happy that all of them went home and that it benefited the arts here in Cincinnati.  Now that the secret is out, I can share the pieces I entered.   Tugboat Playa   I know you are but what am I   We Can Dance I'm so glad that I can share these now.  

Here is a new piece titled Tugboat Playa. I'm one of those people that see faces in everything. Patterns in carpet, lines on a wall, and sometimes in old thrift store paintings. I saw a robot face and went with it. I also experimented with using stain to add some extra patina to the image. I'm always looking to blend my alterations to make them as seamless as possible. Sometimes that means mod podge and sometimes it means stain. Now I've got to get this smell off my hands or I'll be having a contact high all night. Adios!

I t's Ghostbusters 30th anniversary weekend!  I'm all ready.  I'm wearing my Bill Murray Shirt.  One of my kids last night said I'm not afraid of no ghosts ON THEIR OWN.  Now we just have to go see the movie in theaters! To go along with the theme,I wanted to share a better version of the final Altered/Re-Directed thrift store piece I did called Ghost Walkin' that I featured back in June . To go along with the theme, I thought I'd share all my Bill Murray Goodness as well. Enjoy the holiday weekend. Ben

Another wonderful altered/Re-Directed thrift store print by me.  I took this innocent picture of a little girl in a snow outfit and made her into Super Mario.  I tried pastels and pencils on this one.  It comes framed in a beautiful pink wooden frame.  Enjoy!

Ah Bill Murray.  I never expected him to be such a muse.  As I've come to find out, Mr. Murray is a muse to many people as one of my Bills was featured in the Bill Murray Affair art show out in San Francisco.  I began this as an experiment for larger works.  I have some ideas floating around with people and words so I wanted to see what it would look like on a small scale.  I really wanted to dive into using oils on this one, but fear and money put that on the back burner.  I ended up using my good old gouache.  Its a weird and tricky medium to handle because on one hand you can add water later and create washes to blend colors, but adding water can sometimes pull the colors which can be frustrating if you were trying to blend things together.  I'm really interested in what I can do with some oil paints.  Its such a different process.  I've got alla prima at home to read and I want to do the chip chart exercise in the book on mixing colo...

I've been working on this piece for a long time.  After Much Work, we reach the final.    I hope you enjoy, Ben