I'm Sure This Is Tax Deductible

Jeff continues to encourage me to participate in "our" blog, however, we have different interests. I spend my time thinking about things like spoon rings and Vietri dishes. You can purchase this set for me here.
Thank you for your continued support!

Good Things Come To Those Who Wait

Despite the typo I'm still pleased with the final product.

The Almighty Paw

It can be tough making t-shirt designs that are suitable for both six-year-olds and adult teachers, especially with aggressive mascots like Jaguars and Warriors.

I think it was probably a safe bet to avoid teeth. I was pushing it considerably by adding claw marks.

I did all the illustrative work and designed the font. With a little luck, I'll be printing a ton of these to help me pay for an upgrade from garage squatter to dedicated shop/office.

Pat Henry was the guy who said, "Give me Liberty, or give me Death!" by the way.

Bummer

Thanks to my epic online portfolio rebuild, I'm only able to crank out this tech pattern. It's actually a reject from a presentation for Best Buy. I guess that means it will fall into my textile project folder. As you can see, I've been playing Tetris on my cell phone entirely too much lately.

I still have no idea what use I'll have for these textile patterns. Presently, they're a welcome break from the monotony of photographing all my 3D portfolio projects. That task is moving from the dining room (that was previously cleaned as we prepare to sell our house) to the bathroom to bask in the multitude of light bulbs.

Daddy's Little Helper

Who knows how long this would have taken without his help.

That is a 25 inch x 25 inch frame. Yes, I own the largest Jack Russell Terrier on Earth.

The Napoleon Dynamite portrait has officially begun.

Three Blind Koi

One of my projects on my "To Do" list for about two years has been to complete some watercolor paintings that I had sketched out in pencil.

It's pretty ridiculous how I can get busy with other projects and abandon one that was pretty important to me. In fact, I had completely forgotten about these drawings until I stumbled across a folder containing the scans of the drawings.

Ha! I've completed one!

Now, the project that I plan to not forget about will be setting up my Etsy store front so I can offer prints of these paintings up for a reasonable price.

I'll have this Koi print up first. I'll probably break it up into three smaller prints of each fish also. I'm also going to look into getting my Willie painting digitized (because it's so big!) so I can sell prints of it, too. I have a few nudes to paint, as well as one anxious cat.

Textile Toast

My next project is to develop textile patterns. I'm not sure why or what for, but it seems like I'll look back some day and be glad that I did. I'm definitely not going to learn how to sew. I probably won't even get far enough to make printed fabric to sell. I guess I could morph it into some sort of trendy home art (about 5 years after the style peaked).

Maybe I should just come to terms with the idea of creating something because you feel driven to instead of because you can make money from it. I probably think too much about money for my own good.

This is the first textile that I've created. I have about a dozen more in varying stages. When I can't think of anything else to write about (like today), I'll post these.

If you want a printed canvas of one for your home, contact me or post a comment and we'll work something out. I could probably do regular prints, too. I'll set that up on my Etsy and post a link here.

Manbeard

The beard we grew to know and love.

My second run at growing a beard is about to come to a marginally successful close. Though I'd still admit defeat on this one, I've come a long way. This is easily the longest that I've gone without shaving since I've had a license. I did buy a beard trimmer this time. That was a big day for me.

With the Spring coming, I'm about to wrap up this little adventure. I'd go ahead and put it out of its misery, but I'm convinced that it keeps my face warm on those sub-freezing mornings. Now, if I could grow one of those Kenny Rogers specials, I'd probably keep it. Of course, I'd have to start traveling by horse.

Nothing Lasts Forever...

So I'm sitting at work, toiling away, when my Pandora station kicks out an early 90's live version of November Rain. By the time Slash gets to the iconic riff over the outro ("You're not the only one..."), I've already decided that I need to do a great big Iconoclast painting as a tribute.

Slash owns some of the most iconic guitar riffs of my lifetime (Paradise City?) and has always been one of my favorites. It's only fitting that I have a painting of him on my wall (at least, until someone buys it).

There should be no shortage of fantastic imagery of the legend on stage.

The only question left to answer is "how big will my wife let me make this painting?"

Home At Last

Okay, so the painting doesn't look that big next to my glorious 24" monitor, but it is.

I'm glad to be done with this one (although I'm still not sold on the red background that Sarah wanted). I'm sure that is going to be a future project.

This is the most detailed of the Iconoclast paintings that I've done. I think it turned out well.

Next up: 18" x 24" Elvis.

Angry Wife

This was the scene in my dining room today as my wife (she's the one on the right, I'm on the left acting all glib) informed me that she is in fact a Willie Nelson fan. She does check his site almost daily to see where he is, and she also thinks that it's rude that Canadians eat horses.

It's good to get some feedback on this blog (that she's supposed to be participating in).

Thanks to "DaveL5957" for the visual reference. This post would not have been possible without him.

Old Timin' Arnolds

I know it doesn't look like much, but it's the best burger in Tulsa. A bacon cheeseburger, skinny fries and a chocolate shake. What it lacks in presentation, it more than makes up in flavor.

You have to be brave enough to enter Carbondale to get it, but I figured that 11 am on a Saturday is safe enough.

If your grandma made bacon cheeseburgers, this is what they'd taste like. Luckily for me, Arnold's is usually either packed or closed, so I don't do too much damage with my bacon fix (though I do drive past it twice a day, five days each week).

The constant flow of Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and Otis Redding isn't bad either.

Holy Frijole

Thanks to a bunch of snow this winter, the walls of Facebook (is that the proper terminology?) have been plastered with declarations that global warming (or climate change) doesn't exist.

Well, we'll start with "global warming". The proper terminology these days is "climate change," and for good reason. Climatologists have found in the past decade that our impact (and, yes, there is a consensus in the scientific community) on the environment is causing the usually finely tuned pendulum of weather activity to swing wildly. This leads to more extreme weather events like powerful hurricanes, severe drought and flooding. Surely you've seen this on your television.

The point of this post is to remind you of weather vs. climate. If it's 60 degrees in December, it proves nothing more than if it's below freezing in May. That's just weather. Climate is the weather sample taken over a period of time. You've heard of "don't sweat the small stuff." So, don't sweat the weather. A one degree rise in temperature over a year is a big deal. A forty-degree shift in temperature over a day is a front.

The irony here is that these people pointing to 26 inches of snow in Maryland and declaring the global warming movement dead don't realize the significance of these extreme weather patterns as validation of the climate change movement.

I'm not a climatologist, I don't have a show on Fox News and this blog isn't about environmentalism. However, this PSA is just to clear up a talking point from the nameless, faceless organism that is attempting to debunk climate change discussion at every turn. It seems like there is a clear face to the concerned scientific community (IPCC) trying to raise awareness about the damage our lifestyle is causing. I think there should be transparency on both sides.

If there is no such thing as climate change, then what is the harm in moving away from finite fossil fuels? If it does exist and we continue to ignore it, what good is all that money that we'll (apparently) save not acting? I've still yet to solve that riddle.

Slick Willie

At 400 pixels wide, you can't really appreciate just how large this painting is. The final photo when it's hanging on the wall should do it justice.

It could use some color, I think.

Sarah requested this specific painting. She claims to be a Willie Nelson fan, although I suspect she only knows two or three of his songs. To be fair, she has seen him in concert at least once. When I was a kid, my parents had an Elvis room. Sarah's aunt and uncle once had a Cher room. Without my consent, our office is turning into a Willie Nelson shrine.

I won't say anything so I'll be able to hang the even larger Salvador Dali painting that I'm planning to execute in our living room. I'm fairly certain that she knows nothing of Dali or melting clocks.

Machine Gun Kelly

Since I don't have much to share today, I've decided to shill a painting or two from our dwindling collection.

Machine Gun Kelly was a notorious criminal during the Prohibition Era. He had multiple ties to my home state through crime and punishment. Most notably, he was arrested for kidnapping wealthy Oklahoman Charles F. Urschel (worth designated by the inclusion of a middle initial; a practice favored by the affluent in American society to this day).

This painting is based off Kelly's mug shot after being arrested for the kidnapping incident. The case was important for several reasons: Kelly was the first high-profile criminal caught by Hoover's FBI, and it was the first and only federal trial in which motion cameras were allowed in the courtroom.

If you are a gangster fan (bootleggers), a movie fan (mafia) or a gangsta fan (rap), your wall is naked without this unique painting. It is gallery wrapped, meaning a frame is optional. The painting is 22 x 28 inches, acrylic paint and $150. I'll pay shipping.

You is a funny man, James Carville

I'm so glad I stuck with Super Bowl coverage through the celebration to get this random nugget caught on tape. I know he's from Louisiana and has been talking up the Super Bowl for weeks now, but seeing him on the field with no mention of his presence by the announcers really made the moment.

It was like seeing a bald eagle, in more ways than one. I can't wait until SNL gets a hold of this.

Big Willie Style

This is the very early stages of a painting. Unfortunately, I didn't chronicle the actual assembly of a canvas. I'll get that on my next painting. I'm just waiting for the near-freezing high temperatures to pass so I can open my workshop back up.

This is a 30" x 30" canvas with a rolled edge. It's the biggest portrait painting that I've done so far. I'll post pics as I fill out the canvas with paint. I'm running a little behind. The painting is currently close to 2/3rd complete.

Nature's Post-Superbowl Hangover

The uninspiring view out my office window. It seems like the days when you really need some sunshine are the days you end up with up to eight inches of snow.

It doesn't look like there is a bunch of productivity happening in Bagland. I guess this Super Bowl has taken it's toll on us all.

One ray of sunshine: Hole has been added to the SXSW lineup! If I don't get close enough to the stage to see Courtney Love, I'll be able to successfully pretend that it's 1995.

Go Saints Go!

Sarah was too busy cooking to take a picture of the food, but if she had, it would have looked something like this.

Menu: Spinach Dip Pinwheels, Pigs in Blankets, Crab Stuffed Mushrooms, BBQ Parmesan Meatballs and Brownies with Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream.

Next year, let's have the Superbowl on a Saturday.

El Pollo

It's the finest prize rooster in all of Tulsa County.

An $8 solid glass Hobby Lobby chicken christened "El Pollo" by his captors. In his prime, he was the most feared gamecock on the Great Plains circuit.

Unfortunately, his career was cut short amid scandal when El Pollo's involvement in a fight-fixing scheme was revealed during a sting on the outskirts of Hillsboro, KS. He was banished from the sport, and his eligibility for the Cock Fighting Hall of Fame remains in question to this day.

Months of boozin' and sleazin' and a failed attempt to open a used car dealership outside Wichita to capitalize on his notoriety led to El Pollo's financial demise.

Now, El Pollo crashes on my couch and dances for table scraps. A shell of his former self.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor

"Lift your skinny fists like antennas to Heaven."

Our blog title is borrowed liberally from the 2000 release from Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Of course, this blog has nothing to do with GYBE and little to do with music, save for a chronicling of our inaugural trip to Austin and SXSW this March.

Canadian post-rock? Songs averaging over twenty minutes each? No vocals other than sampled audio recordings? What's not to like there???

In reality, our blog title is meant to remind me how annoying it is when artists become pretentious or snobby about their craft.

We're going to use our small area of web estate to chronicle our hobbies and interests. I'm going to write and post photos of projects (wood working, painting, graphic design and screen printing) and sarah is going to probably write about her dogs, books and tv shows.

Hopefully, we'll be able to share some ideas and hobbies with you, and we'll both learn something along the way.

Finally, happy birthday Ty Senour, wherever you are. Godspeed You!