With time comes change. Recently, the Teton Theatre marquee was removed, making way for a new pizza joint (mmmm… pizza). And, so, as a man with great admiration for signs… I decided to spend my Saturday evening as Artist-In-Residence at Four Seasons Jackson Hole painting this classic, decommissioned slice of Jackson.
Actual quote from the Jackson Hole News & Guide, “There’s this notion of Western art and these traditional scenes with cowboys and Indians and I feel like the same bear and wolf have been painted maybe a thousand times,” (Borbay) said. “I love signage. I’m a city guy at heart. I want to bring my vision here. I’m not going to go and start painting just a bunch of straight-up animal scenes to cater to the market.”
Mmmm, those words are delicious. And so is the mythological Jackalope.
Let’s get back to square one, and watch this baby come together in time lapse… another beauty of a soundtrack from MH the Verb! Oh, and do read on for the hop-by-hop recap.
Sometimes… the connection finds you. While researching neon signs, I discovered the Blue Swallow Motel. My attention immediately turned to the swooping bird… reminiscent of Twitter’s logo. Most 140-character-missives dissolve into the collective unconscious… some, as we now know, can change history.
I’ve been wanting to create a piece exploring Anthony Weiner’s pseudonym, ‘Carlos Danger‘, for ages — and the Blue Swallow triggered a memory. I met Weiner back in 2011, just as his first scandal hit the airwaves. Weiner is an ice hockey goalie, for those who don’t know. Clearly, Anthony had his hands full, so the team needed an emergency substitute keeper — not uncommon in beer league.
So there I am, half suited-up and ready to skate — when a distraught Weiner shows up in long baggy basketball shorts and a rather unseemly tank top. He began whining to the captain, who was sitting next to me getting his skates on. Needing the “stress relief”, he pleaded for the crease. I told the captain, “your team, your choice. If I bounce, you need to give me 30 bucks and a six pack.”
Well, the captain paid up, I got undressed and went home. The next day, I received a call, “sorry man, I wish you played, we lost 12-3. I’m trying to get a municipal contract out of him, so you know how it goes.” Even beer league hockey is ruled by politics.
I digress. Here is the dangerous process from start-to-finish captured in time lapse, with a soundtrack courtesy of my man MH the Verb. Read on for the creative process…
In the summer of 2009, I painted the Guggenheim on a 30″X30″ canvas and practically sold it on the street. In 2010, I longed to paint the Gugg once more… but it felt wrong. Opportunistic.
Unless? I wondered… if I made a more serious commitment. And with that, I decided to paint a 30″X30″ Guggenheim, each summer, for 20 years. Today, I’m proud to share Guggenheim #8 — “The Neon Guggenheim”. Fittingly, this painting will debut at The National Arts Club in November, for the Accessible Art Fair.
MH the Verb sent me “Good Morning”, and, well, I couldn’t cut a single beat… so this video is long, strong and down to put the acrylic on. From MH, “‘Good Morning‘ perfectly exemplifies the collaborative style ArtHouse95 is all about. I produced the track featuring live bass from engineer, Dave Humes and layered drums. It’s pure Hip Hop… digging crates for the perfect sample, chopping the jazzy groove, and linking with two of Philadelphia’s most lyrical emcees – Drusef and Mic Stew. We wrote the song during a cloudy studio session a couple years ago while reflecting on our daily grind and ambition as artists. The homie, Kuf Knotz even had to make a guest appearance at the end. Overall, when the beat drops after the intro, you can feel the energy build… I just can’t wait for people to hear what comes next.
Enjoy… and do read on for an unusual painting recap.
It began with a tweet. Alan Rich responded, recommending yours truly — one hour later, I was on a call with Brian Reich of the UN Refugee Agency, discussing the project.
The concept? A New Yorker-inspired painting, addressing the Global Refugee Crisis. Brian’s original 9th Avenue World View idea, transformed to a modern take on the original New Yorker cover, featuring Eustace Tilley… the New York Dandy.
2015 was so huge, it took me until mid-January to post the year-in-review! The game changer? On February 5th, at 7:45AM, Vega arrived aquatically in our Manhattan living room… joining Erin, Coraline and me. One month later, she had a passport and was living in The Bahamas… we then left Manhattan, moved to Minnesota, then to Jackson Hole, and back to Minnesota…
It was a magical three months in Jackson Hole. The country was gorgeous, and inspiration ran deep. Early in our adventure, we took a trip to Teton National Park… there, I captured a moment of Coraline taking in the majestic Tetons.
Upon arriving in Jackson Hole for a three-month, self-funded artist residency — I found myself wandering downtown. What caught my eye in this gorgeous Western City was the glimmering neon signs… and friends, the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar is something to behold.
I spent the first 8 years of my adult life in the Upper East Side… so, it would seem fitting that my first painting started and completed in Minnesota would be this Upper East Side Town House. The source image was captured on the 4th of July… two days after my Independence Day — clandestine all around.
2014 was my finest year in every possible way. Coraline crawled, walked, ran… I traveled extensively to Jackson Hole, Vegas, LA, Chicago, Montreal, Vancouver, Miami, The Bahamas and Minnesota. It was a record year for sales, and, most importantly, the artistic fulfillment was deep.
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