Winter Wear

 This is what I wear outside.

  

And this is what I wear inside

HAPPY WINTER

New Themes!

I've been hard at work!

Gretta The Great

I am working on 3 new series' of paintings

Since it can be hard to concentrate on just one theme at a time,  I decided to have multiple themes going on at once.
 

Series #1:  The Salon Gals








                                                                                            

Florence Flamingo

Whenever I create a piece I like to have one element a little off or askew.  

Usually what's askew lies somewhere in the background these days.  

However, not with the salon gals!  Their over-volumized hair does the trick.

 The Cemetery

(unfinished)

This is the first of the series... Future works have potential to involve crows, dead bodies, dead flowers, voodoo shrines, and much, much more! Recently I was in New Orleans and had the opportunity to visit the Voodoo Museum and a haunting cemetery.  There were shrines everywhere.  This series represents the idea of putting things to rest; whether it be someone, or a mistake, or a bad habit.  It's a celebration of new life and freedom.


The Sea

When I was a wee chap I spent my days growing up in Fort Walton Beach, FL.  
 

 

 

 There I got steady dose of sunshine, the harbor, storms, ships, anchors....   

Sometimes I cannot believe I do not live near the Destin harbor anymore.  I think about the influence of the sea and the calmness of the waves all the time.....so much, in fact, that they keep beginning to slowly filter in to my paintings.  

       Gone Fishin'                                                                                   

In addition to the sea theme, this painting is also based on a dream. One fine afternoon my friend Ben told me about his dream: he dreamt he had a fish hook inside his mouth. It was a rusty fish hook. In real life, Ben had just written his first novel and signed a book deal, making him a published author. There were a lot of investors interested in his book.
The fish hook resembles the feeling of not quite being in control of a situation, like a fish with a hook in its mouth waiting to be caught.   Gone Fishin' is about those situations in life where one lacks control; it is about facing the unknown. And also, it's about having courage.

Stay tuned for my next post about my new ways of getting some painting inspiration......(I started an adventure club)

presenting...

Marc and Caryn's Road Trip
Part One

On Wednesday, August 25th, Marc and I set out on a journey.
The Destination: The South.
The plan: to get out of the big city for a minute and embark on new adventures via America's finest southern highways.

<- - - - -Marc got his driver's license a week before the trip

We got up early Wednesday morning, hopped on an airplane,

and found ourselves in Nashville by Wednesday night!
The flight was SO turbulent that I made some art out of some barf bags to cope:

Hello Nashville!

Marc, wifebeater model on Fatherland St.


Bongo Java

Bongo Java

Soon we found ourselves in East Nashville and had some high class
cuisine

with some high class peeps!

It's a good thing I gave molly that barf bag!

Ha!
(kids, don't try this at home)

The next day we got the trusty car up and running and registered.....and by late afternoon we were off to Mas Tacos for some taco deliciousness!

Mas Tacos was our rendezvous point for THE DEMOLITION DERBY at the
Cheatam County Fair!!







DIY Slushies
SERIOUSLY





(I'm sorry, I just couldn't help it. I love this ticket woman)





the calm before the storm!

car corpse

smash!

trucker hats

corn dog



The Demolition Derby and the Derby posse fulfilled all our redneck dreams!
Right down to the fried oreos, fried twinkies, and fried butter (what?)








We said our goodbyes, hopped in the jetta,



and started out on our journey to New Orleans!















the onset of redneck ism




They sell a lot of weird frozen foods in the South's Finest Meats.
That's right, we walked into the South's Finest Meats, opened up their
freezers, and started taking pictures:


sausages rolled up in pancakes (frozen)

frozen patties



frozen Krusteaz
what's a Krusteaz? It doesn't matter, it's frozen matter that gets thrown
into a skillet and gets eaten without any questions





We found a rocket ship in Alabama





And Pride!

Mississippi, you're weird.

they make creatures out of tires in Mississippi and sell them for 25 dollars




And finally....

We set foot in New Orleans about 8 hours later





AT LAST!

Ladies and Gentlemen, let the games begin!

We found ourselves in the most amazing apartment located right off of the French Quarter - on a beautiful street called St. Phillip.


Beautiful architecture and not too far from Bourbon Street!!

some sights in the neighborhood

COOP'S PLACE!!!!

check out these meals. So fine!

Gumbo and a crawfish poboy sandwich

after a little beverage I got inspired to make some bathroom art


YES,
we went to BOURBON STREET!










BIG AL is a large man that sings some mean blues

cool saxophone guy and an impressive bra collection!

Viking Pride


Local Pride

Baskets of gator heads just

in case you need to buy in bulk

a piano bar!

What New Orleans thinks of BP

Marc purchasing his first beer to go!

The next day, we went on a mission for pho. PHO-ISSION

Decorated in umbrellas, we set foot to catch the ferry to Gretna (pho location)
and Algiers Point (location of cool old shippy bar)

what up barge? what up umbrella?

what up, bird?

We rode the ferry next to a sleeping sailor, then set foot onto many rainy puddles in Gretna, trying to find pho paradise.
Here's what we saw on our adventures along the way:

We stumbled upon
a haunting cemetery that was soooo cool. You could see voodoo shrines on some of them.

Trudging through the cemetery with the hungry monster is not
ideal, so we quickened our pace to find the pho. Then a crazy pet store owner led us the wrong way, and then, a sheriff led us the wrong way!

after trudging through more rain and puddle hopping,
PHO was FOUND!

soggy feet

YUM!

the Pho!

the pho fever!

clean plate club winner

The Old Point Bar, Algiers

we schmoozed with the locals

cool murals on our walk back to the ferry

FRENCHMEN STREET
we found a brass band playing on the street!
they were great musicians....and even sang a song about fleas!

While we were walking down Frenchmen St, Mr./Mrs. Spiderweb face drew me in. I had to have a picture! He/she is an artist that paints on 100-year old stone tablets.
I don't understand the fire, but we loved his crazy talkin self!

uh oh, somebody had a grenade.

we got our dance on at Maison!

Yuki, a Japanese bar with a cool dj on frenchmen street!

The Spotted Cat

an old fireman dancing

Marc ran into his friend!
the Toddster!!!!
(how crazy!!)