Woodland Park Zoo - Seattle

I just bought a new digital camera - a Sony Cybershot. It's an 8.1 megapixel thingy with a Carl Zeiss lens. I took alot of shots of this guy. I was about 8 feet away from him but you can see a slight reflection in the glass - the only thing separating him from carving me up.

AAARRROOOO

The wolves were enclosed right next to the caribou.
The only thing separating them was a huge fence.
What a tease.

Komodo Dragon

More shots at Woodland Park

Carnivora, 2007, Sumi Ink and Gesso on Paper

Self Portrait

Self Portrait, 2006, Mixed Media on Paper

FERAL . . . portrait of Dave Matckie

Feral, 2006, Mixed Media & Funeral Tag on Paper

This is about Dave . . . I don't know what else to say.
The poem in the piece reads . . .

Ashes in a tin and no autopsy.
"What did you expect?!"
So you wash your face in a rusty sink
full of memories
and they will ask
"Are you crying?"
and you will say
"No. My face is wet from the memories."

Here is another image in progress for the D.C. Portfolio that I'm planning to submit this summer at ComicCon. Again, I'm working in Sumi Ink and gesso on craft paper. My idea for these images came from the question, "What if Caravaggio painted a street fight?" Caravaggio was the master at staging a scene with a simplified background and dramatic Chiaroscuro lighting. In fact he'd make a great film director if he lived today.

More . . .

More in progress . .

More in progress . . .

Neurosis . . .

These are the lyrics from the chorus of a Neurosis song called "self-doubt."

They've stayed with me for half my life. I've written these words over and over, down in notebooks, spraypainted on walls, in sketchbooks; anyplace where I would look and be reminded about how I need to live.

Exorcise the demons from your mind
Purge the fear of failure
Reject inbred subjective restrictions
Remove the blinders, explore the infinite

check Neurosis out at www.neurosis.com

More Henry

I read this last night. It's from Henry Rollins' book Pissing in the Gene Pool. It hit me pretty hard . . . hope it hits you too.

I can see it in your eyes. They're wet like a dog's. You're looking for a leg to climb to keep you from drowning. Your hands reach out, clutching for something solid to hold on to. You're weak and in need. You want something to hold so you can have something to blame. Don't reach out to me. I'm drowning too.

Triple Decker

I've decided to include some poetry that I've recently written . . . you may need a little vocabulary lesson though.

Dot - the affectionate slang for a section of Boston known as Dorchester - where I grew up.

Triple Decker - a three story apartment building with each floor being one apartment.

Well, here it is.

Triple Decker

There is a triple-decker
In Dot
That I want to raze
To the ground
And free all of the ghosts
Caught up in the rafters
And in between the floorboards

If I could I would
Tear it down with my own hands
Brick by brick
Board by board and
Let loose all of the memories
Trapped in that
Hollow
Three tiered
Corpse

Paul Kmiec

My cousin Paul plays the main character "Billy" in a short, independent film which has garnered alot of attention.

He was recently nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 2006 FAIF International Film Festival for his portrayal of Billy. His stage credits include Rooster in Annie, The Artful Dodger in Oliver!, Randolph Macafee in Bye Bye Birdie, Jesus in Godspell, and Young Daniel in Once on this Island. Kmiec's film credits include Tools for Teaching and Turtle Song. Paul's ambition is to become a filmmaker and screenwriter.

Check these links for more information:

www.fanclub.citymaker.com/InTheTraditionofMyFamily.html

www.orlater.com

Journal Entry: Dec. 17, 2006

I came across this one today and thought I would share. It's an older entry but I like this one. I like how far away it seems even though it was less than a couple of months ago . . .

Dec. 17, 9:40 L.A.X

I just bought a pen. I can't remember the last time I bought a pen. I spent four bucks . . . on a pen. Also, I did something I don't think I've done in quite a long time . . . I ate alone. I ate in a Chilis. Yeah, I know but I'm in an airport and I've got four hours to kill. Elvis x-mas songs seem to be the artist and music of choice at both SeaTac and L.A.X. and after four hours, I know these songs by heart. I wouldn't have four hours to kill if I didn't screw up so badly this morning. I should have been in Boston hours ago but I slept through my alarm, missed my flight, dog ate my homework. I brought the pen I bought into the airport men's room to wash off the sticky price tag residue. You can imagine the looks I got in there. Who washes a pen in an airport, men's room sink?

Back to Chilis . . . I ate a turkey sandwich and read Bill Bryson's new book "The Thunderbolt Kid." It felt okay to eat alone. I thought it was going to be tough but I just sat, read and ate, absorbed in the book. The hostess kind of put all of us "dine aloners" in one section. The waitress let me stay there for quite a long time undisturbed. She wasn't ignoring me. She probably knew that I had plenty of time to kill.

Got alot of reading done. Bryson is good, lighthearted reading - perfect for everything that's been happening regarding "her." I am enjoying this solitude a little more than I expected. I get to be with my thoughts, good and bad. I get to observe people and have experiences that are mine and I think it helps that I have a goal, or destination in this case. It keeps me focused. I am alone but I am around people. I think that helps too.

The worst is being alone in my apartment in the "sticks" of Redmond, Washington. There is nothing to walk to or explore. It's conducive to running, if you don't mind the occasional black bear, but I really grew to love walking up and down Broadway in Seattle. There you can be alone without being alone. People here are friendlier and my east coast edge is softening. It's easier to communicate with strangers here. I'm gaining more confidence in myself and not feeling as tongue tied or self-conscience. We'll see what happens when I get back home . . . . more later.

"The ecstasy is so short
but the forgetting is so long."

-Walt Whitman

Texas

Texas, 2004

Acrylic on Cabinet, 14 x 23 inches

The Big Apple

The Big Apple, 2005

Oil on Arches Paper, 12 x 19 inches

Yep, this one's about New Yawk. A former student, Kevin posed as the vandal.

Great Quote for Today: Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers, but to be fearless in facing them. Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain, but for the heart to conquer it.
-Rabindranath Tagore

Digital Painting

This started out as a digital painting demo for one of my classes.

It was painted with a Wacom Tablet in Adobe Photoshop.

Work in Progress

Pow!!

This is one of the pieces I have been working on for the D.C. portfolio.

I am using Sumi Ink and gesso on craft paper. I like the cool blue greys against the warm brown of the paper.

It's almost there. I'll post it again when I'm done.

BATMAN

One Night in Gotham, 2005
Oil on Illustration Board, 15 x 20 inches

Anyone who knows me, knows how big a fan I am of Batman (say that 5 times fast). I did this piece for fun, a while ago, but upon completion decided I would include this image as part of a portfolio to submit to D.C. Comics. Hopefully I will be able to submit it for review at the San Diego Comic Con this summer.

R.I.P Dave

My good friend of 17 years, Dave Matckie died this past summer . . . June 16, 2006.

He was 34 years old.

Rest in Peace.

This is one of the last pictures taken of him.

It was taken by a great Boston graf/tattoo artist Alone.

Here's his link: www.aloneart.com

Rollins

Rollins: Self-Promotion Piece
2006, Mixed Media on Masonite, 22 x 12 inches

I'm a big fan of Henry Rollins. I have been since his days with the great and powerful Black Flag. Check out his work with the Rollins Band - especially the lyrics. His words are powerful and inspirational and if you ever get the chance to see one of his spoken word performances, don't miss it.

Hank is all about the mouth so I thought it apt to cover it with the Black Flag logo.

Here are some Hank links:

www.21361.com

www.henryrollins.com

enjoy

Fenway

She was named after the ballpark of course! This is a birthday pic I took of my sister and bro-in-law's dog the summer before I left for the left coast. She absolutely destroyed her birthday cookie after I took this pic. It was gone in under a minute. I kid you not.