Norris Street MixTape - More Work

The opening show at Masthead came and went on Saturday. A bunch of old friends and family, and some new friends were nice enough to come out and hang out. Joannie and her kids came. My old friend Marvin (a great artist in his own right) snatched a few of my pieces. As a matter of fact, quite a few attendees got art and prints at the show. It was a great feeling to feel that support. I'd like to thank Shawn Hileman, the curator and owner of Masthead. I would also like to thank Narragansett Beer for donating my lunch and dinner on Saturday (and everyone else's libation as well).

The Norris Street MixTape show will hang until July 7, 2012, when the gallery will host a closing party. If you missed the opening and would still like to see the work, that'd be a great day to hang out. Also, you can get in touch with Shawn in the meantime to see other days the gallery would be open. Below are some more pieces that hung in the show...

Inspired by ALL of the amazing music of Screamin' Jay Hawkins:

Inspired by Kris Kristofferson's "Just The Other Side Of Nowhere":

This is inspired by Tom Waits' song "Underground"

Color version of the E.L.O. inspired piece that started this whole series of work:

Inspired by a Bob Dylan lyric: "Pickin' Up Angel"

Inspired by my hero and friend Nate Wiley's version of "I Can't Stop Loving You"

Inspired by the Skillet Lickers' "Show Me The Way To Go Home"

Inspired by The American Dream's "Can't Get To Heaven On The Frankford El"

Inspired by Eric B & Rakim's "In The Ghetto"

Inspired by the music of Jay Reatard, drawn while listening to him live:

Inspired by Nina Simone's version of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood":

...My Dad bought this one. Aw shucks.

Inspired by the art and music of Daniel Johnston:

Inspired by the Kinks' "Complicated Life":

Inspired by a song Jackie Cooper was singing in the 1931 movie "The Champ":

Inspired by my buddy Sam Heimer and our mutual love for the Kinks' song "Alcohol":

ArtUnleashed 2012 Submission - "How Deep is the Ocean?"

If you were to do a search of the word "Mermaid" on this blog, you would see that I have done several variations on this theme and image. This actual image is a recreation of an envelope I drew for Joannie back in 2009, except much much larger. This piece is 14"x11". I used different colored inks, markers, and colored pencils on 98lb Mix Media paper.

Initially, the seed of this idea came from a sketchbook drawing by one of my favorite artists - Heinrich Kley. I can't find a good version of the image online, but click here to see a small one. The idea of the deep sea diver fascinates me. Something about walking the floor of the murky depths, being alone out there, but still being tied to home. It's romantic to me.

Once again, music has played a part in my work here. This piece is entitled, "How Deep is the Ocean", named after an Irving Berlin song. I love Billie Holiday's version. But lately, I have been loving the version by Doc Cheatham and Nicholas Payton. I am pretty sure that album was Doc Cheatham's last. He was so awesome.

Anyway, this piece will be on display and for sale at this year's ArtUnleashed event, a fundraiser for the University of the Arts. I have been teaching at UArts in different capacities for several years now. I have also been working full-time for the past year in the Advancement office, working to raise funds for the school. It was an honor to be asked to be in the show. My work will hang on the walls with Arnie Roth. There will also bee a nice group of friends participating in the show, like Chris Patchell, Kyle Margiotta, Christine Larsen, and Paul Palcko. I am really looking forward to the event.

Norris Street MixTape: "Lady"

Another piece for the Masthead show in June. This one is kind of a dedication to my lady Joannie and her family. I drew most of it at the kitchen table when hanging out with her and her sister and their friend. I finished the inks and colors in McGlinchy's Bar. It's based on Little River Band's "Lady".

I don't know what it is about this song, but they must have played it when they were kids at a really happy time in their lives. Every time it comes on at a party, everyone in their family stops what they're doing and sings along - Joannie's Mom, her Dad, all of her sisters. They LOVE this song. I didn't really know this when I was growing up, but I like it. It makes me realize how you can tie music to certain memories. It also makes me realize how important music can be in affecting people's emotions.



Masthead is an awesome gallery and print studio, run by Shawn Hilemen. It's a really great space located at 340 Brown Street (near the corner of 4th & Brown) in Northern Liberties. http://mastheadprintstudio.com/

Norris Street MixTape: "The Beast In Me"

On June 16, I have an opening for an art show based entirely on some of my favorite songs and song lyrics. Music is a huge part of my cartooning. I would have to admit that I get a lot more inspiration from music than I do visual art - because I can draw and listen to music at the same time. It gives my hand a rhythm. I hope to have at least 30 pieces in the show. There will also be limited edition screen print and giclee prints for sale. Plus I will be giving away free crazy mixed CDs with each purchase. I will post progress on these pieces through these coming months. I want to keep the originals fairly small in size, so the art is affordable to working class people.


The working title of the show is called "Norris Street MixTape". My Dad always had music on in our house when I was a kid. So I figure this all starts there on Norris Street. This is the first piece I started for it, but I am going to add color, and I will probably turn it into a large screen print to sell at the show. I drew it in my Moleskine. It's based on Nick Lowe's awesome song, "The Beast In Me", which he wrote for his then father-in-law Johnny Cash. Cash recorded it on his first album with Rick Rubin, "American Recordings". That is hands-down the best version of the song. It's my favorite Johnny Cash song.



Masthead is an awesome gallery and print studio, run by Shawn Hilemen. It's a really great space located at 340 Brown Street (near the corner of 4th & Brown) in Northern Liberties. http://mastheadprintstudio.com/

Drawing Soundtrack - Boddie Recording Company

According to their website, Numero is a “multi-format media company, devoted to dragging brilliant recordings, films, and photography out of unwarranted obscurity”. I am a huge fan of their “Eccentric Soul” series of albums. They find work released from these amazing record labels that didn’t see wide distribution and they repackage and re-release them to a larger audience. A lot of these labels were run out of dance halls and neighborhood joints. The reason I like it so much is because I’ve heard all the work of Stevie Wonder, the Temptations, the Four Tops, etc. all my life. I love that music, but it’s great to hear these small-time groups who were taking their shot. It’s inspirational to me - mostly because I am a still small-timer myself, still trying every day to take a shot at my own dream.

I also like these CDs and albums because great care is taken in the design and production of the packaging. With the economy hurting and MP3 downloads and sales being an easier option on music consumers, it’s nice to see people earning the edge, giving you something extra to make you want to take something home from the store and put it on your shelf. You get something to read, something study and give you a feel for the music. To me, it’s comparable to the days when an album cover was worth studying, when it was a piece of art that would entice you to buy the album.

I treated myself recently to this 3-CD set from Numero: Boddie Recording Company: Cleveland, Ohio. Aside from the CDs, the set comes with booklets of information about the label, songs, and artists. It also has reproductions of show fliers and really cool photos. Music like this makes me eager to sit down at my desk and draw. It’s my drawing soundtrack for the new year.

"Autumn Leaves" - music for drawing

Been in an Autumn mood today. One great thing about living on the east coast is the changing of seasons. It's good to move forward and have reminders all around you that things are changing. Autumn is also a good time for looking back over the year.

Even though the lyrics of Autumn Leaves make it a sad song, I really like it. I have a bunch of different versions of it and like them all equally. I listen to this tune a lot while drawing this time of year.

This one by Mickey Baker is kind of upbeat and surfy. Still has a sound that's holding onto Summer:

CLICK HERE to get the song on Amazon.

This one by Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt is also very upbeat. Gene Ammons' playing reminds me a great deal of my old friend, Nate Wiley. Nate often spoke of Gene Ammons as being a great "melody man" and a profound influence:

CLICK HERE to get the song on Amazon.

And this one is very sad, but also sweet. It's on Duke Ellington's "Indigos" album. You can CLICK HERE to get the track. I inherited this on vinyl from my Grandpop, but the vinyl has a shorter version. It only has Ozzie Bailey singing in English. The CD I have has him singing in English and French. But in my opinion, the thing that makes this cut so sweet is Ray Nance's violin solo:

Our Gang Music

Many years ago when I was still in school, I bought this CD - "The Beau Hunks Play the Original Little Rascals Music: 50 Roy Shield Themes from the Hal Roach Talkies". This group did a really good job recreating the music from those shorts. I was listening to it today while drawing and put it on repeat when it was over. 50 tracks of old tymie awesomeness.

When drawing, I like to play different music for different kinds of images. I used to love to watch these old tymie Little Rascals shorts when I was a kid and still do. A lot of the things that inspire me come from the time of my grandparents for some reason. I like all kinds of art, movies and music, depending on what kind of day I'm having and what kind of mood I'm in. Even the weather affects my taste. But it seems I come back to this era more than anything else when it comes to inspiration. I'd like to use the cliché that things were simpler back then, but they really weren't. Those were hard times. I'm really not sure why I feel at home with the taste of that era.