words for a rainy day

Be that self which one truly is.
Soren Kierkegaard

Gardega speaks on the economy

It is a thrice told tale that I predicted in 2006 the coming economic collapse and the rise of gold to the stratosphere. Unfortunately,  I am an artist so I little ability to capitalize on my prediction and I didnt buy gold at 300 per ounce. Gold is on its way to 2,000 and eventually higher. The problem with this is that is a signal that the dollar is toast. There will be a run on gold and quit possibly a run on the banks. My friends (who had large amounts in the markets) laughed at me and cast a skeptical eye to my artist mumblings. Now chicken little stands proud but he is not happy. I do think the sky is falling and perhaps it was set up to fall. I would like to stick to art but unlike most artists who arent the sharpest bulbs (to mix metaphors) I was the grasshopper child, my antenna's go far and had my friends listened they would be sitting pretty on piles of gold worth 6 times what they paid.

"but Im not one with a sense of proportion when I radiate more heat than light."---NP

The gods of electronics

The Gods of electronics hate me. They really do..there is no love for alex in their little silicone heart. That is why computer art to me is about as lifeless as a three day old flounder on a key west dock---there aint no warmth in a silicone heart. I may have to buy the mac I have been planning to get on Monday or Tuesday. I hate spending money on computers, I would rather buy oil paints. I cant even post images I want because I am in kinkos. If its not one thing it is another...The stubbing of the mental toe in this life does not stop until the breathing stops, me thinks. God wants us to learn patience...that is the thing--patience. I have to spell check the word-- cause I have none. I want things to be done when I want em done. Im hard-wired like that.

delays expected on the alex expressway

My laptop monitor is shattered like a cheap egg and my gphone goes straight to voicemail and 40 minutes of trouble shooting with T-mobile only resulted in them dropping my call. All that can go wrong in electronics will go wrong, especially when you are accident prone and have the patience of a flea. My new blog is on hold until I sort out my issues. Today I draw saints and I will show when I am done tomorrow. These are the final sketches before I scale up to 15 foot windows.

2nd ramsay chef offs themselves

Two chefs who seemingly had financial issues (hence their appearance on Kitchen Nightmares) have commited suicide. If you are an artist or a chef or of similar ilk----remember this, you have only failed when you quit, until then you are still in the ring. If you are not dying from a disease then suck it up and keep fighting. all clouds eventually disappear and you can see the sun from six feet under.

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happy birthday j.

May you have a wonderful birthday and your wishes come true.

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tough two days

it has been a tough two days. My art life has caused me to screw up a commitment to a friend. the gods of art are tough and they have a fiery eye, they dont often blink. The art life constantly throws wrenches into the gears of good intentions and plans. Sometimes I question the journey. You cant explain the walk to people, they wont get it...words fail and you sound like a mumbling fool. these are the things my old art professor from college talk about when we get together once or twice a year. some artists crack, some cry..I keep driving on. it dont mean nothing, drive on...

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baseball

Im watching a show about baseball on channel 13. I am fascinated by baseball because I dont watch it. All these fans talking about how it bonded them as father and son etc. I never watched baseball my dad. He didnt watch baseball. I was usually in my room alone drawing or wandering our farm with my head in the art clouds. I still dont watch baseball. I was forced to go to a game once so I could paint a book cover of yankee stadium and I i had a good time because I was fascinated by the green tone of the field it was a hyper real, nature as mankind wants it...controlled.

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hell on earth

I am watching a couple across from me, they are nolonger in love. I can read the lines on her face. is there a greater hell than being married and not in love anymore? that is being stranded in a deep coal mine of the soul...thanks to windows vista I punched my laptop screen, my only remaining computer. Guess Ill buy a new one on first. goodby windows...forever

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Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday, Mary! Best friend and manager a man could ever have! Tune into 103.9 WFAS to hear her!

a lot is two words!!!!!!!

I am ger-matically lazy but there is one thing that makes me insane-------A lot is two WORDS!!! it is not alot----dont do that, it sucks--bad.

my song---by gardega

born in cleburne texas
on the fossil of a farm
nothing outside could hurt him
nor cause him any harm
lived his life in pictures
painted all his life
his oils were his mistress
canvases his wife
nothing really mattered
that he couldnt frame
life just tried to kill him
with its shambles and its pain
but just kept on drawing
through the tempest
and the storm
he knew what really mattered
knew why he'd been born
and when they lay him down
dont ever cry a tear
he fought a thousand battles
and they all got him to here
and what got him was nothing
he could never understand
the things he left behind him
scattered cross the land
tried four times to quit her
but she always came back round
sometimes shes a devil
put you in the ground
a thousand years behind him
at least that way it seems
mostly spent alone
without the ways or means
Ive met ten hundred people
and looked  into their eyes
and I wonder what their thinking
and much to my surprise
they just aint thinking
of anything at all
so I just keep on walking
on the edge of someone's knife
past the farms and houses
past the backroads of my life.


a.g.

the wearing of the blue...

this song rips my guts apart...dont know why...it hits me hard




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUSvAWmUZ8g

Well, it's all of a fair and a handsome girl
She's all in her tender years
She fell in love with a sailor boy
It's true she loved him well
For to go off to sea with him
Like she did not now how
She longed to see that seaport town
Of Canadee-i-o.

So he bargained with the sailor boy
All for a piece of gold
Straightaway then he led her
Down into the hold
Sayin', "I'll dress you up in sailor's clothes
Your jacket shall be blue
You'll see that seaport town
Of Canadee-i-o".

Now, when the other sailors heard the news
Well, they fell into a rage
And with all the ship's company
They were willing to engage
Sayin', "We'll tie her hands and feet, my boys
Overboard we'll throw her
She'll never see that seaport town
Called Canadee-i-o".

Now, when the captain he heard the news
Well, he too fell in rage
And with the whole ships' company
He was willing to engage
Sayin', "She'll stay all in sailor's clothes
Her color shall be blue
She'll see that seaport town
Called Canadee-i-o".

Now, when they come down to Canada
Scarcely 'bout half a year
She's married this bold captain
Who called her his dear
She's dressed in silks and satins now
She cuts a gallant show
Finest of the ladies
Down Canadee-i-o.

Come all you fair and tender girls
Wheresoever you may bee
I'd have you to follow your own true love
Whene'er he goes to sea
For the sailors prove false to you
Well, the captain he might prove true
You'll see the honor I have gained
By the wearing of the blue.

Money and/or fame

If your goal in life is to seek fame, then you are a moron. I wouldnt mind being more famous as an artist..I already live in my own mind that I am famous but here is the deal..If you want to be famous for the sake of being famous, then you are an idiot, a fool. I would be willing to deal with fame if it paid the bills and allowed me to indulge in all my art fanatsy projects but I would rather just have money to do this. I dont like strangers approaching me ( I am a magnet for crazies of all stripes) I like to be left alone at brunch. If your mission is to be famous for your face etc I dont understand. I like to fly under the radar and be left alone by fellow humans and the gov. but If I could be a millionaire arteesto I would deal with it but I do like my own space.

does this make sense?

New Blog

I have started a new blog. It is not an art blog, it is a blog based off 6 years of serious research into things that are going on in the world. It is neither left, nor right. It is just the bigger picture as best I see it. You must sign into this blog and it is not for everyone. If you want to join please email me and I will give you the login info. If I dont know you, you will have to explain why you want to view the blog.




alex

alexgardega@gmail.com

you dont have any problems

Millions of pakistanis are living in a flood zone with no food or shelter. 33 miners are trapped in a hole in the ground. I had breakfast across from a child with cancer the other day.. if you have your health and dont have drug addled mess of a brain like some hollywood starlit then get off your ass and be happy and suck it up. If you have to work a job you hate, deal with it. things could be worse.

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the recession is over

They say the recession ended in June. A group of economists said this. I feel like I am watching two TV sets, one is playing laurel and hardy, the other 1984. They say if we slip back into a recession it is a new recession, not a double dipper. They cant say what day in june, just that it was june. You can stop eating your shoes now and go buy some steak, methinks...

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Titanic Remake

I want to remake the movie the Titanic. My Titanic wont crash and sink. It will just sail from London to NY without any big event. Just a bunch of boring shots of people eating and playing shuffleboard. and Then some pretty ocean shots. I can make this movie much cheaper because I wont need any special effects. It will be kind of like a Warhol film..not much happens...Just departure and arrival...I cna focus on details as well, like what kind of food they cooked in the kitchen and clothes etc..

Stay Tuned

Big deadline day today---book covers, round mural, New hot sauce..etc...My New hot Sauce is going to rock and it will also get a lot of media attention as did my last one...I am not sure how food every creeped into my art but it has.


alex

New Hot Sauce launches monday

I have a new hot sauce launching Monday...My hot sauces are all based on the evil ponzi scammers who stole billions of American's hard earned money. This is my second official hot sauce after my world famous Bernie in Hell sauce. There is already media interest so we shall see if this is as popular as My madoff with your money sauce.

in the humdrum

I saw the man at J.F.K.
He took your ticket yesterday
In the humdrum

I ride tandem with a random
Things don't run the way I planned them
In the humdrum

--gabriel

If I was an art teacher....

If I was an art teacher, my first lesson for my students would be to paint a picture to this song...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNQfdMDCNGo

If I find my own way, how much will I find?

Peter Gabriel In The Sun Lyrics

Send "In The Sun" Ringtone to your Cell

Translation in progress. Please wait...

Written by Joseph Arthur
Performed by Peter Gabriel on "Diana, Princess of Wales - Tribute"

I picture you in the sun
Wondering what went wrong
And falling down on your knees
Asking for sympathy
And being caught inbetween
All you wish for and all you seem
And trying to find anything
You can feel that you can believe in

May gods love be with you
Always
May gods love be with you
Always

I know i would apologise
If i could see your eyes
Cos when you showed me myself, you know
I became someone else
But i was caught inbetween
All you wish for and all you need
I picture you fast asleep
A nightmare comes
You can't keep awake

May gods love be with you
Always
May gods love be with you
Always
May gods love be with you
Always
May gods love be with you

Cos if i find - if i find my own way
How much will i find
If i find - if i find my own way
How much will i find
If i find - if i find my own way
How much will i find
If i find - if i find my own way
How much will i find
How much will i find
How much will i find
You, yeh, you
I'll find you, you, you - oo
I'll find you, you, you - oo
I'll find you, you, you - oo

Oh i don't know anymore
What it's for
I'm not even sure
If there is anyone
Who is in the sun
Will you help me to understand
Cos i've been caught inbetween
All i wish for and all i seem
Or maybe you're not even sure
What it's for
Anymore than me

May gods love be with you
Always
May gods love be with you
May gods love be with you
Be with you ...

national arts club

Heading to dinner at national arts club. Does it mean you are getting older when dinner out two nights in a row tires a man out? Regardless, I would crawl through glass to make dinner at the arts club. It oozes history, haunted by the ghosts of artists past.

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We are suspended in language--Pascal

One of my favorite philosophers, Pascal said this many moons ago...Our thoughts are shaped and "suspended" by language...It is hard to conceive of things that we cannot name, that we dont have a word for...If you read books like 1984 etc you will notice that powers that be pay very close attention to words and language. I notice in our modern society that media and the powers that be also make use of language to shape our opinion and thought--It is not a WALL, it is a separation barrier..It is no longer terrorsism it is a man cause disaster (or some such thing) We live in Orwellian, doublespeak times and people are not even aware of it --most people, anyways..Now it is nolonger Global warming, it is this...

From the administration that brought you "man-caused disaster" and "overseas contingency operation," another terminology change is in the pipeline. 

The White House wants the public to start using the term "global climate disruption" in place of "global warming" -- fearing the latter term oversimplifies the problem and makes it sound less dangerous than it really is. 

White House science adviser John Holdren urged people to start using the phrase during a speech last week in Oslo, echoing a plea he made three years earlier. Holdren said global warming is a "dangerous misnomer" for a problem far more complicated than a rise in temperature.

Sketchy Folk

The Pieces below are all sold..gonzo..any new Sketchy Art for sale will be posted to the right.

Happy Birthday Marty

Happy birthday Marty

It was truly a wonderful time

Palm Too was great all around

and you dont look a day over 79...

seattle cartoonist screws up

A Seattle cartoonist is in hiding with the FBI after drawing a picture of Muhammad...I believe in living bold and pushing the envelope but if you have a brain maybe you can think ahead---- what do you think is going to happen? If you are a little rich kid from san fran and you decide to go hiking on the border of Iran WHAT DO YOU THINK MAY HAPPEN IF THEY ARREST YOU?--- You may wind up in a pretty nasty prison. They dont really care how liberal you are in Iranian prisons---they aint huggin' you. I just dont understand why people dont think before they act...Measure twice--cut once..Or as one of my art teachers used to say..

think once, think twice--think three times...

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/09/16/draw-muhammad-cartoonist-goes-hiding/

just your job

I could never have a job that consists of screwing other people's days up. I could never be one of those people sticking tickets on your windshield after your quarter runs out. I could never be a cop giving speeding tickets when I know damn well I speed myself. I could never be the guy putting people in jail lest I screw up and put an innocent person away. I sleep well at night and I part of that is because I dont have to think about the sins of the day. Keep your karma clean, cause you cant wash it.

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art students

I saw a bunch of bright eyed art students buying art supplies with their dad's credit card yesterday. It kind of made me sad to think of the fact that maybe 1% will go on to make a living in art. What even made me sadder was to think of all the perfectly good art supplies going to waste.

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anywhere but here, anytime but now...

The thing about NYC is it is the only place on earth that when I am there I don't want to be somewhere else. I am at home here. When I am in long Island I want to be on the next train West. If I am in California I want to be back in the big apple. If I am in Spain or France etc. I am happy but I am on vacation--I couldn't live there...You know you are in the place you belong in life when you dont desire to be somewhere else--this could be a suburban abode, an adobe hut or an apt. on east 74th st...The worst thought , for me, is being in the glue trap of an ill chosen path or a bad marriage or a job I cant leave due to circumstances. I fought like hell to avoid all ticking traps in my life and I have seen the dead stares of those who have stepped into them.

interview with myself

me:  How are you today?


me:  Excellent! I am making progress on deadlines, today I hope to finish painting of The Unisphere book cover. Also, my glass pieces arrived in Colorado, unbroken.

me: Jolly Good! 

me: I am just happy to be back in NYC and to be really busy with my art career.

me:  I pretty much missed the whole summer--one day off for the beach---but as huck finn said "that aint no thing"

me: I will be in colorado for Turkey day week, painting a mural that has been a bit of back and forth on scheduling.

me: Life is good...really good...I am sure there is a cross town bus with my name on it somwhere---all roses have their thorns.

Genius Never Spawns

If you watch these trailer park shows with all the DNA paternity tests and people squeezing out kids like passengers off a japanese subway, one wonders if God and nature does not favor a populace with Low IQ. In the end of the day, it seems nature is most interested in numbers, not quality. Look at Leonardo--no kids, Michelangelo--no kids, Einstein--I dont think he spawned either. But if you go to your local trailer park, they are spitting out kids like watermelon seeds. It seems dysfunction breeds children, and high functioning individuals seem to keep it to a limited "one child, if any" policy. People who are scarcely fit to bag groceries are raising children and shaping the minds of a whole generation of young ones. Nature abhors a vacuum "as they say" and it seems it does not care what it fills the vacuum with---warm bodies suffice.

Queens Unisphere

I paint a picture of this once a year...It is the Queens iconic image par excellence. Today I should be done with my 5th painting of The Uni for Ambassador publishing a man gets to know something after he paints it 5 times.

new Sketchy Folk art

Commissioned Scorpio by sketchy folk. Sketchy Zodiac. (sold)

Sketchy Blue Fish...For sale..by sketchy folk...acrylic, sharpie, ink, acrylic on masonite board.

if you wish to buy the sketchy blue fish you can email me. I handle sketchy folk's sales.

alexgardega@gmail.com

gardega news

My glass art pieces arrive in colorado today 9:30AM, their time...That is a good thing, methinks.


Today I paint the Unisphere for the yellow pages, I think this is the 6th maybe 5th time I have painted that thingy...The unisphere is left over from the world's fair..it is the queens iconic image par- excellence! It is hard to paint but I have learned the structure by now.


I delivered my mural sketch yestersday for a roman mural--approved. 




and today sketchy folk finishes some art he has delayed--I will yell at his lazy butt to get it in gear..

I am getting better at keeping my wild mind in order and on track and making deadlines and to do first things first--that is key to art FIRST THINGS FIRST...what is URGENT and what is IMPORTANT..If you live your life right and do the important things and dont ignore them  then you will find less URGENT things to handle..when you ignore important stuff it turns to urgent and gets ugly fast.

A different drum--peter gabriel

I dont know how to explain my art. I dont have words for my style etc. I fumble at this. I wish when people ask me about my art I could just play them this one song, this is everything I have ever tried for in art in the form of a song. I want my art to transcend like this song..very often I fail but I keep trying.

thought experiment

Einstein was big on thought experiments--he thought of himself riding along side a beam of light and found his way to e=mc2. I do such things but on a base level..I ask myself dumb questions...If I could freeze myself and wake up 1,000 years in future would I? in a second!

If a spaceship came down would I get on -----yes.

would I trade the rest of my life to spend three months with leonardo davinci? in a heartbeat


would I trade the last ten years of my life to sit with mark twain and talk for hours? in a heartbeat.

this is how I pass my time, I think of dumb things.

full circle

Life is an artist and she paints in circles..when I was nine I was in my hometown newspaper for an art show..



Now it is decades later and I am in the same paper. This is an example of what I often speak of--if you hold something in your heart and head long enough it will manifest itself on a quantum level into your external reality. The truth is there is no difference between what is you and what is "out there" on a subatomic level it is all the same...all one...The problem is people are too afraid rationally to accept that it is really that easy to manifest thought into external reality because it is beyond rational thought. I got past that hurdle years ago and it was a big one...quantum mechanics has finally got science to the point where it can fit comfortably in the palm of the mystic and they can hold hands and be happy.



I have been writing a story in my head for a movie for years about my hometown cleburne texas and it falls into my lap...as peter gabriel once said:

"there are no accidents, round here..."

buddha nature

As a child I had Buddha nature. All children have Buddha nature. Dogs have Buddha nature--they live in the now, children live in The Now. One day the division bell rings and we get separated from our Buddha nature, our inner spirit. Our brain makes distinctions--this is this and that is that and we lose the best part of ourselves. This is the expulsion from eden--- the loss of innocence... we become aware of ourselves...Picasso said he could draw like raphael at 15 (an exaggeration FYI) but he spent his whole life trying to learn again to draw like a child--by this he meant get back into the spirit of the child--Buddha nature. A corrupt spirit cannot re-enter buddha nature anymore than a camel can pass through a needles eye. What good are riches without a soul. Never sell your soul, dont rent your soul and dont ever compromise your soul. The only thing you have is your soul, all else is ephemeral and an illusion as well.

cleburne times review

I just did an interview with my hometown newspaper from cleburne, texas. I think I was in there when I was nine...life runs in circles...the more things change, the more they stay the same. I will visit cleburne soon enough...

alex rants---first one in a long time

The first lady gave a speech to the NRA (national restaurant association) to convince them to sell healthier food as there is too much obesity in America. I admit some people have health issues that cause them to be unable to lose weight but the majority of Americans are lazy TV watching slugs...They snack on Ho hos and watch six hours of TV a day. The problem lies in being a lazy slob, not in restaurants serving salty, fatty food. I cant gain weight because I dont stop moving, I dont watch TV and I dont sit on the couch and snack. I run full speed all the time, if you dont do this as an artist you will die (or wind up a busboy.) If your husband is a chain smoker (which is a choice to make in a free country) then maybe your health concerns should be viewed like charity (it begins at home) smoking kills 400,000 people a year and she wants to focus on salt in restaurants--welcome to the new world order--the nanny state. This is all tied in with the health care bill---the only way to keep costs from skyrocketing are to get the sheeple in shape.I guess to tell people to stop smoking would hit a little close to home but I am sure that will be on the agenda soon. In the end its all about one thing--control of the sheeple in every aspect of our lives. The idiot box has so dumbed down the populace that they are not even aware of such things---thats why I am here, to give you the ugly truth. 

I dont do right or left, I only do Alex. Roger that.

New Light on the JFK assasination...fascinating

http://www.fox8.com/news/wjw-news-don-adams-president-kennedy-assassination-story,0,6504699.story

keep in mind this is a retired FBI agent involved in the case, not some conspiracy nut.

A Drink With Alex: The Interview Series

I am doing a series of interviews for this blog----Starting this week... As if I am not busy enough---my brain spins on like a top on a ledge...never falling, but wobbling on occasion. I am interviewing a wide range of folk (Including some you will already know by name) I am one of those people who love to learn about everything I can--the planets, History, art, wine, conspiracies, other countries, I am blessed to live in the age of the internet. My interviews will be laid back and fun and they will be over a wine or beer or scotch.

New Studio, finally

Going down to get keys to my new art MOTT STREET studio...Thank God...Anyone waiting on a Gardega piece of art can now relax. It is on its way very soon, I was without a studio for 10 days...it was hell..Thanks for patience.

alex

and now for the good news

I hate to be grim but I think the economy is about as healthy as a rockstar's liver. I predicted the economic doom in 2006 when everyone was laughing and buying their third house with no money down. I told my friends to buy gold as it was 300 an ounce...everyone laughed at me and called me a conspiracy nut. I personally think if we get into any kind of dispute with china over anything it could lead to a run on the banks in the US and hyperinflation. They own something like 360 billion of our debt. Now my friends have lost their shirts in the stock market and gold is at 4x what it was---crazy conspiracy guy was right....But I dont do the I told you so  thingy. here are some happy facts.

#1 Approximately 45 million Americans were living in poverty in 2009.
#2 According to the Associated Press, experts believe that 2009 saw the largest single year increase in the U.S. poverty rate since the U.S. government began calculating poverty figures back in 1959.
#3 The U.S. poverty rate is now the third worst among the developed nations tracked by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
#4 According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, on a year-over-year basis, household participation in the food stamp program has increased 20.28%.
#5 The number of Americans on food stamps surpassed 41 million for the first time ever in June.
#6 As of June, the number of Americans on food stamps had set a new all-time record for 19 consecutive months.
#7 One out of every six Americans is now being served by at least one government anti-poverty program.
#8 More than 50 million Americans are now on Medicaid, the U.S. government health care program designed principally to help the poor.
#9 One out of every seven mortgages in the United States was either delinquent or in foreclosure during the first quarter of 2010.
#10 Nearly 10 million Americans now receive unemployment insurance, which is almost four times as many as were receiving it in 2007.
#11 The number of Americans receiving long-term unemployment benefits has risen over 60 percent in just the past year.
#12 According to one recent survey, 28% of all U.S. households have at least one member that is looking for a full-time job.
#13 Nationwide, bankruptcy filings rose 20 percent in the 12 month period ending June 30th.
#14 More than 25 percent of all Americans now have a credit score below 599.
#15 One out of every five children in the United States is now living in poverty.

covers by gardega

buddha sculpture--metropolitan

I have thought for years that this looks like a certain american prez..anyone feel the same? who?

alexgardega@gmail.com

The Pursuit of Happyness

Watching the pursuit of happyness...Pretty much a similar story of my life minus the kid and the wife---I have seen all that crap..all of it...and then some...for some reason I find it humorous, I laugh at anything including my own suffering. If you dont laugh you are doomed. I pretty much lived like Job from the bible for ten years but I had a mission and when I want something I dont quit. 

Sunday Met photos by gardega

The eyes have it--Rembrandt...

Notice the magic in the paint Velasquez--nobody paints like him---nobody--not even god. There is the flow of genius.

 Two dead birds--- painted damn well by an artist I don't remember..

I take a lot of photos of people looking at art..I am fascinated by people looking at art and I listen to them talk and what they say about what the observe.

 Ringo Starr's gold plated drum ---at the met.

The Tibetan exhibition..This was amazing--this room is alive with spiritual energy..I was alone in there for 20 minutes.

God only nose.

Roman Glass Funerary urns...Roman glass was not made with that certain iridescence that Tiffany was famous for and took from such roman glass..the sheen came from being buried underground and the effect of salts on glass...FYI

This drawing blew my mind. It is about the selection of artist's work for the salon...Look at all the paintings--- that is how competitive art is...I actually felt a pang looking at this --it brought me back to a lot of memories.  

There is a new Japanese wing in the Met....It is amazing, There was no one in there..it was a peaceful oasis in the middle of manhattan..the tourists dont really go into the asian wings etc very much..

 Tasty little landscape...nice use of light...

One of the best Rembrandt's and one of the best paintings ever...I would trade every painting in the MOMA for this one picture.

God made man and man harmonizes with god to experience the creative act---to create is to act as god, in a sense. At least it is an attempt to understand the mind of god--the mind of god is infinite--man can only view infinity through a finite keyhole--you can't get there from here--- as they say--but you can try.

sept. 11th

I drew this as a child---yes, that is the trade center. I drew it after watching the king kong movie....

I was in NYC on sept 11th---I was bartending.

Brooklyn Subway Textures

I snapped these today waiting for a train. I am always looking for possible inspiration.

photo of bethesda fountain

schedule

I have five glass windows to etch
a round mural
two portraits
a book cover

and a new portfolio to build

Bronx Zoo original cover art

This is a final cover that was used for the Bronz Zoo yellow page cover.  I found it when I was moving...It is for sale. I hope that I never promised to anyone, I am not even sure why I still have it....Probably fell behind a couch or bed...I try to get away with a lot and push my covers "into the strange" I dont like boring computer generic paintings, I like to try to slip in a bit of my surreal eye..sometimes the art director catches me and makes me friendly it up a bit..as I get older I like childrens books more and more--when I was younger I was too cool for childrens book...there are some great childrens book artists out there--some are my friends.

this is for sale

alexgardega@gmail.com for inquiries

Saint Sketches

Here is how I begin a job for one of my glass designs. I work real rough to begin with, I find no reason to kill yourself in the beginning stages because the design process grows and changes as you go. I like the energy of real rough sketches they have LIFE in them--the trick is not to kill the life when you blow up and refine and perfect the anatomy etc. These are two sketches for two different windows. Sketching is the fun part--etching and installing etc is hard, hard work....Today I measure the windows and get ready to roll up sleeves for a lot of work.

a thrice posted tale

It's cold comfort
To the ones without it
To know how they struggled
How they suffered about it
If their lives were exotic and strange
They would likely have gladly exchanged them
For something a little more plain
Maybe something a little more sane

We each pay a fabulous price
For our visions of paradise
But a spirit with a vision is a dream
With a mission

N. peart

New Art Studio

I will be moving some stuff into my new art studio today. I will be working three days a week on mott street. It is a store front/ show room for my friends glass company and it is a nice set up tp work on art in. Im thinking three days a week Ill be there---- maybe M W F. It will be great to make art outside of my apt. ---which can drive any artist crazy. It is not good for your head to paint where you live...My sandblasted glass will still be done in brooklyn but my painting will be done at Mott st. (little italy) I am glad I have the chance to work there. If you want to come visit you can email me and give me the heads up or just walk on in. I f I am under a deadline Ill just ignore you.

jersey shore

I have never seen jersey shore---I dont watch TV. I am so afraid of the level of stupidity that the show brings to mind that I am afraid of it and I am afraid of very few things. Humans have lost dignity and I dont see the humor in that.

Back In NYC

I am back in NYC, a place I can scant afford but my heart and The Met is here and I only do short retreats (like napoleon) MY art comes from NYC it is threaded into her streets and runs like the veins around a heart. I need her late night streets, her NY post, her elaine's, her sunday light that crawls across the floor of mcsorleys..I need drawing models at minervas on spring street, I need union square and I need the stress..I need it all and then some and I need The Met---- did I mention the Met?

alex thinks

I was listening to a radio station tonight and they were talking about a case in California in which a man broke into a home and the homeowner shot him in the leg and then the burglar sued the homeowner---my thought was you aimed a little low me brother.....I would probably never own a gun, I am too accident prone but I am not big on being anyone's victim...I have a pretty good can of texas whoop ass when I need it but I am older now and fighting is dumb but if you break into my home, you will have major problems and I have a black belt in crazy----I would like to to thank my high school wrestling coach for making me understand the lesson in life that has allowed me to survive as an arteesto---never ever ever ever ever quit...thanks mr. ryan

animated reality

animated real life

journey through the stars

When I was in 7th grade I used to have an unusual way of going to sleep. I would start by visualizing that I would float out of bed and journey off into the stars and through the universe. I would see amazing planets and and stars, I had forgotten that I had did this for well over a year every night. For some reason the memory just came back...I would astral travel. Funny how your imagination starts to shut down after you get older...The key to life and art is to never lose the child within---Life tries like hell to steal it.

a good day or a bad day?

If you jump 39 floors in a suicide attempt and land on a car and live is this a good day or a bad day? I  mean you failed at your mission but you are alive....hmmmm...You must remember there is no 13th floor. That is where the math probably went wrong...

blogger

my brother told me my blog should be upgraded and made to look better etc. I like blogger because it is easy to use and I am not very computer oriented. I still paint with oil paints, not photoshop. He may be right----I like old school things, I like things simple. I tried wordpress and I couldnt make it work..now I may have to pay to have a real blog built but it would be bad if I didnt like the format and layout.....what to do???

holy lamb

I think I must be getting ready to die as all my memories and songs from my young years have been flowing into my brain like a tidal flood....I painted about 600 paintings to this song...and that was in a single year---

the saint project

I am commissioned to etch 5 windows for a mausoleum. I am going to document the process on this blog. From little doodle sketches to large installations and everything in between.

the good port called happiness

I have learned one lesson in life and that is that happiness is an elusive and squishy animal. Money dont buy it and poverty doesnt mean you dont have it. I have known happy rich people and miserable rich people. I have known happy poor people who had a light in their eyes and you knew they would one day make it out of poverty and I knew people broken by the weight of poverty. I think at my age in life I have finally found what I like to call happiness---you know you are happy when you wake up looking forward to the day ahead. My finances have never been anything to brag about but I have them in control (somewhat) and I have steered my own ship for the last twenty years..I have a few scars and a few lumps but what I have learned is inside me and can never be taken away. I am a proud bastard and I have will that would rather die than compromise my beliefs. Somehow I made it through some dark dark seas and I found a port with a good bar and a view of the beach. If you are as stubborn as I am god gets bored of testing you---they even let up JOB in the bible eventually. My toes are in some warm sand and its five o'clock somewhere.

words of the day--peart

You can roll that stone
To the top of the hill
Drag your ball and chain behind you

You can carry that weight
With an iron will
Or let the pain remain behind you

Chip away the stone

Chip away the stone
Make the burden lighter
If you must roll that rock alone

time stand still

I went out to dinner with a wonderful family last night---they collect my art but I consider them friends beyond anything else at this point. It was a wonderful evening, the kind you would like to cram in a bottle and save for a later date. Time doesnt fit in a bottle and the only thing you you have are memories, faded grey matter video tapes of what "was" without memories life would be a strange and bitter toad.

summers going fast night
nights growing colder
children growing up
old friends growing older...time stand still

N. peart

wisdom of the day--by gardega

the face of a gift often bears the mask of a nightmare.----a. gardega

New Sketchy Folk---Sketchy Toad

Sketchy Folk made a great new piece....

This is a toad--not a frog--from the Bronx Zoo...She has a little baby toad on back. All momma's love the babies...this is 50.00 and it wont last a day or two...Sketchy sells all his work...

if you want this I will sell it for him until he has own website...

alexgardega@gmail.com