american alex

2012-02-04T15:25:00.002-05:00

back to my blog

2012-01-28T15:57:00.001-05:00

I have decided to get my back into my blog again...I find myself in endless deadline hell of art and my blog gives way...I have lots to say, lots of stretching my mouth...lots to complain about like my ex not claiming her painting I spent fifty hours on...Life carries on and on and on...

Thomas the train glass etching

2012-01-28T10:58:00.001-05:00

By gardega for Hit entertainment

My friends company..bear glass

2012-01-18T09:14:00.001-05:00

http://www.bearglass.tv/

New Works by gardega

2012-01-18T08:46:00.003-05:00

Here are two new paintings I've done. The one on left is sold (not quite done yet) Ive labored many hours on it. The apple is for sale...Ill take good photo of it soon.

interested parties can email me.

alexgardega@gmail.com

Etched Shower door NYC: by gardega

2012-01-12T08:54:00.001-05:00

I recently signed a shower door I etched many years ago for a client...

A carved glass David

2012-01-12T08:44:00.001-05:00

I am working with an art gallery to carve some Iconic art pieces in glass...It made sense to start with David... This is the rough first sketch..Of course it has flaws but it is my first sketch when I "feel out" the piece...I do a lot of sketches when I work and I start sloppy and spiral to neat/ finished sketch. The plan is for a 6 foot final glass carving..

The Nobe Peace Prize

2012-01-11T08:42:00.001-05:00

Gardega's Palette

2012-01-10T06:45:00.002-05:00

Here is my painting palette... With these colours I can paint a pear or a person or a pumpkin or a pig or a petunia or a pony or a pimp or a pasture or a planet or a parent. Almost anyping...I dont follow any painting system, I follow my gut... I trust my gut infinitely more than any art teacher I have had in life.

Famous Pallettes, Famous Artists

2012-01-10T05:37:00.000-05:00

http://www.retronaut.co/2011/01/pallettes-of-famous-painters/

(my pallette is always a big sloppy mess that looks like the Staten Island landfill but somehow I create order out of chaos...)

New Paint by Gardega

2012-01-09T09:35:00.001-05:00

APPLE AND CICADA (more than this)

OIL ON PANEL 11" by 14"

for sale

Daily Gardega

2012-01-06T12:59:00.003-05:00

I decided to attack a blank 3 x 4 foot, beautiful, stretched, blank canvas. I never tell the canvas what I want---it tells me..this one wanted to be a flood painting..this painting is called "after the flood" after all of my deluge painting, the awtaers become still and calm beneath a swollen moon and the soul survivor floats calmly, waiting for waters to subside to begin anew... This is my second largest flood painting...They are very much influenced by Zen and japanese "minimal zen art" It took me a long time to loosen up and not show everyone everything I know about painting in each piece..You dont have to prove anything to anyone except yourself...now I have to paint the boat and figure which must fit perfectly or painting fails!!!!

After The flood

3' by 4' oil on stretched canvas

Gardega on art school

2012-01-06T08:42:00.001-05:00

Art school has destroyed more students than it has created. The avg. Professor in art school is a lemming/ zombie too afraid to make it in the real trenches of art. Not all...many...They will tell you things like figures are passe, decorative art is not art, be modern at all costs and skill is a four letter word. I was smarter than my professors and I laughed at them and became good friends with one of them (whom I greatly respect and admires) as an artist. Not one of my professors knew anything about the renaissance or geomoetry etc..nothing! I couldnt even get a word of info on raphael (my hero) they all spoke of sargent etc and other such rubbish...Arts school is worth the trip but be careful they dont teach the good part of you right out ther door. A fool is more dangerous than a criminal, at times.

how to paint an apple...by GARDEGA

2012-01-06T07:44:00.004-05:00

In order to be an artist one must be able to paint an apple amidst rapine and pillage (as the old saying goes) This means in the chaos and rush that is life one must take the time to sit down and paint a simple apple. A simple apple is a test of any artist..Dekooning could never paint a true apple, nor Pollock, nor half the modernistos. Velasquez could paint an apple to rival gods own and the dutch masters could do this as well. It is important to step back from the madness of art and to hang an apple by a string and paint it. This is good for the art soul and it is like an athlete doing push ups. The apple tempted Adam and the apple will always be around right to the very end of man...

Gardega paints an apple!

2012-01-05T19:13:00.001-05:00

gardega

2012-01-05T08:28:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I etched/ finished the Top Panel of three for my St. Michael's window...Didnt have time to photo yet..started new painting last night..The more love you put into the "base panel" of your painting, the more love you will put into your final painting because you wont want to wreck all that hard work..The photo is a panel I made for a new work..There are TWENTY layers of sanded gesso on this board. Each one thinned with 50% water and then a final transparent wash- coat of Burnt Sienna. If you put a lot of work into something it "gives back to you" when you look at most modern art it is poorly made and slopped together in a blobby "inspired" mess..I you look at an old master you can "smell the lamplight" (as they say) you can feel the hard work and hours and years of dedication to master light and flesh and spirit, There is Chi there. Good art requires dedication and labor and hard work, you dont walk up to a canvas and slop out your emotions..even my loose works like my "flood paintings" are painted with laser focused and worked until they look spontaneous and alive. What you put into art you get back out and if you put love into art it will radiate out long after you have passed.

UPDATE

2012-01-04T06:09:00.004-05:00

I bought three panels yesterday. A three by four foot canvas and two small wooden panels. I love having new panels...anything can happen on a blank surface, I know a lot of artists who fret over blank surfaces..I like to get right in there and attack them...even if I fail (which happens) it sure beats not painting anything. I know so many friends/ artists who are always talking about getting into painting again, always "getting ready" to paint...I find it best for the artist's head and soul to always "be in the paint" I always have multiple canvases/ boards going at one time and A week never goes by without me finishing at least one image. Avoiding what you were meant to do in life is a form of self torture and much worse than facing up, staring into the sun and addressing the true reason God put you on this blue planet. Luck favors the bold and you may or may not sell your art in your lifetime but if you don't make it, you are guaranteed to fail.

Gardega Update

2012-01-03T05:51:00.002-05:00

Today I will etch the top panel to my St. Anthony window and photograph it..I always start with the easy part of a job as by doing this you "ramp up" to speed when you get into the real hard part or the meat if any art job. Post pic this evening

Resolutions

2012-01-02T06:10:00.002-05:00

I rarely make resolutions for New Years as I think it is bad for your psyche to make and break them and let yourself down. I committed a few months back to Getting my self in serious shape and to give up my beloved red wine so I can get more work done. Even one glass of wine at night makes me too tired to really work late effectively. My biggest high in life is making art anyways. My favorite thing is getting up at five at starting my work day and planning my art/ deadlines for the day/ week. I have started Shaolin Kung Fu which is the hardest workout I have ever known... Discipline is the cornerstone of art and without hard work and focus you wont survive the art-game. The artist hanging in cafe with a beret is a joke...My cafe is called " Le hard work." Even though I sometimes work myself too hard it doesnt seem like work as I love art. When it is going poorly it can seem like work and then some..Resolutions are easy to keep and mine are already set in stone, one just needs to be awake.

You are a much better artist if you have your body and Chi centered..healthy body, healthy mind.

adam graves painting by gardega--stolen

2011-12-31T16:12:00.001-05:00

Whomever stole my Adam Graves painting that was gifted to Ronald Mcdonald house (to raise money for kids with cancer) Should return it to them..I do not care because I gave painting away but you have ruined your karma and that is your issue, not mine. I hope for your own karmic sake you return it to RM house...god bless..Karma is as real as the sunshine.

alex

Shaolin Kung FU

2011-12-31T07:59:00.003-05:00

I recently signed up for Shaolin Kung fu as I am finally serious about getting in shape. Its easy as an artist to let ole body go--I spent too many years living on oil paints, pizza, wine and red bull. After a certain age you have to get serious about your health or you are a gambling fool. As an "ADULT" you must take care of your body as you only get one of these bag of bones that is supposed to see you through to your "drooling years" I dont make resolutions for new years as I take resolutions pretty serious, if you cant make them a few months ahead of jan first and stick to them, then why bother? I have cut alcohol out of my diet--save an occasional wine...and I am very commited to my kung fu training... the next step is to kick redbull which is part of my 5am breakfast and I have trouble functioning without it...Regardless, my kung fu teacher is a brilliant and famous Shaolin monk and here is a bit about him...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shi_Yan_Ming

Palm One NYC

2011-12-31T07:48:00.002-05:00

I stopped in the Palm One Steakhouse last night with a friend..As I had my first day of Shaolin Kung Fu yesterday and I was so sore I could barely stand at the bar and this morning I am too sore to almost paint or draw. The Palm is a great place and I highly recommend Palm one in NYC. As an artist you are always alone in a room so the time I spent bartending at Palm means a lot to me because it was the first time I have had "coworkers"... most of them are still there working as no one really ever quits the Palm as it is a great place to work. If you look on back wall you can see some of the caricatures on the wall that is part of what makes The Palm so famous..(I even drew a few of them)..some were good and some I would like to re-do. I dont get out much anymore, my life has become a routine of work and work and work and then sleep...One must remember "get out" on occasion or you will start talking to your walls...I recommend the strip steak or the lobster and the cream spinach...

David in Glass

2011-12-31T07:36:00.000-05:00

I will be carving a large etching of Michelangelo's David in glass in January. I am working with a gallery owner (to be revealed later) to carve some serious Iconic pieces in glass this year. I would never even attempt this if my glass skills were rusty but my recent year long project of etching Saints has me confident enough to tackle a few serious pieces. If you are going to etch David in glass you dont just blow up a photo and etch (this is a hack approach) if you are serious about art you study the pose, the muscles, the face and the whole thing for about a month on paper first. After this piece I will be carving three others to be announced later. Go big or go home.

a lazy artist is a dead artist..

Figure drawing

2011-12-30T11:29:00.001-05:00

My hand is very rusty

Sketch for etched glass window

2011-12-29T08:28:00.000-05:00

Here is a sketch for my next window etching..I am awaiting approval that should come today. Three separate panels roughly 35 by 92 inches each...

Etched Glass Window by Gardega--St. Joseph

2011-12-28T13:01:00.002-05:00

I am documenting entire process of etching a 64 foot sq. Saint window..from sketch to completion...

Here is my first rough doodle/ sketch...The window will consist of three large glass panels. I used to be afraid of large projects..Now they are nothing of me. I have broken that eggshell of fear a long time ago. Once you do some large scale installations, it liberates your own personal work from fear of large scale work. By large scale I dont mean modernist slop, I mean serious large well drawn and designed pieces. Anyone can pour paint over a large canvas, executing figures etc in space on a large scale is a challenge for any artist and a great learning process as well.

alexander

Client Relations and the Battle of Anghiari

2011-12-28T07:05:00.000-05:00

There is an old saying in marketing and business that it is easier to keep a client than get a new one. This is as true as the day is long. I very rarely have falling out with clients or friends. Most of my friends today I made when I was in 6th grade. Im sure my eccentric nature tries peoples patience at time but I always try to do the right thing in business and friendship. I recently had an issue with a client of mine and I see his point of view and I see my point of view...two very stubborn people and sometimes an immovable object meets an unstoppable object and the universe freezes. I cant stand bad blood and I cant stand if a client isnt happy with work on any level in the long run. It haunts me if I feel someone isnt happy with work Ive done. Art isnt about money for me, I take my art very personally..it is my child. I have been walking around pissed off about this issue for days..The best thing I can do when I am pissed is to take my anger and pour it into art. I am in a mood to challenge myself and I have picked a piece of art that I want to make in glass that has never been done and that is because It is near impossible. I am going to make a very large glass carving of the battle of Anghiari by Leonardo (surviving in a copy by Rubens)..one of my favorite pieces of art. I dont have a client for it but I can probable sell to a casino or the like. Either way it is a challenge the likes of which I have never attempted..I have painted it on a ceiling but to make in glass is beyond any challenge I have attempted..I am ready for failure or glory...It will be a battle...On a ten scale this one is an eleven..

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T06:34:00.004-05:00

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all from Alex...

Art by Thomas Nast, the originator of the "modern Santa clause look" great artist he was!

Etched Shower Door by Gardega

2011-12-25T06:30:00.002-05:00

Private residence....NYC

The NY POST

2011-12-24T10:18:00.000-05:00

Gardega was in Page Six today, this is a good thing... Always good to wake up and read about yourself. I am always at my corner deli at 5:30 in THE MORN---this is when the NY Post comes. I have an obsession with the NY Post I cannot explain. To me it is Fine Art. Those who know me well know I must read Post by 6 am or I cannot function. My morning routine is set in stone and to change it is to ruin alex's entire day! I would rather be in Page Six than some hi brow art mag. The Post is true surrealist ink, Its pen is dipped in the Jungian collective Gotham unconscious of which I (and you) are equal parts. I am going off now to buy blank canvases as I am putting a show together of blank canvases signed by myself and not painted by myself...

The beauty of NOTHING--the blank canvas

2011-12-24T07:17:00.000-05:00

I have studied and studied

the masters for years

for thousands of hours

and rivers of tears

to unlock the genius

of Renaissance light

Ive worked through the day

and on through the night

the Gordion knot

I tried hard to cleave

hoping one day these obsessions would leave

Ten thousand paintings

bled from my hands

in hopes that one day I would half understand

the mind of DaVinci

or at least Raphael!

To break free the world from its postmodern hell

but alas I have failed

or maybe ive not

For now I know nothing

and this is a lot.

---gardega

I have embarked on a series of blank/ unpainted canvases..pure unwashed/ unmarred genius (save my glorious signature) Modernism requires no skill but it does require Darwinian Genius and Nothingness and marketing..Modern art is like an energy drink for the soul. The shark of genius lies rotting in a tank form-malda-hyde in the same museum as Velasquez! This inspires me to nothing and to blank canvases..Leonardo would understand, of this I am most sure!

My first unpainted work is called "Woody Allen and Sun Yi strolling up first ave followed by the ghost of Genius"

It is already sold but I shall unpaint three more canvases today! Fear not thy reader, there will be more...

VIVA MODERNISM

random art by gardega

2011-12-23T07:49:00.000-05:00

INK ON PAPER

not for sale

Copy of klimt

2011-12-20T08:34:00.001-05:00

I painted a copy of a klimt for an old friend who loved the painting. I think if I had all my old paintings back from my exes I could open the gardega museum...

alex on KICKSTARTER

2011-12-19T10:24:00.003-05:00

I was recently approved by kickstarter.com a fundraising website for artists. It is kind of a big deal in the art world as it helps artists with all kinds of projects etc. I am happy to have the opportunity to be on kickstarter. Anyone who donates gets a piece of art, be it a print or a drawing or painting, depending on amount. Here is the link:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1484278723/gardega-art-show

I am scheduling my next show for june.

Murals NYC by gardega

2011-12-18T17:04:00.001-05:00

I finally finished the entire mural for a home movie theater..It was many things, easy was not one of them. It is done..

grand central ceiling copy in home theater.

more to follow..

words of the day

2011-12-18T07:01:00.001-05:00

Tesla was a genius greater than Edison and just south of Einstein.

New drawing by gardega

2011-12-17T08:50:00.002-05:00

I drew this this morning without thinking..just drew it and it came out of my hand. Dont over-think your art, just let it come out. get out of your own way and you will "find your line"

may etch this in glass one day..

Happy holidays

2011-12-16T11:23:00.001-05:00

original cover for sale.

2011-12-16T08:23:00.001-05:00

This is an original oil painting and the next cover of the Brooklyn Yellow Pages.

for sale.

alexgardega@gmail.com

Pandoras Box

2011-12-16T08:20:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite of my own works painted back in early nineties. Ive turned down many offers. But I think it is time to sell. serious inquiries only. It is a small gem on wood about 11 x 14.

alexgardega@gmail.com

New cover by Gardega

2011-12-15T07:54:00.001-05:00

Yellow page bookcover, brooklyn, NY.

I am emerging from two year-long grueling projects and back to my smaller projects. Its nice to be locked into work for a year but it gets tiresome working on same project. Ill be on this blog a bit more now.

update

2011-12-13T18:37:00.000-05:00

Been busy finishing two year long projects...both done now. its about time. One year of mural work, one year on mausoleum windows. Must photo now.

Grand central ceiling mural copy

2011-12-01T11:18:00.001-05:00

By gardega

Progress

2011-12-01T09:38:00.001-05:00

Etched glass grapes

2011-12-01T06:32:00.001-05:00

Edge illuminated. By gardega studios

Done

2011-11-30T14:03:00.001-05:00

Finished 17 of 17panels...many many,many hours, now its back to ceiling mural.

Home theater

2011-11-30T05:52:00.001-05:00

Painted side panels by gardega

Murals nyc

2011-11-30T05:50:00.001-05:00

Custom home theater

2011-11-30T05:48:00.001-05:00

Seventeen painted side panels and a replica of grand central ceiling mural. Painting will be done this week.

Painted panel by gardega studios

2011-11-30T05:45:00.001-05:00

This is panel 15 of 17 painted for a home theater.

Home theater mural by gardega

2011-11-29T10:44:00.001-05:00

JAMES GURNEY SIGNING A BOOK

2011-11-27T06:56:00.001-05:00

Not only is James Gurney a great artist, he is an amazing guy--really nice.Im going to take a class under him in June.

BOOKS OF WONDER BOOK SIGNING

2011-11-27T06:47:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I went to Books of Wonder NYC to see some children's book illustrators. Among them was Charles Santore, The Dillons and JAMES GURNEY! I talked to Charles and James gurney for a while---both great guys. James Gurney is famous for Dinotopia. Some of the greatest art of all time was made for Childrens books/ illustration---NC Wyeth, Pyle, Rackham...

Etched Shower door

2011-11-25T11:03:00.001-05:00

By gardega studios

Cell photos by gardega

2011-11-08T09:59:00.003-05:00

2011-11-08T09:59:00.001-05:00

2011-11-08T09:58:00.003-05:00

2011-11-08T09:58:00.001-05:00

Chinese Citizens Pay Ai Weiwei's Taxes

2011-11-08T07:38:00.001-05:00

Chinese artist/ activist is getting a helping hand from big hearted fellow Chinese citizens to pay of a large tax debt. This reminds me of Odd Nerdrums situation a bit...Artists should be praised by governments, not abused, methinks.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/04/chinese-citizens-pay-ai-w_n_1076928.html?ref=culture&ir=Culture

Laurie Sandell

2011-11-07T07:02:00.000-05:00

My friend Laurie Sandell has written the the only authorized version of The Madoff clan. It will now be an HBO movie starring Robert Deniro. I interview on this blog at one time, Ill find it. God bless her, she is very nice and a great writer..It is a small world...a small world.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45076428/ns/today-books/t/truth-consequence-look-life-inside-madoff-clan/#.TrfFZnFqNYc

Work in progress

2011-11-06T12:33:00.003-05:00

Auction News: Sothebys shines, Christies sinks

2011-11-03T07:15:00.004-04:00

Last night was auction night at Sothebys and Christies. A good friend of mine is a bigwig at Sothebys and he told me that they were getting ready for an auction yesterday (they even closed Sothebys during the day because they were worried about the hippie protestors showing up to protest the capitalist auction) last time I checked wall street people (for all their faults) buy art, not hippies. So Your artist/ author much prefers the men in suits to the soapless hippies with bongo drums. Both Auctions were impressionist. At Christies, one third of the works failed to sell, including Degas and picassos! Christies made 144 million and sothebys made 199.8 million--they sold a full 81% of there works. Gustave klimts "litzlberg am atterersee" (above) sold for 40.4 million, 15 million more than expected...not the best klimt ever painted if you ask gardega.
.

Queens Unisphere

2011-11-02T08:11:00.001-04:00

Illustration by alex gardega

Designed by landscape architect Gilmore D. Clarke, the Unisphere was donated by the United States Steel Corporation and constructed by the American Bridge Company. It is the world's largest global structure, rising 140 feet and weighing 700,000 pounds. Some sources say the Unisphere weighs 900,000 pounds, a figure which includes the additional weight of its 100-ton inverted tripod base. The diameter of the sphere itself is 120 feet, or 36.57 meters. It is constructed of Type 304L stainless steel.
Built on the structural foundation that supported the Perisphere of the 1939–1940 New York World's Fair, the Unisphere is centered in a large, circular reflecting pool and is surrounded by a series of water-jet fountains designed to obscure its tripod pedestal. The effect is meant to make Unisphere appear as if it is floating in space.
During the fair, dramatic lighting at night gave the effect of sunrise moving over the surface of the globe. Additionally, the capitals of nations were marked by uniquely designed lights that held four bulbs each. One of these lights is placed at the location of the Kahnawake Indian Reservation, which the Mohawk ironworkers requested to be placed there to honor their labor.^[1] When one would burn out, another would rotate in place so that the bulbs would not have to be changed during the two-year run of the Fair. None of these lighting effects are still in operation.
Three large orbit rings of stainless steel encircle the Unisphere at various angles. These orbit rings are believed to represent the tracks of Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, and Telstar, the first active communications satellite. In fact, the early design was to have a ring for each of a dozen satellites in place at the time of the Fair. This proved impractical not only in the number of satellites, but also in the height of their orbits and the fact that geostationary satellites had no orbit path. As a result a symbolic number of three was chosen for aesthetic reasons.

The Madoffs: the authorized bio..

2011-11-01T08:47:00.003-04:00

My friend Laurie Sandell is the Author of the only official authorized Biography of the Madoffs.  Just found this out. I am fascinated by the tragic story of The Madoffs. I was so fascinated I invented The Bernie in Hell Hot Sauce which I sold world wide. It is a small world (but I wouldnt want to paint it)cant wait to read this book!

yours truly...

a very touching story

2011-10-31T08:56:00.000-04:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/30/opinion/mona-simpsons-eulogy-for-steve-jobs.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

Queens unisphere painting

2011-10-31T08:32:00.001-04:00

Painted by alex gardega

NYC Murals by gardega

2011-10-24T09:49:00.001-04:00

Gardega Studios is now painting a home theater mural...23 side panels and a ceiling based of the Grand Central mural..Done soon! 18 panels have already been painted...almost ready to hit ceiling.

gardega studios 917 400 1317

Steve Jobs

2011-10-24T09:14:00.000-04:00

Steve jobs lived on a normal street, in a normal house without "gates" and rarely lock his doors..He saw what money had done to his apple comrades..the facelifts, the Bentleys...he was too smart for such things. I knew people and friends from my hometown who "made it rich" and turned into festering fools overnight. I knew people who lost their souls in the time it takes to flip a pancake. Steve jobs could have bought these fools 8 times over but he had something they dont have, creativity and genius. If you are an empty sock of a human I can see how the country club and the right car could fill certain holes but those holes will always remain and sand always beats the man shoveling sand.

You cant make this up

2011-10-22T04:51:00.001-04:00

Steve jobs used to frequent a restaurant in california, he liked the owner, a balding syrian man...by the way, steve eventually found out this man was his biological father..the universe is not stranger than you think..it is stranger than you can think..

2011-10-20T11:21:00.001-04:00

Couple Married 72 Years Dies Holding Hands - Des Moines News Story - KCCI Des Moines

Prozac Nation

2011-10-20T07:38:00.001-04:00

One in ten people are now on anti-depressants in America.I am sure some people really need them so I do not judge them. My life in the arts has been a battle beyond words and there were some serious days in the "art gutter" I always picked myself up and got back in the ring. I always prefered the rawness of life, even if it was painful, to some brave new Soma
Pill reality. No one said it was easy and there were days when a bottle of wine helped forget that I just broke a 25k glass piece on a cement floor...I made it thus far staring down the,sun of reality and I suppose I will bring the ship home in the same manner...awake, aware and ready to box my way out of any corner.

Yours truly

McSorleys Old photo

2011-10-19T07:20:00.002-04:00

This is McSorleys pub 1930's or 40's.

I love old NYC institutions such as McSorleys. They smell like history...

Art Forger Busted!

2011-10-19T07:09:00.001-04:00

http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/38869/forgery-for-dummies-british-art-teacher-convicted-of-selling-fake-picassos-had-an-art-forgers-handbook/

The Morgan Library drawing collection

2011-10-19T07:05:00.000-04:00

Here is a great collection of old master drawings in the Morgan Library, NYC.  I love old master drawings, I love the way they yellow and age and get richer over time. They get better with time as opposed to modern schlock which seems to weaken with age. True beauty is a joy forever.

http://www.themorgan.org/collections/collections.asp?id=454

INGRES

Great Website! lets go to the moon!

2011-10-18T19:29:00.002-04:00

http://www.moonexpress.com/

(also read the blog! )

Robert S. Halper: the Man behind Occupy Wall Street

2011-10-18T17:33:00.003-04:00

photo by Robert Stolarik (NY TIMES)

The man behind Occupy Wall street is a former Wall Streeter and millionaire. He is one of the very people the protestors are protesting! Go Figure! Over a steak dinner with his friend, Kalle Lans, editor in chief of Adbusters (a Canadian anti-corporate magazine) Mr. Lans came up with the idea to create a sort of Arab spring movement for the political left. Mr. Halper, one of the biggest donors to the mag. gave his buddy 20k and went back to his upper west side apt. A month later the mag emailed almost 100k people calling for the occupation of wall street!

Mr. Halper denies that he had any real hand in starting the protests but I find it hilarious and surreal that a man very close to the origin of these protests (his close friend basically started the movement itself over a dinner conversation) Is a "one percenter" as they call the top income earners and he hangs out with the protesters down in Zuccotti Park. Im not picking a horse in this whole race, I just admire a good dose of Lewis Carrol logic, some true NYC Surrealism...You cannot make this stuff up...By the way, the protesters will be marching to the Upper West Side tonight, maybe he will invite them inside for some bubbly and caviar. Rich guilt?

my info. from this article was gathered from a NY Times article

Geometry of Carravagio

2011-10-18T16:18:00.001-04:00

Interesting geometric study of Carravagio's Crucifixion of St Peter by Gardega.

Obama's Teleprompter Stolen!

2011-10-18T11:31:00.000-04:00

OUR PRESIDENT/ RESIDENT IN CHIEF HAS LOST HIS TELEPROMPTER AND JUST LIKE LITTLE BO PEEP, HE DOESN'T KNOW WHERE TO FIND IT! IT WAS STOLEN FROM AN EQUIPMENT TRUCK PARKED IN A VIRGINIA MARRIOT. I HAVE SEEN OUR PRESIDENT TRY TO SPEAK WITHOUT THIS LITTLE THINGY AND I HOPE IT IS RETURNED SOON! I AM ASSUMING THE PEOPLE WHO TYPE THE STUFF THAT IS DISPLAYED ON HIS TELEPROMPTER ARE STILL OKAY SO IT IS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE THE TELEPROMPTER FINDS ITS WAY HOME AND LIFE AS WE KNOW IT WILL RETURN TO ORDER. BY THE WAY HIS DOG IS NAMED "BO" SO I SMELL A CONSPIRACY...

"Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep,

And can't tell where to find them;

Leave them alone, And they'll come home,

Wagging their tails behind them"

ILLUSTRATION BY WALTER CRANE--GOOGLE HIM--TOP NOTCH ILLUSTRATOR FROM BACK IN THE DAY

CARICATURE SHOW AT THE MET

2011-10-18T08:29:00.001-04:00

THERE IS A GREAT NEW SHOW AT THE METROPOLITAN I SHALL REVIEW SOON. IT IS A CARICATURE SHOW THAT BEGINS WITH LEONARDO AND COVERS THE REALM OF THE ART OF CARICATURE TO MODERN TIMES. I AM A BIG FAN OF CARICATURE, I WAS NEVER MUCH OF A CARICATURE ARTIST "TIS NOT MY ART" AS MICHELANGELO ONCE SAID ABOUT PAINTING. I AM THE AUTHOR OF TWO CARICATURES IN PALM ONE RESTAURANT IN NYC BUT THAT IS ANOTHER TALE FOR ANOTHER TIME.

LEONARDO!!!

Infinite Jest

Caricature and Satire from Leonardo to Levine

September 13, 2011–March 4, 2012

A MUST SEE!

Done

2011-10-16T12:54:00.001-04:00

Quite possibly, the hardest I have worked in my life..exhausted, laying in lawn, staring at sky, now...

Muals nyc by gardega

2011-10-15T15:34:00.001-04:00

Five panels done

Murals nyc, by gardega

2011-10-15T10:57:00.001-04:00

Panel 4 of 7

Two panels

2011-10-14T11:55:00.001-04:00

Done!

2011-10-13T16:01:00.001-04:00

2011-10-13T13:53:00.001-04:00

Grand central ceiling mural

2011-10-13T08:00:00.001-04:00

Rough sketch...to scale...in approx. Colors

Ornamental side panels

2011-10-13T07:41:00.001-04:00

Seven painted ornamental side panels will grace the home theater walls...

Grand central ceiling mural

2011-10-13T07:22:00.001-04:00

The ceiling is primed, ready to go...off to home depot for base color...we are using a martha stewart paint..a slatey blue color...and thats a good thing..

Grand central ceiling mural

2011-10-13T07:19:00.001-04:00

I am painting a copy of the grand central ceiling mural in a home theater...work begins today...a yellow scaffold will be my home/ bed for a week..will update progress..

sideways

2011-10-11T13:34:00.001-04:00

My cell phone posts images sideways..ha, must remedy..

a captain looks about

2011-10-11T13:28:00.001-04:00

I have been pulled ever thinner in so many directions like the skin on a drum. Sometimes I have to spend all my focus to keep the plates spinning in the air I find I neglect other aspects of life... Such is the nature of being busy. I need to regroup and let the ole ship run aground and take stock of the sea and land. Running around is an aspect I can do without in life but I am always running somewhere, a mural in long island, a glass job somewhere, a book cover to be delivered...The only thing worse is not being busy. I just painted for three days straight (thirteen hours each day) and my client hated it..he was probably right as I look in hind site. As an artist this is a terrible feeling but what makes a professional is a man he gets right back on horse and hits it even harder. Art is no place for the weak, it will crush your soul like a bug as art is part of your soul...

"I turn my face to the sun
Close my eyes
Let my defences down
All those wounds that I can't get unwound

I let my past go too fast
No time to pause
If I could slow it all down
Like some captain, whose ship runs aground
I can wait until the tide comes around "

N. Peart

Getting ready to start day

2011-10-10T06:27:00.001-04:00

Panel one..in progress

2011-10-10T06:17:00.001-04:00

If it is sideways ill fix later...from phone.

Mural

2011-10-10T06:15:00.001-04:00

I am in long island painting seven panels for a mural...all tarot card themed for home theater

our sense

2011-10-01T07:00:00.000-04:00

We take everything for granted, our family, our health, our senses...watch as the girl experiences something you take for granted...

http://youtu.be/LsOo3jzkhYA

Deadline

2011-09-30T08:51:00.001-04:00

update: by gardega

2011-09-29T07:08:00.000-04:00

I have been slacking on the ole blog lately. Deadlines and other matters dragging me in many directions. I am back into the paint which is nice! I just finished a decent Deluge painting (part of my series) that is 4 x 5 foot. It has a certain harmony..I walked around it (the canvas) for a month before I hit it. Then it was a matter of two days. Sometimes it is harder to find harmony in a simple painting than a detailed labored work.

In progress

2011-09-28T08:07:00.001-04:00

2011-09-22T12:22:00.001-04:00

Bob dylan art show

2011-09-20T08:07:00.001-04:00

I love bob dylan....his paintings dont match his musical brilliance but I will go to show because it is bob dylan ...