Today's Puzzle Answer!

CLOCKWISE!

the shadow of death

Death walks a lonely shore followed by a long and timeless shadow. I made this watercolor today as I was thinking about life and death. I think one true sin in life is not living while one is alive. Death is the yin to the yang of life, it is what gives life its flavor and its color and its meaning because you cannot have life without its compliment, death. There is no light without shadow and there is no cold without hot etc.. etc.. Life often seems like a long ride to a beach you'll never arrive at and when you finally arrive you realize you should have spent more time looking out the car windows enjoying the ride. Not the greatest metaphor but the point is made. The strange thing about this watercolor is if you closely at the top left you will see the sign for infinity which is marked into the watercolor paper by the maker of the paper...

"there are no accidents round here" peter gabriel

Answer to the puzzle will be posted at 5pm

in case you were stumped...you can email me for clues as well.

strange world---alone with the sky

lost my time lost my place in
sky blue
those two blue eyes light your face in
sky blue
i know how to fly, i know how to drown in
sky blue

warm wind blowing over the earth
sky blue
i sing through the land, the land sings through me
sky blue
reaching into the deepest shade of
sky blue

sky blue
so tired of all this traveling
so many miles away from home
i keep moving to be stable
free to wander, free to roam

train pulled out said my goodbyes
sky blue
back on the road alone with the sky
sky blue
theres a presence here no one denies
sky blue

sky blue

sky blue
so tired of all this traveling
so many miles away from home
i keep moving to be stable
free to wander, free to roam

i can hear the same voice calling
crying out, from my heart
and that cry, what a cry
what a cry, its going to be
if i can stop to let it out, oh

www.gardega.com

tonight I will be working on my main website and uploading new art and pulling out the old...

strange world---solstice

A quiet peace before departure.

Strange World----western dream

Some call it heavenly in it's brilliance
Others, mean and ruthful of the Western dream
I love the friends I have gathered together on this thin raft
We have constructed pyramids in honor of our escaping
This is the land where the Pharaoh died


jim morrison

Mural update

I start my Da Vinci mural on Friday and I am looking forward to painting a ceiling...We are trying to set up a time lapse video of entire mural process which will be a first for me....

change

I will not be in brooklyn today, I will be in tomorrow. Today I will paint the Brooklyn bridge and and upload progess..

einstein

Albert Einstein - "Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."

ebay store

I will set up my ebay store again tomorrow...let it go for so long...

DAILY DALI

When Dali was a child in Spain he was deathly afraid of grasshoppers! Anyone aware of his work will notice the use of grasshoppers in many of his paintings. He eventual went on to name himself "The Grasshopper Child." This is my surrealist Dali fact of the day...

Brooklyn

I am going to stop painting my brooklyn bridge and drive to the real thing as I have to do some glass art today! It felt odd not to have the Last supper looming over me in my living room yesterday, I felt lost...

alex

Gardega's Game

Here is a little game for my faithful followers. There are two images (symbols) that form a word or phrase I have made a lot of these and this one is a bit difficult, I should have started with a simpler one but I have faith in my readers! You will know when you have the right word trust me... email me right answer at alexgardega@gmail.com. Maybe I will send a free gift. IT IS NOT NIGHT OWL!

Here is the final photo! I may do some slight touch-ups but at some point you have to put a painting into a coffin or a bed and move on. Gardega gives himself an A for concept, an A for effort and a B- for execution. Gardega would have preferred three months of uninterrupted work on this piece but he is on many projects and he is happy with 32 square foot work of Genius.

The oldest living animal

Scientists recently found a living clam that is estimated to be over four hundred years old. They are certain that there are clams alive that are well over 600 years old , This means there were clams alive when Leonardo drew his first breath that are still alive today.

Great Website

I found a great website that lets you zoom around the original last supper mural (and it is high resolution so you can really get a nice view.)


click here

Tuesday

Woke up at 2:30 Am to go running and then finish my painting before daybreak. I need to start my brooklyn book cover which I have been avoiding...The good thing about running at 3 AM is that the high school track is pretty empty and the stars are pretty bright...

last supper...

I have only to add some detailing tonight and I can call this work finished! I estimate I spent 200 hours on this work. I find the final details and oil glazes to be the most fun, the cherry on the sundae, so to speak. I will work on the table top a bit and add few glazes on the face- shadows etc. ,then I can have my window back and let light in my place again. It has been a journey and as best I can tell will end/ begin with news coverage. I may add some oysters to table tonight as well...

clouds over a mall

I would rather have a root canal drilled than go to a shopping mall. Recently, I had to visit a mall to buy some clothes that don't have paint all over them. As I was leaving the mall I turned to see the these clouds rising majestically over the suburban sprawl. Photography is occasional good for something.

Happy Monday

Heading into Brooklyn to make glass art today. Update when I return....

Growing up (looking for a place to live)

watercolor 10" X 10". click to here to buy.

folded in your fleshy purse
i am floating once again
while the muted sounds are pumping rhythm
all the walls close in on me
pressure's building wave on wave
till the water breaks - and outside i go, oh

one dot, that's on or off, defines what is and what is not, one dot
two dot, a pair of eyes, a voice, a touch, complete surprise, two dot
growing up, growing up,
looking for a place to live
growing up, growing up,
gooking for a place to live
growing up, growing up,
looking for a place to live

my ghost likes to travel so far in the unknown
my ghost likes to travel so deep into your space

three dot, a trinity, a way to map the universe,
three dot
four dot, is what will make a square, a bed to build on, it's all there,
four dot

my ghost likes to travel so far in the unknown
my ghost likes to travel so deep into your space

all the slow clouds pass us by

make the Empire State look high
as you take me in your sea-stained sweetness
it spills, it tingles and it stings
all the pleasure that it brings
till the door has let the outside inside here

well on the floor there's a long wooden table
on the table there's an open book
on the page there's a detailed drawing
and on the drawing is the name i took

my ghost likes to travel so far in the unknown
my ghost likes to travel so deep into your space

growing up, growing up,
looking for a place to live
growing up, growing up,
looking for a place to live
growing up, growing up,
looking for a place to live
growing up, growing up,
looking for a place to live

my ghost likes to travel
my ghost likes to travel
moving inside of your space
my ghost likes to travel
my ghost likes to travel
moving inside of your space
my ghost likes to travel
moving inside
my ghost likes to travel
moving Inside of your space
my ghost likes to travel
moving inside
my ghost likes to travel
moving inside of your space

the breathing stops, i don't know when
in transition once again
such a struggle getting through these changes
and it all seems so absurd
to be flying like a bird
when i do not feel i've really landed here.

Vonnegut Prints

I made this months before Mr. Vonnegut died, I have a weird habit of getting into certain images right before something happens regarding the subject matter. I started painting American flags the year before Sept 11th happened then I threw them away because all I saw everywhere were flags post 911. Anyways, this is an image I like a lot. I gave my brother the original for his birthday an I am sure it is unframed and has macaroni on it. I am selling signed original prints of this in a limited edition of 100. I will link to ebay later...

The Sacred Crab

Here is print of my sacred crab painting. I will sell a limited edition of 50 of these these on Ebay for $25.00 each. I will link later..

sunday update

Today Alex will finish the last supper!!! It was a long and difficult meal to prepare and now the intellectual feast will be done by nightfall! After I finish the painting I will begin the first step on my Brooklyn Book cover which will entail my fifth painting of the glorious Brooklyn Bridge. I am going to load up some high quality, fairly affordable, prints today for sale of some of my choicest pieces..

Mural study for ceiling

Here is my very first sketch for a ceiling I am painting in a clients wine cellar. He has great taste in choosing Da Vinci and also understanding the idea of using Da Vinci sketches as a mural subject as opposed to finished paintings. I personally believe he has chosen the right man for the job as I am fanatical in my devotion to Leonardo! The only way to get to the final product is with a first step and that is what the sketch represents. I begin painting this mural on NOV 3rd. The centerpiece of the mural is the Battle of anghiari that I have posted on here previously.

almost finished

I am almost done with my Moby Dick. This piece will most likely featured on national TV very soon. It is then that I will announce my next project of genius that will gain international attention and turn the art world on its heels with wonder. I only need a day more of details and monday will be ready for varnish.

the green of jealousy

Jealousy is the green hobgoblin of lesser minds. Genius will always encounter great resistance and the battle is always fought uphill. Genius cannot stoop to jealousy nor waste its valuable sacred energy in defense of itself. It is enough just to "know." Enemies and friends alike will indulge in the deadly sin whose complimentary color is the color red. Gardega is not capable of jealousy and wishes well to all... He will now let thy reader know about the COLOR SCALE and complimentary colors.

Lesson one!!! If thou mixes the foul green of jealousy with the red of glorious victory thy children will be grey and shriveled like the skin on the dying man. This is called complimentary colors (colors that fall directly across the color wheel from each other) It is interesting that jealously very rarely involves compliments and the red of victory is the polar opposite of the small-color of said hobgoblin.

saturday

I had a few biz meetings in NYC yesterday, I was thinking about meeting a few clients/ friends after but I was exhausted and took an early train home. Today I will finish my last supper as far as the figures go and tomorrow I will work on final details. I must start a Brooklyn Bridge book cover on Sunday. Today I have my meeting to finalize the beginning of my Da Vinci ceiling mural as well which begins on Nov. 3. I will update images today as well. I am gettingback my original book cover paintings so I will be putting all of them up for sale...I guess there is about thirty of them by now...

Da Vinci Mural

I just got a go ahead on a commission to paint a ceiling of a wine cellar with a Da Vinci mural. I was a bit hesitant to take it on before Miami as I have a lot of glass art to make before I go but I will find a way to get it all done. Whenever I get overwhelmed I put in my michelangelo DVD and see what he accomplished in a given month and realize you can get a lot more done than you think when you really push yourself! I will photograph mural as it unfolds. The centerpiece of the mural will be the "Battle Of Anghiari ." It is a lost mural of Leonardo's that exists only in copies. This copy is by rubens.

last supper

Going to brooklyn today to make glass carvings. I am almost done with this piece. I need to flesh out the last two figures on right and then do five hours of detailing then I can break out the ole varnish and put this one to sleep before she is exposed to the harsh light of public media scrutiny.

Live

I hope you can see the latest addition to the painting in the upper left! While I was doing my nightly homework--watching, sketching and analyzing the the anchors on the news. I realized my painting was missing something--- then a vision scrolled ever so beautifully across the top left of my TV and quickly went away again! It was most important that Gardega break the picture plane into a new paradigm. In turn I was also thinking of what else I could put on the table and then I noticed my oranges down below on window sill---kismet.

Woman with helmet

I have my miami ticket and dates so I am excited to escape the studio for the first time in over a year. I am selling off a lot of work to help fund my trip so I don't have to go chase down a commercial project that will interfere with my fine art. This is a study for a glass piece I will carve next week. Iam selling this for $75.00 if anyone wants it, the original glass piece I make from this will sell for around $5,000.00 but it will have to be framed and illuminated etc. It is about 2 foot by three foot high...you can just email me to secure it as I am trying to do less ebay because I pay thousands in fees to them...It is pencil on white paper (not cream) and is a part of my Ophelia suite.

alexgardega@gmail.com

Miami

I will be in miami for art basel from the 4th to the 11th if anyone in florida wishes to meet up or come to opening email me...alexgardega@gmail.com

the new apsotles update

Here is the latest version of my "media" painting. I don't think I will post anymore pics of it until it is all finished. (I am hoping that will be tonight sometime.) There are always a million things I would like to do differently if I had six months to work on such a large piece but sometimes you have to get things done in time frames and you kneel worship at the alter of deadlines. Sometimes deadlines bring out good things as well. Behind the painting is my main living room window so this painting has blocked my light for a month and has in a sense become my window. Soon this painting will be beamed via media into millions of homes which is one of the purposes I painted it for, I will explain that when the time comes. . Begin with the end in mind. (my favorite saying)

Last Supper

Today I am finishing my last supper painting if I have to work 18 hours to do so. I will load some art for sale as well as I need to fund my trip to miami and I have been too busy to sell anything lately. I was contacted by producer last night so it seems I will still be on the news soon.

New Ophelia

Here is the piece I carved today. I almost don't want to post this because I took such a bad photo of her. She is actually the best piece I have made in glass, ever, I will re-shoot asap.

Necklace Detail---ophelia

Here is the necklace detail of the Ophelia I etched today. Please excuse the horrible snapshot...This necklace is about 4 inches across..

update

Today I will be etching my new Ophelia in Brooklyn. I hope to finish her and have a photograph this evening.

ophelia-

Ophelia is a character from Shakespeare's Hamlet, she is a young noblewoman and Hamlet's sweetheart. When she is rejected by Hamlet she goes mad and eventually winds up a suicide by drowning. Lesser artist's than Gardega have portrayed Ophelia at the apex moment of her drowning after she has "fallen" from a willow tree. Gardega has decided to present her as a straight forward portrait of melancholy and loss and madness as she stares straight out to confront the viewer. I must admit that when I first made her I was in a terrible state over a woman and simply made a portrait of her (my girl) in glass. I named it Ophelia as I did not want to name it after the girl. At the time I was not aware of the story behind Ophelia or even that she was a character of Shakespeare's Hamlet. I also did not know about Ophelia's association with flowers as I etched the flower medallion necklace on her. I have come to believe I don't think I named her Ophelia by accident, I think life is not stranger than we think, it is stranger than we can think.

books

Here is a photo of my bookshelf. Whenever I go into a persons home I secretly try to see what books they have around or on shelves. Books are meant to be read and thoroughly used so most of my books have paint on them and and are pretty dog eared. I never cared much for showy possessions or felt I needed to impress anyone with sports cars etc. I just need a good pick up a, bunch of art supplies and a damn decent selection of books--- and maybe some Heineken. (Most of my beloved books are in storage as I move often.)

air compressor

I thought I would give a glimpse into the glass studio and the equipment it takes to make glass art. This is a serious air compressor that is crucial because without enough air you will have more headaches than I can mention and want to smash your project in frustration. I spent over half my professional life with cheaper compressors that never gave enough air flow (which is probably why I will die young from stress. ) As you can see my glass studio is not a comfy/ cozy place with cappuccino machines and cute secretaries, I guess in a way I like the challenge of trying to make beauty and art in a dirty Brooklyn warehouse.

ophelia in progress

Here is how I layout my glass pieces. What you are looking out is a piece of glass that is 3/8ths thick and 16 x 20 inches. I have covered it with a thick rubber and drawn my design on the rubber material. I then cut it out by hand. I could use a computer at this stage but that is where the line is drawn between art and soulless digital machine. I get annoyed by people who swear by computers because there is no heart in bits ands bytes. I would save myself hours and days of work by going digital but I believe people know the difference subconsciously. Anyways, I pull off the rubber in layers and sandblast the exposed areas (deepest first.) If I screw up or scratch it it all goes in garbage with my time. If you click on image it should get bigger so you can see the flower of life medallion I just drafted.

flower of life

This is one of my favorite pieces of geometric construction. This has been used throughout time by many different cultures who have been drawn to its harmony and timeless perfection. There are many who believe that all the knowledge of mankind can be found in it's geometry. I am carving it tomorrow as Ophelia's necklace. I could never figure out the perfect medallion for her necklace and then this magically appeared to me. I am trying to make ophelia as timeless as possible so I cannot do better than this (or perhaps the yin yang symbol.) The yin yang is much easier to carve so I will carve this one as I prefer to suffer. The flower of life has been found in the following cultures--

• Egypt - The Temple of Osiris in Abydos^{[13][14][15][16][17]} and at Mount Sinai.^[18]
• Hungary - Magyarország - Carphatians. The center of Europe - The heart of our planet.^[19]
• Israel - Masada^[20]
• China - The Forbidden City^[21] and various temples.^[22]
• Japan - Various temples.^[23]
• India^[24] - The Harimandir Sahib (Golden Temple), Hampi, and the temples at Ajanta.^[25]
• Turkey - Various old Roman sites.^[26]
• Spain^[27][28]
• Austria^[29]
• Italy - Italian art from the 13th century (Wolfram 2002, p. 43).^[30]
• North Africa - Morocco^[31]
• Middle East - Lebanon and various Islamic mosques.^[32]
• South America - Peru^[33]
• North America - Mexico^[34]

my email

alexgardega@gmail.com

I sometimes wonder if people can read the email on top of site...

comments

I am always happy when I log in and find a comment from my old assistant Jacqueline who is back at college. It is much better than the anonymous person who makes fun of my grammar!

Ophelia

I managed to layout four Ophelia glass pieces today. (Shown is the original Ophelia that hangs at my parents house.) I am making a run of 16 x 20 glass pieces that I call the Ophelia Suite. I am only going to alter small things on each piece such as the necklace. They will be like prints except carved in glass and each one executed by hand. I used to sell these for around $3,600.00 in galleries but now I am going to ask for $5,000.00. I think I will make a maximum of 25 Ophelia's then sell the original drawing. Glass is a timeless medium so I like to try to achieve a timeless image. I will also keep selling archival prints of the piece (not glass) as well. They are $100.00 now...

platonic solids

these are wooden versions of the Platonic Solids. I always loved to read plato and still read "the cave" when I am in the right mood. Ithink the trick with high school is to hate it so much that you hide in your own learning. High school makes every effort to take away a man's interest in books or learning. I will feed more info on these later as I am tired tonight. you can google platonic solids if you wish! Da Vinci did many nice drawings of these solids as well...I will elaborate soon.

tarot cards.

I have rituals I have to do before I paint otherwise I cannot create (my friend laughs at these rituals and says that I need therapy.) I cannot paint until I first clean up my studio. By cleaning I mean I have to clean off both my counter and sink by scrubbing them thoroughly with ammonia---If I don't have ammonia I cant paint, Lysol doesn't count. (I have driven at three am to 7-11 to buy ammonia because I needed to start working for a deadline.) I cannot paint in shorts but only in jeans or green camo pants. I can't paint if I have a logo on my shirt as it distracts me (only heines white v-necks) . In addition I also have to have incense burning as I paint as it helps me focus on my work.

I went to buy more incense today and there was a tarot card reader at the store. I decided out of curiosity to have my cards read...I did it once before in my life and got scared as the devil card came up first! I sat down and shuffled and the first card that came up was Death! The Death card actually has to do with transformation and leaving an old world behind. I dont wish to bore you with details but I found the reading very accurate. I study a lot of quantum physics so my mind has learned to accept a lot of things about reality that cannot rationally be explained. At the same time I am afraid of anything occult because I like to keep my karma and my sink clean.

the chicken and the egg

I grew up on a farm in Texas and a farm has a way of teaching you at an early age about life and death. I vividly remember seeing a neighbors pig that was shot, hung from a chain and slaughtered. In addition I remember going on a solo journey to the back of the farm to see a chicken that had been killed . I guess a farm gives you a kind of Darwinian view on life (and death) I like animals a lot but would sooner become a human rights worker than an animal rights worker. Ever since childhood I have always held an artistic fascination with eggs and chickens . I have since had chickens at various times in my life and find exotic chickens to be amazing creatures. As I child I would gather the eggs from the chickens and found it magical that you could go to the chicken in the morning and find an egg or many eggs. In Renaissance art the egg symbolized resurrection. I am not sure about the symbolic meaning of the chicken.

ophelia study

Here is a study for my glass piece known as Ophelia. I am re-carving her this week for a miami art gallery. This week I will also finish The Media Apostles (last supper), the meal has grown a bit cold so I will warm up the meal in the microwave of genius which is a useless appliance without hard work, courage, and constant dedication to the craft of making art. Now that someone has been commenting about my grammar and punctuation I care less about it and find myself even more focused on making art that will stand the test of time and not be lost among the slop of modernism or empty but well punctuated grammar or purposeless prose. -- They have discovered dali's DNA on hospital feeding tubes so I am very happy about that odd fact!

web designer

Alex needs a web designer in new york area! anyone interested please contact me at alexgardega@gmail.com. I need someone to update a site, not build a new one so it should be fairly painless.

b. franklin stamp

Here is my ben franklin stamp...you must remember it is only 8 inches high, so there are some things I would do differently if I could have made it even 16 inches high. Adding detail in glass is an inverse square law in that when you make something smaller you lose a proportional amount of detail. I am tempted to make a large one of these for my own collection.

artist of the day---ralph steadman

In the elite art world there is a bit of a stigma against an artist who is known for their illustrative work. By this I mean work for hire as in book cover art and other commercial work. One of my favorite artists on any level (fine or illustrative) is the british artist Ralph Steadman. Ralph is most famous for the"gonzo" illustrations he did for hunter s thompson's fear and loathing book. He is a groundbreaking and influential genius and a real interesting person to boot. ( I met him twice in NYC.) You can view his website at this link...

click here

wine glasses

you will be impressed

my early works

I drew this at age seven. Needless to say, my Texas elementary teachers did not understand me or my art. They could not identify the faint wiff of genius that emanated from the ever-flowing pencil of gardega.

Do as much as possible, and talk of yourself as little as possible.
Sallust

I guess I have failed! (at least on one front)

coney Island

I painted this for a book cover years ago. It is a fall scene of Coney Island. I have been to Coney Island twice and it is a great place to visit. Finding this painting makes me want to return. If anyone wants to buy this I am selling it for $150.00. Painting in a circle was required by the company but I really enjoyed working in a circle as I often run in circles.

peter gabriel.

I paint to peter gabriel's music 90 % of the time and I always have since I first found his music in 1985. It doesn't take you out of the space of your work but instead helps me to focus on my work and supplies much needed inspiration when it gets rough at the old easel. I swear I would be a lesser artist if not for his music---maybe I would drive a milk truck.

anyone who could scribble out the following words cant be all bad...

I woke up and the world outside was dark
All so quiet before the dawn
Opened up the door and walked outside
The ground was cold

I walked until I couldnt walk anymore
To a place Id never been
There was something stirring in the air
In front of me, I could see

More than this
More than this
So much more than this
There is something else there
When all that you had has all gone
And more than this
I stand
Feeling so connected
And Im all there
Right next to you

It started when I saw the ship go down
I saw them struggle in the sea
And suddenly the picture disappears
In front of me

Now were busy making all our busy plans
On foundations built to last
But nothing fades as fast as the future
And nothing clings like the past, until we can see

More than this
More than this
So much more than this
There is something out there
More than this
Its coming through
And more than this
I stand alone and so connected
And Im all there
Right next to you

Oh then its alright
When with every day another bit falls away
Oh but its still alright, alright, alright
And like words together we can make some sense

Much more than this
Way beyond imagination
Much more than this
Beyond the stars
With my head so full
So full of fractured pictures
And Im all there
Right next to you
So much more than this
There is something else there
When all that you had has all gone
And more than this
Im alone
Feeling so connected
And Im all there right next to you

More than this
More than this
More than this

my friend's book

A long time friend of mine by the name of Mark Gehrke wrote a great book about kayaking Long Island harbors. I bought the book from my local kayak shop and keep it in my kayak with me. It is a great read and offers a zen approach to paddling. (A great escape and guide book as well.) The more you read it your realize it transcends a mere paddling guide and offers a lot of spiritual incite into the psyche and one man's attempt to arc weld his soul seamlessly with nature. I will post a link to website soon as well. If anyone wants the book you can get it at many kayak shops on long island or email me and I will get you more exact info. As we grow older we increasingly spin in our own orbits so it is nice to touch base with old friends.

deadline

I made my deadline and the client loved the pieces. I will upload photos today. I really care about my clients opinion of the work and I am really happy when they seem to like or get the art I gave them. I am not handing off wallpaper but rather something I take very personally. I learned a lot from this stamp job, the main thing I learned is that I have been making art for so long that it is impossible to make exact copies of anything, they always become a gardega. My client made a note that he really liked that I put my own twist on the stamps to some degree, It was not intentional but rather unconscious action. I added a very slight surrealism to each piece that kind of just crept out of me. The fact that my client "got that" made up for three days of no sleep. On the drive home I enjoyed long island traffic for three hours but I was too tired to stress about it. I will post pictures today. I cant believe I survived that week. It is six AM on saturday and time to get back to my last supper painting.

work space

This is my desk after two days of no sleep. I finished the layout on final piece at 8 Am this morning. I will now drive into brooklyn to carve the final three pieces by five pm. My client saw my photos and is very pleased. I am planning a trip on Saturday to Met to see Rembrandt show so I can decompress. Anyone want to get three or thirty drinks after?

tracing

the first email I get can have this tracing if you wish..I aways like to see who is reading my gibberish. You can tell your friends that the glass piece I drew this for is proudly displayed in the Pennsylvania philatelic society...philatelic is code word for stamp collectors... I am tired and going out for a drink before I start my second all nighter.

sketches

I f anyone wants my original (tracings) of my stamp designs just email me and send me a sase. I usually throw away my tracings but these are very cool and I wont charge for them...NO SASE-- NO TRACINGS..I will post them up on saturday..

alexgardega@gmail.com

Avant Gallery

I will have some glass pieces for sale at the opening of Avant Gallery in miami beach in the first week of dec. I will be down there for the entire week, so any florida collectors can join me for drinks and I can get you on the list. Miami galleries have their own special styles so I think my classical surrealism and oil paintings will stay in my New York galleries. I will be carving some new glass pieces for the opening and look forward to my first break away from NY in a long time. I am sure it will be a truly surreal miami affair. I am looking forward to art basel as well.

car window

Here is a snapshot out of my car window near my brooklyn studio. In my life I have had so many studios in so many areas but many were in gritty urban areas and in warehouses etc. I think a feel for the streets and the urban side of life really seeps into your soul and eventually into your art. My art is not urbane in nature but you get a feel for people from spending time in such places and it affects you. I have spent much time on the streets of brooklyn and I have a lot of affinity for the place. Now back to art.

brooklyn woman

I don't think it is fair to over- manipulate your photos after you take them. I like my photos like the street, raw and real. In my fine art I am drawn to the classical but in photos I like raw humanity. I guess if someone comments that it is blurry then the point is missed.

brooklyn folks

I like to take a break from art sometimes and grab my trusty digital camera and point it around. I really get a kick out of the characters I see in brooklyn. I took this in color and changed it to black and white..I liked the color of the cotton candy but I decided to change it to black and white and I am not sure why...I usually get loopy after about 15 hours of work so I need to goof around and upload some snapshots.

to annie nomus

Being literate will not do anyone any good if what you write does not have soul to it...I would rather read illiterate scribblings on a brooklyn bathroom wall (as I did today) than well crafted and grammatically correct prose that has no life behind it . Grammar can be taught, soul cannot. It is the message that matters in the end. Young artists and inexperienced artists often hide in technique because they haven't figured out their own artistic soul. Technique without life is a tree that blocks the view of a greater forest. You should start your own blog and show people that you are good at technical things like grammar! Dali mixed three languages into a jumbled mess and I wouldn't mind reading his daily dribble. I am glad you find my work worthy of your daily comments, thanks.

twenty four cent stamp...

This project has helped me realize how much I like old American design and Americana, Alex will start using (stealing) inspiration from Americana for his next works...

more soon

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eagle stamp

Here is another stamp--these are very small--- they all fall on a piece of glass that is ten by ten inches so the images are around eight inches or so...detail is really tough to deal with at that size so you do all you can to make it work.

update on stamps

grammar

I am aware my that grammar and punctuation is often weak as I give it the least amount of thought.. . I often find that blogs/sites that read with all the excitement of cereal ingredients are well punctuated and have good grammar. Good punctuation and boring content is like toast without butter-- dry and crusty. back to work.

seven AM

I have etched three pieces and have laid out three more overnight that I will etch today...I think I may have saved myself by working all night in order to make friday's deadline...If I have equipment issues that will be another matter.

5 AM

Here is my desk and the glass carving layouts that I am working on..the complexity is beyond anything I have ever dealt with. It is causing my stomach to churn.

stamps

I am buried in glass stamps and will emerge soon. Up at two AM and then I drive to Brooklyn each day. I pray the god's of equipment will not fail me as my deadline is 5pm friday...This is my hardest deadline in 15 years without even having to really look back and think about it....I may not even be able to photograph the pieces..will try my best to do so.

artist of the day

I always will believe that charles schulz, the creator of the peanuts comic is one of the great geniuses of our time. Peanuts was / is a very complex strip that has so many levels to it. It is so popular because there is something to it you can never quite figure out but you know it really addresses and touches on the human condition. I think charles schulz is as an important artistic figure as warhol and more important than most of the abstract expressionists whose paintings are now mostly relegated to closets in museums.I will never accept that peanuts was anything but high art and that it's creator was an artist who deserves to have a piece in the Louvre. (he does have a piece in the Louvre FYI)

methodology

Michelangelo always started his projects by working on the easiest aspects first and slowly building up to the more difficult. I do the same thing but only out of laziness and avoidance of the more difficult parts of any art commission.

stamp 2

Here is another stamp I converted to glass. I love this design. The original stamp was very roughly rendered so that is why my image is not a precise and perfect image but a piece that is close to original stamp.