good evening

I worked on a second mural today and I shipped a piece of glass art to Miami. Painting on a wall is like a walk in the park compared to painting a ceiling mural. I will load up new stuff soon.

alex

Gaudi's Cube

The mind of gardega was never comfortable in the square cubicle of corporate life. I tried as a youth but my brain would sabotage me back to the street with my paintbrushes. I decided the problem was that my brain needs to be surrounded by the soft and smooth and not hard edged right- angle corners of the grid. I think if they made cubicles in organic- art nouveau inspired shapes I would sit in them without panic attacks. I respect people who can do it and there is art in everything including banking and real estate----But there is no art in Kmart.

premontion of civil war

I bought this picture/poster from the Philadelphia Museum when I went to see the Dali retrospective there. It was a life changing show and I just got my picture framed so I am most happy. I will try to give a discussion on video about this masterwork soon. The blues in it are amazing in person...

annie nomous

Dear annie,

please give me a link yo your blog so that I will be able to give you some true Dalinian feedback on your intellectual genius or inhehrent lack thereof! I am sure it is a ground breaking intellectual stew of the highest order that rises above the average commercial rif raf that litter the information super-highway. I am sure there is much risk taking and putting of ones self into your work and that it not some bland and souless commercial tripe. now back to the gardega show...

friday

I was able to pick up all my original yellow page cover paintings yesterday. There were some missing but I got back most of them. I will put up for sale this weekend. Today I start a new mural and somehow I have to find a way to finish one more glass piece before I leave for miami. I am really down to the wire. I will try to put up a bunch of work for sale before I head south.

art with alex--- horseshoe crab video

here is a link to me discussing my favorite creature..there is some audio drop off in the end----I will try to fix.


click here

In Japan, the horseshoe crab (Kabutogani) has long been legendary. In ages past brave warriors who honorably sacrificed their lives in battle were said to be reborn as horseshoe crabs, their shells samurai helmets, eternally crossing the bottom of the sea. On brush-painted rice paper screens, through calligraphic versions of haiku, their attributes were succinctly sung. Yet here, where the Delaware Bay and its 140 miles of uninterrupted beaches remain the horseshoe crab's central habitat and breeding grounds, Limulus polyphemus, the species that lives in Atlantic coastal waters, rarely appears in literature or art.

for your consideration

Velásquez

Goya

Picasso

Dali

Gardega!!

gardega

VIVA GARDEGA!

photo credit

eggs photographed by chris appoldt

greenish blue?

stumped.

video journal november 29th

here is a video update for today.

click here

schedule

I have to make 0ne more glass piece today and ship it tomorrow (last minute) to Miami...I have to paint another mural before I leave on Dec. fourth and that will require me to work Friday, Saturday and Sunday and Monday. Today I will etch a new glass woman and then I have to visit the yellow pages to talk about painting the Statue of liberty for the NYC cover. I have a few watercolors to upload to ebay tonight.

bowery ballroom

On dec 20th I will have a piece of surrealist animation displayed behind the band "the knockout drops" at the bowery ballroom. The animation was already featured in their off-broadway show that ran for an extended run at the Paradise theater in NYC. They are a great band and we recorded some voice work for the new animation last night. I will put a link to the animation up when it is done... Anyone who wants to go that night please email me!

more eggs of genius!

eggs of genius

A Fabergé egg just sold for 18.5 million. A Gardega "Hannity Egg" is for sale on ebay for considerably less! Eggs were symbolic of the resurrection in the Renaissance--- The Fabergé has a 24k golden yolk, the Gardega egg has the golden yolk of innovative genius. The gardega egg was featured in Page Six ,the Fabergé, NYET!


ebay link!

ebay store

art was shipped out this morning to all bidders who won artwork.

good morning america

I woke up at 5am today as I have to get a lot done. I have to go back to the mural job to talk about new work and later I have to layout a new glass piece for miami show. Thanks to the winning bidders on my ebay store--- I will ship those pieces today as well. I will post more of my mural studies later and some new video as well.

quote of the day

my friend Rebecca sent me this wisdom today. I sometimes worry that I have lost the plot but I like the plot I have found in its place...

Eccentricity is not, as dull people would have us
believe, a form of madness. It is often a kind of
innocent pride, and the man of genius and the
aristocrat are frequently regarded as eccentrics
because genius and aristocrat are entirely unafraid of
and uninfluenced by the opinions and vagaries of the
crowd.
- Edith Sitwell (1887 - 1964)

last supper photograph

my brother took this photo for me recently.

comments

I made it easy to leave comments on right side of page. I always appreciate feedback as it helps me to keep on keeping on. please leave your home state with comment.

big brother

ebay store auction

there is still one hour to bid on this watercolor in my ebay store ( link is below my photo to the right...)

art with alex

Here I give a small video discourse on one of my older works I painted in 1999. "the sad-eyed priest of the lowlands."


click here to view

ophelia video

Here is a video of my latest glass piece from my Ophelia Suite. This piece is going to be one of two Ophelia glass pieces in my miami show.


click here for video:

happy tuesday

I may be in brooklyn later today. This morning I will be in the UPS store shipping art to miami. I am very happy with the prospect of using video to show the process of art and I am getting better at understanding the techy process of the whole thing. Soon I may become a modern artiste and spend my time videotaping buttered toast for four hours as it is easier than actually painting or drawing.

mural

finally got a professional shot done of mural.

alex


photo by nanci nigro

live painting--family and the fishing net

Here is a video of me painting a test painting to check the video set up etc. The painting is not my best but it works.... I had a guest on the way over and I was painting with the intention of this merely being a practice run. It will take some getting used to have the camera eye watching me paint. (You think we would be used to big brother at this point...)

memories crash on tireless waves....

music by peter gabriel

watch here!

new photos

FINALLY, SOME GOOD PHOTOS!

click here

for ebay store click link below.


ebay store:

you tube video

I uploaded a video sweep of the mural I painted on the ceiling of a wine cellar. It is pretty low res and I will redo it soon but I am learning, at least you can see the scale etc...

click here

happy monday

I woke up this morning and I looked up and my ceiling was all white and I had a split second of panic thinking I wasn't finished with my mural yet, It was a strange fear. I bought a video camera and have been practicing filming the process of making art. I am learning to edit the videos as well so I will put some online soon after I am comfortable with the technology. I will be in brooklyn today making glass art for miami in a last minute effort to get more work down there in time for show. I have picked up more mural work that will not require ceiling work. I am really excited about the possibility of filming some technique and art process and should have some videos up by friday. I was painting watercolors yesterday to this peter gabriel song and filming the process. I am not happy with the results yet but I will get the hang of it all soon.


"The Family And The Fishing Net"

Suffocated by mirrors, stained by dreams
Her honey belly pulls the seams
Curves are still upon the hinge
Pale zeros tinge the tiger skin

Moist as grass, ripe and heavy as the night
The sponge is full, well out of sight
All around the conversations
Icing on the warm flesh cake

Light creeps through her secret tunnels
Sucked into the open spaces
Burning out in sudden flashes
Draining blood from well-fed faces

Desires form in subtle whispers
Flex the muscles in denial
Up and down its pristine cage
So the music, so the trial

Vows of sacrifice, headless chickens
Dance in circles, they the blessed
Man and wife, undressed by all
Their grafted trunks in heat possessed

Even as the soft skins tingle
They mingle with the homeless mother
Who loves the day but lives another
That once was hers

The worried father, long lost lover
Brushes ashes with his broom
Rehearses jokes to fly and hover
Bursting over the bride and groom

And the talk goes on

Memories crash on tireless waves
The lifeguards whom the winter saves

Silence falls the guillotine
All the doors are shut
Nervous hands grip tight the knife
In the darkness, till the cake is cut
Passed around, in little pieces
The body and the flesh
The family and the fishing-net
And another in the mesh

The body and the flesh

ebay store

just a reminder that my ebay store is open again I will add more work later today. There is a link to it below my photo.

happy sunday

I will try to get about 8 hrs with the sketchbook today. I will post work as I go.

alex

criticism

"criticism just means you are doing something right..."

I read this in wine spectator magazine today.

"IN VINO VERITAS!"

today

today my mind had been occupied with thoughts of a Dali drawing in which he drew one of his infamous melting clocks actually floating (balloon like),inflated with the hot air of envy..I think the drawing was titled inflata...I am not sure why this has been on my mind all day as I went from an oil change to buying luggage to shipping artwork. inflata, inflata, inflata...I actually know why I am preoccupied with this image but I cannot explain it just yet as the ideas of gardega are often swiped away like a salt shaker from a stranger's table. Soon I will unveil "the inflata."

Here is a quick snap I took from y own video camera after I finished the mural yesterday. On the top is the "endcap" that frames the mural with the latin Phrase "in vino veritas" (in wine is truth) on both ends and then I incorporated Da Vinci sketches from his infamous sketchbooks as well..

mural is done.

I finished my mural today after about 12 hours of painting. It took me almost two weeks to get my neck adjusted to painting the ceiling and towards the end I felt pretty comfortable "painting up." I will be working with the home owner on more projects as he is a very nice person and and his creative input was actually beneficial as not always the case on mural projects. I feel pretty worn out but I am satisfied with the work. No one sent me screen grabs today but I bought a video camera to take my own visuals.

ebay store

I have put some new works for sale in my ebay store. (link is below my photo) Today I will finish the ceiling mural and I am looking forward to move on to new projects. The homeowner may have more mural work for me in a different room but I have to finish some glass art for miami first.

Artist of the day---daumier

One of the great draftsmen of all time was the artist Honore Daumier! He was a french artist who spent his entire life making lithographs for periodicals of the day for very little money. His work was pretty scathing towards the bourgeoisie and he took the corner of the "little guy" and the peasant. The problem was he was relegated to being an "illustrator" or a mere "caricature artist" in the mind of his contemporary art critics. He was hugely influential and picasso stole a lot of his look from him as did many other "fine artists." He did not begin to get recognition until the last year of his over- worked life when he was already blind and ill. He had a way with line that no other artist has had before or after (not even lautrec!) Gardega is a huge fan of him and his work and his battle. Another great artist, the writer Baudelaire summed him up best...


(One of the most important men, I will not say only of caricature, but further of modern art.)

viva Daumier!

mural study (ceiling)

Here is a drawing I made today in preparation for tomorrow. I am adding some final touches to the mural that include Da Vinci sketches from his notebooks on the very ends of the ceiling to frame the main painting. This has always been one of my favorite sketches of Leonardo's. I realized that he added one strand of hair that falls over her right eye. (You learn something everyday.) The original Leonardo was drawn in silverpoint (I will explain that process later.) I drew this with a paintbrush on watercolor paper. It is for sale in my ebay store (the link is below my photo)

artificial heart

I found out a strange fact today. The creator of the artificial heart was not actually the man name Jarvick you hear about. It was first patented by paul winchell, the man who voiced Tigger from walt disney's winnie the pooh. He donated his patent for free to a university. Jarvicks heart was based on this patent...This is a true story. He also invented the disposable razor but didnt think that idea worth patenting.

leaf study---watercolor

I went for a walk through the woods today and found this leaf and decided to paint it. I decided today is a good to to paint and a leaf was a good warm up exercise for the eye. This is for sale on my ebay store (below my photo.)

quote of the day

Music in the soul can be heard by the universe.
Lao Tzu

my ebay store

I have started a new ebay store...art by gardega....the link is directly below my picture. I will load up new work soon.

Happy Thanksgiving

Enjoy your family gatherings and be sure to thank the great artist of the universe and inventor of the turkey for your blessings.

For Susy

I will be in Miami Dec. 4th until the 9th. I will have an opening at Avant gallery o n the 5th. I will post the address and date by friday...Please be patient I am very busy and have no time to search my records for address before then.

wine cellar

Here is a view into my home of the last two weeks. Towards the end of two weeks I pretty much gave up on shaving or combing of the hair. I basically became a creature of the cellar with a bad neck, covered in oil paint and muttering about Da Vinci...

photo of mural

Here is a photo from an Iphone by Martin. Martin is a multi- talented person who did all the wood working in the wine cellar and does tech work and photography as well. (He also tells a good story that kept me going often when I was running out of steam on the ceiling.) He is the man with the devious grin and the beard if you watched the mural cam at all.... I think the Iphone did a nice job considering its not a digicam for the most part. Later in the day a photographer took photos but she has not emailed them yet. I will post those when they arrive... I decided to work on Friday as well as we made some last minute changes...

Almost done...

No one sent me screengrab photos from the mural cam! So I cannot post an update. Someone asked me for the address of Avant Gallery in miami. I will double check and post that info. tomorrow or friday. The mural only needs another 8 hours of love and I can return my neck to the upright postion. I will finish tomorrow (unless I obsess and decide to paint friday as well. (My assistant would tell you probable answer to whether or not I work friday). I am not even home but decided to log in from a library computer. That is some dedication to my three fans who actually read this dribble. Actually my readership of dribble has grown a lot so I get to look at stupid little flags all over america and the world and see where you are loggin in from. I have a new zealand fan which makes me happy and I am waiting for some hobbit mail soon. For dinner I had red wine and peanut butter. I am really happy to put the mural to rest and move on to the next project but painting Leonardo for two weeks and getting paid well for it is something I consider a privelege. I wil load my mural studies and sketches on friday...


take care...

color of the day

my ex girlfriend requested her favorite color as the color of the day so now I will honor her and talk about PRUSSIAN BLUE! Prussian blue was discovered by accident in the 1700's in berlin by a painter. The artist was trying to create a red lake color but something was contaminated and he created PB. Prussian blue is very strong--- it is like not unlike the drunk at the dinner party whose presence you cannot ignore! It leans towards black and dark purple and is (unlike the drunk) a very stable dinner guest. There are some very unusual properties associated with PB that scientists are very curious about that I wont go into here. (This text is not prussian blue) I personally never invite prussian blue to my dinner parties, I prefer the majesty of of ultramarine blue.

miami

my glass pieces have arrived safely in miami for my show down there. I always fret when shipping glass so I over do it with the bubble wrap etc. The gallery owner was laughing at my extreme packing job. I think it took him two days to unwrap...

mural monday

I spent a nice evening with Bacchus in NYC last night, got home at 5 and got up at 8 to paint on mural. I didn't feel great today and didn't have a full day of painting in me but I did some of my best work on faces and details. I am very happy (finally) with the mural and I am on schedule so I am not stressed. I will take a professional photo when I am all done and also will have the time lapse video to show as well. I need to sleep for a few hours and then will hit the easel tonight. thank you mary for the video screengrab...

mural update

I will be on the mural cam for the next three days. If you want to see the mural progress on camera scroll down and you will find it. I am almost done and will be finished completely by/ on Wednesday.

sunday's quote

Robert Frost - "Freedom lies in being bold."

secret paint ingredient

Today, I found out a great, secret paint ingredient that helps murals flow magically across ceilings...

Bengay

mural update

Brigette from Bucks County, Pa. sent me this screen grab today from the mural. ...I flipped it because technically the camera shows the mural "upside down". Above is my mural in progress and below is my reference art--- Leonardo's "Battle of Anghiari" I am adding color as per request of the homeowner and the original Leonardo (destroyed in the 16th century) was painted with color as well...This is my greatest technical challenge to date because of the difficulty involved with painting on a ceiling...I will be done on wed. and I am on schedule...I thin k tonight I will stay in and watercolor all night long.

mural update

I will be on the mural cam again today, I think around 11 AM I will start painting.

http://68.194.9.52:99/main_activex.cgi

if you are firewalled you can try variations of the toggle buttons on entry page.

If you log on please log out when you are done as opposed to leaving on all day.

thanks


I woke up at three AM with a title for a painting ringing in my head-- "dreams without shadows" was the title and I couldn't get back to sleep. I was thinking all night what that painting would look like. I think it would be about flight , shadows are much less apparent when you leave the earth in any form be it death, dream, or flight.

reston virginia

I would like to thank whomever is from Reston Virginia for being such a faithful follower of my artistic dribbles.

mural photo

Here is another mural photo/ video grab from the lovely Mary DeSilva from WFAS in Westchester. She is a great DJ and really nice person so if you live up there tune into 103.9!

mural photos

Here is a photo/ screen grab from the mural cam (thanks Brigitte!) I put the blue tape up in the morning to force myself to only work on one side of the mural as I tend to work around the entire picture to keep from growing bored. I decided I needed to focus and get one side done so I could feel like I was on schedule for deadline. My neck and back are really feeling the two weeks but I am finally feeling like it is really coming together.

update

I will be working on the Da Vinci mural again today. I will be finished by Tuesday (at latest, Wednesday. ) If anyone can email me a screen shot from the "mural cam" today I would be most thankful...

brooklyn

today I will be in brooklyn making a glass sculpture, back on mural tomorrow. Ill try to photograph the glass when done

quote of the day

"Once you say you're going to settle for second, that's what happens to you in life."

schedule

I will be on the mural cam again today at noon. I will be in Brooklyn studio tomorrow.

mural update

Here is my daily ceiling mural progress shot. I am really feeling the effects of painting a ceiling on my back and neck but I am getting closer to the end game. The mural is a copy of Da Vinci's Battle of Anghiari. It is more difficult than I had expected to paint such a detailed picture on a ceiling but I am gaining some ground in the battle. The twin angels of color and drawing are guiding me through into the light of day. In the very end I will have a time lapse video to show the entire two week progress.

Mural Cam

Back on mural Cam around ten today. Still pushing to finish by Friday but I will allow another two days or so of detailing (if needed.) If you are not blocked by a firewall you can view here.



you can see some images here if you are blocked by a firewall.

www.fonesys.com/leonardo ( I am not sure what files these are I am an artist not a techie)


enjoy your day...

mural study---horse drawing

Here is one of the studies for the mural I am painting. The mural is a copy of the Battle of Anghiari by Leonardo. I have been painting for a week and will be done by Friday (if it all goes well.)


click here to buy.

mural Nov 12th.

Here is the latest update of my ceiling mural. It is a "snapshot" from the video cam so it is not quite the quality of a photograph. Today I added my first color to the mural and started to visually refine it to where it really looks like something. I think the homeowner was getting a bit nervous because I paint in glazes in oil paint and therefore it a very slow process to get to the point where it starts to really shine and read as a painting. Even I get impatient because I want to show what I can do with paint but I have to restrain myself and get the drawing and tones perfected in monochrome first.


(thanks to Rebecca K. for for the screenshot)

mural cam

I will be back on my mural today. If you wish to watch the progress you can try the link after 9 AM. Some firewalls are preventing access so you can try toggling some of the buttons in the entry page and see if that works. (tech speak)


mural cam

quote of the day

Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth. John F. Kennedy.

Sea Urchin News

Anyone who knows anything about Dali knows that he had a deep rooted fascination with many things he considered to contain certain "magical" properties. He had a preoccupation with the sea urchin and included it in much of his work. I have a book in which dali puts a hole in the urchin shell and uses it as a lens to look through. They have recently studied the genome of the sea urchin and have made amazing discoveries about it that were previously unknown. If you want to read the article I will put the link here!


here is a snippet of article:

"The sea urchin is surprisingly similar to humans," said George Weinstock of Baylor College of Medicine and co-director of the sea urchin-sequencing project. "Sea urchins don't look any more like humans than fruit flies, but about 70 percent of sea urchin genes have a human counterpart, whereas only about 40 percent of fruit fly genes do."

In a special report detailed in the Nov. 9 issue of the journal Science, research teams describe the genome of the purple sea urchin, revealing not only human-urchin similarities but also features such as the urchin's immune system, which far surpasses that of humans.

Adirondack Watercolor

I decided to repaint one of my Adirondack Watercolors for a collector and friend who left her work in a cab in NYC. She was terribly upset so I replaced her work for free but never repainted this until today. It is strange to paint a landscape without looking at a landscape. (I was looking at my copy of the original.)

good news

amidst the bad news that is fed to us daily I stumbled upon this news article today that made me very happy. One of my favorite places in the world is New Orleans and when I go there I try to stay in the garden district just outside the French Quarter. I was going to go there not too long ago and found out that the street cars were not running since Katrina. I found out today that the street cars are back up and running and this is Good News for the mind of Alex and the soul of America!

Ten Dollar Owl

I have always had a good eye for picking out shapes or patterns or finding hidden things in pictures etc. On more than one occasion I have hidden faces of my ex girlfriends or their names in my book covers. (Once I hid my girlfriends name in a wave in the sea on a beer label.) I am sure if I was an engraver for the national treasury I would do the same! I am not saying what I see on the ten dollar bill is definitely "there" I would like you to decide this for yourself. I personally think it is a pretty strong image of an Owl in the hair of Hamilton. The owl does have significant cult associations etc. but I will not go into that I am just curious if you think it is a mistake or a real image. Take out a ten dollar bill and look closely to the hair on the right side of Hamilton's head.

portrait of Lexi

Here is a glass portrait I made many years ago of an ex- girlfriend. I am remaking this piece into a series to go with my Ophelia suite. I will probably have one of these in my Miami show in Dec.

adirondack watercolors

I found this on my computer today. Someone bought this in May and lost it in a cab in NYC. I may repaint a new version and gift it to her as I gave her other replacement art on me (but no Adirondack studies were included.) I have some more original Adirondack watercolors I will upload today as well.

Davinci Geometry

I am so sick of all this stuff about the secrets of the last supper etc.. The only secret behind his painting is his geometry which is clever but I figured it out and was asked to remove by a patent attorney who wished to form a partnership but I am going to re-post it and explain the truth behind that painting.

sacred crab

bill of artistic rights

Today I found a copy of the Bill of Rights I had ordered off of ebay in my mailbox! I recommend all Americans own this document and hang it next to your original Gardega.

age four

I found this tonight. I drew this at age four and I am not sure why. I really liked horror movies as a kid so that may explain why I drew Boris Karloff. I showed this to my mom and she had no idea who he was so I remember getting mad...

upcoming schedule

I will be on my ceiling mural until November 16th. After that I may be doing a second mural for the wife of my current patron until November 23. Upon completion of murals I have three glass sculptures to make for my opening in Miami on Dec 5th. I will be attending art Basel in South Beach until the 11th and then return to New York to start my St. Sebastian painting and one glass sculpture for CFM gallery (NYC) opening in February. After that I will be probably be moving to Brooklyn in march to escape the white picket fences of the suburban dream.

humorous thought I had today...

you put the art in kmart.

ceiling mural

Here is a video snap of me working on ceiling. It is hard to see much detail but I will take a good picture when finished. The video will be time lapse on youtube. I am learning the difficulty of ceiling murals that have high detail levels. I am getting better as I go along at controlling the brush on an extended arm as opposed resting the hand on the surface as I normally do...thanks for pic, Mary!

The ceiling is 5 foot by 16 foot and is in a wine cellar.

off to the mural

I am off to get back to work on my ceiling
mural and will be on the "mural cam" at noon...

an idea

sometimes you make good art and sometimes bad art...I think one must consider the following criteria when making a piece! One cannot always meet all criteria, sometimes it is enough to meet one of the criteria!


AMBITION! Was your work heroic and back breaking in its Napoleonic proportions? If so, one may overlook the spot of wine that stains the table cloth of perfect rendering!


GENIUS! Did the angels of divine inspiration guide your brush into the light of artistic salvation?

PATIENCE! Did you render a perfect pear amidst rapine and pillage?

FEAR! Did you spit in the face of fear and fight boldly the demons of doubt?

CONCEPT! Did you coax from your muse the flame of wisdom?

these are just some ideas to chew on as you paint alone in your studio...

Nothing Exists

Yamaoka Tesshu, as a young student of Zen, visited one master after another. He called upon Dokuon of Shokoku.

Desiring to show his attainment, he said: "The mind, Buddha, and sentient beings, after all, do not exist. The true nature of phenomena is emptiness. There is no relaization, no delusion, no sage, no mediocrity. There is no giving and nothing to be received."

Dokuon, who was smoking quietly, said nothing. Suddenly he whacked Yamaoka with his bamboo pipe. This made the youth quite angry.

"If nothing exists," inquired Dokuon, "where did this anger come from?"

the owl and the pussycat

I drew this in third grade as an illustration to my favorite childhood story, the owl and the pussycat. Even as a child I had a fascination with the baroque and with borders and ornament. I am convinced that ornament and geometry have some deep rooted Jungian aspects to them as I have a deep- rooted compulsive need to ad ornament and borders to much of my work (even today.) I think that geometry is a higher language because three dimensional space can be interpreted in two dimensional space. Three Dimensional "cubeland" can be understood in Two D "flatland." Many crop circles are actually two D representations of three dimensional objects. Perhaps if there was a higher intelligence trying to speak to humans they would use geometry and sacred geometry as well. Zen koans are made to awaken people to a higher plane of reality, they are almost representations of three dimensional thought that are made to be understood from a two dimensional or lower plane of reality. Parables work much the same way. The expression "pearls before swine" (I believe) alludes to this to some degree.

artwork

sorry I have been light on uploading art lately. I am stretched thin with projects and my neck kills me at the end of the day so I am not drawing when I get home. I will be back at the easel soon.

spanish artists

my favorite Spanish artists!


Velásquez

Goya

Gardega*

Dali



* not Spanish

Last supper update

I have found out that Fox may not be airing my last supper piece as was planned. The idea of the piece was mentioned in Page Six prior to me ever laying down a brush and two weeks later a photographer stole my thunder by photographing a bunch of guys in leather in the last supper and gaining the attention of Fox for a full week so it seems my thunder was stolen by that. The annoying part is that photography takes three hours to set up a shot but painting takes skill and passion and blood and time and years of dedication. I spent two hundred hours on my painting and was blinded by the instantaneous flashbulb of digital non-art. In order to be a great artist one must not even spend one infinitesimal moment lamenting anything ever that doesn't work out. I have been on TV before and will be on again and have already figured out attack plan B. Of course there was no concept behind the photographer's piece aside from cliche shock-art. I created a valid statement on media being the new religion and I stand by my piece conceptually! My plan B is more exciting and will be revealed soon. I was rewarded for my patience with a life-changing phone call yesterday that I will share when the time is right.

viva gardega!

mural cam

I will be on mural cam at noon as I have to ship my art to miami this morning.

Copying

My favorite angry stalker "annie nomous" asked why I do so much copying of other artists as opposed to originals!! I love good questions! Alex will now answer...


As a child I wanted to be Rembrandt and was not, as a teen I wanted to be Dali and failed miserably, as an adult I wanted to be Gardega and became such.

It is a most important and time-honored practice to copy other artists. Every great genius has set up base camp on the mountain of another artist. The guide ropes are true and the Sherpas willing to help carry the heavy burden of great potential. Eventually you will be left on your own to grope blindly towards the peak. I spent thousands of hours and drew thousands of copies of other artist through my childhood and teens and adulthood--- the knowledge gained was invaluable. Eventually the great stew that you have made from you your studies becomes something unique and palatable. Now matter how much you wished you were Da Vinci one can only become oneself!

puzzles

I am not going to put up more puzzles unless requested as the brain of alex is bored with them...I will be back on mural cam today.

puzzle answer

blackmail---not spot check...

mural photo

Here is an update of my progress on my Da Vinci ceiling for those who cannot view the mural cam, this is a screenshot of the cam. I thank the lovely techno wiz Rebecca for this pic. I will soon post Mary's pics who is equally as lovely and a wonderful DJ as well...

grey

I decided to put up a grey background to get New Yorkers excited about the greyness of the winter ahead.

Miami

I start shipping my first artwork to my gallery opening in Miami. I have also booked my hotel within walking distance to Art Basel. It has been a long time since I escaped the studio...

puzzle of the day

This one is a tad harder for those who said they were too easy...

mural cam

I will be working on mural today. If you are able to log into my mural cam you can watch me start over from scratch!!! The home owner and I decided to move the ceiling lights to allow me to paint larger and without spacial constriction. Starting over is a lot of work but it is the best thing to do for the project. If you watch around 9:30 you can watch as I white out my original drawing!


http://68.194.9.52:99/main_activex.cgi

if you have trouble logging in you can try toggling some of the buttons regarding firewall and browser etc. some firewalls will not let you in at all.

after ingres

I drew this as a teenager, it was/is a copy of ingres. If you own it and have framed it I would love a copy of photo...

sketchbook page

This was a teenage sketchbook page I made when I worshiped Lautrec. I think this was lost by a client in a cab after she bought it...

sketchbook page

I have no idea who bought these and where they now reside...

select pieces

I decided to pick some pieces I made in the last six months and put them up for viewing again. I may sell prints of some of my favorites...

dali quotes

At the age of six I wanted to be a cook. At seven I wanted to be Napoleon. And my ambition has been growing steadily ever since.
Salvador Dali

Democratic societies are unfit for the publication of such thunderous revelations as I am in the habit of making.
Salvador Dali

Don't bother about being modern. Unfortunately it is the one thing that, whatever you do, you cannot avoid.
Salvador Dali

Drawing is the honesty of the art. There is no possibility of cheating. It is either good or bad.
Salvador Dali

Each morning when I awake, I experience again a supreme pleasure - that of being Salvador Dali.
Salvador Dali

Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it.
Salvador Dali

I do not paint a portrait to look like the subject, rather does the person grow to look like his portrait.
Salvador Dali

I don't do drugs. I am drugs.
Salvador Dali

I have Dalinian thought: the one thing the world will never have enough of is the outrageous.
Salvador Dali

I seated ugliness on my knee, and almost immediately grew tired of it.
Salvador Dali

In order to acquire a growing and lasting respect in society, it is a good thing, if you possess great talent, to give, early in your youth, a very hard kick to the right shin of the society that you love. After that, be a snob.
Salvador Dali

Instead of stubbornly attempting to use surrealism for purposes of subversion, it is necessary to try to make of surrealism something as solid, complete and classic as the works of museums.
Salvador Dali

Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings.
Salvador Dali

It is good taste, and good taste alone, that possesses the power to sterilize and is always the first handicap to any creative functioning.
Salvador Dali

Let my enemies devour each other.
Salvador Dali

Liking money like I like it, is nothing less than mysticism. Money is a glory.
Salvador Dali

Mistakes are almost always of a sacred nature. Never try to correct them. On the contrary: rationalize them, understand them thoroughly. After that, it will be possible for you to sublimate them.
Salvador Dali

Painting is an infinitely minute part of my personality.
Salvador Dali

Progressive art can assist people to learn not only about the objective forces at work in the society in which they live, but also about the intensely social character of their interior lives. Ultimately, it can propel people toward social emancipation.
Salvador Dali

Surrealism is destructive, but it destroys only what it considers to be shackles limiting our vision.
Salvador Dali

Take me, I am the drug; take me, I am hallucinogenic.
Salvador Dali

The difference between false memories and true ones is the same as for jewels: it is always the false ones that look the most real, the most brilliant.
Salvador Dali

The first man to compare the cheeks of a young woman to a rose was obviously a poet; the first to repeat it was possibly an idiot.
Salvador Dali

The only difference between me and a madman is that I'm not mad.
Salvador Dali

The secret of my influence has always been that it remained secret.
Salvador Dali

The terrifying and edible beauty of Art Nouveau architecture.
Salvador Dali

The thermometer of success is merely the jealousy of the malcontents.
Salvador Dali

There are some days when I think I'm going to die from an overdose of satisfaction.
Salvador Dali

There is only one difference between a madman and me. The madman thinks he is sane. I know I am mad.
Salvador Dali

Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing.
Salvador Dali

Wars have never hurt anybody except the people who die.
Salvador Dali

We are all hungry and thirsty for concrete images. Abstract art will have been good for one thing: to restore its exact virginity to figurative art.
Salvador Dali

What is a television apparatus to man, who has only to shut his eyes to see the most inaccessible regions of the seen and the never seen, who has only to imagine in order to pierce through walls and cause all the planetary Baghdads of his dreams to rise from the dust.
Salvador Dali

quote of the day/night

It takes a wise man to discover a wise man.
Diogenes

final brooklyn book cover

Here is the final Brooklyn book cover for Ambassador Publishing in NYC. I may make a tiny secret change but I had a meeting today and they are happy with the piece.

in the mail

A collector of mine sent me some photos of the work he bought and had framed. I really enjoy seeing my work framed and displayed correctly in someone's home and I get annoyed when I give family or friends artwork and it remains unframed ...I'll try to post more of his pictures up on my blog soon soon... These pictures are from left to right ( self portrait as a teenager, Ophelia print, dark self portrait as a teenager) A good frame is like a good conscience, both are a joy forever. If anyone wants to send me pictures of my framed work I would be grateful!

Thanks Donald!

mural cam

The mural cam is on as I think the wood worker is in wine cellar. When you click on link there are a few buttons that ask if you are behind a firewall etc. If you try clicking on a few combinations of those you should get access to the cam. Some people could not view it because the firewall did not let them in so that may help you. I will not be in there until tomorrow...



click here to view.

new puzzle

Okay, here is a harder one! Barry said they are too easy, this one is a bit harder. Here you go Barry. I may stop these soon, not sure, I just have them on my computer so they are something to look at when I am off in mural land or Brooklyn studio...

Puzzle Of The Day

Here is todays puzzle! It is medium in difficulty...actually, it is fairly easy...I will be in NYC and Brooklyn studio today as my neck needs a break from staring at ceiling and I will be back on mural tomorrow! Enjoy the crisp weather...

Brooklyn Day

Today I will be in Brooklyn working on some glass art and will be back tomorrow on mural cam.

mural cam

If you have a firewall you may not be able to view mural....Soon it will be on youtube so do not worry.

mural cam

the cam will not start (motion sensor) until I am in room so around 9:30 or a bit later you should be able to view the cam...I am just finishing drawing the battle to transfer to ceiling...

mural cam

if you scroll down two entries there is a link to watch me live on a video as I paint a mural on a ceiling.... starts around 9 or 9:30.

Gardega's Game

What phrase or symbol is this one? This is medium difficulty! Yesterday's answer was FREEZE FRAME If you click on the link on my previous entry you can watch me paint a mural on my "mural cam" Today I will be working on the centerpiece called the Battle of Anghiari (Google this as I am too busy to explain the piece) I had my own battle with the God's of Saki last night and so I am excited for eight hours of ceiling painting! (I am actually excited to paint the battle as it is a great piece of art to attempt.) I will be starting around 9:30 AM, so I will not be on cam much before that...The mural is in Brookville NY in wine cellar in a beautiful home...ramble on...

mural cam...

Here is the link to my mural cam! It is the video process of me painting my Da Vinci inspired mural. Eventually I will release it as a time lapse, You Tube Video--- for now you can see me breaking my neck as I work on a ceiling in real time (or at least one frame every five seconds...) If it is night it will be a dark image of nothing as I will not be there! You do not need to enter a password as you will be auto-logged in as a guest...

click here to link to mural real time video...

back to my mural...check in later.

gardega's game

Okay folks...I gave you too many easy ones, this one requires thought and grey matter! (Its not really that hard but it is harder than the early ones...)