my next movie

I have written and completed one screenplay...it is going to be a movie. my second one is a personal one here is a hint

http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/we_hear_vw40xHHgOetKhvk5r10pWL

I will sleep when I am dead.

alexo

I finished my mural project. finally---- after 6 long months, done yesterday was a party for the owners wifes birthday, I put down my brushes at 9: 30am..done.....Brought my mom  to the party. My brain couldnt accept that I was done, still cant. hundreds and hundreds of hard hours, I ate lobster and drank sangria and sat without talking for 4 hours. I was just numb..kept thinking there was more to paint. There are things you can never explain to non-artists, things that are hard to grok (good word, google it) tis a lonely biz.

an oldie but a goodie

I painted this on the beach in los angeles on thanksgiving day alone and depressed. I tried to live out there and it wasnt working, Im not an LA guy. At first I wanted to paint an ocean/ beach scene but this came out. I remember a stranger came by and looked at it and said "holy shit" "I like that"...he said he thought I was painting a happy scene of santa monica, the ferris wheel. I was painting my own darkness. the shadow. Watercolor is a bitch, but hit it right and she sings.

I wished I never sold this

expo facto

my friend is a famous rocker and roller..he wrote this line:

"your spirits broken but you are hopin' it comes back, well I'd say youre okay, just by virtue of that ....

brilliant...

In Vino Veritas

The wino and I know the best wine store in Manhattan is on 74th and first. The two brothers who own it are great guys, like family to me. I am in there all the time just to talk and shoot the breeze. It has a great energy and it looks amazing. A world class joint. In wine is truth...no, in Alex is truth, I dont mess around.

120 pages

I sat down and wrote 120 pages! six months of sweat on my couch on top of everything else but I got it done. I soldiered through hell and high water. I am gardega, I dont sit in cafe's and smoke and talk about art. I make art. Im in the trenches trying not to take bullets. My script will be made into a movie, all the pieces came together. Just do it. sit down and type, or paint. put things off and you will never get anywhere. I stare into the sun and pray my wax wings dont melt and I wont die alone on the rocks of failure. Pray to god but row away from the rocks, I have spent my whole adult life on the ledge of art, the very edge..not a place for the weak, not an easy home for those who reach for creature comforts. I am a junkie and my drug is art. she is a dangerous mistress but a fine one and she has her moments.

dont be weak!

alex update

My mural is done. I have but to add a small compass today. easily done. I am staying over the house and on Sunday I will attend the surprise birthday party for the wife, a big affair with 100 people. My mom is my date, she is an angel and it will make her happy to see the mural, six months of my labor. Kinda sad that I couldnt get a date to such a thing but such is life. I have become like family to the family I have painted for, I take things away from the dog he shouldnt have, I have shoveled their cars out when stuck, the kids hate when I leave. Pretty funny to become an "artist in residence" as they call me. I painted so many hours I cant count, most of it on a ceiling in living hell and back pain. 6 months went fast but I wont forget the memory in my life..they need more work, a home theater etc but for now I will eat lobster and sit. I wonder if old mickey- angelo got drunk after his sistine chapel? I just may. Not to compare my crappy work to his.

strange fact of the day

More people die every year from eating peanuts than die from terrorism

the end of my blog

This is all ending soon but I will start anew..When it all ends I will play my favorite song as my final words..when I post my final dribble it will be this song

http://youtu.be/lPlPOJd8QLs

days not weeks

HA HA HA HA HA HA



http://abcnews.go.com/International/libya-crisis-obama-moammar-gadhafi-ultimatum/story?id=13164938

words of the day

Where were you when I was burned and broken
While the days slipped by from my window watching
Where were you when I was hurt and helpless
Because the things you say and the things you do surround me
While you were hanging yourself on someone else's words
Dying to believe in what you heard
I was staring straight into the shining sun
Lost in thought and lost in time
While the seeds of lifeand the seeds of change were planted
Outside the rain fell dark and slow
While I pondered on this dangerous but irresistible pastime




---floyd

a song for the weekend

palette painting

the lonely horse

for sale

I walk alone

I have spent the majority of my life alone. Just me and my art. I get lonely sometimes but for the most part, my love of art feeds me. Even as a child I was alone. I have made it past 40 with never have lived with another human (minus a brief spell) Leonardo said if you are with another person you are half yourself, if you are with two you are a third, etc. I Like my private time, it is treasure to me, to think and create alone. I am a bit extreme,. If I met the right princess I would make less art..good princesses are hard to find, good art is just a canvas (or three) away.

Palette art

Often when I am working on a project (like my mural) I will take a break and look at my palette and do a little game. I try to make a painting out of what is on my palette...this is like the ink blot test..I often use paper palettes on commercial jobs, they are great for this. Often my images are very dark, I dont know why, I guess we all have a darkside, a jungian shadow. I painted this the other day. It is 3 inches high..there is some really cool gold on him that didnt scan well but it looks good on original.

for sale

alexander the great

Alexander The Great lyrics

"My son ask for thyself another
Kingdom, for that which I leave
is too small for thee"
(King Philip of Macedonia - 339 B.C.)

Born in Huntington
agaisnt his will
in a place called long island still
Was born a son
To alexander as well
The legend his name was Alexander

At the age of 8
He discovered rembrandt
And he swore to free all of art minor
By hook or by crook
at the age of 13 he discovered velasquez
He utterly beat the armies of Persia

Alexander the Great
His name struck fear into hearts of men
Alexander the Great
Became a legend 'mongst mortal men

King Darius the third
Defeated fled Persia
The Scythians fell by the river Jaxartes
Then Egypt fell to the Macedon King as well
And he founded the city called Alexandria

By the Tigris river
He met King Darius again
And crushed him again in the battle of Arbela
( From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/i/iron-maiden-lyrics/alexander-the-great-lyrics.html )
Entering Babylon
And Susa, treasures he found
Took Persepolis the capital of Persia

Alexander the Great
His name struck fear into hearts of men
Alexander the Great
Became a God amongst mortal men

A Phrygian King had bound a chariot yoke
And Alexander cut the Gordian knot
And legend said that who untied the knot
He would become the master of Asia

Hellenism he spread far and wide
The Macedonian learned mind
Their culture was a western way of life
He paved the way for Christianity

Marching on, marching on

The battle weary marching side by side
Alexander's army line by line
They wouldn't follow him to India
Tired of the combat, pain and the glory

Alexander the Great
His name struck fear into hearts of men
Alexander the Great
He died of fever in Babylon

A lOT IS TWO WORDS

A lot -----isnt alot!!!!! I cant stand to see that! I am going to start a campaign, I cant take seeing the word alot!

satellite photos: Joplin MIssouri

You think you have problems?? You dont, you didnt just pull your two dead sons out of a basement..If you are healthy, shut your pie hole and work hard and smile. Life is a gift, but it is a gift that can be taken back in the wink of a God's eye...




http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1391075/Joplin-tornado-photos-devastation-232-missing.html

bob dylans birthday

I went to see a bob dylan birthday tribute at bowery ballroom. We walked in late, I caught norah jones ruining two dyland songs and then some skinny wanna-be rocker ruining another. I looked around the crowd and it was a bunch of fake NYC hipsters, bobbing their heads to songs they didnt even know. I have always heard Norah Jones was great. She made me sick to my stomach the way she ruined dylan, getting the words worn etc . I even went with an open mind looking to hear some good stuff. I left my party and took a taxi home. Talent is a rare bird and it floats to the surface and it exposes fraud like a spiritual sherlock holmes. I often lose faith in people, in art, never.

my brother saved me again

I had a bug/ virus....couldnt post for 4 days..my genius brother took over my computer and solved it..genius runs in the family..If I cant post my blog my anxiety runs high.. I am a creature of habit.

mural

Going to long island to finish the final work on the mural. Needs it done by the weekend. Its not easy...never think it is easy.

lance armstrong

I hope the doping stories arent true. I am a big fan of lance, used to cycle a lot myself. Terrible to think of an american hero like that. I guess when the stakes are high enough anything can happen.

vacation

I need a vacation. Its been years of just working myself to death...7 day weeks, deadline after deadline after deadline stress. Just to sit in some cafe in a strange place and stare at strangers and clouds..that is what every human needs, a break from the norm. Some people have lost homes in floods and tornadoes and earthquakes so I cant complain. If my screenplay really sells, I am going to Florence...

life

This lady lost her cat in the tornado's that ravaged alabama. My friend lives in this town. This lady lost everything except her cats....this is why I think humans arent such bad things..watch her find her lost cat.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/21/judy-pugh-tuscaloosa-tornado-miracle_n_865158.html

time

I went on a date with someone I hadnt seen since 1998..where does the time go? I had a great time---not sure if she did. It is crazy that being in a certain at a certain time can change your future. You can walk into a place or stop in for a drink somewhere and change your entire life. Life never ceases to amaze me. Life is a thing you can spend an entire life trying to figure out.

good news

the world didnt end, my old man survived bypass surgery. If you have your health you have everything. The only true wealth

new website

my brother is a web/ tech genius...I admire his skills. I have none. he is building me a new site.

www. gardega.com

He is a great photographer and a budding painter

not dark yet

high water

High Water (for Charlie Patton)

High water risin’—risin’ night and day
All the gold and silver are bein' stolen away
Big Joe Turner lookin’ east and west
From the dark room of his mind
He made it to Kansas City
Twelfth Street and Vine
Nothin' standing there
High water everywhere

High water risin’, the shacks are slidin’ down
Folks lose their possessions—folks are leaving town
Bertha Mason shook it—broke it
Then she hung it on a wall
Says, “You’re dancin’ with whom they tell you to
Or you don’t dance at all”
It’s tough out there
High water everywhere

I got a cravin’ love for blazing speed
Got a hopped-up Mustang Ford
Jump into the wagon, love, throw your panties on the board
I can write you poems, make a strong man lose his mind
I’m no pig without a wig
I hope you treat me kind
Things are breakin’ up out there
High water everywhere

High water risin’, six inches ’bove my head
Coffins droppin’ in the street
Like balloons made out of lead
Water pourin’ into Vicksburg, don’t know what I’m goin' to do
“Don’t reach out for me,” she said
“Can’t you see I’m drownin’ too?”
It’s rough out there
High water everywhere

Well, George Lewis told the Englishman, the Italian and the Jew
“You can’t open your mind, boys
To every conceivable point of view”
They got Charles Darwin trapped out there on Highway Five
Judge says to the High Sheriff,
“I want him dead or alive
Either one, I don’t care”
High water everywhere

The Cuckoo is a pretty bird, she warbles as she flies
I’m preachin’ the Word of God
I’m puttin’ out your eyes
I asked Fat Nancy for somethin' to eat, she said, “Take it off the shelf—
As great as you are a man
You’ll never be greater than yourself”
I told her I didn’t really care
High water everywhere

I’m gettin’ up in the morning—I believe I’ll dust my broom
Keeping away from the women
I’m givin’ ’em lots of room
Thunder rolling over Clarkesdale, everything is looking blue
I just can’t be happy, love
Unless you’re happy too
It’s bad out there
High water everywhere

dylan

"High Water"

When the waters rose in the darkness
In the wake of the endless flood
It flowed into our memory
It flowed into our blood

When something broke the surface
Just to see the starry dome
We still feel that relation
When the water takes us home
In the flying spray of the ocean
The water takes you home

Springing from the weight of the mountains
Like the heart of the earth would burst
Flowing out from marble fountains
In the dreams of a desert thirst

Something swam through the jungles
Where the mighty rivers roam
Something breaks the silence
When the water takes you home
I hear the wordless voices
When the water takes me home

Waves that crash on the shoreline
Torrents of tropical rain streaming down
Beyond our memory
Streaming down inside our veins

When something left the ocean
To crawl high above the foam
We still feel that elation
When the water takes us home
In a driving rain of redemption
The water takes me home... 

neil peart

dante and virgil in hell: bouguereau

I normally dont like Bouguereau..A bunch of saccharine angels and cherubs without soul. This is the first boug. I like..I have never seen it before. He should have painted more of these dark things and less crap...one of my new favorite paintings..would like to see this painting handled by caravagio.

art of the apocolypse

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/21/most-apocalyptic-imagery-_n_865032.html#s281597&title=Collective_Suicide_by

bob dylan sketch: by gardega

canadeeio

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

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

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

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

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

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

nothing, too very scientific

the path of life is strange
it is windy and sad and broken and hard
It is never understood until you reach the end
then, it is too late in the game to count the flowers you didnt stop to smell
the faces of the family you didnt spend enough time with 
the ghosts of old friends
and the scattered remains of things you meant to do
dreams you never found
in the end we all die with our notebooks half filled
our names barely etched on the great stone of life
maybe love is found
maybe love is lost
maybe the river sucks you down before your time
in the end there is only the fight
the battle for some kind of hope, or glory
maybe the sacrifice was all in vain
the greatest sin is never having lived
to die before you lived
to bury the best part of you in a box
and hide it in some corner
where it haunts you all your days
This is the greatest crime
it is much better to fail
in front of the world than never
put your cards on the table.

methinks.

alex

interview with myself

alex: what are you thinking about?

alex: I invented three things yesterday, thinking about my inventions.

alex: what else are you thinking about?


Alex: I wrote a movie, I am thinking about the re-write. I dont want to suffer through that.

Alex: In the end its all just a series of dreams.

alex: yes, nothing really matters much, its doom alone that counts.

alex: what is your favorite color?

alex: alizarin crimson, naples yellow and ultramarine blue. they are the colors of genius and of the gods. alizarin and naples, when married, make lovely babies. genius.

The end of the world

Today is the end of the world. The world does not care about us. We are fleas on a great round dog. We are not the center of the universe. We are monkeys with less hair. The universe cares not for us. The illusion of central position. The world will not end, there will be an earthquake in Asia but we will be fine. If the world ends so will the Taxman. I hope it doesnt end, I just sold a screenplay and I am waiting for a check. There is more between heaven and earth than is dreamt of in your philosophy, dear reader.

Piaui magazine

I received copies of Piaui magazine yesterday. They ran a photo of one of my flood paintings.

Here is their link.


http://revistapiaui.estadao.com.br/edicao-56

today

Today my counter will hit 100,000 people...I started keeping track late but is nice to have confused 100k people. yesterday I had a great meeting on my script. It looks like it will be a movie sooner than later. If it gets made I am taking part of my check and going to Florence Italy ( a lifelong dream) Life has been going very well lately..I thank God and many many years of hard work.

Britain, Australia top U.S. in violent crime

http://www.geoffmetcalf.com/guncontrol_20010302.html

Violent crime worse in Britain than in US

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-25671/Violent-crime-worse-Britain-US.html#ixzz1Mhre3Mqi

America is more civil than the lamestream media would have you believe.

fifty dollar government lightbulbs

For all you greenies out there, you get what you wish for..the new light bulbs mandated by the gov. should be a joy for the poor to purchase--they will be 50 dollars each. The rich elite like al gore wont have an issue but Im thinking the avg. american with no job might have issues with them. I wont paint with them. I am spending 1,000 dollars to stock up on 100 watt bulbs. I will fill my closet. I will be a light bulb criminal like jessie james. You can buy the cheaper flourescent bulbs that cause diabetes and high blood pressure and are filled with mercury..this is an option. I am a carbon sinner, I use 500 watt halogens to make art to.

"and those who know whats best for us must rise and save us from ourselves.." N. peart

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110516/ap_on_hi_te/us_led_lighting;_ylt=AsE3Gkdtse.WMyLRBM_sWOCs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNqNzVocWJlBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTEwNTE2L3VzX2xlZF9saWdodGluZwRjY29kZQNtb3N0cG9wdWxhcgRjcG9zAzgEcG9zAzUEcHQDaG9tZV9jb2tlBHNlYwN5bl9oZWFkbGluZV9saXN0BHNsawNs

the last six months in my art life (in photos)

Nicola Tyson: bad artist

http://www.artnews.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=3301&current=True

I think I have officially found the worst painting I have ever seen..I recently spoke about artists who are influenced by picasso and dont have drawing skills. this often leads to some really bad things. I had to include my first painting I ever made as a contrast to this horrible mess. Things like this make me sad about the state of art, this crap is sold to the public who dont know any better. Here was is my first painting I painted at ten years old. At ten I would look at paintings like the one above and I knew it was garbage.

 gardega age 10

New Watercolor: The Caldera...by gardega

For sale..   12 x16 inches

alexgardega@gmail.com

murals NYC: by gardega

Here is a peek at my latest work. A mural for a wine cellar in Long Island. Six months of labor (on and off) The hardest part was painting the ceiling without a scaffold. I had to paint on a ladder, that is not a way to paint a ceiling, arm two feet over your head trying to control hand with a bad neck. This is me after a week of looong days on a ceiling. Aside from some details it is all done...thank the good lord.

Medusa : by gardega

Here is a piece I made a few years ago and that was in a new york gallery..think they sold it and forgot to tell me, the owner is a good friend so I am sure if it was sold he will handle it. I have known him for 20 years, great guy. This piece is a piece of glass, gold leaf on back, face is oil painted and the snakes are sandblasted.

VIVA GARDEGA!

Today I finished the rough draft of an entire screenplay. Six months of hard work and now it is at kinkos. The director is on board, the funding is on board, everything is a go..Should be an exciting process..I cant believe I got through it. It would be great if the first finished screenplay I ever wrote gets made into a movie and it looks like it may. Create your own luck by hard work.

The laocoon group

Here is one of my favorite sculptures of all time. The laocoon group. Laocoon tried to expose the fact that the trojan horse was a scam and for this he was killed (He was the first conspiracy theorist in a sense). Apollo sent in two serpents to kill laoccoon and his two sons., Antiphantes and Thymbraeus. This sculpture was unearthed in a vineyard in 1506. There are some rumors that Michelangelo himself carved it...I cant speak to that but it looks a lot like his work..maybe it just influenced him. He did have something to do with the restoration, though. 

I am gearing up for my own art show..six to eight months of hard work. I may carve this sculpture in glass to help fund my show, I could probably sell the glass carving to a casino or private collector for enough to fund my show. I think I may have investors so I may not have to carve this thing but I would love to anyways. Carving this in glass is an 11 out of ten on the difficulty chart.

Today I finish the final ten pages of my movie I have written and make copies at Kinkos for the investors and director. Six months of hard work on thta is done. There will be a re-write but I am not sweating that, the hardwork is done and the serpents of confusion regarding how to structure it have been defeated have unraveled...

on my easel

Here is the original painting for a book cover. This is one of my favorite covers to date. I offered it to a friend who is beating cancer. I like to give art to friends. I have a very small circle of very good friends so I dont have to give away a lot of art. I need to stop giving away art because I sell most of my work and I can always use extra money..plus I have very little of my own work around..all sold...sad

sketchbook pages: by gardega