The Time Capsule

So the Brooklyn Art Library Sketchbook project has been through some things. They had a fire. And then moved. Then they did this free Time Capsule project.

Of course I had to think what I could put in a time capsule opened years from now. Did I want something personal? I wasn’t sure about that. But I did want to express my feelings at the time it was made.

So I decided to use cat memes. I wanted to express how things were going in the world. And where I live. And show what was happening in the zeitgeist. I often did the memes as is. Sometimes I changed them up and made them a bit more my own.

You might recognize a few faces and memes. Know that this is not for profit and entirely fan art. If you wanna check out history and explanations behind memes, go here: https://knowyourmeme.com

The Art-O-Mat

The pandemic has been weird right? I’ve done lots of art, mostly to keep myself distracted. But early on, I started painting on the leftover wood blocks that were hanging around my studio. Then I remembered the Art-o-Mat. I thought those block paintings could totally translate to Art-o-Mat works, which have to be the certain size to fit into the old vending machines they use. I decided my theme would be Animals Doing Things. Of course. They were accepted and the first batch nearly sold out, so I’ve got more coming. Anyway her’s a pic of the original multi-sized blocks, which will go up for sale soon. And then a pic of the first Art-o-Mat set.

Wood Animal Paintings

Art-o-Mat, Animals Doing Stuff set 1

This is Mekare

Mekare, watercolor, 9×11

Last year I did this watercolor sketch for my friend Ilana. Right before the pandemic, her kitty, Mekare died. She was devastated, a feeling I know well, when it comes to pets, particularly cats. A year later, I’m struck with my grief for her.

I lost my oldest friend this week. As teens, we bonded over Depeche Mode. She was a beautiful woman. A creative person. A talented singer. Humorous, sweet and generous. I’m lucky my wife and kid got to meet her in a trip to NY a couple years ago.  I’m cycling between sorrow and fury. Fury because her family continues to treat her poorly. She was a survivor of incest, her family denied it, until he confessed and then she split with most of them because she wouldn’t ‘just get over it’. She was a 9-11 survivor, missed being in the towers by an hour. She suffered survivors guilt and PTSD from that. Not long after, she discover she had MS that was difficult to treat. I know she enjoyed her life when she could. She had a sweet Kitty, that she adored and was with her many years, that died right before the pandemic. And the pandemic and the isolation were the final straw. She completed suicide earlier this week. She deserved better. So here it is, my tribute to Ilana Graf. 

Everyone tries abstract…

Ocean Wave, acrylic, 28×50

A bunch of artists made themselves famous with abstract Action Art a few decades back. they liked to experiment with the properties of the paint. I enjoy that this has had a bit of a renaissance with poured painting. I occasionally experiment too. Sometimes it’s left over paint, sometimes it’s by request. This is Ocean Wave in acrylic.

Cats Are My Default Art Setting

Since I was a kid, my mom and I painted Christmas ornaments together. I still have a lot of those. As an adult, I continued painting ornaments and since being a cat person, I have always painted an ornament for each kitty. Here’s the collection so far.

painted cat Christmas tree ornaments

Of course I signed up for the Tiny Sketchbook Project, because who doesn’t love the idea that you can have a briefcase full of art form all over the world. It was about 1.5×2.5 inches and yes, I decided Cat Moods was my theme.

Sketchbook Project 2018

Finally! Here’s the photos of my latest Sketchbook Project. I apparently almost got too ambitious. I decided to do hidden things, which made the book really interactive, with flaps to lift and messages within messages. It was a lot of fun!

Celtic Art and Art Club

My kid is in Irish Dance and sometimes we go to these big contest performances. And sometimes I submit art for them. Here is The Tree of Life, Celtic Fox and The Cat Sidhe. All watercolor and ink. It’s been a great way to practice watercolor and inks. And I keep trying different varieties of both.

And then I started an Art Club at my kid’s school and took 9 3rd graders and we created a painting together.