Hopeless Cases and Good Graces

So I got this commission. Not just for a painting but for a custom niche wired with electricity and anything else I could convince them was necessary. I could have worked some plumbing into it perhaps but no, just the tiles and electricity.

They were interested in a slightly irreverent religious painting of their favorite saint, St. Jude. He needed to be holding their favorite tequila and a High Life, offering them to the viewer as if he recognized YOU as a lost cause in need of a beer and a shot.

I did some research on the worship (adoration is thinly veiled idolatry, let’s not kid ourselves) of St. Jude in Mexico. There is a church in Mexico City that features the image of Jude over a field of blue and white tile, so I figured the niche could have some tile of its own. Many tiles were considered. The sugar skulls motif can be overdone and a bit obvious for applications such as this, but damn it if these didn’t have just the right about of high contrast patterning without being too busy.

Not only did I mock up how the assembled painting look on the tile, I designed the niche to fit the tile without the need for cutting. I also diagrammed the wiring for it to be lit from above and a socket to power the flicker flame light bulb on Jude’s head.

I spent some time reading about St. Jude and how in Mexico he isn’t just associated with lost causes, but because he a lesser saint often confused with Judas, he is said to be a better advocate for juvenile delinquents and criminals who need a saint who will pray extra hard on their behalf. All of this made me think that St. Jude might have a little attitude, with wry smirk and raising an eyebrow as if he knows what a fuck you can be. The face I’m painting a mixture of random internet images, Danny Trejo, Russel Brand and Jesus. In fact the robes and hair are just a painting of Jesus. I turned the regal red robes green, superimposed a rich paisley pattern on the green and added a Jesus medal on a *bling*bling* gold rope chain.

All told I think I photoshopped together about 20 different elements to create the collaged comp you see here. Two hands, shot glass, the logo on the shot glass, the beer, the body with the left arm rotated a bit, the medal covering up the original’s sacred heart, the gold rope chain, Danny Trejo’s face with a less prominent brow, some other guy’s eyes (all Christian saints have to have blue eyes) and parts of Russel Brand’s beard…as well as the halo, bulb, bird, fire and rays. And let’s not forget the parting clouds. It’s a very complicate piece that highlights so much of what I learned as a good Catholic School boy.

As they say, “Progress Over Perfection.” But I hate it when they say that even if it’s true.

So all I really have left to do is the top of the bottle and the face and there is always another pass necessary to get all the details just so. I just spent an hour touching up the Jesus medal a little bit. After all that I’ll just need to put it together.

The thought of painting that face has me shook. I’m a little worried about getting the expression just right. I guess faces with character and lines and shadows are easier than smooth soft faces. If so, then Danny Trejo’s modified mug should be a breeze.

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Holy Guacamole (Delayed Gratification): Revisited and Improved

So I’ve decided to bring along some old and new food and booze pieces to Pancakes and Booze shows this fall in Austin, San Antonio and Houston. This one needs to be redone though.

Delayed Gratification taco time finished painting.

Delayed Gratification: Taco Time piece was done before I put much thought into layering levels. Also, while people were enjoying the familiar old praying men, they weren’t digging the clock so much. So I cut off the clock and made the men and their meal separated and ready for more to be added.

So then I asked myself, “Self, what could I add that will help make the piece more relatable”

I wanted something to better connect with viewers and make it generally a better piece. I contemplated on just what it could be the men are praying for. Ideas of abuelas and pin up waitresses were considered. But then keeping with the prayer theme, why not add a Mary in their shared “thought could” offering to theme he only thing that’s missing on their tacos? The best of all condiments and something that is becoming more and more expensive. Avocado! Something worthy of prayer. And who better to ask than Mary?

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Fruity Beers and Ram Tears: Weird Shit Goats Eat

Making this for Pancakes and Booze shows this fall in Austin, San Antonio, and Houston. So if I was already doing a piece featuring Prickly Pear ice cream, it seems obvious that this show would need one about Prickly Pear beer as well.

I’m from the mid-west and when I first heard people ate cactuses I was all, “shut up!” Then the idea of them producing sweet tasty fruits was a shock as well. Now putting them in beer? Weird. Taking the better National Beer of Texas and mixing it with a fruity flavor is weird. It is a shock every time I taste it, but you know what? It works. So shut the hell up.

Now where can I find prickly pear colored candles!?

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Mimosas and Mea Culpas: Numbing Big Regrets From Last Night

Making this for Pancakes and Booze shows this fall in Austin, San Antonio, and Houston. Food and booze is kind of my wheel house and “Mimosas and Mea Culpas” features more breakfast moments…waking up full of regret and shame, filling up with more of the booze that got you there. The night crow and the morning jay representing your insatiable need to leave your consciousness despite your outward superficial efforts to show how grounded you are with your “live laugh love” coffee cup.

photoshop collage comp for future painting titled Mimosas and Mea Culpas
Mimosas and Mea Culpas: Photoshop collage comp.

In my work the magic of creativity can come at several stage of production. Accidents, surprises and the actual act of drawing, painting, cutting, shaping and assembling can bring complexity and history to a piece, but also as I formulate and plan the image, strange associations and random results of Google Image Searches can give rise to a composition I had never envisioned. This has never been truer than when I was coming up with this photoshop collage. Now I can begin to recreate it on my fence pickets.

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Pancakes and Booze: Promising First Step into Austin Art Scene?

Batter sizzles, beer foams, and canvas lines the walls from ceiling to floor as hundreds, if not thousands, of revelers indulge in endless pancakes.

You had me at Pancakes and booze!

I like both of those things! AND since so much of my work already has food and booze at its subject matter, this is an event that was made especially for me.

So far I’ve been accepted to the shows in Austin, Oct 4 and Houston, Nov 15 but there will be on in San Antonio this December as well. Here are some of the works I already have along with more ideas I’ll be working on for these shows.

AVOCADO HAND: STIGMATA

11/2018 — 17.25″ x 21″

Acrylic, candles on used fence pickets.


TEJANA: HEIDI

02/2018 — 33.5″ x 34.5″

Acrylic on used fence pickets.


KEEP TACOS WEIRD

06/2016 — 43″ x 28″

Acrylic on used fence pickets.

  • Redo: Delayed Gratification – old men praying over tacos
  • Redo: Acrimony and Cheese – retro house wife flipping the bird over a crock pot full of cheese
  • Prickly Pear: Ice Cream – a vague idea about combining prickly pear cutout pieces and ice cream. Maybe growing out of an ice cream container
  • Prickly Pear: Shiner – a vaguer idea about combining prickly pear cutout pieces and Shiner beer. Growing out of an empty case…bottles scattered.
  • Mimosas and Mea Culpas – a not so vague idea but kind of still pretty vague featuring hung over woman or three gathered around, avoiding eye contact drinking mimosas at their brunch.
  • Butterworth virgin: I’ll manage to figure out what to do around a Mrs. Butterworth Virgin Mary idea.

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Revisiting Great Ideas: A Better Version of “Angel’s Share and Devil’s Cut”

This will be a redo of a poorly executed attempt from when I was first getting my profanity up on its legs. I don’t even have a photograph of the original.

It’s a clever idea, I just wasn’t killing it yet back in 2010, living alone in San Antonio, making art furiously for my first solo show back in Louisville, as I spent most of my time binge watching Lost and 24 and other shows I had never bothered watching. I can take this up with my present techniques and improved illustrating.

It’s all properly symmetrical and made up of simple layered shapes that can be cut out and stacked on a wall…outside the arbitrary rectangle I had them in before.

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Schadenfreude and Shiner Bock: A Big, Weird, Daring Idea

2014 • 31.25″ x 55.5″
acrylic, spray paint on used fence pickets

Schadenfreude is a German expression meaning “to take pleasure in the misfortune of others.” You see three characters:

  • The hapless victim who is too caught up in feeling sorry for himself to fix the situation
  • The jerk who is satisfied and amused by the greater status he was able, with no effort of his own, to achieved relative to that of his friend
  • The opportunistic ram who takes advantage while the others are distracted

The audience can related to the feelings of both individuals in the piece. You can learn a lot about yourself by recognizing how you empathize with the one and relate to the satisfaction of the other. We’re all guilty of playing the victim roll and also enjoying the mishaps of others. This is what my work is meant to do, to make us aware of our motivations and influencers so we can learn to see them for what they are and take back control.

This piece was a bit of a hit. Those who got it, liked it a lot but it was probably too weird and oddly painted to connect with anyone on a level to inspire a purchase. Never mind how big it was. I destroyed it and it has been incorporated in other smaller pieces, scattered and covered up and spread out around South Texas. I will revisit this though someday and do it up right. With my new style of cutout layering of the fence pickets.

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Tejano: Heidi (Colorful Cultural Misappropriation, Boobs, and Beer)

2014 • 34″ x 17.5″
acrylic, spray paint on used fence pickets

Before coming to the San Antonio, I hadn’t known of the German culture here and in the Hill Country, much less the mixture of Texan, Mexican and German that I understand is part of what is loosely referred to as Tejano. Being of German decent, I fixated mostly on the polka beat and accordion heard in the folk music of this area, reflecting the 19th century German influence in this part of Texas.

Here I combined a German symbol, the beer wench, with one of the distinguishing characteristics of the Mexican voodoo holiday of Dia de los Muertos. She presents an arm load of Micheladas, a Mexican prepared beer made with lime juice, and assorted sauces, spices, and peppers.

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Hair Sweaters and Highballs (Primavera): A Promising Sign of Spring

2013 • 48″ x 18″
acrylic, spray paint, fabric on panel

Throughout art history, seasonal themes have evoked not only death and resurrection and pagan imagery of classical antiquity that have continued to be a part of our seasonal holidays today. I this version, I have added some personal associations born of a neighbor who welcomed spring weather with a bare hairy torso, wandering the sidewalks with a highball in his hand.

Subjective associations are highlighted as well by the rubber spring symbols at his feet.

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A Breakfast of Eggs and Absinthe: Simple Pleasures

2012 • 42″ x 24.75″
acrylic, spray paint on used fence pickets

This was created for submission to the 2012 Huevos Rancheros jurored silent art auction. I had a while back found and noted a great(?) morning after, hair of the dog type drink: egg whites and absinthe. The idea was to use eggs in a vintage graphic sign type design on old fence pickets, incorporating themes from those wonderful Victorian absinthe lithograph posters.

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