Old Western Electric Telephone

20"x16" oil on canvas. • I make no attempt to hide my love of old telephones, so to shut me up, my buddy Scott loaned me this old one. It weighs as much as a VW Beetle (seriously, this thing weighs a ton) and is encrusted with age. The beauty sat around my studio for a good stretch of time whilst I thought about painting it. It may seem to be pretty straight forward, but trust me, none of my paintings are really all that straight forward. The disconnected and thrashed receiver combined with the awesomely thick patina posed unique challenges. Then, one day, I had a vision: Hang the receiver on a nail like a dead rat next to the phone. For marketing purposes, I later changed my description from "...like a dead rat" to "...like an archeological display or somethin' " and the painting sold.  •  On a different note: It looks like I will be having a one man gallery show next month. I will keep you posted as details develop.
 
Posted November 7, 2012

sold • private collection los angeles, ca