Ansco Shur Shot Box Camera

6"x4" oil on door skin panel • Well, after a hiatus that lasted months, I am back on eBay hawking my wares. This camera marks my official plunge back into the stormy seas of online capitalism. The starting bid on eBay is lower than the regular amount I normally sell these little paintings for. I don't know why I start lower, but it was probably due to some grand marketing strategy I once had. Anyway, a savvy shopper can benefit from my sticking to a plan that I, quite frankly, cannot remember and will probably be rectifying in the future. • Enough about eBay and my bizarre pricing scheme that probably makes no sense. Let's talk about the painting, shall we? • I painted this piece because I hate the front of this camera. Oh, I like the camera well enough, it is those dang lines on the front that scared the heck out of me. How was I to paint them? They couldn't be worse if the devil himself had designed them (and I do not think he was working for Ansco at the time). It wasn't about just being able to paint the lines, it was about applying the way I paint to those lines. You see, I need to move my colors, temperatures, and tonal shifts around in them or there is no point. • The best way to deal with seemingly impossible challenges, I find, is to just jump in and attack them. This painting is evidence of my assault. I have no idea if I succeeded, but I do hope you like it. • For you detail hounds out there, I really do not remember how I approached it, but I can tell you this, it was a process that probably required the extensive use of dark chocolate (at least 72% cacao or don't even talk to me). And to achieve success in my chosen vocation, I am required to buy my dark chocolate in one pound bars. Oh yeah, it is in the official artist bylaws—right next to the "Don't Eat Your Paint" clause. I wonder if the chocolate qualifies as a write off?   
 
Posted February 4, 2015

sold • private collection, irvine, ca