VW Bus

46"x 46" oil on canvas

Available from the Billis Williams Gallery.

www.billiswilliams.com

 

Posted September 23, 2024

Dad's Drill - Revisited

46"x46" oil on canvas ••• As with any profession, being an artist has it obligatory deeds. Things like studio visits and writing an artist statement being just a couple of examples. (Artist statements are dreadful, torturous things to read and write with most sounding like they were written by inebriated Great Danes chasing their own tails. And yes, due to certain... youthful experiences, I know what a drunk Great Dane looks like. What you really do not want to encounter is a pickled basset hound. Especially when you have to give it a ride home. Nothing, and I mean nothing, will ever get that smell out of your car.) ••• Oh crud, I went off topic and find myself without a remotely adequate segue. ••• NEW START: A studio visit is when a gallery or museum director/curator visits an artist's studio to talk direction or to pick pieces for an upcoming show. They are necessary, but for someone who does not normally have people visit his studio (family bearing cookies excluded), they can take a little getting used to and—I have learned—can produce unpredictable results. ••• Before I go on, I must state that I have been extremely lucky in that my curators have all been great. ••• When Brittany Davis came over to pick work for my current show, she picked some pieces I did not expect her to pick. Two of them being a bit older than her other selections. They are very important pieces to me personally and any chance to show my work in public is great, so I am extremely happy that she chose to include them. Both are seminal pieces marking my successful transition to producing larger pieces. They are so important to me that I wanted to revisit one in this email, hence the huge drill you see above and below. It is titled "Dad's Drill" because it was my late father's drill, the one I used my entire childhood, hence it is doubly special to me. ••• I hope you enjoy the revisit and, if possible, can visit my show at Brittany Davis Gallery to see the piece in person.

Posted April 21, 2020

Hot Handle

46"x46" oil on canvas ••• When you see a painting like this one, it usually means I had to fix something in the Logan Family Manse. It also means you should feel sorry for the occupants of said manse. Why sorry? Well, because for as long as it took me to finish this painting, whenever someone reached to turn on the hot water at that particular sink, the handle was missing (a.k.a., no hot water without a wrench). How long did it take? Let's just say this a rather large piece and yes, I am that selfish.

Posted March 24, 2020

Mickey Mouse Projector

46"x46" oil on canvas ••• It took me a while to obtain one of these Mickey Mouse projectors. (And yes, I procured it legally.) When you look at this great little projector you would think that I jumped right in and painted this piece. Actually, it took quite some time before I felt that I was ready to paint it. • I may not neatly fit into the made-up stereotypical overly sensitive dissociated moody artist mold, except in this one aspect: If I don't feel like painting something, I don't paint it. • By the way, my being a surly curmudgeon has nothing to do with me being an artist. • Over the course of at least a year, I would pull this toy out, place it on our dining room table and just stare at it. Late one night while I was in one of my trances looking at it, I sensed somebody watching me. It was my father-in-law who was staying with us at the time. I really like my father-in-law. He is a quiet man who only talks when it is necessary or he knows it will be funny. I respect and admire a human who can practice such restraint. Few people can. Anyway, he just stood there looking at me, not saying a word. Lord knows what he was thinking, but one thing I do know: He did not think I was going nuts. How do I know this? Well, I am pretty sure he knew I was already crazy before I married his daughter.

Posted July 15, 2019

Albert Einstein

46"x46" oil on canvas ••• It is time to pummel you with paintings that were in my show at George Billis Gallery. • This Albert Einstein is the only portrait included in the show and—coming in at almost 4'x4'—he is one big wall of goo. • Moving on... • It is not uncommon in the Clan Logan that a child comes along who is speech delayed. (I was one of those towheaded brats that just sat there looking at you as your joke died on the floor.) Sometimes this makes people panic. My late father's oh-so eloquent response to the panic was this, "The problem isn't getting them to talk, it's getting them to shut up once they've started talking." Aah, now that is sheer poetry. (By the way, we are far from a politically correct clan.)

Posted June 26, 2019