Pico

6"x 4" oil on panel

Posted August 31, 2024

sold • private collection

Maneki Neko with Fish

 

4"x6" oil on panel ••• No commentary on this one. It was grouped with another painting in my email.

Posted August 23, 2020

sold • private collection washington, dc

Cat Bank Trio - Revisited

40"x60" oil on canvas / 2013 ••• In my last inane commentary I mentioned that there were two unexpected picks by Brittany Davis for my show and I think it would be rude of me not to show you the second piece, so here it is. ••• This five foot wide wall of goo is a seminal piece for me not just because it marks my successful transition to larger work, but also because, I believe, it is the last large piece I have ever done that does not have a preliminary charcoal drawing underneath it. • That is a huge distinction since I found that, due to time and sanity issues, it behooves me to do an under drawing. Translation: I not only had to fight mass quantities of my medium on this piece but I also had to manage and constantly shift my drawing on the fly. It was sort of like doing two large pieces at the same time, both drastically affecting the other. • It was also the last time the The Spousal Unit let me pilfer her cute little porcelain bank for artistic purposes. All the subsequent maneki nekos you have seen me paint had to be obtained by this artist (via completely legal means, I assure you).

Posted May 1, 2020

Mickey Mouse Projector

5"x5" oil on door skin panel ••• (As promised, here is the second piece from my email twofer.) The commentary for this was about a show that has already closed.

Posted September 9, 2019

sold • private collection los angeles, ca

Jarritos Dinosaurs

6"x4" oil on panel ••• This was another twofer email, so I will post the text from my email in the next blog post. If you wish to subscribe to my emails, just click on either of the two Sign Up! buttons on this blog. My emails are a little more inclusive and they usually contain detail shots that I do not post here on the blog. My subscribers are very important to me, so I throw in a little extra.

Posted May 20, 2019

sold • private collection los angeles, ca

Bunny Upsets Pikachu

4"x6" oil on panel ••• This was another twofer email, so I will post the text from my email in the next blog post. If you wish to subscribe to my emails, just click on either of the two Sign Up! buttons on this blog. My emails are a little more inclusive and they usually contain detail shots that I do not post here on the blog. My subscribers are very important to me, so I throw in a little extra.

Posted March 7, 2019

Gumby & Pokey

6"x4" oil on panel ••• (As promised, here is the second piece from my email twofer.) The above Gumby & Pokey was kind of a test run for possible larger pieces—maybe incorporating other toy characters. I usually take time to mull over such prospects while I look at the piece sitting on my drying rack. This process can take months, even years. Yes, I am a very slow muller. • Well, this painting sold kind of fast, so I have not had it in the studio to mull over and it completely slipped my mind until I found this photo to share with you. • So, I guess this makes me a slow muller with a short attention span(?). ••• The camera you see below came out of The Spousal Unit's grandfather's metal chest. This model of Argus camera is nicknamed "The Brick," and for good reason. It is. Maybe Argus thought people would taking the camera on safari, because I think you could stand your ground and throw this brick at a charging rhino and stop the poor creature in its tracks.

Posted November 20, 2018

sold • private collection los angeles, ca

Krazy Kat

24"x24" oil on canvas ••• As you may know, I do not always talk about the paintings displayed in these emails. This painting is a bit different for me and so a bit hard not to talk about (i.e., you will just have to suffer with the following tome). • Here is the backstory: I will be having a solo show at a new Laemmle Theatre and I thought it appropriate to possibly have "movie/film" related pieces for the show. Outside of a few old home movie projectors and movie cameras collecting dust in my crash site of a studio, I didn't have much in the way of subject matter that fit the bill. • At first I thought some old movie house posters would be good subject matter. But a little research revealed the vintage posters were either too poorly designed or too well designed/illustrated. Painting something that is poorly designed would be torture and painting a poster that is already very well designed is just too weird: At that level of illustration, the poster is already a piece of art and I am not touching it. ••• Then, quite by chance, I stumbled upon this little box for a Krazy Kat movie. This is the type of movie you purchased to view on your hand crank 16mm projector in the comfort of your home. I had to take a shot at painting it. I mean, c'mon, a cat tipping his hat, smoking a cigar AND about to get brained by a brick thrown by a mouse! Who could resist that? • I am not sure why, unlike any other painting I have done, I decided to paint this edge to edge on the canvas. I still do not know why and I still do not know if I like it. That means the odds of me doing it again are pretty slim, but you never know. • So, I present to you an oddball painting of mine starring Krazy Kat and Ignatz (the brick hurling mouse).

Posted August 23, 2018

Mickey Marionette

6"x4" oil on panel ••• Here are a couple more 4x6s to ponder. In the art world, these are technically 6x4s—don't ask, unless you want a obnoxiously long and whiny rant from this artist. • Both the subjects in these paintings are loaners. Mickey comes from an extremely patient cousin and the coffee grinder comes from my Mother Unit who has just about given up on her sticky fingered son ever returning the items he pilfers from her house. As a matter of fact, she has this really cool schoolhouse clock hanging above her door...

Posted March 5, 2018

sold • private collection monrovia, ca

Maneki Neko

20"x16" oil on canvas ••• I have lost count of the Maneki Neko currently residing with us. Stumbling upon one always elicits the same question from The Spousal Unit, "Have you painted this one?" Which is Her code for: "Man, you have a lot of c__p piling up. Can I get rid of it?" • To answer She Who Rules My Life's royal query: Yes, I have painted this one before as a 6"x 4" mini, but I like it so much I wanted to paint it again (Please don't toss it!). • Not only do I enjoy the look of this delightfully rotund feline—cutely offering up a mysterious goody bag like a leprechaun offering up his pot of gold—I also like that it has its own gaudy hemorrhoid pillow. (These cats sit all day, have mercy, they deserve a pillow.) • Anyway, as I said, I like it so much that I decided to paint it again. Now, if I can just keep The Spousal Unit from finding all those old power drills I have hidden in the garage, all will be okay in Eden!

•••••

Show at Beyond the Lines Gallery
If you have not had a chance to see my show currently hanging in Beyond the Lines Gallery, go check it out. In addition to a large body of my work, my display of 28 box cameras paintings—all 8 feet of it—is included in this show. Being such a large display, I rarely have the opportunity to display it in its entirety. So, there is another reason to go by and see the show.

Beyond the Lines Gallery
2525 Michigan Avenue, Building G #8, Santa Monica, California 90404
beyondthelinesgallery@gmail.com
(714) 369-9869 / www.beyondthelinesgallery.com
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 11 AM to 5 PM, Sunday by appointment
Closing reception: December 28th

Posted December 1, 2017

Honey Holds Court

20"x16" oil on canvas ••• I am going to change it up a bit and actually talk about the painting shown above. • "Honey Holds Court" is one of those pieces that became something different from what I initially had in mind. Granted, there is not a lot of "mind" there to do much planning in the first place. All I knew going into the studio that day was that I wanted to steal the salt and pepper shakers from our table and do a painting of them. Somehow, that urge to pilfer grew into the merry band you see above. • The decisions leading up to this grouping were not only based in aesthetics. Seeking challenge and an urge to steal more vital items from our kitchen were big motivators as well (if possible, I would have included the kitchen sink, but I installed that sink and it isn't coming out with anything short of a liberal application of TNT). • Like most kitchens, these are not the only vital items in ours. For example, olive oil really deserves a place in this piece, but our olive oil bottle is too tall. And we have this great old Calumet baking powder tin! Oh, and we have our own secret Logan Seasonings, but its container is just plain ugly. But I digress. • Putting glass and chrome in front of me is just like throwing down a gauntlet. Adding the beautiful depth of soy sauce and the sheer insanity of a transparent, bear-shaped bottle of honey is just plain masochism. • In the past, you have put up with me stating that if it isn't challenging, I really do not see the point and that bottle of honey is proof of that bent attitude. Bringing my color work to that innocent looking (read: evil) bear whilst maintaining its dimensionality was a swear word inducing event (I try not to cuss and spit anymore—spitting is so unseemly). • I really do not know what else to say about this piece. I could tell you about The Spousal Unit's penchant for making her own granola, making my holding onto that honey for too long a life threatening situation for this artist, but I won't go into it.

•••••

(http://beverlyhills.org/exploring/beverlyhillsartshow)
I have been judged into this year's Fall version of the Beverly Hills Art Show. I will be displaying my wares in space #139 in the first park between Rodeo and Beverly Boulevards. I know that some of you are only concerned with whether or not The Spousal Unit will be there. At present, all I can say is, let's hope for the best (and that I do not do anything to upset She Who Controls My Life between then and now—as always, I can make no guarantees as to my behavior). • Show: Saturday & Sunday, October 21st & 22nd / 10am to 5pm both days. • More info to come.

•••••

You may also check out my work on Facebook or on Instagram. Use the buttons at right. The best method of getting information about my work and me (e.g., detail shots not shown on the blog, show announcements, etc.) is to subscribe to my emails. Just use the SIGN UP! button on the right or left of this blog—it's easy.

Posted October 13, 2017

Maneki Neko

32"x48" oil on canvas ••• That beckoning cat is 4' tall! Well, the actual cat in the painting is more like 38" tall, but come on... that is still a dang big cat. And, as the detail shots illustrate, it is composed of a lot of smooshed oil paint. There was a time when I thought about cutting back on using so much paint. • While Clan Logan has several Maneki Neko in our employ, the model for this painting is the only one residing in my studio. I have grown used to its somewhat vapid stare and only talk to it on occasion. Like the time I was thinking about cutting back on the amount of paint I use. It just laughed and said, "Use less paint? Ha! I think you should use more, baby! Oh, and another thing: Go Big or Go Home! —and see if you can't get some more cookies in here." (A conversation with an inanimate object that adds yet more evidence that I need to improve the ventilation in my studio.) • If you would like to learn more about Maneki Neko, please find the following link to their Wikipedia page: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maneki-neko. Whilst I view Wikipedia as a specious source of information, it is the easiest way for me to share.

Posted June 9, 2017

Daruma

20"x16" oil on canvas ••• This is my studio daruma. • I love darumas. You cannot tell if they are royally ticked off, simply benign with very odd facial hair patterns, or they are stricken with some sort of ocular condition that makes them stare at you uncomfortably making you feel overly self-conscious. • If you want to know more about darumas, here is a link to their Wikipedia page: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daruma_doll • I have no idea how accurate that page is, but this is how it was told to me: When you are going to start an important project, you get one of these little paper mache dudes sans the black pupils. You paint in the left eye when you start the project and when you complete the project—reach your goal or whatever—you fill in the right eye. Then, at the end of the year or the beginning of the next year—I can never remember which—you burn the little guy. Well, there is absolutely no chance of me burning my daruma, so, pyro, put that lighter away. 

•••••

For everybody in the Southern California area:
I will have a piece hanging in the group show "The Faces Within" down at the South Bay Contemporary gallery in San Pedro. Here's the info...

The Faces Within at South Bay Contemporary
Opening Reception is this Saturday, January 14, 2017
4-7pm The Spousal Unit and I plan on being there.
There will also be an ARTist Talk on February 19th at 3pm

Exhibition Dates: January 14, thru February 19, 2017
Location: South Bay Contemporary
401 South Mesa Street, 3rd Floor
San Pedro, CA 90731
(310) 429-0973
www.southbaycontemporary.com

The only teaser I have for you is that half of my face will be in the show. Beyond that, I really have no idea of how to succinctly describe the show to you, so if you live on Facebook here is a link to the event page: The Faces Within at South Bay Contemporary
  
Posted January 12, 2017

Little Red Maneki Neko

6"x4" oil on masonite panel ••• It's Friday and I just finished a 4'x4' painting of a dead guy's head and I am tired and I have apparently forgotten how to use commas and I cannot think of anything to type. You may consider that last thing in my poorly punctuated sentence as divine mercy. I understand.

Posted January 22, 2016

sold • private collection, huntington beach, ca

Train Engineer Bear Toy

6"x4" oil on masonite panel ••• There is a small, but quite vocal group that lambast me every time I present a painting of a toy. Apparently, they don't see the point in taking the time to paint a toy. Oh yeah, post post, the emails fly. (Actually, there is an "anti" group for just about every specific subject I paint and I appreciate every email.) • To the "toy" group, whom I respect and care for with all my heart, all I can say is... Here's another one! • Unlike many of the toys that exist in my small and ever annoying universe, this squishy and somewhat overweight little guy has made no attempt to hasten my demise. The squeaky noise he makes is a little annoying, but all in all, he seems to be a benevolent bear with no evil intentions. I don't trust him. • On another note... The fabulous crossword puzzle writer Merl Reagle recently passed away. He was only 65. I am not a crossword puzzle fanatic, but I do appreciate a good one and he created good ones. My experiences with crosswords are similar to my experiences with my paintings—some flow beautifully and some just make me cuss and spit whilst battling my way through them. Mr. Reagle's puzzles were a unique balance of whimsy and challenge without being esoteric. He provided us with joy, not hair pulling. He was also—as far as I know—the only, or at least the first, crossword writer to make a living solely from his creations. He was that good and 65 is far too young. • Rest in peace Mr. Reagle.


Posted August 26, 2015

sold • private collection brookline, ma

Purple Dinosaur Toy

4"x6" oil on door skin panel ••• If you noticed the pregnant look of this innocent little toy, you are more observant than me. At least more observant than I was one night during bath time when daddy found out the the pregnant bulge was to hold the bathwater he was to be blinded with—this is a squirt gun of a nefariously cute design. It is the llama of cute toys, "Here, look into my cute little face whilst I spit in your eye!" • This will be the last of my 4x6s you will see for at least a couple of weeks. The Beverly Hills Art Show is coming up (see info below), so my time between now and then will be consumed with my favorite hobby: Photographing my work then spending a lot of time color correcting images and cussing at my camera. You know... good times!

•••••

The Beverly Hills Art Show

(http://beverlyhills.org/exploring/beverlyhillsartshow)
I will be showing my wares in space #140, that's in the first park between Rodeo and Beverly Boulevards. • Saturday & Sunday, May 16th & 17th / 10am to 6pm both days. • If you are going to be on this side of the world, drop by and see my latest work.

Posted May 5, 2015

sold • private collection los angeles, ca

Marble Taunts Cat

6"x4" oil on door skin panel ••• Yet another, "I spoiled them in oil paint because they were there." Not a great quote, but it is all I got for a Friday afternoon. • Okay, now I feel guilty delivering such a weak quote, so here is one of my favorites: “I went into a general store. They wouldn’t let me buy anything specifically.” —Steven Wright. • What, not deep enough for you? Here's another of his, "If toast always lands butter-side down, and cats always land on their feet, what happen if you strap toast on the back of a cat and drop it?"
 
Posted April 24, 2015

sold • private collection los angeles, ca

Maneki Neko with Pot

6"x4" oil on canvas panel ••• This overly happy, thus dubious cat is beckoning for us to take his pot of even more dubious food. Pot of what? Are some foodstuffs more lucky than others? And if there is curry in there, I will be pretty ticked off—this artist can't stomach curry. • Anyway... All my suspicions aside, I saw this unique Maneki Neko down in Little Tokyo and had to have it. (Him or her? Don't ask me—I don't know how to check for gender on a ceramic cat and I am not sure I want to know.) • Oh yeah, The Spousal Unit thought I deserved a good beating for my pun-ishing commentary in last Tuesday's post with Mr. Darwin. Needless to say, I didn't get any cookies that day.

Posted March 19, 2015

Chicco Castle Pounder Toy Thingy

4"x6" oil on door skin panel • This was a gift from some good friends of ours to Spawn Number One upon his fiery entry into this totally unprepared world. It is a great toy. Both of The Spawn have pounded on it over the years. Heck, I've pounded on it over the years. It is a good (and acceptable) stress reliever. It is also supposed to be a great developmental tool for young sprouts. To which I say (having only mentally matured to about the level of a two year old myself): "Who cares a flyin' flip about that? Find me something to pound on, and now! Oh yeah, get me a cookie while your at it—and no coconut. Oops. Sorry. Pleeease." • In other Raymond news... I have been judged into the Beverly Hills Art Show. Yeah. It is an October happening. Further details to follow via carrier pigeon.
  
Posted August 27, 2014

sold • private collection longmont, co

Frog on Block

6"x4" oil on raymar panel • This odd fellow is either a frog, a toad, a green monkey, or the %$@&# toy I stepped on in the middle of the night. I threw in the "F" wood block to show the scale of the tiny guy and to show my conviction that he is a malformed frog that I have mercifully spared from the trash can and to indicate his new four letter name. • Most of the subject matter you see in these mini paintings are drastically reduced in scale to fit the format. This toady, excuse me, I meant to type "frog that caused my left foot pain" had to be enlarged drastically to fit the format. Just another fun fact from the bent mind of a deranged artist who cusses at toys in the dark.
  
Posted July 28, 2014

sold • private collection longview, tx