Back from Art Basel

After a long weekend in Miami, I decided to
take today off from painting. I got about halfway to the mall when I found out that there was a fire at Harold Golen's gallery. Luckily, the 2 paintings I had on display were only slightly smoke-damaged.

I hope he had insurance.

this is "Sluggo, the Big Big Monkey Man"

Sam the Krampus

It's that season again,
Krampus' will be descending upon the wicked and selfish, . . .

Sam likes to sneak up on his victims and cover their eyes. He is only 3 feet tall, so he carries a folding stepladder with him. Once he has his hands over the person's eyes he whispers in a very convincing woman's voice, when they turn around, they usually are frightened into unconsciousness.
At which time, he cross-dresses his victims, . . . affixing crooked wigs to their heads and miss-matched high heels to their feet (usually 2 left feet), and places them in uncomfortable locations where they might be seen by the most people, like train stations or bus terminals.

painting will be on display at Art Basel

Ultra-Chimp

This is Maxo The Ultra-Chimp

I've been asked list 5 random facts about myself

1. I love to cook, and not just Chinese food
2. When I worked at an art supply store in NY, my name tag said "O'Malley"
because I got tired of people asking me what country I came from.(I look about as Irish as Charlie Chan)
3. I thought my kindergarten teacher looked like Richard Nixon in drag
4. I'm really into fine writing instruments.
5. I don't like circus clowns

The Show Room in NYC

Jack Longfellow was destined for something big, . . .or so he thought. He really didn't want to be a collector of souls(like his father), . . . instead, he wanted to be a pirate and sail the seas with reckless abandon. When he grew up, he settled for assignment as a Naval recruiting officer during the Civil War(it was a great place for him to harvest souls, the young recruits usually had no idea what kinds of documents they were signing). Sometime at the turn of the 20th century, intense boredom forced him to acquire a post at the US Patent office. He took great pleasure in giving patents to products and inventions that were prone to causing fatalities.
He now lives in Westfield, New Jersey, spending most of his time causing "road-rage"

This painting is on display at the Showroom Gallery space the show is titled “The Beast Within,” curated by Jamie O’Shea, opening October 31st at the East Village’s SHOWROOM NYC GALLERY in conjunction with Tristan Eaton’s Thunderdog Studios. Featuring introspective monster art reflecting the participant’s personal demons (hence the title), the show features new & original work by over 65 artists including Pushead, Phil Frost, Stephan Jay Rayon (Hysteric Glamour), Doze Green, Eric White, Ron English, Louie Cordero, Tristan Eaton, Andy Cruz/House Industries, Mars-1, Steve Bliss, Shepard Fairey, D*Face, REAS (Todd James), Travis Louie, Rhode Montijo, Friends With You, Nathan Cabrera, Tim Biskup, Eric Elms, Kelsey Brookes, Jim Woodring, Mark Dean Veca, Erik Foss, Gary Baseman, Slick, Nathan Jurevicius, James Jean, Usugrow, Glenn Barr, Mike Moon, Gomez Bueno, Pete Fowler, Rick Griffin, Nate Van Dyke, Stanley Mouse, Andrew Brandou, Makoto Kobiyashi, Miran Kim, Peter Taylor, Scott Campbell, Jordin Isip, Melinda Beck, Joel Dugan, Jeff Soto, Elizabeth Huey, Jacaeber Kastor, Mark Smith, Carl Dunn, Junko Mizuno, Mike Sutfin, Rich Jacobs, Taylor McKimens, WK Interact, 123 Klan, Filth, Calma, and many more.

Yves Laroche Gallery in Montreal

"Monty's Day Of The Dead"

Every year, Monty begrudgingly pulls himself out of the ground to dance with the "Day of the Dead" revelers and charm the ladies, . . . it makes him anxious and he is happy that no one can see him sweat.

this painting is on display at the Yves Laroche Gallery in Montreal for their "Sweet Calaveras Show"

Article in current issue of Tattoo Society Magazine

My work is in 2 different publications this month, . . . I have 2 paintings in the 18th edition of Blab! magazine and there is a six page article about me in the current issue of Tattoo Society Magazine.

Shooting Gallery Show

Miss Bunny

Los Angeles Trip

So I fly out to California and spend a few days making the rounds at the different galleries, . . .leading up to the Blab Show at Copro Nason Gallery in Santa Monica.

I stopped by Gallery 1988 for Luke Chueh's show, talked with Anthony Ausgang, and I spent a day with Chet Zar. We visited La Luz De Jesus gallery for Miles Thompson's show on Friday night
and stopped in at Merry Karnowsky's Gallery and had a brief conversation with Kent Williams, who I haven't seen in almost 20 years, he had some beautiful paintings up.

Visited Gary Pressman and saw a great collection of art.

Spent the next day with Dave Chung, Dim Sum in Chinatown, a visit to Thinkspace gallery, Billy Shire Fine Arts, a brief conversation with Billy Shire, and dinner with Miles Teves and his wife Malena and the very talented Bill Basso. both Miles and Bill had pieces in the Blab Show.
The Blab Show on Saturday night was packed, . . . I got there late, . . .but I managed to meet Robert Williams and his wife, Gary Baseman, Natalia Fabia, Fred Stonehouse, Ryan Heshka, and Long Gone John.

The Shooting Gallery

This painting is for the upcoming October Show at the Shooting Gallery in San Francisco
I'm very excited to heading out there, . . .

"The Vamp Circa 1873"
16"x20" acrylic on board
She calls herself Eva, . . .she has been around since the 1820's.
Originally known as Margaret McCambridge, she left Scotland after numerous reports of missing persons began to spread across the countryside.
She reappeared some years later in New York sometime during the Civil War.

The Smacking Krampus

This is a sketch for my next piece

After much deliberation, . . .the Smacking Krampus, raises it's hand as if to ask a question, . . . and then smacks down his victims until they relent. His over-sized right hand is as wide as the average frying pan.

Hi Fructose Magazine

There's a feature article about my work in the current issue of Hi Fructose magazine
I'm very excited to be in such a fine publication! The other artists in the issue are fabulous, . . . so I'm in good company.
Also in that issue are Brendan Danielsson(a good friend), Lori Earley, James Jean, Cover Artist Amy Sol, Parskid, Mars-1(wildly imaginative), and David Stoupakis

FUSE GALLERY OPENING

Last night was the opening of the FUSE Gallery group show "Revelation" featuring artists, . . .
Jason D'Aquino, Chet Zar, Vincent Castiglia, David Stoupakis, Jordin Isip, Eric White,
Ron English, . . .and many others including myself, . . . I've posted my image here.
It's called "The Stack of Demons a k a, Mike, Sam, & Alex" 8x10 acrylic on board.

The Next Gen Show

I Finished this piece last week for last night's opening at the Copro Nason Gallery in Santa Monica.
It's called "Meet the Grimaces"
18x24 acrylic on board
The Grimaces are subterranean dwellers who only come out at night. They have an unusual reaction to bright light. Their hair stands on end and their eyes recede into their sockets.

The Uncle

There's something to be said about being a "Monkey's Uncle"
This piece is available through Gallery 1988

Ophelia, Another Queen of the Sea Monkeys

After much consideration,
I decided to paint the original sketch I had for the Sea Monkey Queen

The Choker

After a long holiday season of punishing the "misbehaved" by choking or squeezing them, . . . this Krampus spends the "off" season gardening and landscaping. They can be seen at a Home Depot or Lowe's buying lumber and shrubs.
However, . . .many of them are still open to be employed as chokers or stranglers, . . .their services can be acquired for a nominal fee that usually includes lunch.

Krampus

Sketch for new Krampus piece

the great mailbox incident of 2007

On Friday I went Williamsburg, Brooklyn to deliver some artwork for the upcoming Art Dorks show at McCaig-Welles Gallery on Roebling St and then onto Manhattan to meet up with an artist agent to discuss some work I may be doing(I just needed to see if the work was within the realm of possibility for me)
After a long day of driving in and out of NYC I get home and go to sleep. It must have been a really deep sleep, . . .because when i woke up the following day I was told that someone had gone through my neighborhood and wrecked a bunch of mailboxes and chopped down some trees. I was really surprised I slept through the damage. They had attacked my mailbox with an ax (the cut marks were clearly visible) Rotten ax-wielding kids!!
I spent my Saturday re-constructing my mailbox just like about half my neighbors had the same problem, . . .I hear it was even worse around the block.

new painting

This is the first version of "Amelia, Queen of the Sea Monkeys"

it's 16"x20" acrylic on board

Curse of the Goat

The Curse Of The Goat
8 x 10 acrylic on board

Thomas Worth was an angry man who developed a habit of kicking things when he lost his temper(which was quite often) He managed to kick most of the people in his town for one reason or another. As a result, he was always alone. (Who in their right mind would want to be around someone who might kick them?)
One day while eating an apple, he bit down hard with a rotten tooth. The pain shot through him quickly and his temper flared up as usual. He turned and saw a goat grazing in the field next to him. He rushed over to it and kicked it.
The goat stood up on its hind legs and cursed him, “ I’ll make your face just like mine!” The sight of the goat frightened him and he fainted. When he awoke a few hours later and staggered drunkenly toward home, he noticed everyone staring at him strangely. He wasn’t sure what to make of it. Then he stumbled on a rock and almost fell face-first into a puddle. As he righted himself, he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the water. A curious thing had happened, . . . somehow the goat’s curse had come true.
From that day on, he did his best to stave off his previously unmanageable temper, in the hope that his appearance might change back. It never did.

Lumpy

Jim “Lumpy” Phelps
8”x10” acrylic on board

Jim was a prize winning rat-catcher and gifted phrenologist.
After spending years examining the bumps on his own head, he came to the conclusion that rat-catching was not the job he was best suited for. In 1850, he was dispatched to Brixton Prison to use his phrenology skills to examine the heads of the inmates in the hope that he might get some insight on the “criminal mind”. His studies were inconclusive, . . . but while he was there, he managed to rid the prison of its rats.

Norman and Jenkins

Norman And Jenkins
8 x 10 acrylic on board

Norman lived in a small cottage outside of London that he shared with his pet Weta, Jenkins,( a large cricket-like insect native to islands in and around New Zealand) Unlike ordinary insects, Jenkins had the ability to control people’s minds. Did he use that ability for good or evil?, . . .no one knew for certain, . . .but Norman lived happily with his “pet”, He did find it curious that the local townspeople often addressed him as “King Norman” or “Your Majesty”, and when the town tax collector arrived at his home to make an assessment, he cried out that his eyes were on fire and leaped into the pond.

Copro Nason Show

Edward "Twitchy” Jones
8”x10” acrylic on board

He was an engine driver who had an obsession with machines; particularly ones that made loud rhythmic noises.
Through most of his adult life, he operated on very little sleep. But when he did allow himself to nap, his loud, unconscious tremors would vibrate his body to such a degree, that often times, he would wake up several feet away from where he lay down to rest.

Upcoming Shows

Thought I'd list some of my upcoming shows

My next show will be at
Copro Nason Gallery
in May

In October i'll be at
The Shooting Gallery showing with Kris Lewis and Kukula

The upcoming Art Dorks Collective shows will be at
Fountain and at ThinkSpace gallery in June
and McCaig-Welles Gallery also in June.

Sketches for my next paintings

I just started my next round of paintings for my next show.
Sometimes, this is the most exciting part of my process; making little drawings of ideas, . . as long as I keep the lead-holder moving, the little sketches evolve into finished drawings.

Had one of those Zombie dreams again

The holiday season has passed, . . .I'm a year closer to paying off my mortgage and my daughter had a wonderful Christmas. What more can I ask for?, . . .A Solution to the Zombie problem that plagues our 21st century existence
I got a neat book for Christmas "World War Z" by Max Brooks
I hope the the FX Shop that my friend works for, gets to work on the motion picture that got optioned recently.

it's back to work for now