FOURTEEN GUITAR PLAYERS AND TWO DRUMMERS

This morning after breakfast I sat down with a cup of coffee and some remaining smoothie (what a morning!) and drew sixteen small drawings with a dip pen, brush and ink. There was a little music in the background, people were walking in and out and there was really no plan except to make sixteen small drawings. To quote KV, if this isn’t nice I don’t know what is. I made these drawings for a purpose, though. They are to be included in a box holding a record weight that LUNA music made for this year’s Record Store Day. It’s such a nice day at the shop: good energies, old pals, people playing music and lots of things to look at.

Anyway, it was great to just start drawing with the ink. I like making the fingers thin then fat. Boots then toes. All with hats, of course, because that seemed important at the time. Then at the end it was all humans playing guitar except for the two that were not. Even though this was with an end goal it felt natural and there were a few reminders how nice it is to draw the same things in different ways. It’s nice to sing songs again in a different way. Why don’t I do this everyday and have a hundred drawings a week? I suppose quantity should not be a motivation but it is somehow satisfying to think about. It’s nice to have a pile.

here’s my favorite one and a couple others:

and here’s the thing they will be inside:

and a little video:

I’ll try to make a hundred of something soon.

Peace! -NR

Listen Here, Buddy

I was invited to participate in the FINDING THE WORDS podcast hosted by Ken Kinsley. I had a good time talking with Ken, and I’m so grateful to be able to have conversations like this from time to time. There were some ideas presented to me that I had not thought of before and some insights from Ken that I found interesting! If you’re like me, hearing a recording of yourself talking is both embarrassing and irresistible, deep down aren’t we all little naval gazers sometimes? Come and gaze at the naval with me: listen to the episode here or wherever else you find these things.

INTER-DIMENSIONAL TRAVEL AGENCY

Some years ago I was commissioned by a Technology Corporation to make a series of prints for some kind of hotel rooms or dormitories or co-work space, I can’t remember the exact wording, honestly. This was long enough ago that it didn’t feel like the tech companies were obviously going to damage the earth and us earth dwellers as much as it does now, and the money was good so why not, right? Anyway my pitch was inter-dimensional travel posters or cosmic souvenir prints, because that’s what was interesting to me at the time and it felt like a smooth and easy adjustment. My buddy Nat Swope printed them up, we both got paid, and who knows where these things are now. 12x18 inches. did they actually get put up? do people look at them and have any thoughts or impressions? Did I make motel art for the Death Star Guest Residencies? you never know with these things, really.

I forgot all about them. Then I found them, a stack in the dank recesses of my third flat file cabinet. Some of them are ideas I mess around with still. Could it be I found a theme in my own work? Am I repeating myself? If so, is that a bad thing? It’s really all the things at once and does not matter. None of it matters unless it DOES matter to the viewer, the beholder, the looker. Personal perspective and reaction is all in the receiving and processing of art of any kind. Whatever the case, I am so happy I got to make a SPACE EGG and somebody has to see it when they wake up in the morning in a strange place and wonder what they are doing that got them here. Thank you for stickpin with me. And one by one, here they are:

FEELINGS DOG

Did you know the Neil Young song “Bad Fog Of Loneliness” was originally about a neighbor’s pet who was feeling down and it was called “Sad Dog Of Loneliness”? That may not be true but that’s what I hear in my head every time I hear that song. And why shouldn’t I? Why should there not be? And this is the flier for the show where the person who writes that song will perform it for the first time tonight. Let’s all go and support them. Doors at 5pm because they serve food and it’s a school night.

call in

I try to draw something every day. Usually it’s on a note for my kids’ lunch boxes or a quick idea on a scrap of paper. More words than anything these days. I think there’s a difference between “making a drawing” and the simple act of drawing. I like doing both but sometimes just drawing with no plan feels best. These may not be the best ones, technically or conceptually, but usually they have a surprise or two in there and grab a hold of something in spite of themselves. Drawing out ideas quickly is important for record keeping but also to keep my hand and eye connected. I don’t keep a regular sketchbook anymore and I wonder why that is. It’s now mostly bits and pieces here and there, half filled notebooks in different pockets of coats and pants.

Anyway, I woke up today and I wanted to call in mad and sad. To take a day off from tasks, thoughts, input, everything. The inner boss was ok with it but their supervisor was less sympathetic. So do a drawing about it and then back to business! Or go for a walk at least.

this year's model

I have been thinking about a bird again. Specifically about how to make a bird, a certain bird, so I made a couple models out of cardboard and hot glue. It seems pretty simple, and I probably saw something like this someplace that I can’t remember, but it felt like a revelation. A revelation in scrap material. It deserves to be made many times out of wood, maybe someday out of scrap metal or cast from a melted-down-something-else. I had to resist adding lines. I’d like to paint the wood one. I’d like to make 100 of these out of wood and hang them from a ceiling along with flying people, UFOs, airplanes, and some kind of air (also made of wood).

Have you listened to This Year’s Model by Elvis Costello lately? It’s still pretty good. I go back and forth on the work of Elvis. Sometimes it feels like all too much, too many words too many chords. Other times it feels exquisite and crafted beyond my understanding. There are no foods that you want to eat every day and that’s how I feel about music. Whatever I am hungry for that is what I need, so the body tells me. As far as This Year’s Model, do you know about the designer Barney Bubbles? He did a lot of stellar mind-blowing design work for the early EC records among many others (Hawkwind, Ian Dury, and my favorite: The Sutherland Brothers debut album) the kind of design that shows you how graphic design can be True Art and visionary. Do yourself a favor and do a quick dive and you will not be disappointed. And perhaps listen to Armed Forces or the self-titled Sutherland Brothers record and tell me humans cannot transcend this earthly realm for just one moment.

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look what I found

I found a pile of these prints in my flat files. I have a lot of flat files and I don’t go through them as often as I should. I find the state of my studio is an accurate reflection of my mind and that means the past few/several/all years it’s been a real mess. So that’s how it is that I can have a stash of prints hiding under the rubble.

I made this original image (SKATEBOARD PEOPLE) some years ago, I can’t really remember. Sometime when I was doing a lot of gestural ink drawings. No wait! Now I remember: I made them for an art show I had at 35th North Skateshop in Seattle around 2014 or 2015. It was all ink drawings of skateboarding skateboarders. Now it all makes sense. That was a fun and hectic time: I had a young son and we were traveling for the first time as a family unit and we would drive around Green Lake in the middle of the night to get him to sleep. I was so tired.

This print was popular with people it seemed and that always feels good. I printed it a couple times and it always went away quickly. In 2020 my friend and fellow artist Thomas Campbell brought up the idea of making this print into a board graphic and reprinting the image in a two-color version to match as part of his Um Yeah Arts project which published books, made movies, skateboards, records and whatever else he felt like at the time. So that’s what we did! There were two different colorways: the one above (yellow/maroon) and a blue/maroon. Both went quick and brought joy and peace to many (I can only hope).

So I found this hidden pile of prints: proofs, extras from the original edition. Nat Swope printed them in Oakland, California and must have sent me the over-run. It seemed like these want to be in the world and not in my flat files. I have signed and numbered this AP edition and put them in my online store in the hopes that people who missed out before can get one and maybe I can fund some other projects I have simmering. I’m donating a portion of the proceeds from print sales to a local organization that provides programming and support to LGBTQ+ youth. (if you are interested I the organization or want to see some receipts, feel free to reach out) T

I’m going to start digging through my files more often, who knows what I may find. Or maybe I will leave that for my old age or for somebody else to do. I am always more interested in what it is happening right now and what is new but now and then I am pleasantly surprised by a discovery of some older work that still may resonate with other people and myself. who knows how these things work? My advice is let it do its thing and see what you see.

this is it

This is it. This is place where I will be sharing new work, old work, sketches, ideas, photos, updates, announcements, musings, recommendations, and whatever else comes up. I used to do a blog pretty regularly back in the old days and I have long been meaning to ease back in. This is me easing. This is me starting. Again. I don’t know what it will look like or if it will be interesting but here we are.

I’ll start with a simple one: A month or so ago I made a poster/admat/image for the band Phish. It was fun to work on this and very cool to see the response online and elsewhere. I even saw a picture on instagram of it on a billboard. (If you are in LA and see this billboard and take a photo and want to send it to me that would be wonderful)

What is it about flowers? I like drawing the shapes of the leaves and the winding of the stems. Flowers are symbols of lots of things: life, growth, beauty, fragility, strength, love, hope, and death even. I like to keep these things mysterious to myself and see where they might fit. I don’t think i’m interested in solutions or final answers for many things related to art and music. But drawing flowers and making prints of flowers and looking at flowers: let’s hope it stays interesting and fun and meaningful in some nebulous way. Maybe I will see you in the pit at the Phish show?