Jonas Wood.

Check out images from Jonas Wood, an interesting painter who takes on scenes of modern life with pattern, depth (or a lack-there-of), and color...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/30/jonas-wood_n_4005422.html?utm_hp_ref=arts

Art Under Attack. Hypocrisy and Questions at the Tate.

A new show at the Tate explores various run-ins with art destruction and defacement...but should artistic endeavor (however misinformed), defacement, and religious persecution really fit together in one show?
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/sep/30/art-under-attack-tate-britain-review

Beauty Underground.

The saying goes that "beauty is only skin deep"...but in regards to Planet Earth, that saying is totally wrong. Take a look at some gorgeous photos of a Welsh silica mine...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/earth/10296342/Photographer-Annette-Price-explores-a-Welsh-silica-mine.html?frame=2665297

The Government Shutdown: Who to Blame

A couple articles all disagreeing about who's fault this all really is.

Blame the Democrats!
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130930/OPINION01/309300005/1008/OPINION01/Senate-Dems-risk-government-shutdown

Blame the GOP!
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/09/the-frauds-on-the-hill-target-obama-97537.html?hp=l3

Blame the President!
http://nypost.com/2013/09/29/obama-is-childish-in-his-attempts-to-handle-challenges/

Air War. A New Piece.

Air War.

20x20”

Acrylic and Pastel on wicker basket top.

Sharp, Pretty Things. A New Piece.

Sharp, Pretty Things.

8x8”

Acrylic and Pastel on sheet mounted on cigar box

Eddie Villanueva.

Check out the work of this Wisconsin artist, Eddie Villanueva, who's been doing some really great things lately...both in and out of state.
http://www.eddievillanueva.com

and make sure to check out his stuff at the Wisconsin Triennial in Madison.
http://www.mmoca.org/2013-triennial

Jean Debuffet at Pace.

A great looking show of late drawings by the great Jean Debuffet.
http://www.pacegallery.com/newyork/exhibitions/12594/jean-dubuffet-late-drawings-1975-1983

I Spend My Free Time Lost in the Curtains.

I Spend My Free Time Lost in the Curtains.
28x60"
Acrylic and Charcoal on canvas.

A few hours in...

The inspiration (The piece, not the guy)

Unknown Titian Discovered.

A new Titian painting has been identified! Take a look at the once-in a lifetime find...
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/sep/26/titian-risen-christ-austrian-professor

Water Found on Mars?

A big discovery on the Red Planet...
http://io9.com/nasa-has-just-made-an-incredible-discovery-about-water-1403815899

Eisenhower Memorial Delayed Again.

Just the latest setback for the embattled Eisenhower Memorial...
http://www.rollcall.com/news/eisenhower_memorial_saga_takes_another_strange_twist-227508-1.html

And take a look at this opinion piece on the design...
http://www.standard.net/stories/2013/09/20/our-view-memorialize-eisenhower-not-architect

The Clock Tower. A New Look at an Old Piece.

The Clock Tower.
36x60"
Acrylic, Ink, and Pastel on canvas.

Historic America's Cup Comeback.

If you've never checked out the America's Cup, this year's battle, featuring the most technologically advanced boat and the largest comeback in its 162 yr history, might be the time to try it out.

Here's an article recapping the race...
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/sailing/2013/09/25/oracle-team-usa-beats-new-zealand-americas-cup/2871027/

and here's a link to the last races on youtube...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_q1Tfb7maQ

Bay View Gallery Night!

It's the first Gallery Night/Bay View Gallery Night that I'm not participating in years...but that doesn't mean I'm not excited. For the first time in a while, I'll actually get to walk around, meet some artists, mingle, see some exciting new work and meet some venue owners...I'll post afterward about my favorite locations and artwork, but make sure to get out yourself and see all the great work around the Bay View area!
https://www.facebook.com/BayViewGalleryNight

The Greatest Living Artist.

I honestly don't know who I'd pick, as my all-time favorites are all dead, but I'm gonna start a list of nominations that I'll add to over time...

Who would make your shortlist of "Greatest Living Artists"? Here's an ongoing list of my own thoughts...

Jasper Johns:

Jasper_Johns-wikipedia

Ellsworth Kelly:

Ellsworth Kelly - Images

Richard Serra:

Richard_Serra-wikipedia

Gerhard Richter:

http://www.gerhard-richter.com

David Hockney:
http://www.hockneypictures.com

Kara Walker:
http://learn.walkerart.org/karawalker

Frank Stella:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Stella

Matthew Barney:
http://www.cremaster.net/

Michael Heizer:
http://doublenegative.tarasen.net/

Chris Ofili:
http://www.victoria-miro.com/artists/_6/

Claes Oldenburg:
http://www.oldenburgvanbruggen.com/

Anish Kapoor:
http://www.lissongallery.com/#/artists/anish-kapoor/works/

Ai Weiwei:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ai_Weiwei

Andy Goldsworthy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Goldsworthy

Francesco Clemente:
http://www.francescoclemente.net/1980s/1.html

Lorna Simpson:
http://lsimpsonstudio.com

Carrie Mae Weems:
http://carriemaeweems.net/work.html

Chuck Close:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Close

Kerry James Marshall:
http://www.jackshainman.com/artist-images1.html

Wangechi Mutu:
http://www.wangechimutu.com

Peter Doig:
http://www.victoria-miro.com/artists/_30/

Georg Baselitz:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Baselitz

Alex Katz:
http://www.alexkatz.com

Banksy:
http://www.banksyny.com/

Bruce Nauman:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Nauman

Cindy Sherman:
http://www.cindysherman.com/

Figures in Curtains. A New Piece In-progress.

A couple hours of work done on this piece...quite a bit of work yet to go...loosely inspired by the image at the bottom of the post...

Photo taken from Huffington Post:

Mitchell Johnson with his painting "The Fence," 2010, oil on linen, 84 x 56 inches Photo: John Seed

Real Conversations about Nothing Much At All. A New Piece.

Real Conversations about Nothing Much At All.

28x56"

Acrylic, Pastel and Charcoal on canvas.

The New Buck's Court

Old

"inspiration"

New

Everyone is free to their own opinion...but I clicked the "Bucks Reveal New Floor" link with anticipation and excitement, only to come away with the feeling "I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/23840972/milwaukee-bucks-reveal-new-court-design

It's not that it's a bad court...it's just that it's really only a court. It works...it doesn't look bad (in fact, I think it looks better than the old court)...but that's about it. It's a basketball court, and one that, when the process included the MECCA as inspiration and collaboration with a local artist, really seems to have missed an opportunity to impress. 

So I guess that's my opinion. It's a fine basketball court, but in terms of "innovation" or even "art", as the MECCA floor has come to be, it falls flat.

I guess it's what I should have expected from a PR-minded company...slightly better than the last one...no where near the "icon" it could have been.

The Strangest, Most Unnecessary, and Weirdest Buildings Ever Constructed

That picture pretty much wraps up what you are about to see...
http://io9.com/these-are-the-most-extreme-buildings-ever-1375963755

EXPO Chicago in Review.

It was a tough decision, but I chose throwing out my back over going to EXPO Chicago this year...luckily, Hyperallergic has a review for you all taken care of...take a look.
http://hyperallergic.com/85316/expo-chicago-streamlined-and-sellier-than-ever/

Why Popular Science No Longer Allows Comments.

It would seem to many that a science website is the exact place where commenting online should be allowed. The topics can be hard to grasp, the assertions can be controversial, people can simply disagree with a theory, experiment or article...and a comment section should be a great place to clear the water. But there's something sour in online commenting and, even at a fraction of the total number of comments, it's harming the ability for readers to really understand the articles they are reading...See why Popular Science is no longer allowing comments on their new articles...
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-09/why-were-shutting-our-comments

19Hrs Later, Cruz Still Talking.

Take a look at a what's been going on...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/sen-cruz-continues-night-long-attack-on-obamacare/2013/09/25/5ea2f6ae-25ae-11e3-b75d-5b7f66349852_print.html

Curiosity Rover Uncovers "Flood" Evidence.

The Curiosity Rover has found compelling evidence that Mars was once a wet environment...take a look.
http://news.yahoo.com/water-mars-curiosity-rover-uncovers-flood-evidence-193849410.html

Richard Diebenkorn: '53-66

Take a look at this review of an exhibition on Richard Diebenkorn from the Huffington Post...Great artist...great images...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-seed/diebenkorn_b_3961911.html?utm_hp_ref=arts

Check out Diebenkorn's wikipedia page here...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Diebenkorn

Mask for Harlequins. The What.

This new piece, Mask for Harlequins, is meant to represent someone who "proves" their worth by criticizing, blaming or shifting attention to those around them. A harlequin, as defined by the Free Online Dictionary, is  "A conventional buffoon or a clown." and so this "mask" for harlequins is not part of the costume...it's meant to distract from their reality as a buffoon or clown.

The idea is that someone, (a harlequin, a clown) pretends that they are not a buffoon by distracting from their own inadequacies. They put on this mask (the colors meant to represent a variety of distractions) not so that we see how great they are, but so that, through the various distractions, we are led to pay attention to other things. Instead of displaying intelligence, they point to someone who more obviously displayed stupidity. Instead of showing us the right direction, they blame others for taking us the wrong way. Instead of proving worth, they simply show how others are proven worthless.

Mask for Harlequins is not a mask a harlequin wears for the act, as you may have thought...It's meant to be a mask they would use to distract from their reality as a buffoon...to deflect laughter from their actual short-comings to those of the people around them...

A Century of National Geographic.

Take a look at a new exhibit featuring photos from a century of National Geographic...
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/sep/24/century-of-national-geographic-photographs

The Pictures...
http://www.theguardian.com/travel/gallery/2013/sep/24/national-geographic-then-and-now-in-pictures?CMP=twt_gu

Meat Cutting Tools. A Closer Look...

I'm really liking how this piece turned out. Created on an antique butcher's tool box I picked up at a garage sale, It's got some great character and, being 3-D, has an iconic feel to it that really defines the space around it.

While a painting can get attention by standing out from the simple walls around it, this piece gains importance through its disruption of the living space. Instead of a book, chest or table, which sits idly by, this piece opens it's contents to the viewer and forces them to see if from a variety of angles. While a table sits and fades into the background, this piece continues to stare and jump. Its gaze follows you as you move around it, and, unlike a painting, it turns and shifts, never quite giving you the same effect.

7.7 earthquake hits Pakistan, Creates New Island, Large Losses Expected.

A huge earthquake struck off the coast of Pakistan and, though the areas are remote, casualties and property destruction is expected to be high. The earthquake also is said to have created a new island about a half mile off the coast...take a look...
http://io9.com/7-7-magnitude-quake-in-pakistan-just-created-a-new-isla-1377964003

And more news on the new island, the fourth of its kind in the area since 1945...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24272552

The ACA: Where it Was and What it is Today.

Take a look at this article from Politico which goes through the short but tumultuous life of the Affordable Care Act and discusses what has happened since it passed and what we all will actually be buying...
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/09/obamacare-one-blow-after-another-97231_Page3.html

The Quiet Conversation. In-progress...

Just a few hours in on a new piece...and I have to say that having an injured back really hampers what you can do, for how long, and how actively you're putting things down. I've never had much restraint on my art other than space in the apartment to store it...and throwing out my back last Friday has really lessened the amount of time I can spend working on large-scale pieces....and maybe more noticeably, reduced the amount of movement and energy I have when working.

On one hand, it's been annoying that I can't just do whatever I want how I want...on the other hand, it's led to finding some smaller surfaces that are more manageable, creating some found object work, and really forced me to take breaks throughout the process, leading to more reflection on the pieces in-progress.

I'm not in any way arguing FOR throwing your back out...but when issues arise, it's always interesting to see how you manage to cope with hardship without losing the things that make you who you are...