Kneeling Bull Magic

Fly-Fishing Montana

2008-09-20T13:00:00.000-07:00

My good friend and professional photographer, Noah Clayton,

and I went on a little fishing adventure last week.

It was one of my best fishing experiences ever.

Noah caught the day - digitally.

Check out these awsome pictures he took

and then visit http://www.noahclayton.com/

to see more of his work - thanks!

The Shed/Playhouse Re-Visited

2008-09-14T08:42:00.000-07:00

It's Alive!

It's a Roof!
It's a Living Roof

and it's growing!

Growth is Good

Here I am, back in June, trying to figure out how the hell I am going to pull this all together.

I've got a roof, now how am I going to get stuff to grow on it?

After deciding to use more of my old sheet metal roof for the fence-

reinforced with license plates- I came up with this idea.

The rubber membrane is the same type used to line backyard ponds

and, once again, "Building Green" by Clarke Snell & Tim Callahan

came in handy when I was trying to figure this out.

Once again, check out: http://www.thinkgreenbuilding.com/index.htm

for more information about this book and its ideas.

Notice that there is no wood to water contact

to combat wood rotting.

This was what it looked like after installing the fence,

throwing a whole lotta dirt up there and planting. This is what it looks like now after a couple monthes of growth.
Early Summer

Late Summer
Everybody asks me about drainage. In the little drawing above, you can see

that most water drains between the fence and the rubber membrane.

However, up here in Montana we sometimes get very heavy rains

so I've got drainage holes punched into the sheet metal to let overflow drain.

Eventually, I'd like to capure all of that water

in a barrel and use it to water the garden.

We didn't get stuff planted early enough this year

so garden veggies will have to wait til next summer. Water draining from roof.
Door to upstairs playhouse.

The kids and I did sleep up here one night

but it doesn't hold any heat the way a tent will,

so it was pretty chilly - even with our heavy duty sleeping bags.

This is our only view of Big Mountain on our property -
through the north truss.

Storage under the kid's deck.

Inside the shed.
Transforms easily into a functional bar for backyard parties.

Gone fishin'. Open for business!
Handy counter space...
holds all of my tools.
This fall & winter I'll spread bird seed in the bird playground window. Playhouse fun Stop! Hammock time!

This hammocmk we purchased in Ecuador.

We have another chair hammock

(you can see it in the backgorund of the picture of me above)

that we bought in Nicaragua. Hammocks are a delight.

Pretty silly, huh?

Once again big, big thanks to my wood pimp,

"Balancing Axe" Jeremiah Anderson,

amazing timber framer and friend.

Check out some of the stuff he does on You Tube at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkCWmCU4xHo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wnrgxKktqA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTWYMyJnHB8

The End

see: http://kneelingbullmagic.blogspot.com/2007/11/shedplayhouse.html

for info regarding the earlier stages of this project

Collagraph Workshop Part 2

2008-08-12T09:08:00.001-07:00

The second Saturday of my workshop

at Stumptown Art Studio http://www.stumptownartstudio.org/

will cover printing the collagraph plate.

Here we have my finished plate.

To get ready for printing;

I first soak my paper to soften it up,
make a template for positioning plate and paper,and get the press set up with blankets
Next, I get my ink out
(we'll have black, blue and brown available)...

and start spreading it on to the plate -

a very small amount is needed.

Here the plate is covered with ink.

The rubber spatula makes it easier to spread ink

in to all the cracks and crevices of the plate.

Now, I begin to wipe the plate.

I start by scraping the top layer of ink from the plate

with a piece of mat board. This removes most of the excess ink.

Next, using a balled up piece of tarlatan,
I wipe the plate. The surface ink gets picked up in the weave of the tartlatan

and you end up with a wiped plate ready for the press.

Be sure to wipe edges of plate as lumps of ink can accumulate

and cause blotches in the print.

Using my template, I place the plate on to the press bed.

Now, using a bent playing card to keep my inky fingers from

leaving finger maks all over my paper,

I remove the soaked paper and let it drip...

...and then I blot the paper dry.

Once again using my template, I place my paper over the plate.

I roll down the press blankets and run everything through

the press rollers, mashing everything together.

After passing through the press,

you can see the embossing of the plate

on the back side of the paper.

Peal the the paper back from the plate

and, voila!

A Collagraph Print

These inks take a good deal of time to dry

so I like to give the print a week or so before

handling or framing. After that I've

an archival print that should last well beyond

my great grandchildren's lifetime.

Collagraph Workshop Part 1

2008-08-03T12:12:00.000-07:00

I'm teaching a Collagraph workshop at the Stumptown Art Studio

(http://www.stumptownartstudio.org/)

on Saturday August 16th and 23rd

Here's pretty much what we'll be doing that first Sat.

CREATING A COLLAGRAPH PLATE

Here's the most important thing to remember:

Keep It Thin!

The other thing thing that is important to remember is

all of the values in your print will come from the textures

on the plate - the rougher the surface the darker value

and the smoother the surface the lighter the value.

Basically, I create my plates from trash.

I collect trash with interesting textures and

stash it in these bins. So I rummage

through them and come up with...

1. Cardboard - base for plate

2. Old sand paper - for some nice dark values

3. Letter "G" stencil - for shape

(prints will be REVERSE from plate-

for lettering to appear correctly on print

it must be backwards on plate)

4. A self-portrait on butcher paper - for fun

Next I adhere everything together with an acrylic gel medium

(you could just use white glue for this part).

I like using plastic wrap to really mash everything down together

without getting medium all over my hands

as shown in these three pictures:

Self Portrait Cut Out
Next I cut out the plate...
and seal the edges.
Next I use the gel medium establish some lighter values.

Then using some fun tools to poke my plate,
I create values with the stippling.
Notice the texture in the these photos:

After sealing everything with a very thinned down gel medium wash,

I create my lightest value by laying platic wrap over wet gel meduim

and letting it dry totally before removing wrap.

This is basically how I arrive at a collagraph plate.

COMING SOON

Collagraph Workshop Part 2

Printing the Plate

My Walk to Work

2008-07-22T20:24:00.000-07:00

So recently, I started walking to work - for two reasons : gas is expensive and I'm getting fat. I did not, however, count on it being a source for photographic inspiration. So here it is, join me on my walk to work...

New Condo Across the Street

Building yet another CondoStoplight at Wisconsin and Edgewood
Nice, New Winding Bike Path

Viaduct over Railroad

US Flag over Railroad
Tower over Railroad

Bike Path and Trestle Bridge
What sign? Trestle/Train BridgeI always cross to walk on the south side. So that if a train comes, I won't have to wait on it... ...like this guy.

Train Art

View of the Valley

Up the hill, through the gap in the bushes by the yield sign...
...and into the cemetary.
Beyond death lies work. The roof in the back ground is part of the club where I'll be bartending in just a few minutes. Stop by, mention reading this and I just might buy you a beer.

LIVING ROOF

2008-07-20T13:05:00.000-07:00

It's alive!

...and seems to be doing pretty good. More blog to come as my summer winds down and I've more time to spend with the computer.

COMPASSION SHOW!

2008-04-22T10:32:00.000-07:00

This is what these pieces look like stretched, framed and hung.

More pics from the show's opening night coming soon!

Glenn's Art - available on-line!

2008-04-16T11:08:00.000-07:00

That's right! Glenn's original and limited giclee series that will be shown Friday night is available on-line.

Check it out at: kneelingbullmagic.etsy.com

Please forward this to folks you know who might be interested in checking this out. Thanks for the support!

Thanks and Praise,
Glenn

Art Opening!

2008-03-05T15:39:00.001-08:00

COMPASSION
AN ART SHOW WITH A MISSION
Opening Friday, April 18th 5-11pm
and shown Saturday, April 19th 1-7pm
at Shanti Yoga Studio
with the cooperation of
Rolling Mirror Massage and Wellness Center
235 Central Ave
Whitefish, MT
(through the door and up the stairs)

Please join us to celebrate the beginning of a unique art project designed to inspire a little more compassion on this earth. This will be the premier viewing of a series of eleven limited edition giclee prints created by me, Glenn Phillips. Each print features images of statuary depicting Juichimen-Kannon, an eleven-faced bodhisattva associated with compassion and wisdom. This 6th century Japanese deity usually has a head crowned with nine faces and topped by the Amida Buddha. With so many eyes and ears, he or she perceives the whole world’s suffering and seeks to alleviate these pains with compassion.

Working on this series of images, I could not help but to contemplate compassion and see it as more than just empathy. Compassion requires action. One cannot be compassionate without compassionate acts. Learning this, there was no way to avoid donating a portion of any profit from these images to a compassionate charity. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans FrontiPres (MSF) seemed, to me, the most appropriate charity.

MSF is an international independent medical humanitarian organization that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural and man-made disasters, and exclusion from health care in nearly 60 countries. A private, nonprofit organization, MSF was founded in 1971 (the same year I was born) as the first non-governmental organization to both provide emergency medical assistance and bear witness publicly to the plight of people it assists. On any one day, close to 27,000 doctors, nurses, logisticians, water-and-sanitation experts, administrators, and other qualified professionals can be found providing medical care in international teams made up of local aid workers and their colleagues from around the world. In 1999, MSF was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Their executive director Nicolas de Torrente’s quote regarding their mission, "We find out where conditions are the worst - the places where others are not going - and that’s where we want to be," nicely reflects ideas associated with this bodhisattva.

I’ve titled each of these images with a quote relating to compassion to encourage more contemplation on the subject.

As the edition is limited to eleven giclee prints for each image, I will be taking orders for either the 22"x34" or the 34"x45" size, stretched or unstretched, EnduraChrome prints on fine art matte canvas. These prints will continue to exhibit at the Shanti Yoga Studio and Rolling Mirror facilities until each edition is exhausted. I will display and take orders on-line following the show’s opening.

Keeping with the number eleven theme, the pricing sheet and donation will break down in multiples of eleven as follows:
22"x34" unstretched $440-$132 donated to MSF
22"x34" stretched $550-$165 donated to MSF
34"x45" unstretched $770-$231 donated to MSF
34"x45" stretched $880-$265 donated to MSF

*Stretched canvas prints cannot be shipped
**Unstretched canvas prints can be rolled and shipped to you (buyer pays shipping) and the canvas stretched at your local framer

Knowing that there are a total of 121 prints and using a little math skills, one can see that I’m hoping to raise somewhere between $15,000 - $25,000 for MSF.

Also knowing that most folks cannot afford these prices, I’ll have a postcard set of the images for $11 and unframed collagraph prints for $22 and $33 in the hopes of making it affordable to help. A percentage from the collagraph prints will not only go to MSF but also the Stumptown Art Studio, as they are actively encouraging my art by loaning me the etching press for these prints.

This event is not something I could accomplish alone and I feel fortunate to live in a community, both locally and globally, and in a time where I have access to the natural, renewable and valuable resources found in people who care to help me. Thank-you to everyone who inspires me in my search for a better way.

"I believe in a better way." - Ben Harper

THE IMAGES

The original images for the giclee series arose from a garage sale purchase of two sets of Post Cards of Eastern Art published by the Society of Friends of Eastern Art. Two images in the set that particularly stood out for me happened to be statuary of the same deity, Juichimen-kannon (Ekadasa-mukha) both dating back mid 700 A.D. Two different unknown artists connecting with me 1300 years later.

Using a scanner, my Wacom tablet and Photoshop, I used one of the images for a burned CD cover a couple of years ago. The images floated around my head and my computer for a while, until -thanks to my brother, Keith- I discovered giclee printing.

Many thanks to Caltara and the folks at Giclee Print Net, for getting beautiful images off my computer screen and on to people’s walls. The first three giclees in this series were exhibited in my last show in October and can be viewed in the archives of my blog. Two of the three prints sold.

Encouraged, I spent more time in front of a computer and added Google to my pallette. Research and development produced more images of statuary depicting this compassionate bodhisattva.
I’m not sure in many cases of whom to give credit to for certain images I employed in this series(Google: "Juichimen-kannon" and I’m sure you’ll recognize some of the images in these web pages and learn something also). I do believe that an artist involved in creating these exquisite statues would understand and encourage me. They’d see that I’m just trying to do a good thing with my art (see artist statement).

Certain images and ideas arose out of this creative state. The idea to use my art to raise money for charity. The way the number eleven kept coming up while working on this and the way it was reinforced (Google: "the number eleven"). The eleven images themselves, huge files slowing down my computer as I worked the many layers in Photoshop, often I’d click and walk away and make lunch, thinking about compassion (Google: "quotes on compassion" and you’ll find the quotes I used for the titles of these images). I’d come back and look up "compassion" in Wikipedia. One could say the world has conspired to help me.

These eleven images, this show and fund-raising event evolved from a period of creativity that began in the 6th century and continues in the 21st. It is my hope that this does not sound either pretentious or phony, I’m a human being hoping to become an example for myself, my children and other human beings with questions about what to do with their own gifts from God. I hope to inspire a little more compassion and hope for life on this amazing planet.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Inspiration for my art starts with my eyes, anything my eyes see, in a way, belongs to me - in a way, that vision also belongs to everyone else. The vision produces a vague idea and then my hands take over. At times my hands work unbeknownst to me, my mind wanders and thinks about other matters while my hands busy themselves producing a vision beyond anything I could have imagined - it’s a form of communion and meditation for me. I feel the need to share this with others and was encouraged, by my wife, to do good for others using this gift.

I was discouraged by my wife to name this show "compassionism". "That’s not even a word, Glenn."

While I agree with her, this made up word does convey some sense about what I’d like to do with this vision. I never thought I’d be a part of any sort of "ism" but I think this may be my fledgling attempt at starting a "compassionist" art movement. If this sort of art encourages and inspires people to treat people better, if this sort of artist can be an example to others searching for a better way of living, well, then I think I could get behind this movement.

I’d also like to explain the strong connection I feel to past artists. The unknown artist who created the Venus of Willendorf c. 28,000 - 25,000 B.C. is connected to me in the sense that, this person like myself, could not help but to create this piece of art. I can imagine that this artist, like myself, didn’t fully understand how or why this all came about but didn’t question it either. I believe I’m connected to all artists in this way and if I appropriate certain images and use them in whole or as compositional elements for my art, I have a certain artistic right or license given to me by these artists to do so. I’d like to tip my hat to the many photographers who document the art that ends up in my art.

I’ll certainly entertain questions regarding any of the ideas presented here in the comments section of my blog but please realize that between now and April 18th, I’ll be very busy preparing for this event. Honestly, I’m not ignoring you - I might not have the time to give a sufficient answer, yet.

Thank-you for your consideration,
support and compassion,
Glenn

ETSY Shop!

2008-02-02T21:50:00.000-08:00

That's right, Kneeling Bull Magic expands it's borders on the World Wide Web;

http://www.kneelingbullmagic.etsy.com/

The Shed/Playhouse

2007-11-24T11:21:00.000-08:00

While not 100% complete, an impressive structure which we like to call

"The Shed/Playhouse" stands in our backyard and this is not a picture of it.

This a picture of our back yard before I began construction. Nice view of our neighbors' backyards and the sinking old shed blocking the view of a meadow that will probably be developed in the next couple of years. When we moved into our new home in the summer of 2005, I told my wife that I was going to level the eye-sore of a shed and build a new one. That Christmas she bought me a book named "Building Green" by Clarke Snell & Tim Callahan which really inspired me to think about the space and what I wanted to get out of it. The book was a wealth of knowledge not only about alternative building methods, but also about site planning and basic building principles(anyone thinking about building a home or smaller structure should check this book out). Check out: http://www.thinkgreenbuilding.com/index.htm for more information about this book and its ideas.

I got my graph paper out and sharpened my pencils and, by spring 2006, had come up with these plans for what was no longer just a shed.

This is how I invisioned my backyard with the completed structure:

When I took my plans to city planning, I was surprised to learn that I didn't need any permits because it wasn't connected to our house and it was too small in size to be considered a garage.

After getting a "post and pole" permit, summer 2006 found me in a old burn (forest fire) area felling charred timbers which would make the skeleton for my structure.

On Using Burnt Trees

Pros: No need to cut down living trees, ready to use immediately (no cure time) and very easy to peel.

Con: As a fire moves through a forest the heat makes the wood split along one side, I had to take this split into consideration when placing the logs so that I wouldn't end up trying to screw something into the gap.

Digging the Footers

By the end of the summer 2006, this was what my structure looked like:

I pulled this all back down, stained the logs and covered them with tarp for the winter.
When spring came, work began in earnest and generally consumed my whole summer. Check it!

I'm sorry there is no old shed demolition video. Ask my wife, it was pretty entertaining!

I recycled the floor, roof, two by four and plywood of the old shed.

Old Shed Floor in New Shed

Roof and Plywood from Old Shed on New Shed

When working on this kind of project it's very handy to have a wood pimp. A wood pimp is a friend who happens to have a small scale wood mill in his yard. Old barn wood, lumber for trusses, sheet metal roof, tongue and groove decking plus lots more wood all came from my buddy Jer's place. If you think this little structure is neat, you should see the awesome timber frame home he's built for his family. Besides lots and lots of wood at discount prices he was also there to answer any structural questions I had. Very handy indeed!

Trusses

So this it pretty much how it looks now. Next summer, I'll to build the living roof and build windows to go inside the trusses and it'll be 100% complete.

TITLES!

2007-10-15T19:01:00.000-07:00

tHANKS TO MY bROTHER, dAVE
AND HIS WIFE, aMY - i'M FINALLY

GETTING SOME TITLES oN-lINE!

TWO WEEKS LEFT!

There's no such thing as too many titles for theses paintings!

Help a brother out, thanks.

I had a great turn out for my art opening,

sold a few pieces, emptied a keg of beer and

all of my paintings now have titles (the egg painting

has over sixty)! Not only that but I also had a

great visit from my sister, Christine and boyfriend,

Jason - who was a big hit in Whitefish, check out the pics.

DJ CB

Karaoke at the VFW after the opening!

BIG thanks to all the folks that helped me to have
a rad opening!

Untitled Titled

2007-10-03T15:36:00.000-07:00

Glenn's Art Show On-Line!

Title my paintings! Each comment for each painting will be duly noted as one of the titles for the painting. These paintings will go from untitled to multi-titled. Limited to comments made the month of October. Get creative, be imaginative and relax, it's not a test - it should be fun!

For pricing please contact

the Walking Man Gallery and Frame Shop

at 406-863-2787

or e-mail: thewalkingman@cyberport.net

thanks y'all!

glenn

2007-10-03T15:34:00.000-07:00

Ink, water colors, acrylics and google eyes on paper; mounted on stretched muslin panels.

2007-10-03T15:32:00.000-07:00

Acrylics and oils on stretched linen.

2007-10-03T15:30:00.000-07:00

Acrylics, enamels, glitter and oils on brown Carhartt denim.

2007-10-03T15:28:00.000-07:00

Acrylics, enamels, oils and glitter on coffee bean sack.

2007-10-03T15:26:00.000-07:00

Acrylics, enamels, oils and glitter on black Carhartt denim.

2007-10-03T15:24:00.000-07:00

Acrylics, enamels and oils on black Carhartt denim.

2007-10-03T15:22:00.000-07:00

Acrylics, glitter, oils and plastic Superman on blue jeans.

2007-10-03T15:20:00.000-07:00

Acrylics and oils on duck Carhartt denim.

2007-10-03T15:17:00.000-07:00

Acrylics on stretched muslin.

2007-10-03T15:12:00.000-07:00

Paper, foils, acrylics, and oils on muslin.

2007-10-03T15:10:00.000-07:00

Paper, acrylics, glitter and oils on duck Carhartt denim.

2007-10-03T15:09:00.000-07:00

Acrylics on canvas.

2007-10-03T15:07:00.000-07:00

Oils on wood.

2007-10-03T15:05:00.000-07:00

Newspaper and acrylics on canvas panel.

2007-10-03T11:23:00.000-07:00

Acrylics, enamels and oils on black Carhartt denim.

Salivating Twenty-Three Faced Fountain

2007-10-03T11:13:00.000-07:00

2007-10-03T11:04:00.000-07:00

the Virgin of Guadalupe

Lucas Cranach's Adam and Eve deconstructed

Juichimen-kannon series

2007-10-03T10:32:00.000-07:00

2007-09-28T08:49:00.000-07:00

I’ve tried to kick this art addiction before but I always find myself looking for my next score. I’m sorry, I just can’t help myself. Something clicks in my head which causes a long chain of events to happen - the cumulative result being something that one has a hard time labeling anything other than "art".

Being a bartender, folks might have their suspicions about me calling myself an artist but I do have a BFA with a concentration in Printmaking. However, these sorts of degrees make it tough for an artist to pay back student loans and earn a living without selling out. So, I learned to bartend in New Orleans. The beauty of this being that I could pay bills and still be free, creatively, to do as I wished. In my ten plus years bartending, I’ve accumulated far more art than I have walls. Wanting to spend more time with my kids, while they are still kids - now seems to be good time to see if anybody wants to hang my art on their walls. If I could sell some of my art, I’d be able to bartend less and have more time to spend with my girls and create more art. Hmmmm.....

So, what is a bartending printmaker doing showing a bunch of odd paintings without titles? Well, I’m not quite sure myself except that this must be what happens when I don’t have access to a printing press - crazy, colorful paintings on Carhartts and coffee bean sacks! Nothing at all like any of my conservative monochromatic prints, wow! When I was going to college in North Carolina, folks always said to me, "You ain’t right", and I think most of my art is a reflection of this. That being said, most folks do seem to like my art, or a least some it (myself included). With a little encouragement from friends and family, I’m having my first show.
Titles seemed redundant for these dreamy paintings but untitled art is so boring, so I’ve opted for a little audience participation. At the show, the gallery guests will have the opportunity to name my painting themselves. I’ll also include distant friends and family by posting my show on my blog site -kneelingbullmagic.blogspot.com -and letting folks name my paintings via the internet. My paintings will go from being untitled to multi titled and I expect I’ll have some interesting results.

The oddest part , for me, is telling people that I’m having an art show. I mean, I’ve been bartending here in Whitefish for over seven years and I’ve managed to keep this skeleton in my closet for quite awhile. So, I am a little anxious but also very excited. I’ve been getting an enthusiastic response as I spread the news. The opening (which is 6-10pm, Thurs. Oct. 4th) should be a hoot! I’ve got a DJ, a keg of beer (bring your I.D.), snacks and stickers! You won’t be able to miss us at
the Walking Man frame shop and gallery
305 Baker Ave
863-2787
thanks for checkin’ it out
-glenn

Eye on You

2007-09-15T09:22:00.000-07:00

Go back and check out the MARCH blog archive (BAR GAME #1)

UPCOMING ART SHOW!

2007-09-15T09:01:00.001-07:00

iMix?

2007-05-21T22:05:00.000-07:00

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewIMix?id=252254964

The Karmic Hand

2007-05-04T09:10:00.000-07:00

Alter Ego Press Pass

2007-04-26T10:01:00.000-07:00

Shrinky Dink Art

2007-04-13T13:41:00.000-07:00

ClickOnIt

Self Portrait on a Pebble

2007-04-09T17:46:00.000-07:00

Golf Ball

2007-04-09T10:59:00.000-07:00

More Easter Fun

2007-04-08T11:41:00.000-07:00

and, um...

...hmmm

HAPPY EASTER!!!

2007-04-07T12:25:00.000-07:00

2007-03-26T10:09:00.000-07:00

Old Postcard

2007-03-20T16:44:00.000-07:00

Man, check out that facial hair! Make up your own translation for the undecipherable writing...

2007-03-11T20:28:00.000-07:00

2007-03-10T09:27:00.001-08:00

Self Portrait in Nicaragua

2007-03-10T09:11:00.000-08:00

Self Portrait on Five Dollar Bill

2007-03-09T01:55:00.000-08:00

Emancipate yourself

free your mind

Self Portrait on Wood

2007-03-08T13:37:00.000-08:00

2007-03-08T12:50:00.000-08:00

Here's a detail from a painting I've just finished.

Bar Game #1

2007-03-08T09:09:00.000-08:00

I learned how to play this bar game while living in England.

2007-03-06T08:47:00.000-08:00

The "WELCOME BACK, KOTTER" Dollar

2007-03-01T10:10:00.000-08:00

Art vs. Craft. It's hard to explain the difference. I mean, a piece of pottery can be an honest-to-God work of art and at the same time one can buy a painting, thinking it's art, and it's really a craft. The line between the two blurs but, if you look carefully, there is a difference. It has to do with aesthetic concerns versus production values. I'll attempt to explain the difference by using examples from my travels to Latin America to illustrate my point.

Of the two countries I'm familiar with, Ecuador consistently had higher quality work than Nicaragua (which I found strange because I found Nicaragua to be more "developed" than Ecuador). The little painting above I bought from a gentleman on the street in Quito. "Tipica" is the term used for regional latin art and this exemplifies Ecuadoran art - pastoral theme with a volcano in the distance. While it's artist probably produces thousands of these tiny paintings, if you take a look you'll see a concern for composition, repetitive elements and color (the pink and red garb is complementary to the green and blue landscape)which are all aesthetic elements found in "art". Also, this gentleman had a whole tray of these tipica paintings and each was different - I picked this one amid a number of other choices.

Now, look at this painting I bought at the airport in Managua just before we left Nicaragua. Now, I could have picked out one that looked exactly this one but in a green or blue dress. The fact is, I picked this one out because she was in a bar - I'm a bartender. All over Nicaragua were paintings of this same woman with the big booty but in other settings - wading in oceans and sitting on toilets were two that stuck out in my mind. The same dark haired buxom woman posed the same way exposing the same big booty painted on thousands of canvases in Nicaragua. I suppose they must sell - hell, I bought one - but this painting lacks some of the sophistication found in the tiny one from Ecuador. I looked for one that showed a little more originality or quality in the markets but I settled for one that looked exactly like all the rest. This painting cracks my ass up but qualifies as a craft in my book - quantity at the sake of quality.

Now, check out this painting I bought at a market in Quito. Click on it and check it out close-up. Talk about quality.Even though this artist has probably painted hundreds or even thousands of pastoral scenes with a volcano - each is different, with its own compositional problems to solve. There were huge elaborate paintings - just beautiful - but this small gem fit my budget and in my suitcase.

I don't mean to imply that Nicaragua didn't have beautiful paintings because there were some exquisite pieces but out of the reach of my fiscal arm. Ecuador's art just seemed more consistently finer over the whole cost spectrum.

I'll be sure to post more examples, later.

2007-02-21T09:19:00.000-08:00

Yup, I make drinks for a living. I'm what Thomas Friedman calls an "untouchable" in his book, THE WORLD IS FLAT. My bar tending career is unlikely to be outsourced to India or China because my job requires me to be in a specific location (a bar) and using a specific knowledge (mixology) to offer a face-to-face service (intoxication). I'm lumped together with lawyers, dentists, carpenters, maids and garbage collectors - pretty much the same folks one sees at a bar. While I didn't start bar tending because of the job security, it is one of the hidden bonuses I've found in this industry.

The first bonus was cash in my pocket. How many folks out there live paycheck to paycheck and struggle with a budget? Need to buy groceries but don't get paid til Friday? Credit card bills piling up? Once I started living shift to shift and having cash in my pocket at the end of each, these concerns diminished. My paychecks paid the rent and I started living out of my pockets. I cut up my credit cards and started paying for everything with cash.

The second bonus was mobility. I can take my job anywhere I want to go - from New Orleans to California, from Alaska to Montana. And guess what, I'm able to live in the same places that people save up a lot of money to visit. Resort towns, vacation destinations, any place where tourists show up seasonally - that's where I'm able to earn a living behind a bar.

The third bonus is travel. The seasonal aspect of my job makes it easy for me to take time off to explore the world during slower seasons. Seeing as I live in high tourist areas, I tend to travel to less popular places and avoid crowded vacation spots - Ecuador and Nicaragua instead of Cancun or Cabo.

My favorite bonus is artistic freedom. Yup, I make art for myself. No Pope, monarch or corporation has any creative control over what I paint or draw. Which is good because I, myself, have so little creative control over what I paint or draw - it just sort of happens (future Blogs will address my art, I'm sure). I like to think of myself as my own patron, funding might be limited but I'm not forced to sell out.

All these bonuses, plus a couple other, overshadow the lack of benefits provided by my job. I might not be getting rich and I'm sure there are easier ways to make a living but being "untouchable" is priceless. Making more money would trap me into making more money. Instead of buying my freedom, the American dollar would become my master. The freedom I feel doing the things I do, one can't buy that at any price.

"There is a gigantic difference between earning a great deal of money and being rich."
- Marlene Dietrich