Women in bathing suits with ukuleles, 1926

Women in bathing suits with ukuleles, 1926
Originally uploaded by bobster1985

On flickr- follow link.
Library of Congress.

Detail of another painting

Here's a detail of one called "Monkey Love Song". The full painting will be in my upcoming solo show at Thinkspace Gallery, Feb 13.

The Art of Amy Crehore

Weed Smoker's Dream by the Harlem Hamfats 1936

Such a great title for a song that I think I will use it for one of my new paintings (detail in post below). The Hokum Scorchers played "Weed Smoker's Dream" sometimes. I always liked that song! Found it on YouTUBE.

Another Detail of a New Painting

Cropped glimpse of another new painting, "Weed Smoker's Dream" by Amy Crehore

That's a large peachtree borer (flying insect).

Adam Koford's New Book

Only a month to go before Adam Koford's new book is officially released, but it looks like it is already doing well on Amazon. You can pre-order the book here. "The Laugh-Out-Loud Cats Sell Out presents the very best of Koford's online archives, alongside 30 new comics produced exclusively for this collection. An introduction by bestselling author and Daily Show correspondent John Hodgman, whose '700 Hoboes' project inspired Koford to create The Laugh-Out-Loud Cats, frames the strips for both the longtime fan and the LOLinitiate."

I love these comics.

Check out Adam's great blog

HOBOTOPIA or his flickr

The Art of Amy Crehore

Details of New Paintings

The Art of Amy Crehore

This is a detail of a new painting called "Hokum Hallelujah". It's for my upcoming show in L.A. at Thinkspace (Feb 13). I am going to start to show you some glimpses. I have been scanning all day and still have much to do in the weeks to come. But, the art is done for the most part.

"Dreamgirls and Ukes" Sneak Peeks

Ten of the restored, vintage ukes on the floor of my studio. They still need a bit of final paint.

Here is the front of the postcard for the Thinkspace show. They did a great job with the graphics.
I often blog links to flickr sets. This time, I am blogging my own. I just posted some sneak peeks of my art for my upcoming show at Thinkspace Gallery in L.A. (opens Feb 13, 2009 and runs through March 6th). The 14 paintings are finished and need to be framed. The 13 ukes are almost there. I will be finishing them up this weekend. For clarification: these are fully restored (by Lou Reimuller) antique ukes, most from the 1920's and 1930's. Some are rare, some near mint, some are brand names. All playable. They will all be set up by a luthier, but they are also hand-painted (by me) fine art objects which will hang next to my paintings in the gallery setting.

"Dreamgirls and Ukes" studio shots on flickr

(you can watch it as a slideshow)
The Art of Amy Crehore

Crankbait featured in "Outdoor Life"

Hey kids, the crankbait lures we painted a while back for Steve Lodefink of Finkbuilt blog now appear in "Outdoor Life" magazine, February issue. The online art show was a lot of fun with a lot of great artists. Read about it and view it here:

FINKBUILT

"Movers and Shakers" Exhibit, L.A. opens Feb 14, 2009

The day after my solo show opens at Thinkspace Gallery in Feb., another exciting show will be happening in Los Angeles in Chinatown. I am also taking part in this show. It is called "Movers and Shakers", curated by Gino Joukar. The date is Valentine's Day, Feb 14, 2009, from 7-11 pm. Here is the show postcard. It will be tons of fun. (Click image to enlarge to see a fantastic list of some of your favorite artists) For more information, including a preview of a special boxset of prints go here:

POVEVOLVING

The Art of Amy Crehore

Interview with Amy Crehore in INKED Magazine (FEB)

I'm so excited. This really nice magazine did a full page interview with me about my upcoming solo art show ("Dreamgirls and Ukes", Thinkspace, L.A., Feb 13). They printed two of my paintings and photos of my No. 1 Tickler Ukulele. I just got my copy! It's the Feb. issue of INKED Magazine. Jennifer Goldstein did a great job writing it.

The Art of Amy Crehore

Theme from Amarcord

The theme from Amarcord by Nino Rota was always my favorite.

Here's a film clip w/the music.

What am I up to?

Hoop Dream (Detail) by Amy Crehore

Here is just a detail of a small new painting. I have been finishing up my paintings for my "Dreamgirls and Ukes" show. There will be 14 new paintings in the show unless I find time to add another. Not sure if I will put sketches in the show or not. There will also be 13 hand-painted, restored vintage ukuleles in this show. Still working on those. Those are 85% done. Then I will have to photograph and frame, plus all the rest (including practicing music). I will be painting something on the front wall of the gallery as well. Thinkspace Gallery will have a "question and answer" with me on their blog soon. I'll let you know when. There's also an ad in Juxtapoz and an interview in Inked Magazine (February issues). They should be out now. I will be blogging more details and paintings very soon.

The Art of Amy Crehore

Oscar Schmidt 1920 Koa Uke for Xmas

Click on image to enlarge
I got this incredible gem for Xmas. Flame koa antique uke with a koa bridge and nice detailing all around. The headstock I wanted, too - it's sort of a paddle-shape at the top. It was made around 1920- give or take. This photo does not do justice to it. The flame wood is iridescent.
The Art of Amy Crehore

Heinrich Kley 1863-1945(?)

Heinrich Kley was a German painter and editorial cartoonist. Here are a couple of examples of his fine drawings. Walt Disney built an extensive private collection of Heinrich Kley. A number of early Disney productions, notably Fantasia, reveal Kley's inspiration. (Wikipedia)

More drawings here: thescreamonline .

The Art of Amy Crehore

Louis Moe 1857-1945

Yes, he has a strange name, but he was a damn good draftsman and creative whiz. View more works from the Norwegian artist,

Louis Moe

The Art of Amy Crehore

P.S. Here are some more links: Troll Moon,

Monster Brains

Moira Hahn Solo Show at Koplin Del Rio Gallery

"Raijin Tiger" painting copyright Moira Hahn
"Tan Don't Burn" painting copyright Moira Hahn

" Next Exit" painting copyright Moira Hahn

Moira Hahn's new watercolor paintings will be on view at Koplin Del Rio Gallery in Culver City CA from January 10th to February 28th. Her opening will be on Saturday, January 10th, from 6-8pm.
Hahn "paints anthropomorphic animals contending with catastrophes brought on by human-kind. In 'Next Exit', for example, the blackened scaffold of a two-story tall, elephant-shaped house full of leaking oil drums disintegrates in a fury of swirling flames and demons, while a pot-bellied cowboy rider flogs it with a whip. Exquisitely garbed primates heed warnings from other species, and ancient Buddhist hell scroll imagery is transcribed, mutated and blended with other historic and contemporary sources to represent trials of the modern age." (from Hahn's statement about her work)
You can view her amazing work here:
KOPLIN DEL RIO


The Art of Amy Crehore

What am I listening to?

I am listening to the free cd that came with my 2009 blues calendar! It's amazingly good! If you haven't purchased a calendar yet, get this one chock full o' race record ads. Just look at this play list on the cd:

Track Listings:January to December artwork(1) Night & Day Blues • Blind Blake(2) Milk Cow Blues • Kokomo Arnold(3) Shake It and Break It • Charley Patton(4) Jesus Is A Mighty Good Leader • Skip James(5) Home Town Skiffle-Pt. 1,2 • Paramount All Stars(6) Jailhouse Fire Blues • Buddy Boy Hawkins(7) Worried Blues • Blind Lemon Jefferson (8) Cherry Ball Blues • Kansas Joe and Memphis Minnie(9) Graveyard Dream Blues • Ida Cox(10) Nightmare • Elgar's Creole Orchestra (11) The Death of Blind Lemon • Rev. Emmett Dickerson(12) Death May Be Your Christmas Present • Rev. A. W. NixBonus tracks (artwork doesn't exist for these songs)(13) Sun to Sun • Blind Blake(14) The Laffing Rag • Ben Curry(15) Hot Dog • Ben Curry(16) Home Town Skiffle-Test •Paramount All Stars(17) Alchohol And Jake Blues • Tommy Johnson(18) Ridin' Horse • Tommy Johnson

NOTE: The "Paramount All Stars" includes Papa Charley Jackson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Blake, Hokum Boys, Will Ezell, & Charley Spand. (Great!)

Get your calendar and free cd here:

Blues Images

This is the kind of roots music that I play with the Hokum Scorchers.

The art and music of Amy Crehore

Marilyn and her Uke

A Blog Fairy

I found this photo of a garden fairy on my friend's blog , Spiegel House, where she posts glimpses of things in and around her house. It's always "snowing" on this blog. She has another blog called Spiegel Tent where she posts examples of paintings in the realist tradition which inspire her to paint. And her third blog, Janet Spiegel Paintings, is a collection of her own exquisite still life paintings. One blog leads to another and it's a lot of fun to click around. Nicely designed!

The Art of Amy Crehore