Film Posters from Ghana

These wild-looking film posters were used to promote temporary mobile cinema in Ghana. More can be found in a book called Extreme Canvas: Movie Poster Paintings from Ghana: Ephemera Assemblyman blog has source links and images.

(Thanks to A Journey Around My Skull and Apelad )

How to Make a Hot Dog Flute

Thanks, boingboing

Those Sweet Hollywaiians

There's a new album out called "Ticklin' The Strings" by the Sweet Hollywaiians. I don't have it yet, but I plan to check it out. This Japanese string band plays 1920's, 30's, 40's style Hawaiian, swing, calypso, blues, italian music and originals, featuring vintage instruments. There are 3 songs on this album with Robert Armstrong and Tony Marcus (from the Cheap Suit Serenaders)! Yeh!

Get CD here: CD BABY
Read more here and see video: myspace blog

What am I up to?

I haven't been posting on the blog as much lately, but it's just temporary. I've been sketching a lot in my sketchbook and enjoying the end of summer. Here's a funny old photo of me with my Hokum Scorcher's gear on. The only thing that is missing is my musical partner, Lou. That's his National guitar and, behind it, a "Feed the Kitty" that I made. I am holding a vintage banjolele. Today, I'm looking forward to a visit from an old friend from Richmond, VA. He used to be Lou's partner in a mysterious band called "The Fabulous Daturas".

The Art of Amy Crehore

Wacky Vintage LP Covers

I found these funny, old covers on a great site called:

LP COVER LOVER
Thanks, Internet Weekly

The Art of Amy Crehore

Kesey Party 1992

Ken Kesey

Hokum Scorchers

Okay, so Jerry Garcia got sick in August of 1992.The Grateful Dead were supposed to headline an event called "Field Trip" in Veneta, OR, but they cancelled due to illness. So, the musicians that were also supposed to play at the event headed out to Ken Kesey's property. My band, The Hokum Scorchers, played music for 20 minutes on a makeshift stage in a field next to Kesey's house. All the food was gone when we got there, so I played on an empty stomach. I think they paid us $5.

Here's my badge (front and back views) sporting Kesey's own psychedelic artwork. I believe Gus Van Sant was there that day, too, filming the part where Kesey read his childrens' book on stage (wearing a bear costume).

Unfortunately, Kesey's outfit caught on fire as he was doing his thing. I think I heard him scream, "Turn the cameras off!!". My memory is foggy, but I know that I wore my vintage Foster Grant sunglasses like I always do when we play hokum music. I remember asking Ken Babbs if Robert Stone was there because I had just illustrated a story of his for Esquire magazine. "Nope, he's not here, but Timothy Leary is supposed to show up". I remember knocking my microphone completely off the platform. Ka-Plunk! Everyone in the audience was stoned, so it really didn't matter what anyone did on stage. We walked past an old junker on our way out...it was "Further", the original hippie bus (photo above). Later, we would get to play music on Ken Kesey's float in the annual Eugene parade. He made us do a version of the song "Gloria". It must have been one of his favorites. There is a film of that somewhere...

The Art of Amy Crehore

Musicians' Holiday

f_musiciansholiday
Originally uploaded by ricksoloway

Thanks, ricksoloway (flickr)

Cigar Box Nation

Cigar Box Guitar by Mark Frauenfelder

See more photos of this guitar and many more here:

CIGAR BOX NATION

Fun!

More drawings, more cartoons, more fun!

Heidi MacDonald of "The Beat" sent boingboing a great link to one of their blog posts called "The Happiest Cartoonists of All Time" . It's about a Life magazine photo shoot in 1950 with a bunch of bathing beauties being tortured by the pens of happy cartoonists. Here's Alfred Andriola doing his thing on one of the young models. Follow link for more photos from this session. Crazy man!

Goya's Sketches

Here are some drawings from Goya's sketchbooks. The top one shows a guy trying to roller skate in 1824. I did not know they even had roller skates back then. Oh, but of course! I love Goya's line work almost better than his paintings. He shows a lot of emotion using simple gestures and classic design. Brushed-in ink washes add volume and light to the drawings. These are from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston where you will find more.

"Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish painter and printmaker regarded both as the last of the Old Masters and as the first of the moderns."
What's really great is this website with links to all kinds of sketchbooks (that is where I found the Goya link):

Artists' Sketchbooks Online

Enjoy!
The Art of Amy Crehore

The Blab! Show Revisited

Roaming Tomcat Rag by Amy Crehore, Blab Show 2006

(prints of this available on my website)

Black Snake Wiggle Blues by Amy Crehore, Blab Show 2006

The Strummer by Amy Crehore, Blab Show 2006

Little Tickle by Amy Crehore, Blab Show 2006

Mini-monkey #4 by Amy Crehore, Blab Show 2006

Mini-monkey #3 by Amy Crehore, Blab Show 2006

Mini-monkey #2 by Amy Crehore, Blab Show 2006

Mini-monkey #1 by Amy Crehore, Blab Show 2006

The Tickler by Amy Crehore, Blab Show 2005 (print available)

The Charmer by Amy Crehore, Blab Show 2005 (print available)

The Banana Eater by Amy Crehore, Blab Show 2005

CLICK TO ENLARGE
(print available)

In case you didn't know, I was in the very first Blab! art show at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica, CA. In 2005, I had 3 paintings in the 1st Blab! show (that was the beginning of my "Monkey Love Series"). And in 2006, I had 8 paintings in the 2nd Blab! show. "The Banana Eater" painting later became a framed, canvas print by Pressure Printing

as well as a spread in "Blab! 17", the magazine.

(All of these paintings are sold. More original paintings, prints and drawings on my website.)

The Art of Amy Crehore

THE BIG FUNNY Newspaper and Art Show!

Big Funny Web site, 16″ x 23″, 48 pages, only $5 US plus shipping

I recently got a copy of THE BIG FUNNY in the mail to read and review. It's HUGE! The largest newspaper I ever saw -16" x 23" ! Or, is it because my local paper has now shrunk down to nothing that it seems so big? Anyhow, it's ALL comics. Can you beat that? 48 pages of color comics. Looks like it has about 45 or so contributors, all of whom love to draw comics and want to preserve the history of comics. The best I can do right now, because I still haven't even finished reading it, is to list their names and creations and to clue you in about the BIG FUNNY art show which opens this friday at Altered Esthetics Art Gallery in Minneapolis (7-10pm).

“Hey Kids, Comics!” by Terry Beatty
“Little Emo in Slumbaland” by Jesse Gillespie
“Little Miss Mechanical’s Bedtime Amusement” by Diana Nock
“There is a Heppy Plonet” by Mike Sgier
“Captain Kleinbottle” by Jason Sandberg
“Hey Rube!” by Daniel J. Olson
“Army Men” by Kevin Cannon
“Classics Majors…in Love!” by Ursula Murray Husted
“Tommy Chicago and Jimmy” by Brian Bastian and Danno Klonowski
“Oil Painting” by Bjorn Rolvaag
“Banana Republic” by Kirk Anderson
“Citizen Participation in Hell” by Ken Avidor
“The Teenage Ghost Hunting Society” by B. Sabo
“Vis,Croatia: The Ride” by Jenny Schmid
“Residue Comics: Krack-Up” by Roger Lootine
“Middle Management” by Andy Singer
“Mark Droppings” by BIll Prendergast
“Dewey Dawner” by Madeline Queripel
“Post Modern” by David Sandberg
“Flying Boy!” by Lewis Tuck
“Authoritative Expert J. Wiggins” by Bud Burgy
“Squirrels and Pigeons” by Caanan Grall
“Eye of the Beholder” by Adam Wirtzfeld
“Uncle $achs” by Donn Ha
“The Madcap Shenanigans of Randolph & Sir Chirptrude, Esq.” by Lonny Unitus
“Gee, Whizzard!” by Kevin McCarthy
“Nate the Nonconformist” by Stephanie Mannheim
“Rampage!” by Erik Nelson
“Inkwellspring” by Henry Chamberlain
“Laffit Forward!” by Blake Himsl Hunter
“The Further Adventures of Vegan Ninja Cats (Who Ride Bikes)” by Mike Toft
“Living in Filth” by Hawk Krall
“Rocket Steven” by Earl Luckes
“Talewinds: Little Jimmy” by Steve Mason
“L’il Buddha and the Hungry Ghost Realm” by Ryan Dow
“Dear Friends” by Britt Hammerberg
“A Breast Abreast” by Lupi
“Uptown Girl” by Bob Lipski
“Underground Funnies” by D.C. McNamara
“Adventure!” by David Steinlicht
“Bongo the Monkey” by Steven Stwalley
“Pumpkinship” by Maxeem
“Look” by David Paleo
“Pickle-Head” by Paul Fricke
“Ticket to Crickety Creek” by William Ede

Please buy a copy of the Big Funny (it's a steal at $5., plus shipping) and go to the show if you live nearby.

Produced by: The International Cartoonist Conspiracy , Big Time Attic , and Altered Esthetics
Thanks, Steven Stwalley.

Buy a copy here: BIG FUNNY WEBSITE

Gallery Closings...

Here is an interesting little film by James Kalm called In Memoriam: Gallery Closings in NYC

James Kalm was the guy who happened to film my own gallery opening last summer in Brooklyn, NY.

Josephine Baker 1927