Fashion Poodles

Searching for Pre-war Hokum Music?

Here are a couple of links that are valuable resources for Hokum aficionados.

Blues Images and Document Records

If you want to find pre-war black blues, jazz, rags and jugband music, then Document Records can't be beat.

And, if you like the amazing graphics on the old race records ads, Blues Images publishes a calendar every single year featuring new images and a free CD of hokum music - all for a measly $19.95. The 2007 calendar is available now.

Monkeys!!

"The Banana Eater" painting was just featured on boingboing this week (as well as on webmetricsguru and on drawn and artNYC before that) and it actually was the very first painting in the "Monkey Love"series. It was painted over a year ago for "Blab! 17" .

There will be a book signing of "Blab!17"
at the Blab!Show this year, which is scheduled to open at CoproNason Gallery, Bergamot Station, Santa Monica, CA on Sept 23, 2006 at 8:30-11PM.
Other artists in the show include:
Gary Baseman, Tim Biskup, Lou Brooks, Greg Clarke, Shag, Brian Cronin, Ryan Heshka, Fred Stonehouse, and more.

It was not the first time that I painted squirrel monkeys (or native girls, for that matter). "The Organ Grinder" painting which can be seen on my website in the painting section was the first time that I used the image of the squirrel monkey with a sailor hat. That was painted a few years ago. I just posted the "Banana Eater" really large on the homepage of my website. Looks pretty darn good there.

The Art of Amy Crehore

Shiori Matsumoto, Magical Painter

Painting Copyright 2006 Shiori Matsumoto

I have a pen pal in Japan named Shiori Matsumoto and she is one terrific painter. She's a surrealist, too, and we have a lot in common. Our subject matter, for instance: girls, cats, curtains, theater, mystery. Check out her website gallery:

Shiori Matsumoto

Little Pierrot Drawings

"Hula Hoop Blues" copyright 2005 Amy Crehore, pencil on paper

"Little Hokum Rag" was recently written up by Johnny on Drawn! (thanks, Johnny) which reminded me that I have been meaning to add some more drawings to my website for a long time now. So, I just went and uploaded 10 more Little Pierrot Series Drawings in the drawing section. Have a look! These are newer, more complex ones. I will add more in the weeks to come, including my Monkey Love Series drawings. And, yes, I used a coffee can lid to draw those circles!

The Art of Amy Crehore

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Art NYC, Fabulous New Blog!

There's a new blog called Art NYC which featured my "Creature" painting this month after seeing Mark Frauenfelder's recent boingboing post about it.
Later, B.L. Ochman gave both Art NYC and my painting a nice mention.
Marshall Sponder of ArtNYC has now written a great review of my "Banana Eater" painting in his July 15th, 2006 post.

I suppose he will have to continue to wonder about what the red pelican means in my painting (actually a scarlet ibis from South America) because I don't know myself! It's a design element - I needed it to balance my composition - but, it is also a potential "character" in the fantasy. I can tell him that my monkey is from South America and so is my girl and the tree has nuts, but they aren't coconuts, they are brazil nuts. The monkey is a squirrel monkey and the location is loosly based on Devil's Island, off of French Guiana.
Check out ART NYC

www.amycrehore.com
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Amy_Crehore

"Banana Eater" Painting

"The Banana Eater" copyright 2005 by Amy Crehore
It's almost time for the second Blab! Show to roll around. I have been working hard on paintings for the show to be held at the end of September, 2006 at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica, CA.

Since the time is drawing near, here is a sneak peek of my spread in the upcoming issue of "Blab!" due out in September. It's called the "Banana Eater" (collection of Gary Baseman, this painting was shown in the very first Blab show Sept. 2005 at Track 16 Gallery).

Click on image to enlarge.

www.amycrehore.com

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The "Summer Show"

Here are a few photos from the opening of the "Summer Show" in Santa Monica, CA. on June 24th, 2006. I am standing with Audrey Wells and John Radzik (top photo) and with Mark Frauenfelder (bottom photo). They came to meet me and see my art. It was a thrill of a lifetime meeting all three of them. A few weeks earlier, Mark bought my monkey painting, "The Creature", based on a sketch that I had shown him.

The Art of Amy Crehore

Amy_Crehore

"The Creature" Painting (Monkey Love #9)

"The Creature" by Amy Crehore copyright 2006

My newest painting is called "The Creature". I was lucky enough to actually meet Mark Frauenfelder of boingboing.net last weekend in Santa Monica. He now owns my latest Monkey Love painting. See what he has to say about it on boingboing.

Did I mention that boingboing.net is my favorite site? And Mark is a fantastic artist himself. He also has great a uke blog, Ukulelia for all of the uke lovers out there.

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www.amycrehore.com

Amy_Crehore

Internet Weekly Rocks!

Be sure to check out Internet Weekly's Art Archive for the most interesting and wonderful links to unusual, provocative, classic, beautiful and humorous fine art and illustration. They always have delightful surprises every single week from all over the world.

INTERNET WEEKLY

A Couple More Donghi Images

Here are a couple more examples of the obscure, but important Italian painter named Antonio Donghi. They are from the out-of-print book, "Antonio Donghi", published by De Luca Editore.
Click to enlarge.

P.T. Barnum Clown

It's time for another hokum image. Check out this old-style clown from the P.T. Barnum Circus. He's a devilish and punked-out All-American pierrot.

Antonio Donghi, 1897-1963, Painter of Theater

I love the paintings of Antonio Donghi. About five years ago, my friend in Milan sent me an art book (which is now out of print), written in Italian, of Antonio Donghi's work.

Donghi painted during the time period of 1920 through1950- images of men, women and children on stage and behind the scenes. There are actors, singers, musicians, harlequins, jugglers, animal acts and pierrots. His style is refined with a subtle sense humor. There is a surreal, narrative quality to his work, yet he shows nothing out of the ordinary. This is the life of the theater and those who inhabit it and their relationships to each other. It's a quiet study of the people who perform for us.

Donghi, to me, is a kindred spirit. My book on this great, but obscure artist, is one of my most treasured possessions.

For more images: Antonio Donghi

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www.amycrehore.com