Remember the cool letterpress prints I did with David Huyck a couple months ago? Well, he's producing a second set in pink and brown with more artists. The “Hovels & Hideaways” edition of the Cloudy Collection includes art by Chris “Elio” Eliopoulos, Scott Campbell, S.Britt, Vera Brosgol, Bwana Spoons, Vincent “King Mini” Stall, and David Huyck. Buy this set of limited edition letterpress prints for only $35 Tuesday, June 30, 2009 at 9 am pacific time!
It was really hard to choose a winner from so many good limericks! That is why it has taken me so long to decide. Anne Marie won the big prize with a couple of great poems. But, Digital Misfit, Treplovski and David G are runners up and they will each get a little something in the mail from me. Please drop me a note with your address, if your poem is posted below.
There once was a lion named Fred who was used by his girl as a bed. He believed she was true, or at least, wanted to, though when sleeping, the bee'd give her head.
A girl and her pal, Mr. Bee, Were at rest on a giant kitty. Though unsafe in the nude, the girl kept him subdued by playing her banjolele.
Digital Misfit wrote-
There was once a young lady named Leigh Who slept naked with a beast and a bee When asked 'Aren't you scared' Replied 'No, I'm prepared To strike with my ukulele'
Treplovski wrote-
A banjo she'd found in the attic Had rendered the lion ecstatic. As they dozed on the lawns A large bee claimed her mons. Ah yes, this could be problematic.
David G wrote-
A lovely musician named Joan
Would greet passing boys with a groan
So she brought out her pet
As a live basinette
And now passersby leave her alone!
Thanks to all for participating! There are some really creative people out there. It was a lot of fun reading them all!
I'm working on oil-primed fiberboard right now. I usually paint on linen, so this is a little bit different for me. I'm doing a couple of 12"x12" paintings in preparation for a show at comic-con in San Diego which I will tell you more about soon. I have posted some partial images (above) as a teaser. My process goes like this: first, I sketch the image in with raw umber (after transferring a pencil drawing to the board) and then, I rub raw sienna over the entire surface (or vice versa), so that I won't be painting on a stark white board. I plan to fill in some of the color today and "lose myself" in painting. Stay tuned....
Oh yeah, feel free to add a limerick to the post below if you'd like a chance to win an art t-shirt and a limited edition print. Use Edward Lear for inspiration!
CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE I have some new signed, limited edition prints of my recent paintings available on my website. LINK How would you like to win the print shown here, plus a Tickler Ukulele t-shirt (top image)? All you have to do is write a clever limerick about this painting and leave it in the comments section of my blog. Here is an example of a limerick . Remember, it has to be funny. You might want to give a silly name to a character and take it from there....for example: "There once was a lion (or girl) named__________". On Sunday, at 6pm PST, a winner will be chosen. Posts using foul language will be deleted! Double entendres are encouraged, however. Be clever and funny, people! The Art of Amy Crehore
I was just looking at a book of photos by Lewis Carroll, "Dreaming in Pictures" (put together by SFMOMA and Yale University Press). The pictures are mostly of children and they are exquisite, representing the early days of fine art photography. He didn't just photograph Alice Liddell, as shown above, but many children in groups and costumes. Getting them to sit still was a feat and he managed to do it by having them relax into sleepy-type poses which made his photos quite dreamy and artistic.
Today, Tim Burton's upcoming film is in the news. In less than a year, a new movie called "Alice in Wonderland" will be in theaters. Here's a first look at the beautiful sets for that film. It sounds like it will be a sequel to the story, with a more grown-up Alice re-visiting Wonderland. Lewis Carroll and his Alice will never cease to inspire others. LINK:
"Banjo Gal" drawing by Amy Crehore "Lolita Part Two" drawing by Amy Crehore
Detail of larger drawing "The Banana Eater" by Amy Crehore
People have shown interest in my drawings lately, so I added more of them to my website. I bring my ideas into focus by drawing. My drawings usually evolve by erasing a lot and/or tracing rough sketches. Often, I have no idea what I am drawing and it's all about the "process" and the design. The more I erase and re-draw, the better. By using my intuition, I refine my compositions. These are the preliminary sketches for my oil paintings.
I am releasing two new, artist-signed limited edition giclee prints of paintings from my "Dreamgirls and Ukes" L.A. solo show. One is called "Song of the Sea" and the other is "Weed Smoker's Dream" (which also happens to be the title of a song by the Harlem Hamfats, 1936).
These paintings feature a tortoise and a lion. One has a banjo-ukulele in it.
Printed on Hahnemuhle acid-free photorag 308 gsm paper with the finest quality printer using superior ultrachrome inks (by Sterling Editions). Comes in archival sleeve with free postcards and a certificate of authenticity. Each print is signed and numbered by me. Only 60 prints in each edition. Some orders will have small, signed, pencil drawings tucked in them (numbers selected at random).
A Journey Round My Skull Blog (one of my favorite blogs) has posted some incredible specimens of early 20th century Japanese Book Covers. The worn-out quality only adds to the appeal of these designs. I needed some inspiration today and this is it. The 1920's is my favorite period of design, illustration, music and fine art. Even in Japan, surrealism and art deco were flourishing. "These covers come from Bookcover Design in Japan 1910s-40s (ISBN 4-89444-426-7) edited by Masayo Matsubara. Published in 2005 by PIE Books, this incredible book is already out-of-print and becoming hard to find."
Please follow this link to view more extraordinary book covers from Japan:
Here we have some big-eyed, bug-eyed art. In the first one, the eyes may have been painted on the eyelids before taking the photo? Or maybe it's a doctored photo.
My favorite artist right now is Nick Cave. He's the sculptor/fashion designer/performance artist who created dozens of gorgeous outfits called "soundsuits" made with all kinds of materials like sequins and collections of antique objects (children's tops, knick knacks of birds and flowers). James Prinz photographed this little film. There are a couple of other films on YouTube as well- one with an interview of the Chicago artist.
Above, I posted a few stills from his recent show at
in NYC. Follow the link to see more. That exhibit also included sculptures made from lawn jockeys and little mammy figurines. There is another exhibit in S.F. going on right now at
called "Meet Me at the Center of the Earth" which runs until July 5, 2009. I might just have to make a trip down there to see this amazing art.
P.S. NIck Cave also trained as a dancer with Alvin Ailey and is the director of the fashion design graduate program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Man, they are lucky to have him. His talent and vision are nothing short of miraculous.
Jose Guadalupe Posada (2 February 1852 - 20 January 1913) was a Mexican engraver and illustrator. Confetta has created a nice page on Posada here: http://www.squidoo.com/Posada
or check out her amazing flickr set on this man's art. I posted a couple of my favorites. This guy was the best.
Every three days for a year, the Interview Project will be posting a new episode. First episode: They found Jess sitting by the side of the road in Needles, CA. Here's the link to the video interview: DAVID LYNCH INTERVIEW PROJECT
David Lynch also just opened a show of photographs at Michael Kohn Gallery in L.A. over the weekend called Dark Night of the Soul (a visual interpretation of the album by Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse).
Detail from Bwana Spoons print
Detail of painting by Amy Crehore 2009
Amy Crehore 2009 preliminary sketch
(Artist T-shirt by Amy Crehore) 
(Amy Crehore 2009, limited edition, signed print)
"Banjo Gal" drawing by Amy Crehore
"Lolita Part Two" drawing by Amy Crehore
Detail of larger drawing "The Banana Eater" by Amy Crehore
"Song of the Sea" by Amy Crehore 2009
"Weed Smoker's Dream" by Amy Crehore 2009
1928
1927
1928
Soundsuit by Nick Cave
Soundsuit by Nick Cave
Soundsuit by Nick Cave
Jose Guadalupe Posada (2 February 1852 - 20 January 1913) was a Mexican engraver and illustrator. Confetta has created a nice page on Posada here: http://www.squidoo.com/Posada
Every three days for a year, the Interview Project will be posting a new episode. First episode: They found Jess sitting by the side of the road in Needles, CA.
