Clever Money Art

Origami money hats via MAKE and Boingboing
I like these better than the Warhol money painting, "200 One Dollar Bills" (actually a silk screen), that recently sold for 43.8 million. These should be worth a fortune.

What am I up to?

Cropped detail of pencil sketch for new letterpress design by Amy Crehore 2009
I've been working hard on the preliminary sketch for a multi-colored letterpress design. Shown here, is a cropped detail of my pencil drawing. I still have to ink it and figure out the colors. There have been numerous tracings and eracings to get it to this stage. This is fairly large design and I have only shown you a portion of it: girls, monkeys and a ukulele (everything is drawn from my head). I am also working on a "dark" painting for a show in NYC in Jan. and, of course, Tickler Ukulele #3 which is evolving bit by bit in collaboration with the luthier.

The Art of Amy Crehore

Paul Jacoulet Prints

Wow. The prints shown here are all by artist Paul Jacoulet. They were made between 1934 and 1960 (the year of his death). "Following in the collaborative tradition of ukiyo-e printmaking, Jacoulet recruited talented carvers and printers who could duplicate the delicate lines of his drawings and watercolors." His designs and colors are astoundingly beautiful. Jacoulet was born in Paris in 1896, but was raised in Tokyo. He self-published most of his 160 woodblock prints. Hanga Gallery website has five reference pages of images with about 40 images per page. Have a look:
HANGA GALLERY- Paul Jacoulet

The Art of Amy Crehore

A Good Party (1950)

Before my time, darn it! This is a funny little film that was meant to be seriously educational from Coronet films. Thanks to stantonz

Lulu in Bed

This is how Louise Brooks spent her final days - captured by Guido Crepax, cartoonist (based on her letters to him). The truth is she probably didn't look this good at the time she wrote those letters, but there is a lot of room for fantasy in art. Louise was always depicted as the perfect specimen in art and film. These images have never lost their appeal. She was thoroughly modern in the 1920's and her look is still "in" because it's classic. (via the dead can dance ). To see some great photos of Ms. Brooks go here: link

The Art of Amy Crehore

Parasols Make Nice Images

Henri-Cartier Bresson, Dieppe, 1926

I found this interesting photo by Henri-Cartier Bresson (one of my favorite photographers) and it reminded me of this:

Vintage Parasols Pool on Flickriver

Joni

Joni Mitchell, Song: "California" 1970 (BBC)

Fantastic Collection of Tintypes

Crehore/Forde Family Tintype Photo

I've just returned from a trip to the mountains of Virginia to visit family members. The weather was sunny and beautiful; it reached 75 degrees over the weekend!

Now I am back to work and back to blogging: here is old tintype that I found in my box of family photos. I also have one of an ancestor in a pierrot costume, but I seem to have misplaced it. I love tintypes. I enlarged and lightened this one in photoshop. You can see that their cheeks are tinted pink (click photo for detail).




By the way, I recently discovered a truly fantastic collection of tintypes. Just follow this link to Eliza's flickr:

Eliza's Tintypes

The Art of Amy Crehore

Tickler Ukulele #3...

Tickler Ukulele #2 Front
Tickler Ukulele #1 Back

Tickler Ukulele #1 Front

Tickler Ukulele #3 is currently being constructed by luthier Lou Reimuller. It is a concert model, larger than the two ukes shown above. I came up with a unique headstock design for it and I'll be painting the front of the uke. Tickler #3 will have some fine details and some rich exotic woods. As usual, it will be a playable one-of-a-kind fine art object. I can't wait to show you when it is finally finished.
Previous posts:
Tickler Number One
Tickler Number Two

Lou Reimuller's Teenar
Tickler Artist T-shirt by Amy Crehore

My Demon Ukulele

My Tickleroo Art Ukes (Bodies)
My Dreamgirls and Ukes Art Show L.A.
The Art of Amy Crehore

P.S. I will not be blogging from November 3- November 9. I'm taking a small break. Stay tuned! I'll be back in a week. Please have a look at my archives while I am gone.

I Can't Quit You Baby by Otis Rush

thanks rudseng, YouTube

More New Sketches by Amy Crehore

Happy Halloween! I have been sketching away these past few weeks testing ideas out for paintings (some images are shown here). I am also creating a new design for a letterpress print that will be made available to you in the not-so-distant future. This print will be about nature, girls, monkeys, and a ukulele. I am really excited about it! I want it to be a surprise, however, so I am not going to show you the image just yet. I still have a lot work to do to prepare it for printing.

The Art of Amy Crehore

Can't Get Enough of That Good Old Stuff

If you have been enjoying Steve Chasmar's (a.k.a. Steven Martin) flickr Halloween vintage photo countdown as I have, you might be interested in reading an interview with him on the WIRED website from last year. I had written about his photos on this blog and sent the link to boingboing and before you know it, WIRED contacted Steve for an interview.

WIRED INTERVIEW

Steve has posted 52 astounding images so far for this year's

Halloween countdown on flickr.

One more day until Halloween!

UPDATE: Steve's Halloween set now has 78 tasty images!

The Art of Amy Crehore

Fabulous New Bookplate Designs

Der Orchideengarten, 1920 magazine cover (Carl Rabus)

Michelle Duckworth won the contest with her bookplate design


Joel M. Smith's bookplate design

A Journey Round My Skull blog held it's first bookplate contest, in the spirit of the forgotten early 20th-century magazine Der Ochideengarten. The prize: Alfred Kubin: Drawings 1897 - 1909. Read Will's latest post about this rare German Fantasy magazine
and see the amazing drawings submitted to his first: Bookplate Contest !!
Wow. Oh..oh...you have to see Will's flickr set of 1919 art from this same magazine.

The Art of Amy Crehore

Remarkable Vintage Photobooth Portraits

Photobooth Group 1
Originally uploaded by lovedaylemon

lovedaylemon has a
wonderful set of really old
photobooth photos on flickr.
There are some charming children
in equally charming outfits.

Halloweenabaloo at Union Station, L.A.

Union Station 800 N Alameda Street (photo link )

On Halloween at 6 PM, the beautiful and historic Union Station in L.A. will be the location for the 5th annual Halloweenabaloo party with music by Flea and Ben Harper. There will be a costume party dance under the stars with a taco truck, plus an auction to raise money for the Silverlake Conservatory of Music. This is a great cause. The Silverlake Conservatory of Music is a non-profit school that provides private music lessons to individuals and gives scholarships to children in need. The music stage will be framed by the work of mural artist Ernesto De La Loza. Sounds like a good time to me.

More information here:

Silverlake Conservatory of Music

The Passion of the Van Gogh Letters

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has made it possible for us to view the actual letters of Vincent Van Gogh to his brother Theo, in Vincent's own handwriting, complete with sketches.

This is endlessly fascinating stuff to me as I have already read Van Gogh's letters over and over again for inspiration ("Dear Theo", a book edited by Irving Stone). It's amazing to see the preliminary sketches (leading up to well-known paintings) that he included in these letters from 1874-1890. There are also letters to Paul Gauguin and Emile Bernard (see the top image with notations about colors). There are a handful of letters from Gauguin himself that include important sketches as well!

Vincent Van Gogh, The Letters with Sketches

For another blog post on this topic: BibliOdyssey

The Art of Amy Crehore

Pierrot on a Bicycle

Halloween 2009 #33
Originally uploaded by stevechasmar

This vintage photo is from Steve Chasmar's
flickr Halloween Countdown 2009 #33

Hammer Museum Presents R. Crumb's Book of Genesis

The Hammer Museum will be exhibiting R. Crumb’s adaptation of the Book of Genesis from October 24th-Feb 7, 2010. Crumb has spent the last five years working on intricate drawings for this book. "Crumb’s version of the Book of Genesis puts an entirely new twist on the Bible". SPECIAL EVENT: On October 29th, R. Crumb will be joined by art editor for The New Yorker, Françoise Mouly, for a candid discussion about his life and this new project at UCLA. For more information, click here. I would go to this if I lived in Los Angeles.

October 24 - February 7, 2010

HAMMER MUSEUM

The Art of Amy Crehore

Baby Gumm Sings "Blue Butterfly" in 1929

A rare recording of Frances Baby Gumm singing 'Blue Butterfly' from the short 'A Holiday in Storyland,' from 1929. Baby was only 7 years old when she sang this. She grew up to be Judy Garland.(thanks, nimbusmiranda )

Bemelmans Bar and Woody Allen

Darn it. Last year, when I had my art show in Brooklyn, NY, I stayed up near central park at my brother's place. A friend of mine flew in from California to see my show and stayed at The Carlyle hotel. For a few days, I crossed the park to visit her at this elegant hotel. Unfortunately, no one told me that the hotel bar was the home of Ludwig Bemelmans' murals.

The creator of Madeline children's books, Bemelmans exchanged his work for a year and a half of accommodations at The Carlyle for his family. Wow, that's cool. "Madeline" books were my childhood favorite. It looks like his artwork is even on the lampshades.

Oh well, I miss all the good stuff. Maybe next time. Woody Allen is playing there on Monday nights at 8:45 pm through Dec 7, 2009 with the Eddy Davis New Orleans Jazz Band. Luckily, I already saw Woody play clarinet. It was decades ago at Michael's Pub. I even got his autograph. If anyone is in NYC and loves Madeline and Woody together, head over to the art deco bar at The Carlyle for a fun evening.

The Art of Amy Crehore

Crehore Artwork (Sold)

Crehore Uke (sold)
Tuxedo Uke (sold)

Nighttime Ditty (sold)
The Teaser (sold)

The Wasp Uke (sold)

Slither Uke (sold)

Tickler Uke #2 (sold)

Peekaboo Uke (sold)

The Caged Wonder (sold)
Smoking Pussycat Dream (sold)

Hoop Dream (sold)

Dragonfly Vanity Waltz (sold)

Monkey Love Song (sold)

I am pleased to say that all of the fine art oil paintings and painted objects shown here have found their way to wonderful homes in the last six months (or so) of 2009. In addition, I have shipped many fine art drawings, signed prints and t-shirts to people around the world this year. I am deeply grateful to everyone who has believed in me and supported my art. Your support helps me to continue expanding my creative vision and making new works. Thank you! I will be blogging about more new art soon. Stay tuned.

The Art of Amy Crehore
amy@amycrehore.com

More Vintage Halloween Goodies

Steve Chasmar has added some more photos to this year's Halloween set on flickr! There are many photos featuring pumpkins such as the two above. Have a look: Halloween Countdown 2009 and while you are there, you must check out last year's set which has no equal : Halloween in the Time of Cholera . I don't know about you, but where I live we have no trick or treaters. The candy bowl just sits there all night long. Steve Chasmar's photos bring all of those fond memories flooding back to me. Of course, some of the pictures are so old, you can't believe it. Waaay before my time!

The Art of Amy Crehore