100 Year Old Uke Man, Bill Tapia

Here is Bill Tapia in 1939 testing out a pineapple uke. He loooks pretty spiffy in his 30's attire."Young Willy, age 10, gave ukulele lessons to grown men. Willy was the first in the Hawaiian islands, or, for that matter, anywhere, to produce divine jazz from, yes, a ukulele.
He became Bill Tapia, the accomplished jazz guitarist, who jammed with such all-time greats as Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, Billy Holiday, Fats Waller and Charlie Barnett. Now he's 100 years old, still elegant, in his tuxedo and shimmering silver hair and beard"...read the rest of the story at the

OC Register and be sure to check out the amazing slide show of Bill performing in Honolulu. (Thanks, Ukulele Hero )

The Art of Amy Crehore

Photo of the Day

"Sheiks of Canal Street"

Photo Copyright Raleigh Powell, taken in Richmond, VA 1966

The Art of Amy Crehore

Wandering Mind and Memory

Art by SETH

The Walrus Magazine has a great interview with Seth by Sean Rogers on their comics blog, Four Color Words I can really identify with his ideas about the importance of memory in relation to his art. I have been working this way, too. I don't really draw directly from life or reference materials anymore; I draw using memories of how things I have already seen and experienced felt, thus coming up with my own pictorial symbols. He also talks about nostalgia as it applies to his process. This is only part one of the interview, so stay tuned for part two! Also, in the Sept. issue of The Walrus, there is an an essay by Seth called: "The Quiet Art of Cartooning". He talks about his wandering mind while he sits alone drawing in his basement studio everyday. I can so relate to all of this. Thanks, Seth for putting it into words.

(via Drawn! and boingboing)

Here's a bio of Seth from "Drawn and Quarterly" where you can get Seth's books.

The Beauty of Sadness

Takato Yamamoto's art is beautifully sad and elegant...and disturbing.

Lines as fine as they can be. A masterful draftsman. You can find more images here:

Olga-galo

The Art of Amy Crehore

Banksy is a Poet

Wow. There are some lovely and poetic Banksy artworks in New Orleans.

More cool photos at MAKE and Wooster blogs.

The Art of Amy Crehore

Cat Angel or Cat Demon?

The above images are from an article about winged cats

on the Messy Beast Website

Detail of my painting of a winged cat, called "The Caged Wonder".

Had no idea it was a reality when I painted it. I was

making a few puns here, one being a "catbird".

Boing Boing featured this picture today and the headline:

"Winged cats discovered in western China" ...it goes on to read:
'Winged cats have been known to exist since the 19th century, but only a handful of people have actually seen—let alone owned—one. This woman in Sichuan province watched as her beloved kitty grew angel wings on his back last summer after a bunch of female cats tried to mate with him. "Many female cats in heat came to harass him, and then the wings started to grow," she said.' Link

The Art of Amy Crehore

Fried Egg Spectacles

These are "shooting or sight seeing spectacles from 1860. The clear area of the lens is heavily frosted forcing the user to look through the amber area.This is a rare form of this style spectacle. It was designed to allow more light to reach the eye when compared to similar spectacles that have a solid amber lens."
This pair of glasses is made from brass plated with silver. It has no makers mark and is most likely American made. The double lens frame was invented by Dr. Richardson, a London optician, in 1795. This pair most likely dates to between 1800 and 1810.

How interesting - a website where you can buy vintage eyewear for everyday use.

They have all kinds. It's like a little museum of eyeglasses.

Ed Welch's Antique Eyeglasses

The Art of Amy Crehore