On Sunday, August 30th, 2009, I happened to see an amazing sight at the twilight hour. I was walking past old Agate Hall (an elementary/junior high school building that was built in 1924 and is now part of the U. of Oregon) with a couple of friends when I saw an odd group of people standing in the alley. They were looking toward the old smoke stack and staring up at the sky. A big hawk flew out of the chimney and, pretty soon, tens of thousands of smaller cigar-like birds started to circle the sky in swirling tornado formation. Around and around they flew until one of them said, "let's go in" and they followed the leader into that dark hole until there were none left. It seemed to take forever and it reminded me of a David Lynch film. It was a truly surreal sight to behold. I never heard of Vaux's Swifts before, but I was lucky enough to be walking by that night. Apparently, there are other cities with old schools and large chimneys (like the Chapman School in Portland, OR) where these particular birds go to roost or nest. Not sure what they are doing down there- I'm still learning. Anyway, here's a film made in Portland that I found on YouTUBE that clues you in to what I'm talking about. The action happens near the end, so keep watching until you see the birds do their thing. Crazy man.
Friday, September 04, 2009
Vaux's Swifts on YouTube
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Crehore Sketchbook Pages
Here are some pages from my current sketchbook. Some of these compositions will become paintings. I work out ideas in my sketchbook without putting any pressure on myself....they are images that come to me at that particular moment. I erase and re-draw. It's hard to describe, but I tend to "feel it all out". My method is pretty spontaneous. One just has to be in a drawing mood. I will blog some small paintings from these sketches later on, as I finish them.Childrens Book Covers 1860-1920
I have this book at home: 'From Mother Goose to Dr Seuss: Children's Book Covers 1860-1960' by Harold Darling, 1999 (with a forward by Seymour Chwast). It's one of those books that I look at over and over again. There are a few more covers in BibliOdyssey's flickr set.
Emperors and Roosters
"Caligula" painting copyright Ray-Mel Cornelius 2009Ray-Mel Cornelius has painted a lot of beautiful roosters with names like Nero, Caligula, Augustus, and Claudius for his upcoming art show, "Emperors and Roosters".
If you are in Dallas, Texas on September 12th, 2009, stop by
from 6 pm - 8:30 pm to catch the opening. This show will run through October 10th. (Gallery Location: 3318 Shorecrest Drive, Dallas, Texas)
Monday, August 31, 2009
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.Saturday, August 29, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
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!
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