Broken Pieces: The Backstory

January 5, 2018

The Idea

One night I was lucky enough to hang out at Steakhouse Studio while my friend Jeremy Buck recorded a new song called "All My Broken Pieces". While listening to his vocals over and over again, the imagery for a painting formed. The painting, as the song, represents the sadness, emptiness, and isolation felt when a loved one is lost.

Jeremy Buck & "All My Broken Pieces"

Jeremy Buck Naked Album.jpg — Jeremy Buck

is a successful songwriter and performer.
"All My Broken Pieces" is on his most recent album: "JEREMY BUCK NAKED" @ jeremybuck.com
You'll find other great music and videos on his website too.

Steakhouse Studio

Steakhouse Studio is an iconic recording studio in North Hollywood, CA. Their client & artist list includes many notables, such as, Eddie Van Halen, Everlast, George Clinton, Pink, Jeff Beck, Lionel Richie, and Weezer.

Half-cocked: The Backstory

September 10, 2016

The Idea

While growing up in Arizona, the phrase "don't go off half-cocked" (in reference to old-timey firearms) was fairly common. It means: don't do something without thinking it through. Usually it's reference to a person about to do something stupid.

I was in rooster-painting mood, and decided to make "Half-cocked" literal. Cock is another name for a male rooster, but it has fallen out of favor particularly in the U.S. due to, well, it's more famous "other" meaning. So from this point on, I'll stick with rooster.

I deliberately kept the rooster's "insides" flat, plastic-like. I didn't want the focus to be blood and guts. I went with a daytime, pastoral setting with bright, happy colors as a juxtaposition to the freaked-out (understandably so), neutral-colored rooster.

My original idea just had the rooster with some clouds in the background. BORING. That wouldn't do. I then added an ax over the rooster, but I really didn't want to focus on the act of hacking a rooster. So, I gave it a bit of a break, and re-thought through the whole approach. A fews days later, butterflies took form to show that good can come from adversity (sorry rooster).

Flintlocks, Matchlocks, and a bit of a history lesson.

Go Off Half-Cocked: Say What?

This expression dates back to the 1800's. It refers to a flintlock or matchlock firearm going off prematurely when it was still in the half-cocked position.

Why White Butterflies?

Butterflies are often a symbol of transition, and the color white often symbolizes goodness. I added just a touch of pale pink and orange to the white to give a slightly more etherial look.

A Vegan Walks into a Bar

I recently showed "Half-cocked" at Saint Rocke for a "Women in the Arts" showcase in art and music. A young man was looking at this painting for quite some time. Finally he asked if the painting was about veganism, as he was working towards becoming a vegan and could relate. While "Half-cocked" is not specifically about veganism, I did love his interpretation.

At Saint Rocke Women in the Arts Showcase in Art and Music

Big D's Dirty Little Secret: The Backstory

July 10, 2016

The Idea

Who doesn't love bubble baths? Kids love them. I love them. Why wouldn't a devil love them too?

But, if you're a devil, known as "Big D", and want to maintain your street cred, it's probably a good idea to keep your love of bubble baths and 19th century literature a secret.

Like Big D, I'm an avid reader. I read fiction: Mysteries, Satire, Character Studies, Sci Fi, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, etc.

I think my love of fiction influenced my painting in two ways:

I struggled a bit with the painting's title. I had about four different working titles, but none felt right. Saying "The Devil" seemed a bit formal, so why not a nickname? "Big D" worked quite nicely. After naming the devil Big D, I realized that the novel I just finished reading, Laurence Shames' "Welcome to Paradise", had two lead characters who were named Big Al. That must have planted the idea of "Big D" in my head.
While my painting is not directly inspired by Mark Cain's "Circles in Hell" series, I do love his comedic take on hell. Perhaps Mark would like to write in a cameo appearance for Big D in a future book? Fingers crossed!

Mr. Bubble

Mr. Bubble is over 50 years old and has even appeared in The Big Lebowski and Gran Torino. I loved him as a kid, and still love him now. Given that I live in California and we are in a drought, I do minimize the frequency of my Mr. Bubble moments and use a minimum of water. Unlike the Devil, who is very generous with his water use.

Pride and Prejudice

My guilty pleasure (and the Devil's too). Yes, I have binge watched all the movie adaptations. If you're not familiar, Pride and Prejudice was written by Jane Austen in 1813 and is a novel of manners. If you are devil, it's also a good idea to not mention that you are reading about five unmarried daughters set in 18th century England.

Who's Darren and what is he holding?

Not only is Darren absolutely excellent as a reference photo model, he is a absolutely excellent friend. I met Darren over 12 years ago when I wandered into Hermosa Beach's world, famous The Lighthouse Cafe. He was managing the band that was playing: "Jeremy Buck and the Bang". We've been friends ever since.

As for the book he's holding, that's Christopher Moore's Sacre Bleu. I have read EVERY Christopher Moore novel. Love his work.

Rage Against the Machine: The Backstory

April 24, 2016

The Idea

The initial idea for my painting started quite some time ago, when I was thinking about one of my favorite bands: Rage Against the Machine. Although Rage Against the Machine is a very political band, my original idea for the painting was not a all political. The painting was going to be about how irritating it is when vending machine snacks get stuck. While the idea of "Stuck Snacks" is amusing, it just didn't seem to have enough "Rage". I wanted more RAGE!

Then one day it hit me: Money in Politics. Yes, that's the topic.

Ever since the 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court decision opened the door to Super PACs, I've been pretty pissed off about unlimited money in politics. Even Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, who disagree on mostly everything, agree that there's too much money in politics. I then decided to use the vending machine concept for the buying of politicians.

Why nacho cheese chips? Well, nacho cheese chips are simply delicious.

Who is Rage Against the Machine?

Rage Against the Machine is a Los Angeles rap-rock band that launched in the early 90's. When deciding what RATM video to post, I re-watched "Testify". I have not watched that video in YEARS. I noticed all the "money in politics" references they had, and thought it was the one to post. Check it out.

Meet the Man Behind the Hand

I paint from reference photos, and I wanted a photo of a man's hand hitting a vending machine. My good friend Joel Geist had moved to Las Vegas. During a visit, we went to the Double Down Saloon where I took the photo of Joel "pretend" hitting their vending machine. (I highly recommend going if you want something different and off the strip).

Joel is a very talented musician, producer, videographer, and director. He was also the bass player and "Bachelor #3" in a very funny video called "Just for One Night" back when he had long hair and mustache. I'm an extra in the video back when I was a bit thinner and younger. If you blink, you may miss me.

Joel and I at the Double Door Saloon where the reference photo was taken. I'm sure the bartender wondered what we were doing taking pics with their vending machine.

Just For One Night - Jeremy Buck & The Bang - (Rock of Love vs The Dating Game) This Music Video by Jeremy Buck & The Bang provides a surreal adventure combining a parody of VH1's "Rock of Love" with Bret Michaels vs the old school show, "The Dating Game", from the late 1960's & Early 70's.

Fish Schtick: The Backstory

April 9, 2016

The Idea

I hit the parent lottery. Seriously. I have THE BEST parents.

When I was a kid, I LOVED fish sticks.

A few years back, I was having dinner with my parents in Las Vegas at a fabulous fish restaurant. My dad told one of his hit or miss jokes. My dad LOVES jokes.

And Bazinga! "Fish Schtick" was hatched.

Take My Wife Please -- A Bit of History

Performed on "The Ed Sullivan Show" on May 8, 1966. Available on "The Very Best of The Ed Sullivan Show Volume 2" DVD.

Unless you are on the older side of the baby boomer generation, you may not be familiar with Henny Youngman. Henny Youngman was a comic known as the "King of the One-Liners". His most famous one-liner is "Take My Wife...Please". Youngman was an influence on Rodney Dangerfield, who in turn, influenced comedians such as Chris Rock and Conan O'Brien.