This is a mural I painted recently inside Upper Cup Coffee Co.‘s warehouse in Columbus, Ohio. It is approximately 6 feet high (including the text portions) by 11 feet wide.
While working on the design for the mural, I wanted something that would be of its environment. It had to compliment the roaster especially.
This quote is from Alice Schille, who was a great American artist from Columbus, Ohio. I pulled this quote out from a new film on Schille called Cactus Tree. I’d encourage anyone to watch it, it’s really well done and interesting.
Although I think with this quote she was speaking to students of art, it applies more broadly to anyone who is passionate about doing something well.
Here are a couple of things I painted this past summer. Pictured above is 12.5″ x 9.25″, oil on canvas.
And this one is 12″ x 9.5″, also oil on canvas.
This one is a snippet of the lyrics to a song called “Troubles A’ Comin” by the Rolling Stones. I picked this one because it seems be particularly pertinent these days. And it doesn’t hurt that it’s a great song, too.
The CCAD Art Sign has now been standing 20 years. My contribution to it was minimal at best. One could say I moved the tiniest grain of sand the slightest bit (please see previous post).
My little part in the Art Sign’s story was to take measurements and assist in general surveying of the site before it was erected. In 2000 and 2001 I was a “Co-op” student (something like a paid internship while I was a design student at the University of Cincinnati) working at the Artglo Company in Columbus, Ohio. Which happened to be where the sign was designed and fabricated. I didn’t know much about the project at the time; I had only seen a few scale models in the office that Doris had made (she was the head designer). One day I took a field trip to the site with another Artglo employee and we did our thing.
That is about it for my part; only a grain of sand. Fast forward to 2021 and it is hard for me to imagine CCAD’s campus without the sign. I only recently learned that the original concept for it came from Ric Petry, who was director of the MFA program when I was a student/MFA candidate. Also I have to mention Denny Griffith, who was president of CCAD during my time there and who ultimately made the Art Sign happen.
This month’s quote comes from the late great David Bowie.
I had another quote ready to go for this month. But then this week happened. With the passing of Charlie Watts earlier this week I knew I had to give this month’s quote to him. Charlie didn’t speak much publicly but when he did, he was always worth listening to. Over the past few days I’ve heard discussions about whether he was the greatest of all time. I can’t tell you that, but what I can tell you is he’s my favorite. I don’t know what else to say other than thank you, Wembley Whammer.
Each Spring I start growing sunflowers from the previous year’s seeds. From there I grow the sprouts in paper coffee cups until they develop a few leaves and are ready to plant. This year I planted (or gave small plants to other people to be planted) 55 sunflowers. And by now, they are all big plants and have nice blooms. I’ve grown 4 varieties of sunflower this year as shown in the photos. All 4 varieties are multi-headed or “branching” sunflowers. The most common and the type I grew the most of is what I’m calling the “American sunflower” because it is the most like what we see around here (see above).
I also grew quite a few of the Mexican sunflower, which is one of my favorites. It’s blooms are not as big as the more common sunflower, but they are mighty! They also tend to produce a ton of blooms. I like this plant so much I don’t know why there aren’t more of them out there running around!
Another lesser known plant that I grew a lot of this year is the Italian sunflower. It is also a little different but distinctive and will produce a lot of blooms. It has a different color and leaf shape from the typical customers.
And last but not least, I grew and planted a handful of what I call the “red” sunflowers. I had a bit of a mix-up with my seed packets but I believe they are the variety called “Moulin Rouge”. These are fun to watch bloom because they start off very dark, almost black. As they mature they turn a rich velvety red color.
This quote is so good that it spans two months. From Miles Davis. Enjoy.
This is a new self portrait. Gouache on 10″ x 8″ wood panel. It is based on a photo of a FaceTime call.
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