~calamity strange~

i have been offline, out of sight, missing-in-action, and absent...

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 09:04:09 -0700

i have been offline, out of sight, missing-in-action, and absent from pretty much everything for the past four weeks. just a few days before the opening of the ‘cash, clash, culture’ show at the davenport gallery in early august- i got a phone call that my mom was being admitted to the hospital and had become quite ill. i have been in colorado with her ever since.

i don’t know that it’s necessary to share my personal life on my “professional” (whatever that means) blog, but there are a few people that have inquired- since i pretty much dropped of the map after a busy summer of hustling photography jobs and slinging paintings. but… i was unable to attend that gallery opening. i was unable to deliver art for their next show. i had to turn down some lucrative work. i had to postpone other jobs in progress. i had to decline a promising opportunity for a magazine spread. i have been unable to do much of anything except climb a very steep learning curve about cancer while sitting in a hospital room for about ten hours a day.

so. the calamity strange blog space will probably continue to be quiet for awhile, as i am home just for a few days and then headed directly back to colorado. this will also have me missing out on interbike which i normally attend in september (bicycle=eye candy= galore) and perhaps even outerbike in october (more bicycles= more eye candy= more galore).

the upside is: i am getting to spend more time with my mom than i have in years, (which i am so grateful for!) and when i’m not at the hospital i am enjoying some much needed peace and quiet at her house at the east end of the grand valley where the sky is big, there are afternoon thunderstorms, and the colorado river is less than a five minute walk away.

cash, clash, culture

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 09:20:04 -0700

i am flattered to have been invited by roger knapp, director of the davenport gallery to...

when i’m not taking photographs along the side of deserted...

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 07:20:00 -0700

when i’m not taking photographs along the side of deserted highways, painting pictures of skeletons, aiming my camera at all things chrome and shiny, or gluing random pieces of my past together to make little auto-biographical dioramas… i still do most of my professional work creating portraits for people. i’ve never really felt the need to share all those photographs on the internet- since i am hired privately (and i still think it’s a little odd that you can browse through so many blogs and look at everyone’s engagement photos, or pictures of their babies…) but from time to time i guess i should remind people (or myself) about what i do to make ends meet.

it seems that most of the photographers i know are strictly photographers, and they shoot in a pretty specific way, and they do mostly just that. i also see that most of the artists (other genres or photographers who only make ‘art’ and do not hire themselves out) also stay kind of specific to one stream of creating. in my case, i think my diversity is both a blessing and a curse. on the one hand, i’ve had art shows where people walk in and say “oh, where are your photographs?” (when it’s some other genre) and as recently as april- when i had the heretics and heathens opening at chimera arts in santa cruz many people thought that it was a two person show- due to the two distinctly different mediums on display. (yes, that was all mine.) on the other hand… i have a very broad range of interests when comes to creating, so i’ve got a huge arsenal of ideas and a pretty strong set of skills and resources!

oh see, now i’m all off track! (i am also a little bit ADD and a lot OCD- in case you hadn’t noticed) here’s an example of a couple of very basic portraits i did for one of my favorite clients and collectors. it’s fun to take pictures for the same families year after year- and watch their kids grow up. it’s also really cool to be able to be the documentarian (if you will) and to be trusted to authentically capture the history of other people’s lives.

2006

2011

and just for the hell of it- here’s another way to keep it interesting.

sometimes i make other art- out of the portraits i take! this is a 30x40” mixed media collage i made with the first series of their portraits that i did in 2006.

A message from the Director of Photography of National Geographic:

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 08:18:00 -0700

but first, my two cents: below is some very common advice and is usually ‘required’ when...

the photography business and the american dream.

Tue, 31 May 2011 18:00:00 -0700

the photography business and the american dream.: fellow photographer Christina Shook posted this...

never thought i’d be a prom photographer… but...

Sat, 14 May 2011 10:15:00 -0700

never thought i’d be a prom photographer… but that’s my boy and his crew!

back in business.

Wed, 04 May 2011 14:40:07 -0700

i’ve been out in the desert… blog should be back online tomorrow. photo taken from...

and one for jesus...

Sun, 24 Apr 2011 07:20:14 -0700

i don’t believe in zombies, but i do believe in the easter...

Sun, 24 Apr 2011 07:09:56 -0700

i don’t believe in zombies, but i do believe in the easter bunny.

.puppet master.

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 06:50:05 -0700

good friday brings you: puppet master. five days of blogging in a row! are you bored yet? ...

.highest bidder.

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 12:02:00 -0700

thursday = highest bidder (yes, i know i just posted this photo last week.) day four in my series...

.on brittle wings.

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 11:25:02 -0700

wednesday i offer you another explanation of the parts that make up one of the ‘boxes’-...

.where were you hiding?.

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 07:58:00 -0700

i know you’ve already seen plenty of photos of this one, but after so many questions about...

.religious experience.

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 10:45:00 -0700

one of my found object assemblage pieces currently on display at chimera arts in santa cruz. ...

today, some more photos from the heretics and heathens show,...

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 09:32:00 -0700

today, some more photos from the heretics and heathens show, and a bit of info about them to address the questions i received about where, why, how, what???

a lot of people have asked about this place, and scant few had been there. three of the photos in the show were taken at or near The Salton Sea in southern california. here are a few places you can learn more about it: the basic explanation of the area on wikipedia: HERE. the documentary film that will explain everything and is VERY interesting: HERE (really, you should watch this film… it is VERY interesting!) or if you’re on netflix… you can find it HERE

…the Salton Sea, an inland ocean of massive fish kills, rotting resorts, and 120 degree nights located just minutes from urban Southern California. This award-winning film… details the rise and fall of the Salton Sea, from its heyday as the “California Riviera” … to its present state as a decaying, forgotten ecological disaster. From wonderland to wasteland, PLAGUES & PLEASURES ON THE SALTON SEA captures a place far more interesting than the shopping malls and parking lots of suburban America, a wacky world where a beer-swilling Hungarian Revolutionary, a geriatric nudist, and a religious zealot building a monument to God all find solace and community.

(not to be confused with the hollywood movie called “the salton sea” with val kilmer!)

there are three main aspects of this area:

the sea itself. which is a giant saline lake at 226 feet below sea level. the nicest beach created entirely from the corpses of rotting fish, you will ever find anywhere.

here’s how the guy i live with, who is way better with words than me, decribes it:

“A massive accidental diversion of the Colorado River that proved fodder for the proverb “when given lemons, make lemonade”, the Salton Sea has for just over a hundred years now existed in this strange cycle of opportunistic dreamscape/cataclysm/opportunistic dreamscape/cataclysm that has ended up creating a highly saline, below sea-level sump full of agricultural runoff and a seemingly inexhaustible Tilapia population. It is home to some incredibly desolate human poverty that is surviving on the foundations of what was supposed to be “the next Palm Springs.” Every summer millions of Tilapia suffocate to death during prolific algae blooms, then rot, then get infected with botulism, which birds then contract from eating the fish. It is a bird habitat of global significance. It is a salty, and growing saltier, cesspool. Water flows in from irrigation runoff and one very polluted river, but doesn’t flow out again. The only water to leave the sea leaves via evaporation. I have never seen anyplace like it. Best sightseeing trip of epic perversity that I have ever been on. Highly recommended. Just don’t go during summer. Smells like rotting fish then, and apparently the flies are out of control…”

so, lake itself, the bizarre communities that still exsist (sort of) around the lake, like bombay beach for instance, which is where my photo: “blame nietzsche” was taken.

the sea it is also home to one of the largest and most important wildlife/ bird and waterfowl preserves in the country- which is kind of unbelievable, but no less believable than the fact that sono bono is responsible for creating the nature preserve!

seriously.

it is also a hot-bed of geothermic activity, and the south end of the lake is home to both lava formations and several geothermal power plants.

then, just slightly southeast of the sea, outside of a town called niland, california- you will find salvation mountain. trust me, photographs do not do justice to this place.

this is leonard. he practices what he preaches…. the man is committed to god, undeniably.

driving past his monument is one thing, getting out and walking around: another, but going inside this structure that an eighty year old man, crisped from the sun, and a teeny bit crazed (probably from all the paint) spends his days building as his tribute to jesus…. well, you just really have to go. i have seen a lot of art in my days, and walking into this structure was one of the most powerful and mind-blowing art experiences i have ever had. just go. go before leonard passes away. go before the thing get torn down.

lastly, there is slab city. you might remember it from the movie into the wild.

part burning man, part hesher-tweeker-kook-land, part military survivalist, part hippie, part…. well… you tell me. “the remains of the abandoned World War II Marine barracks Camp Dunlap … a group of servicemen remained after the base closed, and the place has been inhabited ever since. the site is both decommissioned and uncontrolled, and there is no charge for parking. the camp has no electricity, no running water or other services.” this place is a trip.

if you are a into road-trips… this is one of a kind. don’t go all the way down there and miss any of these sights. in the past week i have talked to people who have been to slab-city, but never over to the lake itself- and vice-versa. go see all of it. it’s worth it.

anno domini. limited edition of five. only two left.

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 17:40:00 -0700

anno domini.

limited edition of five.

only two left.

the number one question i have gotten about the heretics and...

Sun, 10 Apr 2011 08:50:00 -0700

the number one question i have gotten about the heretics and heathens show is about the found object boxes:

where did you get all this stuff?

out of all eight boxes (including the boxes themselves) i already had everything you see on the wall, save one item: the vintage nun doll in “highest bidder”. well, that and the glue. why i have all that “‘stuff” is a longer story than i’ve got in my fingers on a sunday morning.

i am a collector of things. i have been my whole life.

it’s friday again! not first friday. not an art tour. but...

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 07:55:00 -0700

it’s friday again! not first friday. not an art tour. but tonight i’ll be at chimera arts at six o’clock, hosting anyone that wanted to get a better look at the boxes and photography work, but couldn’t get past the band last week! i’ll only be there for about an hour, but chimera is open until 8:00. stop by and say hi!

i am happy to report that the photographs are selling like crazy...

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 10:15:00 -0700

i am happy to report that the photographs are selling like crazy over at chimera!

first to sell, and certainly the most asked about and talked about image in the show is

all good dogs go to heaven

this was taken on highway 50 somewhere (in the middle of nowhere) in utah. that highway is the beaten path that i have been driving, back and forth to colorado to visit my mom on, since i moved to santa cruz in 1986. it is commonly known as the loneliest road in america. i love it out there. it is home to some of the biggest sky, most expansive views, quietest spaces, hidden hot-springs, tucked away petroglyphs, and emptiest asphalt you will find just about anywhere. depending on which state you are in, if you are lucky you’ll get to see antelope, elk, deer, wild donkeys, wild horses (yes,really), and birds of prey of all varieties. this road is also home to the recently destroyed “shoe-tree”. one of these days i’ll dig out one of my photographs of that tree… i was really sad to hear it was cut down. : (

because i can’t tell you for certain what happened in this picture, i can only speculate. growing up in ranch country myself, i understand that it is common practice to kill and then “string-up” any predatory animal that kills livestock. it is (i guess) a successful way to keep other predators away. i saw it driving east last spring on a make-shift cattle pen out there in the high desert. never being one to pass up an opportunity to investigate anything remotely morbid, i pulled over and went back, camera in hand. i assume it’s a coyote, with it’s white winter coat- thus the lovely paw fur, and skinned for that prize.

for those of you who are interested in purchasing any of the photographs in the show, (if you are not familiar) here’s a little primer on how art buying and collecting usually works: when an artist shows photographs,lithographs, screen prints, or any other “reproducible” media- it is normally done in a “limited edition”. because other art forms like painting, sculpture, collage, assemblage, etc. are “one of a kind”- as an original- they are usually priced substantially higher than something that can be repeated. although, a painter may choose to have prints made of the painting- which obviously isn’t possible with more three-dimensional art forms. same thing here: the artist and gallery often agree on how many will be in the limited edition, and the value goes up based on the exclusivity of the piece. a limited edition is restricted in the number of copies produced, although in fact the number may be very low or very high.
thus: more copies available= less expensive…
less copies available= more expensive.

all the photographs in the Heretics & Heathens show are limited edition prints in a series of five each. they are all 20 x 30 inches and are mounted on a one inch stand-out backing and sprayed with a protective coating. there is no need to frame them, they are ready to hang as they are. what this means for you is, if you came to the opening and saw a “sold” tag on one of the pictures, chances are you can still own one. just shoot me an email and let me know.

☆☆ the heretics & heathens show opened last friday to...

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 10:01:00 -0700

☆☆ the heretics & heathens show opened last friday to outstanding attendance and rave reviews of the work. we had a full house until well after closing time, and i guarantee= the rockingest, most colorful, and creative group of folks at any art reception in this county! ☆☆ so many gorgeous people covered head to toe in ink, lowriders, harleys, artists, musicians, dogs, seniors, teens, kids, the band;
☆☆ it was my best opening ever! ☆☆

photocredit: mark nockleby

first off, i really have to thank camille krilanovich, owner of chimera arts, for hosting a stellar event.

she is of the utmost professionalism and does an astonishing job of turning her body arts shop into a gallery space in short order! (in addition to being a knock-out!) i also appreciate the other folks at chimera who helped, hosted, poured drinks, and stayed for the duration.

the show received tons of press in the local papers, including an interview by the senior arts writer at the sentinel, which you can read here: santa cruz sentinel article

including being selected at the “feature artist” for the month of april by the first friday art tour, which is sponsored by the santa cruz institute for contemporary arts and goodtimes magazine.

this is from the santa cruz weekly

chimera’s own blog listing

all hail the black market

if you didn’t make it to the opening, the work will be on display through the end of may. please make a point to stop by, be sure to introduce yourself and let the staff know you’re there to see the show!