Big Milton 4

My favorite part of this, one of my favorite (top quartile) paintings, is the red goober coming out of the left side of his face ...

I suppose I should say it was an accident.  As if that needed saying.

And now this ...
















Which is part of this ...



Which still has miles to go, but is showing promise.

The question is whether, in my efforts to preserve the goober coming out of Big Milton's head, I compromise the whole process going forward.

The smart money says just black it out and stop worrying about it
That's the smart money.  They've been wrong.
"They've" or "it's"?
Interesting question.  
Today's topic, I guess, is collective nouns, singular or otherwise.
Yes it is.

Big Milton 3

Wrestling with his shoulder ...

Some thought that it should be black on black (a textural thing), although that doesn't appear to be working as well as I had hoped it might.



And here's a giggle ...



This is not to suggest that we are even close to done.  Just some computer fun.

A frame makes everything look great, doesn't it?
Yes it does.

Dog food

Adios Campagnolo

The idea that Downton Abbey is ending makes me want to paint every red door black.


Now, I suppose, would be a great time to mention that my novella "Saigon:  Too Big to Fail" (a surreal mash-up of the Vietnam War and the Financial Crisis of 2008) and related short stories are available on Kindle.  The perfect gift for the Wall Streeter who has everything.  I can guarantee he or she doesn't have this.

Click here.

Big Milton 2

"My head is so big because it's full of ideas."
--Joseph Merrick

It's possible that Mr. Merrick (otherwise known as the Elephant Man) didn't say this, but it works for the post.  Herewith, Big Milton 3 and 4 ...






Remain calm.  I'll clean up the black background later in the process.  The idea now is to simple share the love (in the form of red, orange, yellow and blue first, followed by highly diluted white paint).

Update:  I'm now under the impression that the quote goes "Sometimes I think my head is so big because it is so full of dreams."  Again, not sure if this comes from some stage or move production or if the man actually said it.   Not important, really.

Kids Today

If there is a list of most interesting people under fifteen kicking around someplace, I think Maddie Ziegler should be at the top.  This from the Ellen Show (Ellen apparently is a big fan) ...


It's always a question with extremely young performers as to where the responsibility falls for artistic choices.  I'm sure she has a great director/choreographer, but I like to think that a lot of this is Ms. Ziegler's squishy little brain at work.

Red sofa

I'm working on a Trojan Hors cartoon which goes something like this...

FM -- The neighbors are really pissed that you ate their dog.
MrP-- If you're going to call a dog a Chocolate Lab you should expect the worst.

Gave it an initial shot but the artwork wasn't up to snuff.  Then I found this ...

And now I'm all fired up.

I like incorporating actual images into the strip.  Witness this ...

So I can see the Chocolate Lab strip taking place on the red sofa.  And that should be fun.

And just to explain the phrase "the artwork wasn't up to snuff", what I mean is that if I had my shit together, I'd have one of those electronic styli and special pads that would allow me to draw the strip as if I were drawing it with a pencil.  Which, believe me, would make my life a hell of a lot easier.

Instead all I have is the same shitty apple mouse that comes with my computer.  And although you can do amazing things with a mouse and a computer, drawing line figures is not exactly one of them.

Big Milton 1

The assignment has been to paint Milton Friedman.  Pretty easy, one might think.  One more wrinkled white guy to add to the likes of Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke, although I'd advise against hanging Friedman and Bernanke next to each other.  Late at night the shouting you think you hear as you try to sleep will be about lending AIG 85-Large.

Anyway, despite all of the above, it's taken longer than anticipated.  Not sure why -- sometimes it flows and sometimes it doesn't.  Started a previous version and it just wasn't working.  Decided rather than fixing it, just to begin again from Point A.

Thus this ...

 At which point it hit me that the way to paint the man is with a black background, not a white one.

Which is unusual for me, although hardly unprecedented.   I'd call your attention to "St. Joan Receives the Spirit of the Lord", which is a classic.

Don't be confused -- Big Milton will be executed in full color.  In short order, I'm thinking since, now that I'm unlocked, I believe the paint will be flowing here nicely.  Expect to be done in a week or less.  Because I can feel it coming out, even as I type this.

For you completists, this may be interesting.