Elvis and "cherry"

"cherry", 2009

20" x 20", oil on panel

I've been thinking about why I consume so much bad pop culture while I paint. The best I can come up with is that I need a little "comfort food" while I'm nurturing a painting. The meticulous nature of how I paint diminishes some of the immediate energy found in other styles of painting. I like painting Alla Prima , but for me I feel that its like a playful prelude to the real work. My thinking is that anything that I can pop-off in a couple of hours doesn't have any real intrinsic value other than the experience of doing it . I get more fulfillment out of the painting process by "building" in layers. Maybe there's some sort of psychological component that won't allow me to fully immerse myself in something as immediate as painting in one sitting.

Or... maybe it's more fun to paint with Elvis.

Anyway, I listened to a lot of Elvis music ( all pre-'62 and post '68) while I painted stitches, glazed layers of umbers and crimsons, and noodled around with roses. I also played Blue Hawaii a few times ( I didn't want to miss any of that clever Presley subtext the first time around). In Blue Hawaii, "E" returns from the Army to Hawaii ( yeah, he's Hawaiian ... you know its an authentic native Hawaiian when the main character says "Wa-heen-eh" with a southern accent) to assume the role of heir to his father's pineapple plant. Here we see another classic Elvis movie theme involving conflict with his "Daddy" ( I love it when I hear a grown man refer to his father as "Daddy").


We saw Elvis attempt to overcome the embarrassment of his loser father ( Dean Jagger from White Christmas ) in King Creole ( "you go to school Daddy!! I'm going out to make a buck!!"). In Clambake, we watched him "go underground" as a water skiing instructor in attempt to evade his responsibility of taking over his father's oil company. Oh, and Clambake also includes one of the greatest musical scenes EVER! This would be the scene where he restores a speedboat in 4 minutes with the aid of Will Hutchins, a bunch of hot girls, and Gary Merrill ( the cross-dressing / child beating drunk who married Betty Davis) with the aid of a chemical compound ( that Elvis invented) that improves the strength of speedboat hulls.



The "Dr." really knows how to make a pair of boots. You can walk in acid in these suckers.

Note: Always check on the bottom to see the words "Made in England" before you buy them. The ones made in Japan fall apart and are meant for fashion ( not action).




I'm sending this painting out with a batch of smaller ones that I'm getting ready for a show in November at the Miller Gallery in Cincinnati. I'm also working on some things for a group show ( also in November ) at the Swan Coach House in Atlanta.

Otto and the paintmaker

I still can't get over the fact that some of the finest oil paint available is made a mile from my house at the Howard Daniel company. I got to see my pal Max Howard make a batch, and I have to say, It's WAY MORE WORK than I ever imagined. The Ralph Mayer handbook shows you how to mix up a batch of your own paint from scratch, but it's really an involved process if you want any level of consistency in your materials.



First, The finely ground pigment is mixed with a carefully measured and balanced amount of linseed and safflower oils. Next, a "test run" is made by sending a small amount through a special milling machine that mixes the compound into paint.



Once, the paint comes out with the perfect blend of sheen and body then you run the properly balanced mixture through the mill.





This is actually a blue, and is so rich in pigment that it actually looks black. The finished oil paint is then ready to be shipped by the gallon...



or "tubed".

I'm getting started on some new paintings this week. I've spent the last couple of weeks preparing surfaces and I'm ready to get working.

Robot, Donuts and Other Madness show at The Miller Gallery

Pop Tart, 2009

45" x 45", oil on canvas

Here's a painting that I finished just in the nick of time for the Robots, Donuts, and other Madness show featuring Eric Joyner, Jessica Hess, and me at the Miller Gallery on June 26. When I got to the opening, a bowl of popcorn was there, but I wasn't sure if it was a sculpture or something to accompany the painting.
I have to say this turned out to be more of a vacation than an opening. First of all, I went with my pal Walter because my pretty little wife had to stay home with our epileptic dog. This turned out to be great in that we were able to spend many, many hours discussing important topics such as:

-Red West: Great American actor or Elvis Presley flunky loser?

-Would Dack Rambo have made a great villain on The Incredible Hulk television show?

-Arguing about driving directions for a path that was essentially staying on the same road (I75 north) in a straight line

-Should I use my Popeye voice or my James Mason voice for the duration of the weekend.

-Should I use the "hybrid" Popeye-Mason voice?

I'll let the pictures do the talking, but I have to say this was a great weekend:



The lovely Gallery Director Rosemary Seidner took this picture



Swingin' hepcat Hugh McMantis offering up a few Eric, Jessica, and Otto t-shirts posed in an incredibly natural way



Owner , Gary Gleason ( looking pretty cool slinking around the corner ) "pre-show"



My new pal, Eric Joyner, next to one of his paintings



Jessica Hess and Walter sharing a laugh undoubtedly brought on by my comedy stylings including an extensive Popeye-Mason routine



The front entrance to the Miller Gallery with Rosemary, Gary and some ladies with a little dog



That's actually William Shatner posing as Eric Joyner



Oil painting by Jessica Hess ( she doesn't really have an "X" on her face)



After show dinner with owners Gary and Laura Miller Gleason and all of the wonderful people I met this weekend. Note the bald guy with the big mouth. He might be saying something really clever and intelligent, or... he might be yelling something that only he thinks is funny. Oh, and what's up with that palsied-hand-gang-sign-thing?

I didn't end up with any pics during the actual opening. This is due to the fact that I was actually enjoying myself meeting all of the cool people that night. I cannot thank Gary, Laura, Rosemary enough for making the show a wonderful experience and for extending their hospitality to me. I also want to thank Rosemary's daughters for making the Margarita's WAAY too strong, for Hugh helping out with the cool t-shirts the gallery had made, and for Becca letting me sleep in her room. I swear I didn't steal anything ... that you'd miss.

I would also like to thank the city of Cincinnati for the $50.00 parking ticket that I received within the first 10 minutes of arriving in town. This penalty has taught me an incredibly valuable lesson about the extreme "dangers" of parallel parking a vehicle the wrong way on a quiet side-street.

Cherry Lifesaver and The Indiana Review

Cherry Lifesaver, 2009

24" x 24", oil on canvas

Actually, "Cherry Lifesaver" is her name. Kinda like when you name some action beefcake guy "Chuck Steak". I've been a busy bee this week finishing up work for the upcoming show Robot, Donuts and other Madness at the Miller Gallery in Cincinnati on June 26.



Admittedly, the last eleven months has been a real emotional roller-coaster ride with all of the "fun" that canine epilepsy has brought into my world. Needless to say, it has been difficult to get as many paintings completed as I had been before all of the random incidents of uncontrollable shaking. At the moment, my little Peanut has been responding to the medicine a little better, and it has helped me pick up the pace a little ( Thank you, Dr. Dodd). Gee, I'm glad that I didn't take the advice of a certain local college veterinary hospital who repeatedly suggested euthanasia ( a.k.a killing her with poison) as a viable alternative ( F**k you, local university hospital lady).

Had I followed her course of "treatment", I wouldn't have gotten to play "destroy the rubber ducky" in my back yard:







Ah, I'm not bitter.

Another cool thing is my Love Gun painting on the cover of the summer 2009 issue of the Indiana Review.



Doesn't that pink look awesome?

I'm kind of hoping that the people from the Indiana Review don't actually read my blog and ultimately figure out that Otto may... Hmmm, shall we say, fall a little short in the "literary arts" department.

I think it was James Tiberius Kirk who once said "fortune favors the foolish" in the epic masterpiece Star Trek IV: The voyage home ( the one where they have to go back to the 20th century to get a humpback whale in order to save humanity).

Freshblood show at Mason Murer

My Mom and I went to the Freshblood show at the Mason Murer gallery on Friday ( my wife had to stay at home with our favorite epileptic dog). Okay, you know when someone describes a particular thing to you and they say, "it's big!"? Well, this would be the first time that the description actually fits the thing the person is describing. This place was HUGE, and filled with great work.



FUN FACT: My Mom is actually 27 inches tall!



I gave this guy seven dollars to pose for this picture. His only instructions were to "look natural" and to "appear to have a deep interest in my work...in a natural sort of way". He totally nailed it!

Actually, his name is Jeff and I graduated from UGA with him, but I totally could have gotten that response from a complete stranger.

My Mom and I drove back to join my wife and epileptic dog to catch an episode of Mannix.



Judo, jumping out of a dune buggy and shooting at someone, burning your fingers on hot toast, driving ( while shaving), swimming in shark infested waters, and playing it cool with your wool blazer ( in California) over your shoulder. All in a day's work for Joe Mannix.

The episode we watched was called "Deathrun", and involved Joe meeting up with an old marine buddy ( Joe apparently was in every branch of the armed services at some point) who served with him in Korea. The comment was made, "we were just kids" comes up referring to their time in Korea. This would make Joe a 28 year old "kid" in 1953.

Either way, at the end of the episode his buddy dies ( falls off a mountain cliff-this happens often on Mannix) and Joe is standing there attempting to cry. My mom looks at me and says,"you know, he's kind of a shitty actor".

I consider it to be a perfect evening.

more work for Mason Murer Gallery in Atlanta

Here are a couple more paintings for the Freshblood show at the Mason Murer gallery in Atlanta, GA on May 29.




blueberry rambler, 2009

8" x 6", oil on panel




black and blue, 2009

8" x 6" , oil on panel

Armenian superhero Mike Connors ( aka "Touch" Connors) has invaded my studio space with the second season of Mannix. Mannix is so cool that he introduces himself only as..."Mannix". I'd try to be convincing, but there's nothing I could ever write that would be as convincing as this picture:



The proportions of the above picture are accurate

Freshblood at Mason Murer

strawberry teacup, 2009

12" x 12", oil on birch panel

Here's some new work for the upcoming show Freshblood at Mason Murer Gallery on May 29 in Atlanta, GA.

While I've been logging in a lot of hours painting for the shows in the coming months, I've been reunited with my old friend Mr. Bill Bixby (a.k.a Dr. David Bruce Banner). Hulu has the first three seasons of The Incredible Hulk available and its FANTASTIC!

I have to say that The Incredible Hulk television show is a gold-mine of comedic riches. It's like The Fugitive only where the protagonist actually looks for trouble. Bixby's problem on the show isn't the fact that he turns into a giant retarded green man, but it's his inability to avoid meddling in the affairs of strangers.

Here's my favorite episode from the series titled "The Slam". This one has everything! Robert Davi as an evil prison guard, and my favorite character actor Charles Napier ( as an inmate who has been in the county jail for FIVE YEARS) . Do they give prison sentences that long in county jail? We also have David ( Bixby) "hulking out", escaping, and then... getting re-captured.