Words/Pictures

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3,0000 DONGS

January 20th, 2021
Above is the screenshot of the 3k unit drop "Just Say Ho:Random Dong". Double entendre aside, the Dong is monetary unit of measure in Vietnamese currency.

Wait ...what?
I know. 3k images. In the end, I created 150 layers, and 12 groups, and worked with an art management program on Github, using Node.js. I did do some json and python work, but thats just showing off. This script and formula, allowed me to generate thousands of unique permutations, using a weighting system, creating rarity and limiting asset repetition. In reality, if my permutation calculation math was correct, I could have just over 1.5MM versions. Either way, 3k was more than enough to provide collector opportunities and deliver the BBN ethos to the NFT audience. Know this: Every one of the 3000 images is 100% unique and has its own DNA/identification number baked into the file. Every one will be its own NFT and live on the blockchain.

I don't get it.
Well, you may not. There can be a steep learning curve to parts of this world. In the end, as a creator, it's about opportunity, audience and experiment. The speed at which I can create, distribute and coalesce feedback, is wonderful as a creator. It reminds me of being a musician and the immediacy of live perfomance. The solitude and long term commitment to an idea, when creating an oil painting, can be debilitating. And only a select few, will pay for that effort.

Who does get it?
I hinted in a previous post, about the months of audience study I have been doing. In short, I have a hole in my collector profile. The middle 30's, six figure earning Millennial and late 20's new professional, GenZ are missing from my core audience. This group does not lean into their upward mobility and success, in traditional ways. Luxury goods, obvious signs of affluence and the accumulation of objects is almost shunned. It's almost an anti establishment rejection affluence. IF but barely. Paradoxically, in doing so, they are just re-defining affluence. This group does spend their money. But differently. Almost anti luxury, but at luxury price points. While the price of my bigger pieces might play a role, it's more about attitude, commitment to acquisition and the perception that comes with commitment.

In another post I can delve into this side of art marketing, but for now, without giving a lesson in demographics of potential buyer groups, know that the biggest core audience in the NFT market, is exactly what I just described above.

Where are these?
That is a great question. The first drop was planned for the opensea.io platform. BBN is already there, and I am just working out the fees and display issues. I am working in NFTPort api, but may not be able to get the broad upload capacity I need. HOWEVER: I was just approached by another dealer to represent the collection in a different venue of NFT's. Like everthing else in the NFT world ...shit changes fast. I will post the final drop site soon.

For the record, if I do stay with the opensea.io route, they will be on the Polygon side chain to Etherium. I know being on Polygon presents some difficulty in transfer of ETH, but it really is a better proof-of-stake network. Gas fees on ETH would make this a cost prohibitive effort and I might a well be selling my $20k paintings at that point. That defeats the entire purpose. I know I might have lost a few of you on terms, like gas fees, polygon and ETH. Stick around. I will get to all of that in the future.

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SOLD OUT

January 19th, 2021
As of today, my entire first edition "mints" are sold out on the crypto.com platform. In fact, one user is already re listing them for more than the purchase price. Like I wrote before: These dont sell for thousands. In the above picture, on a cheap as shit monitor, you see a balance of $196 and some change. Thats my cut of a $200 NFT. I know. A bag of cash for one of my paintings would be cooler ... but also, bring a lot of hate. And yes, I have received a bag of cash for a painting. A small bag. But a bag it was.

How?
How did I sell them? Through my IG feed for Broken Banknote. I know... I am back on IG. I hate it, but, whatever. NFT's are far more marketable than my paintings on social media. How can they re sell them? That's the thing with NFT's and the contracts. Users can re sell them on the platform for their price. I will always get 10% of any future sale. In perpetuity. It is a pretty intersting system and about as close as an artist can come to those lucrative days of licensing from the 1980's and 1990's.

Now what?
Big things. My next drop will be thousands of algorithm generated images around the piece, We 3 & The Ho Chi Me. Going forward, I will continue to "mint" single edition rare pieces on crypto.com and I am expanding to both opensea.io and rarible.com for the big image drops. The luxury unlocks will come by QTR 3. If you did not guess, I will be devoting the rest of my efforts and the year 2022, to creation in the NFT arena.

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NEW YEARS DAY '22

January 1st, 2022
It is 10:56am on New Year's day. The above photo is the view from my studio desk. As it happens, I am already negotiating an offer on two BBN NFT's at crypto.com and planning the next drops, including "unlocks" and, a major switch, in my way of doing business. Today's interactions, around the BBN crypto.com offerings, do nothing but reinforce these moves. I also find it interesting to execute so much digital exchange, when looking at so much physical work. View from my desk aside, that's another story.

What?
Broken Banknote, will sell exclusively in the NFT space. Digital, NFT BBN images, will be used as unlocks for acquiring physical paintings and other exclusive single edition only content. Not only will the NFT’s unlock art, they will also unlock experiences. Luxury trips, in person studio time, physical commissions, and other rarities, will allow Broken Banknote NFT’s to re define transactional value. Once again, this allows Broken Banknote to challenge the value of fiat currency and live by the very ethos it projects.

Crypto.com for today.
The first 7 double minted editions are only available at Crypto.com. Those are NFT’s that allow access to the BBN ethos, for a very approachable price and have the benefit of being extremely limited minted editions. Just 2 of each one. As those sell through, depending on market place experience, BBN will create more elaborate NFT unlock editions, at much more appropriate price point. Because crypto.com does not allow for the contractual inclusion in the minted NFT for an unlock agreement, another marketplace, like an opensea.io, or Rarible will be determined. I may even stay at crypto.com, if when cn get the details worked out.

Unlock?
An unlock is a stepped reward, or value add for a purchase, in the NFT world. It is the where the real value is found, in the Non Fungible Token space. NFT collectors know, that low edition “mints” of art present great rarity, and often trade or sell, exponentially higher, than original acquisition price. To add additional value and rarity to the NFT, BBN will create an "unlock" in its next drop, and include, the original oil painting, the NFT is based on. In this scenario, not only do you get a potential revenue stream in the rarity of the NFT purchase, but you all get a physical work of art, hang ready, delivered to your door, anywhere in the world. If we were at the mall, it would be called a "gift with purchase". In the end, I don't care what you call it. I am here to add value to the BBN experience of acquisition and ownership.

Beyond the obvious, other unlocks may be quite elaborate. Full buyouts of nights clubs in LA, luxe driven private events in wine country, chartered sailing trips, Aspen retreats and Las Vegas suites are all ideas on tap for the second phase of drops.

The way it is.
I get it. Many of you are not in the crypto world. I was a doubter too. I looked at crypto in 2013. I played around with NFTs in 2017. I walked away both times. I regret those decisions. 2021 changed my mind. I just could not wait any longer. This is how BBN and Brian Drake Fine Art will do business for all future transactions. The TonePoems are the next big drop for the quarter. I am also working on a large format Photography experiment. Regardless of the medium I choose, all physical world transactions will be some form of "unlock" incentive from the NFT world.

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BBN & CRYPTO.COM

December 24th, 2021
It is 7:14am on Christmaas Eve and I have been up with the rain, putting final touches on the first few Broken Banknote crypto.com releases.

What?
Earlier in December, I was asked to join the crypto.com platform for the Broken Banknote series. I have been looking for the right NFT experience and this looks to be a good fit. They are executing a huge media blitz, have a dedicated audience, burgeoning art only NFT platform and a big LA presence, with the branding of the new arena. Sure, there is openseas and Rarible, wich are essentially pay to play, but this felt a little bigger. Of course I would like SuperRare to curate me, but they are busy fucking around with celebrity artists. My name barely gets me drinks and valet. It don't get me red carpet anything. This is a good start. And it has value for current and future collectors.

Explain.
At the end of the day, I need to expand my audience, diversify my buyers and make the BBN experience more accessible. I have been spending months researching and dissecting my buyers and my audience. I have a hole in my audience that has been difficult to fill and without writing 20 paragraphs on audience study, know that this is an attempt to reach that new audience. The current offering is limited to just 2 edition "mints" of each image and has approachable pricing. Like a few hundred bucks ...not thousands. You dont just get a digital image of the current paintings, you get entirely new, NFT expressions, based on the currency and characters from the physical works of art. This lets owners and buyers of the physical paintings still maintain their rarity, knowing that the only version of their painting is the one in front of them. No digital version of that will ever exist. No NFT of those will ever exist. Also, the same is true for the NFT works of art. Those will never be painted and will only exist on the blockchain. This model gives rarity to the blockchain verified art and allows future trading between buyers.

This collection will grow and depending on response in the market, will dicate my efforts for 2022. In the mean time, check out the collection and get to know a little more about crypto.

BBN CRYPTO

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LATEST SOUNDS

December 17th, 2021
Oh we’re interested in the fall playlist? As December moves into full holiday swing, and we’re on the crux of winter, here is what I have been streaming in hi rez or playing on the turntable. No, none of it’s holiday music.

BECAUSE I AM BASIC.
We already know that I have a thing for breathy female vocals and downtempo vibes. Especially with these singers. Now I’ve just gone overboard on the pop sugar madness of soft rock for GenZ.


The Marias
CINEMA
I discovered them by accident several years ago at a bar in downtown LA. Followed them on SoundCloud and now their first full album is stunning. I want to write more but as a reader told me this summer, I write too much. I have the earlier work on vinyl, but the latest relese in Hi-Rez streams on Qobuz and is legit with the right Dac.

Men I Trust
Oncle Jazz
A gem of soft whispers and gentle landings. I discovered them at a bar in NYC sometime in 2015. Then KCRW couldn’t stop playing them. For good reason. I do have the 10th pressing of this double LP. None of the vinyl is a quality listening experience. They look great, but the sound ‘aint there. Stream it on Qubuz.


SERIOUS MUSIC.
These are sounds from artists that can really move you. More space between the notes. More swagger. More emotion. Mostly, because they can fucking play.


Lady Blackbird
Black Acid Soul
Marley Munroe is stunning in ability and presentation. Jaw dropping, old world ability in a new world package. Not young. My generation. That’s important in a youth obsessed business. I first heard her in Los Angeles years ago and you could tell she was just waiting for the right opportunity. Her persona as Lady Blackbird is just this side of perfection. Grace Jones in style and a voice near perfect. She streams on Qobuz. YouTube has a few of her live performances which are even more breathtaking. For the lush soft pop sounds of the above artists, Lady Blackbird is a serious jolt of throaty raw ability. It’s serious music. Nobody could hang on her bandstand from the above list. She’s that strong. She’s been waiting a long time. You shouldn’t wait anymore.

Seamus Blake
Guardians Of The Heart Machine
I met Seamus when we were students at Berklee. Since I wrote about who could hang on who’s bandstand above… Let me be clear: I could never hang on his bandstand. For the first time in years, I saw him live at Smalls in NYC at the beginning of fall. Fucking Monster. (outside his show pictured above) He was playing new material for an upcoming album and both sets from the second night at Smalls are on Youtube: Click To Watch.

In the meantime he’s got a wonderful sounding double LP vinyl on the rather difficult label Whirlwind. It also streams on Tidal. No, this is not pop fluff, but this is an approachable album if you’re not used to this kind of music.

Donny Hathaway
Extensions Of A Man
Live!
If you ever wondered what Amy Winehouse was referring to in the track “Rehab” here you go. On the album Live! He covers the Carol King song, You’ve Got A Friend. It’s recorded at the Troubadour, in 1972. When the audience joins in singing with him… the goosebumps are real. Leave it to an LA audience to sound so damn good. The new re issue Vinyl is quite good. The Tidal stream may be better.

On the album Extensions Of A Man, the track “Someday We’ll All Be Free“ is about as perfect of a song as ever written. I own the vinyl. It took four expensive copies to find a good one. Stream on Tidal, instead of hunting record stacks or buying from collectors.

Christian McBride & Inside Straight
Live At The Village Vanguard
A LOT has been written and said about McBride. Thats because he has been the shit for a really long time. I first heard him with Roy Hargrove when they were calling him a young lion. That was 31 years ago. Nothing has changed. Well... maybe a little has changed, but that kind of nuance is not what this is about.

This album is straight up swinging hard bop. (for the most part) It sounds both old and new at the same time. The changes are intersting harmonically and the solos are solid. The band is well knitted in presentation. The use of vibraphone is all over the tracks and in the past I would have turned it off in a heart beat. When done right, the vibraphone can be a smokey mystery or a bright ray of light in a composition. Done wrong, you feel like you are listening to the Sunday brunch house band at a freeway hotel, in the suburbs. Well ...This 'aint that. Warren Wolf kills and for the most part I only feel like I am at ...maybe a Sandals resort dinner a couple of times. No suburban afternoon hotel brunch vibes to be found at all. But that indictment is more about me than anything else. Steve Wilson's "Ms. Angelou" is a a great composition and gives enough air for the band to breathe around the changes. You can hear the room and the players.

Recorded in December, 2014 and just released, it feels like this album should have come out before the 2015 Trio Live At The Village Vanguard release. At any rate, the vinyl is on pre order, but the Qobuz stream is solid. Audience participation is reminiscent of the crowds during the Vanguard Mel Lewis/Thad Jones era. You get a solid hard swinging band with a great audience. It is a glimpse into what a live show can be like.

Well. There it is. I know. Too wordy as usual. Next spring I will recap what winter brings for those interested. And frankly, for those un interested.

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BBN GOES CRYPTO

December 15th, 2021
In 2022, the Broken Banknote paintings will be officially for sale. These paintings will be offered via crypto currency only. Etherium (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC) will be the preferred currencies and accommodations can be made for others. Flat prices will be set against the average USD sales of my past work. In some circumstances, marquee pieces will exist in a bid only format.

Why?
The Broken Banknote paintings are a complete indictment of fiat money. The best way to continue this indictment, is to live by it. To "live by it" simply means forgoing the exchange of paper based currency, issued by sovereign nations, in return for the acquisition of product. If Broken Banknote truly questions the “big lie” of fiat currency, then the BBN series should be willing to stake its values against this belief. In the end, it brings the concept full circle, and once again, the public is asked to question the concept of "money'.

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35 DAYS LATER

December 5th, 2021
Above is the final piece, Mavrodi Redux. I know. It took a minute.

Sunday Funday.
I started the final steps on this around 2:45 am today. Quietly putting final touches and embellishments on a piece that was too tight and constricted. It just missed the mark. So it sat, waiting for the answer to come.

The Answer?
Well ...there could be many. In the end, I created in exacting detail currency elements of the billet, only to come back and over paint those elements. Layer, by layer, I attempt to create a visual link to the disarray and confusion around illegally printed money and what the idea behind a "new currency", really means. There is a lot more to this story, and I may do a video, diving deep into the intricacies and details behind the currency of the MMM Billet, the scam and the applications of this "new money" concept today. I mean, he just started printing money with his face on it, called this money "certificates" and traded them at a premium for Rubles. I wonder what could go wrong? I also wonder what this sounds like today...

For now, enjoy the newly minted counterfeit dream, Mavrodi Redux.

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REALTY CHECK

November 29th, 2021
Pictured above is an out take from a photo shoot I did at my house, with my iPhone, in early November of this year. It was for an updated self portrait for my materials and this very website. Why? Well …I guess that’s where the story is.

The truth.
The other day, I was asked a question, regarding how effective this content is at generating sales. Great question. I thought I would share with the rest of my readers some truths. Nothing I do here does one thing to actually “sell“ a painting. No buyer will stumble across these posts and think to themselves “WOW! What a great artist and dude …I’ve got a find a way to buy his work!” Ain’t ever gonna happen.

Why, then?.
All the work, photos, posts, videos and background information I create and present here, is the base line for a professional artist. it’s absolutely expected and not exclusive to, or indicative of, any kind of exceptionalism. It’s what a professional artist has to do. What I do here is for publications, gallerists, curators, designers, architects, show creators and current owners.

For the professionals mentioned above, and not the curious on lookers or random strangers that stumble across this content, I need to show that I’m constantly growing and working on my craft. This content gives other industry professionals the information they need about including me in a show, representing or even handling my work. It’s intended to show how serious I take my craft and career. As for current owners, they are invested in me, my career and where I’m going with my art. They have spent money and time with me and find value in this content. In fact if I were to just disappear and stop creating, it would be disingenuous to their investment. They have, as one good friend and owner put it, a "social contract” with me. Their expectation is that I’m in this for the long haul.

Field of dreams.
I share this information, as some of my readers are artists as well. There’s one thing we all have in common: The misconception that “If you build it, they will come.“ well …They won’t. Don’t think that all you need is a few great paintings and a sweet website, social media account and everything’s good to go. From what I’ve seen you’re either an art darling on a meteoric rise and your path is set with very little effort other than output, or, like me, you got to grind your career out.

Final thought.
In the end, the self promotion and constant process/backstory posts and videos is draining, time consuming, reeks of vanity issues and takes away from creating actual art. Sure, you can change your mindset and make this part of the entire “art process” but if you have any self awareness, it’s a struggle.

However, it’s a struggle we have to do even though I question yet another vapid photo shoot of myself. No, it’s not lost on me, that this last photo shoot has me looking like the cover to a 1980s suit rock album. I’ll work on it for the next one. Cuz there is always a next one. Oh ...and that meteoric rising darling ...Nothing lasts forever.

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BLACK FRIDAY

November 26th, 2021
Above is a piece I created more than 10 years ago and it is still relevant today. (I did have help from a former girlfriend at the time, but thats another story)

Holiday binge.
For years, when I was on social media, I would post this image on Black Friday. For my non US based readers, that is the feckless day in America, where greed and consumption conspire to make us a better people, through the purchase of goods and services at a discount rate. 'Cuz all great things come at a cut rate, and in the form of an 'all you can eat' shopping experience ...right?

When I had thousands of followers, it was met with many comments. Most were positive and of course a few negative, but the interaction was fun, regardless of where you stood on the idea. Over the years, as my followers dwindled and a new generation of people took to social media, they were not so intersted in having their belief system challenged. So many people of privilege on social media felt that their mass consumerism was a right that they, or at least they through their parents money, had earned. Challenging that very notion, was met with much rebuke and disdain. To be clear, the piece is meant to make you think. Nothing more. You bring your own interpretation to it.

It is still here.
While I am not on social media and have not posted this publicly in a few years, I thought I would relive the old trope once more. It is a great challenge. To me and to the viewer. For the record, the piece has never been offered for sale and currently sits next to me, leaning against the wall. It is still here and its message is still relevant today. If it upsets you, it probably should.

BUY MORE SHIT
oil over acrylic & newsprint on panel
36x48

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CUC:HOLD PT.2

November 23rd, 2021
This morning, I am was working on part two of a post from September, featuring the new patina work of an ongoing piece, based on the Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC). I'm working outside, as it is 70° and sunny and this can be quite a toxic process.

The raw and the cooked.
In the first image from September, you saw the raw CUC's applied to the panel in a geometrical and somewhat haphazard way, based on the shape of the island of Cuba. Don't get hung up on that idea, as in the end, I wanted to hint at the island and not be too illustrative or direct in presentation. In this phase the piece is very raw.

Once the currency was applied, I started with a base layer of pigment and kept working up the layers of varying colors. While I was in New York, I allowed the piece sufficient time to oxidize, and began the process of removing color. At this point the piece is fairly cooked, the oils are set and this becomes akin to removing a crust, layer by layer.

Something left behind.
Try as you might, you can't totally erase the past. I love that something is left behind, in the process of removal. It's history, emotion, cadence and time trapped in particles and matter. This apples to all things in life, not just paint. Moving forward, it is important that you understand that this technique will NOT work with acrylic paint. The new Alkyd fine art paints may have this ability, but, in general, this technique is for oil paint only.

Get to it.
After many thin layers of color are built up, I allow the painting to oxidize for several weeks. When I decide it is time, I begin by pouring a thinner product over the entire painting. Gamsol or white mineral spirits are usually my go-to's. After letting it soak for a minute or so, I use 100 grit sandpaper to remove layers. I let the sand paper do the work, and barley push and rub. I choose very deliberate sections and work in a methodical manner. I then begin alternating from sandpaper, to cotton rags, wiping and blotting, until the desired transparency is achieved. I work in scale, and take sections at a time, allowing the thinner in other parts to loosen the paint. Careful attention to rotation and pattern gives me the best results.

Are you done yet?
Nope. Not even close. This is one of the many steps a Broken Banknote painting goes through. At this point, I will sit with the piece and re-sketch over lay elements form the currency that I want to render. In the end, I still need to maintain the ethos and brand of the BBN sereis, so it will always be a re-interpretation of paper money. How loose I get and details of the actual money used, will be based on a host of factors. History, current nation state, and social climate are a few of the indicators that I use to guide the final direction.

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TALENT MEANS NOTHING

November 10th, 2021
Pictured above is one of the greatest records you don’t own, by one of the best soul singers you’ve never heard of. Do you know why? Because talent ain’t got shit to do with it.

What?
Last night, I met two people who got me thinking. In truth, I had already written this, two days ago, but after last nights's conversation, I decided it was more important than I originally thought. The first time I was challenged by this idea of talent being meaningless, was several years ago at my own AIGA studio event with a guest speaker named Cory. In one of our weekly AIGA speaking events, he went on for an hour about the misnomers of "talent". We had a back and fourth dialog in front of a small crowd that night and then ...I never gave it another thought. Over the years, I have come to the conclusion, he had a real point.

Um ...ok.
The first phrase you learn at music school is a catchy little quip that essentially starts you questioning all of your choices: “It takes 10 things to make it and number 11 is talent!“ Art school has their own version. Either version should lead you to some serious introspection. Everyone has their own definition of what “making it" is. Unfortunately, if you’re like a lot of creatives, seeing your contemporaries amassing success, or "making it", you might find yourself getting more bitter by the brushstroke. I totally get it. I see countless profiles and stories about, what I consider to be half ass creatives, doing things I did years ago, that no one gave a shit about, and suddenly today their new work is “brilliant“ or “totally original“. No it’s not. You know what? Neither is mine. Neither is yours. But that’s not the point.

It does take 10 things to make it. Number 11 may be talent. Frankly talent may be further down the list. To be clear, it’s not exclusive to the arts. When I worked in advertising the rise of mediocrity was staggering. Being the smartest person in the room is more of a failure on your part than anyone else’s. I promise, there is no reward in it. The idea of “best” ...Don’t even get me started on that flawed concept. Being successful and being talented are not best friends. Most of the time, quite the opposite. Proof? Instagram influencers...or Hunter Binden's art. I could go on, but you get it.

Why the record?
Great question. You want talent? Alice Clark made three albums. Her last one, in the above picture, is widely considered one of the greatest soul albums ever recorded. 49 years ago, over the course of two days, some of the greatest session players, a solid young producer and some great original tunes by venerable writers of the era, collided to make a sublime 31 minutes of music. And no one gave a single shit, let alone two. Shortly after the commercial failure of this album, Alice retired from music, never to record or perform again. She had buckets of talent. Everyone involved had been on hit records. It had all the makings of commercial viability. Yet, here you are wondering who the fuck she is. 'Bet you know Beyoncé though.

The euro DJ scene brought attention to this record in the 80s. The first time I heard this was at Venus de Milo on Lansdowne. It was a downtempo night and it sounded so fresh to my young ears. Of course, music school is where snobs of the arts, like myself, learn of obscure titles, and artists, rife with great tragedy and drama. I have witnessed, every decade or so, a resurgence of this album. It seems long after her death, her greatness is finally recognized. If but barely.

Silver linings?
Nope. LIke Alice, you can do staggeringly great work that no one will ever pay a dollar for or give a shit about ...And then, like Alice, you can die. Maybe, just maybe in your death, people will love your work? Or maybe that's just what we say to keep pushing through. The idea of being loved and recognized after death is not just for overly romanticized stories about dead renaissance painters. It’s right now. And being “talented“ or “best“ ain’t got nothing to do with it. Ask Alice Clark. Oh, wait ...You can’t.

What you can do, is go out of your way to listen to this album. It’s a stunning example of ability. Interestingly it’s a break up album but, there’s not one real “ballad“ in the mix. The original vinyl is for collectors, and it’s hard to come by. The reissue vinyl actually sounds better than the original. Owning the original isn’t about how it “sounds“. It's about history, place and time. Kind of like owning a painting. It is on TIDAL. In the end, think of it as a metaphor. When you start questioning your career and choices ...give this album a listen.

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MAVRODI REDUX

November 1st, 2021
Above are screenshots from a video I did this morning speaking about the revisited Mavrodi Buck$ and how it is still a work in progress. How I got here ... that's where the story is.

Done 'aint always "done".
It is no secret that the biggest challenge an artist can face is knowing when a piece is done. Well ...maybe it is my biggest challenge, but I know a lot of us share this problem. It is also no secret, that I felt Mavrodi Buck$ was tight, constricted and rendered in the wrong direction. So much so, that I put the piece on hold for showing and have let it sit in my studio for a year.

Other Media
In New York, I was riding in a car service with a driver from the former Soviet union. The conversation was so good, I had him take the long way and then take it again. It was through this interaction, shared historical knowledge and his own first hand anecdotal experience of the former Soviet Union, that the light bulb went on. Many ideas came to me, but not exactly for the painting.

Weeks later, I decided to finally launch my wearables line and the first new pieces were titled Tra$h Money and Con$piracy. They featured the main Mavrodi character form my painting, with a bold text work up. This treatment, done in Illustrator and rendered for the garment business, opened me up to the obvious answers I was looking for on the painting. I had to take more risks and become loose with the rendering. At least much more loose than it was. In doing so, the painting is starting to ask questions and feel like a complete thought.

Oh yeah... the shirts.
Now we get to an interesting problem. My vendor decided that my likeness of Sergei Mavrodi was rights controlled and refused to print them. For the record, the likeness of a dead, convicted Russian fellon, who printed his own money, with his face on it, is in no way a rights managed image. Several emails later, the vendor made irrational explanations and refused to allow my own creation and likeness of Sergei Mavrodi, to be part of my catalog. In the end, I canceled my deal with them and am searching a new vendor who understands rights management and "public domain". Public domain is not a thing in most countries, so frankly that construct is not even germain to this debate.

I frankly have no idea why the pissing match about this ONE likeness came about. In the final email, their logic was that they can't use any likeness, created by me or not, of foreign nationals, in the public domain or not. I thought that interesting, as EVERY single one of my other designs are my own original likeness of foreign nationals. They have been fine with those for the past 12 months. And in fact, up until yesterday were still offering them to customers. Some people think they are going to steal the images for their own use. I doubt that. Not everything is a conspiracy ...Maybe.

How this one obscure Russian crook gets pulled is beyond me. I imagine they use some semi generic image search tool, looking for potential issues and maybe my image resembles someone else likeness. They probably don't empower individuals in the company to make judgment decisions and the tool is used a some sort of defacto standard so they can avoid potential litigation. Except they don't make any real money, so who would sue them? If you didn't know, it costs a lot of money to launch a lawsuit. Going after a company with high five figures in the bank and no physical assets is a losing battle.

The email explanations offered were infantile and lacking legal basis or knowledge. Their arguments were all over the map. This fact alone told me they were quite ignorant to what they were writing about and because I had very low sales, killing my deal was no big loss. It always comes down to money. But ...why this strange irrational non legal excuse to refuse to print my work of a dead Russian fellon is certainly interesting. They were cool with Idi Amin and Ho Chi Minh, but this guy is rights managed? I don't think so. But I digress.

So Now what?
I actually was not writing this about the wearables, but I guess I went there. I will either make limited hand pulled silk screens, but those will be at a premium, or I will purchase my own DTG printer and make a more cost effective unit. I am still looking for a vendor too, so we will see what develops in time. As for the painting ...In the coming weeks, I will show the new, final, Mavrodi Rebuck$ and share what it takes to be "done" with a creation.

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COLLECTORS

October 10th, 2021
A few days ago I found the best book store for an artist like me. Small and completely well curated, I found dichotomies of literature and design on every shelf. It was a glorious space, and was literally what I would have made if I had a bookstore. Well ...if I sold all the 1st ED mysteries, but thats another post.

I don't Get it.
I know. Here is what I mean. On the same shelf as Henry Miller's Tropic Of Cancer, there was a Joan Didion Novel. Counterculture icons, of different periods, with radically different viewpoints. On adjacent shelves were publications from the Push Pin Graphic, a magazine created by design and culture icons of the 1950's and 60's, who have been a huge influence on my work. (more on my spending spree later)On another shelf was a small art book with many typographic rich tip in plates, created by a catholic nun from Los Angeles in the 1970's. I have never seen this book or heard of her work. It was fascinating, beautifully rendered and a complete surprise in form and content. I may go back today and buy this.
In the end, normally none of these works would have been breathing the same air. Most places would not mix such challenging figures and titles, especially in our cancel culture era. That was a great surprise and kept me looking for more.

So What.
If you are a creative who just jerks off on your own work, than that is a perfect question turned into a statement. However, if you need to see the beauty in other creative endeavors, that are not just more two dimensional paintings you fain internst in when being part of a group show, than places like this are a great source of beauty and thought. Sure, they are packaged in another form, but that's the point. Get over yourself and explore. Find other art inspired works, outside of your medium and let another creative take you on a journey. Maybe, I am writing this more for me, but I hope you find value in it. Left Bank Books is a gem in the west village. It is small, well thought out, challenging and rewarding all at the same time. It's on Perry, between 4th and 7th. If you message me, I can tell you where to go around the corner for more surprises.

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OK, BYE.

September 25th, 2021
Brian Drake pictured outside of Bemelmans Bar, sometime around 12:25am, courtesy of a cheap iPhone and lots of libation.

Of Course you were there.
In my defense, the Baccarat bar pulled last call at 11:30 so this was my only option, as NYC is totally the city that sleeps now. I made the best of it. Take a dash of undone formal wear, mix with a heavy dose of aged, Xanax ridden, Upper East siders screaming Tiny Dancer and Sweet Caroline to the house band, and mix with young GenZ girls exploring their trust fund and you have a night at the Carlyle. All the same yet different than so many times I have been here before. Jennifer, Izzy and Christina, you were entertaining. I may be done with LA.

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CUC:HOLD PT.1

September 14th, 2021
The Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC) is the newest member to the obsolete currency club and pictured above is a new Broken Banknote piece in development. This is an early stage of texture and currency application, that I usually show in video form. This represents a very raw look at the process and may be the way I document this particular BBN piece, going forward. Here we can see the currency interplay and texture up close and personal. Adulterated only in form through tearing and re laying out, no color has been applied.

Wait ...
A somewhat controversial, dual monetary system was set up in Cuba in the 1990's to combat exchange rate disparity. The Convertible Peso or CUC was created and set to a 1:1 parity with the US Dollar. It was used primarily by tourists visiting the nation. This dual system of payment created many unforeseen outcomes, including a rise in intellectual property drain from instituions as workers in the service sector had greater access to more valuable pay than the government offered its political and scientific leaders, using the National Peso. In 2021, the Cuban government began currency unification, coverting the CUC back to the national Cuban Peso. It was to be complete by June, but was extended until the end of the year.

How?
These have been very difficult to find. In truth, I have been working on this concept for a while, scouring the globe for actual circulated notes. 20 months ago, my friend Dan in Chicago got me started with several of his personal notes from his recent visit. The rest were sourced from private collectors and currency dealers in England over the last year or so. When they announced the unification process, the narrative and story finally fit the Broken Banknote ethos and it became time to create.

I will write more on the issues and troubles this dual system has caused and continue showing pictures of the work in progress in future posts. For now ...lets welcome the Cuban Convertible Peso to the global club of valueless paper currency.

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LIGHTEN UP! PT 2

September 9th, 2021
Did you find the reading material from last spring dry, overly didactic and analytical? I hear you. Like my lighter musical choices this summer, I’ve gone in a different direction with my reading material. 80’s sex, drugs, counterfeiting, and murder were on full display. Oh, I did revisit a classic for good measure. And no, unlike the films ...these titles are not supposed to be aspirational.


Prologue
I was a serious book collector years ago. I slowed down as my money went into building my business and not collecting rare or hyper modern works of art in literary form. I regret this to some degree, as I have held copies of the Glass Key, Maltese Falcon and several others that are worth exponentially more than what I could have had them for in the past. Like a lot more. As with a lot of things in life, that’s the game of collecting. Sacrifice now for a better tomorrow. In my small collection are a lot of "movie tie-ins". You know …Books that were made into movies. Here are a few that I re-discovered on my shelf this summer.
Put your delicate sensibilities on hold and enjoy.

To Live And Die In L.A.
A title that begs the question, “Is the book better than the movie?” No. The premise is the underbelly of Los Angeles in the early 1980’s, packed with counterfeiting and money laundering and general criminal behavior with good guys who walk the line. Almost made for T.V. like. Enjoyable, but …The movie plays up the seedy sleaze and violence better than the long form narrative of the book. It is no secret that I loved the Friedkin film. I saw it as a child and it set a lot of tones for me. Good and bad. It also gave me a taste for 1 color offset lithography, as Dafoe gives a short master class in counterfeit printing that is very accurate. I like the film better. As a collector, having both to enjoy for different reasons is important. Try the book, then watch the film. (an artist who prints money??? I think this has been with me for a while)

Less Than Zero
Answering the question “Is the book better than the movie?’ Yes. But also kind of no, if you love the films characters. If you do … they are nothing like the ones in the book and they will repulse you. It is filled drugs, sex, non gender conforming roles, death …it can be seen as a lurid or obscene take on a 21 year old rich kids summer break from a small private college in New Hampshire, with a completely ambiguous moral compass. Returning to his hometown of L.A. boundaries and limits are explored at great peril to ones psychological self. But only sort of. There is a metamorphosis that never quite happens for the character, but you might go through one as a reader. It will challenge you. Don’t bother to rail against the author on Twitter. He loves that shit and has heard it all before. Even still …interesting book. No, Clay does not come home for Thanksgiving and see Blair in Bed with Julian.

Our Man In Havanna
Graham Greene sort of anticipates the Cuban Missle crisis, by more than 4 years. Set in late 1950's Cuba, a local vacum cleaner salesman gets embroiled in espionage and intrigue for extra money. Being recruited by MI6 and having money problems, including being a newly single parent with an expensive, material driven teenage daughter, he decides to take on the role of informant. Unfortunately, having nothing to report to MI6, he begins to make up elaborate tales of intrigue and secret military installations, to prove his value. The book goes on from here and is certainly better than the rather enjoyable Alec Guinness film. Why this odd ball from the above list? I am currently working on a new Broken Banknote piece featuring the Cuban Convertible Peso, wich is the newest member of the obsolete currency club. Along with many more dry titles and research style essays, I find that a total picture, even with the somewhat fictionalized truths about a nation, works to give me the inspiration and background needed to render a more complete BBN piece.

Wrap Up
So there you go. Not one of those books is dry or essay driven fact based explanations of movements or other ethereal nuances. They do include two visceral reads about L.A.'s underbelly and a slightly puffy light take on pre Castro regime change. (sort of) Obviously, the third book is much lighter than the first two. Especially Less Than Zero. That book, by any decades standards, pushed a few limits. Today, it would certainly make a list of cancel culture critics top 5. As a side note, for the fall I am choosing female driven erotica written from first person essays and narratives over the last 100 years. It should be interesting.

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ART DRAMA

September 7th, 2021
Pictured above are stills from the video of last nights walk through, of an early BBN piece. In a previous post, I wrote that I was thinking about formal wear for my next presentation. While this is certainly not that, I did choose a vintage ruffled tuxedo shirt in polyester from eBay and a vintage Lanvin tie. Yes, I look like its the 23rd hour of a Jerry Lewis Telethon. And yes, it got just as emotional. But, like the last time, this 'aint about my wardrobe choices.

Bring The Passion
There is no doubt that I care deeply about my work and the statement my pieces make. I want the viewer to feel that. My hand is an extension of that care and passion. Every drop of my ability is in this work. From the hand built structure, shop made hanging mechanisms, to the paper and pigment on the panel, it's all me. The BBN work can be quite visceral in that respect. Unfortunately it can be lost on those who cant stand and touch or view the piece in person. There is a lot of nuance, shadow and detail lost in online video. Making matters more difficult, if a viewer is just "ho-hum" about the work, no visceral "touchy feely" experience is going to overcome the lack of connection. Well ...

Explain
No collector wants to buy commoditized robot art, made for the masses. That's for Ikea and mall poster shops. Buyers want passion. They want a reason the art exists, beyond it looking pretty next to the sofa. However, my art tends to be didactic and based in the realities of nuance of human effort, not just human emotion. There can be a veil of intellectualism that can serve as a block to emotional connections. It can be a challenge to get the viewer to connect. At first, the BBN work is bold and can command attention on a gallery wall. Looking deeper, is where questions begin. In the end, I have to walk a fine line with a buyer, probing what motivates their interest and collecting habits, without getting in the weeds about the deep story behind the actual piece in question. Its like a first date. You want to to look good and be charming, saving all the little details about why you are what you are for, the next time. Connect the passion to story. The rest will come in time.

Engage
When you have people engaging, debating and arguing the merits of a piece, thats a win. It doesn't get any better than that. In fact, if you ask about my best collectors, thats how our relationships began. Probing, evocative, contentious and rousing debate about value, perception, geo politics, ideology, doctrine and everything in between. That kind of discourse has led to real buyer commitment, for the long haul. Remember that post in July about buyers I've never heard from again? We never had that kind of dialog. Just the typical "yeah its nice and it is going to be great... thanks!" Sure the money spends the same, but that's about it. Not very compelling and not very satisfying. In some ways I would much rather have never sold them to such "ho hum, whatever" buyers. But like I wrote then, a lot of that is on me.

Wrap Up
Bring your passion at every point of contact, when talking about your art. Be bold and be big about it. Let them know why it is important and why you made the decisions you made. Don't be afraid to tackle big issues, beit social or emotional. Have a point of view that you can not only defend but champion. Put that into your work and be able to tell it's story standing next to it. If you do that, and you are in front of the right audience, you cant go wrong. It is that simple. Dressing like you are on a 1980's telethon well ...thats just for fun.

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YES I DO.

August 18th, 2021
As the world watches the fall of Kabul and the endless comparisons by pundits, media outlets and talking heads to Saigon, the Suez or the Marshal Plan, once again, the BBN series is as relevant as ever.

No You Don't.
I am often accused of not painting “the moment.” When in truth, I don’t paint the moment those people want me to. I did not paint the pandemic. I did not paint BLM. Last year, galleries and art groups did back flips looking for the same old tired tropes being rendered by pretend woke artists who “paint the moment”. Snooze. I don’t virtue signal. I actually do stuff. The ‘atta boys and the do gooder white liberal accolades, with their black squares of solidarity ...I don't need that. The communities, groups and people I help, know what I do. So no. I don’t paint “those” moments. But I do paint “of the moment”.

Prove it.
Boy & Bear is an indictment of failed Soviet doctrine in Afghanistan, painted on Soviet Afghan currency of the very late 1970’s and 80’s. You may ask, “How is that relevant?” In short: Because what the Mujahidin did to the Soviets, with our help, in the 1980’s, the Taliban did to us in the 2000’s. And what is the Taliban? A creation of the former leaders of the Mujahidin. How could we not see this? I think we did. Before I go on an indictment of the Wolfowitz doctrine and get into arm chair geo political power struggles or the nuances of the historical nature of the term, Mujahidin, lets just look at Boy & Bear. It is all in there.

BBN WORK

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LIGHTEN UP!

August 17th, 2021
OK… I get it. The ECM spring break post was a little bit much to take. I was recently reminded that my musical taste is a lot more fun than that post made me seem. So if you were like “dude I hate all of this shit“ fret not. I have been in a different place all summer. Like Taco Bell at 3am, but with less self loathing, here’s a summer snack of guilt free pop trash. Mostly.

Madonna
Madonna
Her self titled first album kills me to this day and Reggie Lucas needs more love, because that dude could write a song. As a little boy, I fell in love with her on the Borderline video. It didn't keep and like Mr. Blue I tuned out afer the whole Papa Don't Preach thing. This album is pure post disco synth pop gold. I own the embarrassment. And you should too.

The Style Council
Introducing: The Style Council
Paul Weller is just everything. Every few years, I play the first EP nonstop. Last time, was summer 2015 when living between NY and LA. I first learned of Paul in an off brand studio, in an off brand town, tracking drums for a friends project. What Grumec shared with me changed my life. (well …you know.) The The Long Hot Summer and its remix always seems to find relevance. I could go on an but…

Grace Jones
Portfolio
Fame
Warm Leatherette
Night Clubbing
A true artist, who has been slept on because of the way she looked. Her artistic statement was the totality of the entire effort and the constant change. Always pushing boundaries and growing. Fearless in the face of one success, able to shed and grow again. A true visionary. The above titles will walk you through the end of disco all the way to the burgeoning new wave reggae effort of the early 1980’s. All of that artistry in just 6 years. It is an amazing journey and full of enough pop fluff to keep you bouncing.

The House Martins
London 0 Hull 4
Another album from my childhood. Paul Heaton blends up temp, borderline blue eyed soul, with short, frantic almost tabernacle revival like pieces of social import. In fact, much of the music from this period tackled serious issues. Like Weller, Heaton was not content with the status quo. Thatcherism, social apathy, Apartheid, climate change, it's discontent delivered in a wonderful wave of sound and consciousness.

Shintaro Sakamoto
How To Live With A Phantom
This lo-fi 12bit sounding record from 2011 is a muted blissful experiment. Think Japanese Steely Dan with out the fidelity. Throwback bossa lounge grooves of the early 1980’s ‘ala Tracy Thorn with a decidedly city feel. At least a city feel as offered by b roll footage of sky lines and city scapes found in airport lounges 40 years ago. A soft breeze from the former Yura Yura Teikoku harshness and a lovely, if not somewhat revivalistic effort of the yacht rock genre.

L'Impératrice
Tako Tsubo
I own the 2021 double LP and it is a glorious effort in a beautiful package. I have been trying to convince Flore Benguigui that LA is her place. Just call already! This album works sequentially really well. The tracks all have the “single” play list kind of vibe, but to hear an album front to back work in order so well today is novel. Synth pop post millennial disco with a blend of sun kissed french summer sun. Not terribly original, but done well. Breathy melodies and silky electronic grooves hint at what could be, but don’t ever actually succumb to the urge. I like this fact. Some critics found the album out of touch with the past 12 months. I guess every artist has to talk about the fucking pandemic. Just enjoy the pop fluff bliss.

Chalres Mingus
The Black Saint & The Sinner Lady
Writing or talking about this album is cliche in certain circles. I can’t offer better words than what has been said for nearly 65 years about this magnificent piece of work. I tend to really like this album when it’s hot. As day unfolds into night and the steamy humidity starts to give way, the album tells a story. Its lustful, dirty, lurid and beautiful all at the same time.

Tony Bennett
If I Ruled The World: Songs For The Jet Set
Be it the late afternoon slipping into dusk or after midnight this album has appeal. Yes, it is borderline cheesy. Yes, parts are overdone. And yet, it is quite enjoyable. It's a 1963 nod to the burgeoning bossa nova vibe that captured a middle aged generation of the 1960's, oblivious to the sacrifices of the poor and the young. This album sounds like what Don Draper would play on the console. There would be drinks. Then ...there would be something else. If you need to escape, go to Rio with Tony.

Human League
Dare!
Just stop already. Another gem from my childhood, where a Jupiter 4 and a Korg 770 become friends. Before this band split, and one half became Heaven 17, they made early style modern electronica. However on Dare!, they find the Taco Bell at 3amm. Monophonic synth sounds, 8 bit drum patches and dry British vocals collide with a dawning decade of post disco new wave. Te LFO never had it so good. Yes the album can get tedious for a sophisticated listener, but the repetition, lyrical discontent and juxtaposition of sound to word is a great study in the pop new wave art experiment. If you like the sounds and want an adventurer, go back wards to the pre split album Travelogue from 1979. Far more experimental. If you like Dare!, the next import EP Fascination!, is essentially an early 80's movie montage soundtrack sound. No where near as good as Dare! but the title track, Fascination is pop trash gold. If you like this track, there is a 12" 45 released as an import vinyl in 1983, that sounds great.

Done.
So there. Thats pretty much my summer catalog, minus some Blue Note issues on Music Matters. That's for a different post. As opposed to my ECM catalog, not everything here is an intellectual dissection and deep dive into musical aptitude. I actually have a lot of music that fits into the above jumbled mess of schizophrenic listening. If you message me, I will send more.

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VIRTUALY THERE

August 11th, 2021
Above are several screen shots from recent live presentations, for prospects and interested parties, regarding the painting "Unicorns". All online and all done virtually. I know I look like I went from game show host to summer school student during these events, but, in my defense, this style of artist presentation is a little new. Wearing a suit at the house is for '80's drug dealers. But wearing paint clothes for a presentation seems ...staged. If I am painting that's one thing, but a lot of artists do that to look "cool". I will figure soenthing out, but I am actually writing about something more important than my wardrobe choices.

Different Now.
It seems virtual meetings are in everybody lives now. When I worked in advertising, we did these quite often, and it was used with clients like Netflix, Disney, ABC ... you get the point. It was for big accounts with big dollars attached. But today ... my mom does them with her friends. And it appears art collectors are doing them too. Frankly, given the socialization to the online sales model, this may be the new way.

Adapt Or Die.
Everything can be ordered on line and delivered to your door. I think, or at least it is starting to appear, that customers who spend money on original art, have those same expectations. The truth is, a lot of big dollar luxury purchases happen online. Art, direct form the studio, is going to be no different. I don't mean an aggregate site like Saatchi. Thats for decorators. That concept is not new, just tired. Those sites are just big image catalogs, that commoditize the work and strip the artists voice from the process. I mean, actual interaction and consultation and relationship building, directly with walking and talking artists. Much like what happens at an event as the party winds down. The "let's get to business" phase, if you will. I don't know what this means for galleries. I imagine they will need to adapt. I also imagine, given the groups I have met all over the country, many of them will not be able to.

So What?
Actually, I could not agree more. So what. businesses come and go. It is a natural by product of capitalism, time and age. It seems the pandemic brought about this quasi strange nostalgia for retail, all the while retail has been dying for 30 years. It is no secret, I have no love for traditional, territory driven distribution and retail operations. I have stood in front of big retailers and and said just as much. Bed Bath & Beyond, I am looking at you. This is not meant to be an indictment of the debt burdened real estate driven retail model. Wrong audience for that.

Meh.
I know. It is a rather dry subject, but I feel like a lot of artists really suck at this part. Maybe this is a new chance for you. This trend should be a warning for those in the retail gallery business. As for me, it is clear I will be doing this into the next year and beyond. Frankly, I don't mind. If I need to do my dog and pony show on line and use that as a way to begin relationships with potential collectors, then so be it. In the end, I only want the most qualified buyers, however I develop them.

As for Unicorns and a video diving into the details ... right now that's for a different audience and set of questions. As for my next online event, all I need is interest in my work and I will gladly walk through my studio. I am thinking formal wear for the next one.

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WHAT IS SQUARE?

August 9th, 2021
This may come as a surprise to a few of you: I like to build furniture & case goods. I have been building my house in Los Angeles from the ground up, for the last few years. I have built everything. I do not mean assembling pieces of ready-made furniture, but actually site built, shop made, hand lacquered or vacuum press veneered case goods, for every part of the house. Mill work. Doors. It is an endless list. Along the way, I have learned a few things that apply to creatives in other disciplines. This isn't supposed to be a humble brag about my abilities. I’m writing because a few of you need to learn what "square" really is. This includes a couple of people in the art framing business in Los Angeles. I also think that this goes to a deeper problem with creatives, but I may not be able to unpack all of it here.

Ok, Explain.
One of the questions I get asked about my work, is why I quit using stretched canvas and have gone to a rigid panel. The answer is quite simple: I can build square.

Three years ago, I created a test for my currency and paper texture idea on canvas. It’s actually a lovely study and hangs in my master bedroom. I’ll write more on this piece in the future, as it is very evocative. BUT …It is not stretched square and that drives me crazy. It took three attempts and it is still more than an 1/8 inch out of square over 60 inches. I see this flaw every morning and every night. I have also been wanting to say something for a while now. So ...get ready.

Back Story.
In the summer of 2018, I took this rolled canvas to a highly prominent framing studio, in Los Angeles. The kind of place that has Shepard Fairey paintings and real Andy Warhol pieces. Not prints. Not lithos. Seven and eight figure real deal art. In fact, he supposedly stretches Shepard Fairey’s work exclusively, and has since the late 1980’s. I know this because that was the first of many humble brags to come. I indeed, saw a good dozen Obey pieces on the racks. I felt very confident that he was going to be able to stretch my piece and do a great job. I even let him name his price. After three attempts and several months later, the results were dismal. He tried to blame it on the way the canvas was done, the way the painting looks, the way the paper folds against the left hand line of the painting's edge ...then it was just my eyes, then it was just an optical illusion. I can see down to a 32nd of an inch. If something is out of level, or out of plum, it is very obvious to me. While he was grandstanding in front of his entire shop, with lectures and tape measure tricks, I was thumbing through my photos on my phone. I mentioned that I build furniture and he needed to quit saying it was an illusion. He too said he was a wood worker and in that same breath, as he nodded in a smug "you don't know what I know way", I showed him a picture of my work and my shop. He saw that I was no joke and started to change his tone. Fast.

And Then...
I begged him to measure it correctly on the diagonals and not just the top and bottom, as that does not actually confirm square. Any freshman shop class covers this. I guess he missed that day. Once he did measure the diagonals ... things got quiet. He then went and got his Johnson square (decent brand but not that accurate) and saw the issue immediately. This made all of the staff's nodding in agreement and attempts to tell me that it was all me and that they were right, all the more pathetic. They too got quiet.

The Johnson had a much longer leg, wich allowed him to see clearly over 48 inches. A six in square 'aint gonna get it done. At this point, I was hoping to watch him eat shit in front of his staff, especially the beautiful assistant I was trying to look cool for. He did lecture/mansplain to me for an hour. Yes, a man can have another man "mansplain". In the end, He did concede that he was wrong. I was assured that it was a fluke and they could fix it. Of course nobody apologized. That was way too much for any of them. I have met my fair share of arrogant artists, but dude you just frame the shit. Then I realized the shop was full of frustrated and failed artists. So ...FML.

I did allow them to try it one more time but it was just beyond their abilities. 67 days went by. I offered more money and even the use of my tools, but still it was delivered out of square. Apparently Shepherd doesn’t care or this guy just hated me. But here's the thing. if it wasn’t for his shitty craftsmanship, I would have never discovered a new and better alternative. LIke a way better alternative. So I guess I owe him thanks.

I know you are thinking "Brian, they tried", and "he was doing his best... why are you being a dick?" Here is why. Don't walk me through your multi building facility, brag about the staff and capabilities, humble drop famous artsits names who's work is in the shop and even go so far as to correct me when I called a Warhol piece a lithograph, letting me know that I was actually standing next to a $35MM triptych of the lame ass Elvis piece. Don't do all that, name your price for the job, take the money and then suck at it. And then suck at it again. And then suck at it one more time for good measure.

Whew! So, after that experience, I decided to apply my furniture making abilities, to the assembly of the substrates and carrier mechanisms for my art. Square side profiles, modified French cleat hanging devices, rigid panels …and all within 3/10 of a mm of square. As I have shown in other posts, I can build the shipping materials, so this was just a perfect extension of my abilities. Never needing another useless vendor was just the proverbial "icing on top". Through all of this, I discovered complete autonomy can be very liberating.

And?
Back to the original point. Square is not square. In the realist of terms, the idea of “level“ or “straight“ or even “distance“ is a theory. A mathematical equation that has limits both in terms of physics and perception. You can have some fun learning about this: Take three tape measures and measure 73 and 9/16. I’ll bet all three will be different. Do it with a digital laser measuring device. It will be different as well. Now the question becomes, “which one is actually correct?” You can do this with a framing square from the Home Depot. Compare that against one of my single billet of aluminum, Woodpeckers square or the TSO triangle pictured above. The difference is substantial. LIke before, the question becomes "what is square?" In the end, none will be perfect. Perfection, like squares seems to be highly interpretive. More so at some LA framers, but I digress.

Perfection?
I’m not seeking perfection. I’m an artist. However, I do like to get as close as I can, to perfection, especially when rendering certain elements in my art. I also seek it out in the substrates and hanging mechanisms of my work. I have the same expectations of vendors that I work with. Unfortunately, the chasm between those expectations and reality, tends to widen more and more. Perfection is a mythical goal. An evolution of craft and ability, but not an absolute.

Having complete autonomy has made the work better. If you’ve been struggling with your craftsmanship, maybe you can look at better measuring devices to help master your ability. If you think $300 is a lot, I saw a measuring caliper for the Aerospace industry that wa $3500. I am sure it is more accurate then my $70 one. It better be. Obviously, you don't have to go that far, but Harbor Freight 'aint gonna do it. If you rely on vendors and have been disappointed, maybe now is the time to get your autonomy back. Maybe you’ve never even thought about it and this all seems crazy. I promise, once you try that trick with a tape measure …it opens up a whole world of questions. At least it should.

Wrap Up.
I know this post started out as one thing and then became something else. Thanks for letting me rant. I appreciate my readers.

I’m working on a Broken Bank Note painting and creating some new furniture for the house that is nearing completion. I don’t know if this is the right forum but if I get enough messages, I’ll do a post on the finished piece. Maybe I will show some video of me working in the shop? Maybe that’s interesting to some of you? Maybe you’re like “dude just stick to paintings!” I hope you’ve learned more about how to perfect your presentation and are intrigued by the theoretical limits of “square“. I also hope I inspired you to take responsibility and get your autonomy back. At the very least, I finally give the answer to why I quit using stretched canvas.

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HAVE YOU SEEN ME?

August 2nd, 2021
On a rainy afternoon 12 years ago, in the driveway of an outdoor storage unit, I sold the above piece, "Nothing Was Going To Stop Them" and that’s where the story ends. No installation pictures. No further conversation about it, or any conversation about new work, or where I am in my life and career. Just loaded a 65x65 painting, awkwardly into a car and sent on its way, as if it never existed.

Where’d Who Go?
I get that in a retail model, no one knows what becomes of their products once they leave. However, for me, it is unusual to never hear from a buyer again. Like ever. Most buyers stay in touch. We formed very personal bonds. Even the cheap ones, I am close with. And yeah …I have a couple cheap buyers who want deals and wonder if I die, will my work be more valuable. They say these things to me. But at least they are there. A few though, have just disappeared. Some have huge pieces and a few were early collectors, owning multiple pieces. Jim, Alexandra, Jordana, Meghan …I am looking at you.

Take A Picture.
You have seen other posts about large format and the value of permanence in archiving your work. I even did a walk through video, using my Sinar P1 in the studio late last year, documenting a Broken Bank Note painting. I am lucky with this one. Some of the people above, have pieces that have no real photographs or high resolution documentation. Maybe a shot in a gallery or some work pics, but nothing substantial. Nothing of any real archival permanence. Scrap book moments at best. This piece however, was captured on 4x5 days before unloading out of the gallery. The chrome has been sitting in a small archival box for the better part of 12 years, coming out once for an IG post a few years ago and then again, last week to view on my light panel.

Where Is This Going?
You want to know a secret? The buyers that stay in touch with me… the ones that still collect. They have spent THOUSANDS of dollars for one of my paintings. The others …no where close. That is not their fault. They were in the right place, when it was the wrong time for me, and found a way to get a deal on some art that I needed to be rid of. Is it my best work? No. Were they oil paint? No. Are they some of the biggest pieces I have done? Yes. Which ...seriously, how do you buy a 12 foot painting and then never contact the artist again? Where do you put that? Did it just get tossed out? The questions I have are endless. I need a child protective services program for my past work. I think they have possibly gone to bad homes.

Wrap Up.
This post is meant to have you think about a few things. First, always document your work for archival and future use. The fact that pantings like, Serenity On An Open Plane, In Green, Departures, or Universe barely exist in photographs is terrible. What is in those paintings is the foundation of my current efforts. Secondly, one needs to think about how you build clients and collectors. I suspect that because the financial outlay was small compared to the value, real or perceived, of the painting, the above buyers didn’t have a compelling financial commitment to my success. They are not invested in me. This was merely decoration to solve a decoration problem and not a journey in art. 16 years ago I met with a Galleryist at Firestone. His name was David. He since went on to manage public art institutions. He had great advice: “Don’t undervalue your work, as it makes it throw away art.” Way easy to say. Really hard to practice. Looking back at my career, I think I get his point. Albeit a little late. It 'aint supposed to be The Price Is Right. That's on me.

So, I believe the owner of the above pictured painting, is named Aimee. If by some chance, you or any of the other named parties in this post Google my name and stumble across this … say hello. Send a picture. Let me know how the work has made you feel. Tell me where it went if you don’t have it anymore. I do hope the work makes you feel soenthing. At least anything but ambivalence. If that's the case ...I failed as an artist, regardless of price of entry.

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SPRING BREAK (PT 2)

July 31st, 2021
Part two of my 95 day hiatus had me deep in the pages of obscurity. Your spring break came with reckless pandemic behavior and shirtless nights. Mine came with dusty books and lofty ideas. However, some of these pages are much like your room in Daytona Beach: Filthy.

Nerd!
I read a lot of books and listen to a lot of music. I like to study the world around me through the eyes of other creatives ...as long as they are not painters. I don’t really care what other painters have to say. As a follow up to my post from last week, here is what else I did during my spring break. It aso appears, as I write this, I would be the guy they made fun of in an ’80’s spring break comedy. Or any comedy for that matter.

The Other Modernism
Cinzia Sartini Blum
I made a remark in a video in March about art movements that got it wrong, through out history. One of those movements I tackle, was the Futurist movement. The father of the movement was a poet and writer, named Filippo Tommaso Marinetti or F.T. Marinetti. There are many publications about this movement and about Marinetti, but I wanted to examine a work that has a feminine look at a very hedonistic and male driven social movement, that was the dawn of Fascism when the Partito Politico Futurista political party merged with Benito Mussolini's Fasci Italiani di Combattimento. Now, before I lose you, remember, these words and this mans ideas collide on the world stage with drastic and horrible outcomes for Europe and the world abroad. Yes, this is a fascinating and often visceral exploration of Marinetti, through a very specific lens. However, I found myself wandering through pages as Blum begins to contradict herself. It gets long winded, but some parts are brilliant, if not overly academic. In the early 2000’s many writers were going back to re examine this era. This book, was one of many that, while interesting, was not definitive or frankly new at the time. However, at the time of publishing in 2002, F.T.'s ideas seemed a distant and long forgotten, never could happen again memory. Nearly 20 years later a re examination proves otherwise and makes the book really relevant to the last 4 years of American social upheaval. Bonus: You can pat yourself on the back after reading it and bask in the self riotous glory of intellectualism that leaps from every page. It's an insider book for the choir that already met the preacher. My snark and sarcasm aside, there are some intersting points and interpretations about what started off as an art movement of male narcism and became something far more menacing.

Marinetti Dines with the High Command, Volume 35
Richard Cavell
As a follow up to the somewhat biographical and analytical take down of Marinetti, this book offers a hypothetical fiction that is rather interesting. Shifting form fact, to fiction in almost essay form, this offers some interesting context to the ideas and the movement, from the supposed perspective of Marinetti . Deftly interweaved and rather interesting in scope and idea, it is a short read but is not meant to be the first time you learn of Marinetti. There is fictionalization in key parts for story, that a new reader could assume as fact. Start with the above book first, or at least an easily digesable biography of fact, before reading this.

Quiet Days in Clichy
Henry Miller
So now the sex. Well... actually Marinetti goes on in some of his works about his fascination and fear of a woman's vulva and vagina, so if you are reading in order, this will be a welcome break. Kind of. Henry Miller was a better writer but while some have seen him as a cliché of misogyny, I see him as a romantic searching for meaning, cleverly masked behind whisky and charm. Sort of. I chose this book for several reasons, mostly for the time period it was written and for the fact that I had never read it. Figures ...I probably just stoped at Tropic Of Cancer. I digress. The time period is Paris of the early 1930's and it is a sereis of life events and essay style notes turned into a novella. At the time Miller was an expat, playing the starving artist, while writing the book Black Spring. Quiet Days in Clichy, which you will come to find out were anything but quiet, represents a somewhat fictionalized yet autobiographical look at his life, while working and living in Paris, during this period. It is actually quite good and replete with all the trappings of starving artists in Europe on the precipice of global war, yet blithely unaware. I love this as a counterpoint to the Marinetti works. It is interesting to compare and contrast a new burgeoning artist in his early years, living and existing in a time and place, shaped so severely, by the ideas of an artist and writer a mere 15 years earlier. I get that that may be an ethereal concept for the un initiated, but one you read these works, it becomes clear.

Seriously, Bro?
I know. I know. But, for all the years I had smart ass quips and was half in the bag on some afternoon heater at my gallery shows, besmirching the people who asked "what's your inspiration?", I now share, in an attempt to atone. Like music, books and their critical analysis of life around me, are a well spring of inspiration. Maybe some of these titles will be interesting to you. I have hundreds more. Contact me and I will give you a list if you want.

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LOVE 4 SALE

July 30th, 2021
Above, a Broken Bank Note painting gets loaded on a truck for client delivery. No, this will not be about building cases, or creating brand expectations at point of delivery. It is about the nature of selling what we do. As I start to sell this new work, I have some thoughts.

Johnny Lee
"...Nobody can pay you enough for the love you're looking for and of course everything they pay you is too much." -Eric Fischl
There is a lot of truth to that Eric Fischl statement. However, I have yet find my number that is "too much", but I am eager to get there. Being a working artist has a lot of challenges, most no different than any other business. However, one big difference is the exaggerated sense of self one gets from working in a vacum, creating what one hopes is the most emotionally raw representation of themselves and then hopelessly looking for love and validation of that effort from the public at large. It is that search for love through money, notoriety, award or other form, that is the mine field. We live in a capitalist economy that equates talent and success with money. At the end of the day, selling your work for a tidy sum is the validation many seek. And to be blunt: You cant pay bills with awards. I know. I have 22 of them and nobody gives a fuck. I tried to use them once to pay the mortgage ...it didn't work. So in the end, like many things, it comes down to money.

And So?
The value of your ability and the value you put on yourself as an artist and unfortunately to some degree as a person, are often tied to how much you can earn. I know this to be doubly true for men, who real or perceived, place their value in financial wealth. The thing is, if you are a creative and live like this ...life is going to be really hard. Money and talent have nothing to do with each other. Ask every person at music school you've never heard of. Or art school. Or English Lit program. I think you are getting the point.

Why Don't You Get To The Point.
I have had more lows than highs to be sure. I have lived like it was the end of days when the money was flowing and I have lived much the same when there was no money. It is interesting how that phrase works for both financial ends of the spectrum. In practice, it looks vastly different.

If you keep your value tied to your ability to sell your work, get ready for big swings and emotional roller coasters. If you think your creative is the shit because you can do no wrong, as sure as the sun will rise, that will end. Vanity and ego are destroyers of art. They rob truth for superficial filler. We create elaborate narratives to justify success. But there in lies the perils that Eric was speaking about. Looking for love and validation through financial compensation ...knowing it can never be enough and at the same time, it will always be too much.

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SPRING BREAK (PT 1)

July 18th, 2021
Unlike an 80’s titty comedy, my spring break didn’t come with sun, bikinis and irresponsible drinking. However, a greater purpose was realized. Well …maybe.

Where did you go?
In a previous post, I made my 95 day hiatus seem as if one particular event was the driving force for the absence, when, in reality, it just sort of happened. It was the culmination of many little events. However, the purpose of this post is not to delve into the why’s, but the how’s. How did I spend my time? What did I learn? Things of that nature.

In part one of this discovery, I answer one of the most asked questions of my career, “Whats your inspiration?” Here, I will examine the first and deepest part of my inspiration: Music. Through this examination, I answer one of the “How’s” of my spring break.

Specifically?
Last spring, I got deep into a very specific portion of my music collection, dedicated to the great Manfred Eicher and the ECM label. Specifically, the early years, 1969 to about 1984. I have a significant portion of the catalog on original vinyl. There is a point to it being on vinyl and it’s just as as important as the music itself. This is only an examination, post fact. In actuality, I just started doing it and then it ended up become a “thing” for me. I simply started with an early sonic gem, that I found from a German collector and I just kept going.

Why This Label?
I started collecting this label in vinyl for sonic purity in the analog signal chain and the exploration of genre bending forms and idioms from what were, at the time, new artists. The 1970’s are a terrible decade for BeBop and straight ahead. Minus a few standouts, the old guard did not move to the next decade well. At ECM, there was a European renascence, mixing metaphors and styles in mostly all acoustic music. They did it in glorious recoding studio environments with very exacting standards. These production standards can be heard and felt in both the sound and presentation of the entire catalog.

Alright Already.
Space, expansion, exploration, juxtaposition, complex, engaging …these are typical words used to describe this music. I could go on, but let’s try this a different way. I can write a great deal about these titles, but instead I want the reader to have an opportunity to develop their own palette. Let me be clear. This music in not approachable. If you have been on a diet of pop music, you are in for an uphill climb. Your americanized western ears will have a tough time. The attention span of the streaming audience listener was not even a consideration in these artistic endeavors. The truth is, you may never "get it". But if you do, I promise a new world awaits. Below are some examples to start your journey.

Matchbook
Gary Burton and Ralph Towner
An odd instrument pairing that is sonic bliss. It has every emotion, blended in a wide space, stretching time and littered with mind altering nuance. I could go on, but just listen.

The Köln Concert
Keith Jarett
FUUUUUCK. Thats the first word that came out of my mouth when this performance hits its crescendo. This is a solo piano concert and this album changed the genre. Vera Brandes was a 17 year old concert promoter and this was one of her first efforts. It was a disaster. Take an out of tune 5 foot rehearsal piano set up on stage by accident, with no time to get the 91/2 foot 97 key concert Bösendorfer, no dinner for the artist, a massively delayed 11:30pm start time, a terrible storm and a tired Keith Jarett, wearing a back brace who had to drive in from Zurich the night before. (no airline ticket on his ryder) Listen for the mark where he stomps time as a crescendo builder and wrings every drop of sound out of that piano. Just brilliant. In the end, talent can’t be stoped and the performance is nothing short of amazing. Look up Vera Brandes as well. She was a pioneer.

The Colours Of Chloë
Eberhard Weber
Magical thematic expression from a small ensemble led by a bass composer and performer with mind bending abilities. The slight use of analog synthesizers and the electric piano is a great juxtaposition to the acoustic instruments. It has slight psychedelic vibes and pushes a little too much fusion at times but it’s a wonderful journey. A stellar exploration of the mind and soul. An Evening With Vincent Van Ritz is a great example.

Terje Rypdal
Terje Rypdal / Miroslav Vitous / Jack DeJohnette
An undulating expressive small group that separates and distances itself with an icy coolness and other worldly sound. Deep meditative long form repeating mnemonics in trio form, with outstanding playing. Jack DeJohnette is in sublime understated form. Will is a great example of the album and may be the most approachable for the uninitiated.

Ondas
Mike Nock
Space and emotion, combined with evocative soundscapes and restrained playing. The mind has ample room to traverse the sonic landscape laid before you. Forgotten Love is a standout and I like visionary almost as much.

Solstice
Ralph Towner
Lush sonic textures and stellar playing with unusual instrument pairings make for a wonderful exploration of the conscious. Much gets made of the first track, Ocenus, but I prefer the expansive space of Drifting Petals. A touch too much finger picking in some sections for my taste, but amazing performances none the less.

MORE???
This is just a few artists. In the end, I went through 67 different recordings in my 95 day sprig break. I took the time to absorb the entire album in one sitting. Holding the jacket, like a book and a concert ticket at the same time, I engaged with every note. I listened. I was shaking my head and there were moments of bewilderment. Surprise even. Sometimes even disappointment, but always a great journey. Note choice, restraint, technique and craft come together for some amazing art in this period and on this label. I hope some of these artists, obscure as they may be, show you a path.

Wrap Up.
It wasn’t a sexy spring break. No bikini clad booze filled nights. In fact, if you don’t want to meet any women, or sexy men, go to the jazz section of any record store. At best, all you will find is the occasional weird beard and dirty shirt dude arguing, most likely with me, over turntable tone arms and 1920’s era Bix Beiderbecke records. However, the avenues and ideas explored, expanded my thinking in new ways that have yet too fully flush out in my work. A priceless foundations for new material. I find music engaging. It keeps me looking for answers to questions not yet asked. That kind of artistic exploration alters a story tellers path. IT should be pretty clear by now, that exploration through sound is completely relevant and influential to my work.

I also hope this gives better insight into my creative process and a glimpse at my inspiration. My musical taste and collection is deep. Like make Barry Judd look like a light weight deep. The ECM catalog is one portion of my collection. For me, the jacket and full album play experience is paramount. It is the sonic equivalent to a museum’s passage ways and rooms, showcasing the totality of an idea in time and space. If you do stream the material, try to listen to the entire album as intended. I know the music will be unapproachable for many of you, so I get it you can’t. But try just one and see what you discover.

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COLOR RUT

July 13th, 2021
I tend to work in long form content manifestations, also know as a series. Broken Bank Note, and other efforts, have all had at least 5 iterations. It is rare that I create a one off or singular expression. Usually those are just failures of a complete idea. Even my new direction has great series potential. More on that in a future post. However, I have a problem: I suffer from the over use of certain colors based on many factors, but mostly archivability and convenience.

Why?
To a large degree, I know what I know. So it becomes convenient. It hurts to admit that, but I guess thats the first step. I also know it helps create a uniform appearance in a series and has a lot of impact on gallery walls. You know ...when you present multiple iterations on a theme in a monolithic color scheme, it can be quite stunning in a large gallery space. It also helps to keep a production standard on the mixing palette, so you can work multiple paintings at a time and not be in constant clean up. I know all that reads very sales oriented, but I am in the business of moving ideas, not storing paintings. It helps to know what creates impact for buyers. However, this can water down ideas and present one dimensional efforts. It’s a fine line between the coolness of the monolithic color study on multiple pieces, and just being a lazy painter. I was getting worried I was becoming the latter.

Struggle?
The Broken Bank Note paintings color schemes come from that nations paper currency, making it very difficult to create color consistency between multiple paintings. This was brutally challenging for me. I used a consistent size and scale to achieve the uniform look, needed for a strong visual presence. As for the colors, while I did had the paper currency as a guide, creating colors I had never mixed before was difficult for me. Many pieces of foreign currency use soft tertiary color palettes that can be difficult to mix, especially if you have overly image and advertising saturated western eyes. I call it being “star spangled”. We see a lot of red and blue in everything in the west. TV, print advertising, online efforts. Some derivation of those colors are everywhere. We live in primary land. Conversely, those colors are almost non existent in a lot of other parts of the world. There are many reasons, too big to tackle here. Some of the reasons are fascinating, so I may visit this in a future post. But none the less, getting red and blue out of your mix is hard.

Muddy Violet.
I needed help and I needed to find answers that were beyond me. I normally do a lot of experimenting, but my color experiments were getting expensive and going no where. I was just ending up with lots of violet mud. Then it occurred to me. I needed to toss out every paint I was using and buy colors I would never use. That exercise was tough. Every tube I touched I said “but wait, I really like this color for _fill in the blank". So after hours of excruciating debate in my head over every tube, I decided much like a hoarder on a TV series, to pack them in another box and put in storage. This way I can revisit these colors once this exercise was complete. However, I may never use them again.

Self Help Book.
On my dusty shelf, I realized I had the answer staring at me in the form of a book I never bothered to open a second time. CHROMATOPIA: An Illustrated History Of Colour was purchased a couple of years ago, flipped through and left unattended. In its pages were answers that I needed. David Coles presents, in very succinct ways, the history of color and the root of pigment. My search began for new palettes based on this book’s revelations to me. I am not suggesting that it has recipes for color mixing, but it has very good fundamentals that you can apply to color mining, beyond what you may already know. I played with hues that I never thought possible and I can certainly say this is a new journey for me.

Wrap Up.
As I work on this new direction, I am utilizing a new approach to color, fueled by this book. I still have a little of that “star spangled” color in my mix, but It is softer than ever before and has complementary secondary colors that both challenge and intrigue the viewer. I am certainly just starting to develop and perfect a new color regime, but I am as excited by the nuance and depth of the new palette, as anything I have done before. Maybe even more so. Some of you are studied painters and may be saying to your self "this idiot can’t mix colors." That would be fairly accurate. I am getting better. If you need a little boost or a history refresher, it is a great book. If you already know this and have a better book or different approach, please share. Send me an email or text me. And, if like me, you have been in a color rut, maybe this book is just the answer. Search for it used or find it online. Not only is it really helpful, the photographs of pigments and raw earth materials are gorgeous, and it has some wonderful use of type.

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IF ONLY(FANS)

July 5th, 2021
First let me be clear: I do not have an Only Fans account. The title of this post will have one of three reactions. You’re either laughing along with the joke, especially at the picture, nodding and thinking it’s a great idea, or scratching your head wondering what the hell Only Fans is. For those in the last category, in brevity, Only Fans is a place where people post exclusive content for people who pay to consume that content, on a subscriber basis. To a large degree it has become mostly fetish adult content in some form or another. It is not gender specific, so everybody is welcome.

WTF?
I get that you might be curious as to where this post is going, so let me back up. One of the last times I met with a potential "collector" they were really curious why I don’t take my blog content and tailor it to an Only Fans(OF) style Patreon audience. Knowing that the majority of OF content skews adult material I couldn’t help but laugh and discuss with him the different ways in which I could present myself as a “bear“ for a specific audience who are interested in art. However, sexualizing myself aside, he was serious. Not using Patreon, but using Only Fans.

Really?
Yeah. Really. He didn’t think it should be adult content, but he really felt strongly that there would be people who would pay to see more personal stories and have greater access to me, my process and my studio. Like the old blog stories. Not just talking about mixing oil paint, but personal accounts of life and my daily routine. He felt this could give someone who otherwise is intrigued and engaged with my art, a chance to engage with me, in a very personal way, without the financial investment of acquisition. Interesting idea. I thought someone who engages with me personally and gets involved with my daily routine and can't buy my art was called a "girlfriend". However, I am open to new ideas.

Side Boob.
On the surface this was a rather intriguing concept: Allow more personal access to me and the studio, during specific times of the week. I straight up think this has no fucking value to anybody and really reeks of ego and vanity issues. However ...I could lean into that. (You’re supposed to laugh here) He felt this idea was pure gold, especially knowing my gifts socially, but, how much of me do you want for $10.00 a month? And what exactly am I supposed to do for it? No one wants to see "those" kind of pics of me let alone videos. And you know exactly what I'm talking aout. In fact the picture to this post is most likely going to be met with derision and ridicule, so ...lets be realistic.

I do know two female artists who do quite well with Patreon and this style of content. They have great attributes that work for them in this venue. I don’t have those same attributes and if I stood next to their art and said “look at my new work” you would all ask if I had a head wound. That last comment will probably lose a friend or two, but just as some of their "truths" are too big to ignore ...so is this one.

If Only.
This brings us to the bigger problem: “If Only”. This is where where one is told, usually un solicited, by an individual who has had some success or notoriety in life, on how they could really be great, if they just did something different. I call this the “If Only” syndrome. I have heard this for years. In its most basic form, It goes something like the following: “If only you did [fill in the blank here] then you would be so successful.” There are many iterations of this, some more sophisticated some less …but in the end it is always some tweak or re imaging of what you already do, that would make all the difference in the world. And if only you did this one thing, your world would explode with potential and you would be so succesful that they too would even be interested. Here is the thing. For all of the people who have said this to me, NONE of them have ever put their money behind any of my efforts. To be clear, money is what we are talking about here. Mortgages don't get paid on 'atta boys and accolades. Encouragement is great. Go pay your cell phone bill with that.

Maybe?
On the rare occasions where I did make a change, pivot or re tool, nothing materialized into a tangible success. Making matters wore, those same individuals mysteriously vanished when it came time to put up. So I was left with a poorly focused, re tooled effort, with no potential at all. Great. Oddly enough, the magic bullet that they prescribed also never amounted to the avalanche of succes they were so convinced would happen. I could go on, but you get the point. I have countless stories, from people, some famous, that I would love to put on blast for offering sage advice to all those who could be so much more succesful ...“if only”. This potential collectors idea about making an OF account was no different. I mean shit ...only is in the name, so you know this is going down the wrong path. I have been around long enough and heard this in so many iterations, that it has finally come down to essentially sexualizing myself for money. I get it. You didn't like the work ..but nobody wanna see that. Well ...I guess he did so I got that going for me. I know women reading this are saying "yeah dude ...me since high school."

Well...
In response to this idea, I did one better and I retreated into silence and contemplation. It has been 15 years or more since I let someones ideas about my work shape what or where I am going, based on their potential interest and this was going to be no different. So, I spent the last 95 days in solitude, just working and creating. I shared nothing and I photographed or filmed next to nothing. It was great. Liberating, freeing… fill in the adjective, but great none the less.

Here is the point. You want to have real ownership and real access and insight to me and my work? It is so simple. Nothing needs to be tweaked or re thought or re imagined. All you have to do is buy a painting. My collectors get the world from me. When you acquire my work you get raw emotion, beauty, intrigue, didactic lessons, scale, nuance, color, mystery, conversation and life in one ready to hang piece of art. No, it's not $10.00 a month. However, we won't have to have awkward pre planned conversations from my studio while I try to reamin relevant and appealing, so you feel like you are getting your subscription value. Ownership has a price.

Wrap Up.
I know you did not see this coming. I hope sharing this helps when you are encountered with great un solicited ideas about being more successful. If you are struggling with how much of your self to sell to get by, I hope my story gives you some insight that helps with your own decision making. Also, if your going the OF route, let me know your account name. For my part, I promise no more unbuttoned shirt photos.

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MILE HIGH

March 29th, 2021
Above is what a Broken Bank Note painting looks like in a shipping crate. I custom make these in the shop and hand stencil the brand on the cover. This peice, titled Polska Slip is on its way to a show in the Denver area. I wanted to address something else: Your lack luster packaging and shipping materials.

Is It Really Important?
I don't know ...what did you spend several thousand dollars on that came in shitty packaging? Thats, right, nothing! Consumers have brand expectations at every point of contact. Once you start selling work to people other than family, you are a brand. Like it or not, customers have been socialized into high touch packaging in the luxury retail world for decades. A $10k painting is a luxury item and better meet those expectations.

I'm Not A Carpenter!
Of course you can talk your way out of anything. But if you are an artist and truly can create, the materials and media don't matter. So if you are for real, building a crate is nothing. Search Youtube and the internet for a million ideas and tutorials on how to do it. I will even give you a plan if you message me. I also understand that now might not be the time to pick up a new skill set, so I do have other ideas.

Such As?
The obvious choice is a professional art crating company and if your price tag can justify the expense, it will completely exonerate you from the process. However, those companies are usually in big markets and can have quite a long lead time. They typically want the cartage to go with the crate fee as well ... a sort of all in one deal if you will. Other ideas: Local framing specialty stores and galleries in your area could be a good resource. Here is another idea. Find a local cabinet maker. They will have the tools, materials and can walk you through the design aspect, to best maximize you packaging to weight ratio.

Things To consider: Who is the cartage company? You may want to figure out which shipping company you can use and what maximum weight and size limits are. FedeX, UPS and USPS all have different requirements. If you find yourself outside of those requirements, for large or heavy pieces use an LTL bidder system, like U-Ship to find a carrier your package can be bundled with. They are essentially Less Than Full Load trucks that your package hitches a ride with for a fraction of the total load price. No matter what carrier, I suggest designing the packaging backwards from a given companies specs, to hit a goal size and weight.

It's Easy, Right?
No it is not easy. In fact it can be rather difficult. When I used the term "fraction" above, I did not mean cheap. I have spent as much as $1100 on an LTL for a large painting out of Los Angeles. But thats the deal. Everyone knows they have to pay shipping. You have to make your brand a viable option and convey the same care and attention that you did in the creation of the art, in your execution and delivery of the art. When you really get it dialed in, you start managing expectation and customer experience at the delivery and installation level as well. Regardless of what a customer spends, that level of care and detail will be their expectation. More troubling yet, If the customer spends a lot, the expectations will be even greater. You can always decide how to handle the fee. Maybe you absorb it? Maybe it is already figured into your price and you just simply offer free shipping.

In the end, if a customer spends a substantial amount of money on your work, you can decide if you want to pass the shipping fee on, or absorb the fee to develop your relationship. Either way, you need to get your brand executing at every point of contact. Including the packaging and shipping. As for developing customer relationships ...I am saving that conversation for a different post.

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SUCKING LESS

March 27th, 2021
I just returned from Icon Labs on Wilshire. My own developing is still questionable, so I use a lab, until I can nail down my technique with color. I was processing two chromes of paintings I am sending to shows (video forth coming) and decided to grab another film holder that had been lying around.

Remember the post about sucking and just keep doing it? 15 minutes ago, I dropped this Portra 400 negative on my little light table, took a pic on the iPhone and inverted it. The above is what came out. (minus a slight color alteration) That's it. No scan, no nothing. Just a crappy iPhone preview of a negative. I would call this the beginning of a new phase for my LF work in the field.

Does Your Arm Hurt?
Patting my self on the back aside, this goes to my point about repetition and progress. These two negatives represent a new level in my ability to work with the medium. And yes, it is still flawed. There is a slight keystone issue, that I did not correct with the mechanics of the camera. There is also some other issues with reciprocity, but frankly, I have a lot more latitude than I thought. Also ...the subject matter and composition are less than desirable, but right now I am trying to work with material I don't find intersting. I am trying to prove out my technique and see if I can find a story in an otherwise banal subject matter. I don't have that part down yet. However, this is a decent negative and a decent documentation of the LAX complex, looking east towards Century Blvd.

Shot at 6:20pm, December 25th (that's how I do Christmas) from the top level of the Terminal One parking garage. For those who know, yes, the better shot was looking west to the tower and through the construction. So, like the post from January. Just keep doing it. It gets better. As for me, this worked out well enough that I might just attempt a shoot in the desert tonight.

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12 MONTHS OF BBN LOVE

March 26th, 2021
This photos is from a presentation on Thursday night. I was summing up for a group where my work has been this last year. 12 months and 10 paintings later, Broken Bank Note is still as relevant and strong as ever. I am currently working on two new BBN's, and a concept for a future direction. It's safe to write, my creative output is the strongest it's been in 10 years.

Now What?
I am working on a new deal with a gallery group, for a substantial new shift in how I do business. The first 10 paintings will be considered "First Issue" and subsequent sets will follow the same ascending hierarchy. (Second Issue, Third Issue...) Once I complete my last few shows/exhibitions, this group will have exclusive rights to the BBN First Issue set. Subsequent "issues" will be determined on a yearly review. These details are important only to people who make a living selling art. I am sure the rest of you are losing interest. That's cool. I will have another video soon. However if you are in the business of art, read on.

Why Tell Us?
When I relaunched this effort, I made a commitment to transparency in my craft and business. The internet is full of people who will tell you how to mix your colors or apply paint with a given tool. Find one that will actually tell you how much their art sells for, to who and how they do it. That artist is far and few between. I don't know about you, but another video of some one painting a ho hum effort, in a way overdone, outlandish studio, on store bought, pre stretched canvas with craft supplies from Michaels is telling me nothing. How do you pay for that space? How do you pay a mortgage with 16x20 pieces? They never tell you that part. Or worse yet, videos of New York art luminaries, in multi million dollar spaces that are ridiculously out of reach for any body watching. I learn nothing from them other than buying property in NYC in the 1970's was a good idea.

And So...
Soon, I will have a pricing matrix and a break down of past client purchases, my cost and final rational for setting the Broken Bank Note price structure. In truth, there is no "right" way to do this. It's all about what the market will bear for your work. I know we all have dreams of being "discovered" and fostered through some secret society of insiders in the art world and becoming the darling of Art Basil. Or maybe jumping on the NFT train, for quick access to riches. How's that going so far? Got your Turner Prize yet? Yeah, I know, it sucks. You most likely will never be an art world darling. If so, you would have no interest in what I am writing. I know a former art world darling that never re created the hype of years ago. They work in ad sales. I also know musicians who toured the world and played on big records. One was a bartender at last check and another was a real estate agent. Shit my real estate agent was in blockbuster Holywood movies. They don't talk about that on the red carpet.

Cool.
In the end, for me, I have to foster relationships and work really hard to make connections with people who find value in my work. I am not an art darling. As for the NFT market ...I have thousands of digital images I have produced in a 2 decade long career as a designer and illustrator. Some are available as NFT's. In fact some are the same images that won awards in PRINT and CA. Guess what? They have not made me hundres, let alone millions. For every story about a Beeple, there are thousands of artists that don't make more than a few coins per image. And thousands more who don't sell anything.

I will walk you through my process and be as transparent as possible. Hopefully you will find value in the information. Maybe you and can apply some of my ideas to your own business. If you are just starting out you are in a great spot. You won't be handcuffed by a lifetime of overly romantic ideas about success in your craft. But that deadly syndrome is for another post.

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ART DRAMAS

March 25th, 2021
A young woman once acused me of being very dramatic. She siad I always had "art dramas." She was right. Above are several screens from a private presentation I just completed tonight. And tonight, I brought the drama and the theatrics.

What?
In co-operation with a new gallery group, I have been testing online Zoom meetings for would be patrons from my studio. Part presentation, part social commentary and part bull shit session, this inside look in my studio gives qualified buyers a real glimpse into the paintings and a more intimate conversation with me. The pandemic has changed a lot of dynamics for galleries and artists abilities to connect with audience. I have a lot of technology in my studio and take advantage of this fact to provide private, small group presentations, or one on one meetings about my art and even possible commissions. Theatrics, drama, verbose langage and a back ground playlist that would be the envy of Nick Hornby's Barry Judd, I bring the show. And actually get pretty serious about the work in the process.

How?
While I work details with this new group for representation, I can be booked through my contact page. I promise, it doesn't suck and you will walk away with about as much understanding of me and my work as possible. I promise to bring the theatrics and drama. As for the young woman I mentioned above ... that would be one of those old posts, I don't do anymore.

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NO SOCIAL MEDIA, NO SELFIE

March 22nd, 2021
I realized that with out a social media account the selfie is virtually pointless. Now, in terms of my own life this vanity issue is not consequential, but it got me thinking about the value of image if no one is looking. Last week was cold in LA. Like 40 degree mornings cold, which I know is spring to some of you, but I am delicate. I snapped this picture at 7:45 in the morning on my way out. Why? Well ...thats a great fucking question. And this is not going to go where you think.

What?
Dirty mirror and cold weather attire not withstanding, a self portrait of me is nothing new. I have taken many in the last 20 years. In fact, at it's core, the self portrait is about as old as film. It is true, that over the last 100 years, it has become more accessible to the average person, but rest assured, the moment that camera and film were invented, someone took their own picture ...then took one of another person. Probably naked. Maybe not in that order. However, social media, gave a platform for the self portrait that never existed before. Validation and acceptance by the group. But, if you are not participating in social media, does the self portrait no longer have value? Here is where I am really going: If no one is looking at your efforts, do you still do it? Does it have value? It's the tree in the forrest conundrum if you will.

Again, What?
Look. It's simple. If no one is looking at your efforts, does that decrease the value of the output? How do you define value? Does lack of external validation diminish value? Can humans actually thrive with out validation? Could you create, every day if no one gave a shit. Every artist struggles with these questions. It's why none of you can price your work. As Eric Fischl said: "...Nobody can pay you enough for the love you're looking for and of course everything they pay you is too much." Take a moment. Read that quote again.

The Point?
Now the average, non artist, regular person on the street, can struggles with the same questions of value and worth in their image. I remember being at gallery shows watching accountants and human resource managers stand in front of pink walls taking multiple pictures to get the "just right" shot for Instagram. It was like watching aspiring photographers obsessing over every little detail ...but the detail was them. Their own image. It is as close to being a painter or "artist" that they can be. It may possibly be more destructive. An artist can always stop. But a human has no choice. They are who they are.

And So?
I get every single woman is reading this and saying "...dude ...that's my every day, since ...like, middle school." Bet. Women have been subject to the outward approval and validation curse since the dawn of time. Maybe that's why they are better at navigating this world. I have noticed in my own personal life, many women I know sound like artists, when describing the rituals and routines of beauty and self care.

Essentially, I am asking this: Is your message so important that with out validation and acceptance, you still create? Do you still go into the studio and make selfish choices, putting everything second to craft? If so, maybe you will be okay with out the likes. With out the followers. With out the awards and with out the acceptance in juried shows. We do this because we have no other choice. Frankly, telemarketing is easier. Go do that if you can. This is a fucking hard road to travel, with little or no reward. If you need reward or value from others ...good luck.

Whatever.
Agree. But, I know you didn't see this coming. Do your self a favor and search Eric Fischl. He is a stalwart in the art world, who is much better at this than I. As for me, I am still working on it. I'll let you know how it goes. Also ...does this mirror make me look fat?

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