Sex & The City - Parody

Bea Arthur as Carrie, Sally Struthers as Samantha, Charlotte Rae as Charlotte, Katharine Helmond as Miranda, and Abe Vigoda as 'Big'.

The Breathtaking Blue

A little video promo for my upcoming show, The Breathtaking Blue, July 10-22 at Lyman-Eyer Gallery in Provincetown Massachusetts.

Random Thoughts

Torture, a gray area?

Just how off course have we gotten that politicians and news pundits are actually defending torture?  Weren't we once the worlds beacon of light?  On top of that there seems to be hesitation on the part of the current administration to prosecute the perpetrators.  Turning a blind eye to a crime makes you culpable.  Investigating and prosecuting might be messy and inconvenient but sometimes doing the right thing isn't easy.

Swine Flu is a Partisan issue

Congress woman Michelle 'CO2 is harmless' Bachman is insinuating President Obama may be to blame for the Swine Flu outbreak because he recently visited Mexico.  She finds it an 'interesting coincidence' that the last U.S. outbreak of swine flu occurred under another Democrat President (Jimmy Carter).  Actually, Republican Gerald Ford was President at the time.  Bachman who believes Intelligent Design should be taught in schools manages to disprove that hypothesis every time she opens her mouth.  (She's a Congresswoman, really!  Shame on you Minnesota's 6th district!)

Missing History

When I was a kid I remember learning about the Bubonic Plague in school.  Yet, I never ever heard anything about the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic which killed approximately 50 million people worldwide making it the deadliest event in recorded history.  Seems noteworthy to me.

Huh, tell me again...

Why is Kim Kardashian famous and how is she entertaining?  It's been explained to me before but for some reason it just never sticks in my head.

My Work & Playlist Top 10

1. "Cover Girl" - RuPaul
   
2. "Falling Away" - Jupiter Rising
   
3. "Walking On A Dream (Sam La More Remix)" - Empire of the Sun
   
4. "Love Etc." - Pet Shop Boys
   
5. "Freaking Out" - September
   
6. "This Must Be It" - Röyksopp
   
7. "I’ve Underestimated My Charm "- Black Kids
   
8. "Jai Ho! (You are My Destiny)" - A.R. Rahman & Pussycat Dolls
   
9. "The Fear" - Lily Allen
   
10. "If This Isn’t Love" - Jennifer Hudson
    

New Release: "Lily White"

What is beauty? Is it certain forms and shapes arranged in a way that is geometrically pleasing to the eye? Is it a combination of colors and patterns, a perfection of design? Or rather than a certain visual configuration maybe it is our own emotional response, it is how it makes us feel inside that defines what we consider beautiful, whether it be a bloom or a bottom.

The original (11.5" x 18.5") as well as limited edition Studio prints and open edition Portfolio prints are available for purchase at the special First Day Price through Midnight ET tomorrow at www.breyette.com.

Tori Spelling on A-List Awards

Part of Tori Spelling's funny and self depreciating acceptance speech.

yes...ANOTHER 'Gathering Storm' spoof.

A Gaythering Storm from Jane Lynch

Who knew NOM's anti-gay marriage 'Gathering Storm' ad would result in such a downpour of humor and mockery? 

on the drawing board: beautiful things

Perhaps it's the change in seasons and the fact that crocuses, daffodils, hyacinths, and tulips are already blooming, I am being drawn to the beauty of flowers.  I've recently been browsing through my photographs and have been particularly fascinated with my floral shots which lead me to this current piece where I've paired 2 beautiful things together.

Creative Block updated poster image

I just recieved an email of the new poster image for "Creative Block".  I've been added!  (I did the  highlighting on the image, it's not really like that).  "Creative Block is the art exhibit/Obie Awards after party coming to New York City on Monday May 18th.   You can still get tickets at this link  http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/61078

Another 'Gathering Storm' Spoof/Response

Coming to NYC

I have been invited to attend and display some of my artwork in May 18th's Creative Block, a multidisciplinary arts event that will include burlesque, digital art, performance art, dance and fiber arts. 

Running in tandem with the 54th Annual Obies (Off Broadway Theater) Awards ceremony, Creative Block will be held in Webster Hall's rooms with diverse and innovative talents from across many disciplines, adding to both the fun and spirit of the Obie Awards. I will be there with several of my full size prints on display... perhaps circulated about by human easels! Advance tickets for Creative Block are available for $15 with general admission beginning at 8:30pm.

"Stripped: Uncensored"

Hold on to your pants!

The follow up to the successful "Stripped" book is on it's way.  "Stripped: Uncensored" is the next collection of gay erotic works from new and established artists published by Bruno Gmünder.

I heard from the publisher today that my work has been among those accepted in this new release, yay!  And the according to the layout I've seen, my pieces have been placed at the very beginning of the book.  Cool.

"Stripped: Uncensored" is scheduled for release in Europe in June, the North America in August. 

D.U.N.G.: Parody of National Organization for Marriage Ad

Tattoo Me? Weekly Poll Results

Last weeks polled pondered the pop culture status of tattoos. Are they hip and cool, edgy, the current fashion trend, or is it passé to get one now since they are so prevalent? I was a bit surprised that only 20% said that they are still a symbol of coolness. I don't have any myself but have thought about getting one. I guess I can wait til they are so unhip, that you'd have to be truly hip and edgy to get one!

Here are the votes:

45% Current Fashion Trend 

34% Passé 

20% Symbol of Coolness

2M4M?: Rachel Maddow let's the National Org. for Marriage in on their inadvertant joke.

My Work and Playlist Top 10

1. "Freaking Out" - September
   
2. "Cover Girl" - RuPaul
   
3. "If This Isn’t Love" - Jennifer Hudson
   
4. "Be Mine!" - Robyn
   
5. "Love Etc." - Pet Shop Boys
   
6. "The Fear" - Lily Allen
   
7. "I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris" - Morrissey
   
8. "Walking On A Dream (Sam La More Remix)" - Empire of the Sun
   
9. "This Must Be It" - Röyksopp
   
10. "Another Yesterday" - Madison Park
    

New Work: Winds of Change

The sky darkens as winds whip into a frenzy, announcing the approach of the coming storm. Though you've been caught with your pants down, you take the necessary steps to weather it out. For a while things get rough and unpredictable, but soon it passes. In its wake some things are swept away. But eventually new growth rises from the fallen trees, structures are rebuilt stronger than before, and you're better prepared for the next storm.

The original is on consignment with the Lyman-Eyer gallery. While available for purchase, it will remain with the gallery through the end of my upcoming show, the Breathtaking Blue, this July. Limited edition Gallery and Studio prints as well as open edition Portfolio prints are available for purchase through my online studio. 

"Trick" - 1999

Industrial Hemp Bill an economic stimulus

A bipartisan group of members of Congress introduced legislation Thursday to allow farmers to grow industrial hemp.

Currently eight states -- Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Montana, North Dakota, Vermont, and West Virginia -- allow industrial hemp production or research, but federal law, which requires nearly-impossible-to-obtain-permits to grow hemp, trumps those state laws. 

The ban on hemp farms had/has a lot to do with protecting the interests and profits of William Randolph Hearst, who owned acres and acres of forest land and did not want the more durable hemp paper to cut into his profits, and DuPont who owned the patent on converting petroleum to plastic.  Nearly everything made of plastic can be made from renewable hemp. Synthetic fabric makers have also  long opposed hemp, which they see as competition.

The new bill would allow states to craft their own policy.

Hemp, a cousin of marijuana that can't get you stoned, is considered by the Drug Enforcement Administration to be a controlled substance because it kind of looks like pot. 

The United States is the only nation that blocks its farmers from growing hemp, though hemp products are legal to import and to sell. Somebody would have to smoke several acres worth of hemp, which has negligible psychoactive properties, for that policy to make any sense.

Supporters of hemp, which is grown in every industrialized country except the United States, say farmers have a chance to capitalize on a potentially profitable plant if the federal government changes the rules.  It would be much more sensible to allow farmers to grow a profitable crop rather then give them tax payer subsidies to grow something like corn.

Hemp oil is used in food and beauty products and fiber and cellulose in the plant's stalks can be used to make textiles, building materials and fuel.

on the drawing board: coming storm

In this close up snapshot you can see I am amost finished, though this is just a portion of the picture.  I still have the hands and some peripherals left on the background to finish up.

My Work and Playlist Top 10

1. "If This Isn’t Love" - Jennifer Hudson
   
2. "Freaking Out" - September
   
3. "I Owe You a Love Song" - Shiny Toy Guns
   
4. "Cover Girl" - RuPaul
   
5. "The Fear" - Lily Allen
   
6. "I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris" - Morrissey
   
7. "Be Mine!" - Robyn
   
8. "Another Yesterday" - Madison Park
   
9. "Feel the Love" - Cut Copy 
   
10. "Happy Up There" - Röyksopp
    

Weekly Poll: Tattoo You

What's the current status of tattoos?

A few decades ago tattoos were only found on bikers, navy men, and 'rebels'.  Skin art was radical, controversial, reserved for those on the fringe of society.  Today they're  mainstream.  They're on moms and 'tween girls.  Like with all trends that reach a level of ubiquity, the pop culture pundits jump at the chance to tear them down and move them from the 'in' column to the 'out' column. So are tattoos still cool, or are you more of a rebel if you don't have one?

Poll is in the sidebar -->

Weekly Poll Results: Why the baggie swimwear?

Last weeks poll asked "Why do guys wear baggie swimtrunks or 'boardies'?" as oppsed to a sleeker 'speedo' style which is more suited to sunning or playing in the water.

Here are the results:

Lack of confidence - 37%
Don't have the ASSets for a 'speedo' - 22%
Homophobia - 18%
Mistakenly think they are sexy - 13%
Hidding shortcomings - 8%

So it's a confidence issue eh?  Reminds me of a song:

It was an itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka-dot bikini

That he wore for the first time today

An itsy teenie weenie yellow polka-dot bikini

So in the water he wanted to stay

Iowa rules same-sex marriage legal

DES MOINES, Iowa - The Iowa Supreme Court  legalized gay marriage Friday in a unanimous and emphatic decision that makes Iowa the third state — and the first in the nation's heartland — to allow same-sex couples to wed.

In its decision, the high court upheld a lower court's ruling that found a state law restricting marriage to between a man and woman violated Iowa's constitution.

"We are firmly convinced the exclusion of gay and lesbian people from the institution of civil marriage does not substantially further any important governmental objective," the Supreme Court wrote in its decision. "The Legislature has excluded a historically disfavored class of persons from a supremely important civil institution without a constitutionally sufficient justification."

on the drawing board: exploring

Yes, I am already on to another piece.  I'm working hard to fill up the wall space for my impending show - less than 100 days away.  But rather than feeling I am just churning out stuff, I am digging deeper, exploring other areas.  I am really enjoying the challenge and seeing my art pushed and pulled in new directions.

Some of the inspirations that I am drawing from on this piece are, The Grapes of Wrath, the idea that it's time for change, Oklahoma!, The Wizard of Oz.