Laura Levine

LP Cover Lover

2008-10-20T00:23:53+00:00

Gallery of 60s & 70s Asian Pop Record Covers

2008-10-19T14:22:03+00:00

A fellow named David Greenfield posted an amazing gallery of fantastic 60s and 70s Asian pop record album covers here.

Enjoy!

East Village/LES Show at Varga Gallery in Woodstock, NY

2008-09-11T16:11:55+00:00

My 1982 portrait of Madonna taken for Interview Magazine will be part of what promises to be a huge retrospective of the East Village/Lower East Side art show which opens this weekend at the Varga Gallery in Woodstock.

Several of my early 80s photographic portraits will be included in show. This brings back fond memories the East Village gallery scene, where I made the rounds showing at the Fun Gallery, Pompeii, Danceteria, Helio Gallery, Bridgewater Gallery, Kraine Club and P.S. 122, among others.

EV/LES – A Retrospective
Saturday, September 13, 2008 – reception 6 – 9pm
through Sunday, October 5, 2008

Participating artists include: Rick Prol, Mark Kostabi, Scot Borofsky, Tuli Kupferberg, Laura Levine, David Sandlin, Rodney Alan Greenblat, Stefan Eins, Christy Rupp, FA-Q, Shalom, Arnold Mesches, Judy Glantzman, Art Guerra, Brian Gormley, Richard Hambelton , Jon Singer, Maggie Ens, Shalom Gorewitz, Anne Jepsen, Jim C., Paul McMahon, Kenichi Hiratsuka, Vee, Bronson Eden, Walter Robinson and many many others.

This Saturday, September 13th VARGA Gallery hosts an exhibit celebrating classic East Village and Lower East Side artists with an opening reception and party from 6 – 9pm. The festivities will feature live outdoor performances by Phoebe Legere, Studio Stu, Phil Void, Paul McMahon, and others.

VARGA Gallery
130 Tinker Street
Woodstock, New York
http://www.VARGAgallery.com

Songbirds of the Catskills in THE BELIEVER

2008-09-05T15:51:18+00:00

McSweeney's publishes a terrific magazine called The Believer. If you haven't seen it, check it out. Culture. Art. Film. Books. Music. Science. Power tools. Really smart and one of the few publications I happily read from cover to cover.

They contacted me a while back and we've got all sorts of projects in the works. First off is the inside front cover of this month's issue, my painting Songbirds of the Catskills.

As I mentioned previously, Songbirds of the Catskills is also available as a signed limited edition archival print on Illogator. A percentage of print sales will be donated to the Catskills wildlife rescue and rehabilitation organization Ravensbeard.

http://www.illogator.com/lauralevine/
http://www.believermag.com/

(Shown Actual Size) - BLAB! Show

2008-09-04T00:57:46+00:00

My new series of life-size paintings of real-life tiny dogs, entitled (Shown Actual Size) debuts at the BLAB! Show at the Copro-Nason Gallery in Los Angeles this Saturday Sept. 6, 2008.

As Marc already mentioned, the exhibiting artists are Gary Baseman, Mark Burckhardt, Luke Chen, Ron English, Ryan Heska, Tom Huck, Andy Kehoe, Travis Lampe, Laura Levine, Travis Louie, CJ Pyle, Kevin Scalzo, SHAG, Spain, Fred Stonehouse, Gary Taxali and Mark Todd.

I won't be attending the opening, but if you're in the L.A. area, stop on by.

Saturday, September 6th, 8-11:30pm
Copro-Nason Gallery
Bergamot Station, Bldg. # T-5
2525 Michigan Ave.
Santa Monica, CA

http://www.blabshow.com
http://www.copronason.com

BLAB! retrospective at the Beach Museum of Art

2008-08-01T06:44:48+00:00

I'm very pleased to be a part of this exhibition. Here's some info as written by Mark Frauenfelder on Boing Boing.

The exhibition, organized by the Beach Museum of Art, will be on view through November 2, 2008. It is the first American museum exhibition devoted to the work of BLAB!, Monte Beauchamp’s periodic anthology of sequential and comic art, illustration, painting, and printmaking. The exhibition, which focuses on BLAB! #8-18 (1995-2007), features the work of forty-six artists and includes 150 objects from thirty-nine collections. All of the work in the exhibition has appeared in BLAB!.
Artists in the exhibition: Michael Bartalos, Gary Baseman, Richard Beards, Tim Biskup, Stéphane Blanquet, Calef Brown, Greg Clarke, The Clayton Brothers, Sue Coe, Don Colley, Brian Cronin, Nicolas Debon, Douglas Fraser, Charles Paul Freund, Drew Friedman, Geoffrey Grahn, Steven Guarnaccia, Ryan Heshka, Peter Hoey, Tom Huck, Teresa James, Jeffrey Kamberos, Nora Krug, Peter Kuper, Mark Landman, Laura Levine, MATS!? [Mats Stromberg], Walter Minus, Christian Northeast, John Pound, Archer Prewitt, Chris Pyle, Helge Reumann, Xavier Robel, Jonathon Rosen, Marc Rosenthal, Sergio Ruzzier, David Sandlin, Spain, Bob Staake, Fred Stonehouse, Mark Todd, Chris Ware, and Esther Pearl Watson.

The accompanying 128-page, full-color catalogue was designed by Monte Beauchamp and contains contributions by David A. Beronä, Mark Frauenfelder, Matt Dukes Jordan, and Bill North.

http://www.boingboing.net/2008/07/31/blab-retrospective-a.html

Private Commissions and the Stories behind Them

2008-07-31T01:34:58+00:00

One of the more enjoyable sidelines of this biz is doing private commissions. There's always a bit of self-imposed pressure behind them (what if it's not what they imagined? what if they don't like it?) but they're a genuine pleasure to do. In many ways they're the most gratifying type of project, in that the people who commission me are doing so out of their own pocket, so it's a great vote of confidence. So I thought I'd share a few recent pieces and the stories behind them.

This first painting is a family portrait, secretly commissioned on the occasion of my friend Stephen Dubner's birthday by his lovely wife Ellen. I always like to include personal elements in the portraits, and she was terrific about sending me reference photos, which was a great help. They're all holding items that have special meaning to them (a popular conceit from early American folk art). He's holding Freakonomics, the book he co-authored; she's a photographer, so she's got her camera; their son has a football and their daughter is holding her favorite toy, a plush dreidel (how cute is that?). Lastly, I set the portrait in their favorite family spot in Central Park.

This second painting was commissioned by a photography collector who had recently purchased a number of prints from me. There was a moment in his past that he'd always wanted to commemorate and I was happy to oblige. Back in 1975 when he was a student at Oxford, he'd gone to see Tammy Wynette perform at the Hammersmith Odeon in London. This was shortly after Evel Knievel's failed attempt to jump his motorcycle over thirteen buses in Wembley Stadium, and Evel happened to be in the audience. Tammy proudly introduced him from the stage and proceed to list off every bone he'd broken in his body. It was a special moment indeed. Fortunately, my client was very patient with me - I took so long to complete this painting that Evel passed away in the interim.

Lastly, another birthday surprise. My dear friend Mark Whitaker was turning fifty and his wife Alexis Gelber and kids had a novel idea. Years ago I'd illustrated a series of covers of jazz albums for Verve Records, called the Essential Series. One of the pieces was the cover for a boxed set of Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holliday and Sarah Vaughan recordings. (In fact, I'd given that boxed set as a gift to Mark for an earlier birthday). We decided to work from that original painting, and Alexis, being a top-notch editor, suggested adding a couple more singers that Mark was a big fan of - in this case, we chose Nina Simone and Dinah Washington.

What I didn't realize was that I was expected to make a public presentation of the painting at his birthday dinner party! Now, I'm not much of a public speaker (in fact, terrified) so it was quite daunting to get up there and make my little speech in front of the likes of Brian Williams, Fareed Zakaria, and Henry Louis Gates, but somehow the wine made it easier, and I got through it. (In fact, Gates came up to me afterwards and told me I'd "hit a home run.").

20x200 releases Meadow Lark print

2008-07-29T17:56:00+00:00

The Jen Bekman Gallery/20x200 project is releasing Meadow Lark today, a new print from my series Tweet Suite: Birds of North America.

They release prints in varying editions, sizes and prices, the largest of which is an edition of 200 small prints for the bargain price of $20. each. (Cheep!) Editions get smaller and prices higher from there. The prints are produced with archival pigment ink on 100% cotton rag paper.

You can find Meadow Lark here: http://www.20x200.com/art/2008/07/meadow-lark.html

You can find more bird prints at my Illogator gallery: http://www.illogator.com/lauralevine/

And don't forget, several of my original bird paintings can be seen in the Ornithology show at Jen Bekman Gallery (6 Spring St., NYC) now through Aug. 2nd.

Thanks!

Friendly Faces at the Mystery Spot

2008-07-23T00:05:24+00:00

As some of you may know, I run a little vintage shop on the side called The Mystery Spot, which is only open weekends in the summer/fall - maybe 40 days out of the year....if that.

The other day I was thinking (gratefully) about all the illustrators I know who have stopped in to visit and say hi. It's always a wonderful surprise when a familiar face pops in. (It may also have something to do with the wonderful selection of art books we have in the back room).

So without further ado, some of my friends and yours'. And if you're ever in the neighborhood (Phoenicia, NY) between the hours of 11 - 4PM on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, stop in and say hi!

(You can see more fun people here: http://www.mysteryspotantiques.com)

ORNITHOLOGY exhibit at Jen Bekman Gallery, NYC opens Wed. 6/25

2008-06-23T16:11:43+00:00

Class of NO WAVE reunion

2008-06-15T01:39:02+00:00

Last night KS Art Gallery in Tribeca hosted a photography exhibit in conjunction with the new book NO WAVE. POST PUNK. UNDERGROUND. NEW YORK. 1976 - 1980. written and complied (lots of photos) by Thurston Moore and Byron Coley, and after the opening everyone walked twenty feet across the street to see Teenage Jesus and the Jerks (Lydia Lunch and Jim Sclavunos with Thurston Moore on bass) and Infomation perform at the Knitting Factory. It was like walking through a 28 year time warp. We were all 21 again and the music was the same, however the drinks were a lot more expensive, and downtown luxury skyscrapers and cell phones now roamed the earth.

I can't think of the last time I had so much fun at an opening. It ended being one big ol' class reunion, spilling out into the street and late into the night. People bought copies of the book and everyone signed them for everyone else like a high school yearbook. It was simply joyful. Hard to imagine the words "joyful" and "no wave" in the same sentence, but there ya go.

Here are a bunch of photos from the evening. I strongly suggest catching the show while you can (it's up through July 10 at KS Art, 73 Leonard St., and you can see my previous post for info on purchasing the book).

NO WAVE exhibition - opening reception Fri 13th

2008-06-06T05:46:00+00:00

I'm participating in an exhibition and book put together by Thurston Moore and and Byron Coley entitled NO WAVE. POST-PUNK. UNDERGROUND. NEW YORK 1976 - 1980. The opening reception for the exhibit at the KS ART Gallery is Fri. June 13th from 6 - 8 PM, followed by a performance by Teenage Jesus and the Jerks at the Knitting Factory.

Here are a couple of my photographs from the gallery show and book, as well as one of DNA which isn't in the book but you can see in the show.

the official press release:

NO WAVE
POST-PUNK
UNDERGROUND NEW YORK
1976-80

organized by Thurston Moore and Byron Coley

June 13 - July 2, 2008

book party / opening reception Friday, June 13, 6 - 8pm
KS ART - 73 Leonard Street - NYC

KS ART will present NO WAVE 1976-1980 an exhibition of photographs, paintings, sculptures and ephemera from that era. This show is organized in conjunction with the publication of NO WAVE. POST-PUNK. UNDERGROUND. NEW YORK 1976-1980. by THURSTON MOORE and BYRON COLEY for Abrams Books.

Included in the exhibition are art works by James Nares, Nancy Arlen, Pat Place, Christine Hahn, Barbara Ess, Sumner Crane and photographs from the book by Julia Gorton, Robert Sietsma, Marcia Resnick, Stephanie Chernikowski, Godlis, Laura Levine, Lisa Genet, Bobby Grossman, and Hilary Jaeger.

This is the first book to visually chronicle the collision of art and punk in the New York underground of 1976 to 1980. This in-depth look at punk rock, new wave, experimental music, and the avant-garde art movement of the 70s and 80s focuses on the true architects No Wave from James Chance to Lydia Lunch to Glenn Branca, as well as the luminaries that intersected the scene, such as David Byrne, Debbie Harry, Brian Eno, Iggy Pop, and Richard Hell. This rarely documented scene was the creative stomping ground of young artists and filmmakers from Jean-Michel Basquiat to Jim Jarmusch, as well as the musical genesis for the post-punk explosions of Sonic Youth. It is here revealed for a new generation of fans and collectors. Thurston Moore and Byron Coley have selected 150 unforgettable images, most of which have never been published previously, and compiled hundreds of hours of personal interviews to create an oral history of the movement, providing a never-before-seen exploration and celebration of No Wave.

On Friday June 13th coinciding with this opening reception/ book party will be one-night-only reunion performances by Teenage Jesus and the Jerks (featuring Lydia Lunch, Jim Sclavunos and a surprise guest bass player) and the band Information at the Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard Street across the street from the gallery.

Monday is Ralph Stanley Day

2008-05-19T14:49:45+00:00

A different take on the same fella.

Ida/Michael Hurley @ Woodstock show Sat. 5/24

2008-05-18T15:38:05+00:00

Musicians Michael Hurley and Ida will be performing at the opening reception for my exhibit at the VARGA Gallery in Woodstock this Memorial Day weekend. Come on by if you're in the area.

Tweet Suite: Birds of North America
Paintings by Laura Levine

Opening Reception Saturday, May 24 from 6 - 9pm

* * with musical performance by Ida
and
special guest Michael Hurley* *

On exhibit Thursday, May 22 – Wednesday, June 4, 2008

VARGA Gallery, 130 Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY (845) 679-4005

A limited edition archival print, Songbirds of the Catskills, will be released in conjunction with the exhibit, with a percentage of print sales donated to the Catskills wildlife rescue and rehabilitation organization Ravensbeard.

http://www.VARGAgallery.com
http://www.lauralevine.com
http://www.illogator.com/lauralevine/
http://www.idamusic.com
http://www.snockonews.net/
http://ravensbeard.org/

Who is F.M. Walts?

2008-04-06T20:13:40+00:00

Have any of you heard of this illustrator? I bought this fantastic silkscreen theater poster today from a fellow who was selling some things out of his barn. It's in terrible condition but I just loved it.

It's a poster for the Theatre Guild's production of The Camel Through the Needle's Eye. He had a few other posters (in much better condition) by the same artist which I may go back and get.

I did a little research and found a Frank Walts, who I suspect is the fellow in question. (Can anyone confirm?). From what I can tell he was a political African-American illustrator who worked in the 1910's and 1920's. Among other things he did covers for W.E.B. Du Bois's publication The Crisis, and designed Anita Loos' personal bookplates!

Anyway, just sharing my weekend find.

I Was a Teenage Monty Python Fan (And they have the pictures to prove it).

2008-03-31T16:45:59+00:00

When I was sixteen, I was a huge fan of Monty Python's Flying Circus. You know the type: reciting entire skits from memory, telling dead parrot jokes, etc. They'd just started airing the show in the US and my girlfriends and I were hooked.

Well, when it was announced in that the group would be coming to New York to take part in the WNET (PBS) fundraising night, my good samaritan side kicked in, and the next thing you know, we (me, Ina and Brenda) volunteered to help answer phones for pledge night and hopefully meet the Pythons.

And so we did! They were fantastic, charming, lovely, witty. I was just starting to shoot photos, and took a ton (which I later sent to them) and Terry Gilliam made some wonderful drawings for me. We then took to loitering outside their hotel in Manhattan (the Hotel Navarro) whenever they came to town (i.e. for the premiere of Holy Grail, etc), and they obliged us with more photos, chit-chat, ginger ales in the hotel bar, and the like. They were utter gentlemen to these three dorky teenage girls. Over the next year or so they warmly responded to our letters (hand-written on their fantastic Python letterhead), sent us signed books (Bert Fegg's Nasty Book for Boys and Girls, etc) and basically made our miserable teenage lives worth living. (Michael Palin and Terry Jones were the two we got to know the best).

When they came back in 1976 for their live show at City Center - something I'd been looking forward to for months - I was sick with the flu and couldn't make it. I was devastated. Well, my friends (who at this point had gotten a job baby-sitting for them when they came to town) mentioned this to them, and Michael Palin actually called me at home from backstage to wish me well!

Anyway, this all leads up to my discovery of their autobiography - a wonderful, huge book (The Pythons). I flipped through it and lo and behold, I found a bunch of my photos! (Which I'd sent to them thirty years earlier.). But even more surprising, there was a photo of me, Ina, and Brenda, taken at the moment we first met them at the WNET studios. I had no idea this photo existed. What a kick! And yesterday I ran into a friend who told me that a different photo of us is in the new Michael Palin memoir. (Which I haven't seen yet).

Looking back, we were so lucky. They were such an inspiration, and simply wonderful to us.

Mingering Mike the Soul Supa-star

2008-02-10T00:44:13+00:00

I just now came across this story - I'll let the official Mingering Mike website explain. (Don't miss the track listings):

THE SOUL SUPERSTAR YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF!

Between 1968 and 1977 Mingering Mike recorded over fifty albums, managed thirty-five of his own record labels, and produced, directed and starred in nine of his own motion pictures. In 1972 alone he released fifteen LPs and over twenty singles, and his traveling revue played for sold out crowds the world over.

How is it that such a prolific musician has gone under the radar for the more than thirty years? The answer is that all took place in Mike's imagination, and in the vast collection of fake cardboard records and acapella home recordings that he made for himself as a teenager in Washington, D.C. in the late 1960s.

In 2003 two record diggers (Dori Hadar and Frank Beylotte) stumbled into the world of Mingering Mike at a flea market. There they discovered a collection of albums that were made solely of cardboard, each intricately crafted with gatefold interiors, extensive liner notes, and grooves drawn onto the "vinyl." The crates contained albums not only by Mingering Mike, but also other unheard of artists such as Joseph War, the Big "D," and Rambling Ralph, on labels such as Fake Records, Inc., Decision, Sex, and Mother Goose. There were even soundtracks to imaginary kung fu films and a benefit album for sickle cell anemia.

Scarlet Tanager print and interview

2008-02-06T22:25:21+00:00

I'm making a small print run of one of my personal favorites from the Tweet Suite series -- Scarlet Tanager -- as a gift for friends, family and selected collectors, and there are a few remaining, which can be found at Illogator.

Also, a very nice man named Dale Conour interviewed me for his blog, Emerson, which you can read here.

That's all the news for now.

Birds of the Pacific Northwest print release

2008-01-22T17:31:24+00:00

20x200 is releasing another of my bird prints today, Birds of the Pacific Northwest.

Check it out

Lisa Germano video

2007-11-30T04:22:58+00:00

Another video from the vault. This was quite a production -- costumes, props, live frogs, and sets based on my artwork, all shot on a Hollywood soundstage. Lisa Germano first gained notice as the fiddler with John Mellencamp, and her own music is very dark and emotional and wonderful (Geek the Girl, etc). I suspect this particular song - a major label release before she found her home on the indies -was a little out of character for her.

It was fun to create these fantasy worlds for her to inhabit - fairy princess, cowgirl, bride. Sort of like a living storybook (with an edge, of course). In particular I remember we had a great time going to Western Costume in Burbank to find just the right outfits for the shoot. That place is incredible - acres and acres of costumes from just about every movie you can think of, some with the labels of the movie stars who wore them sewn inside (many were worn by extras, of course), and you can just rent them!

By the way, we also rented those frogs - including some very exotic and expensive ones - and halfway through the shoot a PA noticed that one of the frogs was missing. A closer look revealed that the legs of the smaller one were sticking out of the mouth of the larger one. The rest of him had been swallowed. I somehow managed to pull the little guy out and he survived. Lesson learned: never put two strange frogs together in the same tank!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohldk_DzcLk

filming Giant Sand in the desert

2007-11-29T04:35:29+00:00

In a previous life, I made a few music videos. This was always my favorite, "Wonder," by Giant Sand (with Victoria Williams on banjo). Everything about the shoot was magical. I flew out to the desert in where they were staying, at Rimrock Ranch. It was a few days after a big earthquake had hit Yucca Valley, and there were still aftershocks. We were all friends and family and it was as as fun time as it (hopefully) looks.

We spent a lot of time at Pappy and Harriet's Pioneertown Palace (still going strong, I hear!). Pioneertown was built as a set for Hollywood Westerns back in the day and you could walk down dusty Main Street and see the Saloon and what-not.

Giant Sand was Howe Gelb, Joey Burns and John Convertino. Joey and John now have a band called Calexico. Victoria Williams is an incredible talent. They're ALL incredibly talented, and nice, and I still love this song.

(Yes, those are live rattlesnakes.)

at YouTube

Walking the Floor Over You

2007-11-26T17:25:21+00:00

Last week I received a lovely email from David Fair (from the band Half Japanese). He introduced himself and told me he was an admirer of my work (he's an artist as well, he makes wonderful paper cuttings). Anyway, we started a really fun correspondence and it turns out that when he renovated his kitchen he decided to forgo the usual linoleum floor for something much more creative. He downloaded images of artwork and photos that he liked from the internet and printed them out into eight by eight inch squares. Added to that a bunch of family snapshots. (And for some reason, lots of pictures of ventriloquists' dummies). All in all he made 1098 tiles which he glued to the floor and covered with seven coats of polyurethane. I'm so honored to be included in his floor - he's got several of my pieces there, which he and his family walk over all day long. (I also spotted some Taxali, Baseman, Kalman....).

What, Me Worry?

2007-10-15T22:50:13+00:00

Sometimes an assignment comes your way that's right up your alley. Body + Soul asked me to do a series of illustrations on a topic that I consider myself to be something of an expert on -- Worry. For the full page opener I decided to show the obsessive, suffocating and never-ending dialogue one has with oneself when worrying about things big and small. The art director, editors and I came up with reams and reams of neuroses, worries and frettings. The text eventually overwhelms the pictures, as can worries interfere with day to day life and thoughts.

Doris Lessing Learns She Wins the Nobel Prize

2007-10-14T04:30:22+00:00

Priceless!

Watch it here.

UFOs Land in St. Louis!

2007-10-11T16:55:27+00:00

Four of my UFO paintings will be in the next Blab! show which opens this Friday, Oct. 12 at the Philip Slein Gallery in St. Louis. These were the first pieces I ever had published in Blab!, seven years ago. The series is called The Flying Saucer Review, and is based on documented UFO reports from the 1950's. The pieces are painted on old maple sap bucket covers.

The text for this series of paintings is from the 1958 Edition of The Flying Saucer Review's World Roundup of UFO Sightings and Events.

The artists in the exhibition include:

Gary Baseman
Greg Clarke
Drew Friedman
Fred Stonehouse
Travis Louie
Tom Huck
Ryan Heshka
Esther Pearl Watson
Teresa James
Chris Pyle
Walter Minus
Laura Levine
Richard Beard
Travis Lampe
Kevin Scalzo

Birds of the Rockies print

2007-10-11T16:49:04+00:00

I've never had prints made of my paintings before, but I was asked by the Jen Bekman Gallery to participate in their 20x200 project, and it sounded interesting enough to give it a try. She releases two archival pigment ink prints a week, in varying editions, sizes and prices, the largest of which is an edition of 200 small prints for the bargain price of $20. each. (Cheep!) Editions get smaller and prices higher from there.

They made a print of one of my large bird paintings (Birds of the Rockies) and the edition of 200 sold out within a few hours of being posted online. There are still some medium and large prints left. There are some other really nice pieces on the site as well, worth taking a look.

You can find it here.

scanner art

2007-09-18T18:37:55+00:00

After Adam's cat art I no longer feel guilty about posting this, which I happened to have scanned over the weekend.

Cat Holding Squirrel Holding Nut

2007-09-18T18:36:05+00:00

Taking things to their natural conclusion......

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup

2007-09-18T15:10:49+00:00

For Tim and his squirrel.

Blab! Devil Show opens Saturday Sept. 8 in L.A.

2007-09-04T14:53:00+00:00

Devilish Greetings and The Blab! Show run Sept. 8 - 29 at the CoproNason Gallery at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica.

The opening reception is Saturday, Sept. 8 at 8 PM.

You can see the work online at: http://www.blabshow.com

CoproNason Gallery
2525 Michigan Avenue T-5
Santa Monica, CA

http://www.copronason.com/

DNA in my Chinatown apartment, circa 1981

2007-08-29T17:10:55+00:00

A shout-out to J.D. King.

Black Trumpets!

2007-08-02T19:53:26+00:00

This is turning out to be a good summer for mushrooms. One of my favorites is the Black Trumpet (a/k/a Horn of Plenty or Poor Man's Truffle - technically this may be two different species, but close enough). This clever fellow closely resembles a dead leaf, so they're easy to pass by on the forest floor. But if you know what you're looking for, you can usually find a carpet of them.

They're not much to look at, but boy-oh-boy are they tasty! The aroma is incredible, and they really are truffle-y. A little goes a long way.

CANDY interview

2007-08-01T01:55:16+00:00

Earlier this year I was contacted by Bren B. of CANDY magazine to do an interview for their latest issue. If you haven't seen CANDY (I'll admit it, I hadn't) it's a terrific art/design/photography/illustration magazine based in Ireland (but with a real international scope) which is downloadable (and free!) on the web. It's chock full of eye candy and artistic inspiration.

http://www.candycollective.com/issues.html is where you can download the entire issue (in two parts). My bit is in Part One, and starts on Page 238.

(If you're like me, you'll download the seven previous issues as well and you'll be glued to your computer for hours.)

Levon Helm Kid's Ramble T-shirt

2007-07-31T15:05:28+00:00

My good friend Elizabeth Mitchell (who has a wonderful kid's record out on Smithsonian Folkways with her husband Daniel Littleton) does a lot of work with Levon Helm and asked if I'd whip up a T-shirt for his Kid's Rambles. (Some of you are familiar with Levon's Midnight Rambles, which take place in the big barn on his property in Woodstock; this is the kiddie version, and it's been a huge hit).

I was more than happy to oblige with a little pro bono work, and my good friends Rex and Io were happy to oblige with some pro bono modelling.

Message for Goldin

2007-07-30T00:57:14+00:00

Call me. I have some $$ for you.

Critter on the porch

2007-07-27T02:52:59+00:00

Does this really need an explanation?

Stalking the Wild Chanterelle

2007-07-10T19:31:21+00:00

Every summer right about this time I return to a secret spot in upstate New York to pick chanterelles. Because chanterelles are so predictable (they come back up in the same spot every year) it's a little akin to shooting fish in a barrel. But what's special about this spot is how many there are. Sometimes there's a veritable blanket of orange on the forest floor.

Timing is everything in the chanterelle hunt. Pick them too early and they've hardly had time to mature; come too late, and the slugs and bugs have gotten to them before you. There's plenty of poison ivy to deal with, and they have a tendency to grow under thorn bushes.

On the other hand, where there's one, there's usually an entire family - look around and you'll see plenty of others poking their heads up. I've seen them grow in fairy rings, almost a perfect circle. Sometimes I'll see a tell-tale bump under a pile of leaves and I know there's a chanterelle under there. Once I reached for a chanterelle and there, not four inches from my hand, was a tiny baby deer, silently sitting under a tree, all but invisible.

They're great sauteed with scrambled eggs, with pasta, in soup, in tarts.

(Btw, there's a similar-looking mushroom called the Jack O'Lantern, which is toxic, so one should never do this without a knowledgeable guide).

Penmanship Practice

2007-06-29T19:35:37+00:00

Here are some old penmanship practice notebooks and pages from the archives. The sayings that students were required to copy over and over again are as interesting to me as the penmanship. Ah, the days of good old fashioned values.

A Secret About Golden Paints

2007-06-07T01:33:08+00:00

Flies love it! This little fellow alit on the palette and sat there drinking the stuff up like it was nectar. He must've gotten a little drunk, because when I touched him he just ignored me and kept on drinking.

Laura Levine/Jon Langford exhibit in Nashville

2007-06-05T00:36:07+00:00

I'm really excited to be showing with the multi-talented Jon Langford (Mekons) down in Nashville at the TAG art gallery. Opening is this Saturday, June 9th.

Here's a close-up detail of one of the other pieces.

The Junk Fairies are Smiling Down on Me!

2007-04-19T18:58:37+00:00

So there I was driving around L.A. with my friend Laura and I spotted something out of the corner of my eye. "Pull a U-Turn! Pull a U-Turn!"

And there it was. Thousands of books just....THERE. Dumped outside a house. A strange mix of astronomy, calculus, religion, art, Judaica. The house looked recently abandoned.

The next door neighbor came out at one point and I said,"A lot of books, huh?" and he said, "What books? Hey, I didn't notice those before."

We spent about an hour there scaling the mountain and plucking the flowers. There were more in the back too, that you can't see,

Laura Levine: Music Photos exhibition in L.A.

2007-04-05T19:43:52+00:00

For those of you in L.A., come on by Thursday April 12th, 7 - 9 PM for the opening of my photography show at the Musican Photo Gallery. Here's the official spiel: Laura Levine: Music Photos Artist's reception, Thursday, April 12, 7-9 pm Musician Photo Gallery 10959-A Venice Blvd Los Angeles, CA Laura Levine's intimate and iconic rock photography portraits span the punk, new wave, mainstream, hip-hop, and alternative rock scenes in their heyday, from 1980-1995. From a true insider's perspective, and with unprecedented personal access, Levine photographed hundreds of musicians, from cult figures to superstars: Bjork, The Clash, Madonna, Joey Ramone, Captain Beefheart, Iggy Pop & Chrissie Hynde, R.E.M. and The Beastie Boys, to name a few. This exhibition is Levine's first one-person show since she stopped shooting over ten years ago. Many of the images have never before been released as editioned gallery prints until now. http://www.musicianphotogallery.com Musician Photo Gallery 10959-A Venice Blvd, LA, CA 90034 310.838.2441 Gallery hours: Thursday - Saturday, 11 am - 6 pm

A worthy cause & some wonderful photography

2007-03-12T22:18:55+00:00

The Humane Society of NY is holding its Second Benefit Photography Auction on April 16. You can go online and bid on work by Steichen, Horst, Ritts, Erwitt, Michals, Leibovitz, Wegman, Springsteen, Davidson, and...Levine!

Great work, great cause.

http://www.humanesocietyny.org/auction/catalog.php

R.E.M.

2007-03-11T17:00:32+00:00

A shout-out to R.E.M., who tomorrow will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This shot is from the very first photo session we ever did together, twenty five years ago. I photographed them more than any other band in my career (I also made a movie with them), and I don't think I've ever known a nicer, more decent or smarter group than these four. (Not to mention of course, talented). They have an incredible sense of integrity and loyalty in everything they do. They've truly earned all the success that has come their way.

Violent Femmes

2007-03-02T23:00:01+00:00

Last night I was watching TV and a Wendy's commercial came on. The music for the ad was the Violent Femmes' BLISTER IN THE SUN. Now years ago, in my idealistic twenties, I probably would have thought it a corporate sell-out, but my feeling now, 20 years later is, what the heck! Better the Femmes and Iggy than Kiss and Boston. Hopefully it'll make them some dough and even better, whole bunch of new fans.

So I thought it fitting to post this photo I took of them back in 1983 on the corner outside my apartment. That little girl really dug their music. They were loads of fun, and they even recorded a message for my answering machine. I returned the favor later when they asked me to sing backup on their song "It's Gonna Rain."

(Addendum. Drama. Controversy. I did some googling and found a blog post that seems to be from Brian Ritchie, their bass player:

For the fans who rightfully are complaining about the Wendy's burger advertisement featuring Blister in the Sun. Gordon Gano is the publisher of the song and Warners is the record company. When they agree to use it there's nothing the rest of the band can do about it, because we don't own the song or the recording. That's showbiz. Therefore when you see dubious or in this case disgusting uses of our music you can thank the greed, insensitivity and poor taste of Gordon Gano. It is his karma that he lost his songwriting ability many years ago, probably due to his own lack of self-respect as his willingness to prostitute our songs demonstrates. Neither Gordon (vegetarian) nor me (gourmet) eat garbage like Wendy's burgers. I can't endorse them because I disagree with corporate food on culinary, political, health, economic and environmental grounds. However I see my life's work trivialized at the hands of my business partner over and over again, although I have raised my objections numerous times. As disgusted as you are I am moreso.

Sincerely,

Brian Ritchie

Sinead O'Connor

2007-02-28T02:07:29+00:00

Ever since Britney shaved her head I've been getting tons of hits to my website. What's the connection, you ask? This photo of Sinead O'Connor. Those pesky online teens found it and have been linking it to all sorts of Britney sites. Fine with me!

I did these photos with Sinead in 1988. I'd heard an advance of her record and was blown away. So I rang up her label and begged them to allow me to photograph her when she came over. (She'd never been to the States before). She came by my loft and was perhaps one of the shyest people I'd ever worked with, very sweet, very quiet, but also very sure of herself as far as what she was and was not comfortable with.

Some of my favorite shots were the ones of her curled up in a ball on my bed.

(By the way, in case you're wondering why I always put that unsightly copyright notice on the photos I post on the web, this is why. Once they're out there, they're gone, so I'd at least like people to know who the photographer is.)

How one small illustration got me on the set of a Big Hollywood Movie

2007-02-27T05:08:06+00:00

Edel commented in Marc's Johnny Cash article about how you never know where an illustration will take you, and I have a story I can share along those lines.

I'd done a couple of illustrations for an article on storytelling for the Utne Reader. It didn't pay terrifically, but it was a fun job. After the magazine came out, I got a call from Nora Ephron's production office. Nora was shooting a new film starring Steve Martin. One of the lead characters in the film was an artist, and she needed someone to "do" his art. She'd been flipping through the magazine and saw my work. They FedEx'ed the script to me to see if I liked it, and a few days later I was cabbing my way to the Silvercup Studios in Astoria, where they were already shooting.

The first thing Nora did was make me a nice hot cup of cappuccino, and we sat down and chatted and the next thing you know I was on the crew. The gig was amazing. The character I was "ghost-painting" for was played by Anthony LaPaglia. In the film, called "Mixed Nuts," he lives in a vintage clothing/thrift shop with Juliette Lewis and is a wall painter who is despondent because he "can't find a wall to paint on." He decides to kill himself on Christmas Eve (yes, it's a comedy/farce), and calls a suicide hotline manned by Steve Martin and Rita Wilson. Hilarity ensues. The cast was pretty interesting - it also included Madeline Kahn, Liev Schrieber, Adam Sandler, Rob Reiner, and had cameos from Jon Stewart, Parker Posey, and Steven Wright.

For the first three weeks I working on the soundstage in Astoria, designing and painting the interior and exterior of what would become the thrift shop. Fortunately there were two amazing union scenic painters on my team who were a godsend. It was great to hang out on the set every day and watch them shoot, and go backstage and schmooze with the cast and crew. The DP was Sven Nyquist (!) who'd even let me look through the camera once when they were rehearsing. I can't even tell you how nice everyone was. I think that's one of the hallmarks of a Nora Ephron set - she's a total mensch. She makes sure her cast and crew are always treated well, and REALLY well fed. (Meals are a big thing on her sets.)

Then they flew us all to L.A. for the next month or so, and put us up at the Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica. My job there was to paint a huge 30 x 20 foot mural which ends up being the closing shot of the film (the guy - surprise! - doesn't kill himself after all, and he paints a mural depicting the characters and key scenes of the film). We painted the mural on the side of a building on Pacific Ave. in Venice, a block from the beach. Every day they blocked off a lane of traffic (we got a lot of angry horn-honking) and my assistants and I had to get on a very scary hydraulic lift to paint. My schedule was different from the shooting schedule (they mostly filmed at night) so I also got to hang out on set, and because I was painting actual scenes from the film, I was allowed to watch dailies every day. (There's nothing like standing next to Steve Martin in a tiny screening room watching take after take...sigh....the girls might understand.....)

Anyway, it was a wonderful experience; I've stayed in touch with Nora ever since, and it's kind of amazing to know it all came from a quarter-page illo in the Utne Reader.

So, ya never know kids, ya never know!

Tug of War group show in D.C.

2007-02-24T22:41:15+00:00

I won't be able to attend, but if you're in the DC area, check it out!

TUG OF WAR
March 3 – April 7, 2007
Opening Reception - Saturday, March 3, 2007, 6:30 - 8:30pm

Hemphill Fine Arts
1515 14th Street, NW, Washington, DC
202 234 5601

see the show online here:
http://hemphillfinearts.com/EXHIBITIONS/TugofWar.html
or here:
www.billyshirefinearts.com/tugofwar

CURATED BY ANNIE ADJCHAVANICH, BILLY SHIRE FINE ARTS

participating artists:
Ana Bagayan
Glenn Barr
Gary Baseman
Tim Biskup
Scott G. Brooks
Daniel Martin Diaz
Bob Dob
P-Jay Fidler
Tony Fitzpatrick
Jason Houchen
Yumiko Kayukawa
Laura Levine
Chris Mars
Elizabeth McGrath
Scott Musgrove
Nathan Ota
Daniel Peacock
Corey Sandelius
Joe Sorren
SHAG aka Josh Agle
Yoko Tanaka
Gary Taxali

+ Sunday, March 4, 3 - 5pm,
La Luz de Jesus Press/BSFA Book signing
with Glenn Barr, Bob Dob, Elizabeth McGrath & SHAG
Scott G. Brooks will sign the poster from the show.
Please call (202) 234-5601 to order a personalized book.

Artists who will attend the reception (as of this release): Ana
Bagayan, Glenn Barr, Gary Baseman, Scott G. Brooks, Bob Dob, TonyFitzpatrick, Jason Houchen, Elizabeth McGrath, Nathan
Ota, Corey Sandelius, SHAG aka Josh Agle as well as Billy Shire and Annie Adjchavanich.
--
Annie Adjchavanich
Gallery Director
BSFA & La Luz de Jesus Gallery
Billy Shire Fine Arts
5790 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232
(323) 297-0600
WWW.BILLYSHIREFINEARTS.COM
*********

Society of Illustrators Editorial/Book soiree this Friday

2007-02-20T23:43:21+00:00

Don't forget, kids! The Society of Illustrators Editorial & Book awards/opening/soiree is this Friday, Feb. 23rd, 5:30 - 8:00 at 128 East 63rd Street. Yes, it's $30. at the door, but includes all the crudites you can eat.

Tina Weymouth and Grandmaster Flash

2007-02-16T18:01:26+00:00

I shot this portrait for the cover of the New York Rocker back in 1981. It was right around the time when the hip-hop and downtown music scenes were starting to discover each other, and there was a wonderful cross-pollination going on (Liquid Liquid's "White Lines," Blondie's "Rapture," and in this case, the Tom Tom Club's "Wordy Rappinghood"). Flash and Tina got along great, they had never met before.

Boom boxes were the prop de rigeur back then.

Look what arrived in the mail today!

2007-02-15T19:32:24+00:00

I am one lucky duck. Randy Enos' amazing Diego and Frida print arrived in the mail today. It's amazing on so many levels. Thank you, Randy, I will treasure it always. (p.s. sorry I couldn't fit it all on the scanner, so it's not the best scan).

Honky-Tonk Heroes & Hillbilly Angels

2007-02-15T05:16:28+00:00

Some pages from my most recent children's book, portraits of the pioneers of country music. Check out the gallery for more images, if you are so inclined.

Prince

2007-02-13T00:22:18+00:00

Or, as me and my friends call him, Prinf.

If I had an exciting new illustration to post, I would. But I don't. So here's an earlier work of mine, different medium. Taken at The Ritz in 1981. Enjoy.

Where I Grew Up

2007-02-03T02:56:30+00:00

Chatham Green, the curvy wacky modernist building in Chinatown where I grew up (and where my parents still live) is depicted on the front page of the NY Times Arts section today, accompanying an article about a Robert Moses exhibition.

Sharing my moment of pride.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/02/arts/design/02mose.html?ref=arts

Ramone, Joey

2007-02-02T22:08:17+00:00

Okay, three can play that game.

Madonna

2007-02-01T04:14:00+00:00

OK, since I realize I've been posting what some of you might consider to be obscure musicians, here's one you all should know. In 1982 I was assigned by Interview to shoot a portrait of Madonna. Her first single (Everybody) was just about to be released. She came over to my little apartment in Chinatown and we spent a few hours together shooting pics. She was a total pro.

Richard and Linda Thompson

2007-01-29T18:08:24+00:00

I'm convinced that the world is divided into two factions: those who have never heard of Richard Thompson, and those whose admiration for his talents borders on worship. And so it should.

Back in 1982 I was assigned to photograph Richard and Linda as they were touring to promote their album SHOOT OUT THE LIGHTS, a unbelievably emotional and sad and beautiful record which deservedly won every critics poll that year for album of the year. He is an amazing guitarist (formerly of Fairport Convention); she has a voice that's otherwordly, I simply love it. They were going through a very painful divorce when they were on tour, so the session was a very intense experience for all involved. You can see it in the photos.

Years later, after I started to paint, I was asked by his record label to do the cover of his album RUMOR AND SIGH (as well as the inside photos) - they had no idea I'd worked with him before. But through that next encounter we became acquainted, and I'm proud to count Richard and his incredible wife of 20 years, Nancy, as friends.

Gang of Four

2007-01-28T19:19:58+00:00

Here's another blast from the past from the Levine archives.....the Gang of Four, taken in downtown NYC, circa 1981. I wasn't a big fan of punk/post-punk, but I made an exception for them - I really really liked their music. Nice guys too.

And here they are in the bathroom of Irving Plaza......

Frank Zappa

2007-01-27T17:42:03+00:00

Here's another shout-out to all the guys in the house. This is actually one of the first photos I ever took of a musician. It was 1976, I was a freshman in college, a mere 17 years old, and was hanging out in the college newspaper office (the Harvard Crimson), where I spent most of my time. The phone rings, and it's Frank Zappa on the other line. He said he was in town for a show, and did we want to come over and interview him? I think he only called us, not even the "official" papers.

So me and my friend Richard Weisman ran over to his hotel and Richard interviewed him while I shot photos. He was absolutely lovely. Here are a couple of shots I took at the end, one outside his door and one in the elevator.

After they ran in the Crimson, the photos pretty much went into deep storage. Flash forward to thirty years later....his fantastic wife Gail gets wind of the photo session and contacts me. She's putting together images for the Zappa Plays Zappa tour that Dweezil has organized, and they end up using my portrait of Frank as the main image for the tour.

Captain Beefheart

2007-01-27T01:06:09+00:00

In response to overwhelming demand (JD wants Kroninger to do Johnny Thunders, but he refuses to do it until I post my Beefheart photo, so I am complying), here is one of my personal favorites of Captain Beefheart, taken in NYC in 1980.

I shot these photos for the cover of the New York Rocker when I was the photo editor/chief photographer there. After we took some portraits inside he took his sketch pad and we went out onto the street -- I clicked while he scribbled. Wish I'd kept it!

2007 Los Angeles Art Show this weekend

2007-01-24T23:07:11+00:00

I'll have work there, at the BSFA booth, as will the other folks listed below. It's at the Santa Monica Airport.

Billy Shire Fine Arts Exhibiting at the 2007 Los Angeles Art Show

Artists exhibited:

Josh Agle aka SHAG, David Anderle, Ana Bagayan, Glenn Barr, Gary Baseman, Tim Biskup, Scott G. Brooks, Dave Cooper, Marc Dennis, Daniel Martin Diaz, Laura Levine, Chris Mars, Elizabeth McGrath, Brian O'Connor, Gary Panter, Corey Sandelius, Owen Smith, Joe Sorren, Gary Taxali, Aaron Marshall, Martin Wittfooth, Miriam Wosk, Yumiko Kayukawa and others...

Santa Monica Airport, Barker Hangar
3021 Airport Ave
Booth - P134 - PAVILION
Santa Monica, CA 90405-6101

Show Schedule
January 24th/ 7pm to 10pm (Opening Night Gala)
Thursday - Saturday January 25th - 26th - Noon to 7pm
Sunday, January 28th - Noon to 6pm

www.LAARTSHOW.COM

The Day I Sang on the Ed Sullivan Show

2007-01-22T17:40:25+00:00

Back in 1968, when I was ten years old, my Girl Scout troop (Chinatown, NYC district) was selected to perform on the Ed Sullivan Show, along with about a hundred other Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, on the occasion of Irving Berlin's 80th birthday. It was an amazing experience. The other performers on the show included Bing Crosby, Ethel Merman, Robert Goulet, Steve and Eydie, and Diana Ross and the Supremes. I remember meeting The Supremes and just looking UP at these gorgeous six foot tall women sheathed in sequins.

We sang two songs -- God Bless America (accompanying Berlin), and then Ethel Merman rolled out a big birthday cake and we all sang "Happy Birthday." Berlin had earlier signed over all the royalties to GBA to the Scouts, hence the special connection.

Afterwards they took us ALL out to the Brass Rail restaurant where we each dined on our own Cornish game hen.

I found this clip of us singing online (sorry, I don't know how to post anything other than a link). I'm PRETTY sure I'm in the third row, fifth from the left.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9112785640653374817&q=irving+berlin

The Value of Napkin Scribblings

2007-01-20T20:11:45+00:00

It was interesting to read how Crumb's little napkin scribbles sell for a tidy sum. (And well they should). A few minutes ago I switched on Antiques Roadshow and there was a fellow who had a scribble of some butterflies on a napkin (food stains and all) done by Andy Warhol in the 80s, and it was appraised at $20 - 30,000. (Yes, you read right.)

Now, I understand the value of his work, but that seemed rather extreme. If you were to actually reflect on the artistic (or even historical) merits of the piece, something dashed off at a party, the value seemed pretty inflated to me.

I was also musing about how weird it must be to be an artist (thinking more of Crumb) who is aware that every little scribble he makes has significant value. Like minting thousand dollar bills. It's nice to see that it hasn't affected his motivation. If it were me, I might get VERY lazy if I knew anything and everything I produced had an instant and seriously profitable market.

The Crumbs

2007-01-20T19:07:35+00:00

Really fascinating article about Robert and Aline Crumb in today's NY Times. Be sure to watch the slideshow too, about her upcoming graphic novel (It sounds terrific - I really do like her work).

Some interesting tidbits, i.e. his younger brother makes a living buying R. Crumb comics off ebay, having him sign them, and re-selling them for a huge profit. And they have a real working open marriage.

He'll be interviewing her at the NY Public Library on Valentine's Day. (Does anyone know if these events get You Tubed?)

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/21/fashion/21crumb.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Thank God for Jean Shepherd! (or.....what do you listen to when you work?)

2007-01-18T23:17:19+00:00

*******
You're probably familiar with the work of Jean Shepherd if you've seen the classic Yule flick, "A Christmas Story." (Written/narrated by him, based on his childhood in Hammond, Indiana). But if you grew up in NYC in the 60s or 70s then you had the full Shep experience, via his radio show which aired on WOR every night. I got into him through my parents (as I think did most kids from that generation). You know, the typical transistor-radio-under-the-blanket-after-your-bedtime scene.

His show comprised great stories about his midwest childhood, the army, his life as a Village hipster, intellectual snob/slob, his travels with the Beatles, the Civil Rights movement, his showbiz life, all in seemingly rambling tangents that somehow all pulled together at the end, and told with a voice that felt like home.

So I was thrilled when a few years ago one of his fan sites complied a collection of CD's of his radio broadcasts - about 8 CDs, each CD containing 30 or 40 shows - and sent them out FREE OF CHARGE to anyone who wrote in. Anyway, after a few years I've finally worked my way through to CD #8 and I'm about to start all over again, from the beginning.

It's pretty much all I listen to when I paint.

What do you listen to when you work?

Taschen books warehouse sale - NY/LA

2007-01-18T18:12:48+00:00

TASCHEN Warehouse Sale: New York
January 19, 2007 - January 21, 2007
TASCHEN Store New York , 107 Greene Street, NY 10012, United States

Thousands of slightly damaged and display copies from TASCHEN on sale at bargain basement prices, 50-75% off!
3 days only:
Friday January 19th, 11a.m. to 8p.m.
Saturday January 20th, 11a.m. to 8p.m.
Sunday January 21st, 12 to 7p.m.

TASCHEN Warehouse Sale: Los Angeles
January 19, 2007 - January 21, 2007
TASCHEN Store Los Angeles, 354 N. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210, Tel: 310 274 4300, email: store-la@taschen.com, United States

Thousands of slightly damaged and display copies from TASCHEN on sale at bargain basement prices, 50-75% off!
3 days only:
Friday Jan 19th, from 10a.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturday Jan 20th, from 10a.m. to 7 p.m.
Sunday, Jan 21st, from 12 to 5p.m.



	TASCHEN Store Los Angeles

Scottish Poetry Corner

2007-01-17T20:24:17+00:00

A friend of mine sent me these poems, written by a Scottish poet named Francis Gallagher, from his self-published collection of poetry.

**********

THE BARRENNESS OF HOME

Scotland is a miserable sodden third-rate
sexually repressed backward shithole of
a country where everyone has to pretend to
appreciate
every minute of their sterile defeated life

the burden of lying chills the soul oh for
just once to tell the truth and say I hate this
phony country & the people with their shabby
spoor
of tribal myths about their own ineffable
greatness

Scots adore themselves but it¹s hard
to see why they so love themselves a bankrupt
politics predictable mediocre culture a failed sad
people pouring their soul into alcohol football
celebrations of their sentimental heart

my country is me I am my people and my loyalty
is to my instinctive intelligence that tells me
all this Scottish stuff is pure shit

CHIPS

Scotland is
the petrified vomit
of a fish supper

HOMAGE TO SCOTLAND

I¹d like to drop an atom bomb
on the fucking Highlands
that would stop their whining
being Scottish is like having sex
with a dead camel or
the editor of a poetry magazine

p.s. his book is entitled "Fuck Scotland."

a peek at my B-52's picture book (long out of print)

2007-01-15T17:36:47+00:00

Wig! has long been out of print, so I thought I'd post a few of the spreads in a new gallery. It was my first picture book.

I uploaded my Blab stories too

2007-01-15T04:43:52+00:00

Come say hello to my new gallery of some of the narrative non-fiction pieces I've done for Blab! over the past few years. Sorry to be posting so much. I'm on a roll.

playing dress-up with Bjork!

2007-01-15T04:20:12+00:00

Bjork and I had a blast collaborating on these photo-illustrations, back when I was a photographer and slowly moving over to painting and illustration. These were done well before the days of Photoshop.

With the help of some wonderful stylists and hair and make-up people, she and her Sugarcubes bandmate Siggi were transformed into some of my favorite fairy tale, nursery rhyme and fictional characters. I then posed them in front of a white backdrop, photographed them, made color xeroxes of the shots I liked, and then painted the backgrounds directly onto the color xeroxes. Seems so primitive now!

Check out my gallery for the rest.