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deafpony
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Country: United States
State: Arkansas
Birthday: 11/20/1958
Gender: Male
Interests: My interests at this time includes art, art history, graphics, mystery and historical novels as well as biographies. Arkansas history and native american religions are just extensions of my interest in history and religion. Animal welfare is a concern of mine with a special interest in horses and Boston Terriers. I have a fondness for the Bengal breed of cats (NOT the tiger)... let's see.... maintaining contact with people from my alma mater (Gallaudet University, class of 2002).... will add on more later....
Expertise: my areas of expertise lies in graphite drawing, watercolors (27 years), clay sculpture (clothed and nude figures and animals), Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.
Occupation: Artist
Message: message meEmail: email me
AIM:  DEAFpony
Member Since:
9/2/2004
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| My Gawd...
I know this is an old movie but it was the first time I saw it on TV tonight and it really touched me .. its the Philadelphia with Tom Hanks starring as the gay lawyer who got fired from the firm he worked for because he had AIDS. .It was produced in 1993 so sue me for being tardy in seeing it, ok?
Not a lot going on this past week - only went to a late dinner with a friend and was he bitching mad. Seems he went to see his family in Louisana (he is an interp) and they went to his grandmother's in another town - a small one at that. Will was pissed because his grandmother is a big time sucker for sob stories.
Will was the one who answered the doorbell at his grandmother's and when he opened it, there was this white trashy woman standing there asking to see his Grand M. Apparently they went to the same church but Will grew up going to that same church and still went when he visited and he didnt remember ever seeing this woman before but let her in.
She started her sob story to Grand M. about how bad luck followed her and her boyfriend. **this woman is about 50, ok?** She hooked up with him in Miss. and he was a boozer and into drugs, etc etc etc.. and one night he passed out and fell on the train tracks. Well the train came and next thing he knew, he lost both of his legs. OK?
After this and that, they decided that Miss was not a good match for them and they moved down to Louisana and now he is beating up on her and she wanted to leave and go back to California where her mother and daughter lived. (((hey duh... this boyfriend has no legs and she's letting him beat her up? HELLO???))) She wanted to stay at Grand M'd for the afternoon until her ride came and took her to the bus station.
That ride never showed up and the woman just announced she would run back to her house and get her toothbrush and come back. Well this bitch stayed and stayed until Thursday (she came on Sat) Finally she whips out another sob story to the Grand M. about being broke and being stuck and wondered if she could 'loan' her $150 bucks for a bus ticket to California. Grand M handed her the money just like that and now her neighbor is pissed at her because this woman took the money and went back to her boyfriend where they proceeded to get drugs.. and not only that, this woman had VD and had stayed in his Grand M's house for days with this disease.
**rolls eyes** talk about suckers!!!
wait .. before you decide she handed her the money just to be rid of the woman, Grand M is a religious woman and a country one at that. When her family members asked her why she fell for that woman's story, she said and I quote "I was only doing what Jesus would have wanted me to do" Well hello.. sure there is a time to help but God also hands out common sense too.
And that aint all the drama I heard about, honey.
but enuff of that for now..
Also went over to the Arkansas School for the Blind (right next to the Deaf school) to meet with some of the Admin. to view the site for a mural they wanted done for the gym and my god.. the gym has no AC!!! Fuck.. I told them we would have to do the work at night when its cooler (my sister and I are doing this but she was out of commission due to a gall bladder surgery the week before). Not only that, the surface is cinderblock wall and they wanted 22 1/2 ft width by 8 ft height with a 3 ft gap off the floor. After gettng all the information and who to contact, etc etc, I got back to my sister but we will be meeting with them again when she is recovered and give them the sketches and the fee for the project. I wasnt sure about the surface so I met with a artist friend today to talk about this and Kevin said I might consider working on wood panels that could be mounted onto the wall. Oh thank god for that... would make it so much easier and less of a pain in the ass.
Tell me.. what do you remember from your childhood? I can remember the square black and white TV we had. with only three channels  , no AC and only the attic and floor fans. All cooking was done on the stove and in the oven. No icemaker in the freezer. The milk was delivered to our back door twice a week. Technology didnt exist in our world but imagination sure did. Heck.. here's a pic of yours truly around 1967 or '68...
">">RobBoboandSally
Pretty cute, eh? Too bad you're not in it, suckers. :)
well ta ta for now
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| I know I know..
its been AGES since I have jotted anything down in here.. been sticking my nose in other businesses such as my paintings, trying to complete a body of works to haul around and show to prospect gallery owners.. (not to mention trying to save up money to have slides made of them to add to my book) The reason for this come in several fold reasons.. juried exhibitions usually ask for 2-3 slides for summission to be considered for the exhibit. Also, this is good to have for clients who want to see a specific painting prior to purchasing. And last but not the least, its good to have for showing to prospective art representives. But it takes money *sigh*
fuck it.. LOL
speakiing of the evil.. *art representives*.. this Bitch who was my former rep and I had a big time falling out over some inane thing (the short of it was that she crossed a line with me and became too damned nosy for my liking. However.. even after the fight, I pushed it aside and resumed my professional (at least I hope I did) demur when I entered the gallery the next time. She didn't. The Bitch wouldnt even talk to me and only gave me a curt nod when I passed her.. (really mature, right? right) .. the second time was when there was a reception night for several artists and I was among them. I made it a point to approach her and talk to her, yada yada yada yada.. only to be rewarded with a weak smile and curt answers. For the rest of the time until I finally left the gallery for good, she gave me the cold shoulder (and this was over a period of several months mind you) The crux of the matter came to a head when one of my larger works sold, leaving a blank space on the wall. At the time I was working damned hard to complete several works to be hung.. (a new body of works) and she kept pressing me to come and fill the 'hole'. Ok?
I told her I was working on it and will bring it all in within a week. It took a bit longer than I thought it would and the week passed. She sent me an e mail telling me she 'had it with me' and wanted me to get my things out of her gallery. WTF? She has artists in there whose work hardly ever moved or got sold and others whose work left with a client, and yet she fucking nagged me for this? Fuck her. I was not the only artist who'd had problems with her.. take a friend of mine who is a promient artist in this town and hell of a nice guy. This Bitch buys the gallery while he still had his work in there and she immediately asks him to remove his work (a lot of his work had people and some nudes in it - and if you recall a while back, she has a thing about nudes). go figure. I am still PISSED about this and its been months now. The location was perfect with many 'browsers' and a strong clientele potentional. Oh did I tell you she once asked me to 'spy' for her when there was an art festival going on one night right across from the gallery just a llittle ways down? She wanted to know if there was any of 'her' artists trying to sell their works in the festival. I told her to do it herself and not to make me responsibile for it. That's professionalism??? Please..
On a more positive note.. a good friend of mine from my Gallaudet days, is coming here to town to visit for a few days. Whooo hoooo! pah I get to see her after three years. We have a lot to catch up on and talk about a gossipfest.. :) We gonna burn some people's ears.. grins. I also just sent a commissioned painting to a client in NYC and she seemd to really like it.. which makes me feel good about my work.. (natch!) and right now I am working on several sketches for a sculpture to be sent to a client in DC so she can make her selection along with a desposit on the work to be done. At least a little bit of money is trickling in..
Let me tell ya.. artists really have it rough at times.. this friend of mine who suports his family of three kids and a wife only on his art, has been known to cut it close with only 45 bucks in the bank. Then one of his works sells for 5k... tells you something, doesn't it?
If you want to talk about the internet and some of the people found in there.. whooo lemme tell ya.... there's this guy who seems to have a vendetta on the world and intent on inserting his snide remarks in various blogs and forums... recently there has been some discussion of the bullying/ aggressive behavior found in forums, etc and also I have seen how some forum adminestrators have been extremely fair in their dealings with their memberships while others are prone to 'letting it be' and let them run some members out of a forum or blog. There is a time to stand back and just observe.. and a time to take action WITHOUT being placed in the same class as the agressor. Sometimes its hard to establish a fine line between that and downright insulting/grass posts. One can only do one's best in situations like that.
I think I have said enuff here for now :) Give it a yank on your way out, ok? *chuckles* | | |
| Well damn! its been months since I'd written in here... ah well.. just sitting here nursing a sore throat - lemme tell ya it's a bitch trying to cope with one - really cuts into your appetite for sure. The only thing I have been able to deal with is coke sprinkled with cognac... oh I love that - sends a wave of warmth to the throat.
aside from that, I have been mostly painting - I finally made the switch from watercolors to acrylics on canvas and dont know why the hell i didnt do it years ago.. This cuts out the overhead cost of finishing up a watercolor- you know there's the need for backboard (archival type), the linen tape, the mattboard if used and the glass.. the frame.. Screw all that!
sheesh.. the meds starting to kick in.. dont take cold meds and write at the same time! will be back here later to finish what i got to say.. and believe me , there's plenty.
stay tuned.
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| ">">Diane
Though this painting sold a long time ago - last year sometime - it was long one of my favorites.. i hated to let it go .. so many of my works, I dont want to let go but being possessed by a demon to create is a true paradox in itself. I remember the pain labor that went into this work, the intensity of concentration that went into it. Each and all paintings and sculptures are the children of my hands and mind. It's like WTF am I doing this for? Not only do I have to sweat it out in terms of time and by the grit of my teeth in working - sometimes all night.. I can't let it go until it's done and now I can't let it out of my sight.
Jesus... there are times when I tell myself to stop for the night and act like a normal human being instead of a possessed mass of a wreck and hie off to bed.. only to awaken two hours later and find myself back in the studio. My four pawed family thinks I am weird and need to see a shrink about their homelife.
I spend at least a week doing composition drawings when I make a decision to explore a concept. Many a time this will involve a combination of several sketches drawn on real life and photos. Sometime straight out of my mind as well. I run through a pack of cigarettes at night, and the endless supply of coffee and iced tea.. and bourbon now and then...
.....and do I hear a drumroll when I finish a work? hell no... I have to set it aside and let it cook awhile.. try to see with different eyes and get feedbacks.. THEN I have to worry about coming up with the money to buy the framing supplies and glass, .. and of course the archival foamboards.. did you know that for a 28 X 36 regular glass averages 40 bucks? Shit. but that's the most expensive part of framing costs. I would prefer to use archival glass to protect my work but can't afford it. Not at the mercy of browsers in the gallery where some of my work is on display to a fickle public.
And yet.. would I quit? It's impossible.. its in my blood and sweat. I will paint until I fall over with my face buried in the palette, infused with colors.
Sometimes.... I have to worry about running out of art supplies.. a box of sculpture clay (the good kind) is 40 bucks a whack but one good thing about unused pieces is their recycleablity.. I have a clay bin in my studio used for tossing in pieces or discarded (and unfired) pieces .. add some water and let it soak. Sure saves money. What really bitches me is that this gallery owner won't let me bring in my nude sculptures (some of my best work).. "Kids run in around the gallery and see a penis and go running to their mommies and show it to them... Mommy throws a hissy fit and bitches at the gallery owner" jesus h christ.. give me a break!!! There is nothing whatsoever sexual about my nudes and yet when I showed one of my pieces to the owner, what does she do? Zeros right in on the man's gentials and remarks on how small they are.. what the f--k kind of a gallery owner does that? I am pissed, lemme tell ya that. Pissed! She has been in the art business for a total of 2 years and I have a lifetime invested in mine... go figure.. I am already starting to look for another representive. *sigh* | | |
| Well its been a few since I have written in here - mostly because there was not much worth writing about.. heh.. 
Actually - there are a few things to look forward to... and one I just recently experienced.
Nearly two weeks ago I was invited to attend an forum based on careers in the arts for the disabled (I know I know) but this is an offshoot from the VSA orgranization and was held in Fayetteville, Arkansas (about 3 1/2 hours northwest of Little Rock) (and also the home of the Razorbacks - U of A)
They provided me with two interps for the day and it was pretty interesting and informative. I also learned that there are several deafies in the VSA - some of them very well known. *you can check this link out for yourself if you wish* VSA link.. and this may interest some of you ... this organization is based in Washington, DC.
Aside from that, the same coorindator who arranged for my day in Fayetteville also made it possible for me to attend a major event to be held in October in Hot Springs (an hour's drive southwest of Little Rock), this time an open conference to all artists within Arkansas. ArtLinks is sponsored by the Arkansas Artis Council organization - a registery for artists which promotes artists to collectors, businesses and interior decorators. Ark Arts
Not only that, my registeration fee will be waived (can''t beat that since its $150 bucks for the two day convention) and interps will be provided as well. I will also have the opportunity to display some of my works in the main lobby of the convention center which is located right in the middle of what is known as Gallery Row in Hot Springs.... I would be a fool to pass this up.
Gotta tell ya this... another thing I have cooking at this moment pertains to De'Via.. and get this.. theres an juried exhibition to be held in Nashville Tenn in Oct.. and I am planning to enter two of my works in this and see what happens. Here's the link for this event in case any of you are in Tenn around this time frame.... Deaf Art competition and show ***click on Call for Artists*** on the left side of the page,
Now if I can just get hold of my art photographer to make some new slides for me.... gotta see about that tomorrow... heh.
One thing I am bummed out about is my TV being on the blink... *sigh*.. will be a to do this week to shop for a new one... think i will get one with a DVD player installed and use my DVD machine for another TV in my bedroom...
One other thing.. I am trying to cut down on eating out so much.. it really drains your bank account! But there is this place I go to at least once a week because its so casual and downright dinky... a dive if you must but their calzones are heaven... and CHEAP.. grins. Not too far from where I live so its pretty handy at times.. and they have such an interesting diversified patronage ranging from Goth kids (tattooed and pierced to the MAX) to lovey dovey couples (straight and gay) to familiies and friends. They have a large room in the back for rock bands.. at least I think its rock.. punk rock? hell I dont know LOL...
Well that's it for now.... toodles until next time.... :) | | |
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