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A little bit about me: I was born in New York, but grew up in the American Southwest- New Mexico, to be exact. Beautiful landscape, the desert. Some of my interests include poetry, Greek mythology, astronomy, and birdkeeping. My favorite food is Chinese, and I love horror/sci-fi movies, especially the really good ones, like Hellboy, Constantine, The Others, Poltergeist, Hellraiser, Alien (love Sigourney), 13 Ghosts, to name a few...
My favorite poets/writers are Jim Morrison, Edgar Allan Poe, Stephen King, and Oscar Wilde. I deeply admire the artwork of Renee Magritte and Michelangelo. I have three cats and some pet and show quality chickens. My taste in music varies wildly... The Doors and Alice Cooper ("The eighth wonder of the world!!") are my favorites, but one day I could listen to Mozart all day, the next, some Ozzy Osbourne or Marilyn Manson; the day after that, maybe Mercyful Fate or Dio. And of course, Ace Frehley...I never tire of his "Fractured" instrumentals. In here somewhere I also have to mention my predilection for Buddy Holly. Buddy rocks!...I like New Age music too, especially space-themed soundscapes, and even some opera.
Music is fantastic, and I couldn't do my artwork without it. I have a simple set-up in my livingroom from which I do my work. I am a struggling freelance artist, and do not have a separate studio. My "studio" consists of my work-desk, and my stereo, which, besides my brushes and stuff, is the most crucial element of my workspace. I feel and interpret the karma and essence of my subjects, recorded right there with the music, a hidden track that most people don't hear or don't understand.
My Jim Morrison Art: All of my paintings of Jim Morrison were inspired either by song lyrics, or by his poetry. I've made an effort to include the relevant quotes on the enlargement pages for each project, the lines from verse or poetry that really brought each portrait to life in my mind's eye. Through his written and vocal work Jim lives on, and definitely seems to be speaking to me.
The Deal with Alice Cooper. Any of you who might have been following my website updates and art projects for any length of time have probably noticed the bizarre love/hate relationship I keep having with Alice as an art subject. Well, to be brutally honest, I do love him. I have for a long, long time. I find Alice, his presence and his music to be supremely inspirational.
The turbulence and uncertainty came into my head when first, I had some trouble with the concept that he "borrowed" things from Jim Morrison, most notably the macabre, leather-clad stage persona; but, in the face of others who have most obviously borrowed from Alice (not to name names or anything...), it seemed he was more inspired by Jim than he was stealing from him. The two were friends, and Alice has never spoken with anything but respect for Jim.
"You couldn't help but get caught up in Jim's mystique. He was always this ethereal type of person." ~ Alice Cooper
The second instance of my personal difficulty with Alice was with the born-again Christianity thing. This really plagued me, because, as a Pagan, it just didn't make a lot of sense to me; but I tried that I'm-through-painting-Alice bit and it didn't work. I find him inspirational enough, and I like and respect him enough, to find a way around it. Besides, if that brings him happiness, more power to him and it's really none of my beeswax anyway. Furthermore, I don't have to think about it when I'm painting, that's the magic and power of the art and the music, you see. The Showmaster takes over then, and all is well….
Rave On!...The Spirit of Buddy Holly: Whether you're a skeptic or a believer in the matter of spiritual and paranormal stuff, you have to at least admit there's some weird things that go on in this existence that cannot be easily explained away. For me, one of them was the contact I've apparently made with Buddy Holly. I am a clairvoyant, a medium, whatever you'd like to call it (hey, I heard that!)...and the fact is, as I believe it to be, I have been contacted by many spirits. Some were famous people, and many were not. I am very selective about who I will maintain contact with, and even more fussy about who I am interested in portraying as an art subject. For reasons and a long story too involved to go into here, I have been compelled to interpret the surprisingly deep spiritual impressions of Buddy Holly I've received. You can probably tell, he doesn't really fit my pattern of hard rock/metal interests; but still there is some inexplicable connection there, and I hope to explore it further and see where it takes me and my art.
Continued --->
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