Ceiling Cat Has

This series of mixed media poster sized products is based off the internet meme of 'lolcats'. Ceiling cat has taken on a symbol of a God-like being. The cat is usually depicted peering through a small cut in the ceiling. Usually there is some phrase the lolcat is saying. In these it is "Ceiling Cat Has" meaning that the cat has the people shown in the print with him in heaven. I have drawn ceiling cat at the top of each of the pages which are different photos printed from my computer. These photos are of important artists; from left to right - warhol, haring, krasner, pollock, dali, man ray, picasso, braque, warhol again, and basquiat. I chose pictures that had two artists. I did this to complete a triad ceiling cat along with the artists. This was done to represent the triads seen in religion. The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. So this elevates these artists to god-like status. The blue and black at the tops represents the night time sky; this is often associated with the underworld and the heavens.

Ceiling Cat Has 1/5

Warhol and Haring are shown in this composition. The letter BVS are shown at the top of the work. This is for Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. The roman numeral III is shown as well. These are to reinforce the religious triad.

Ceiling Cat Has 2/5

Lee Krasner and her husband Jackson Pollock are shown in this work.

Ceiling Cat Has 3/5

Salvador Dali and Man Ray are depicted here along with Ceiling Cat.

Ceiling Cat Has 4/5

Here is Pablo Picasso and his friend Georges Braque. Drawn in the night sky above them is a sketch from Picasso's 'Les Demoiselles d'Avignon', taken from one of the women's noses. It reminded me of a stairway which is why i chose it. The 3 columns are from Freemason symbolism. They stand for the 'rule of three': beauty, wisdom, and strength.

Ceiling Cat Has 5/5

Here again is Warhol shown this time with Jean-Michel Basquiat. Drawn in the night sky is a trefoil, a geometric shape that expresses the Christian Trinity. Also shown is Gimel,the Hebrew numeral for three. Turned on its side is Basquiat's crown; with it's three points I felt it was fitting for the triple symbolism shown throughout the work.

Brick

Brick. 2001. Oil on particle board, 24" x 24".

In this I was trying to see all the color that made up a relatively boring mundane object that is a brick. The brick this came from had been exposed to the elements for around 250 years, but I'll admit that most of the color seen has taken a bit of artistic liberty.

Introscape, Grey Day

Introscape, Grey Day. 1999. Oil on paper, 19"x27"

This was an exercise from high school with landscape painting. We had to create a landscape in oil from any photo we (the students) chose. The picture was from a National Geographic of some Scottish hillside with a low stone wall. This painting shows how influential van Gogh's post-impressionistic style was to me. Almost all my work in high school used impressionist methods. As I grew as a artist I seemed to travel through the procession of artistic styles in history to Cubism, Abstract Expressionism, etc.

Two Cats

Two Cats. 2006. Acrylic on canvas, 13 1/2" x 10 1/2".

Portrait of my fiancé's two cats: Shit-hook and Moe.

Horses of Aviation

Horses of Aviation. 2004-2008. Acrylic on Canvas, 24"x48".

This work is a mixed media painting. It depicts an air-craft insignia and two horses heads in the fore ground. In the background the dark, rising, jagged line represents a graph line with a small strip of newspaper cutting the plane as the 'x' and 'y' axis of the graph. Beneath the graph is a painted over phrase 'so damn insane' a common play on Saddam Hussein's name. Ghosted over newspaper articles of Hussein's trial and another about the 165th fighter group flying off to the Mideast are in the far back.

Spain

Spain. 2003. Mixed Media, 12"x7"x1 1/2"

This is a mixed media collage made with blue jeans, a strip of an old shirt, grocery bags, newspaper, magazine clippings, cardboard, a block of wood, and acrylic.

20th Century Art

20th Century Art. 2004. Acrylic on paper, 42"x33".

In college, I had an odd way of memorizing the art work's dates that we were required to learn for the exam. I would write out the work's artist, title, and date over and over and over again. I tried to be as frugal as possible in school and, like rauschenberg's bed, I painted my study notes. This is really just a tongue in cheek look at how many view 20th century art, its not how I see it.

review of The Verve: Fourth

The Verve are back after a ten year break up and release what, will 

probably not appease the masses, will bring back all the faithful from 

before 'Urban Hymns'. They really rock through ten great songs. The 

guitars of McCabe have all the sonic prowess and feeble quiet that 

the Verve has their sound signed upon. They jam, they groove, and 

they rock in this album. The jam songs such as Epic Noise and 

Columbo showcase the synergy that the band can have when they 

really come together. Epic Noise reminds me of some of the Doors 

songs. The groove songs like Rather Be and I See Houses have 

similar swagger to Bittersweet Symphony. On 'Fourth', the Verve 

really rock on the opener Sit and Wonder as well as Love is Noise. 

The bridge on Sit and Wonder is truly exceptional, they circle around 

themselves and their shimmering sound, and then McCabe bursts 

through the fog they've created with this killer riff, they go back into a 

quieter fog then Ashcroft reins them back in with his lyrics. I always 

seem to say that Ashcroft's voice gets better with each album he does 

(even his solo work) and this is no exception. The energy and ability 

for these guys to really come together is what was sorely missing from 

Ashcroft's solo work. It's evident from the second you play this album 

that there is magic in what these guys are doing. I hope they continue 

to play and create that magic.

rating: 4 out of 5

key moment: 4:16 into Appalachian Springs Ashcroft let's you know 

he's truly back by belting out a falsetto version of his battle cry 'C'mon!'