The Panda Comes Out of Hibernation!

Original Panda Painting

If you haven't noticed, this blog has been sleeping for the past two months.  Why??? I decided I needed a break to work on some other projects and rethink what I'm doing here. Believe it or not, this is a very time consuming project... (and it's certainly not making me wealthy). But I love doing it! So, I've decided to turn the crank on the Paint-on-Demand machine again and see what comes down the conveyor belt to me.

You may ask, "WTF has John been doing with his time away???" My response would be,  "Don't use that kind of language with me, I've got some other projects!" I've been making some new large paintings for my Signals series. Been writing the monthly exhibition reviews for mplsart.com  (the best visual arts calendar in Minneapolis, where I live). I've also (inexplicably) started a second blog where I interpret the dreams of readers. Really. It's called the Id Detangler.
(I just checked it's stats, and it seems that the Id Detangler has become very popular in Germany this month. I don't have a clue why.)

Detail from Signals painting I'm currently working on

I will be slowly changing the look of Panda Licking on a Light Bulb and updating some features over the next few weeks. It is going to get some special love and attention from me... 

Under-used Panda logo designed by Nick Kouzes

Later this week, I will be to post my two year anniversary painting. This will, again, be painted from a request by my lovely wife, Beth. Last year she chose Panda Hugging on a Strawberry. And of course, the first year her request was Panda Licking on a Light Bulb! (Hence the name of the blog). After that, I have a couple of other requests which have been patiently waiting. ... and I will tackle some tiny paintings which I have promised as gifts...

Panda Hugging on a Strawberry

But, as I said, I'll be putting in more time here over the next few weeks, so this would be a good time to send me the request you've had buried in the back of your head. Dig it out and send it. Paintings are still only $70 each (a fraction of what I usually sell my work for). And I'll paint anything. Anything! I haven't turned down a request yet!

The Amish are Here with their Big Dogs and Scary Tiny Trains....

 Here is the final painting for Linda. It is a present for her husband Tim's brother Richard on his birthday. (That makes him a brother in-law). I finally got the story for this one.
Here is what Linda sent me:

So now I will tell you – the Amish man IS Tim’s brother Richard – who is not Amish but LOOKS so Amish that we often get odd looks from people when we are out in public and he’s getting out of the driver’s seat of a car, etc.  I can see them thinking “No buggy?” 

He loves dogs – all kinds, all sizes, but when I first knew him  he had bloodhounds and coon hounds – big dogs.  And he and Tim love to work on model railroads…neither of them have much time for the hobby anymore but Richard’s attic is completely devoted to an entire model town & railroad…I know they would both spend all day up there if they could.

The look of this piece was inspired by those weird, awkwardly abstracted early American Paintings. I'm talking about those odd, stiff, 18th century paintings that are lush and subtly disproportionate in a jarring way. For whatever reason, the people in these always look uncomfortable and something questionable is always brewing in the skies behind them. 

Like this. 

...or this 
and I love this one 

In many ways, the Amish early American history. They are very devoted to a specific time and place. I've never saw (and can't find any images of) Amish art, but I would imagine there work would look something like the paintings linked above. Actually, I don't know if the Amish are allowed to make fine art. They may be all quilts and baskets all the time. But quality quilts and baskets!
(Leave a comment if you know anything about this).  

Thank You, again Linda.... and Happy Early Birthday Richard!... every early...(I don't think it is until January...)

Before it gets all Amish up in here...

These are a couple of preliminary drawings for my next Panda painting. Here are the elements I was given by our returning friend Linda :

An Amish man (with a long grey beard)

2 dogs of any kind (not toy dogs, dogs with heft)

A model railroad or at least an engine with a couple of cars.

I don't know the story... but I think I will wait 'til I finished to find out. If I was meant to know, Linda would have told me.

One thing I know is that I need to be careful here to make the man look distinctly Amish. The first time I started drawing him, he looked too Hasidic. The beard, the hat, the dark jacket. I erased the mustache before I put the ink down and "Bam!", obviously Amish! Also, after a little research, vests and plaid shirts help create the Amish style. This makes it less Warsaw 1860 and more Pennsylvania 1860.  And rural is key.

I'm not sure which of these drawings I like better. The 2nd certainly is looser, but I kind of into the odd formality and the man's rigid stance in the top drawing.
Just to be very clear here, these sketches are not finished pieces. I make them only to play with the composition before I dive into a final piece. They're a time saver. When I don't make them, I usually end up doing a ridiculous amount of repainting or adding weird elements just to keep a visual balance.(As opposed to the other weird elements I add.)

I'm not sure which way I'll go with this... but I am open to suggestions. That's what the comment box below is for. Or leave your remarks on the Panda Facebook Page.

Paul and Marbles Dream...

Here is the final painting for Paul Garbis. As you can see, Paul and his buddy Marbles are drifting off to sleep. As reality fades, images of the friends favorite things slowly materialize...

Paul is biking across an open field with Marbles riding on the handlebars. It is a bright, sunny day with no wind at all. The boys are very pleased and surprised to stumble upon a brand new electric oven sitting in the middle of the field. This is perfect because they are both hungry for cake and Paul is a good baker.

Paul scavenges though the field and finds some wheat stalks, sugar cane and the pods from a baking soda plant. He harvests them and refines these ingredients in a make shift mill that Marbles had ingeniously patched together from an old tuna can, an ancient sparkly white stone, and a broken black comb. Some spit is added to lubricate the parts.

The refined dry ingredients are mixed together. A blue egg is dropped to them by a friendly sparrow flying over head and a lost woolly goat allows them to squeeze some milk. 

Upon opening the oven, Marbles finds a cake pan,  frosting and blue birthday candles.

Since there is nothing to plug the oven into, it is only logical that Paul and Marbles have to create electricity themselves. The friends each hold one prong of the oven's plug and run around in circles flapping their arms and dragging their feet to get static going. They can't stop until the oven reaches 400 degrees. It is exhausting.

Paul is so tired by the time the cake is done, he falls to the ground to rest. Marbles frosts the cake, lights the candles and sings "Happy Birthday". Then, Marbles cuts the cake and gives Paul the biggest piece. It is delicious! 

The friends stretch out on the ground and laugh and eat the cake as they watch the clouds slowly move across the sky...

 

 Ssssshhhhhh......... Let's not interrupt this dream.

Preliminary Sketches Before Baking...

Paul and Marbles Dream.

Here are a couple of preliminary ink drawings for a painting commissioned by Nick and Sarah Garbis as a birthday present for their son Paul. The drawings are of Paul surrounded by some of his favorite things.

Here is the list I was sent to work from:
 Most important......in order: Marbles, book(s), cake (Paul bakes solo now), bike, Paul, piano.

Quality time with an enormous stuffed panda bear.

And here is "Marbles":  

Marbles

As you can see, I got everything in but the piano which, in my defense, was ranked least important. Five out of six is not bad.

In my mind, the top sketch of Paul and Marbles collectively dreaming of a cake is the stronger of the two. It has a soft, ethereal feel. Plus, the cake and candles suggest a birthday. (But maybe I'll replace the oven with a piano. ...and use bright colors.)


I'll post the painting as soon as it's completed, probably early next week.
... and I promise, I'll resist the urge to have Marbles "licking on a light bulb" ...even if Beth pushes it!

Cornell University... and no one loses a limb!

This is a gift for Avery from her mother, Jaime Johnson, who is very proud of her daughter's achievements and entrance into Cornell University this fall.

Here is part of what Jaime wrote me:

 My oldest daughter recently graduated from high school.  This was a child born in considerable adversity.  I was young, single, and completely uneasy about raising a baby.  Her birth really sent me into a tailspin and I considered adoption, but then ultimately stepped to the plate and embraced what was before me.

I set aside many dreams and goals and maybe, in a sense, placed them on her.  Money was tight and life could get lonely, but she excelled beyond my wildest dreams!  Who knew I would have an AP Scholar, a National Merit finalist, et al.?

Jaime also told me that her daughter loves the Big Red Cornell thing (the school's bear mascot)! I placed a bear on the lawn in front of Myron Taylor Hall at Cornell's Law School. This could be a fear inducing scene but it didn't go that way. The bear is not tearing anything limb from limb or attacking any other Ivy League school students. He wonders at peace.
A blood-lust painting may be more popular... but I thought this was more to the point. Could be intimidating and scary, but it doesn't have to be. Just like college. Right?

In the sky, I added an landing airplane to commemorate Avery's arrival to this beautiful school.
I love watching airplanes. Every time I see a plane, I can't help but get a little dreamy in the head. I think about where it is going and who is on it. (I live on a flight path, so, you can imagine how time consuming this is). This is the first time I've had a chance I've had to use a plane in a Panda painting without it seeming gratuitous. (Or is it?).

Anyway, thank you Jaime for the opportunity to paint for you and Congrats to Avery!!!

...owls emerge from no where...

Sometimes when I'm feeling a little stuck on a painting, I'll start making another on the side, something that doesn't matter just to loosen up. I started this one right before I completed the paintings for Emma Berg. Owls were one of the themes that I tried to fit into her paintings but it never worked. They push their way in and take over a space.

I put this painting away not knowing what I was going to do with it. I thought I might paint over it. Yesterday, I decided to finish it before starting my next tiny painting.
 So here it is! It was commissioned by no one!
...But I put it up because I like it.

Beth told me I should paint Emma's face on the center owl. I considered it ... but thought that it sounded funnier that it would look. It would either come off too cute or too disturbing. Children's book or genetic engineering gone wrong!?

I initially had a dark blue sky as the background but thought the owls were getting lost in the dark. I then painted it flat yellow, liked the graphic quality, but thought it all looked to knit-pickily finished. So, I sanded off the top layer and outlined the owls with a Chinese brush and black ink. It's more alive now.

So what am I going to do with this painting? ...I'll  give it to Emma. It's really a companion to what she commissioned. We'll call it a late birthday present.

I'm working on two new paintings starting today... going to light a fire under myself to get them done quickly!
...but I never skimp.
I have a short line of paintings waiting but would love add more to the line up. So, email me with you commission at: panda@johnmegas.com
Love to hear from you!