dreams made solid

as I pondered earlier about the idea of dreams or thoughts becoming fossils I came across these lyrics...

Looking down on empty streets, all she can see
Are the dreams all made solid
Are the dreams all made real

p. gabriel

maybe our external manifestations of our thoughts and dreams and desires are actually the same thing as fossils--- the fossils of old bones or fingers. By that I mean they are plastic representations of possibility into external reality. We dream of building a house and we build the house...first comes the dream and then the tangible reality.

brooklyn cover

I received this in the mail today. If you live in brooklyn you will find this painting by gardega in your lobby and it will soon find a home in your kitchen cabinet next to your cambells soup cans...Gardega does not draw soup cans as he is more interested in landmarks. That is why if you take the elevator in the Chrysler Building you will stare into the numbers of glass panels created by your humble artist and he promises that the numbers add up to nothing except the sum total alex.

finger sculpture

I cannot stop thinking about the fact that they found a finger fossil only a fossil throw away from where I grew up! I decided to design a sculpture out of the fossil and will carve it in stone soon...here is my design...

fingers

I think about eyes and fingers a lot. I also am a big fan of fossils and the idea that something can become fossilized.. Imagine my supreme happiness upon making this discovery on the net this morning. There is much in this world to be learned when the TV is turned off..The best part about this discovery is that it happend very close to where alex grew up in texas. There was a park near my home that was called Dinosaur Park, I would go there as a child and play in huge footprints left behind by dinosaurs. Here is the letter confirming that this is indeed a human finger that has fossilized! I wish that thoughts could become fossils.

Dennis Petersen
4345 Stevens Ct.
Placerville, CA 95667

Dear Dennis,

I was first able to view what I now believe to be a fossilized human finger shortly after it was excavated. At that time my comment was "interesting".

The fossil clearly had the shape of a human finger. It had a fine taper of the tip, typical of a female finger. Male fingers tend to be a bit more blunt. The fingernail and cuticle were clearly visible and perfectly formed and proportioned. Nevertheless, I withheld judgment as to its authenticity knowing that rocks such as limestone can assume nearly any shape when they flow into a hole before setting up.

Several years later I was privileged to view the fossil again after it had been sectioned. At that time I observed that the fossil was not of uniform or random density and coloration. The internal appearance of the fossil was identical to what one sees when a human finger is sectioned. The skin margins and subcutaneous tissue were clearly delineated. The bone matrix was clearly defined, and features consistent with flexor and extensor tendons were present.

CT scans of the fossil likewise revealed the anatomical features of a human finger, as noted above.

It is my professional opinion that the fossil unearthed at Glen Rose, Texas, is, in fact, a petrified human finger and not an infill of a wormhole or similar artifact.

Sincerely,

Dale H. Peterson, M.D.

feedback

I have had over 20,000 views to this website but so few people leave feedback. I much prefer to hear from people (the nice people) feel free to leave your jumbled thoughts on my doorstep...just click on chat (below my photo) and enter a name or your name and babble away, it is easier than changing a sock...It makes me feel like I am not talking to myself which surely would be the sign of a crazy person..

artist of the day---coleridge

as a young artist I tried to immerse myself in as much literature as possible. I remember discovering that some writers stood out as giants compared to others (much like michelangelo stands out compared to the thumb less abstract expressionists.) Samuel Taylor Coleridge is the most visual writer I have ever discovered especially in his masterpiece "the rime of the ancient mariner..." He was a heroin addict and I am not sure if that was part of what enabled him to make such hallucinatory masterpieces but whatever it was it worked for him. A great artist named gustave dore later illustrated his poem and I think the art is almost worthy of the poem. I have included a small snippet of the poem below...

Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink ;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.

The very deep did rot : O Christ !
That ever this should be !
Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs
Upon the slimy sea.

About, about, in reel and rout
The death-fires danced at night ;
The water, like a witch's oils,
Burnt green, and blue and white.

gunthers watercolor

click below to buy my gunthers watercolor...


http://stores.ebay.com/art-by-gardega

gunthers

I did a gunther's watercolor today. Every time I paint or draw I try to try something new.. I prefer a different approach to the same song as I think it is important to focus on the journey and not the token that is left from the journey. Paintings and drawings are merely tokens, visual ticket stubs from a mental process. To get too caught up in making a piece or a statement is to lose sight of the process. I am not sure where I went with watercolor as I was trying to find a different kind of approach from all my other watercolors...time will always tell one if he fell or if he stood his ground. For me watercolors are always a psychological battle as the spirit you approach them with will bleed through like rain through a roof. I must have heard a hundred stories from the day drinkers I painted here.

gunthers

as my readers know I am a big fan of bringing my sketchbook in to dark and lonely bars and drawing the occupants and scenery therein. I have the old holiday urge to sit in a dark place and draw and paint and I haven't had the time in many months. My plate is full but I am slipping out to Kerouac's old haunt to hit the watercolor pad for a few hours...I will load them up for sale when I return..if you buy them you will be supporting me going to a bar in the day time and I am not sure if your conscience will be okay with that... Then again you will be buying works of genius and madness. I retain the right to refuse sale to anyone who buys my work because it matches their sofa--- unless I am painting a mural and then it does often make sense to consider all the elements in a room...I was supposed to go into NYC to meet with yellow pages but I am awaiting word....and If I get word I will drop my brushes and head in...

two great curses

as gardega sees it there are two great curses in life---one is to be born an artist and the other to be born rich..John Lennon often said it was a great curse to be an artist and sometimes I see his point of view. I enjoy my life and my lot but sometimes feel like I am in a carnival ride I cannot escape and that I have no other options because alex is scarcely fit to bag groceries outside of my art studio. Please do not think I am complaining I am only observing as was the practice preached by the ancient and wise Hindu's--- "observe thyself..." Often it feels that there is no way out of art and both feet are firmly sealed into the cement bucket of fate by a man with a with a diamond pinky ring. As for being born rich there is the tragedy of not really ever knowing what you may have become on your own sans silver spoon and without daddy's swollen piggy bank. In a sense you have the curse of your destiny laid out for you like clothes by a chambermaid. As Gardega ponders this dilemma he has decided that he will be born again in his next life as a rich artist!

stained glass eyes

As I walked through a darkened room yesterday my eye was drawn to what I thought to be a television flat screen above a large oak dining room table. I was amused when I realized that what I was really looking at was a small stained glass window that was illuminated from behind by an electric light. I found it infinitely more soothing and pleasing than a television and I began to think about stained glass and its use in churches and in windows in general. It occurred to the brain of gardega that stained glass was (in a sense) the forerunner of television!! As a child I was obsessed with magnifying glasses and found many uses for my lenses other than killing ants. I would wait until my parents were gone and sneak up to the TV and stare for hours at the matrix of tiny colors. If you look at a TV screen with a magnifying glass you will see it is broken down into small "bits" of color that is very much a micro- stained glass window. In the middle ages there was very little visual stimulation save for candle light and the occasional manuscript and only the rich had paintings...Imagine the impact the windows had on the eyes of a young artist who eyes were not swollen shut with you tube videos and foot powder commercials! Stained glass was used to convey messages just as mass-media would be five hundred years later ---It was hi def . I do not think it is an accident that life/ reality follows such paths as she does and it does surprise me that more people do not ponder such things....

keith richards

Tuesday is keith richards birthday and I have always appreciated him as an artist---Not as much for his music as such but if you have ever read an interview with him he has a very interesting intellect and philosophical take on art and life. Rumor has it he shares a birthday with another visual artist who I cannot currently recall the name of but I will research and find out....

twice told tale

I cannot remember if I ever posted this image but I will risk telling the same tale again for the sake of new viewers. Many years ago (10 to be exact) I was hired to do a group of beer labels for a brewery that was called Long shore brewery in long island. I really put my heart and soul into the labels as I was very excited about the idea of doing beer labels. This label is based on a rock off of long island called target rock. It is a rock that was used as target practice by the british in the revolutionary war. It was great doing research about long island and discovering as much as I could about landmarks etc. I do not think the beer lived up to what it could have been and the owners were cheap buffoons who I had to threaten to leave the project many times until they paid me. I think they were sunk by their own attitudes as opposed to external forces. I really enjoyed the artwork and creation of labels and have a few leftover to remind me of that event. This beer was the best tasting of the lot (if I recall...) As is my practice I have hidden little initial among the rocks of my girlfriend of the time...

sketchbook page

I have sold all but a few dozen of my teenage sketchbook pages. I think I sold about 1,000 drawings from my teen years and I dont really miss them...onward and upward. I found some more boxes if you are interested in owning work from the formative years of Gardega. Perhaps one day these drawings will put your children or grandchildren through college...This one is for sale on ebay

buy it now

STATUE OF LIBERTY

I am starting my statue of liberty painting today for the NYC Yellow pages.....did anyone get a queens or brooklyn gardega yellow page pop art cover on their doorstep yet? please let me know.....

illustration

I had half an hour this morning to do an illustration for citizens against government waste in washington DC. I do these for free and always try to do a decent job but I usually have no time and have to "get er done" before they go to print....they are a non- partisan group whose mission is simply to stop the government from buying $14,000 toilet plungers or starting a $3,000,000 thimble museum ...I dont even remember how or why I started doing their covers but they are worth doing. I am only posting it because it is for a good cause...please understand I had half an hour to finish entire piece..

the sandbox of life

As a child alex was stubborn beyond all things. I grew up, dear reader, on a farm in small-town Texas and as many children of my age I had a sand box in which I would create or destroy my own universe as I saw fit. It was not long before my sandbox was invaded by the unwelcomest army of guests---Texas fire ants whose sole reason for living was to displace the great gardega from his sandy kingdom of bliss. (I would remind my humble reader here that I have little recollection of this story as it was relayed to me many times by my dearest and lovely mum.) Fire ants have a sting that will send the toughest of cowboys running for the hills and they prefer to sting en masse as it is the best way to subdue large prey. It was my solid belief that these were invaders and therefore had no claim to my sandy domain. The ants felt very different than I and decided that I was an obstacle, a swollen tick that must be killed and removed and carried away in bite- size pieces. As a child who was oft prone to stubborn fits that were beyond explanation and beyond comprehension by my exasperated parents I was not interested in giving up my sacred turf to the scarlet army. My mother told me that I would scream and cry and shout but I would refuse to leave the sandbox as I was attacked and stung and bitten. If she took me away it would not be long before I would be back defending my turf. My stubborn nature eventually proved too much for even the marauding insects and gardega experienced his first victory where stubbornness prevailed over the external forces of nature. To this day my single minded and stubborn nature has guided me through many a sting by the cruel ants of doubt and despair in the sandbox of life.

viva the mule!

howdy folks

I had a long day on the second mural, in art the devil is always in the details...Tonight I have to do a free illustration for citizens against government waste in washington DC and then I have to start my statue of liberty painting!....It seems my brooklyn books are done so if you live and brooklyn and walk through the lobby of your building you will soon see Gardega's painting of the Brooklyn Bridge piled on the floor, to me that is very exciting to be a part of the Brooklyn Borough psyche!!!!! I had many thoughts today on life and love and will type them tonight!

does humor belong in art?

Frank Zappa asked this profound question many moons ago...As I am usually a pretty serious artiste I thought I would share something with you that made me laugh so hard I cried...I cannot understand why I laughed so hard, maybe I am crazy...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0eINGyJHz8&feature=related

damn good lyrics

He went to paris lookin for answers
To questions that bothered him so
He was impressive, young and aggressive
Savin the world on his own

But the warm summer breezes
The french wines and cheeses
Put his ambition at bay
The summers and winters
Scattered like splinters
And four or five years slipped away

Then he went to england, played the piano
And married an actress named kim
They had a fine life, she was a good wife
And bore him a young son named jim

And all of the answers and all of the questions
Locked in his attic one day
cause he liked the quiet clean country livin
And twenty more years slipped away

Well the war took his baby, the bombs killed his lady
And left him with only one eye
His body was battered, his whole world was shattered
And all he could do was just cry

While the tears were a-fallin he was recallin
Answers he never found
So he hopped on a freighter, skidded the ocean
And left england without a sound

Now he lives in the islands, fishes the pilins
And drinks his green label each day
Writing his memoirs, losin his hearin
But he dont care what most people say

Through eighty-six years of perpetual motion
If he likes you hell smile and hell say
Jimmy, some of its magic, some of its tragic
But I had a good life all the way


And he went to paris lookin for answers
To questions that bothered him so


J.Buffet

quote of the day

Be good and you will be lonesome
Be lonesome and you will be free
Live a lie and you will live to regret it
That's what livin' is to me
That's what livin' is to me

J.B.

degas sketches

I found an old degas sketchbook page today...I have no idea when I made this I assume I was 19...

here comes the flood

I was painting my mural today and I heard a blood curling scream from the maid. I ran into the master bedroom and saw that the floor and carpet was an inch deep in water. The tub had overflowed after being left on. I searched in the garage and found a shop vacuum and jumped into the pond hoping I didnt electrocute myself. I spent an hour in the soup doing my best to dry the carpet. I went downstairs and then I noticed that the water had seeped through the ceiling and onto the steinway piano. I feel bad for the maid and to let her choose if she would tell the homeowner...one of those days...

1,000

I have officially passed the 1,000 entry mark on this here thing and I would be more excited if I could find my damn paintbrushes!!

good morning

I promise I am only two more days on mural and then I will pay more attention to this thing. I intend to show my progress on my statue of liberty cover and then my painting of st. sebastian for NYC. Sorry for my laziness as I try to keep this thing interesting and generally pretty snappy. I cannot find my paintbrushes and will probably have a stroke this morning as I stress and look for them.

pancho

This was one of the best pets I ever owned. He was an exotic chicken that used to come up to my feet just to be picked up everyday. We gave him away when my family moved and I still miss the little bugger. I hate to say it but I never really truly named him but I would call him pancho sometimes for fun. I wonder if he is in chicken heaven or does he still walk among the earth chickens. When he would come up to me he would feign that he wanted to run away and let himself get caught. Its the little things in life that make it worth pecking around.

quote of the day

Paul Tournier - "Sooner or later, those who win are those who think they can."

good morning

alex is going to try to work at home today and catch up on pressing matters and blog work. I still have two days more on a mural but I will paint wed and thursday. Keep an eye out today as I will try to put up some new art as well.

alex

fine art

watch a man achieve his dream in front of your eyes!


click below


viva!

howdy folks!

I had a great day--- had to add touches to my mural before the floor is put into wine cellar. I have two more days on a second mural that will be done wed. I don't mind the mural work as it gets me out of my studio and into the air of different realities. Today, Gardega was painting and thinking about the vast Texas skies of my youth and the effect they had on the landscape of the internal majesty of my soul. As a child I chased fossils and grasshoppers and as an adult I chase the elusive lizard of excellence in my craft and seek divine perfection in my paints. Along the ill-mowed and rocky path I have stumbled and bruised my knees and even had the mossy-green rocks of jealousy thrown from friends and strangers (as I am not following a path of painting such slop as portraits of children and waterfalls and.. ) Instead Gardega raises his brush against the cruel sky of commercial flimsy and weak art and seeks to help my readers and collectors grow skyward with intellect and hope and belief that art is worth something and not something to be plucked cherry- like from the wilted branches of the Kmart tree. The parade of life marches ever onward into the unknown and it is with much gratitude to the watchers and to the collectors and even the revelers of this strange parade that I am able to continue onward and upward into the slippery street of destiny.

MUCHO THANKSO

video of Miami

I will be uploading some video of miami tonight...

happy monday

Today it is a bit of a cold a wet day in new york. I will be finishing my mural work today and then I will be starting a painting of the statue of liberty for the NYC Yellow Page cover. I may show the process of the book cover. I was invited to a Christmas party at the home where I painted my Da Vinci ceiling so I will be there on the 20th. After the Statue of liberty alex will begin his painting of st. Sebastian for an upcoming theme show in a NYC Gallery. I am not sure if St. Sebastian will be a glass carving or an oil painting. I received in the mail yesterday my copy of the dali novel titled "hidden faces." I am thinking of reading the entire novel aloud and recording for youtube as I am sure no one else has done that yet. I am waiting for my letter from the clinton's thanking me for my glass rendered portrait of hillary. I never vote because my split personality would vote against itself thereby canceling the purpose of voting and taking time away from my artwork.

quote of the day

"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -
-- Mahatma Gandhi

miami watercolor

Here is a better scan of the watercolor I made on my trip.

watercolor

I will try to rescan my watercolor that was on ebay so you can see it is better than the hatchet job scan that was done on it in miami..

whomever bought it --I will mail it this week...

Dali in south beach

The strange play and pattern of life never ceases to amaze me. At the opening of the gallery where I am showing in miami I met someone who used to work as Dali's assistant. I tried to get as much info from him as I could but I didnt want to be pushy. Most of the stories I cannot print on this site but i will try to edit what I can remember...

back in New York

I just returned from miami. It was my intention to meet a few of the people who collect my work in from my website but I got so buried I will try to return in feb. when art basel is not whirring around like a top. (I am sorry, I just got spread very thin by the whole thing.) I am exhausted and have to work on mural tomorrow to be finished before the new floor is put in. I need to start drawing and painting again as that is the real reason I started this whole thing, not to type tripe and gibberish. On my return flight I sat next to a Vietnam vet who was slowly losing his vision due to long term effects of agent orange. He told me he was trying to see as much art as he can in life before his vision is totally gone. It really got me thinking about how I take my vision for granted and what a great and profound gift thing the two little round things we call eyeballs really are.