secret paint ingredient

Today, I found out a great, secret paint ingredient that helps murals flow magically across ceilings...

Bengay

mural update

Brigette from Bucks County, Pa. sent me this screen grab today from the mural. ...I flipped it because technically the camera shows the mural "upside down". Above is my mural in progress and below is my reference art--- Leonardo's "Battle of Anghiari" I am adding color as per request of the homeowner and the original Leonardo (destroyed in the 16th century) was painted with color as well...This is my greatest technical challenge to date because of the difficulty involved with painting on a ceiling...I will be done on wed. and I am on schedule...I thin k tonight I will stay in and watercolor all night long.

mural update

I will be on the mural cam again today, I think around 11 AM I will start painting.

http://68.194.9.52:99/main_activex.cgi

if you are firewalled you can try variations of the toggle buttons on entry page.

If you log on please log out when you are done as opposed to leaving on all day.

thanks


I woke up at three AM with a title for a painting ringing in my head-- "dreams without shadows" was the title and I couldn't get back to sleep. I was thinking all night what that painting would look like. I think it would be about flight , shadows are much less apparent when you leave the earth in any form be it death, dream, or flight.

reston virginia

I would like to thank whomever is from Reston Virginia for being such a faithful follower of my artistic dribbles.

mural photo

Here is another mural photo/ video grab from the lovely Mary DeSilva from WFAS in Westchester. She is a great DJ and really nice person so if you live up there tune into 103.9!

mural photos

Here is a photo/ screen grab from the mural cam (thanks Brigitte!) I put the blue tape up in the morning to force myself to only work on one side of the mural as I tend to work around the entire picture to keep from growing bored. I decided I needed to focus and get one side done so I could feel like I was on schedule for deadline. My neck and back are really feeling the two weeks but I am finally feeling like it is really coming together.

update

I will be working on the Da Vinci mural again today. I will be finished by Tuesday (at latest, Wednesday. ) If anyone can email me a screen shot from the "mural cam" today I would be most thankful...

brooklyn

today I will be in brooklyn making a glass sculpture, back on mural tomorrow. Ill try to photograph the glass when done

quote of the day

"Once you say you're going to settle for second, that's what happens to you in life."

schedule

I will be on the mural cam again today at noon. I will be in Brooklyn studio tomorrow.

mural update

Here is my daily ceiling mural progress shot. I am really feeling the effects of painting a ceiling on my back and neck but I am getting closer to the end game. The mural is a copy of Da Vinci's Battle of Anghiari. It is more difficult than I had expected to paint such a detailed picture on a ceiling but I am gaining some ground in the battle. The twin angels of color and drawing are guiding me through into the light of day. In the very end I will have a time lapse video to show the entire two week progress.

Mural Cam

Back on mural Cam around ten today. Still pushing to finish by Friday but I will allow another two days or so of detailing (if needed.) If you are not blocked by a firewall you can view here.



you can see some images here if you are blocked by a firewall.

www.fonesys.com/leonardo ( I am not sure what files these are I am an artist not a techie)


enjoy your day...

mural study---horse drawing

Here is one of the studies for the mural I am painting. The mural is a copy of the Battle of Anghiari by Leonardo. I have been painting for a week and will be done by Friday (if it all goes well.)


click here to buy.

mural Nov 12th.

Here is the latest update of my ceiling mural. It is a "snapshot" from the video cam so it is not quite the quality of a photograph. Today I added my first color to the mural and started to visually refine it to where it really looks like something. I think the homeowner was getting a bit nervous because I paint in glazes in oil paint and therefore it a very slow process to get to the point where it starts to really shine and read as a painting. Even I get impatient because I want to show what I can do with paint but I have to restrain myself and get the drawing and tones perfected in monochrome first.


(thanks to Rebecca K. for for the screenshot)

mural cam

I will be back on my mural today. If you wish to watch the progress you can try the link after 9 AM. Some firewalls are preventing access so you can try toggling some of the buttons in the entry page and see if that works. (tech speak)


mural cam

quote of the day

Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth. John F. Kennedy.

Sea Urchin News

Anyone who knows anything about Dali knows that he had a deep rooted fascination with many things he considered to contain certain "magical" properties. He had a preoccupation with the sea urchin and included it in much of his work. I have a book in which dali puts a hole in the urchin shell and uses it as a lens to look through. They have recently studied the genome of the sea urchin and have made amazing discoveries about it that were previously unknown. If you want to read the article I will put the link here!


here is a snippet of article:

"The sea urchin is surprisingly similar to humans," said George Weinstock of Baylor College of Medicine and co-director of the sea urchin-sequencing project. "Sea urchins don't look any more like humans than fruit flies, but about 70 percent of sea urchin genes have a human counterpart, whereas only about 40 percent of fruit fly genes do."

In a special report detailed in the Nov. 9 issue of the journal Science, research teams describe the genome of the purple sea urchin, revealing not only human-urchin similarities but also features such as the urchin's immune system, which far surpasses that of humans.

Adirondack Watercolor

I decided to repaint one of my Adirondack Watercolors for a collector and friend who left her work in a cab in NYC. She was terribly upset so I replaced her work for free but never repainted this until today. It is strange to paint a landscape without looking at a landscape. (I was looking at my copy of the original.)

good news

amidst the bad news that is fed to us daily I stumbled upon this news article today that made me very happy. One of my favorite places in the world is New Orleans and when I go there I try to stay in the garden district just outside the French Quarter. I was going to go there not too long ago and found out that the street cars were not running since Katrina. I found out today that the street cars are back up and running and this is Good News for the mind of Alex and the soul of America!

Ten Dollar Owl

I have always had a good eye for picking out shapes or patterns or finding hidden things in pictures etc. On more than one occasion I have hidden faces of my ex girlfriends or their names in my book covers. (Once I hid my girlfriends name in a wave in the sea on a beer label.) I am sure if I was an engraver for the national treasury I would do the same! I am not saying what I see on the ten dollar bill is definitely "there" I would like you to decide this for yourself. I personally think it is a pretty strong image of an Owl in the hair of Hamilton. The owl does have significant cult associations etc. but I will not go into that I am just curious if you think it is a mistake or a real image. Take out a ten dollar bill and look closely to the hair on the right side of Hamilton's head.

portrait of Lexi

Here is a glass portrait I made many years ago of an ex- girlfriend. I am remaking this piece into a series to go with my Ophelia suite. I will probably have one of these in my Miami show in Dec.

adirondack watercolors

I found this on my computer today. Someone bought this in May and lost it in a cab in NYC. I may repaint a new version and gift it to her as I gave her other replacement art on me (but no Adirondack studies were included.) I have some more original Adirondack watercolors I will upload today as well.

Davinci Geometry

I am so sick of all this stuff about the secrets of the last supper etc.. The only secret behind his painting is his geometry which is clever but I figured it out and was asked to remove by a patent attorney who wished to form a partnership but I am going to re-post it and explain the truth behind that painting.

sacred crab

bill of artistic rights

Today I found a copy of the Bill of Rights I had ordered off of ebay in my mailbox! I recommend all Americans own this document and hang it next to your original Gardega.

age four

I found this tonight. I drew this at age four and I am not sure why. I really liked horror movies as a kid so that may explain why I drew Boris Karloff. I showed this to my mom and she had no idea who he was so I remember getting mad...

upcoming schedule

I will be on my ceiling mural until November 16th. After that I may be doing a second mural for the wife of my current patron until November 23. Upon completion of murals I have three glass sculptures to make for my opening in Miami on Dec 5th. I will be attending art Basel in South Beach until the 11th and then return to New York to start my St. Sebastian painting and one glass sculpture for CFM gallery (NYC) opening in February. After that I will be probably be moving to Brooklyn in march to escape the white picket fences of the suburban dream.

humorous thought I had today...

you put the art in kmart.

ceiling mural

Here is a video snap of me working on ceiling. It is hard to see much detail but I will take a good picture when finished. The video will be time lapse on youtube. I am learning the difficulty of ceiling murals that have high detail levels. I am getting better as I go along at controlling the brush on an extended arm as opposed resting the hand on the surface as I normally do...thanks for pic, Mary!

The ceiling is 5 foot by 16 foot and is in a wine cellar.

off to the mural

I am off to get back to work on my ceiling
mural and will be on the "mural cam" at noon...

an idea

sometimes you make good art and sometimes bad art...I think one must consider the following criteria when making a piece! One cannot always meet all criteria, sometimes it is enough to meet one of the criteria!


AMBITION! Was your work heroic and back breaking in its Napoleonic proportions? If so, one may overlook the spot of wine that stains the table cloth of perfect rendering!


GENIUS! Did the angels of divine inspiration guide your brush into the light of artistic salvation?

PATIENCE! Did you render a perfect pear amidst rapine and pillage?

FEAR! Did you spit in the face of fear and fight boldly the demons of doubt?

CONCEPT! Did you coax from your muse the flame of wisdom?

these are just some ideas to chew on as you paint alone in your studio...

Nothing Exists

Yamaoka Tesshu, as a young student of Zen, visited one master after another. He called upon Dokuon of Shokoku.

Desiring to show his attainment, he said: "The mind, Buddha, and sentient beings, after all, do not exist. The true nature of phenomena is emptiness. There is no relaization, no delusion, no sage, no mediocrity. There is no giving and nothing to be received."

Dokuon, who was smoking quietly, said nothing. Suddenly he whacked Yamaoka with his bamboo pipe. This made the youth quite angry.

"If nothing exists," inquired Dokuon, "where did this anger come from?"

the owl and the pussycat

I drew this in third grade as an illustration to my favorite childhood story, the owl and the pussycat. Even as a child I had a fascination with the baroque and with borders and ornament. I am convinced that ornament and geometry have some deep rooted Jungian aspects to them as I have a deep- rooted compulsive need to ad ornament and borders to much of my work (even today.) I think that geometry is a higher language because three dimensional space can be interpreted in two dimensional space. Three Dimensional "cubeland" can be understood in Two D "flatland." Many crop circles are actually two D representations of three dimensional objects. Perhaps if there was a higher intelligence trying to speak to humans they would use geometry and sacred geometry as well. Zen koans are made to awaken people to a higher plane of reality, they are almost representations of three dimensional thought that are made to be understood from a two dimensional or lower plane of reality. Parables work much the same way. The expression "pearls before swine" (I believe) alludes to this to some degree.

artwork

sorry I have been light on uploading art lately. I am stretched thin with projects and my neck kills me at the end of the day so I am not drawing when I get home. I will be back at the easel soon.

spanish artists

my favorite Spanish artists!


Velásquez

Goya

Gardega*

Dali



* not Spanish

Last supper update

I have found out that Fox may not be airing my last supper piece as was planned. The idea of the piece was mentioned in Page Six prior to me ever laying down a brush and two weeks later a photographer stole my thunder by photographing a bunch of guys in leather in the last supper and gaining the attention of Fox for a full week so it seems my thunder was stolen by that. The annoying part is that photography takes three hours to set up a shot but painting takes skill and passion and blood and time and years of dedication. I spent two hundred hours on my painting and was blinded by the instantaneous flashbulb of digital non-art. In order to be a great artist one must not even spend one infinitesimal moment lamenting anything ever that doesn't work out. I have been on TV before and will be on again and have already figured out attack plan B. Of course there was no concept behind the photographer's piece aside from cliche shock-art. I created a valid statement on media being the new religion and I stand by my piece conceptually! My plan B is more exciting and will be revealed soon. I was rewarded for my patience with a life-changing phone call yesterday that I will share when the time is right.

viva gardega!

mural cam

I will be on mural cam at noon as I have to ship my art to miami this morning.

Copying

My favorite angry stalker "annie nomous" asked why I do so much copying of other artists as opposed to originals!! I love good questions! Alex will now answer...


As a child I wanted to be Rembrandt and was not, as a teen I wanted to be Dali and failed miserably, as an adult I wanted to be Gardega and became such.

It is a most important and time-honored practice to copy other artists. Every great genius has set up base camp on the mountain of another artist. The guide ropes are true and the Sherpas willing to help carry the heavy burden of great potential. Eventually you will be left on your own to grope blindly towards the peak. I spent thousands of hours and drew thousands of copies of other artist through my childhood and teens and adulthood--- the knowledge gained was invaluable. Eventually the great stew that you have made from you your studies becomes something unique and palatable. Now matter how much you wished you were Da Vinci one can only become oneself!

puzzles

I am not going to put up more puzzles unless requested as the brain of alex is bored with them...I will be back on mural cam today.

puzzle answer

blackmail---not spot check...

mural photo

Here is an update of my progress on my Da Vinci ceiling for those who cannot view the mural cam, this is a screenshot of the cam. I thank the lovely techno wiz Rebecca for this pic. I will soon post Mary's pics who is equally as lovely and a wonderful DJ as well...

grey

I decided to put up a grey background to get New Yorkers excited about the greyness of the winter ahead.

Miami

I start shipping my first artwork to my gallery opening in Miami. I have also booked my hotel within walking distance to Art Basel. It has been a long time since I escaped the studio...

puzzle of the day

This one is a tad harder for those who said they were too easy...

mural cam

I will be working on mural today. If you are able to log into my mural cam you can watch me start over from scratch!!! The home owner and I decided to move the ceiling lights to allow me to paint larger and without spacial constriction. Starting over is a lot of work but it is the best thing to do for the project. If you watch around 9:30 you can watch as I white out my original drawing!


http://68.194.9.52:99/main_activex.cgi

if you have trouble logging in you can try toggling some of the buttons regarding firewall and browser etc. some firewalls will not let you in at all.

after ingres

I drew this as a teenager, it was/is a copy of ingres. If you own it and have framed it I would love a copy of photo...

sketchbook page

This was a teenage sketchbook page I made when I worshiped Lautrec. I think this was lost by a client in a cab after she bought it...

sketchbook page

I have no idea who bought these and where they now reside...

select pieces

I decided to pick some pieces I made in the last six months and put them up for viewing again. I may sell prints of some of my favorites...

dali quotes

At the age of six I wanted to be a cook. At seven I wanted to be Napoleon. And my ambition has been growing steadily ever since.
Salvador Dali

Democratic societies are unfit for the publication of such thunderous revelations as I am in the habit of making.
Salvador Dali

Don't bother about being modern. Unfortunately it is the one thing that, whatever you do, you cannot avoid.
Salvador Dali

Drawing is the honesty of the art. There is no possibility of cheating. It is either good or bad.
Salvador Dali

Each morning when I awake, I experience again a supreme pleasure - that of being Salvador Dali.
Salvador Dali

Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it.
Salvador Dali

I do not paint a portrait to look like the subject, rather does the person grow to look like his portrait.
Salvador Dali

I don't do drugs. I am drugs.
Salvador Dali

I have Dalinian thought: the one thing the world will never have enough of is the outrageous.
Salvador Dali

I seated ugliness on my knee, and almost immediately grew tired of it.
Salvador Dali

In order to acquire a growing and lasting respect in society, it is a good thing, if you possess great talent, to give, early in your youth, a very hard kick to the right shin of the society that you love. After that, be a snob.
Salvador Dali

Instead of stubbornly attempting to use surrealism for purposes of subversion, it is necessary to try to make of surrealism something as solid, complete and classic as the works of museums.
Salvador Dali

Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings.
Salvador Dali

It is good taste, and good taste alone, that possesses the power to sterilize and is always the first handicap to any creative functioning.
Salvador Dali

Let my enemies devour each other.
Salvador Dali

Liking money like I like it, is nothing less than mysticism. Money is a glory.
Salvador Dali

Mistakes are almost always of a sacred nature. Never try to correct them. On the contrary: rationalize them, understand them thoroughly. After that, it will be possible for you to sublimate them.
Salvador Dali

Painting is an infinitely minute part of my personality.
Salvador Dali

Progressive art can assist people to learn not only about the objective forces at work in the society in which they live, but also about the intensely social character of their interior lives. Ultimately, it can propel people toward social emancipation.
Salvador Dali

Surrealism is destructive, but it destroys only what it considers to be shackles limiting our vision.
Salvador Dali

Take me, I am the drug; take me, I am hallucinogenic.
Salvador Dali

The difference between false memories and true ones is the same as for jewels: it is always the false ones that look the most real, the most brilliant.
Salvador Dali

The first man to compare the cheeks of a young woman to a rose was obviously a poet; the first to repeat it was possibly an idiot.
Salvador Dali

The only difference between me and a madman is that I'm not mad.
Salvador Dali

The secret of my influence has always been that it remained secret.
Salvador Dali

The terrifying and edible beauty of Art Nouveau architecture.
Salvador Dali

The thermometer of success is merely the jealousy of the malcontents.
Salvador Dali

There are some days when I think I'm going to die from an overdose of satisfaction.
Salvador Dali

There is only one difference between a madman and me. The madman thinks he is sane. I know I am mad.
Salvador Dali

Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing.
Salvador Dali

Wars have never hurt anybody except the people who die.
Salvador Dali

We are all hungry and thirsty for concrete images. Abstract art will have been good for one thing: to restore its exact virginity to figurative art.
Salvador Dali

What is a television apparatus to man, who has only to shut his eyes to see the most inaccessible regions of the seen and the never seen, who has only to imagine in order to pierce through walls and cause all the planetary Baghdads of his dreams to rise from the dust.
Salvador Dali

quote of the day/night

It takes a wise man to discover a wise man.
Diogenes

final brooklyn book cover

Here is the final Brooklyn book cover for Ambassador Publishing in NYC. I may make a tiny secret change but I had a meeting today and they are happy with the piece.

in the mail

A collector of mine sent me some photos of the work he bought and had framed. I really enjoy seeing my work framed and displayed correctly in someone's home and I get annoyed when I give family or friends artwork and it remains unframed ...I'll try to post more of his pictures up on my blog soon soon... These pictures are from left to right ( self portrait as a teenager, Ophelia print, dark self portrait as a teenager) A good frame is like a good conscience, both are a joy forever. If anyone wants to send me pictures of my framed work I would be grateful!

Thanks Donald!

mural cam

The mural cam is on as I think the wood worker is in wine cellar. When you click on link there are a few buttons that ask if you are behind a firewall etc. If you try clicking on a few combinations of those you should get access to the cam. Some people could not view it because the firewall did not let them in so that may help you. I will not be in there until tomorrow...



click here to view.

new puzzle

Okay, here is a harder one! Barry said they are too easy, this one is a bit harder. Here you go Barry. I may stop these soon, not sure, I just have them on my computer so they are something to look at when I am off in mural land or Brooklyn studio...

Puzzle Of The Day

Here is todays puzzle! It is medium in difficulty...actually, it is fairly easy...I will be in NYC and Brooklyn studio today as my neck needs a break from staring at ceiling and I will be back on mural tomorrow! Enjoy the crisp weather...

Brooklyn Day

Today I will be in Brooklyn working on some glass art and will be back tomorrow on mural cam.

mural cam

If you have a firewall you may not be able to view mural....Soon it will be on youtube so do not worry.

mural cam

the cam will not start (motion sensor) until I am in room so around 9:30 or a bit later you should be able to view the cam...I am just finishing drawing the battle to transfer to ceiling...

mural cam

if you scroll down two entries there is a link to watch me live on a video as I paint a mural on a ceiling.... starts around 9 or 9:30.

Gardega's Game

What phrase or symbol is this one? This is medium difficulty! Yesterday's answer was FREEZE FRAME If you click on the link on my previous entry you can watch me paint a mural on my "mural cam" Today I will be working on the centerpiece called the Battle of Anghiari (Google this as I am too busy to explain the piece) I had my own battle with the God's of Saki last night and so I am excited for eight hours of ceiling painting! (I am actually excited to paint the battle as it is a great piece of art to attempt.) I will be starting around 9:30 AM, so I will not be on cam much before that...The mural is in Brookville NY in wine cellar in a beautiful home...ramble on...

mural cam...

Here is the link to my mural cam! It is the video process of me painting my Da Vinci inspired mural. Eventually I will release it as a time lapse, You Tube Video--- for now you can see me breaking my neck as I work on a ceiling in real time (or at least one frame every five seconds...) If it is night it will be a dark image of nothing as I will not be there! You do not need to enter a password as you will be auto-logged in as a guest...

click here to link to mural real time video...

back to my mural...check in later.

gardega's game

Okay folks...I gave you too many easy ones, this one requires thought and grey matter! (Its not really that hard but it is harder than the early ones...)

mural

I will be painting my Da Vinci ceiling today. When I return home I should be able to set up a link to the time lapse video...

mural study

Here is a study made on parchment of the scroll work which will border my ceiling mural. The mural is roughly 16 foot by 4.5 foot. There will be lettering from Da Vinci's notebooks used a part of the design element as well. The center of the mural will feature the Battle Of Anghiari that Leonardo painted and only exists through the studies and sketches of his original by later artists...I only need to draw and design one set of scroll work as the same scroll will be used on both ends of the mural.


click here to buy

alex's obsessions

The brain of Gardega is obsessed and preoccupied with the following:


Dali

Horseshoe crabs

Leonardo

Sacred Geometry (especially the flower of life)

Religious art and iconography

Ammonia

Carl Jung

Gnomic spirals

the quantum concept of a holographic universe

angels

early Americana (coins and stamps)

mailboxes (especially rusted ones)

sacred crab

today alex made a horseshoe crab breakthrough which is pure Dalinian in its brilliance! Alex may speak to patent attorney first before posting!

puzzle of the day

This is a bit more difficult! If you are the first to email an answer you get a free sketch! The only catch is you have to mail me a self- addressed- stamped- envelope!

Ebay Today

I will try to get my ebay store going again today. I shared a bottle of wine with my framer yesterday evening and somehow wound up buying two hundred dollars worth of frames...

Time Lapse Camera

I prepped entire ceiling today. I will work on design this weekend and and resume work on Monday. I am very excited to share that the entire process of my Da Vinci mural will be filmed on time lapse video! I will either have a set up that enables you to view the process from a website or have a link direct to my blog. On the way home from mural I realized that I put my sketchpad and drawings in the back of my pick up so half of my Da Vinci studies took flight on the expressway and stuck to the grill of Mack truck behind me. I wonder what he thought we he stopped and pulled the drawings out of his grill and found that they were very detailed drawings of Leonardo....

update

Ceiling is all prepped for my Da Vinci mural...I will upload photos when I return in the early evening...Okay, time for a puzzle that will require some thought...

todays puzzle

Here is todays puzzle. I will be off painting my Da Vinci ceiling today. I will be making every effort to set up a time lapse video as well. I will be back this evening. This puzzle is another easy one, I do have some harder ones coming soon but I want you to get used to it first.

update

I have emailed my Brooklyn cover off for review. Tomorrow I start my Da Vinci ceiling mural that will soon be set up for Time lapse photography that can be viewed online. Tonight I will work most the night on my own work and maybe even upload some of it for viewing. I have sent a package/ letter today to a very important scientist regarding my next masterpiece. (I hope he accepts my proposal!

Brooklyn Bridge Book Cover

Here is the Brooklyn Bridge cover. I am sure there will be some changes to it as art directors enjoy making me change stuff! Anyone have any comments?

alexgardega@gmail.com

Brooklyn Progress

Here is my "in progress" Brooklyn bridge illustration..it is a combination of acrylic paint and photoshop. I think it a good start but it needs work....I will finish tonight...

another puzzle...

I decided the last one was too easy---here is one that is a few clicks harder...what is this word/phrase/ or saying?

todays puzzle

Here is todays puzzle!!

It is much easier than yesterdays! Can you figure out the meaning, word or phrase I am getting at here? (This one is a four on a ten scale of difficulty.)

email me if you get it!
alexgardega@gmail.com

brooklyn bridge --sneak peak

Here is a gimpse at my brooklyn bridge book cover I am painting. I do not want to reveal too much until it is closer to being something worthy of gardega!

thursday

Today is a brooklyn bridge day. I must finish the cover by today---hopefully. Will upload progress..

Today's Puzzle Answer!

CLOCKWISE!

the shadow of death

Death walks a lonely shore followed by a long and timeless shadow. I made this watercolor today as I was thinking about life and death. I think one true sin in life is not living while one is alive. Death is the yin to the yang of life, it is what gives life its flavor and its color and its meaning because you cannot have life without its compliment, death. There is no light without shadow and there is no cold without hot etc.. etc.. Life often seems like a long ride to a beach you'll never arrive at and when you finally arrive you realize you should have spent more time looking out the car windows enjoying the ride. Not the greatest metaphor but the point is made. The strange thing about this watercolor is if you closely at the top left you will see the sign for infinity which is marked into the watercolor paper by the maker of the paper...

"there are no accidents round here" peter gabriel

Answer to the puzzle will be posted at 5pm

in case you were stumped...you can email me for clues as well.

strange world---alone with the sky

lost my time lost my place in
sky blue
those two blue eyes light your face in
sky blue
i know how to fly, i know how to drown in
sky blue

warm wind blowing over the earth
sky blue
i sing through the land, the land sings through me
sky blue
reaching into the deepest shade of
sky blue

sky blue
so tired of all this traveling
so many miles away from home
i keep moving to be stable
free to wander, free to roam

train pulled out said my goodbyes
sky blue
back on the road alone with the sky
sky blue
theres a presence here no one denies
sky blue

sky blue

sky blue
so tired of all this traveling
so many miles away from home
i keep moving to be stable
free to wander, free to roam

i can hear the same voice calling
crying out, from my heart
and that cry, what a cry
what a cry, its going to be
if i can stop to let it out, oh

www.gardega.com

tonight I will be working on my main website and uploading new art and pulling out the old...

strange world---solstice

A quiet peace before departure.

Strange World----western dream

Some call it heavenly in it's brilliance
Others, mean and ruthful of the Western dream
I love the friends I have gathered together on this thin raft
We have constructed pyramids in honor of our escaping
This is the land where the Pharaoh died


jim morrison

Mural update

I start my Da Vinci mural on Friday and I am looking forward to painting a ceiling...We are trying to set up a time lapse video of entire mural process which will be a first for me....

change

I will not be in brooklyn today, I will be in tomorrow. Today I will paint the Brooklyn bridge and and upload progess..

einstein

Albert Einstein - "Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."

ebay store

I will set up my ebay store again tomorrow...let it go for so long...

DAILY DALI

When Dali was a child in Spain he was deathly afraid of grasshoppers! Anyone aware of his work will notice the use of grasshoppers in many of his paintings. He eventual went on to name himself "The Grasshopper Child." This is my surrealist Dali fact of the day...

Brooklyn

I am going to stop painting my brooklyn bridge and drive to the real thing as I have to do some glass art today! It felt odd not to have the Last supper looming over me in my living room yesterday, I felt lost...

alex

Gardega's Game

Here is a little game for my faithful followers. There are two images (symbols) that form a word or phrase I have made a lot of these and this one is a bit difficult, I should have started with a simpler one but I have faith in my readers! You will know when you have the right word trust me... email me right answer at alexgardega@gmail.com. Maybe I will send a free gift. IT IS NOT NIGHT OWL!

Here is the final photo! I may do some slight touch-ups but at some point you have to put a painting into a coffin or a bed and move on. Gardega gives himself an A for concept, an A for effort and a B- for execution. Gardega would have preferred three months of uninterrupted work on this piece but he is on many projects and he is happy with 32 square foot work of Genius.

The oldest living animal

Scientists recently found a living clam that is estimated to be over four hundred years old. They are certain that there are clams alive that are well over 600 years old , This means there were clams alive when Leonardo drew his first breath that are still alive today.

Great Website

I found a great website that lets you zoom around the original last supper mural (and it is high resolution so you can really get a nice view.)


click here

Tuesday

Woke up at 2:30 Am to go running and then finish my painting before daybreak. I need to start my brooklyn book cover which I have been avoiding...The good thing about running at 3 AM is that the high school track is pretty empty and the stars are pretty bright...

last supper...

I have only to add some detailing tonight and I can call this work finished! I estimate I spent 200 hours on this work. I find the final details and oil glazes to be the most fun, the cherry on the sundae, so to speak. I will work on the table top a bit and add few glazes on the face- shadows etc. ,then I can have my window back and let light in my place again. It has been a journey and as best I can tell will end/ begin with news coverage. I may add some oysters to table tonight as well...

clouds over a mall

I would rather have a root canal drilled than go to a shopping mall. Recently, I had to visit a mall to buy some clothes that don't have paint all over them. As I was leaving the mall I turned to see the these clouds rising majestically over the suburban sprawl. Photography is occasional good for something.