Cubist-like, flattened? Man with a dog, bone, & cigarette

I was shooting for flatness, lines with no heft, or volume, depiction in two dimensions without the illusion of mass, when I drew this little shot - quite a few years ago. A reclining man is  smoking a cigarette, while making a dog jump up for a bone.  It seems like a summertime drawing, maybe after a picnic. I really like the feel of the chair but that may be because it is the only thing with any discernible three dimensional form.  I had been looking at a lot of Picasso but certainly this is not quite that either. The actual drawing has a crease down the middle. You can still see it a bit.

More abstracts: Purple Neon Night

This composition makes me think of unexpected chaos at night in New York City.  I like all the reds, purples, and dark brooding smoky blues, the hazy blackish green on the edges. It seems noisy, exciting, yet it's too much and the viewer is hiding. I am not sure what I am making when I do this sort of work. I just keep adding and tweaking until I am satisfied with the effect.

More circles in pastel

Android artwork:

More phone art

Woohoo!  More phone compositions. Different phone this time. Virgin Mobile. Prepaid. No contract. I sold the iphone and ditched ATT. I had 4000 plus rollover minutes, paid for 450 minutes a month I never used, and was starving for data.  Oh well. On the bright side, I'm paying half the bill and now am getting mostly data and only paying for 300 minutes a month i won't use.  I don't miss iOS at all even though I'm only on Froyo Android. Made with a free version of the MagicDoodle app. Something new everyday.....

Alice-Anne Harwood and Robert Messore: The Woulds wow

Out of New Haven -- The combination of Alice-Anne Harwood's clear evocative voice (both in the singing and as a lyricist) and Robert Messore's nuanced guitar work and excellent arranging make The Woulds superb. They are sooo worth hearing.  With heart and musical skill, poetic lyrics, an organic weaving of guitar and voice lines, an actual conversation between two musical entities - with humor & humanity  - well you have to hear them live. There isn't any substitute for it.  I saw them at the Buttonwood Tree in Middletown, for the Riverwood Poetry Series on Saturday night where  the duo performed both musical compositions and AA's poetry with a guitar accompaniment.

You can like their Facebook page at
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Woulds/161183917263131

Molten's new digs, and events

One notable thing that happened in January was the opening of Molten Java in its new location at 213 Greenwood Ave, in Bethel, CT. A lot of elbow grease went into this opening and it shows: everything is gorgeous.  This is a day shot of the front room.

There appears to be renewed interest in evening activities too. This was my vantage point for viewing last night's Open Mic - from the stairs you can see the whole room. Below, there was not a chair to be had with a view of the performers. It's a packed house these days. go early if you want a seat.

Nicholas Wells and his group played, Sal Saldagdo, Justin Virga, the host (whose name escapes me), young folks named Megan, Holly, etc. A few read poems.  Neal and Richard the old picker were there too. The list was long. I got a bit clastrophobic a little after nine and Henry Cort and I went home without playing. It was just as crowded the week before also. Maybe third is the charm.

There is a gallery upstairs and tonight from 6-8pm is an art show reception for Katie Bassett and Thomas Nackid whose work is up there right now.

At 8 Seth Lefferts plays. Might have to check that out since the Pears are not on....  Some events are sometimes listed here

First Casablanca open mic last night

Al Rivoli (above) who plays and sings at quite a few area restaurants, hosted his first open mic last night. It's on Wednesdays 7-10 in the Casablanca Restaurant's small bar. The food is good, the coffee really excellent. It looks like this room might well open to a large side-porch in summer also so stay tuned.  Michel Rae (left) and Sal (below) did a duo and they performed solo also. They are both members of The Hip Relacements. See them if you can!  Michel and Sal are at the Blue Chip next Thursday I hear.

 I had a great time, and got to play two sets since it was a first run and there were not too many signups. I did my first live performance (world premier haha) of Elves on Expresso and I think my new tune caused a few near-dancing moves at one table!