Several Paintings

Woman
Oil on linen

December, NOTL
Oil and ink on linen
(THROWN OUT)

Peonies
Oil on canvas

Tying Grapes
Oil on canvas-substitute

Shelley-fish

Shelley-fish, my cat Shelley, MIA
Oil on canvas

20cm   x 28cm
Framed

Irrigation

Irrigation
Oil on canvas
Work in progress

6 AM, Peaches Blossoming

6AM, Peaches Blossoming
Oil on Canvas, framed
25cm x 48cm

Autumn People (finished)

Autumn People
Oil on canvas
123cm x 62cm

Tree in Drought

Tree in Drought, Niagara-on-the-Lake, looking West
Oil on canvas
61cm x 46 cm

Another Look

I've forgotten what this one is called, but here is a better photograph then I had uploaded, what--two years ago?

Oil on canvas

Forked Radish

Forked Radish
Oil on canvas
60cm x 60cm

Proposed to me by Leah, or maybe I proposed it to her

Tree in Drought (Work in Progress)

Oil on canvas

Dirty Water

Dirty Water, Northern Ontario
Oil on canvas

Ancient Symbol

Ancient Symbol
Oil on canvas

"So, from the literary point of view, we may agree with St. Augustine that the ideas of the church of Christ existed for millennia before the coming of Christ himself. . . . At any rate, it demonstrably did so in China. To sum up: we have the single deity of three aspects, the ministrant spirits of the savior of mankind--divided, in this case, into the two sages. For if, to use a metaphor of Po-Chu-I from The Everlasting Wrong, we regard Confusius and Lao-Tsze as two birds each with only one wing, so that they may fly only together, we find almost exactly the reproduced figure of the Christian Savior. . ."
--Ford Madox Ford, The March of Literature (Dalkey Archive edition, p.65)

Larry's Last Steps

Larry's Last Steps
Oil on canvas

I recently had the opportunity to finish Larry's Last Steps. Here it is, framed. Finished.
There were those who said, Don't Change it! It's perfect! But I knew it needed a brushstroke or two.
I have to thank my Aunt Pudge for letting me do what I would with it.

R. I. P. Uncle Larry

The Air Whale

This is a story about an air whale that shit on Prime Minister Paul. Copyright held by the author.

THE AIR WHALE

 

When old ideas have come to pass, either a new

meaning must be found for them (the kind of meaning

possible in the world they now inhabit) or they lose their

meaning and the continued use of them is a levy on sense.

P. J. Purvis, The Offensive Art

1
.

The first authenticated air whale was spotted off the coast of Newfoundland in 2179. It was forty meters long and had a high volume of lighter-than-air gasses in great sacks that ribbed its body. It floated for several days then headed inland and landed on a farmer's shed in Westbrook, crushing it spectacularly.

For years reports of air whales continued as they continued to be explained in confused ways each time one would beech anywhere near a nerve-centre of civilization. Experts seemed to be studying the opinion -- not even the scientific fact -- of whether air whales didn't only purposefully drift over water. That is, if they didn't purposefully fall inland, intentionally.

Then an air whale obliterated a heritage site, a beautiful pioneer village. By 2201 air whale crashes were reported as far away as The Great Lakes.

The Canadian government's first reaction which was to kill the air whales over the ocean was not representative of the electorate. Despite the family-friendly term, Clearing, and the promise of whale blubber enriching the economy the debate raged for years whether or not it was necessary to kill the innocent animals; until a corporation was formed to deal with the increasing property damage.

“Maybe we could domesticate them,” said The Minister of Finance.

“Maybe we could screw propellers on them,” said The Minister of Defence.

“What do you think?” said The Minister of Education to Prime-Minister Paul.

Prime-Minister Paul thought long and hard.

The Ministers eventually left him to his thinking and the debate slowly dropped away as the shiny new corporation was left to its own devices.

The new debate which followed was the enormous costs it would be to keep the corporation open that kept air whales out of the media, not to mention off the Atlantic coast-line. As always there were a few people getting rich on the scheme and a developing tourist industry. Discontents usually found themselves the victim of an air-whale catastrophe.

2
.

Silvia had all the time in the world to become a young lady but she never really managed it. She read her science text-book.

“The air-whale debate is divided into two sides. There are those who say that air whales float and those that believe that air whales fly. Nobody has proven whether air whales have the capacity to control their flight. They seem to just go up and up! The more interesting question is whether air whales will ever truly escape the Earth's gravity and become great seeds for life on other planets!

Activity:

Draw a picture of an air whale!”

Silvia drew a picture on an air whale in space. Then she added a background.

The picture was an air whale exploding on the ground.

“Your Opinion:

Do you think air whales fly?”

Silvia thought for a moment.

“I don't know,” she thought. She wrote, “No.”

3
.

  "How's my young lady?” Silvia's mother asked her.

"The questions were easy.”

“Are you ready for a snack?”

“Yeah!” said Silvia.

It was Spring in Niagara. The blossoms popped like popcorn on the oriental fruit trees of the Niagara Peninsula.

4
.

Jimmy was a character in the novel, The New Tomorrow. He was an usher in an old theatre in the 20^th Century. He would sit people in their seats and then observe people's reactions as they watched the show. Afterwards he would talk nonchalantly with patrons. When a conversation started it would signal a new adventure. Jimmy's adventures were often funny, sometimes sad and poignant, sometimes scary. The New Tomorrow became a success and was adopted by the education curriculum. Jimmy became a household word.

Jimmying The New Tomorrow was a tell-all biography of the author.

5
.

The easiest way to make money is to collect tax. So how do you tax people without involving the government? Ask any billionaire.

Prime-Minister Paul usually worked on keeping The New World Order up and running but today he has decided to read The New Tomorrow. To see what all the fuss is about.

6
.

At school Silvia came to a difficult question. It was test-time.

"Friday the 13^th is an unrecognized holiday. The people who honour Friday the 13^th are

A) Pagans

B) Anarchists

C) Jews"

Multiple Choice Questions that could not be answered were considered none-of-the-above questions. Some students crossed out the question and the answers in mad marks. Some wrote, “Cannot be answered,” under the last option. All attempts to answer the question were marked wrong but one. And no one knew which one.

Silvia didn't know A B or C so she wrote: “D) People on the news.”

7
.

“How's my little girl?” asked Raymond.

“I'm fine,” said Silvia.

“Ah, ah, ah! Fine? A ticket? How are you?”

“Good!”

“Good to eat?”

“I'm well!” Silvia was laughing.

“Well!” Raymond puffed up in his clothes as though he had just been told the most wonderful thing. “How's Mommy?”

“Oh. She's not doing too well.”

“Oh? Why not?”

“She hasn't been good.”

“Oh?”

“She's fine.”

Everyday Raymond asked his daughter how his wife was doing. If she was fine then she had been bad. Raymond spent a lot of time explaining bad behavior to his daughter.

“Oh, you'll be a great lady some day!” said Raymond.

 

8

Raymond, Margarite and their daughter Silvia all by the end of their lives had been crapped on by a bird flying above them. For them and millions of others this was just one of those things.

The Prime-Minister was walking along reading The New Tomorrow. Jimmy was ushering. A huge shadow seemed to follow him down the side-walk...

The final version of this story can be found in Self-Arrest, a book written by me and someone else, i.e. Marvel Fassbender. Of course it is totally unavailable at the present time unless you would like a fax of the manuscript for an astronomical price. Over twenty dollars!

Untitled

Untitled
Acrylic on cork board
~90cm x 40cm

At the Carlton Heights pub. On Bunting across from the Mandarin, St. Catharines, Ont.

Stolen Bike

Stolen Bike, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.
Pencil on some sort of foam frame

I have to thank Kasia for giving me the foam frame and Russ for being around when I did it.

Man with Violin

Man with Violin
Oil on canvas board
(27.5 cm x 35 cm)

Another Look

Untitled but based upon a painting bequeathed to me by my good friend John F.'s family, origin unknown
Oil on canvas
79.5cm x 99.5cm

At this summer's art show I joked about the world needing another picture of an antlered animal. Of all the pictures I've ever done, this was the most against my will. If you saw the original work of art you'd be surprised to find a realistic and moving experience. Somehow I painted what my friend was right to call "Hanna-Barbara", a style that could not communicate what was so obvious. I mean, I think it looks like a moose-thing being shot in the neck--but it's caribou, which I've never seen and can only imagine.

A few postings back you'll find that I dedicated this painting to Chagall.

Possible titles:

What's that smell, Blood?
The Heft of Life
"It's A Trap!"

Man with Guitar (on Love-Seat)

Man with Guitar (on Love-Seat)
Oil on canvas
40 cm x 30 cm

In this early picture there is some problem in the congruency of the guitar--it's since been fixed.

Man in Chair

Man in Chair
Oil on canvas
56cm x 76cm

In this early picture there is a black line in the left forearm that has since been blended in.

The "Genius"

The "Genuis"
a.k.a. The Scream (Sitting Quietly in a Green Chair)
Oil on canvas
50cm x 76cm

Muddy Water

Muddy Water, Northern Ontario
Oil on canvas
9" x 12"

Options

Framed:

Bacchus's Theft Of The Stars (WORK IN PROGRESS)

Bacchus's Theft Of The Stars, Toronto, Ontario
Oil on canvas
76 cm x 91cm