You know, I think that the multiplex is one of my favorite places to be ever. I know that many of my compatriots are movie purists, preferring the classically restored theater or the ratty, old, lived-in art house…but I don’t. Some old time theaters do a great restoration and I am glad they exist, but I love me some stadium seating, and I enjoy the souped up sound systems of some of the better multiplexes. Don’t even get me started on IMAX. A real, true IMAX theater (with the massive screen) is awesome. I saw Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire at the Loews Metreon IMAX theater in San Francisco, and I felt like I was actually at Hogwarts….and the IMAX dome? Yes, it’s nerdy, and you usually have to go to the local planetarium or science museum to experience one, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t totally amazing! If I could watch UFC matches on the IMAX dome, or even just a good IMAX screen, I would–every single time, and I’d pay 20 or 25 bucks to do it. Heads up to Dana White…think about it!
Around the 6-month anniversary of the Occupy Oakland protests, I thought it might be a good thing to create this tribute. I am the first one to admit that I never made it down to Frank Ogawa to join in the marches, nor have I agreed with all of the decisions made and actions taken by the protesters. I do, however, have much respect for the passion and sincerity of my students and colleagues who participated in some of the Occupy protests. Moreover, I am very pleased to have witnessed an uprising that–especially in cities like Boston and New York–saw young college activists standing alongside middle-aged working folks of many different races, organizing around their shared interests. If nothing else, the Occupy movement did at least bring the uneven distribution of wealth to the fore in ways that forced politicians to have to talk about it. That, in and of itself, is something of a miracle.
This is a very stylized drawing of one of the busy shopping districts in this area–like Piedmont or College Ave. in Oakland, or Park Ave. in Alameda. There are sewing shops and ice cream shops on Park and Piedmont. I also decided to turn my logo into a street sign. I think I’ll probably use this method of depicting local shops again in the future.
I’ve really missed this space for sharing and getting feedback on my drawings. In my other life I am a professor, and I’ve been up to my eyeballs in writing and research recently. Hence, I’ve had little time to post my latest work. I’m posting three today, just to share what I’ve been up to over the last couple weeks. I hope you enjoy what you see!
This drawing is based on one of the security officers at Farmer Joe’s Market at MacArthur and 35th. I changed his hair and removed the beard and dressed him in a gloriously green suit and tie, a la old school R&B style. I was watching some old Soul Train footage on YouTube, and I just loved the classic clips of some of those great soul groups of the 1970s. Do you remember the Spinners, the Stylistics, The Temptations, The Dramatics, or Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes? This drawing was inspired by their amazing coordinating suits.
I always enjoy drawing textures. They are fairly time-consuming to render, but there’s something truly relaxing about the focus and rhythm of creating intricate patterns. Sweaters are prefect these types of drawings, and I hope to include a few more sweater-clad subjects in this series before summer weather comes in.
A babyface and thick bushy sideburns attracted me to the subject of this post. He was, in fact, wearing a tie and sweater, just as I have depicted him in this drawing. He was shopping at the Bayfair Mall with family, and I surmised that he had just arrived from church.
Ever been to the Crate & Barrel in San Francisco’s Union Sqaure? How about the CB2 around the corner? If you’ve shopped at either one of these stores, you’re probably wondering the same thing that I am: Do straight couples no longer buy furniture in San Francisco? Seriously! Whenever I’m shopping at one of those two stores, I see pair after pair of gentlemen friends with perfectly trimmed hair and meticulously fitted jackets, jeans, and tops. Oh! And great posture, too. I see them gathered in twos around the staged living room sets, murmuring between themselves about color and custom fabrics. I want to ask them for help–for their expert opinions about whether or not they think the Oslo dining table would go well in a dining room with dark blond wood floors, Benjamin Moore iceberg color walls and mahogany wood trim around the doors. To them I wish to say:
Oh, well-dressed men with great haircuts and Oliver Peoples eyeglasses, if you bestow on me your wisdom, then my dining room might exhibit such classic-yet-contemporary, smart-but-understated style that you might well mistake it for your own.
