It has been snowing nearly all night and all day.

 You know how one can get stuck? Stuck inside, stuck unmoving, stuck... Well, the snow is... really very nice honestly. But, I just wasn't ready. Here were are in January in Chicago and I was able to stand outside and paint in a light jacket... with SUNSHINE for goodness sake. It was just wonderful.

It reminds me of New Orleans. Yes it does. Mm hm.

So what does a bean do on a stuck snow day?

Well, my first move was to get up outta the bed (my office as I rather call it), come downstairs, and immediately listen to some records.
A lil Elmore James, a lil Anita O'Day, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday...
I am laying on the floor wearing red suspenders, headphones,
in a sea of cardstock covers
and paper sleeves.
I'm hittin' all the bargain bin records here but then I toss on ol' Louis Armstrong.
"Satchmo and Friends" was 99 cents...(again with the bargain bin)
and I remembered what a damn fine song he sings
bout missin' New Orleans.
Do you know it?

Have a listen here and tell me
you don't hear the sad desperation
for the big easy! (Do you know what it means to miss) "New Orleans"

Also, a shot I took while in NOLA of the Armstrong park under construction, 2010. 35mm B&W film.

Well Beaner whatcha got to show for ya self?
Here it is. "To Miss New Orleans" 25in x 31in SOLD

(It is still snowing)
(And it ain't the good kind either. Not the kind ya can make an igloo outta)

(An igloo whiskey bar)

(I think I'm onto something)

The night was mighty dark so you could hardly see

December, January... Usually mighty chilly here in Chi-cago. Well, last summer e'ryone was talkin' up this winter bein' the worst of the worst.
It hasn't been under 45 degrees this week.

I'm not complainin'! Heck no!
Instead, I'm living up thoughts of summertime. Times when you can stay outside all day and all night staring up at the sky.

To see, the big orange harvest moon.
"Shine On Harvest Moon" was originally written in 1908 by by Nora Bayes and Jack Norworth.
But this wind-ow is for another singer who performed this song.

Mance Lipscomb. Listen to Mance here. Mance, short for emancipation, a nickname he got when he was young, was a farm hand and laborer most of his life. He was 'discovered' in the late 50s and then recorded in the 60s making several albums consisting of ragtime, blues, and folk.
What makes Mance stand out is his smooth clean voice and very precise and rich guitar pickin.'
One of my favorites, here's to you Mance Lipscomb!
(Listen to Mance's 'discovery')

 Now this wind-ow gave me some terrible trouble. It was some "Trouble On My Mind" (Lipscomb album! Real good). Why was it a trouble? Well it had, unbeknownst to me, 6 layers and years of white paint on the frame. It took me quite a while and lots of stripper to take it off. When I went to stain the frame, the stain wouldn't set! So, eventually I had to strip the caked on stain off and came to the conclusion that someone used a laminate or glue to coat the wood.
Therefore, I used a latex paint and I like it! It works and looks great on this window.

Decide for ya self.
"Shine On Harvest Moon" 28 inches x 32 inches SOLD For sale on Etsy

Take me out to Henry's Swing Club

     We gotta double trouble wind-ow right here. John Lee Hooker, a legendary blues singer-songwriter and guitarist. One of my favorites, and other folks' as well, is 'One Bourbon One Scotch One Beer.' Check out that tune riiight here.  (The video features Mr. John Lee seated in a lounge chair in an alley or side street in what looks like NYC. While seated, he signs and plays electric guitar to the song with sunglasses on)

     "Henry's Swing Club" is a tune he wrote back 'round 1948 or 1950. The track appears on the '92 compilation, Graveyard Blues. Listen to it here. 
  
     So what's so double trouble bout this one wind-ow, now? Well, I hear John Lee Hooker's singin' and pickin' and he makes me want to put on some dark glasses and sip on a bourbon. Well, when I hear "Henry's Swing Club" I want to listen to some Dixieland blues and kick my wingtips 'round. Man oh man. Double trouble.
      And that takes us to the wind-ow. The frame has been refinished: stripped, stained, and coated.

"Henry's Swing Club" 28.5 inches x 27 inches $215

 

I got a mind to ramble

"I'M A RAMBLIN' MAN
WITH A RAMBLIN' MIND"

I heard this song from some three day studio recordings produced by CBS in 1966.
Painting is approx 17 1/2 x 17 1/2in  (SOLD)

Whiskey neat is a wonderful thing but what about on the rocks?

Champion Jack Dupree says it well in an unreleased recording (honestly, I do not remember where or how I heard this song originally... I wrote down the lyrics and jack's name one late night last winter sitting in a buddy's apartment sippin' on stouts... Anyway, I have searched for this song and have found others' versions of it that seem to be later. For credit reasons, I do not know who wrote or performed it first. My interest was in Jack Dupree's version.)

I GET MY WATER FROM THE ROCKS IN MY DRINK (SOLD!)

In progress

Detail after gold

Champion Jack Dupree doesn't have a birthplace or state of origin... no one knows. As a young orphan he was taken in by folks down in Louisiana and grew to be known as a New Orleans/Chicago Blues artist. Many of his songs talk about drinking, late night carousing, womanizin', lovin', and even drug takin'. But, Dupree was not a heavy drinker, was faithful to his wife, and did not abuse drugs. He always said he knew what the people wanted to hear. A person is in the bar listening to the blues for a reason, one of which maybe he could sing about despite experience.
One of my favorites.

Some videos of Jack's well known tunes:
"Bad Whiskey and Wild Women" Youtube: "Bad Whiskey and Wild Women"
"Junker's Blues" Youtube: Junker's Blues

Approx. 23in x 49in  (SOLD)

My first wind-ow

What do you do with interests in classic american sign painting, repurposing/reusing vintage materials, drinking, and the blues?
Well I guess ya just strap on your suspenders, throw on your hat, straddle up to the easel, tune the stereo to Phono 1 and get to work.
My first blues interests were folks such as Robert Johnson, Furry Lewis, Elmore James, Lil Walter, Champion Jack Dupree, Muddy Waters, and plenty more.
I found myself drawing out classic American sign styles while listening to and watching old Smithsonian film recordings of these talented musicians.

Design and fonts are also a big interest of mine. Say a word and a font or letter style will pop into my head. As a student of conceptual art, casually painting blues lyrics and incorporating font styles and small design elements felt refreshing. Simply making something that feels and looks good is satisfying.

I use 1 Shot paint; it's an oil based enamel specifically used for sign painting. Black is usually 2 coats and the gold is 2-3 coats. I paint from the backside of the windows, in reverse of whatever I am painting, to achieve a slick surface on the front glass next to the rough vintage wood. Most of the windows are from 1920s Chicago bungalows.

Well, back to it. What's better than drinking whiskey, paintin', listening to some of the greatest musicians and lyricists of American culture?

'Whiskey' is approximatey 30in x 19in. (SOLD)