'Bad Liver and a Broken Heart'

     Well, here is another Waits wind-ow.
     From the album "Small Change" comes the song 'Bad Liver and a Broken Heart.'
     Aw, Tom had his heart broken. Poor fella.

Listen to 'Bad Liver and a Broken Heart' by Tom Waits

     Mostly intriguing was the line from the song...

'And so I'll meet you at the bottom of a bottle of bargain scotch.'

     After much thinking and decoding I concluded that Mr. Tom was meeting his broken hearted ex lover at the bottom of such a bottle. And not just any ol' bottle but most likely DeWars. But then I though, he talks about a red label... "and I'll see your Red Label and I'll raise you one more" ...well that's none other than... good ol' Johnnie Walker! 

Well please check out Waits' latest record, 'Bad As Me.' 

He features Mr. Keith Richards on gee-tar. Here is a song from the record where Keith throws down and Tom gives a shout out to Mick J.

'Satisfied' Tom Waits - Bad As Me

Double pane wind-ows... always a pain. Refinished wood frame.

"Bottom of a Bottle of Bargain Scotch" Approx 33 inches x 24 inches $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)