Untitled Popcorn Photo

I really like this picture. Change that. I love it. Like most of the projects I take on, it started out completely different. I began this one several weeks ago but gave up quite easily. Then I went on vacation and came back with a great deal of unusable pictures (at least for now). So I went back to the ones I abandoned before I left. That's where I found this.

The biggest challenge I had was finding a color scheme which now seems so obvious and simple. I went through a ridiculous arrangement of colors that looked nice but wasn't quite right. I don't remember how I came across the simplicity of black, white, and yellow but I have no doubt it was the right choice.

I am very proud of this one. It's so funny and perfectly articulates my world right now. I will surely put this one on my wall.

Untitled Joker Thought

"Wait till they get a load of me!"

I honestly have no idea where this fear of mine originated. In the summer of 1989, a movie by the name of Batman was released and became a hit with moviegoers of all ages. All except one. Somewhere along the line I developed a confusing love/hate relationship with this film. Jack Nicholson's performance as The Joker is what perturbed me the most.

Spanning over two decades now, my heart still stops dead when I accidently stumble across an image or clip from the film. [I'm writing about this now as it has just happened to me and I can still feel my heart in my throat.] I have come a long way since childhood however. When I was a kid, I would have nothing to do with his face. The cover of our VHS was eventually torn to pieces as I did not trust it in the house. I couldn't so much as watch a frame of the film. It soon became the complex my peers used to make me squirm. If they had that movie in the house, they would put it in my face.

Twenty one years later, I am now able to enjoy a viewing of this film. It actually stands as one of my favorite films of all time, perhaps because of this intense relationship. However, I am only at peace with this fear when I know it's coming. It's fine when I choose to watch the movie or google Jack Nicholson because I know what I'm getting myself into. But if I'm channel surfing or looking at movie related images and I see that face, I'm reverted to a child-like state. It's actually amazing how this has stuck with me all these years. I have no idea what the root of the fear is because it's not clowns [though I don't trust them or their smile] but a very specific thing related to this movie.

I may never understand why this happens to me but it is interesting to analyze.

Untitled Peephole Photo

KRAMER

Newman and I are reversing the peepholes on our door. So you can see in.

ELAINE

Why?

KRAMER

So I can peek to see if anyone is waiting to jack me with a sock full of pennies.

Untitled Lemonade Photo

"When life hands you lemons, just say 'Fuck the lemons!' and bail."

Untitled Frame Thought

"Art consists of limitation. The most beautiful part of every picture is the frame."

This weekend I took a big step as an artist. For the very first time I printed one of my photos and framed it. I did this as a gift for another but in a fun full circle way it has become a gift to myself.

I was very frightened to see how these pictures would look once they were in front of me in a physical form. Some part of me thought that they only looked good on the computer and once I printed them, I could see the flaws and by extension, the amateur within. But to my surprise, it didn't look half bad, decent even. And boy what a difference a frame makes. All of the sudden I saw the professional in myself. Now I can't stop thinking about all the work I've done and all that I will do and how I will display it proudly in my home.

For once, I feel like I have accomplished something and I feel swell.

Untitled Bounty Thought

Walking home from work today I stumbled upon something rather intriguing. It caught my eye and made me stop. Uneaten and collecting dirt, I pondered the interesting nature of it. It perfectly expressed my feeling towards this candy bar. Coconut filled enrobed with milk chocolate, Bounty stands to be, in my opinion, the worst chocolate bar there is. And I believe there is some mystery surrounding it's existence because I never see people eat them or meet those who do. However, somehow they're still being produced. Who is buying them often enough to keep the assembly moving?

Untitled Arcade Photo

"Films have degenerated to their original operation as carnival amusement - they offer not drama but thrills."

From a recent trip to the CNE comes this. I'm still quite new with the techniques of both camera and photoshop but I really enjoy the whole trial and error process.

This image consists of but two photos. First, a sign into a small tented area known as the arcade. And second, the light bulbs from the carousel, an amusement park classic. I very much enjoy the simplistic nature of this creation. There's plenty to look at in the texture but not so much that it hurts the brain.

When I was a kid, I loved going to the arcade. I was very much into video games and spent hours in these 8 bit universes that gave me a unique sense of amusement. Born in the 80's and growing up in the 90's, Nintendo NES was an absolute staple in my world where I masted the classics, from Tetris to Super Mario Bros. 3.

Somewhere along the line I stopped playing video games. When the new systems came out and technology began to advance, I just didn't bother to keep up. I was no stranger to Super Nintendo or Sega but it was no longer such a vital element in the home. I moved on to other interests because that's what kids do. I was never able to be interested in several things at a time, instead there was only one thing to devote my passion to. From video games I turned to something that took up much more time and certainly cost me a lot of money. That was the beginning my teeny bopper phase. A stage that lasted a long fucking time. But hey, that's me!