Saturday, September 8, 2012

Saturday Night Soup for the Soul (24)




arly the next morning, I continued day
two of my manic "1000 miles in 36 hours" road trip thru central Oregon. I double backed and headed due north from Prineville back to the Columbia River Gorge. I periodically slammed on the breaks and jumped out into the brisk mid April high desert air to shoot pics of the deliciously muted spring colours.
 

"The Couch by the Side of the Road"
(one man's discard is another man's treasure)

 
Where did your long hair go?Where is the boy I used to know?How could you lose that happy glow?
Oh, Caroline no!

Who took that look away?
I remember how you used to say
You'd never change, but thats not true...
Oh, Caroline you b
reak my heart; I want to go and cryIts so sad to watch a sweet thing die.
          Oh, Caroline why?

The high lava plateau that makes up this part of central oregon is slashed by sudden, and unexpected deep canyons caused by the slow power of water flowing downhill in the form a a series of small rivers that join the mighty Columbia to the north.





Prior to this lifetime
I surely was a tailor.
Look at me...
("Good morning, Mr. Leitch....Have you had a busy day?" )

I own the tailors face and hands.
I am the tailors face and hands

 

I flew north, down the winding road finally reaching the waters of the mighty Columbia, where I crossed over into Washington state, with JC, and the Sexy WonderHunk Twins carrying on in the back seat.



Waiting for me, on the other side of the bridge, was the star of the Columbia River Swim Team: that smooth and slippery, lickity split, seal boy you may have heard about, Number 17.


This Road Trip Diary continues next week...about the time that bush's butthole boy, Alberto Gonzolas has been tossed down the political crapper of no return.
 
 
1. Caroline No is
from Brian Wilson's masterpiece LP Pet Sounds . This is one of the ALL TIME GREAT works of popular music. Inspired by the Beatles' Rubber Soul LP, Pet Sounds knocked them out, especially Paul McCartney. They answered Pet Sounds with a brilliant LP that was so unlike, and lightyears beyond anything ever recorded, that is is often called the GREATEST LP ever recorded: Revolver. There is a very specific reason that I included this song in the soup. A musicical link piece that is made up of several fragments follows in the soup, which takes you to....


2. Save the Life of my Child from Bookends by Simon and Garfunkel.

3. The Kite Song is Yoko Ono from the Approximately Infinite Universe LP. Love this song. The words say it all.

I flew a kite, I held on tight to its string.
Each time I go anywhere, I held on tight.
In the middle of the night I woke up in fright,
Thinking maybe in my dream I let go of my kite.

When I was in a restaurant, talking to my friends,
Watching their mouths move faster and faster.
I thought of the kite that was flying in the sky
And made sure that my hand was holding the string.
That was a long time ago,
Many skies went by since then.
Now my hands stopped holding anything
And Ive learnt to take a walk instead.

 

Then one day in the evening light,
I saw something strange shining bright.
The sky was dark, with swarms of larks,
And in the midst of it all, yes, it was my kite.
How did the kite get there, Ill never know,
Floating away among the clouds to where nobody knows.
I held my gun with both my hands,
Slowly aiming at the shining dot.
The shot went off,
the dot blew off,
and since then Ive never seen the kite again.



All of this makes it's way into this week's soup. You can get your bowl of Saturday Night Soul for the Soul
by clicking the jukebox.


Fuck John McCain and his Alaskan HAG


STOP THE PRESS

NEW EVIDENCE REVEALS that neo right wing religious fog machine, Pastor Rick Warren, is the illegitimate son of Charles Manson. Who’d of thunk it...

Monday, September 3, 2012

"The Three Graces"

"Beach Boys"

beach boys title.gif
After living in the heart of Savannah for more than two years, last week I realized there is another lifestyle here I was totally oblivious to. For the first time in my life, I went riding on a friend’s boat on a river, and suddenly realized there are thousands of people here living on the banks of the many rivers, all with docks and boats, and all tied to the water and the tides.
 
I’ve been on boats in the ocean many times, but never experienced anything quite like this with the constantly changing scenery, the different islands, the beautiful homes, the winding rivers and tributaries, and dolphins swimming up to the small boat.
 
Of course I didn’t see any lost tribe of naked orange boys waiting for us on the shoreline, but that’s what I drew and started painting as soon as I got home.


“Beach Boys”
24” x 36”
Acrylic on Canvas


Tribally, TONY

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Signs of Spring: 2010 Edition (1)

Rhododendron "Lucy Lou"

Rhododendron "April Rose"
(It should have been named "March Violet" )

Rhododendron "April Rose" with fill flash

"Through a Window, Gothically"


Late Summer Trip from Fox Island to Hurricane Ridge


The beach delights the eyes, masterfully strewn with remnants of tidal treasures; shells, tectonically forged bits of granite, agates, living barnacles, sandstone, vermillion sea weed, and all dressed by the shallows of the translucent sea.

High tide and violent winter storms leave logs of douglas fir to be bleached white in the sunlight of summer.

Mount Rainier peeks from behind the opposite shoreline.


Looking down the beach towards Point Fosdick, followed by a view of University Place .



Part Kashmir, part Valhalla, a mile high and at the foot of Mount Olympus. Click to see big ass copies of these beauties.s

 

Monday, August 27, 2012

Day of the Diver



Every year, I’ll paint a couple of Dia de los Muertos/Day of the Dead paintings. This is my first one for 2011. I was going to add a shark in the scene, but then wondered if they were all cartlege.

“Day of the Diver”
24” x 24”
Acrylic on Canvas
Happy Labour Day, Tony

This Time

 

It took me a long time to finish this piece because I put it aside for a week when my father made his first trip to Savannah to visit me. By the time he left, I was exhausted and couldn’t muster the energy to finish it for a few days. The title is simply the first thing that popped into my head once I finished it and stepped back to look at it.
 “This Time
16” x 32
Acrylic on Canvas

Tony


Sunday, August 26, 2012

"Backyard, New Mexico"

My house has been sold, the deed has been done, and the number of paintings left for me to paint in New Mexico are few. This painting of the view from my backyard will be one of my last here. 
 
I leave for Savannah in two weeks, to buy another home there, and then fly back to prepare for my departure from New Mexico.
 
The 4th of July will be my last night here. I may be able to finish 3 or 4 more paintings before then, but maybe not. This is the second, and last, oil painting I've done here.
 
"Backyard, New Mexico"
12" x 24"
Oil on Canvas
Going, TONY

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

When Gay-Rod Meets A-Roid




Hummmm...





PS: Go
HERE to see
Gay-Rod's
hot new boy friend
 

"Gardening Muertos"


Gardening Muertos title.gif 

This is the only Day of the Dead/Dia de los Muertos painting I'll do this year. I had my own weekly chores in mind when I painted it........mowing, watering and pruning in my back yard.


"Gardening Muertos"
24" x 30"
Acrylic on Canvas

Happy and Still Alive, TONY

PS: I (T-Bird, the blog author) bought this painting.











Arod and his Hot Homo lover Mark Teixeira


Arod is tits up in love for his new Yankee boyfriend and brother Yankee Mark Teixeira.
Here they can be seen immediately after Mark confessed to Arod “I love you - marry me during the 2009 AL playoffs. Alex is all a flutter these days planning for a gala 2010 wedding at home plate.
Oh how former boyfriend papi Derek Jeter may come to miss those rump pounding sleep-overs with his big baby butt boy Alex.

Monday, August 20, 2012

"Cannas"




This is another in my ongoing Floral series. I try not to paint the same flower more than once (but have). Some of the past paintings have been Anthuriums, Sunflowers, Orchids, Day Lilies, Camellias, Daffodils, Calla Lilies, Cymbidiums and Hibiscus. This one (from mon jardan) is.

“Cannas”24” x 30”
Acrylic on Canvas


Florally, Tony

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Take Two



 
It has been too long.  And so, I have decided to start up this blog again.  A lot has happened to me since I went deep into the underground where I have been in living in stealth mode.  More or less. 
In the interim, we witnessed all the idiots stampede to the Fraud known as Facebook.  I mean, is anyone the least bit surprised by the immediate post IPO collapse of their share price and by the filing of lawsuits by greedy and/or stupid investors?  I wasn't. 

And the remaining virtual village idiots stampeded to Twitter to join the other Twitter Twats in producing the cacophonous noise that occurs when ten million insecure and superficial souls wallow together in a group masturbation exercise.  Ah, the brainless people broadcasting every pimple pop and gassy fetid flatulence to 10,001 of their closest instant friends.  Join Facebook to Twitter and your result is a twin cluster fuck.

Glad they all went away and left the blogging field to people with soul.
The neighborhood is actually become quite pleasant again.  So here I am.
What do I plan to blog about? 

 1). I plan on republishing my favorite posts from the past. 

2). I plan on trolling though 30 years of diary entries and randomly publishing bits from assorted seasons of my life.
 
3). I plan on publishing new musings on the nature of this thing called life, the macro universe, and the micro universe.
I had a near death experience two years ago that has left me quite changed from who I used to be.  At some point I will write about that.  I now have the perspective of having been a new born all the way through completing one full loop around the track (60 years).  Ah, the Year of Water Dragon once again.  I have many thoughts on what I have learned about the nature of “a life”. 
So… And away we go for take two of Saturday Night Soup for the Soul.   Xoxo  Will

A New Car



The Maiden Voyage

I bought a new car last June. I promised myself that I would not do so until I paid off my home. This I accomplished ahead of schedule this past May (the 30 year mortgage would have come due Jaunary 2028).

So, enters the 2012 Honda Accord V6 Ex Pearl white. 18” chromed alloy wheels, ambient azure coloured LED interior lighting, killer sound system. Makles road trips fun again.

























Wallula Gap


Read about this mystical spot of landscape here.