The Lonely Robot

A Wonderful, Productive Day

Here I am pulling prints.

Here's Annie having a laugh.

And here is my lovely neice Michelle.  You can tell we had a great time working together this week!

Happy Independence Day.

My Favorite Band (Right Now)

They have four albums that I have so far.  They are from Portland, Oregon.  They get and your brain and the melodies don't leave.  Good, good stuff.

It's Happening

Here is shot of a few of the 35(!) framed relief prints I hung up yesterday at Zinc Details here in San Francisco.  Zinc threw me for a loop when they asked me to have them ready so early - I thought I had until next Thursday.  Just as well.  Next Thursday I am headed to LA for the Renegade Craft Fair.  Between now and then I have a couple hundred prints to get ready.  I'll do it. Then there is Renegade San Francisco.  Then a linocut class the next weekend.  Summer vacation? Ha!

I am starting to realize the effort required to be a working artist - there is no end of things to do. Keeping a cash flow is key, as in any business, but wow the amount of work required to keep that engine rolling is humbling.  It is falling into a bit of a rhythm, but this month in particular is going to be so busy, with shows and an oddly coincidental stream of visitors coming through San Francisco.  I am holding Annie close these days - she's busy, too, with all her commitments, and lying down in bed with each other after a loooong day is our favorite time together right now.  We laugh until we fall asleep, and sleep like logs.

Tonight is an opening at Hotel Biron.  My neice, Michelle, and I are going to meet Annie there around 7.  I have my "Rossiter Edition" print hanging up there with a bunch of other artists, many of whom I admire.  My friends Mark and Libby are going to be there, too, visiting from Atlanta, and I'm looking forward to seeing my pal Melissa, coming down from Santa Rosa.

It's all happening.  Daily, I get little reminders that I am succeeding at this art venture. From orders on the web, to visits from patrons out of the blue, to commissions - the effort is paying off.  It is satisfying, and I can honestly say it is some of the more difficult work I have done in the last few years.  I am looking forward to getting to know this art community even more over the next few weeks and months.  Where does it all lead?  Who knows.  It's the journey that I'm finding surprising and interesting.

Printmaking

I pulled a record number of prints yesterday.  Here are some of them drying in my rack. I think the final count was around 120 - in order to prepare for the upcoming shows.  

The amazing thing is that this is just the tip of the iceberg - I plan on having 4 times this amount by the end of next week.  My neice is coming out from North Carolina to help me, and I am really looking forward to spending time with her - she has a knack for the printmaking craft (but I am not so sure she knows it - she certainly will in a few more days!)

Here are some of the plates I have carved out to get ready for these print runs.  

 

And here they all are, stacked, flattened and sorted. If you haven't checked my new stuff out yet, take a look here.  Happy days.

The Rossiter Edition

Note to self: Pints are much easier to drink than to carve from linoleum.  Cheers Davey!

Video: First Printing of New Robot Relief Print

It only took 4 years, but I just figured out YouTube.  Nice job filming, Galvin.

Checkered Flag or Crash!

I have found myself in the unlikely environs of NASCAR.  My friend BA came in from Chicago and he brought with him two Hot Passes to the races this weekend at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma County.  We headed up there yesterday to see the preliminary races, and to get a feel of the place, and it was fun. 

Especially with seats like this!  The Hot Pass gives us access to the Thunder Alley, which is the pit.  Cars zooming in and out, lots of heat and automotive smells, and cool scenes like this that resonate with my memories of watching NASCAR races on the TV in the 70's, with AJ Foyt and Mario Andretti.

NAPA, in this instance, does not stand for the Non Athletic Partying Association.

Here is my affable host, BA.  Good times.

These mother's are LOUD!! (Video taken with my Canon PowerShot)

What does this have to do with NASCAR?  Nothing.  But we stopped at the Marin Headlands on the way back from the races, and this scene at Ft. Baker, on the East side of the North tower in Marin, awaited us.  It reminds me of the Anasazi ruins in New Mexico for whatever reason.  But wow, what light!

I had never been to this part of the Golden Gate National Recreation area before, but I will be back.

And this was the scene at Baker Beach one we had crossed into the City. That's right, this is a beach in San Francisco.  Man, I love living here.

More hot NASCAR action today, this time with the Galvin!  I'll post some more photos when we get back.

New York Painting in Progress

I made great strides on this tonight.  I'm liking how this is coming together.

Well Done

July keeps on rolling on into one of the best months ever for me and 3 Fish Studios.  I just got this in the mail from Hotel Biron - its a great idea for a show based on a BBQ theme.

I have been known to enjoy a beer with my BBQ (anyone else?) so I submitted my Guinness pint for consideration, and they liked it!  Will soon be working on the Rossiter edition.  It only makes sense.