blank canvas

Here's a blank canvas measuring 39 1/2 x 48 inches. It's an old canvas I've painted over so I'd have something large to work on. On this canvas will go this image which is an old power plant located on the Mississippi River just north of downtown St. Louis. I was taking a riverboat ride with my family a few weeks ago and spotted this impressive building while we were slowly heading up river. I was stuck by the massiveness of the whole complex as well as it's beauty. In order to get the shot I had to stand on a small bridge close to the captains deck. I quickly got up there, snapped the picture and then scurried back to where my family was. When I got home and looked at the photograph I noticed it had the words "Union Electric" on the building. It is a power station that supplies electricity and it's still in use today. But the words caught my attention cause I have a friend who's in a band called Union Electric and I thought he might like the photo. After showing it to him and talking to him about it, he thought it would be a cool idea to have a painting of the picture for their up coming record. I was more than happy to agree with him. He said they'll need the painting by October so I'll be starting on it shortly.

While thinking about when and how I'd start the picture, I started thinking about the other paintings I've done that will be soon featured as album/CD art for upcoming releases.

The first being the new record by Bunnygrunt who sent me a photograph to paint taken by the wonderful Jaime Lees at one of their shows at CBGB. This one should be out next month.

The second is a conceptional piece I came up with for the Dirty 30s . As you can see it's a slight variation on the Missouri state seal. Normally you have an eagle, bear and half moon in the center but I substituted it with a guitar shaped like Missouri, a mud flap trucker girl and a possum. When the drummer contacted me about doing something I asked him what the songs were about and he said "drinking, women and Missouri" so I thought those things would fit well and he agrees. Not sure when this one will be out but probably by the end of the year.

The third and last one that's coming down the pipeline sometime soon is a new release by the great Finn's Motel whose upcoming record will feature this painting. This silo believe it or not is sitting smack dab in the middle of St. Louis city. I use to drive by it every day on my way to work heading north on Vandevender towards Forest Park Parkway. It's an incredible farm/country type building located just south of the Central West End. I was always mesmerized when driving by it and thought about painting it. It seems Joe Thebeau of Finn's Motel has a fascination with it as well and our interest in this structure coincided with each other. Not sure when this record will be ready.

Needless to say I've very honored and humbled to even be considered to make artwork for all of these bands. They're all really great and original in their own way and I'm more than happy to help out anyway I can.


now playing - The Cars - "since you're gone"

mark at typo

It's been a long summer, for a number of reasons. For the last month I've been working on this for the Dirty 30s. After finishing that up I figured I'd get back to Jim at 3wk and I did make some progress for a day or two. But that painting is moving at a snails pace and I needed something a little more immediate.

This brings us to Mark at Typo. Mark is a musician who's in about 4 or so bands around town. I snapped this shot when Cherokee St was celebrating Cinco de Mayo back in May. I can already see some proportion problems that need to be fixed. I've been experimenting with gouache lately. Using it to make things stand out. Gouache has this bright, plastic quality to it that almost makes acrylic look dull. I've used it here for Mark's shirt and pants. The painting will go through many changes but those colors will still stand out regardless.

now playing - the beastie boys - paul revere

Stress

Stress is great, I love it. That was a joke. I hate stress but it always seems to be around. People often ask me when I find time to paint and I tell them painting is the only thing that keeps me civil therefore I have to find time for it. I recall one month at my full-time job a few years ago was particularly stressful. I manage a call center for a ticket agency and if you’re ever tried to order tickets or had a problem with tickets then you can probably imagine the kind of conversations I have on a daily basis with those whose lives have been ruined because they didn’t get the first row of whatever show they were buying tickets for. On this particular month we had a number of high level on sales. Artists like Neil Young, Sammy Hagar, the Broadway musical Wicked, etc…It seemed like everyday there was another big on sale with more rules and regulations for the ticket buyers that I was responsible for enforcing. How did I get through it all? I painted this.

Well that was awhile ago and life goes on, things change, people come and go. I still work for the ticket agency but now I have two small children and I own an art supply store. Unfortunately because the store doesn’t quite make a profit, I still manage ticket sales and have an employee who works at the store. Last week the employee was violently attacked while working and robbed by 4 individuals. The employee is physically ok but understandably shaken by the whole ordeal. I’m shaken as well. I created an environment where someone was harmed. Talk about stress.

Crime is a fact of life in St. Louis, but honestly it’s a fact of life anywhere you live. Granted this did just happen to my car last week, but still no one is really safe from that kind of stuff. So what do you do? In a perfect world I’d be down at the store everyday but at this time that’s just not possible for a variety of reasons. So the stress builds. As it builds I’m slowly working on this piece for the Dirty 30s. Once again it’s painting that’s keeping me civil. As you can see the piece is a slight variation on the Missouri State Seal.

Lee Harvey O T-Shirts

Lee Harvey O T-Shirts now available. This will be the first in a series of t-shirts I've designed and the fine folks at All Along Press have printed in limited quantities. Dark green shirts, 100% preshrunk cotton Hanes Heavyweight in small, medium, large and x-large. On the front you have the tragic Lee Harvey Oswald in white ink and on the back, "http://www.asbestossister.com/", the site where the original design can be found. Shirts are only $12.00 and that includes shipping to anywhere in the United States. Look for more designs in the near future featuring Albert Einstein, Mikhail Gorbachev, Gen. Douglas Macarthur and others.

If interested in ordering you can contact me at asbestossister@yahoo.com, or you can browse my Big Cartel site - http://danasmith.bigcartel.com/. Shirts are also available at City Art Supply on Cherokee St for $10.00.

now playing - The Bearded Clam Wonder - "Bullet 399"

Bill Morris at White Flag

For a long time now I’ve been transitioning from small canvases to larger canvases. This process has a whole set of issues to deal with including composition, colors, amount of paint, types of brushes, space, etc, etc, etc… All of these things have to come together or the whole piece will just fall apart. There has to be a point where spontaneity and carefully laid plans will work with one another in a painting and trying to find that has been the main challenge. The subject for this challenge is my friend Bill Morris. He’s a talented musician and video artist who’s been working in St. Louis for a long time now. This picture is from a performance he did with Thomas Sleet and a cello player whose name escapes me right now at White Flag Projects about 3 or 4 years ago. The strange thing about all this is I’ve been thinking about painting this picture for about 4 months now and last night I finally got around to it. After I finished for the evening, I checked my email and Bill had sent me a note informing me he was performing with Thomas and Tony Patti at the Sci-Fi Lounge on Thursday night. Now since both Bill and I have busy personal lives we rarely see or talk to one another and I can’t remember the last time we emailed but the very day I start of painting of him (unbeknownst to him) I get a note from him…spooky.

Now playing – http://www.3wk.com/

darin gray at dunaway books

About 4 or 5 years ago Eric Hall put a show together in the basement of Dunaway Books. It featured a piano extraordinaire from San Francisco named Thollem McDonas, Granite City’s mind bending bass player Darin Gray and Mr. Hall himself. The show was one of those things you feel lucky to have seen and heard. The basement of Dunaway is nothing but rows and rows of shelves with books, the trio set up where they could and went to work. I snapped a few photos and always liked the one of Darin sitting down playing his bass with a cymbal mallet. So I tucked it away and waited for the right time to start a painting of it. That time came on Monday Apr 6.


now playing - Grand Ulena

shooting guns

Here’s something I just starting at the request of a good, reliable friend of mine. These back views are always fun and interesting to work on. The perspective in front of the girl will be challenging as well.

now playing – David Bowie – “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars”