Back in 1994, I did this pencil drawing after a silver print of a self portrait by Robert Mapplethorpe.

Say what you will about him, but when my sister Vinca asked me about my painting heroes I didn’t include him, because he was a photographer. However, as a creator of art, I admire him. Anyone can enjoy his florals, but I love the controversy he sparked with other creations. Yes, he pushed boundaries. Yes, he pushed peoples’ buttons. I think that’s what art should do.

Back in 1994, I did this pencil drawing after a silver print of a self portrait by Robert Mapplethorpe.

Say what you will about him, but when my sister Vinca asked me about my painting heroes I didn’t include him, because he was a photographer. However, as a creator of art, I admire him. Anyone can enjoy his florals, but I love the controversy he sparked with other creations. Yes, he pushed boundaries. Yes, he pushed peoples’ buttons. I think that’s what art should do.

I used to make up stories called “The Adventures of Mr. Pumpkinhead.” They were silly, fantastic stories about an enchanted jack-o-lantern who loved Kraft Deluxe Macaroni and Cheese Dinner. He had a friend named Rocky, who was an enchanted Lake Superior beach stone, and another friend named Sylvia, who was an enchanted spaghetti squash. I’ve lost my one copy of the book I made, and maybe it will show up again somewhere, someday. One day as I was recounting the time Mr. Pumpkin head used his magic finger to open and start a car at a car dealership, drive it away, get arrested for grand theft auto, and then be put in jail (he used his magic finger to unlock the jail cell and walk out), my friend’s son looked at me and said “You’re Mr. Pumpkinhead, aren’t you?” I don’t know that I’d thought of it that way before, but the question resulted in this oil pastel that I call “Self Portrait as Mr. Pumpkinhead.”

I used to make up stories called “The Adventures of Mr. Pumpkinhead.” They were silly, fantastic stories about an enchanted jack-o-lantern who loved Kraft Deluxe Macaroni and Cheese Dinner. He had a friend named Rocky, who was an enchanted Lake Superior beach stone, and another friend named Sylvia, who was an enchanted spaghetti squash. I’ve lost my one copy of the book I made, and maybe it will show up again somewhere, someday. One day as I was recounting the time Mr. Pumpkin head used his magic finger to open and start a car at a car dealership, drive it away, get arrested for grand theft auto, and then be put in jail (he used his magic finger to unlock the jail cell and walk out), my friend’s son looked at me and said “You’re Mr. Pumpkinhead, aren’t you?” I don’t know that I’d thought of it that way before, but the question resulted in this oil pastel that I call “Self Portrait as Mr. Pumpkinhead.”

Continuing with this theme of showing some of my older work…

Back in about 1994, I had some paintings in an exhibit called “Keepers Of The Waters” which was at the Grand Marais Art Colony. Three in series were entitled “If I’m Drowning”, “Dancing With The Ghost of Future Tears” and “The Great Train Robbery of my Soul.” They pictured me under water with fish all around me in the first two images, and then this was the third. You could see it as sad or morbid or scary, but to me the effect was comforting. I saw it as a coming to grips with the inevitibility of death… someday.

Continuing with this theme of showing some of my older work…

Back in about 1994, I had some paintings in an exhibit called “Keepers Of The Waters” which was at the Grand Marais Art Colony. Three in series were entitled “If I’m Drowning”, “Dancing With The Ghost of Future Tears” and “The Great Train Robbery of my Soul.” They pictured me under water with fish all around me in the first two images, and then this was the third. You could see it as sad or morbid or scary, but to me the effect was comforting. I saw it as a coming to grips with the inevitibility of death… someday.

This charcoal drawing was done as a preliminary sketch for the pastels in the following posts. The idea was to merge mind (represented here by the head) and body… What affects our body affects our mind, and vice versa. So I tried to illustrate the fact that they are inseparable in our lives.

This charcoal drawing was done as a preliminary sketch for the pastels in the following posts. The idea was to merge mind (represented here by the head) and body… What affects our body affects our mind, and vice versa. So I tried to illustrate the fact that they are inseparable in our lives.