Party Cat

"I like to party."
- Gene James

Do yourself a favor, 

and go see the whole series here: Nedroid.com

Absolutely HI-LARIOUS. A friend of mine turned me onto Party Cat, and I must say... I am now a fan!

KJT - Seattle (2009)

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The Kid, cont.

“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, And that enables you to laugh at life's realities.”
- Dr. Theodor Seuss Geisel (1904-1991)



Stacie went for another ultrasound this week and happily the placenta prævia is completely gone! And Sennet keeps growing, we've got less than 10 weeks to go and he's 16˝ and 5lbs 6oz. Stacie is doing good, but wonders how her belly could get any bigger...

Meanwhile, I've been working on some paintings for the baby's room. With apologies to Dr. Seuss, I'm enlarging two of my favorite childhood stories: The Cat in the Hat and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. These are painted on board with acrylic, about 2 feet by 3 feet. I'll also be doing four smaller pieces to hang above the dresser, probably 8˝x 10˝. Thinking of the Star-Bellied Sneetches, "Thing 1 and Thing 2" from Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs & Ham, and Horton (from "...Hears A Who" fame). Later on I'll start working on some of my own ideas for some more paintings.

Not much longer now...
KJT - Seattle (2009)

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I Dig the Pig

"...not by the hair on my chinny chin chin."
"The Story of the Three Little Pigs" from English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs (1854-1916)

Been really busy lately and haven't had as much time to write or blog, but I'll get back to it when I can.

Meanwhile, I thought this was great. Wolf chases pig. Very creative.


Via: Sullivan.

KJT - Seattle (2009)

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Not 'that' Nick Cave

"And what costume shall the poor girl wear
To all tomorrow's parties?
For Thursday's child is Sunday's clown
For whom none will go mourning."
- Velvet Underground, "All Tomorrow's Parties." (1967)




These 'sound suits' by artist Nick Cave are magical. At first I thought they were produced by the musical artist, whom I greatly admire, but after watching the video interview found out is actually another Nick Cave, an associate professor at the Art Institute of Chicago.

About the sound suits, Cave says, "I believe that the familiar must move towards the fantastic. I want to evoke feelings that are unnamed, that aren’t realized except in dreams." These are truly dream-like works of art. I love 'em.

More pictures: HERE.

Video interview with the artist:


Via Andrew Sullivan.

KJT - Seattle (2009)

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Khoda

"I paint objects as I think them, not as I see them."
- Pablo Picasso, Spanish artist (1881-1973)



This is a kickass five mintue video by Scottish artist Reza Dolatabadi. Each frame is a separate PAINTING! Pause anywhere in the video and you are looking at an individual painting. Reminds me of some of the Tool videos...

From the artist, Reza Dolatabadi:
What if you watch a film and whenever you pause it, you face a painting? This idea inspired Reza Dolatabadi to make Khoda. Over 6000 paintings were painstakingly produced during two years to create a five minutes film that would meet high personal standards. Khoda is a psychological thriller; a student project which was seen as a 'mission impossible' by many people but eventually proved possible!

Director and art director: Reza Dolatabadi
Written by Reza Dolatabadi & Mark Szalos Farkas
Animation by Adam Thomson
Music by Hamed Mafakheri
Winner of the Best Animation Canary Wharf Film Festival (London) Aug, 2008
Winner of the Best Student Animation Flip Festival (Birmingham) 2008
Winner of the Best Student Animation, Royal Television Society Award, Scotland (rts) 2009
Official selection for the "Best Short Film Program" at Waterford Film Festival (Ireland) November 2008
Official Selections
16TH FILM FESTIVAL CONTRAVISION (Berlin) Sept 2008
Marbella International Film Festival (Spain) Oct 2008
Encounter Film Festival (Bristol, UK) Nov 2008
Exposures Film Festival (Manchester, UK) Nov 2008
Renderyard Short Film Festival (London)
Flip Animation Festival (Birmingham) Nov, 2008
Animated Dreams (Tallinn) Nov, 2008
Rendezvous with Madness Film Festival (Toronto) Nov, 2008

Tip: Sullivan.

KJT - Seattle (2009)

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Local Aesthetic - Belltown Art Walk

"An artist cannot fail;
it is a success to be one."
- Charles Horton Cooley, American sociologist (1864-1929)



It was a cold, crisp night tonight. Full moon, high clouds. Nice not to have rain after the last week we've had. Stacie and I went downtown to the Belltown Art Walk, specifically to see local artist Troy Gua. The show was called Local Aesthetic and it was at the Suite 100 Gallery on Second Avenue between Bell and Battery. Tonight was the opening, but the work will be up all month and through February 6th. I would highly recommend stopping by and checking it out. (Incidentally, I just found out that over the years Troy has also shown and sold some of his work at one of my fave Seattle bars, the Hideout - which may explain why some of his style seems familiar to me.)

Troy's latest work Hybrid (Face) Series, on display at Suite 100, are bold, graphic images of two iconic pop culture faces superimposed on one another. Working with resin coated enamel and acrylic on canvas, he ties the two images together not just visually, but metaphorically as well. One of my favorites (above - top image) is entitled "The Pope John Paul Stanley." The dual images of the front man from KISS and the former leader of the Catholic church just does something for me. (I also love "The Burt and Ernie" which pairs Burt Reynolds' iconic mug with that lovable goof from Sesame Street.) There is a lot of humor and sarcasm in this work, two things I love, and two things I think we need more of.

He also has some fascinating and absorbing paintings and mixed-media work, which you can see on his website, TroyGua.com. I particularly like "Devil's Food" and "Artist as Landscape."

And a thank you to his beautiful wife Catherine, for letting us take up far too much of her time.

Also at the gallery are the works of two other local artists, Ryan Molenkamp and Greg Boudreau, which I found to be quite stimulating. I particularly appreciated Molenkamp's "Place Sketch 1".

Support Independent Art & Artists!
KJT - Seattle (2009)

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Don Hertzfeldt: Damn Genius

"For the love of god, 

and all that is holy,
MY ANUS IS BLEEDING!"
- (Chicken Nugget? Cloud? Wha?)


Yesterday I posted one of my favorite things 

found on the world wide web.
Well today I'm posting my 

ABSOLUTE - TOP - #1 - FAVORITE THING: 

The cartoons of Don Hertzfeldt. 

In my mind, it just doesn't get any better than this.
I had to buy the DVD...
More info on the damn genius here: Don Hertzfeldt: Bitter Films

KJT - Seattle (2008)

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Animal Art

"Every child is an artist.
The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up."
- Pablo Picasso, Spanish artist (1881-1973)




I love these. The work of Swiss artist Geoffrey Cottenceau.
Whimsical; they make me very happy.

They remind me a bit of the simplicity of Picasso's 1943 sculpture, 

"Head of a Bull" - made from a bicycle saddle and handlebars.

More work by Cottenceau found here: Geoffrey Cottenceau 

and here SuperNaturale. 

Tip again from Sullivan at The Daily Dish.

KJT - Seattle (2008)
Picasso image courtesy Musée Picasso, Paris.

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Kissing the Ceiling

"I love strange choices. 

I'm always interested in people who depart 

from what is expected of them and go into new territory."
- Cate Blanchett, Australian Actress, (1969 — )

Found a website by an Canadian artist that I previously hadn't heard of - but very much like. He has some great photographs and interesting videos. Strange stuff. The above is my favorite, from a collection he calls "Kissing the Ceiling." Artist is Fred Muram, now living here in Seattle.

Check it out: Fred Muram (link)

KJT - Seattle (2008)

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Fat Roll

"Look at that belly, slippin' over the edge...

Is that my belly, slippin' over the edge?"

- Wordblender, "Fat Roll" (2007)


Some good friends of mine have a unique music/spoken word collective that they call "Wordblender." It's a strange conglomeration of rock, funk, soul, alternative, dark poetry, a little metal, a pinch of a psychedelia, a whiff of latin jazz... it's a strange beast - a madcap whirlwind of trumpet, guitar, keyboards, bongos, shakers, bass, drums, percussion, saxophone, and flute...

I've done quite a bit of the artwork for Wordblender, from creating their logos, to working on most of their album covers, show posters, stickers, etc.

Their sound can be somewhat of an acquired taste - but I love it. I've been jamming it all day at work today, and thought I'd share one of my favorite songs with you.

The above 'video' (and I use that term extremely loosely - as it is more just a mish-mash of images I threw together quickly to go with the song) is for the tune "Fat Roll" off of their 2007 release, Anatomy. That disc and another, is available on iTunes, and all five of their albums are available through CD Baby.com - in fact 'Anatomy' is only $5.00 right now - for 17 songs!

So if you want to support some independent art & music, 

here's your chance. 

If you just want to listen to some groovy Seattle nuttiness, 

click the above video.

Behold, the madness of Wordblender...

And let me know what you think in the comments below.

KJT - Seattle (2008)

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Georgetown Art Attack

"The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls."

- Pablo Picasso, Spanish artist (1881-1973)

(PAINTINGS and PHOTOS by DORIK DOWNING)

My good friend, Dorik (Double D), is having an ART SHOW this Saturday, June 14th, 2008 from 4 to 9 pm. 

It's at Earl Harper Studios in Georgetown (Seattle). 

Should be a good weekend. 

It's the Georgetown Art Attack on Saturday night, 

and the Georgetown Music Fest Friday and Saturday.

Harper Studios is located just south of downtown (sort of near the stadiums - well, south of Spokane Street) on Airport Way South, two doors south of Stellar Pizza. Address is 5531 Airport Way South, 

Studio B, Seattle, WA 98108. Phone is 206.763.9101.

He'll have paintings for sale, there are numerous bars, coffeeshops and cafés right there, live music, food, fun, etc. 

Hope I see you there...

SUPPORT LOCAL ARTISTS!

KJT - Seattle (2008)

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