Exquisite Corpse Games, St. Pete

I was honored to be invited to join the Exquisite Corpse Games this year.
The game is designed to bring the artists out of their comfort zone and create a piece of art JUST FOR FUN.
I attended the introductory meeting for the games at St. Petersburg's Museum of Fine Arts (also where the final pieces were unveiled last week) eager and ready. Well, almost ready. It was a particularly busy month with upcoming exhibits and workshops. Per the rules of this game you only get 17 days in which to complete your section of the corpse so that the next (mystery) artist can get on to their piece. The pieces start at the legs, followed by torso and finally head.
So all through the meeting, during artist introductions, instructions and other pleasantries a record skipped inside my head. "Please don't give me legs. Please don't give me legs. Please don't give me legs."
Not only did I have a hectic schedule and feared having to tackle an extra task would affect the quality of the piece, but vanity also played a role in my anxiety over getting legs. I'm mostly known for "my ladies". Their stylized faces are, for lack of a better word, part of my "brand". What would I do with legs or even a torso?
Finally the envelopes were handed out and I carefully opened mine. Wouldn't you know it??? I got the goddamned legs.
At this point I settled into my role and took on the challenge. I had to remember that I was to create JUST FOR FUN. And I did. I resisted injecting too much thematically into my piece and created out of chaos. The result: a quasi self-portrait. A barefoot artist painting another barefoot artist (or self) among his creations and inspirations (women and music).

Barefoot Artist, my collaboration to Exquisite Corpse Games 2017

The complete 3-painting collaboration.
Photo credit: Freddie Fred, who created the piece's torso.
The head was painted by Tammy Berk.

Commission Sketch

This is the final sketch for a possible upcoming collaborative commission with MG Stout.
The piece will be a public work measuring 12 feet by 12 feet.

Prep Workout For "Duets" Opening Reception

Hot Dupont Summer

Our Dupont Circle Diptych is complete!


Hot Dupont Summer
acrylic on canvas
36" x 72"

It Was Inevitable!

It was inevitable that The Art Monkeys get their own facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/theartmonkeys
Go ahead and "Like it", you know you wanna.

Dupont Circle Diptych (in progress)

Below is an Art Monkeys collaborative piece currently in progress.
It will be installed upon completion, later this week in a restaurant near Dupont Circle, DC scheduled to open very soon.
Stay tuned!

No More Drama

These are good times.
And bad times.
And complicated and confusing times.

Today, in the midst of creating new collaborative works for our upcoming Duets exhibition in DC, fellow Art Monkey, MG Stout and I received final details on what works would be required of us for an exciting Workhouse Arts Center show, Commerce I, which opens on June 30th.
We could have easily picked work from our already existing collaborations, but the request came on the same day that this article about the Workhouse's financial troubles was published in the Washington Post. The reported issues are very real and last week the center announced that the Performing Arts Program would be disbanded.
This has touched Mary and I on a personal level. The Studio 3 Theatre is not only our next door neighbor its team are also our friends.

In true "Art Monkey" fashion, we decided to paint something on on the spot. We immediately began snapping photos of Studio 3 from our front gallery windows and went next door for additional reference shots. The painting, tongue-in-cheek-ly titled No More Drama (get it??) is still in progress. It will be a deconstructed/abstracted Workhouse portrait that not only documents this phase of the art center's history/development but also honors our dear friends, whom we'll miss terribly.


Studio 3, from Studio 4's front gallery


passage between Studios 3 and 4


in progress

Stay tuned...

Ice Ice Baby

MG Stout and I (The Art Monkeys) are preparing for Duets, an upcoming 8 week exhibit at the DC Center in Washington DC. The show will be comprised of collaborative works, many of which will be inspired or named after songs. The show will also feature a variety of styles, including narrative mixed media works and abstracts. Below is a sneak peek at one of the abstract pieces.
An Artist Talk & Reception will be held on July 21st. Stay tuned!


Ice Ice Baby
by The Art Monkeys
mixed media on canvas/ 36" x 36"

Freedom Reigns

Freedom Reigns
by The Art Monkeys
mixed media on canvas
36" x 36"
Available from our studio or the Art Monkey Etsy store.

Flamingo Painting...continued.

I warn you, this is a long one. LOL
If I seem out of it it's just the toothache that was kicking my ass.
I took the day off to visit the dentist. She prescribed some antibiotics and pain killers.
A root canal is in my near future...yay.



In spite of my toothache, we managed to complete our flamingo painting and we're thrilled with it. You can't really see the glitter in it in this picture. We have special plans for how it will be displayed at Artomatic, but I will save that for another post. ;-)

Just Around the Corner: Artomatic & Pride!

I am happy to say that this Spring is filled with artistic adventures! My studio-mate and partner in art mayhem MG Stout and I will be exhibiting at this year's Artomatic in Crystal City, VA. Artomatic opens on May 18th. Find Mary and I (The Art Monkeys) on the first floor, room #113, conveniently nestled between the cabaret stage and the downstairs bar (PAR-TAY!)
.
We are also in the midst of creating a parade of paintings for Studio 4's upcoming 4 Equality: A Show of Pride. Get updates or RSVP to this event on our facebook event page.




Liberty
by John Gascot & MG Stout
acrylic on canvas
36" x 36"

Flamingo Parts 2 & 3

Flamingo Pt1

(Mostly) Junk Food Journal

Here's a sneak peek at one of the interactive pieces for the Have a Heart Project. The completed piece will be a diptych (Mary and I are creating our own simultaneously). The collage elements are made up of the packaging (wrappers, boxes, bags, etc.) that contained the (mostly) junk food we've consumed at the studio from the time we began putting together this exhibit. The pieces will become public journals onto which visitors will be able to write about their own relationships with junk food (why they eat it, why they don't, how it makes them feel...).

Painting "Live" on Weekends

This will be the first weekend (now thru February) that MGStout and I will be creating art for the Have a Heart Project "live" in the front gallery of Workhouse Studio 4.




Drawing for collaborative "Breakfast" painting.