Painting

Y’know, even though this blog is titled “Ramblings from a Painter”, I haven’t written much about painting. Over the past few days, I’ve had some interesting conversations about painting with different people. Might be time to share the substance of them here.

A couple of years ago, I was asked, "What do you really want to do?" At the time, I had gotten very concerned with selling my paintings, and was painting pictures with only sales in mind. I wasn't at all happy with myself or the work, and they didn't sell worth a hoot anyway. Then, out of nowhere, came that question. It brought me up short and I thought about it for a long time. I finally realized that I had to tackle the issues most important in my life. All this occurred right after the 2004 elections. I decided to plumb my own feelings about the state of the country, and it led me to much stronger paintings. This year I've added a series on another subject that has affected me personally: war. And lately I'm beginning to see these two series start to merge.

These works (particularly the satirical ones) are often overt and didactic. I felt they had to be. Nothing like a sledgehammer between the eyeballs to get somebody's attention! They've proven to be attention-grabbers wherever they've been shown. But there are a lot of subtle details in them. I want people to get my idea immediately, but also be able to discover new things in them no matter how many times they look.

While sales would be nice, my goal for now is just to get them seen. That's proving to be difficult, since even most non-profits have an eye towards either sales or continued support from their major donors. I approached the local Democratic Party office to see if they'd be interested in using them in campaigns or fundraisers, but when I had to explain that the paintings were satire, I kinda lost all hope! But I'm keeping on with this theme. Don't know where it'll lead, but this is the kind of art I need to make.

Rolling Stone on Congress

For a ripping, no-holds-barred review of Congress for the last six years, take a look at this article in the current issue of Rolling Stone, "Inside the Worst Congress Ever". And check to see if your congressman is on their list of the 10 Worst. Mine isn't, but he is on the list of the "20 Most Corrupt" prepared by the non-partisan Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).

But hopefully that'll change with the election in two weeks!

Iraq

It's been a while since I posted anything here. So much has been happening that I don't have much time to spend at the computer. Then when I do, there's too much to write about. It's the same way today. So I'll just bite off a small chunk and chew on it a while, and save the rest for later.

Much news about Iraq over the past few days. 60 Minutes had a report on corruption in the new Iraqi government. The Bush administration gave 'em $1.2 billion to buy equipment for the military. They spent $400 million on junk and siphoned $800 million to private bank accounts in Europe and elsewhere. CBS's intrepid reporter found one of the Iraqi officials living high on the hog in Paris. Yeah, that's just the sort of visionary leadership the world needs, huh? And that's YOUR tax dollars at work. We can't fund Katrina repairs, we can't fund schools, we can't fund health care for National Guard members mobilized for duty in Iraq, but Bush has no problem wasting $1.2 BILLION on his Iraq pipedream!

Meanwhile, George has been closeted with senior military officials. They're not using the term "stay the course" anymore ... seems they finally realized that the "dead-enders" who are "on their last legs" (remember those Cheneyisms?) have dragged Iraq into a full-blown civil war. (Okay, so Busy isn't acknowledging what the rest of the world knows, that it's already a full-blown civil war ... that would be bad for politics, what with the mid-term elections only two weeks away). Anyway, now Bush is starting to talk about "benchmarks" and turnover to the Iraqi government.

About time, I say. I've long felt that the two alternatives of the right and left were dead wrong. Bush wanted a blank check (literally) to maintain a policy that was obviously failing. The Democrats wanted a definitive pull-out date. Neither answered the real question, which is how to get Iraq to a stage where it can limp along on its own. Now they're finally getting to the right questions that they should've been debating a year ago, but it's probably too late. The questions have changed now. Iraq has a corrupt and incompetent government, a civil war raging between Shi'ites and Sunnis (and now beween Shi'ite and Shi'ite), no economy to speak of, and a growing influence from Iranian-style fundamentalism.

So George Bush has removed a thug from power and turned a repressed-but-functioning country into a cesspool. Way to go, George!

Wackos

In my note on Camp Democracy a couple of weeks ago, I wrote about talking with a guy who claimed that the government was controlling his thoughts through the chips implanted in the fillings in his teeth. Later, I shared this story in an email to a friend who works in one of the federal security agencies. He sent me his own story:

"I know you're not making it up. I've run into a few of those folks along the way as you can well imagine. One time I took a call from one of these guys, a regular who called our office several times a week. I asked him for his name and address. He didn't want to give it to me until I said, "How do I know whose chips to turn off if you won't tell me your name and address?" He thought about it, then told me. I told him we didn't need his devices any more, and I would turn them off as soon as we hung up. We never heard from him again!"

Russian Artist Visitors

We had a group of Russian artists visit our studios today. They were here from Asheville's sister city of Vladikavkaz, on a state-sponsored trip, looking into various ways Asheville's artist community is functioning. I had my political satire paintings up on the walls. Some of it was beyond them, since it addressed internal US politics (contrary to Dick Cheney, most people outside the US don't give a damn about it ... frankly, most people inside the US don't give a damn, either!)

One of my paintings caught their eye, though. Our Commander in Chief (which can be seen on my web site) is a portrait of Bush that makes him look remarkably like Alfred E. Neumann. My artist visitors zeroed in on it. One asked me "Is permissable to make joke of President?" Yes, young lady, it certainly is.

In fact, being able to make fun of our leaders is one of our country's major strengths. And her innocent question drove home, yet again, what a unique position we're in. We may have an idiot for a President, but we are free to speak our minds about him. And even in this day and age, that is not a very common thing.

Boycott Citgo

Over the past couple of days, Venezuela's president Hugo Chavez has been in New York for events at the United Nations. Chavez became a walking event in himself when he began attacking Bush as "the Devil".

While I am no fan of George Bush, I find Chavez to be a first-class jerk. His comments, now and in the past, are not acceptable from any national leader. He can disagree with our nation and our President all he wants, but should keep the discourse at a professional level. His remarks belong in a cheap Venezeuelan bar, not the U.N.

So I say, boycott Citgo. Why? Citgo is owned and operated by the Venezuelan government. It's a source of billions of dollars a year to Chavez. If you want to get his attention, take his money.

Terrorist Treatment Debate

President Bush is at it again. The Senate is debating what kind of legal structure is needed to guide terrorist interrogation. Senators McCain, Warner, and Graham are leading the effort, and Colin Powell and Senator Arlen Spector weighed in on it, too. Frankly, these Republicans are finally showing some backbone. They're insisting that interrogations be done in a manner consistent with the Geneva Conventions. About time, too. First time in years that I've actually supported a Republican effort in the Senate!

But ol' Bush is seriously pissed off. He's threatening to shut down the interrogation efforts completely if he doesn't get what he wants, and says it'll be on the Senate's heads. Umm, excuse me, George? You're threatening to shut down an ILLEGAL system? Something we should never have been doing in the first place? Something you could get convicted of, if it ever went to the War Crimes Tribunal at the Hague? Am I missing something here?

Now let's look at some street cred issues:
Senator McCain: Decorated Navy war vet, former POW, spent years being subjected to torture and illegal interrogation techniques. I'd say he's an expert on it.
Senator John Warner: WW2 Navy vet, Marine officer in the Korean War, former Secretary of the Navy.
Senator Lindsey Graham: A JAG officer in the Air Force Reserves since 1982, including active duty stints during the Gulf War and earlier this year (yes, active duty while still a Senator).
Senator Arlen Specter: Two years in the Air Force in the early 1950's.
Colin Powell: Now, really. Retired Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as high as you can go in the military, and one of the two guys who made the Gulf War a success.

On the other hand:
President Bush: One step above a draft dodger. Got Daddy to get him a cushy reserve billet that kept him out of Viet Nam, then didn't even show up for work.
Vice-President Cheney: Confirmed draft dodger. Had "other priorities" during Vietnam.
Donald Rumsfeld: Served as a Navy pilot back in the 50's, and as Sec Def once before, so he should know better.

So who ya gonna believe?

You know where my vote is.

Camp Democracy, 9-10 September

Last weekend I was in Washington, DC, as part of Camp Democracy. This was an outgrowth of Cindy Sheehan's Camp Casey, outside Bush's ranch in Texas. This time they were set up on the Mall between the National Gallery of Art and the Air and Space Museum. I thought it would be a good opportunity to show my paintings to thousands of The Faithful, right there within spitting distance of some of the people lampooned in the works.

Well, not quite. Yes, I showed to The Faithful, and yes, my paintings got a great reaction from nearly everybody who saw them. Problem was, there weren't very many people there. Instead of thousands, I'd put the turnout in the low hundreds over two full days. And half of them were just tourists wandering by on their way to this or that museum.

Still, I talked to a bunch of very interesting people and had a good time. Maybe something will come out of this. Maybe not. We'll see.

I took up a bunch of my posters, too, hoping to sell enough to cover my transportation costs. Turns out that selling posters is illegal on the Mall. Why? Good question. The Park Police decided back in the mid-90's to cut down on the number of vendors clogging the Mall. So they outlawed the sale of everything except literature, bumper stickers, and buttons. So I had to take down my sign. HOWEVER (there's always a "however" in DC), the sale of posters was quite legal on the street, which was outside Park Police jurisdiction, and was only about 20 yards away. So selling a poster here was illegal, but right over there was okay! Makes sense, no? No.

I'd contacted a bunch of old friends who live in the area and told them I'd be there, and to come on down and visit. Some of 'em did. Problem was, they all came at the same time! So there I was, trying to visit with all of 'em at once, and still talk to people looking at the art ... didn't work worth a hoot. So they all left, again at the same time, and left me standing there talking to some guy who claimed that the government was controlling his thoughts through the microchips imbedded in his fillings. I'm not making this up. He had colorized X-rays and reams of stuff downloaded from the internet to prove his case. Why do these people always find ME?

So, all in all, it wasn't the most productive trip I've ever taken. Would I do it again? Well, knowing what I now know, no. But I've had another "learning experience" and will have a better idea what to look for. I still think that political events such as this are good venues to show my paintings. I just want bigger ones!

Follow-up ...

Our friend Mary Carol passed away yesterday from cancer. We miss her tremendously already. Godspeed, Mary Carol.

The News ...

I learned today that a very dear friend is in the late stages of cancer.

All the world (or at least, all the TV stations) are mourning the Crocodile Hunter, who was just killed by a stingray's barb. I don't care. He's just another face on the tube. He wasn't real to me, not like MC is. She's somebody that we've talked with, laughed with, pulled pranks on, sat together over dinner, sent emails back and forth, hugged, commisserated with, got annoyed at (just occasionally), and loved. She's a dynamo. She's got more determination than any ten people put together. And she's needed it to pull through some of the situations she's been in. But now, cancer is taking her down.

As I tried to digest this bit of news, I took the dogs for their evening walk. I was depressed. The dogs weren't, of course. They're two little Shih Tzu's, the sweetest creatures on earth, and they were just thrilled to be checking out their territory. The church yard is their Running Field, and boy, did they. Pretty soon, I was running, too, so they could chase me. Big puppy smiles on little puppy faces, running full tilt through the grass.

I felt much better on the walk home. The dogs just trotted along, happy to be outside. I was happy to have shared their joy for a while.

We're all here for just a short while, and most of us have no control over when we leave. But in the meantime, we can run with the dogs through the wet grass.

DC Bound!

I found out this evening that I'll be going to Washington, DC, next weekend. I'm going to take my "Bush League" series of political satire paintings up so they can be displayed on the Mall in the Camp Democracy events that will be going on for most of this month. My paintings and I will only be there for the weekend, though.

I'm really excited about this. All painters want people to see their work, and I'm no exception. These paintings have been very well received by most viewers, even Republicans. (Although there was that one guy who got very irate at me, saying that George Bush was his HERO ... I didn't quite know how to answer that, since I'd never heard anybody willing to admit to such a ridiculous idea ... I mean, it's like saying "Alfred E. Neumann for President" and meaning it!).

Hmm. Where was I? Oh, yeah. Anyway, it'll be great to get these paintings out in front of The Faithful, especially when they're in DC, and several of the paintings refer to people who might even be within eyesight.

I get asked a lot of times whether I plan to sell the paintings at something like this. Frankly, I'd probably drop dead of a heart attack if anybody actually wanted to buy one ... although my hand would probably reach out from the grave and take his/her check. I'm really making these paintings because, well, I need to. I can't be happy with making pretty landscapes or still lifes. I have to do something that has some meat to it. Actually, it seems that making art is an extension of my Navy career: in the Navy, I could do my own small part in Big Things; in art, I seem to be doing the same thing. Only now I don't have to toe the party line. And if I want to piss off some bozo whose hero is George Bush, so be it!

My Own Anthology

I just published an anthology of my own work. No, it's not a huge volume. And no, I didn't have a big-name publishing house begging me to take a huge advance. If you look to your right, just below the picture, you'll see a link that says "Articles and Other Writings". Click on that and it'll take you there.

At the moment there are three things on that page. One is a collection of commentaries that Janis and I sent to friends and family during our four-month European trip in 1999. These are accounts of our adventures (and misadventures) as we meandered around the continent. Another item is an article that I wrote about "information warfare". It was published by the U.S. Naval Institute Press in February, 1996. Rather heavy reading, but interesting if you're into military stuff. And the last item is an article I wrote for a car club about my experiences doing a major maintenance procedure on my own car, and living to tell the tale.

And the other two links on this page? One will take you to my professional website, the "Studio of Skip Rohde". The other will take you to the River District Artists website, which is a group of artists in Asheville, NC, of which I'm a part.

Ka-Ching

The other day I was driving down the road when I started hearing a "ka-ching, clink, rattle rattle". After a few minutes looking around, I discovered the source of the noise. All the change in my pants pocket was rolling out, coin by errant coin, and straight down into the slot where the seat belt comes up through the seat. My natural reactions as a tightwad kicked in and I was all over two lanes of traffic, trying to stave off coin bankruptcy. Later I was able to dig some of it out, but a goodly number of the coins made their successful escape. I figure that if I ever have the seats re-covered, I won't have to write a check. I'll just tell the guy he can keep whatever he finds down there. Probably a fortune!

Thoughts on the American car industry ...

I heard some talking heads today discussing Ford and GM's financial troubles. Both manufacturers are hemorrhaging money, and both are blaming their troubles on what they call "legacy" costs, meaning pensions and health care for their unionized workers and retirees. They say these add something like $2400 to the costs of their cars as compared to those from, say, Honda or Toyota. And it's these costs, they say, that are killing them.

I say that's bunk. The only thing killing Ford and GM are Ford and GM's top brass. These are the brilliant leaders who bet the farm on big trucks and SUV's, even long after anybody with an ounce of foresight could see that gas prices were going to go way up again. (Actually, they're still betting on big trucks and SUV's). And not only that, but they do very little to improve the design and construction quality of any of their vehicles.

By contrast, look at Honda and Toyota, which are making money hand over fist. These guys decided several decades ago that they were going to build top-quality cars for the average family. Their cars are completely redesigned every four or five years. Not just new styling tweaks, I mean they redesign the chassis and everything in it. So the engineering in your new Camry is, at most, five or six years old. And they do this with every car in the lineup. Then they build it in a factory (often in the U.S.) where every worker is focused on making a quality product.

Ford, by contrast, has been building the same Crown Victoria for FIFTEEN YEARS. And it wasn't exactly cutting edge even when first introduced. The Taurus had two chassis designs in over twenty years production. The last version of the Mustang was originally designed when Jimmy Carter was President. GM isn't any better, except with a few cars like the Corvette and the new Cadillac lineup (which proves these guys can do some good stuff if they put their minds to it).

The military uses the phrase "getting inside the enemy's decision loop", meaning that if you can gather information, make decisions, and react faster than your opponent, then you'll win. By this standard, Honda and Toyota are reacting about twice as fast as Ford and GM. They're making money. Ford and GM aren't. And it has nothing to do with the cost of retiree benefits.

Note to Bill Ford: Try doing something radical, like designing more cars that people want to buy, instead of trucks.

I say all this as a long-time Ford owner who wants to see these companies succeed. We have enough trouble with American manufacturing moving overseas. We don't need to have the American motor industry go down the tubes, too. Particularly when the guys currently driving the industry into bankruptcy will still make millions in salaries and bonuses, while the average working Joe will lose everything.

First Post ...

I'm starting this blog because I'm an opinionated old fart and feel a need to inflict these opinions on the rest of the world. Here you'll read comments on art (my profession), politics (my usual subject matter), world news, sports, and who knows what else. Some might be interesting, some not, we'll see. In the meantime, this note will at least get things started.