Paint and Pixels

A Trip To Baltimore

I can't believe two weeks have past since I went to Baltimore! It was a fantastic trip- a true adventure. I don't think I'd ever been to the east coast before except for Florida, if that counts. Meeting with Jason went better than I could have expected, and I am so inspired to start painting him from the photos that I took. The only problem is that I have an unfinished project that is due in a couple of weeks, and needs time to dry since I did it in oils (oil paint doesn't allow for procrastination).

The week before the trip I worked on this banner:
I gave it to Jason as a way to thank him for helping me with my artwork. He is going to use it at tattoo and body modification conventions that he participates in. It's about 7 feet long.

Jason showed Luke and I around downtown Baltimore and the harbor area, which was fantastic because I was able to take pictures and get a tour of the city at the same time. We also got to talk a lot as we walked, which I really enjoyed because before going down there, he knew I wanted to take pictures of him, but there was no guarantee that he would want to share anything with me, or even be friendly for that matter. But getting to hear his take on unique bodies and deformation was really fascinating for me, even if it didn't really play into the art I would create from it. It was encouraging to hear from someone who sees things the same way I do. At one time he said something like, "I don't really need to paint, because I am a walking piece of artwork". Uh, yeah- like a really freakin awesome piece of artwork!!


This is just kindof funny. We walked by a store that had a group of model penguins in the window. He yelled out "My family!!!", because his stage name when he performs is "penguin boy". I do believe he enjoys making a scene.


Other highlights of our trip: I made sure to try out some Baltimore crab cakes (which I wasn't impressed with). I found a Goodwill (I try to do that when I go out of town), and got a new pair of shoes. Luke found an Asian market and bought us some "Hello Panda" cookies, which brought back childhood memories from living in Hong Kong. Oh man, they're so good.

Also, during a layover in the airport, we saw a lady with a custom made suitcase with what appeared to be a picture of her grandchild on it. Luke and I brainstormed about random images we could have made into a custom suitcase that would make people scratch their heads when they saw us walking through an airport with it. I think our best idea was a picture of penguin boy.

Stay tuned for paintings of Jason! But first, I have to finish a painting of a shrimp.... which seems torturously boring in comparison.