A Week in Review

I did nothing creative this week work wise...but here is a week in review with a some weak artistic observation to make up for it.

As you might of read previously on this blog, my Mom broke her hip and spent a few days in the hospital. She's doing great now healing at my sister Megan's house (Mom's home has many stairs to climb and Megan's is ranch style with a nice guest room).

While spending time at the hospital earlier in the week I noticed a few things...

I'll have to research this but is there a patron saint of vending machines?


In a hospital hall on day one, I remember seeing someone in this frame. On day three, the person in the picture must of got fired...


Why, when on the fifth floor with a nice view does the hospital put the bed facing away from it looking at nothing but a sink and a bulletin board with a "pain level" chart pinned to it?


Once Mom was out of the hospital and at my sister's... my brother Ted and I took niece Devin out of the house for an hour to give Mom (and sister) a preschool play time break.
We went to the local arcade. Devin got lucky on some game and won a hundred prize tickets with one token. She then wanted to play that game over and over again...yea, a future gambling addict.


Two days ago I went to the corner store. Across the parking lot I noticed something I never saw before. Someone living nearby had a roof topped with old wheelbarrows. Very curious, I'll get a better picture of soon...



The fiancees's god son, James Allen, graduated High School this week.



He has amazing artistic skill and will be pursuing art in college. Its scary how fast he grew up, I remember him a little kid drawing with me as in this cartoon from years ago (click on to enlarge)...


His school graduation ceremony was at the downtown Disney Concert Hall (ooooo fancy!). I missed it as Mom was having surgery that day but the Fiancee went. James played cello in the school band and they performed...below is a picture. He's the blurry blob second from the left of the larger blurry blob below the 3rd blurry blob on the right directly across and just below from the blurry blob in the center ...


I'm hoping to get more creative next week but it might be hard. My brother Ted upped me one in the "crazy uncle" adventure tour dept. taking Devin on the subway and seeing the La Brea Tar Pits in the past few days. I've got to plan something good now and might distract from making stuff.


HMMMMMM...where is the nearest live volcano?

Ye old Billboard

TV production is often cold and unfeeling twords the time and craft that goes into making it's sets. Once it's on tape, unless needed again, it's just junk taking up space. Sometimes it feels like an artistic "one night stand".

Old sets are normally destroyed or might be recycled into new ones. Set dressing is sold, donated or saved to be used again. Custom props or dressing made specific to that show are quick to end up in a dumpster.

The set I designed for Stylelicious, now airing on the DIY Network, is officially retired. I was asked to help "tag" set pieces in storage that would move to the big studio in the sky. The show is not dead, it's planned to return one day in a new format without a set.

Because of the earlier described, I was surprised when Joel, the executive producer and Nicole, the production manager at Screen Door Entertainment (the company who produced the show) asked me to save and dust off the set's billboard wall art I designed/illustrated. They wanted to hang it in the home office. Here it is behind Jesse Kelly - Landes, Vickie Howell and Jennifer Perkins, three of the show's eight hosts from the Austin Craft Mafia ...


It now lives in the company conference room...it's a nice compliment they wanted to keep it.



I've been asked by Screen Door to work on many projects when they need me since 2002, so I've never felt my work unappreciated. Having the billboard kept and hung up is an acknowledgment to every one's hard work on the show.

Summer is Here.

One of my favorite things in summer... the morning sunlight coming through green leaves of tall trees.


It gave me something to look at waiting on line to get into traffic court yesterday morning. I don't remember ever waiting in a line this long, even at Disneyland...

A really HIP Father's Day

Mom's surgery was done yesterday and a success. She'll get to go home today. Dad said it's the best Father's day gift ever. Mom had a femoral neck fracture, which is actually the break of the ball at the top of her femur which goes into the socket of the hip.


There were two possible fixes, using screws (internal fixation) but if it did not work then hip replacement.


The screws did the job. The doctor knew he could use 2, maybe 3 but in the end was able to use 4. As he said "I wanted to make it good and tight"! The screws he used are called cancellous orthopedic screws and look just like something you'd find at Home Depot. Amazing how modern surgery is also basic low tech stuff...
You can buy them on EBAY if you want to do some home surgery. I'm off to visit Mom at the Hospital, more later.

A really HIP drawing...

What's more cliche' than a 68 year old woman falling and breaking her hip. Nothing and that's exactly what my Mom said Wednesday sitting in a Hospital bed after she broke hers.
She's doing well and awaiting surgery late today or tomorrow. She has a great orthopedic surgeon who took time to draw exactly where the break is and how pins will be used to hold it all together. He even signed it...

Mom's in pain but more frustrated than anything else. She was determined to live out her life without breaking anything because she was so sick of seeing every other page in the AARP magazine about old people breaking their bones. More later...

My "In House" Mailbox.

When you live with another person long enough, you learn the best place to leave notes, messages and stuff for them. It's someplace you know that person will notice it that day.

Sometimes it's on the fridge, maybe their nightstand or desk. Maybe a "post it" on the bathroom mirror.

Well, the "Fiancee" knows exactly where to leave things for me... the first stop in my morning routine...



My "in house" mailbox has late afternoon pick up as well. I usually brew a fresh pot between 5pm and 7pm.

Mickey B.

Random observations on a Sunday afternoon. One reason why Michelangelo (no, not the ninja turtle) is one of my heros...

He worked in a world of candlelight. Film and TV was never imagined, yet he painted main scenes from the bible on the Sistine Chapel in 70mm widescreen aspect ratio...



He was the world's first film conceptual illustrator and storyboard artist.

One of life's little jokes...

I have an addiction. Star Wars action figures. I started to buy them in 1996 when Hasbro created a new line of toys. Three new movies and eleven years later... atleast 90% of the walls in my small office/studio is dedicated to 4" high hunks of plastic. Here's just one wall...


A few months before my niece Devin was born, my sister Megan found out she was going to have a girl and called all the family to tell us. I did this cartoon at the time...

That's what I thought then...until...last week, when Devin came over to visit. She had always just looked and pointed at the toys before. This day she saw a Princess Leia figure and asked me take it down so she could see it closer. Within minutes Jabba the hut, speeder bikes, taun tauns, ewoks and misc. characters were off the shelf and being really played with for the first time.

It did not bother me that she had no concern these were "collector items".
It did not bother me she lost tiny lightsabers and guns every 5 seconds.
It did not bother me she ripped the cloak on Darth Maul.

What bothered me was she had no concern for Star Wars canon and accurate details...

Darth Vader does not wear a stormtrooper helmet!
Princess Leia does not joy ride in a Y wing fighter!
Padme Amidala does not use a sith double bladed lightsaber!
The vicious Rancor is not Luke Skywalker's pet like her dog Bruiser!

Here's just a minute or two of over an hour of Star Wars play. It was one of the most fun afternoons I've had in a long time...



In the cartoon I drew before she was born, I gave her blond hair and a pink outfit... she does have blond hair and that day was wearing pink! Really weird, one of life's little jokes.

Flashback Friday #10 -College TV

My RISD 20 year anniversary memoir continues.

I grew up a TV junkie but once I got to college I went cold turkey without it (and survived). Very few people in 1983 had TVs in their dorm rooms. It was a luxury and if they did (like my roommate) it was usually a tiny black and white set.

There was a large color set in the common lounge but guess what kids....no cable! In the next few years everyone seemed to have a small TV. Outside of selective viewing, TVs were rarely on. It was probably because of the poor reception (again ...no cable).

My Junior year was the only TV obsessed one...

In 1985, I was a pioneer! I brought the first VCR into Congdon House (the campus house I lived in). My buddies and I walked what felt like a 5 mile hike to the closest video rental place (very few in those days). It was decided that the long walk to rent was not going to be a regular thing so we just bought a movie. We picked one from the "used" bargain shelf. It was the only "cool" movie on the shelf.

My friend and I (and roommate that year), Steve Miller, became very popular. The movie was the first in a future collection but at the time, no one had any other video to watch. It might of been the novelty of having a VCR or the only thing to view without lousy reception but it was watched over and over again during the next couple of months (by us and friends hanging out). I can quote it now more than any other movie (well, how about second most quoted after Star Wars).



One of my favorite scenes...



After Christmas break, I brought back some videos from home and expanded our viewing options. One of the favorites was a Christmas present I got from that year. A compilation of little known art films on one tape...



At the end of a long day, Steve and I would like to sit in our crappy "salvation army" purchased lounge chairs for a "smoke" and a beer and watch a movie. One in particular became habitual viewing. It was a bad recording of a bad movie (but kinda cool) from one of the rare times it aired on cable after it's theatrical release...



I don't have many memories of watching regular TV. The Cosby Show, Dynasty, Miami Vice, Moonlighting and Amazing Stories were the shows that in my circle of friends were "must see TV" by one or more, but were small diversions once a week. Life on campus (at least in my world then) did not live for or around the TV.

I did pull many "all nighters" in college though and one show became welcome company all alone during late hours, Night Watch on CBS with Charlie Rose. This clip below on the topic of "sexual content" in music is laughable compared to today (it features Frank Zappa)...



As the dawn arrived my favorite to watch was...



There was one show I did watch weekly that helped pay my way though college. Thank you, Dad...



I could go on but I think I'll get back to watching "Paris-gate 2007"

Custom Props - The Brain Jar

Click on images to enlarge.

This is a personal piece I made just for the fun of it with random old junk that was laying around. It took no more than 2 hours to make, it could be considered a custom prop sketch.

The base is an overturned ceramic plant pot. The bowl, a cookie jar. The rivets and other details are small wood plugs and random bits of hardware. I gave it a faux rust treatment. The yellow formaldehyde look is stained glass spray paint.

The brain is two pieces of upholstery foam glued together and quickly shaped and detailed with scissors. I literally dunked it in a small bucket of light gray colored house paint and let dry. Then gave it a few washes of thinned brown and red acrylic paint.

I love Victorian era, clunky, riveted, Jules Verne type fantasy design. I recently discovered it's now a genre known as "Steampunk".

Monica Lowe's new website

In yet another move to stay 2 steps ahead of her older brother and look better than me, my little sister Monica Lowe Scott's real website is up. Check it out at www.monicalowe.com

Also shop for her "whimsical designs" at, Five O' Clock Girl.

So whats next Monica? Another art degree or gallery show?
Another snooty, arty, "oh I'm so intellectual and make things with a meaning" painting?

(shaking fist in manic irrational frenzy here)

I'll get you Monica Lowe...oh yes...I'll get you!

Sunday Sketchbook Stuff

Click on images to enlarge.

Saturday Morning Videos

In 1984 ( before George Lucas became the "special edition" master), Georgio Moroder produced a re release of Fritz Lang's classic 1927 film Metropolis.

The film was restored, given color enhancements and a new music score composed by him (dated now but cool then). It also featured original songs by Freddie Mercury, Pat Benatar, Bonnie Tyler, Loverboy, Billy Squire, Adam Ant and others.

I saw it in college (at the "art" theater - The Cable Car). It was not the movie I remember seeing in High School film class. I wore my soundtrack cassette out listening to it.

The original Metropolis is a visual masterpiece that still influences today. The Moroder version is a little known pop culture gem for the music alone. I still find the soundtrack sometimes out there (I found mine in the bargain bin). Here are some videos, the quality of the first is pretty low but sounds good.

Star Wars Kids

I haven't posted anything this week about anything creative. So, while I'm still in a Star Wars mood (when am I not) from last weekend's convention, here are some doodles and such from an old sketchbook I did sitting at a Starbuck's one afternoon. I was feeling very Star Warsian that day. I just saw the "Phantom Menace" for a 3rd time.

Some favorite characters in a children's book feel, click on pictures to enlarge...

Flashback Friday #9 -An Innocent Man

In an 80's music mood from reading other friend's blogs recently. Vickie Howell went and saw Morrisey in concert and Jennifer Perkins is off to see Christopher Cross this weekend. I've got my tickets secured to the Police reunion tour at Dodger Stadium this summer. It will be the second time seeing them since the concert in 1984 I posted about here .

In the college years between '83 and '87, many bands came through town. Some I saw (Chicago, Lou Reed, George Carlin) , most I didn't. One fun night was a group of us going to the Providence Civic Center for Billy Joel on his Innocent Man tour...

Ok, outside of the Police, you can tell I was not the "hippest cat". The Violent Femmes did come to play on campus though! The school held a "Draw a Violent Femme" contest. The winner got an album (a real old fashioned vinyl one) and tickets to the show. I won! I cartooned a mangled teddy bear with an evil grinned little girl standing over holding a knife behind her back. I was stupid and gave the tickets away.

The biggest tour to hit town was Springsteen's Born in the USA. My friend J.P. and I anxiously waited to hear when tickets would go an sale. Remember, this was before internet, etc. and we got info from FM radio, newpaper or constantly calling the box office. When they finally did, it was during a heavy exam week and my "close" friends kept the news from me. They knew I would blow off studying and taking the tests to go wait on line.

We never got tickets. The night of the show, J.P and I walked down to the Civic Center hoping to find a nice scalper willing to sell 2 seats for the $25.00 dollars we had in our pockets at the time. We didn't of course and ended up pressing our ears to a back door and pretty sure we could hear the crowd roar and "Born in the USA" begin to play.

Years from now, I think I'll tell the story like an 80's movie that ends with J.P. and I in a crazy series of adventures. We pretend to be roadies, but carrying a huge speaker I accidentally knock out guitarist "Miami" Steve . Disguising himself, J.P. takes over for him that night and plays a great set. He gets caught but it's all OK when I expose a corrupt agent from Bruce's recording company and save his career!

The credits roll dissolving into a scene of Bruce and the whole E street band playing at my birthday party.