end of week 4 (2)

end of Week 4 (1)

some from the truck trip with Mack.

End of Week 4

Hit an energy wall this week. Needed a rest I didn't get. Resting
now, however.

It has been really hot through the plains of Kansas.

.. ok so we left off in Goodland.
End of the day in Goodland I walked out to the worlds largest easel.
With a big Van Gogh on it. Don't know exactly why people make these
objects out in the Midwest.

Woke up in Goodland ready for some adventure. Hitched a ride toward
a town called Kanorado—you guessed it, on the border of Kansas and
Colorado. Sounded like the right thing to do. The guy Dennis who
picked me up asked me, "You going to the dig?" Hmm.. stranger
assuming I'm heading to a dig? "what dig?" "The archeological dig
in Kanorado. Only reason someone like you'd be going to Kanorado."
So of course I said, "yes I am."
It was a dig out in the middle of the Kansas plains,
digging for clovis and hopefully pre-clovis artifacts—around 10-14000
bc. I had a fun time hanging and chatting about archaeology. Had to
do it, if only for my dad.
Then I hopped a ride to the next town of Burlington with
some of the archeologists, a woman named Katie being one of them.
They dropped me at a gas station near the freeway (my favorite!) with
a lightning storm looming. Pondering how to get out of there, I just
decided to do a little oil- the sky was pretty purple, nasty and
amazing with lightning cracking constantly. Only locals seemed
interested in what I was doing. As I was pondering what to do, Katie
rolled up to check on me—just then the wind whipped up… so I quit
painting and got a bite (she bought, I drew). Then back to hitch
hike some more (joy!).
I stood there watching a glorious sunset, realizing I
would not get a ride.
I was just packing it in for the night, when Shannon,
my savior, drove up and gave me a lift! It was glorious. We hauled
west, spinning tales of Austin and roadtrips. We all crashed the
night in Limon.
That night I felt like hell. Hit some sort of energy
pit. Bleary eyed. Just done as dinner. But I did watch some Conan
the Barbarian on TV and saw the wheel of pain. Whatever I'm going
through ain't that tough. A bit of dehydration—I had been in the sun
all day with hitching and archeology. In the morning I still felt
sick, but started coming to life as we set off to Denver.
Seeing the mountains of the front range was sweet!!
Rolling into the mountains I started coming back to life. We stopped
in Idaho springs for a pizza, and I did a sketch for Shannon, and
then I was back to hitching.
After a while a Pathfinder rolled up and Greg gave me a
lift all the way to Glenwood… a quick bus up valley and I was walking
up the road to my aunt and uncle's.

Rest!! Glorious rest. Watching the river go by. So necessary.

I need to recharge.. after this rest, 10 days to go. Will need my
strength to go strong the next few days.

My friend Susan reminded me this is a competition—"Never under
estimate the enemy. Sell, sell, sell and cross those state lines like
the wind. Win, win, win, and kill to win. Love the big sale."

I've survived well, now I have to play to win.

Love
kenny

more pics week 4

Pics week 4

first part of week 4- big sale

Beginning Week 4

I like Kansas City.

I've been wanting to actually wrap my head around a real painting.
We've been rushing around so much, doing quick sketches then moving
on, it seemed time to go for a more significant painting.

We contacted Leopold Gallery, a local KC gallery, whose owner Paul
turned us on to a local collector named Lee (and his wife Claudia).
Paul took us over to Lee's house (near the art museum and the art
institute) and we got a good tour of his dense collection of art. So
much! Packed into his house, floor to ceiling, almost all figurative
painting and sculpture. It was really incredible…

My idea was to see if he was interested in any of the work I'd done
so far, or perhaps agree to a commission or something. Initially he
was hesitant, as he should be.. he doesn't know me, nor my work.
Anyways, we eventually wandered around to the idea that I could do a
painting, and he could have the option to buy it, but I'd be very
happy to take it back to LA and sell it in the show at the end. This
way no pressure on either end.

Though there was pressure for me— if I bought some art supplies, and
I was about broke. If he decided not to buy it, if the painting
didn't come together, I would be in major jeopardy.

So we discussed what he would possibly want; a figure for sure. We
started thinking about hiring a model, then Lee suggested Lucie, our
associate producer.. Duckie her nickname. It was a brilliant idea,
because it made the whole experience intimate and personal. I did an
ink sketch, we thought about a size, called a great canvas maker in
town (Signature Canvas) and they knocked out a custom Linen for me.
Bob over at Signature heard the whole story and donated the linen to
the cause. Very cool. (I was happy to find they are the only major
canvas manufacturer in the US that use all local materials-- from
wood to canvas. Except for my special oil-primed Belgian linen.)

So with linen in hand, we set up in the upstairs den/guest room. I
chose this room because I could control the north light and find that
cave like condition I love to paint. Lucie has a great neck and I
wanted that to shine, and we chose a purple dress… just because that
is I what she had.

Duckie, it turns out, was a great model. She had been a dancer and
played in Orchestras; both required physical control for long
periods of time. So, her first time as an art model she was
amazing. 7 hours straight we worked.

It is not ideal to finish a portrait under time and money jeopardy,
especially when you have a HD camera over your shoulder, and a
producer asking me questions on camera. Lee and Claudia would come
up sometimes to hang out while the painting was being done. What's
funny is, as much as that would throw most artists off, I thought
about how cool it must be for them to see a painting being done in
their house, of someone they know, of a painting they might live
with. As collectors it would be a rare opportunity, I'd think.

So around sunset I finished the painting, and it was not easy. Doing
a one-pass oil is really hard, as some strokes will want to remove
paint. In my style of paintings it makes it much more technically
difficult.

I was a happy with the painting however. We all went down stairs to
eat and have some wine, with the Lee not having seen the last 2
hours or so of work. After food I brought the painting down, on
camera, to see if he would buy it. He was perfectly theatrical about
it.. an art showdown. He said this whole speech about how KC is not
LA nor New York and that I was an unknown artist to him… it was
great. So I threw out a real, if a bit low, number—2500 firm. He
took it. First big sale!!

So I collapsed exhausted, but knowing I wouldn't have to worry about
money as much form here on out. Though I will set a bunch of money
aside for framing and show costs, as well as a vegas hotel. It is
not smooth sailing, just I get to breath a bit easier now.
-------------

I'm currently in Goodland Kansas near the border of Colorado. I got
a couple rides here from the outskirts of KC—a nice family moving to
Utah from Tennessee (leading to a night in Salina, KS), and yesterday
a fantastic trip with a big rig trucker named Mack. He lived out of
his truck basically, and took me, the camera man Ian and the sound
man Paul along for about 200 miles. It was a real treat and I
learned much about the life of a trucker.

i've been a bit burned out after KC. I'm afraid when I'm done with
this show I'll become a hermit and live in some cave and folks will
remember when I "was such a social fellow."

Today I feel better. Ready to win this race.

That is all from the road. Will be Colorado soon.

Much love
Kenny

week 3 pics (pt 3)

again, in no particular order

week 3 pics (pt 2)

week 3 pics (pt 1)

in no particular order

End of Week 3

Week 3 is over. I'm halfway home.

Last day off we chilled in St Louis. Relaxing. Writing. Getting
things sorted.

Leaving St Louis last Thursday, we took the train out to the small
winery town of Hermann, Missouri. Cute little German-influenced
town. They call it the Napa of Missouri, for what that is worth. I
was amazed at all the old intact houses. Late 1800s most of them.. it
reminded me of the old colonial cities on the east coast. I found
out the old Courthouse on the hill might be altered greatly.. a new
approach, landscape, etc. It seemed a shame as it has the nice green
hill sloping down from the front steps, with a little road wrapping
around to the side. So I decided to paint a painting of the façade
and front greenery, to perhaps preserve it, and maybe find a buyer in
town.

Later I met Joey, a local artist with an arts collective in town.
She put me up in her place, I did a little drawing of her son Pablo.
We went for $1 burgers at a rural watering hole. He and his friend
Jason agreed to give me a ride down the road in his red 69 beetle.
Next day it was pouring. So off we went in the rain, stopping
occasionally to shoot driving shots. On one of the shots we took a
turn to quick and skidded of the road into ditch! After a moment of
panic, we started just laughing. All was good, we were able to just
drive off… but the skid marks are hilarious.

We arrived to our destination.. a town called Mokane, population 188
or 186 depending on the sign. After poking into the local tavern we
went up the street to local market. After a while of hanging around
with the owner Rick (and playing dominos with the local ladies) I did
a couple sketches of the his children.. they put me and up and gave
me a great tour of their house, barn, horses, muscle cars, and
fiddles…Rick's father was a legendary fiddle player. It was great.

Next day we went to see a taxidermist friend of Rick's. got a very
interesting tour and understand a lot more about how that is done…
Styrofoam molds underneath.. who knew? And he let me fire his
compound bow… that was pretty cool. My first shot went into the
field not to be found till later when the grass is mowed. But my
second shot hit the target. Pretty intense. Loads o fun.

On the way back we passd the local nuclear power plant, perhaps the
only reason Mokane is still doing ok. A great tour of the back roads
around Mokane… lots of farming and deer hunting lessons.

On to California. California, Missouri that is.

Let me sum up the sucking of my first day in Califronia. Missouri. --

Stuck in strip mall.
Burgher haus.
Hitched a ride to a local park to see a huge family reunion.
Hilarious. Tried to scare up a place to stay.. No good on lodging
cause all of them were from out of town.
Back to burgher haus… out of ideas. Ghetto motel next door out of
rooms. Stopped by the bowling alley next door, called "California
Lanes" talked with the owner. He agreed to let me crash in the ante
room. Better than being in the mosquitos and/or rain.

Owners of the burgher Haus were really cool—mike and jane. Did a
sketch of Jane and she drove me to my next small town in Missouri—
Russelville.

Russellville

written in russellville--
'I just woke up in Squeak's house in Russelville, MO. She is the
local bar keep here, and runs Squeak's place, the current incarnation
of the Russelville Bar, built in 1890. We were dropped in the middle
of town here yesterday, a Sunday, with everything apparently closed.
Russellville is cute, German roots I think, long past its glory when
the railroad ran right through town.
Anyways, we get dropped in town, and I have no idea what
I'm going to do. A kid coming out of the only bar says it is
closed. After a little while, Squeak pokes her head out and says,
"Come in if you want a beer. I'm not open but I have a Sunday
license." Down the rabbit hole.
So we go in, pass the afternoon with a beer and
conversation, and watch the sky get dark and thunderous. Big
downpour. I do a drawing of Squeak in her bar, she agrees to put me
up. I'm exhausted, and am looking forward just to crashing. After
wandering over to the pizza parlor (only place in town that is open),
we all eat and watch some local rednecks drive by. Or hillbillys.
Depends on your definition. I'm going to do a quick drawing
tomorrow for a pizza and a few dollars. Who said this would be
easy? But I love the idea that my little drawings will be left in
these little towns. Maybe the pizza parlor menu will have a Kenny
sketch on the front. Funny world.'

'Like most small towns around here, the economy is not good. In
addition to general downturn, gas prices seem to be wrecking them.
I'm shudder to think what the prices are back home. '

I did a tough sketch of Squeak's son's girlfriend's niece Grace who
had died at 4 days old. This may have been the toughest drawing so
far. I did my best, under difficult conditions.
Matt (Squeak's son) really appreciated it on behalf of his
girlfriend, and it was good enough for a ride was down to Windsor, MO.
A side note was the hillbilly gear in the back of Matt's truck. We
were cracking up about it: Empty bud light cans, two bottle of Jim
Beam of differing emptiness, and a small vodka bottle which was
filled with moonshine. Matt claims to never touch the stuff-- I took
a swig of the moonshine when we arrived in Windsor. I believe him.

Windsor was a bit strange. A bit depressed.. many closed shops on
the little mainstreet, and a general population that was pretty
skeptical of us outsiders. I did a nice painting of the water tower
in town, which may be torn down soon.
A really nice young couple came and offered their house and I took
their offer. Josh and Chyna are young artists and they were nice
enough to take pity on me. They took me in and offered me a ride to
Warrensburg (where I could catch a train) the next day. Upon learning
they were going for their art appreciation class I thought I'd crash
the class. I did a little lecture and made the class pretty fun. We
talked for a while about the project across country… with camera
rolling. It was a great day.

Josh and chyna drove me all the was to KC where I'm currently
laying low.

It all starts again tomorrow. Wish me luck.

Love to All.
k

end of Week 2

---------

Columbus Ohio.

We happened to end up in Columbus on First Saturday Gallery Hop. I
was dropped off in the arts district by the two young guys from
Ohio. Pondering how to take advantage of a night where a small
gallery district would get packed with 'hoppers' by 8 or 9 at night,
we stumbled into a nice little gallery with a salon style show up.
The owner Jacquie Mahan is one of the coolest people, let alone
dealer, I've met.

The thought went something like this—do a painting right in the space
(she had a nice spare interior for me) and try to auction it off that
night. The question is this- how does an art-going crowd in Columbus
react to a painter they don't know. Sure he has a good story, but
how much would they actually plunk down for an oil?

It was a crazy night, many good people swirling about. There were
some bids, and eventually Jacquie's aunt bought it for $400, and she
gave me the whole split. Great fun. So, with some money in pocket I
took the bus to Indianapolis.

----------

A day cruising through Indianapolis. Setting out to have adventures,
seeing what I could trade for art, what art I could sell, and more
importantly, who I would try to sell to.

Approaching a biker astride his Harley, cutoff shirt, Cigar in mouth,
he seemed the most unlikely art buyer. He gave me $6 for a small
sketch of his Motorcycle. He probably gave me the money just because
I was on a journey and needed money. But now he has a small drawing
of his old friend his motorcycle.. perhaps he'll really enjoy it over
time.

To some ladies eating lunch I sold a small double portrait for $20
each. So sweet they were, telling me all about how friendly
Indianapolis is.

Attempting to enter a nice restaurant, we got shut down as they are
corporate and allowed no cameras in.

Some business men on the street had zero interest in talking to an
artist on the street.

I then hit up a cool store that was like a locally owned jewelry and
home furnishings place called Silver in the City. The owner seemed
excited by the idea of trading art.. and I needed a few things. A
watch for one. I'm always late, so I figured a watch might help. And
a new T-shirt as a couple of the ones I brought didn't work well with
the radio microphones. She also showed me a cool bracelet made with
re-used metal from a city recycling project. So I bartered a little
drawing for a few things, and I think the drawing made her immensely
happy.

But upon seeing a spa on a 2nd floor of a beautiful Art Deco
building, I thought, "That is something worth trading for. A
massage." After barging in with film crew talking to the owners we
agreed on a couple small drawings for a deep tissue massage. I did a
portrait sketch of my massage therapist, and of the Art Deco barber
shop untouched since it was built. I was probably drawing more than
I was getting massaged, but it was worth it as I didn't realize the
amount of tension I have been holding. A whole different set of
stresses on this trip.

I left the spa. It had been pouring rain. I sought a dinner—we went
to locally owned restaurant and after a (what seemed to me) tough
talk with the manager, I convinced him to buy my dinner in exchange
for a drawing of the place- a 105 year old steakhouse, which he's
managed for 23 years. He was not so sure at first, but after we
were there for a while, entertained by the hilarious staff, and said
sure. I was happy he'd have this memory of the place- especially as
the facade would change soon. As I went by the open kitchen I
showed the drawing to them, and they, with the correct critique,
said, "where are all the people?" Yes, good question. Lots of laughs.

The waiter Eric was an artist also, and we had some laughs about
getting caught drawing people while on the job. He gave me one of
his ticket books covered with doodles, some even done while taking
orders! I loved the drawings. The waiters were all comedians it
seemed.

In the morning a Greyhound to St Louis. Greyhound is no fun.

Great to see the St Louis arch. I'm heading home.