Quote of the Year

About once every 27 years a woman will hit on me, and for such moments I have come up with several witty comebacks for different scenarios. One of the most common things I hear is, "Do I know you from somewhere?" or "Haven't I met you before?" For such questions I would have answered "You must watch a lot of TV," or "Perhaps you meet a lot of good looking guys."

So, the other day when I was at the 101X Christmas Concert, I was prepared when this blond woman by the 101X tent asked me, "Haven't I met you before?"

This is how the conversation went:
Me: I don't know, do you work at 101X.
Girl: No, but I'm Deb's friend. (Deb being an on-air personality.)
Me: Maybe you work at some place I've been before. What do you do?
Girl: I shred.
Me: (somewhat perplexed, thinking this woman shreds paper for a living) What do you shred?
Girl: I'm a profressional wake-boarding.
Me: Oh, that's cool.

Now, this is the point where I should have used the witty line, "I don't know how you would know me, perhaps you just meet a lot of good-looking guys."

Instead what I said came out like this: "I don't know how you would know me. Sure are a lot of good-looking guys here tonight."

Girl: Yeah.

Me: (realizing what I actually said) I gotta go.

Does it look like me?

My profile
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

So, I painted a self-portrait last night for my final painting class of this semester. I have several other paintings that I've done this semester that I haven't posted, but I will do so soon.
This one took me about three hours. The most difficult part was the eye and making the eyes, nose and mouth take the viewer's eye away from the flat expanse of neck.
I'd love to recieve any questions or comments.

My modeling gig

Originally uploaded by albino_octopus

Here's a picture of me at my first modeling gig. BTW. That's not me in the yellow dress.

If only I were this lucky with women

Ghostland
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

So, I went to the Ghostland Observatory show last night. I started off the night by eating two slices at Hoboken Pies and then I sat at Bull McCabe's waiting for this girl I sold a ticket to to show up. The girl shows up and happens to be a really hot British chick who recently moved here. She said she hoped to see me inside. We texted back and forth a couple times after that, but I never saw her.

While at Bull McCabe's I shared a table with a couple of random people who turned out to be really cool. We hung out at the show.

While leaving the bathroom at Stubb's, I found two unused tickets on the ground. I held them up and asked if anyone had dropped them and no one replied, so I headed outside and sold them for $60. So, the next round was on me.

Fun Fun Fun Fest 08

Me and St. Vincent
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

I had triple the fun this weekend with three days of craziness. Friday started out with the Austinist Local Music Is Sexy party at the Mohawk.

Hung out with T.J. of Foot Patrol and listened to him play piano for a while. Stumbled to Emo's to see Diplo to stumble right back to The Mohawk.

I'm not sure if I saw any bands on Saturday at Fun Fun Fun Fest. I do know that I drank at least 4 Foster Oil cans,3 Miller Lite tall boys, 1 Dox Equis and 1 Heineken. I think I may have seen the Dead Milkmen, Trail of the Dead, Deerhoof, Swinging Utters and YACHT.
The afterparty was at the Mohawk. Then headed to Creekside to see a coworker's band, Babydick. The night ended at Bull McCabe's.

Sunday, I was tired of drinking so I watched Spinto Band, Annuals, Islands, St. Vincent and Bouncing Souls. On my way out, I ran into Annie Clark of St. Vincent. I should have made my move then.

On the way to the show Saturday, Rob and I called a cab to come pick us up. When the cabbie pulled up we saw two other guys trying to flag our cab down. We asked if they wanted to share our cab. The driver started yelling at us, "No, No, NO..their cab is waiting over there on Windsor street."
So the driver goes around the corner and sees that the driver on Windsor has already left, so he goes back to pick up the guys. We get about a block from where we're going so we ask the guy to let us out. We say we want to split it with these guys, but they only have a credit card. He says he can't do credit cards, so we try to give him cash. For some reason, the driver is so pissed at this point, he just tells us to get out without paying.

We had a really hot model today

nude oil
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

So, I painted this in my painting class today. We had a nude model and she was really hot. At least hot compared to the last model we had. So yeah, I think it turned out pretty well. I can see some touching up that needs to be done. Her boob seems to be way lighter than the rest of her body. It was, but not as light as it appears in this photo. Anyway, tell me how much you love it.

End of an Era

Johnny moves away
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

After 8 years of friendship and 2 years of being roommates, Johnny moved to Massachusetts this weekend.

I suppose this is one of those chapter changing moments in both our lives. Johnny was laid off from his job about 2 months ago and started looking for jobs all over the country. He got offered a job from Turbine, the company that makes Lord of The Rings online.

Now, I have two empty bedrooms in my house and I need a roommate to ease my mortgage pain, so I can maintain my awesome lifestyle.

Did a Photo shoot today

Originally uploaded by albino_octopus

I worked as a "model" today for William Hundley. The photo pictured is not one of me, but another of his work. The ones of me he will be using for an upcoming show and he doesn't want to reveal them just yet. I jumped around in a sheet for about two hours and was paid in Vitamin water and a photo shoot for my band..

You can check out his other stuff here..

I'll post the pics of me if he ever posts them.

ACL - Day 2

Conor Oberst
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

So I just realized I forgot to do a blog about the subsequent days of ACL. Well here's what went down on day two.

I showed up about noon and got Daniel Johnston's autograph and then watched a little bit of Fleet Foxes.

After this I left to go eat lunch at Chuy's where I had lunch. Then I walked over to Shady Grove and drank until 5pm.

I went back to the park at 5:30 to watch MGMT, but it was such a cluster I left and sat in front of the stage to wait for Conor Oberst. After Conor, I had a pretty good position for Beck, so I decided not to leave to watch Iron and Wine.

So, we finished with Beck. The mass exodus was ridiculous. The dust nearly killed us. And getting down Barton Springs Rd. took forever.

Shoe Sale

New shoes
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

Shoe Pavillion on 183 and Great Hills Trail is going out of business. I picked up these three pairs of shoes for $50. Originally they would have cost $190. The last day of the sale is Oct. 12, so hurry up if you need some new shoes.

Also, across the street a new Target is opening up. Grand opening is also Oct. 12.

I hate girls

I went to see Johnathan Richman last night at the Parish. I had an extra ticket so I asked some people standing around outside if they were going to the show. Two of them said they'd already been in but there friend needed a ticket. I offered her the ticket for free. She snatched it from me and ran to the doorman. She turned to me and was a little embarrassed that she had thanked me yet, and she then thanked me and said she would buy me a drink. I could tell in the way she said it that she had no intention of buying me a drink. I walked into the show and never saw her again.

I get more thanks from people when I sell them tickets.

ACL - Day 1

Gogol Bordello
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

Showed up at about 3:30 and got a good spot for the Gogol Bordello show. You have to show up about an hour early for any show if you want to be close.

Watched Mates of State and then David Byrne again. Watching David Byrne was much better at ACL than at the Paramount. The sound was better and I could actually see the stage. Then went to see the Swell Season, which wasn't nearly as good as they were at Coachella. Then went to eat a burger and then watched the debate.

Once in a Lifetime

David Byrne Paramount Marquee
Originally uploaded by JR Heatwarp

"Dip your balls in it."

That's one of the nonsensical outbursts I heard last night at the David Byrne show. Who knew David Byrne had so many "that guy" fans.

I had tickets in the balconey and things were going great for about half the concert. Byrne was playing a lot of his newer stuff and the people were behaving themselves. Then, about 10 songs in, Napoleon Dynamite and Pedro come and sit right in front of me. Napoleon was moving his fro from side to side obstructing my view every other beat. Napolean was taking photographs every five seconds even though it was posted "No Photographs" when you walk into the theater.

Some jackasses got up to dance, so Napoleon got up to dance and completely obstructed my view. The guy danced like a complete retard. I turned to Johnny and said, "I didn't pay nothing to come here and look at Napoleon's ass and watch him dance like a retard."

Then Byrne practically made the audience beg for him to keep playing. I think they did something like 5 encores.

Oh well, I'm heading to ACL.

Adding some touches pt.7

Holly brushes her hair
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

I've added some touches to my painting. As you can see, I've done quite a bit of work on the leg and feet. I've added more definition to the shoulder blades. I've darkened the hair a little bit and smoothed out some edges.

To compare, check out the last post about this painting here.

A-List: Tokyo Police Club

A-List: Tokyo Police Club
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

Here is a pic of Rob and I captured by the Statesman's A-List photographer. This time I'm actually the target of the photo intsead of the photo-crasher. I'm also advertising Paducah.

Toadies

Toadies
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

Saw the Toadies last Wednesday. Got to set up in the VIP section and had two free beers. It's so strange that these guys are still living off the fame of a 15-year-old album. Although, I must admit "Possum Kingdom" and "Tyler" are some of the best songs ever written. This photo was taken during "Tyler" because it was the only time when the lights were bright enough.

I turn 27

birthday crown
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

So yesterday was my birthday. I had a little shindig at Creekside Lounge. About 20 people showed up altogether. Allison made me this spiffy little crown to let everyone know it was my birthday. Which led many others at the bar to tell me it was their birthday as well.

I join the 101

Leroy @ BB Rovers
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

It took me two years, but I finally made it into the 101 Club at BB Rovers. For my 101st celebratory beer I had a Chimay Golden Reserve. The waitress rang a bell and announced my name as the 1,107th member of the club. I will get a club t-shirt with my name on it, my name on plaque and be invited to the 101 club party this Labor Day.

Whole Foos Market

Whole Foos Market
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

Guess where I ate last night? Looks like those people they laid off recently were the ones who replaced the bulbs in their sign.

I finished Twin Peaks...

And I'm very upset. Whoever decided to cancel Twin Peaks should have been tortured. What kind of idiot ends a series on such a climax? They should have at least made a movie to tie up the loose ends, like Firefly. Here is a list of some of the best TV shows that I have seen that were prematurely cancelled.

1. Twin Peaks
2. My So-called Life
3. Freaks and Geeks
4. Firefly
5. Wonderfalls
6. Young Americans
7. Get Real
8. Undeclared

For your viewing pleasure

My newest blog: http://everyonesuploads.blogspot.com

Some cops are just boobs

Story

Let me get this straight. Top-less sunbathing in public is legal in Travis County. Taking photographs of people in public places is legal in the entire United States. But by combining these two actions, it somehow becomes illegal. I wish I could be arrested by a dumbass cop so I could sue the shit out of somebody.

My parents came down this weekend

Clown with my mom
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

My parents came down this weekend. Friday we did some work on my house and moved a new desk into my room. Then we went out to the Salt Lick and ate BBQ. Saturday morning we went to some garage sales and then to Ikea where I bought a rug. That night we went to Torchy's Tacos on 6th street to have dinner. At Lil' Woodrows there were about 40 clowns. One of them ask my mom for her ID when she walked in. She's gullible. After that, we went to see Esther's Follies. Then we walked down to Key Bar to join some Yelp folks in a pub crawl.

Garage Sale Grabs of the Week

Golf clubs
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

My parents came down this weekend so we went to some garage sales Saturday morning. My dad picked up these Callaway irons and woods plus the bag for $40. Looks like a steal to me. I picked up about 10 books for $10. This turned out to be a pretty good morning.

A-List

A-List
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

I made the Austin360 A-List again. I really had to stick my neck out to make it in this photo. Anyway, this is from the Hold Steady show Wednesday night.

Overheard on 6th street

girl on sidewalk talking into her cell phone: "We made an agreement like we're not gonna bone anybody else."

The only comedian who can make me laugh

Doug Stanhope
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

Went to see Doug Stanhope tonight at Antone's. This guy is the best comedian I've ever seen. I sat through four hours of comedy during SXSW and maybe chuckled a few times. Last week Lewis Black got a few laughs out of me. But Stanhope had me rolling on the ground. Nobody is funnier than this guy. Check out more about him here.

It's a tree now

avacado tree
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

Remember that little avocado sprout I started growing a while back? Well now it's like a little tree. I transplanted it to this larger pot about two months back when it was only six inches high. Now it's almost a foot tall. Oh how they grow up so fast.

Twin Peaks marathon weekend

So, I just finished watching the first season of Twin Peaks. Why did it take me nearly 20 years to watch this? This shot here is by far one of my favorite scenes in television history. This happens in the third episode and I'm pretty sure this was the scene where people made the decision if they were going to continue watching the show or not. I'm sure about half the people were like "WTF was that? This show is too crazy for me," and the other half were like "WTF, that was the coolest thing I've ever seen." Before this scene, the show seemed pretty normal.

Bugs!

bugs in seasoning
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

My roommate made some chicken tonight. He went looking for something to season it with and reached up in the cabinet and pulled down this Emeril's Southwest seasoning I've had for about three years now. It's a good thing he looked inside before he started pouring because the whole thing was full of bugs.

The Cathedral of Junk

THe cathedral
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

So I went on a brunch date this morning with a really cool chick. We threw our bikes in the back of my car and after brunch pedaled down to the Cathedral of Junk. I haven't ridden my bike in a while and realized I was way out of shape. I had to rest quite a bit after we made it. I started rambling on about something and finally got to my point of wanting to kiss her so we had our first and hopefully not last sweaty kiss in the gut of the Cathedral of Junk. It was really sweet. I hope she doesn't think I'm a jackass.

My Fourth of July

Get ready to die
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

Yesterday was probably the craziest Fourth of July I've ever had and I didn't see any fireworks. It started off with a pool party the the Domain. Yes I know, the Domain is kinda lame, but that's where it was.

Later, Rob, Jon, Kleen, Brent and I went to Beauty Bar for free drinks and then to Emo's to the Andrew WK show. You really must watch the video because I cannot explain the craziness. People were climbing on the ceiling. Probably 100 people, including me, jumped on stage. One guy was wearing a Borat swimsuit and a Mexican wrestling mask.

When it was over, some people were bloody, others were soaking wet. I on the other hand stayed out of most of the ruckus but still had a good time.

I'm in Blender

CIMG0006
Originally uploaded by SilentRob79

Text from Rob: Dude we're in Blender.

Me: Awesome, what for?

Rob: Crowd shot at Coachella.

I wouldn't be able to see the photo until the next day at work, so I imagined that it would be me and Rob up-close, recognizable. Well, it's definitely us, but you wouldn't know that unless I told you and then pointed it out. So click on this image and you can see where we're at. You should then check out my Flickr set on Coachella and you can see that this is where I was standing during the Gogol Bordello set and I was wearing a bucket hat and shades.

Dead and Bloated

Stone Temple Pilots
Originally uploaded by jay west photography

Was it the shrimp fajitas, the massive dump I needed to take, the seats a mile away, the crappy acoustics or did the Stone Temple Pilots show really suck that bad last night?

I must be really spoiled by Austin venues where the sound is actually pretty good sometimes. Last night at the STP show, I felt like I was listening to them on midi. You know when a song starts up and you immediately know which song it is? I couldn't do that last night. The only time I could understand the vocals were when the jackasses around me were singing them. And geez..these people from San Antonio were eating this up. I would have demanded my money back had I forked out the $50 for these tickets.

After I went to the Bush/Moby show back in '99, I said I'd never go to another stadium show. After I went to the Weezer show in '03 I said I'd never go back to another stadium show. And now, once again I am saying I will never go back to another stadium show.

Things

self portrait
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

So, I have a new roommate. Clifton Stuckey, former member of The Happiness and former Wichita Falls resident and The Skinnys biggest fan has moved into my hotel.

I'm going to San Antonio this afternoon to see Black Francis and Stone Temple Pilots.

I painted this self-portrait last night in art class after my teacher told me last week that I wasn't very good at drawing figures. Yes, I do have nipples I just didn't get around to adding tem last night. I don't know if I'll add anymore to this painting or not. I kinda like it the way it is.

I always miss out on the cool stuff

Story

It appears that we had a prostitution ring right down the street from us when we lived off Jollyville. I always thought the guy living next to us was a gay prostitute. He'd have several different guys over all the time.

48 Hour Film Project

Like I mentioned in the last post, I was involved in a 48 Hour Film project with Burning Ranch Productions. If anyone is interested in checking it out. The screening is happening in my hood at the Regal Arbor Cinema. The team I am on is called 'Burning Ranch Productions.' Our screening is Tuesday night.

More info can be found here:
48 Hour Film Project - Austin

WTF happened to my weekend?

Well, my weekend was ruined by being called into work and working for 6 hours on Saturday and 3 hours on Sunday. I wouldn't be surprised if I get sick sometime this week.

On Friday, we worked on the 48 hour film contest. We have a much bigger group this time because this is the actual "48 Hour Film" contest and it's not one that is done through the Alamo Drafthouse. After getting our theme we brainstormed. I was casted as a low-level pimp who had no lines and is on the screen for about 30 seconds. I kinda liked the role and it came in very handy that I was only needed for a few hours Saturday morning because or the work fiasco. The only problem was that my character smoked and I had to smoke 4 cigarettes during shooting. I felt like ass the rest of the day. Oh yeah, the other problem was that we had to be on set by 7:30, so I got very little sleep. I figured since my part was so short I could go home and sleep afterwards. Of course, that was thwarted by work.

Later on Saturday, I had planned an Unofficial Yelp Event Photo Scavenger Hunt. It started raining cats and dogs around 3 o'clock so I prematurely cancelled the event. After the rain stopped it looked like we were in the clear, so I un-cancelled the event. Nine people met at 7 for the scavenger hunt. It lasted until 11 o'clock and then after that we went to the Longbranch Inn to have a few drinks. I was awake until 3 am.

I had to come back into work on Sunday, for what I thought was going to be about 30 minutes of work. It turned into a couple hours and it made me miss band practice....and lunch. So it's almost 3 and all I've had to eat was a bowl of cereal.

Now, see if you can top that.

$50,000! Oh My

Story

I wish I knew who set fire to the governor's mansion. Just imagine all the cool stuff I could do with $50,000. Maybe there is someone out there I don't like and I can frame them. Throw them into the fire, so to speak.

Art project 2 - part 3

nude pt. 3
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

Ok, so I think I'm about 98% done. There is just something about her right eye telling me "hey..I'm just a smidgen too big." Other than that I'm quite pleased. I had a difficult time figuring out how I should paint grass. I made a mixture of 2/3 Cadmium yellow hue and 1/3 of ultamarine dunkel and lightly covered the canvas with that. On top of that I took the same mixture with a smaller brush and made grass-like strokes. In the shadows I used a bluer tint. Let me know what you think. Let me know if anything looks peculiar.

Art project 2 - part 2

nude pt. 2
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

OK, here I'm about 3 hours in. I have quite a bit of paint down and I've started working on the face. It's about 1:20 am so I've decided to call it quits. Hopefully I can get a few hours in the morning to finish this up. One thing I have noticed is that when I print off a photo, I lose a lot of the light values. I don't know what I'm going to do about that. I wish I could set my computer up next to my painting. I guess I'm going to have to run up stairs to make sure everything looks OK.

Art project 2

nude pt. 1
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

Ok, so here is the first step in my second posting of a painting. As you can see I've used an burnt seinna acrylic as a base. I then made a grid and sketched out the figure. This is from a photo I took from the internet.

My avacado seed is sprouting

Avacado
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

So I planted an avacado seed about two months back and it's finally sprouting. I have another one right beside this one that hasn't sprouted yet. I have two big pots waiting for them so I can start taking them outside. Hopefully, I'll have some avacado trees in a couple years and I can eat my own avacados.

Yelp Party

Yelp_1to1_69.jpg
Originally uploaded by Yelp.com

Went to a Yelp party at 121 Bar last Friday. We had a photo thing set up and Lorena and I got our picture taken. The frame in this picture didn't have the effect I thought it would. Oh well...my face looks funny.

I found some boobs

mannequin boobs
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

When I went home last week my mom gave me these two busts. A woman who had closed down her store in Paducah was selling everything and my mom picked these up. They had lights on the inside and by the looks of the cords they're really old. I went out and bought a new cord and am hoping to turn these into lamps. I might just use the one that doesn't have a duct taped boob.

Ladytron

CIMG3292
Originally uploaded by SilentRob79

Saw Ladytron tonight at Stubbs. Don't have much to really say about it. This isn't really my kind of music and I only went to appease some people.

On a cooler note, I went to a Yelp party tonight and grew a pair of balls.

Where have I been?

front yard
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

Some of you may be wondering why I haven't blogged in a couple days. I went home to Paducah for my cousin's graduation. Having two 5 hour drives, I have a lot of time to ponder on things. One being that the price of gas is going to keep me home for a while.

The other being that my hometown doesn't really exist anymore. Paducah is like that friend you used to have, and after being away from each other for a year or so, you realize you didn't have that much in common to begin with. You were only friends because the circumstances you were in. The whole place doesn't even look the same. It's like having sex with your 70-year-old wife. You know where everything is at, but nothing looks or feels the same.

I'm guessing everyone has this revelation.

Here is a picture of the view from our front yard.

Coin-Operated Boy

Dresden Dolls and Smoosh
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

Went to see Dresden Dolls last night. For some reason things were actually on time and I missed the second opener Smoosh, but luckily they got to come on stage and play two covers with the Dolls. The show was pretty good but I was exhausted after driving 5 hours from Paducah.

I hear that there is now some curfew on Sundays and outdoor venues have to quit playing by 11 pm. This may just be a rumor, but that is what I was told why the show wrapped up so early yesterday. Some people may see this as a bad thing, but I love it. I think shows should start earlier and end earlier. I'm getting too old to stay out so late. And some of the acts are too young to stay out that late.

My roses are blooming!

In bloom
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

Here is an update of the roses I planted in my backyard. The one on the right corner has started to bloom. The one on the left doesn't appear to even have any buds yet, but it doesn't get as much sun.

U.R.A Fever

The Kills
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

Went to see the Kills last night at the Parish. Just want to say that the lead singer is the sexiest woman alive. Too bad these crappy pictures do her no justice. Anyway, you should check out some of their videos on youtube.

The show was pretty awesome, but the Parish needs to invest in some air conditioning. It was like 120 degrees in there. I was wearing shorts and I could feel the sweat dripping down my legs. I felt sorry for the people around me wearing jeans and for the band who was wearing layers and under the lights.

The Parish also needs to speed up on bartending. I stood in line for what seemed like 30 minutes just to get a beer. Despite these two things, sound-wise it's still the best venue in town.

High Cholesterol

cheeseburger #7
Originally uploaded by a.rud.beth

So, we had a health fair at work last week. Everything was pretty normal for me except my cholesterol. My total cholesterol was at 227. Up from 173 last year. You would think I would have to have eaten a cheeseburger and drank a milkshake before they tested me to get that score, but in fact my last meal was about twelve hours prior.

So, in an effort to curb my impending heart attack here are some things I'm cutting out of my diet:
1. Whole milk.
2. Cheeseburgers.
3. Cheese.
4. Eggs

I'm going to change to 2% milk in an effort to finally change to skim or soy milk. I only use it in my cereal anymore, so it hopefully won't be that big of a deal. And I will continue to eat cheese on my sandwiches until I can find a suitable alternative.

So if you're out eating with me and I try to order something that is questionable, it is your job to stop me from clogging my arteries.

Red Eyes and Tears

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

Saw Black Rebel Motorcycle Club last night at Antone's. It's strange to me how these guys aren't bigger than they are. Usually when you go to a concert a band will play about 80% crap no one has ever heard and then about 20% of their hits. I'd say BRMC played about 75% hits last night. For some reason this is just one of those bands that I like their songs, but I don't think I would put their CD in my car and listen to it 10 times in a row. I think they lack that sing-a-long-ability that would totally put them over the edge. And for that, maybe I'm thankful.

An artist's work is never done (part 6)

100_0001
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

well, here is the finished product, I think. I'm not sure how I feel about this now. I almost liked it more before I had added to it. I like the back, the hair, the arms, top and bottom. The legs and feet are a little weird and the background just isn't doing it for me anymore. I think it's the solid white. I might sit on this for a while and then go over it with something else.

Here are some things I've learned (and really I already knew). 1. If you're going to paint from a photograph, don't use a flash, instead use a directional light. I knew this, but at the time of taking this photo I had no idea I was going to paint it. It was sort of a shoot from the hip type photo and it just turned out really well. If you'll notice the painting lacks a lot of shadows, especially on the floor. The camera flash killed the shadows. 2. I really like painting from photos. You don't have to make someone sit for a couple hours and the photos never change. 3. Next time, set up a photoshoot before you paint. 4. Finish the painting in one sitting. Coming back later will just mess things up.

Laying down some paint (parts 4 & 5)

pt. 5
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

Ok, so I worked for about 3 hours today putting some paint on the canvas and working in some of the details. I can foresee that the hardest part will be the toes and the ears. The original background of the photograph was pretty crappy and the floor and wall would have clashed with the subject, so I decided to paint the background light blue and white. I don't really have any reason for that except I think it helps the subject jump out a bit, while making it still look like she is kneeling on the floor with a wall/horizon in the background. If I had been thinking about posing this as a real picture I would have put a mirror on the other side, but that would have made this incredible difficult. So, I think I still have a few days to go with this painting. Hopefully, I'll be done by the end of the week. To see part 4, check out my flickr page.

Sketch (painting project part 3)

pt. 3
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

So as you can see I have my sketch on the canvas now. I had tried this several times without the grid, but I kept messing it up. I think it turned out pretty nicely. I'll have to do a couple touch ups here and there. I'll have to think of some background too.

Apparently there was a storm last night

SP_A0146
Originally uploaded by badasstronaut

Story

I must have slept through most of this. I knew it rained and there was some lightning. Johnny put his car in the garage because he heard it was going to hail. I don't think it hailed at all in our neighborhood. At least I didn't hear it.

I've also heard that there was a tornado at Anderson Mill and 183. So, there was a tornado probably less than a mile away from me and I knew nothing about it.

Oh well, here is a picture of a downed tree. I don't know where it's at, but it's a product of the storm. Looks like some areas got the crap beat out of them.

Making a grid (painting project part 2)

part 2
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

Well, as you can see I've hardly made any progress on my painting. I tried over the weekend but it was just too hard to take the photograph I am using and recreating it on such a large canvas. I decided I would draw a grid on the photograph and then on the canvas to make it easier.

I am trying to break your heart

Jeff Tweedy
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

You know that guy at every rock concert who knows all the names of the band's songs and yells them between songs in the order he wants to hear them? The guy seems to be on a first name basis with the lead singer, but the lead singer never acknowledges him when he says "Hey Jeff, over here, play ____________!!" And the guy always yells at the band to play 'Freebird,' even though Lynyrd Skynyrd isn't playing. And the guy who plays air guitar during guitar solos and does the running man in a packed crowd. Well, I was standing next to that guy at the Wilco show last night.
To make matters worse, that guy also had a really cute girlfriend, who appeared to not be on drugs nor affected at all when all the people around would throw a eye-rolling glance at her boyfriend everytime he would yell "Play Dreamer! Dreamer! Dreamer!" That guy would have shit his pants had Tweedy played 'Dreamer.'

I also happened to stand next to that girl. You know that girl who never lets go of her iPhone and texts messages her boyfriend during the whole show, but somehow manages to listen and dance and wave her arm in the air nearly taking out the heads of everyone around her? Luckily, that girl was only around for about 3 songs.

If you hadn't noticed, I went to the Wilco show last night. Despite my loss in hearing (I took out my earplugs...dammit) I'm glad I went. I wouldn't call myself a Wilco fanatic, but I have heard most of their songs. I usually don't like going to concerts unless I know the songs by heart. This is probably one of the best shows I've seen at Stubb's. And probably the first time I wasn't completely disappointed leaving the place. Although they could have cut the act a little short. They played forever. If I were to ever have a concert where I played for two hours I would have a 15 minute nap between the hour sets.

A rose is a rose is a rose

little rosebush
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

So I planted these little twigs in my backyard about two months ago and voila, now they have leaves. Hopefully soon they will have roses. I have one in each back corner of my backyard.
In my younger days I never thought I'd enjoy yardwork. Well, I did have a small place in front of my parent's house where I planted cherry tomatoes one year, but I hated mowing grass and any other kind of yard work. It may have been because my parents made me do it, or the fact that our yard was huge and consisted of a lot in the back that was full of weeds, baby mesquite trees, snakes, stickers and rocks. My dad bought the lot behind our house so no one else could build near us or God forbid, put a trailer behind our house.
The yard I have today is small. I have a reel mower and it takes me about 15 minutes to mow. I should probably buy some hand shears though because the grass is getting a little taller around the edges where my mower can't reach. A few months ago, you could have found me down on my hands and knees in my yard pulling up weeds. What has gotten into me? Is it ownership? Pride? Not really, it's my backyard, no one will see. Maybe, I'm just turning into what I've always thought I was: an old man.

The beginning stages of....

painting pt.1
Originally uploaded by iamcootis

I'm starting a painting. I bought a 36 X 48 inch canvas. I've had it for a couple weeks now and I'm just now getting the inspiration to start. I'm going to take pictures of every little step so you can watch me along the way.

Hells Eight Belles

Kentucky Derby Horse Racing
Originally uploaded by sluggerwv

Went out to the horse track yesterday to place some bets. I bet a trifecta box with Big Brown, Pyro and Colonel John. Two horses came out of nowhere to place and show. I guess I should have just put all my money on Big Brown to win. I'm only out $20 so I guess it's not so bad.

When I got back in town I was invited to a college party. I guess I was feeling nostalgic so I went. Man, I'm old.