Bus Ridin' Folk

"Bus Ridin' Folk", 30" x 34"; ink, graphite, acrylic, & crayon on synthetic paper. (c) 2011 by Howard Salmon

This painting is about some of the people I see on the bus, as it drives through South Tucson. The title is written at the top of the picture in Olde English, to reference all of the tattoos I see on the bus. At the top, is a big angry-looking guy in a Carl's Junior outfit, who has a big tattoo on his neck, written in Olde English script.  In the second row is a raggedy-looking man who's holding a Big Gulp cup. In the third row are two characters: on the left is a student listening to her iPod. On the right side of that same row, is a well-groomed ex-convict.  On the bottom row is a morbidly obese woman sitting in a motorized wheel chair. On the lower right side of the picture is a gold-plated Sun Tran bus emerging from a tunnel, which has a decorative border around it that resembles a sun burst or a spiritual aura.

Happy

"Happy", 30" x 32", ink & acrylic on synthetic paper. (c)2011 by Howard Salmon

This painting is based on a birthday card that my wife gave me recently. The word "happy" was on the cover (as in "Happy Birthday") I thought, "is it possible to make a painting about happiness, without appearing childlike or ridiculous?" My aim here: to make a happy painting that actually feels happy.

I'm still working with the repetition of very simple repeated cartoon-like shapes (based on the idea of "masks"); in this case, the palm trees, the butterflies, and the glasses of red drink at the base of each tree. Everything else (the clouds, the trees...) are also all made from very simple repeated shapes and movements of the hand. The layers of color are what I really spent most of my time on here. Multiple layers of different colored washes created this feeling of atmosphere, which I really like. The letters at the top ("Happy") are painted in shimmering gold acrylic.

Canine Soul Mate

"Canine Soul Mate", 30" x 39", ink, acrylic, & graphite on synthetic paper. (c)2011 by Howard Salmon

This painting is about the strong bond that people have with their dogs. The dog pictured in the painting above is MY dog; he lay at my feet as I was tacking the drawing surface to the wall, in preparation for this painting.  This piece reminds of a combination of Marc Chagall and Walt Disney: those diffuse areas of primary color, as well as the way the dog appears to float...and also, the  zany line up of cartoon characters that reminds me of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. 

I'd initially chosen a rainbow as a device to organize this picture, so I could have a rainbow land in a bowl of dog food. (The working title initally was "At the end of hte Rainbow...is your dog"). The dog's body position mimics the rainbow arc of the dog shape.  I painted the dog in Antique Gold paint, as did I the dog bones in each of the four corners, just to emphasize how precious dogs are to people: might as well get 'em gold plated!

At the bottom of the picture is Charles Darwin, talking to one of his finches, and contemplating inter-species friendships between humans and animals. The top half of the picture shows double portrait of a dog and his owner (the bald bearded man), arranged in a heart formation. At the center is a fat laughing Buddha character, to reinforce the happy spiritual quality I was going for. Two of my Muses are hanging out in the right side of the picture.

Drum Circle

"Drum Circle", 30" x 41", acrylic, ink, graphite on synthetic paper, (c) 2011 by Howard Salmon.

Virtual City, Bright Lights

"Virtual City, Bright Lights", acrylic, ink, & chalk on synthetic paper, 30" x 42" , (c) 2011 Howard Salmon

This painting is a virtual night life, filled with mystery and adventure. The yellow dotted border is made of "emoticons". It makes me want to read the painting as a computer monitor.

I'm starting to combine some of the imagery I've included in other paintings into my more recent paintings. I like to see how these various characters will interact with each other.  On the left is my bearded balding man cluster character (Scholar? Prophet? Bum?) On the right is one of my "muse" characters.

Hey babe, take a walk on the virtual wild side! And the avatars go "doo da doo da doo..."

Heal Thyself

30" x 46"; india ink, Sharpie, graphite, acrylic, crayon, on synthetic paper; (c) 2011 by Howard Salmon

This painting is about my secret natural cures for healing: coffee, beer, hot sauce, and art.   In moderation, they can really enhance life (at least the first three; with art, it's okay to overdose on the stuff: its good for you...)! If you're feeling sick, try these home remedies before scheduling that doctor's appointment!

The image shows a face (repeated six times, on the left side of the picture) represented by these three items: a coffee cup, a can of beer, and a bottle of hot sauce.  I've worked a caduceus symbol (which I associate with the medical profession) into the image of the face: but the two wings wrapped around the staff ended up looking like tufts of hair on a bald guy's head, and the two serpents facing each other look like attenae. Bozo the clown from Mars? Nope...that's the face of Mr. Salmon's natural healing remedies.

On the right side of the picture you'll see a doctor's clipboard with a prescription: coffee, beer, hot sauce, and art.  In the bottom right corner, you'll see my recently created "Muse" "mask, who I've been flirting with lately...

Art Muses (Flying Around Two Rolls of Blank Canvas)

ink & acrylic on acrylic sheet, 30" x 41", (c) 2011 by Howard Salmon

This is a painting about artistic inspiration. As you can see, the picture is divided into two diagonals. The lower diagonal shows two rolls of raw canvas, leaning against each other.  The upper diagonal shows six art muses, who look modern and stylish, compared to Raphael's cherubs. They've each got a severe Manga-styled hair cut. Their facial features include three eyes, two of which are lined up vertically (a Picasso-esque touch), and lips drawn in the style of golden aged comic book molls.  Their skin is painted a metallic gold: a reference to the art and people of Mesoamerica (which I regard the Arizona Southwest as a part of).   The muses actually look like bats with bosoms (or "angry birds"), but I'm cool with that: it has a certain "noir" quality that I like. The little line of a river in the background is supposed to reference the river in the background of the Mona Lisa (apparently, one of Leonardo da Vinci's artistic innovations was the addition of naturalistic background behind a portrait ;the river in the "Mona Lisa" was a new thing for portrait painters). At the lower left is a tube of paint, with the cap off, and with paint already squeezed out by some anonymous artist.