Monday, November 4, 2013
For my brother, Tony
I heard the best joke today, on the "House of Cards" TV show (and this is how I heard it, more or less).
Two girls were moving into their first dorm before their first year of college. One girl was from Atlanta, the other Connecticut somewhere. The Southern girl greeted her roommate and her parents with a smile and asked "Where are ya'll from?"
The Connecticut girl made her s.nob'by (sine nobilitate) family proud and said "I come from a place where they know better than to end a sentence with a preposition."
So the girl, struck for just a moment and asked again with a smile
"Where are ya'll from, cunt?"
fly, fly, away...
I just wanted to remember the moment I heard that the greatest most naked artist I ever knew of died, and was 71. I wanted to remember the moment so strongly that his naked stark honesty would finally be ingrained in my timorous soul that is mostly only hiding the same cum, piss, and shady motives as any of you.
Thank you Lou Reed, you were sorely needed in this world and we're better for the legacy of honesty you left us.
dime store mystery
He was lying banged and battered, skewered and bleeding
Talking crippled on the cross
Was His mind reeling and heaving, hallucinating
Fleeing what a loss
The things He hadn't touched or kissed
His senses slowly stripped away
Not like Buddha, not like Vishnu
Life wouldn't rise through Him again
I find it easy to believe
That He might question His beliefs
The beginning of the last temptation
Dime story mystery
The duality of nature, Godly nature
Human nature splits the soul
Fully human, fully divine and divided
The great immortal soul
Split into pieces, whirling pieces, opposites attract
From the front, the side, the back
The mind itself attacks
I know this feeling, I know it from before
Descartes through Hegel belief is never sure
Dime store mystery, last temptation
I was sitting, drumming, thinking, thumping, pondering
The mysteries of life
Outside the city shrieking, screaming, whispering
The mysteries of life
There's a funeral tomorrow
At St. Patrick's the bells will ring for you
Ah, what must you have been thinking
When you realized the time had come for you
I wish I hadn't thrown away my time
On so much human and so much less divine
The end of the last temptation
The end of a dime store mystery
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Nestler's NEWEST !!
Dave Nestler’s Bad Girl Club... drawn to
menace
( SQP Publishing January 2013 )
For over a decade, Dave Nestler has made his presence known as one of the most recognized names in contemporary pinup art. His colorful photorealistic renditions of gorgeous gals have graced the pages of books and magazines worldwide. What has become a mainstay in the pinup art market is now prevalent in the tattoo community as well. Dave’s past collection of pinup art and sketchbooks have become a staple in every tattoo studios reference library. And the result are the thousands of tattoos generated from Dave’s images around the world.
For his 5th and newest book, SQP Publishing has put together a collection of Dave’s most recent Full Color paintings and Black and White sketches. Included in this collection are the original paintings that graced the covers of magazines around the world--as well as sketches pulled from his popular “How to Draw with Dave Nestler” column.
A “Must Have” for tattoo shops and pinup enthusiasts everywhere, you can find ordering info at: www.davenestler.com
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Fiat Lux, Good Times with Russ Abbott!
 |
| About 90 min total. |
 |
| My Neck, 6 weeks later. Thanks Russ Abbott! |
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Reese, Remembered.
See you at the next one....
It is with a heavy heart we say goodbye to tattooer Alex "Reese" Grail Pursell. Reese passed away in October 24th due to a bacterial infection that spread to his heart.
Reese Pursell owned Timeless Tattoos in Kansas City, and spent something like 200 days a year traveling and tattooing. He traveled D.J.'d, and tattooed many years of his life. He owned and/or operated shops from New Orleans , NYC, to San Francisco, finally resting in the legendary tattoo town of Kansas City, MO. He loved to talk about history and food and was always quick to give the heads up if I was in need of advice on either subject. He was especially knowledgeable about the pretty tattooed girls in any given town.
He was an intelligent man, and had a heart that held fast to traditional values. He preferred hand painted signs and classic designs to the internet specials and computer generated "deals" that he felt had infested the tattoo industry. He wouldn't sell out the tattoo community, or himself. He preferred doing solid work and word of mouth clientele to internet promotion and detested the cheapening of the craft of tattooing to the "lowest common denominator". In a letter with his long time friend Mollie he said "I am very serious when it comes to the craft, history and securing the legacy of tattooing. I FIRMLY BELIEVE IN HONESTY and HARD WORK."
He was first on board to give generously to any in the tattoo family that needed help, and even very recently paid to bury his friend. He personally donated items to an art show I had for my own local humane society, and actually cared that it was for "the critters" (as he called them). Reese was not afraid of any tattoo made it his mission to treat every tattoo and customer with equal importance. Reese's name and life was full of adventure, music, and friends.
"We (as tattooers) are only as good as our last tattoo," he told me in a 2008 interview."As far as rock stars and TV celebrities, we as artists are only as famous as the mortal canvas lasts. Eventually our art dies, and our name is all that remains."
"Reese would always put other people in front of him, it was an honor knowing him." said longtime friend and fellow traveler Myke Chambers.
"It's comforting to hear how much he was loved in the tattoo community. We'd like to thank everyone for the great stories and fond memories." Said his sister J.J. Pursell.
When I talked to him about the preservation of tattoo history, and his place in it, Reese said "I don't want to fill the pages of tattoo history, but I would like a mention."
Reese is survived by a whole world of tattoo family who will sorely miss him, his shop family at Timeless, mother Jo Reese-Pursell and two sisters Amanda Pursell-Genk and J.J.Pursell. His family held a memorial service for him with tattoo family in Kansas City and they plan on spreading his ashes in some of his favorite ports including NYC, Portland Oregon, and Hawaii.
Well Reese, here's your mention. You are loved and will live on in our hearts, as timeless as they come... See you at the next onedeVita Unauthorized, by Nick Bubash
deVita Unauthorized ,
a book by Nick Bubash
deVita
Unauthorized chronicles and benefits a man who was at the root of a massive
art and tattoo movement that began on NYC stoops in the 60's. Lovingly authored by student and long time
friend Pittsburgh artist Nick Bubash, deVita
Unauthorized is a replication of an original Loose-leaf portfolio made by Nick
Bubash between the fall of 2001 and spring of 2003. The original 30 copies were
painstakingly assembled by Bubash and
was housed in a wooden box measuring 17' x 22' x 11/2'. It cover was
held on by 2 wing nuts and a clivis pin and it was painted and collaged inside
and out by deVita and embellished with various wooden and metal objects.
It can be ordered from Hardy Marks Publications here http://www.hardymarks.com/books/devita-unauthorized/), Last Gasp
Publications and Distributing Art Publishers the price is $30.
Very
few lucky folks can order the book signed with original art by contacting
deVita himself at 23 overlook Place, City of Newbergh,
NY 12550, or on ebay under "belle 10-1" at http://www.ebay.com/itm/deVita-Unathorized-Special-edition-12-20-signed-w-original-art-by-Thom-deVita-/120975891080?pt=Antiquarian_Collectible&hash=item1c2ab99a88&nma=true&si=qVJajIRhtYG%2F3lq4NW26gYncVo0%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
for
$300.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)