Names

I’ve been playing with the idea of changing the name of my studio. I’ve been calling it Black Horse Studio in my head since I was in my teens. Yes, there were reasons behind it but I won’t bore you with them. Let’s just say the name has done its job and I want to retire it with honor.

Off on a tangent for a second… there is the #1 Chinese restaurant in Gallatin (yep, that’s its name) that has all these neon animals in the window. There’s a cow, chicken, pig and best of all - a shrimp. I love that thing. The Neon Shrimp would be a great name. For what, I don’t know.

Anyway, I’ve been playing. I don’t know if I’ve found quite the right thing yet. Here’s the first idea I had (and favorite):

Not too far away, there is a little spot in the road that used to be a thriving little town in the late 1800’s. It had a general store, post office and school. It struck me as ridiculously pompous and fun that I could be, instead of a studio, a one person art society in a town that doesn’t exist anymore except on some maps. Of course, I had to pay homage to Calico Jack, Anne Bonny and Mary Read too.

However, after dealing with one particular crazy making person (who also inspired a painting,) I thought it may be better to go with a little burro as a mascot and change the words around a bit. This guy is a little too horse-like but you get the idea. The motto could be “Sometimes, at the end of the day and despite your best efforts, you’re still just an ass.”

Speaking of that painting, here it is:

I call this my therapy painting. This was pretty much how I was feeling. I had a brand new wooden pencil when I started writing on the canvas. I covered that sucker and had just a little stub left when I was finished. Don’t believe me? Here it is:

I love the way this painting worked for me. I started out pissed as hell and ended up musing where we would be if someone didn’t have the curiosity to ask “What if we put cheese in a spray can?” and how I could make tens of dollars.