when i was but a wee lad, i used to spend many vacations with my mom's parents in westboro, mass, located on the east edge of worcester county. of my childhood stories, one of the ones that i enjoy telling the most is about how one summer, while staying with them, i decided that i was going to draw a series of pictures of fruits in crayon on 8 1/2" x 11" paper. the lemon, red grapes, the apple, the grapefruit--they were all there. when i completed the series, i cut them out & delivered them to all their neighbors. the result: my art was exhibited on the fridges of a one block radius of westboro for weeks.

since then, other than writing, my artistic output & inspiration comes in sporadic spurts. in college & the few years after, when i was still using my film degree, i churned out five scripts for feature films, all currently in various stages of re-draft. back in 2003-04, spurred by a layoff & a sizable severance package, i took a few months off & crudely home-recorded three albums & a couple of eps/singles under the currently-retired moniker "wunderkind." during that time, i also assembled a series of three twenty page or so pamphlets, all labeled "government issued book," covering topics such as "how to be a good patriot," "how to be a rockstar" and "the pigeon initiative." through the years, there have also been a few times when i dabbled in pastel drawings or fancied myself a painter...totally artsy.

there's this one canvas i've had sitting on my floor for months, painted with one solid color as a background but otherwise bare. i've been staring at it for some time, not knowing what to do with it until friday night, when i was feeling inspired & was staying in after a week that included a few positive events & some actual social activity, some of it with interesting artist types. i'm happy with the results so far & will probably finish it up this weekend.  since it's my habit of eventually giving away all my finished super-awesome paintings (hey, hang this crazy thing on your wall!), i'm assuming it'll end up in someone's abode, on their wall or in their closet sometime soon...unless i get fickle between now & then.

i suppose these artistic spurts come from this part of me, the part that's bored with what's out there artistically & is trying to fill that void by creating something of my own.  it's the same part that enjoys taking photos at weird angles & then running them through fifty photoshop filters to see what happens.  par example, i took this one on friday night on a run to the bodega...



totally artsy.

#91 - artsy fartsy.
snack: deep river snacks asian sweet & spicy potato chips
drink: tanner's jack fine ale


while i was painting, every time i stepped back from the canvas to assess my progress & give myself a pat on the back, i munched from a bag of deep river snacks asian sweet & spicy potato chips. deep river snacks, based out of old lyme (disease), connecticut, uses all natural ingredients in their products and embraces the kettle chip, which i'm all for. coming from a state whose population is approx 3% asian, i'm impressed that they were able to get the flavor right...actually, maybe "right" isn't the right word.

by "right," i mean that they've created a flavor that's pretty much the same thing as the kettle chips' spicy thai flavor, with a blend of spices that doesn't remind me of anything specifically asian, but is damn tasty regardless.  unfortunately, i only bought a 1.5 oz bag, as that's the only size they had at the cafe i found myself purchasing snacks in after leaving a wednesday night roof deck concert performance/gathering in williamsburg...that's right! williamsburg, brooklyn!  i'm so damn hip...and totally artsy.

since painting & drinking go together like jackson pollock & a bottle of whiskey or scotch or gin or vodka or wine, i'm having a tanner's jack fine ale with these feisty asian chips. tanner's is made by greene king brewery, the same u.k. gents who make old speckled hen ale & a ton of other brands, a number of which were acquired through a series of takeovers that has made them the u.k.'s largest british-owned brewery.

the flavor leaves something to be desired.  i purchased it at a reputable establishment with a beer selection that turns over rather quickly, so i'm going to assume that the slightly bitter/slightly skunky taste is what they're going for flavorwise.  it's like a good newcastle gone bad...must be one of those "acquired tastes," like something by lars von trier...bitter & meant to be experienced, not enjoyed, probably just misunderstood.