Fall

Colors of Fall are brilliant in the evening sunlight.

Jack Ryan James

when i grow up and figure out how to be cool,... i'm changing my name to Jack Ryan James and traveling the world,...and facebook,... you'll wish you knew me. and that i had time for you,... and you'll be like "Hey, Jack, remember me?" and i'll be all cool,... and without even making eye contact,... take a drag off my non cancer causing Camel cigarette and say,... "You don't know Jack".

"If I Were Just A Skull" by Brian K Raynor

This may be as much "creative writing" I've done in a llloonngg time.

"If I were just a Skull I would wear my Elvis sunglasses 24/7 and hopefully have the power to levitate and fly. I’d go around the world chattering my teeth saying “Thank you, Thank you very much” every time I witnessed someone doing something stupid. That’d be great."

Doodles in September

August slipped right on by without a blog entry. I guess I don't have much going on with "artwork".
So far this month all I've done are these doodles on Post-It Notes that I stick on my Elvis Year-In-A-Box Calendar. Eh, they'er doodles whaddaya expect?

"In The Blue Room" by Brian K Raynor

I painted one similar called "Flower's For My Sister" which I had intended on giving to her. She saw "Flower's For My Sister" before I told her it was for her but didn't seem thrilled about it so I hung it at a coffee shop and sold it. When I told her it had sold she was very disappointed because she liked it and had hoped I'd give it to her but didn't want to ask for it. I painted this one after she died of breast cancer in 2003. It also sold.

1 Year Anniversary

Today I celebrate my ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY with my 2008 Kia Spectra. It's been good so far. A nail in a tire and a ding to a door but we're holding it together. To celebrate, I might take her out for a good cleaning tonight.

Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness

The ink is fading. Hopefully our allegiance is not. Although electing a guy to the Presidency of the United States who would not salute the American flag during the National Anthem may be an indicator of the direction we may be headed.

The Declaration of Independence:


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The 56 signatures on the Declaration appear in the positions indicated:

Column 1
Georgia:
Button Gwinnett
Lyman Hall
George Walton

Column 2
North Carolina:
William Hooper
Joseph Hewes
John Penn
South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge
Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Arthur Middleton

Column 3
Massachusetts:
John Hancock
Maryland:
Samuel Chase
William Paca
Thomas Stone
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia:
George Wythe
Richard Henry Lee
Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Harrison
Thomas Nelson, Jr.
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Carter Braxton

Column 4
Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Franklin
John Morton
George Clymer
James Smith
George Taylor
James Wilson
George Ross
Delaware:
Caesar Rodney
George Read
Thomas McKean

Column 5
New York:
William Floyd
Philip Livingston
Francis Lewis
Lewis Morris
New Jersey:
Richard Stockton
John Witherspoon
Francis Hopkinson
John Hart
Abraham Clark

Column 6
New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett
William Whipple
Massachusetts:
Samuel Adams
John Adams
Robert Treat Paine
Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins
William Ellery
Connecticut:
Roger Sherman
Samuel Huntington
William Williams
Oliver Wolcott
New Hampshire:
Matthew Thornton

June 2009

Another month comes to an end. The heat of June has been bearable only because I spend most of the work day in an air conditioned office.

I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of... oops! I'm Dead

Celebrity deaths usually occur in threes,... or fours...

Was not and am not caught up in the David Carradine hype over the allegations and suspicions associated with his death. Sad that whatever he may have been into in his personal life could not remain personal.

At his age, Ed McMahon's death was inevitable. Unfortunate that in his golden years he had the financial hardships.

Farrah Faucett's death came as no surprise yesterday. Cancer is brutal. The treatment sometimes is more insult to injury.

Michael Jackson's sudden death yesterday was a shock. A pop culture icon for almost as long as he lived. A great artist. A misfit. An accused pedophile. Now unable to defend himself from whatever allegations (true or false) may arise against him.

Celebrities, Icons, Mega Stars but in the end dead,... just like so many men who die with speculation revolving around the final circumstances,... like so many elderly people who live solid lives and due to whatever series of unfortunate events are destitute in their golden years,... like so many women who's bodies are robbed of life and physical beauty by cancer,... like many people with so much potential and with so many people depending on them losing their lives suddenly. Ordinary people fade without notice.

The mass mourning of celebrities is almost annoying to me. Can't explain why. Wait until it is your mother, your wife, your sister , your father, your husband, your brother, your lover, your friend. That is or will be mourning.

"Fire & Water" by Brian K Raynor

Painted "Fire & Water" a few years ago. Really a spiritual painting. Trial by fire on Earth and rebirth/resurrection by the Water. The physical beauty and body of woman perishes but the beauty of the soul is triumphant in the afterlife and in the memory of those who love her.

Sold it this year at the 6th Annual Rockabilly BBQ in Charlotte, NC. I think the purchaser's name was Adkins. A big guy that looked like he probably rides a Harley and could put your lights out with one punch. The kind of guy I'd like to be but I don't have the ability to intimidate with a glance nor the muscle to back the glance up.

I actually sold 10 paintings this year at the Rockabilly BBQ. That's down by 10 or 12 from last year. We can blame the slump on the economy. Yeah, that makes me feel better. ;)

"Reflecting St Peter" on ebay.com

Put this painting on ebay today. So far it not shown up on ebay. I can only find it by the number ebay assigned to it. Guess it takes a while. May regret listing it IF it sells for next to nothing.

"Dirty Martini" by Brian K Raynor

I had my first martini in Las Vegas at the Gold Coast Hotel & Casino. It was dirty - the martini. I don't like mine dirty - my martini.

I sold "Dirty Martini" to,... the most cheerful woman I've ever met at Puckett's Farm Equipment. Now I can't remember her name. Not remembering has nothing to do with a martini.

"Remember the Fallen" by Brian K Raynor

Another Memorial Day approaches.
A time to remember the fallen.
I painted "Remember the Fallen"
in honor of those who risk their lives in service and
and in memory of those who sacrificed their lives
for the freedom that we share in these
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

God Bless our Soldiers!
God Bless the USA !!

"Blue Beard" by Brian K Raynor

"Blue Beard" is part of a piratey trio I painted last year; "Blue Beard", "Erik" and "Genghis". Some 5 year old has got to have these! Hopefully that kid will show up at Puckett's Farm Equipment in Charlotte, NC for the 6th Annual ROCKABILLY BBQ on JUNE 6th and buy all 3.

"Cherry Cherry" by Brian K Raynor

Whenever I see or eat Bing Cherries it reminds me of my first trip to NYC a few years ago. It was summer and Bing Cherries were at every market.

I Sold "Cherry Cherry" last year to Chellie from Concord.

"Elvis Pomp" by Brian K Raynor

I painted 3 Elvis' last year for the Rockabilly BBQ. "Elvis Pomp" was one of them. Sold to Jem Crossland. He bought it for his wife, Lauren.

"Vintage Punk" by Brian K Raynor

I painted "Vintage Punk' several years ago. Used to hang at On Common Grounds Coffee House and Cyber Cafe in Concord, NC until they closed. I sold it last year at the Rockabilly BBQ to a cutie from VA (?). Hooliganism at it's best. Rebellion with a greasy pomp and a blade.

"Johnny" by Brian K Raynor

Another new painting. "Johnny" as in CASH. Hopefully, he's recognizable.

"le coq est ici de Servir" by Brian K Raynor

He's all dressed up and at your service,... double entendre intended.

"Rockabilly Two Tone" by Biran K Raynor

I painted "Rockabilly Two Tone" this past week or the week before. ??? I try to do a couple of this style every year for the Rockabilly BBQ. It will be priced to sell on June 6th!

"Decomposing Mary" by Brian K Raynor

"Decomposing Mary" was originally a drawing I did to fax to a coworker to make sure their fax was working properly. "This is a test,... THIS is Decomposing Mary".

"Vinyl Thoughts" by Brian K Raynor

A new painting. Hope to have at least 25 new works ready for June 6th.
"Vinyl Thoughts" in celebration of the growing trend for new music to be released on vinyl. According to Nielsen SoundScan CD sales have been on the decline and vinyl is on the rise. I'm sure it is a hipster thing - taking something old and making it new and cool.

"Hank" by Brian K Raynor

I started "Hank" three or four years ago. He was trouble from the start. Every Spring I bring him out to add something to him. Then I get discouraged or bored or angry with him and put him away. This year I took him out and told him I was tired of him and that he was going to be finished this Spring regardless of the outcome. So here he is, "Hank". A FOLK ART tribute to my favorite Country Music Legend, Hank Williams. Hoping he will sell at the 6th Annual Rockabilly BBQ on June 6th at Pucketts in Charlotte.

"Sexy Valentine" by BRIAN K RAYNOR

Happy Cinco de Mayo! To all of you of Mexican heritage. Posting this mamacita I painted in February of this year. A little abstract. Hoping it will sell at this years 6th Annual ROCKABILLY BBQ on June 6th at Pucketts in Charlotte.

"Bottoms Up!" By Brian K Raynor

Sold this painting to Cindy in Charlotte at the Rockabilly BBQ a couple years ago. Got the idea from an advertisement from the 1920's. The 1920's bathing suit covered much more skin!

"Bill" by Brian K. Raynor

Here is a painting I did of Bill Clinton a couple years ago. I call it "Bill".

Stat Counter

Free Counter
The viewer counter on my blog profile stopped working. A system wide issue that I think blogger.com has no intention of repairing. I've been trying to replace the counter but without luck so far. I like this counter but when I try to apply it to my template it won't save.

"Please correct the error below, and submit your template again.
Your template could not be parsed as it is not well-formed. Please make sure all XML elements are closed properly.
XML error message: The reference to entity "s" must end with the ';' delimiter."

It works here but I can't get it to apply to my profile!!! Now what?

Earth Day

Earth Day. I am not a crunchy, granola eating, Birkenstock shoe wearing, hemp smoking, patchouli scented hippy BUT this planet is my home! We should be good stewards of this beautiful world God has given us dominion over.

"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let him have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." Genesis 1:26.

Some people seem to think that because the world is ultimately in God's hands that it makes no matter what we do to the planet.

“You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen -- even the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas.” (Psalm 8:6-8)

The planet is God's creation for our use. I try to take better care of something borrowed than something that is my own. Misuse and mistreatment of this world and all the creatures GREAT and SMALL stems from a lack of respect for ourselves and each other.

Will a cigarette butt out the car window bring the world to an end? Probably not but who knows what the small things are collectively doing to us all or the generations to come?

"Dot, Dot, Dot" by Brian K Raynor

:(



Brian K Raynor: Contemporary Artist, Folk Artist, Outsider Artist?
I painted "Dot, Dot, Dot" last year or the year before. I'm painting and living and working and et cetera, et cetera,...

NYC

Back from vacation in NYC. Let me just say, "It feels soooo good to be back in North Carolina." NYC - a nice place to visit but I really don't think I'd want to live there. MONDAY:
My flight from Charlotte was delayed due to inclement weather in NY. Maybe an hour delay. No big deal. The flight was good. Sat with a sexy, blond named Michelle, on her way to "COUGAR" status. She and her friend were flying out to NYC to promote a singer's ( Brit Price ) album release at a place called The Bitter End.

The prearranged shuttle with Golden Touch to my hotel took forever. Remind me to never use them again. More on that later.

Got to my hotel, The Jane. Ever been to the Chelsea Hotel (NYC) or Concord Hotel (Concord, NC)? Well, let's just say The Jane is an old hotel with charm and potential. Frightening at first if one is used to staying at chain hotels. The elevator is run by a man in the "monkey suit" of years gone by. The room was very small. that was okay as I did not go to NYC to entertain myself in a hotel room. It just creeped me out a little when the door to my hallway was opened by the elevator operator and some old resident was hanging out in another residents doorway in his boxers. The smell of the shower down the hallway wafting around.






Met up with Autumn in NY. We walked around a bit and finally had dinner at Mr Tang of Mott St. Chinese. Good enough. We chit chatted a while until the place got crowded and decided we should give up the table for the next diner.

TUESDAY:
I think I walked my feet down to nubs. Didn't really go anywhere in particular. Walked up Broadway.







Met up with Autumn in NY in the afternoon and we went to the MUSEUM of MODERN ART.












Saw my favorite Marc Chagall painting "I and the Village".

We took the subway back down to Chelsea and had dinner at The Trailer Park Lounge. Had a GREAT Burger w/ sweet potato fries. Autumn in NY had something vegetarian. We wandered around after dinner to a couple thrift stores and to a coffee house where we sat around a long while talking.

WEDNESDAY:
Snow flurries fell while I was out and about on Bleeker St. Sold a few paintings at a small park before a policeman started to approach me and I put them away. Not being 100 percent sure of the laws in NY, ... I didn't want to get into trouble.

Met up with Autumn in NY at a coffee house called THINK. She and Nick and James(?) and Genevieve(?) were having conversation. Introduction and then small talk for a while.

Autumn in NY and I walked to The Doughnut Plant for a snack. We walked through her old neighborhood on Henry St.

Had dinner at an Ethiopian place called AWASH (I didn't think Ethiopians really eat). Anyway, I was not impressed and the waitress rushed us out when we were finished with dinner. Rude. I left her $1 tip.

We went to RODEO BAR. Rockabilly folks are very cliquish. There were a few there.




Enjoyed Susquehanna Industrial Tool and Die Company
play their Rockabilly/Country. Their banter between songs was as enjoyable as their music. A GREAT show overall.

THURSDAY:
More walking! Met up with Autumn in NY late in the morning. Headed down to catch the STATEN ISLAND FERRY after coffee. We stopped at St Paul Chapel @ ground zero.
It is very emotional being there. We rode the ferry just for the view. We didn't go to Staten Island. Met an Irishman on the ferry.

We walked to Williamsburg after a soft serve ice cream from a Mr Softey ice cream truck. Mmmm.
Walked across the Williamsburg Bridge.


Is this a BANSKY? Passed it as we walked in Williamsburg.
Had dinner at a place called SEA Thai Restaurant and Bistro. Very Good! The atmosphere is unique. Cool seating. Autumn in NY told me that a scene in "Sex In The City" was filmed in that restaurant. "That don't impress me much" but good food and service does!

We walked to a park area facing the East River.



Then stopped in at a Salvation Army Store.

Went out with Autumn in NY and Nick to a place called "Happy Endings". It was at one time a massage parlor, I think. Now it's a bar. Some of her friends were having a party there. Not my cup of tea but whatever. Met some of her friends, OJ and Yanzi. There until 3am or so. Left her there with Nick. Yanzi and I walked together until she came to her street. She encouraged me to take a taxi but I was okay,... until...

Some drunk THUG and his buddy approached me cussing "You don't even know!! MF!" Not sure what he had in mind when he got to me but his friend talked him into leaving me alone. I never stopped until I got to the next intersection. I wasn't "scared". I was just thinking: Tonight I find out what it feels like to be punched in the face or mugged or to be beaten to death. Took a taxi at the next intersection.

FRIDAY:
More WALKING. Later I took a taxi to CENTRAL PARK. I love Central Park! Unfortunately it began to drizzle when I got there. Watched a band play island music for a while. Sat at a lake and watched people sail their little motorized sail boat rentals.

Walked back to The Jane and later met up with Autumn in NY for coffee and cake at Think. Listened to some world musicians play. Sounded vaguely like Beirut. I like Beirut.

Walked to Angelika Cinema and saw a film. "Goodbye Solo". Filmed in Winston-Salem, NC. It was an okay movie. Won some award(s) but I didn't like that the movie only showed seedy or poor looking parts of Winston-Salem.

SATURDAY:
Rain!!! Went out looking for a flea market that was supposed to be on W 18th Street but it was not there. So I snacked my way back to The Jane. Autumn in NY and I met up and took the subway to DUMBO. Went to a flea market on Front Street. Didn't buy anything. Not too great. Overpriced.

Had dinner at Royal Bangladesh Indian Restaurant. Where two Indian restaurants next door to each other bid for your business. Christmas Lights vs Jalapeno Lights. Good food. Loved that cheesy flat bread.


Walked to The Strand Bookstore. 18 Miles of Books. Priced to sell!! I bought a book of post cards "Adrian Tomine Optic Nerve Postcard Book" and 2 art books: Mark Chagall and 1930's movie posters.

Hung out at a pizza place close to Autumn in NY's place. Talking. Back to my hotel by 11:30pm.

SUNDAY:
7 am - Golden Touch shuttle service left me stranded in NYC. After waiting in the cold for 15 minutes I tried calling them to find out where they were. "Golden Touch, please hold!" before I could even speak. On hold and then lost my signal. Called them for an hour and went straight to hold until I'd lose my signal or someone would hang up. Finally spoke to a guy who told me they had my address as 113 Duane Street. WRONG!! I spelled it all out the day before when I confirmed the ride. "We don't have anyone in the area to pick you up." "How do I get to the airport?" " Hale a taxi."
So I did. The bastards at Golden Touch had better reimburse me for the cab fare. $40
(GOLDEN TOUCH Update: They only refunded $24 - I WILL NEVER USE Golden Touch AGAIN!)
Felt so good to get back to NC. Home Sweet Home.