"Grim 40" by Brian K. Raynor

Painted "Grim 40" this month. Probably my last painting for 2010. I think I've painted 3 this year. Fewer paintings,... doesn't that make them more collectable? Marty Lockridge, a funeral director, is the owner of "Grim 40".

"Grim 40" Photo taken 12/12/10

"How Great Thou Art" by Brian K Raynor

"How Great Thou Art" painted 10/30/10 - Acrylic on metal.

Today is El Día de los Muertos (The Day of The Dead). This is a Mexican ritual celebrating the lives of dead ancestors. It's origins can be traced back thousands of years to the MesoAmerican people. A Catholic spin on Pagan rituals make holidays all the better.

The souls of children are believed to return on November 1 and adult spirits arrive on November 2.


"How Great Thou Art" is a tribute to The King of Rock & Roll, ELVIS ARON PRESLEY, and his love of Gospel Music. At one of Elvis' concerts a lady yelled,
"Elvis You are the KING!"
Elvis screamed back "No I'm Not - There's Only One King!"

"How Great Thou Art" will be exhibited tonight at Pura Vida as part of a makeshift cemetery in celebration of The Day of The Dead.

"Rooster Red" by Brian K Raynor

There has been a runaway chicken hanging around my workplace this week. It looked more hennish than roosterish.

I painted "Rooster Red" for some multigenerational, multicultural, multimedial (?) event a few years ago. Reminds me of Mexican Folk Art.

"The Attendant" by Brian K. Raynor

I painted "The Attendant" around 1988-91. This is the only photo image that I have been able to find. It was part of a trilogy of paintings: "The Attendant", "The Cadaver" and "The Mourner". It was exhibited at a show of local artist in Charlotte, NC (where it was admired by many Goth girls). It used to hang in On Common Grounds Coffee House in Concord, NC. It is the first painting that I ever sold. I blew the money from that sale on my first trip to Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender.

"Pear Trio" by Brian K. Raynor

The ancient Chinese believed that the pear was a symbol of immortality because pear trees live for a long time. In Chinese the word "li" means both "pear" and "separation," and for this reason, they say that to avoid separation, friends and lovers should not divide pears between themselves.

I painted "PEAR TRIO" a few years ago. It is a small painting. Acrylic on canvas board.

Painted the Winter of 2007 for Robin W Brown of Kannapolis NC.

I've never been a big fan of cats. Allergy to them has worsened since childhood. Growing up we had a family cat called Speckles. She was a calico. We found her as a kitten being attacked by a German Shepherd. She won that fight. She was very gentle and friendly otherwise. One of her last remaining descendants as I recall was a yellow cat we called Sonny. He looked much like the cat in the painting.

"I Dreamed There Was This Mountain" by Brian K Raynor

I dream a lot when I sleep (I daydream a lot when I'm awake). Dreams are usually very vivid. Here lately, perhaps due to the change in the weather or my eating habits, I am dreaming more and remembering more. I wake up at least five times a night because something is so frightening or too funny or very cold or way too intense or whatever that I can't help but wake up.

I painted "I Dreamed There Was This Mountain" a couple years ago after I dreamed there was this mountain that rose up from this water. Every surface seemed to have an almost silvery iridescent sheen. Surreal and calm and strangely beautiful. Nothing happened; I just happened upon it.

"Look At Me" by Brian K. Raynor

"Look At Me" by Brian K. Raynor (SOLD)


Look at me. I am a reminder that although we are covered by proud flesh, we are all the same inside - Spirits contained in failing vessels. Look at me! We are wonerfully made yet hidden from the eyes of each other. Flesh allows us to only see flesh. One day, we will all be uncovered (without flesh obscurring our view) and we will see and be seen for who we really are - Eternal spirits consuming and being consumed by the Good or Evil here below. Look at me. I am a reminder that this life and this world are only temporary. One day every vessel will be broken and every spirit unbound into the presence of the CREATOR. Live for that day!

" Computer Says 'No' " by Brian K. Raynor

Painted "Computer Says 'No" a few years back while watching "Little Britain" on DVD. My computer seems to say "no" anytime I need something quick OR at the end of the month when I need to meet a deadline.

"Hahn im Garten" by Brian K Raynor

"Hahn im Garten" by Brian K. Raynor

I painted "Hahn im Garten" several years ago. It is small. It hung in On Common Grounds (Concord, NC) for a while. Sold it to the same guy who bought "A Rooster" or to the guy who bought "Sage Rooster". I can't remember the details,... except that it was at one of the Rockabilly BBQ's (Charlotte, NC). I was trying to teach myself to speak German around that time. I just found the image today on another website and thought I'd POST IT for posterities sake.

Here is a cocky little rooster. Painted a few years ago. Sold 2 years ago at the Rockabilly BBQ. I think some guy named Darryll bought it.

Painted this tiki image a couple years ago. Can't remember if it sold or not. ?

"TCB" by Brian K Raynor

"Look out man!"
33 years have gone by since the King of Rock n Roll dropped dead at the age of 42. Even in death Elvis is Taking Care of Business. Sunday evening a crowd estimated at 15,000 defied a 118-degree heat index to memorialize at the gates of Graceland for the annual candlelight vigil that finishes the 2010 Elvis Week festivities. Even in our bad economy the number of attendees has not dropped.
I painted "TCB" in 2008 and sold it to a vixen from Atlanta at the Rockabilly BBQ in Charlotte, NC. I think she bought it for resale.

"War Horse" by Brian K. Raynor

https://www.artsy.net/artist/franz-marc

I painted "War Horse" a few years ago. Nothing to really say about it nor do I remember why I painted it. I probably just wanted to paint a horse. Perhaps I thought someone who "loves all things horse" would just have to buy it. No such luck. I have always admired the horses by German Expressionist Franz Marc.

PLAY to WIN

On July 23, 2010 I paid $2 to play the Mega Millions lottery and got 3 out of 5 numbers correct!! That means I've won a WHOPPING $7!!! I'm only $999,993 away from being a MILLIONAIRE!!!!

"Roller Girl" by Brian K Raynor

Painted "Roller Girl" in 2009.

"So Many Roses" by Brian K Raynor

I painted "So Many Roses" in 2009. We often wait to send ROSES or flowers when someone has died. How often do we send them to the LIVING? We only have SO MANY opportunities to send so many ROSES to let so many people know that they are special to us. I donated "So Many Roses" to help raise money for charitywater.org. So many people will die or become sick from drinking unclean water unless so many people who have so much compassion and abundance give,... so MUCH.


"SO MANY ROSES" by Brian K Raynor

on a lighter note,....
A nearsighted guy, looking at several of my paintings asked me if someone commissioned me to paint Raggedy Ann for a kids room. I was dumbfounded and then a bit disconcerted when I realized he was referring to this painting. Being nearsighted myself, I laughed later that night when I looked at it without my contact lenses and I could see how he could possibly see,... Raggedy Ann.

" ハニー " by Brian K Raynor

"Honey" by Brian K. Raynor is a Japanese sweetness trying to avoid a honeybee. Painted in 2009.
ハニー hachimitsu

"Queen of Heart's Ache" by Brian K Raynor

How could one measure the heart/passion/emotion/motivation that did or did not go into the creation of a work of "art"? Isn't ART really made art by the one who appreciates it as having some aesthetic appeal?

Painted in 2009

"Everybody Is A Rockstar" by Brian K. Raynor

Microphone not necessary. Just a couple weeks ago at an event someone approached me and asked my name and then asked if I was "famous or" was I "someone" he "should know". Is that because we dress ourselves like rockstars? The clothes, the hair? Self promotion is all over the place with blogs and websites and Twitter and Myspace and Facebook and whatever social network is hip. Everyone wants their 15 minutes of fame and now more than ever people don't care how they get it. Nude photos or "sex tapes" were considered a disgracing scandal at one time. Then it became the gateway to stardom,... an entry on a résumé of sorts. Now, the girl next door is sending naked pics out on her cell phone. Thankfully for us all, I have never sent a naked text nor made a sex tape but I am all about self promotion. Not just for me and my meager talents but for everyone. We are not all rockstars BUT God gave us talent and life to share,... there's nothing wrong with SELF PROMOTION,... just keep your rockstar clothes ON.



I was inspired several years ago to paint "Everybody Is A Rockstar" by the way everyday people dress. I donated it to Well Oh Well to help raise money for people who are more concerned with survival than a rockstar image.

"Mute" by Brian K Raynor

"Mute" is an abstract of a guitar. I call it "Mute" because it has no strings and can't be heard. Like the thirsty and dying people in isolated villages of Africa have no voice. Poverty and corrupt government keep them silent. I donated "Mute" to "Well Oh Well" to raise money for Charity:Water www.charitywater.org.
A recent college graduate, Kelsie Holden purchased it.

"Love is Messy" by Brian K Raynor

"Love is Messy" is the FIRST painting I've done so far this year. I'm donating it along with a few others to "Well, oh well: A night of coffee and culture for a great cause". This is to raise funds to bring water/wells to developing countries in need.

Date: Friday, 18 June 2010
Time: 19:00 - 22:30
Location: Bonterra Clubhouse
Street: 2401 Bonterra Blvd.
Town/City: Indian Trail, NC

"Almost a billion people on the planet don’t have access to clean drinking water. Unsafe water and a lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of all disease and kill more people than all forms of violence, including war. We're working to change that."

The organization is called Charity:Water. Visit www.charitywater.org for more info.


I really don't know what to expect tonight. Not sure how much is expected to be raised nor who will show up BUT I hope that what little I have to contribute will help meet the need.

?

Que sais-je?

Children of Summer by Brian K. Raynor

We shall never mention age again.
And shall live as children of Summer.
Time is only night and day.
And tomorrow is forever.

GOOD JUDGEMENT

I once judged a book by it's cover and REALLY liked that book.
Good judgement.
Good cover.
Good book.

The book was A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY by John Irving. I found it in a thrift store. I put it on a bookshelf and forgot about it. Then a couple years later I noticed another cool book cover at a yard sale. I bought that book and was putting it on the bookshelf and realized it was the same title as my thrift store find. I assumed the universe wanted me to read it and so I began.

I loaned a copy to my sister and we would discuss what we had read from time to time. I realized that I actually loved the characters and the story so much that I slowed the process of reading it down so that it would last longer. Sometimes I would reread chapters so that the story would not come to an end. It finally did,... a year later.

The 1998 feature-length film "Simon Birch", directed by Mark Steven Johnson, was loosely based on the novel. That was a terrible movie. I'd have to say it may be better to judge a book by it's cover than to judge a book by it's movie.

Charlotte ELVISFEST 5/8/2010

Charlotte ELVISFEST was this past Saturday Night at Puckett's Farm Equipment. Enjoyed some good music,... Ritchie Mars & the Big Dipper, Kelley and the Cowboys, Diamond Jem and the Ace, The Defilers, The Tremors and JT and the Dragpipes. The usual rockabilly crowd was there all greased up and tattooed. Some of Puckett's regulars were there and THANKFULLY the Mayor of Derita kept his shirt on. Many other familiar AND new faces also attended and danced and laughed and sang along and drank and cussed and listened and smoked and enjoyed themselves. A good number of tickets sold- Hopefully enough that there WILL BE a SECOND ANNUAL Charlotte ELVISFEST and it will SELL OUT!

Profile Playlist by Brian K. Raynor

Profile Playlist by Brian K. Raynor

Facebook | Brian K Raynor

From a FACEBOOK post on APRIL 16, 2010,... Facebook | Brian K Raynor: " 'The World Spins' plays as a skinny sparrow chirps from the holly bush outside this funeral home window. Very heavy woman in lavender moves like a sloth up the sidewalk. I'm thinking this day is sponsored in part by David Lynch." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRcPzIo7C6o

Facebook | Brian K Raynor

Facebook | Brian K Raynor: "ever driven down a street lined with brafford pear trees in full bloom on a very windy day? like being in a snow globe."

ROCKABILLY BAND NAMES

Names I came up with for Rockabilly Bands:

Bellevue Boulevard
Big Daddy Bash
The Clutch Poppers
The Dead Robins
The Depraved
Devil Rebels
Evil # 8
Get Stuffed
Gracelanders
Greasy Sideburns
The Grifters
Heavy Handed Callers
Hot Rod Kings
Hot Rods Revenge
Jackpot Troubadours
Jacked Up Jelly Rolls
Jumpsuit
Killers By Country
Left Over Minions
The Lifters Reunion
Lucky Grease Revue
Off the Line
Overnight Cadillac
The OobyDoobies
The Perkinites
The Pompadores
Rebel Sons
The Regulators
The Resistance
Rockaholics
The Royal Shafts
Taking Care of Business
Tarred & Weathered
Trashed Again
The Trespassers
Truss Rod Trashers
Velvet Elvises
Way Back Slackers

QUOTE ME

"You can fight the tide or ride the wave." I came up with that line tonight while discussing a possible job transfer. I'm finding that viewing the currents of life as a mode of transportation instead of a hindrance makes acceptance of change much easier to handle.

"Cash" by BRIAN K RAYNOR

Will celebrate 78th birthday of Johnny Cash on February 26th. I painted this in 2009. It is Acrylic on canvas board. On ebay now. I've not had much luck with ebay. Makes me feel like a cheap whore. Anyway,... it's art~ there are no returns with art~ you buy it~ you love it...you hang it~ you hate it... you donate it to charity.
Mary Shifflett Mick in VA now owns "CASH". Thank you Mary for appreciating it!

"6 Birds" by Brian K Raynor

I painted "6 Birds" in 2009. Warhol inspired? Probably. It is small. Haven't sold it yet. Someday,...I am hopeful. This year,... I am HOPEFUL.

??? by Brian K Raynor

Happy 75th Birthday ELVIS!!!
I painted this in 2009. It just might be a close likeness to the KING OF ROCK AND ROLL today. Well, hopefully he's not engulfed in flames!

"Every time I think that I'm getting old, and gradually going to the grave, something else happens." ELVIS PRESLEY


Sold to Jason and Gwen Stopkowitz.