Humans are creatures of habit, but we can use that to our advantage if we develop the right habits. Staying motivated and focused for self-employed people who work from home can be challenging. Scott and I not only live together, but we also work together and work where we live. Scott’s studio is downstairs, and my office is upstairs, so we both have plenty of space, so that’s not an issue. The issue is the temptation to just slack, relax and take a day off whenever we feel like it, like today, during a huge snowstorm. The house is cozy, the snow is beautiful, and we were very tempted to go play in the snow and ditch out on work. I’ll admit that we got a late start to work, because we took time to snow-blow the driveway, and take the snowmachine for a short spin around the snowy neighborhood streets. Then I made French toast for breakfast. After all that we both took a look at our calendar and narrowed our tasks down to just those that absolutely had to be done today, moving everything else to tomorrow, or another day. But what keeps us from doing this regularly? The reality that if we don’t work, we won’t be able to pay bills? Not that, although the thought is always in the back of our minds. The main habit that keeps us from slacking is having a work-day routine. We work Monday to Friday, during regular working hours, and take weekends off, like “normal” people. We keep a calendar of tasks and events that we have to accomplish each day, and if something doesn’t get done on the day it was scheduled to be done, it gets moved to the next day. We know several artists who fall into the bad habit of working late into the night, and sleeping in until late afternoon. Getting any real work done on that type of schedule is just not sustainable. Even worse, and more dangerous is the habit of drinking during the work day, which is a big no-no in our household, even-though Scott is the “beer artist”.
During the work week we stick to a routine that we’ve kept for years. We wake up at a reasonable hour, as if we had to go to work at a 9-5 job. Then we enjoy a cup of coffee while catching up on the news, social media posts, and extending our daily learning streaks on Duolingo, a language-learning app. “Coffee time” can sometimes drag on a bit too long, but the thing that switches my brain from coffee time to “let’s get going with the day” is when I start making the bed. Doing this every day is not only a sign of self-respect, it also triggers the brain to assume responsibility and begin working on daily tasks. Then we both do stretches/yoga and go out for a run. Scott does a 5-mile loop, and I choose one of my three favorite routes of various length. We have to get our workout done first-thing, otherwise we don’t find time for it during the work day, and we don’t like to run in the dark after work. We make smoothies for breakfast, because they are quick to make and pack a lot of nutrition, take showers, get dressed, and start tackling the tasks on the calendar. We take a break for lunch around 1:30pm, then work all afternoon until about 6:00pm.
After work I like to have “Happy Hour” which involves drinking a beer with some salty snacks. Then the evening activities begin such as making dinner, taking a sauna, or going out.
People often wonder how we stay motivated to work for ourselves at home, and in my mind, having this routine and following the calendar is the way we have been doing it for over ten years. This also works for finishing big projects over a long period of time. We just work on it a little bit each day, making the time for it on the calendar, thus fitting it into our work routine.
I really enjoy making BIG paintings, but I only get to make them every once in a while, because I have limited storage space. So, when I sell one, I get to make a new one. I’m talking about paintings that are at least 3 feet by 4 feet in size. They can take up a lot of space if you have more than five or six of them around. The biggest canvas I have painted is 12 feet by 6 feet, and it is hanging at a hospital in Bethel, AK. We recently donated a 5ft x 4ft oil painting called Spring Skiing to the Anchorage Museum, and it will be featured in the live auction at the Gala. I recently finished a new large piece of the same size called Denali Sunrise, and I already built a canvas for another large piece.
Delivering Spring Skiing to the Anchorage Museum. Prints are available at my Etsy shop.The new large oil painting, Denali Sunrise, 4ft x 5ft, oil on canvas. The original oil painting, and prints are available at my Etsy shop.
Artist are sometimes overwhelmed by a large canvas, but I have always liked the challenge. You don’t have to cram as much detail into the composition, and when you do, it makes the painting all the more powerful. Big paintings need big walls, and big rooms, so the viewer can step back and appreciate the whole thing. I love walking up to a painting from across the room and noticing that it has a ton of detail. It makes you realize how long it took to make. I was at a gallery in the Hermitage Museum and I looked closely at a historical piece a few years ago and realized I wasn’t putting enough detail into my artwork. That painting was just incredible, you could count the hairs on the mouse in the corner of it. After I saw those pieces, I had a moment of growth as an artist. I haven’t achieved the same level of detail as some of those Dutch old master pieces in the Hermitage collection. However, I have stepped it up a notch, and my style has changed over the years.
If you don’t have the budget for a large painting, as they cost more than small ones, I recommend you get out and look at some in public spaces. The Anchorage Museum has a great collection, and the Wells Fargo branch on C Street and Northern Lights Blvd has some really amazing Sydney Lawrence pieces hanging in the lobby.
My mother has always been an intrepid traveler, and her travel bucket list included Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Armenia and Georgia. None of these places were even on our radar, until my mom invited us to join her on a five-week trip to the Caucasus region, which refers to the area between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Scott and I had our 20th wedding anniversary coming up, so we decided to celebrate it in Turkey, and then we met my mom in Armenia for the rest of the trip.
Turkey
My mom had gone to Turkey the previous year, so Scott and I were on our own. After doing some research about the country, I learned that Turkey is big, and the places I wanted to visit were long distances apart. I didn’t want to rent a car and drive for 7 hrs at a time, and I felt overwhelmed by the task of booking airfare within the country, all the hotels, transfers, excursions, etc. So, I Googled “Turkey tours” and found a tour that included Cappadocia, Antalya, Pamukkale, and Ephesus on toursturkey.com. After reading positive reviews on TripAdvisor, I contacted the tour company, and they took care of everything. We ended up traveling around the country by airplane, private car and van, and an inter-city bus. Turkey has tourism on lockdown! Everything worked like clockwork, exactly as stated in our itinerary.
We spent two days in Istanbul before our tour began, and visited all the most important sites, such as the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, the spice market, a boat ride on the Bosphorus River, Topkapi Palace, Basilica Cistern and the Grand Bazaar. Jetlag was a real struggle. At 4am on the third day our driver met us in our hotel lobby and took us to the airport for our flight to Kayseri, and our tour around Turkey began. We saw caves, underground cities, spent a couple nights in a hotel room that looked like a cave, experienced a Turkish hammam, enjoyed a much-needed day on the beach of the Mediterranean Sea, saw the well-preserved ruins of the ancient city of Ephesus, and soaked in mineral hot springs. While we were relaxing at a hotel bar next to the pool one evening, the lounge singer randomly sang Wonderful Tonight, which was the song at our wedding for our first dance as husband and wife. Perfect song to hear on our 20th wedding anniversary trip!
CappadociaAntalyaEphesus
Then we flew on an Armenian airline to Yerevan, and met my mom there. Yerevan is the capital of Armenia, and is nicknamed the pink city, because many buildings are built from pink tuff bricks. We had a fantastic guide in Armenia who loves her country, and knows a lot of history. We visited ancient temples, and monasteries, tasted wine and cognac, rode the world’s longest aerial tramway, saw a cave where the oldest pair of shoes was discovered from 4,100BC, and went to a UEFA soccer game between Armenia and Croatia. I had to scalp tickets for it. Armenia was the first country in the world to adopt Christianity.
UEFA Soccer GameTemple of GarniMt. Ararat
We crossed the land border from Armenia into Georgia very easily and quickly, and arrived in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Tbilisi was built next to mineral hot springs, and is divided by the Kura River. We had a different guide and driver in Georgia. In Tbilisi we enjoyed Georgian cuisine, soaked in a hot springs banya, tried wine ice cream, and went to an amazing Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra concert. Then we left the city and drove to beautiful Lake Paravani and visited a small village on the lake that had a monastery with only seven nuns. The nuns earn money by making and selling artisan cheeses and chocolates. We saw several more monasteries and fortresses, and walked over a kilometer through Prometheus Cave, but the most impressive place in Georgia is the cave city of Vardzia, built by King Tamar to protect Georgia from invaders. Soldiers lived in the caves and when anyone tried to invade, they could never get past the surprise attacks from the soldiers at Vardzia. King Tamar was a woman whose father insisted that people call her King, not Queen. During her reign, Georgia enjoyed an era of prosperity.
TbilisiVardzia
We flew from Georgia to Azerbaijan, and on the drive to the hotel from the airport, we could tell that Azerbaijan had more wealth than Armenia and Georgia, mainly from all the oil. We spent a couple days exploring Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. The city is beautiful! The architecture was inspired by European styles, and also incorporates Muslim elements. We saw a mountain that is literally on fire, because gas fumes from the ground have been burning there for 2,000 years. I also learned that the Nobel brothers made a lot of money from oil in Baku, and invented the oil pipeline there. We also saw the world’s first oil well in Baku. Then we left Baku and spent three days on the road, exploring little villages, vineyards, very old temples, and petroglyphs that are 34,000 years old.
Modern buildings in BakuYanar Dag Burning MountainWorld’s first oil well
We flew from Azerbaijan to Uzbekistan, and arrived to our hotel at 3am. The next day we had a city tour at 9am of Tashkent. After the city tour, we had a break for twenty minutes before the food tour began. The food was delicious in every country, but I really enjoyed the food in Uzbekistan. My favorite dish is called Samsa, which is a flaky dough pastry filled with lamb, beef, onions and spices, and baked in a clay tandoor oven. The main bazaar in Tashkent has been there since the 15th century, and we spent some time there browsing all the baked goods, spices, produce, and dairy products I had never known about. We were no longer on a tour in Uzbekistan — it ended in Azerbaijan, but my mom had booked an excursion for each day. We took the fast train to Samarkand, which used to be the capital, and saw incredible architecture there. Amir Temur was a great ruler in Uzbekistan and conquerer who successfully conquered countries on three different continents, and brought back architects, artists, animals, and many other things to Uzbekistan. Under his rule, many beautiful schools, mosques and palaces were built in the 1300s, which are still there today. The next day our excursion took us to the mountains where we visited two ski resorts. Uzbekistan is encouraging foreign investment by giving developers tax breaks, so several new ski resorts are being built by European companies.
RagistanShah-i-ZindaRagistan Light Show
On our way back home we flew through Istanbul, and had a layover overnight, so we booked a hotel on the Black Sea. My mom went on her own to Qatar. We were hoping for a beach day, but it was very windy and chilly, so we just went for a walk on the beach and relaxed in our hotel. Our flight to Amsterdam was delayed, and we missed our connecting flight, so we had to spend a night in Amsterdam. Luckily, the hotel had a nice spa, we enjoyed a tasty dinner and an incredible hotel breakfast. The last two flights home via Chicago were long and I vowed never again to fly to/from Europe when the direct flight from Anchorage over the North Pole is not available.
The Caucasus region is no longer a mysterious, unknown place to me. The countries we visited are vibrant, the people are friendly, the food is incredible, the scenery is beautiful and the history is interesting. We traveled a part of the Silk Road, and visited places where civilization began. I’m grateful to my mom for encouraging us to travel to places that most American tourists don’t visit, but after going there, I can highly recommend these destinations.
About two weeks ago I signed my first record contract. No, I am not recording music, I get to design a record album cover. So you might ask, how does an artist get such a gig? Well, I have been a working artist for close to 20 years, and I have never been invited to do one before. I actually wasn’t asked to do this one either, instead I asked the musician if I could do it. During the pandemic, Michael Kirkpatrick, who is a folk singer from Fort Collins, CO did a live stream concert every Thursday for what seemed like an eternity. Maria and I started looking forward to these “funstreams” and rarely missed one. I started to get to know Michael’s songs pretty well, and invited him to play at our cabin in McCarthy during his summer tour in Alaska in 2021. When he was packing up after the concert, I asked when he would release his next album and if I could be the artist to design it. I told him I would do a trade out for another house concert.
Michael playing at our cabin
I was very pro-active, possibly even annoyingly so. I sent sketches to Michael with possible concepts several times, then I realized I was pushing too hard, so I sat back and waited. Every time I go to the cabin, I always bring all my painting supplies, so I can work there too. The day after I arrived to the cabin a couple weeks ago, I got a message from Michael telling me he wanted to talk about compensation for a full record album design. We are talking vinyl here, not a CD, or digital release, although it will be all of those things too. I have always loved looking at the artwork on vinyl records. A couple of my favorites are Elton John’s Yellow Brick Road, and Captain Fantastic. I also love Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, and Led Zeppelin 4. I went online and found out how much an album cover design normally costs, and I charged him that, minus the price of a house concert. Michael now wanted to move on it, since he had already recorded the songs at the recording studio, and they are finishing up remastering them now.
The timeline was tight since I was planning on staying here in McCarthy for about a month. I said I might get it done by the timeline he wanted. I went to the tool-shed to look for pieces of plywood and other support materials that would be large enough to make a good album cover. My original intention was to do these on canvas, about twice the size of the print version, but I didn’t have that here. Instead, I found a nice piece of Baltic Birch plywood that I know would work well. For a primer, I had a gallon of spar urethane, and I remembered using that for a cool piece I made in college. Before I put a ton of time into a large album cover on experimental supports, I wanted to see how it would work, so I made a couple of test panels. I painted a PBR on one and I was satisfied that it would be sufficient quality for the album design.
The following week Michael and his band Violet Pilot came to McCarthy to play at the Golden Saloon. I have never heard the band play live before, so I was really excited. I asked the band if they wanted to go on the glacier the next day. Sean McCauley, the drummer, was really excited and wanted to go swimming in a pool out there. I was skeptical that would happen, but I said, “Bring your swim shorts and we will see…” We had a slow start, since they played until after midnight — it was an epic performance! They brought all the energy of a rock band and rocked like they were playing a show at a major sports stadium, instead of a backwoods bar. I helped drive their equipment to the other side of the Kennicott River, then we went out on the glacier. I couldn’t find the blue pool for a long time and I was afraid that Sean wouldn’t get to swim on the glacier. But we saw over in the distance a wedding happening, low and behold at the blue pool! We waited while drinking some glacier water using red vines as straws, then walked over there in our ice crampons. A guide was letting two people go in and we kind of watched them do it, to see how to go about it safely. Getting in and out is a problem, but the guide had a camping mattress and a safety line secured with an ice screw. I had a stick and an extra jacket. So I laid out the coat on the ice for entry and exit. And those crazy rock musicians went for a dip!
The blue pool on the glacier
We were late getting back to McCarthy town and I wanted to bring the band up to my cabin for a beer and chill session, but they all ate at the Golden Saloon, since it was included as part of their payment. Michael came up the hill to the cabin and we talked about the album cover. It was 80% done at this point and he was very happy with how it was going. I made a few changes to the concept after discussing it with him. I made a quick meal from some stuff I had on hand and then we went back to town after I made Michael help me with some heavy lifting chores. I will be wrapping up the album design in the next week and when it is all approved and production ready I will blog about it again. Showing off the final product when it is ready!
Album cover design work in progressAlbum cover design work in progress
What do you do in the middle of summer when you come out to your off-grid cabin in remote Alaska for a month, and have to rely on a cold-hole below the cabin floor for food storage, but it’s too warm, and the cold hold just doesn’t stay cold enough? Some backwoods sourdoughs may say to buy more cans of spam, chicken, and use powdered milk and other shelf stable items. Or you can use contemporary technology to hook up a solar-powered refrigerator. I put a dorm fridge in the cabin about 3 years ago, but my 400w of solar power couldn’t power it during cloudy days, or later in the summer when there is less hours of daylight per day. The green blinky light on my charge controller turned orange, meaning that the batteries were being overused, and I ended up running the generator all day long. Yesterday, we leveled up our cabin game by installing a Unique 6.1cu ft. DC solar fridge that we ordered from Home Depot.
This fridge is not only bigger than the old dorm fridge, but it also takes less power to run. The dorm fridge used 240w when the compressor was running, this solar fridge uses only 160w. The really important thing is that it runs on DC 12v not AC 110v. This means that it is directly plugged into my solar batteries without using a power inverter. I have a 1000w inverter that we turn on when we need AC power, however, when the inverter is on it wastes 10% power, so that is 100w just going to using the inverter. If you add 240w and 100w, you are using 340w. I only had 400w of power and that is when the sun is shining bright. Which it never does all the time, especially at night. I was worried that the new fridge would need a bit of a boost and I felt that 400w of power wasn’t matched to my large batteries so I added two more 100w panels. I now have 600w of panels on my cabin. My charge controller is only rated for 400w so I had to upgrade that as well. I have been using Renogy solar stuff since 2016, so I bought the size up from the 30amp unit, and now I have a 40amp unit, rated for 600w of panels. It is a lot better, because it also tells me data about battery voltage, how many amps the panels are producing, and a lot of other details. The old one had three blinking lights, and I had to refer to a sheet of paper to explain what the blinking meant.
A solar fridge is not plug and play, in fact there was no plug. I had to wire it directly into the solar system. We had a few hiccups and when I tried to power it up, it was dead. I found a loose connection and got it running after some trouble shooting. Maria and I are so happy that we don’t have to climb down on our knees to get food from the hole in the floor for every meal. The trapdoor is still a great option if something goes wrong with the fridge, and now I keep beer in there. The temp in the fridge today was 38F degrees, under the trap door it was 51F degrees, so that is an improvement. The Unique fridge also has a freezer! So we made some ice cubes. Now we will have ice to get our food back to Anchorage without the possibility of spoilage. Maria said this is a major upgrade, and I have to agree!
What do a frost-bitten human toe, and a giant metal chicken sculpture have in common? They were both attractions at local businesses in the two communities we visited on our road trip from Anchorage to Dawson City.
One of my birthday traditions is to visit a place in Alaska where I’ve never been. Two years ago we flew to Cordova, and last year to Sitka. This winter I read about gold rush history in Dawson City, so I decided to go there this year. I have also been curious about the little town called Chicken, and it is conveniently on the way to Dawson City. Apparently, the gold miners at the end of the 18th century wanted to name the town Ptarmigan, after Alaska’s State bird, one that was prevalent in the area, but they couldn’t agree on the correct spelling of the word, so they settled on Chicken, the slang term for Ptarmigan. We booked a cabin at Chicken Gold Camp for all three of us, and drove from Anchorage directly to Chicken, arriving around 6:30pm. The Taylor Hwy is largely unpaved, and we stopped at several scenic view points along the way. When we checked in, we were told that the only place open in town was the Saloon, so we hurried there to see if we could get some dinner and a beer. The friendly bartender offered some bison chili that was made at the cafe next door, with a slice of sourdough bread and butter. Sold! He also had an impressive selection of beer, and we both chose Tundra Thunder IPA by 49th State Brewing. We ate outside on the porch while chatting with some friendly travelers from Willow who come to Chicken every year. After dinner we walked around town, which wasn’t very far. The highlights included the huge gold dredge at Chicken Gold Camp, which was moved there from Fairbanks, the famous chicken sculpture, made by high school students in Fairbanks from old school lockers, walking across the suspension bridge at The Goldpanner, and looking at all the old gold-mining equipment. I regret not having enough time to go gold-panning, and to get a tour of historic downtown cabins, which are on private property. Supposedly, Tisha lived in one of them, the school teacher from the popular book named after her, and there’s a huge cooking stove in the cabin.
The saloonThe gold dredgeHuge metal chicken sculpture
The next day we crossed the border into Canada and drove the Top of the World Highway to the Yukon River, where we drove onto the free ferry to cross the river into Dawson City. We got really lucky on the weather! The views on this drive were incredible! We checked into the Westmark Hotel, and walked to the Visitor Center to book tours for the next day. In the evening we went to the Diamond Tooth Gertie’s show, which was inside a casino. The show didn’t start until 8:30pm, but everyone was told to show up at 7:00pm. People started lining up at the door before 7:00, and Scott and I thought that was ridiculously early, so we sat across the street and observed the other tourists while chatting to the locals. Finally, when the line was almost gone, we decided to go inside to see what all the excitement was about. When we walked in, all the seats were taken, but we found a gentleman who had three extra seats at his table, and sat with him. There was an hour left before the show, and since this dance hall was also a gambling hall, and there was a black jack table with only a $3 minimum, we decided to test our luck. Scott had a $10 Canadian bill burning a hole in his pocket, so we sat down at the black jack table and did pretty well! Won enough money to buy three beers, and got our initial $10 back. That made the time pass quickly before the cancan show finally began at 8:30pm.
We spent one full day in Dawson City, which was enough for us, but there are many more things to do to keep someone busy for several days. In the morning we took a walking city tour, then we did the tour of the S.S. Keno, a sternwheel paddle steamer, and finally a tour of the Palace Grand Theater. Parks Canada did a great job restoring, or re-building many buildings in Dawson City, but many of them are closed to the public, unless you go on a tour. The town has a very historic feel to it, but at the same time, it’s a real, functioning city. The buildings that haven’t been restored are nearly falling over, largely due to melting permafrost. The tour guides were dressed up in clothing from the time period of the gold rush, and were very knowledgeable and entertaining. In the evening we drove to Midnight Dome to see the view of the city and the Yukon and Klondike Rivers. The two rivers come together at a confluence just at the edge of town. Of course we had to go to the Sourdough Saloon to see if people were actually drinking whiskey shots with an amputated, frost-bitten, human toe at the bottom of the glass. Sure enough, there was a special table next to the bar, and a gentleman who looked like a sourdough himself, administering the shots, and handing out certificates to those who completed the nasty task. To become a member of the sourtoe club, one must let the toe touch the lips at the end of the shot. On a blackboard behind the table, there’s the number of people written in chalk who have joined the club, over 102,000. We didn’t even think twice about it, this was not the club we needed or wanted to be part of! A hundred years from now, Park Canada tour guides will be telling visitors of the clever bar owner who made millions by selling shots of whiskey with severed, frost-bitten human toes.
In the morning we caught the ferry back across the Yukon and then walked to the Paddlewheel Graveyard. Then drove to Tok, where we spent the night at the Golden Bear. The Thai food at Soho Thai was delicious!
At the end of the trip we had driven over 1,000 miles, so I won’t be returning to Chicken, or Dawson City anytime soon, but it’s definitely worth the drive to visit these communities at least once. This was one of those “off-the-beaten path” trips, which are my favorite. Another regret was not planning enough time to also visit Eagle, so I guess I’ll save it for another birthday trip. But I told Scott that if things don’t work out in Alaska, I’m moving to Dawson City!
If you have been following me for a long time, you might remember that this blog was called the Plein Air Painting Blog. For a refresher for those not in the art business, or not following my art career since I was 26 years old, plein air is a French term that means “outside, in the open air”. So when you are plein air painting, you are simply painting outside of the studio, on location. Most often in front of a cool vista. I do this from time to time in breweries and I call it live painting, since I occasionally have an audience. Well, I wanted to talk about a tool I invented for this type of painting way back when I was 27 years old — my paint palette box.
A few weeks ago, one of my favorite painting students came to my studio and we built these brand new paint boxes. I build them from Plexiglass and wood, and they hold all the colors I usually mix for a full palette. Back when I was 27, I would strictly use only the colors I would mix, a full color wheel. Now, I find myself mixing more and more custom colors, weird neutral versions. I still find it very handy to have so many colors ready to go, and it speeds up the painting process dramatically. I like to think of it as a way to have the whole box of crayons ready for coloring.
The box is hinged to allow easy access to all the daubs of paint, and to allow a palette knife easy access. I made this one exactly as large as would fit into my freezer, and contain my entire color wheel, including all the neutrals. Monet would roll over in his grave to hear I am using black in my plein air palette. At the end of each painting day, I put this box in a small freezer in the beer fridge in my garage, because it keeps the paint from drying. I also store all the brushes I am currently using in the freezer. This speeds up cleanup, because I don’t have to wash the brushes, they are simply ready to go when I need them next. I, of course, put them in a plastic bag to not make a mess in my freezer. I also put the palette box into a plastic bag, to aid in preventing drying, as well as stopping messy paint spreading everywhere.
You might like to build one of these if you want to paint with the same palette, even with long breaks in between paint sessions, or if you want to paint quickly with changing light situations, or simply want to make your paint last a lot longer. I do not suggest this for anything but oil paint. Acrylic doesn’t freeze like oil paint, it gets ruined. It also will dry way too rapidly for mixing an entire color wheel.
I hope you found this interesting, or useful, and let me know if you want a set of plans to build your own paint palette box!
We just celebrated Mother’s Day, and it’s already time to start thinking about Father’s Day gifts! Don’t worry, I got you! Here are some ideas for the Sporty Dad, the Techie Dad, and the Beer-Nerd Dad.
SportyDad
Whether Dad needs to get in shape, or just spend some quality time outdoors, these gifts will help him do just that.
1. This compact and adjustable NordicTrack Dumbbells set delivers the same value as 30 individual dumbbells in a fraction of the space.
2. Every Dad needs a cornhole setfor all those backyard BBQs!
3. Spruce up your dad’s home bar with some sports fan art!I have many different paintings at my Etsy shop featuring various teams and beer combos.
Thechie Dad
1. For a Dad who can use some peace and quiet to listen to his favorite podcast, get him these Bose Headphones.
2. For the Dad who’s worried about security of his home, get him this Ring video doorbell
3. This GoPro camera to document his adventures and share videos on social media and YouTube.
Beer-Nerd Dad
1. For the environmentally-conscious beer drinker, this uKeg is a perfect gift, because it will keep beer carbonated for several days, eliminating the need for cans and bottles.
People have been celebrating Star Wars on May 4th since Margaret Thatcher was elected Prime Minister of England on May 4th, 1979. The next day her political party placed an ad in the newspaper that included the phrase, “May the Fourth Be With You, Maggie. Congratulations.” Today I woke up to see my friends posting Star Wars memes on my personal chats and social media. I have loved Star Wars since I was 5 years old, which means people had been celebrating this informal holiday six years before I had even seen Star Wars: A New Hope. I remember watching it for the first time at Grandma’s house. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time! Later I watched episode 4, 5, and 6 over an over, until I could recite all the dialogue. It was an obsession, I think not uncommon for many of us Star Wars nerds.
I have painted many Star Wars parodies over the years, and just recently painted a few new ones for Arctic Comicon, which is this Saturday and Sunday at Dena’ina Center. The convention center will fill up with Mandalorians toting little Grogus, anime cosplayers, Marvel super heroes, and even the Black Power Ranger will be in attendance! If you stop by my booth, you can see my two new Star Wars parodies there, and purchase the originals, or prints. I also have several other cool parodies, including Mario riding a moose, and Tetris bricks loading into a truck bed.
Cheers to us nerds who can’t get enough pop-culture! See you at Arctic Comicon!
Millennium Falcon Air Taxi, 16″x20″, oil on canvas
Real Art Is Better! 