Be Good To Those Who Serve You

I’ve always been a believer in the idea that if you take care of your brushes (or tools), they’ll serve you well for years. For example, for decades I’ve been using this dusting brush my mom gave me. As you can see, it was made back when there were two Germanys. The lesson here? Be good to that (or those) which (or who) serve(s) you.
Cheers.

~ John Essex II is a retired art teacher who now lives what he calls the “beatnik artist’s life”. He is a two-time Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellow and an Indy Arts Council (Arts Council of Indianapolis) Creative Renewal Arts Fellow. Essex is also artist/owner of EssexArt ABC, LLC through which he keeps busy creating his own fine art, creates commissioned art, does caricaturing by commission and at special events, conducts private painting parties and is contacted regularly to play the bagpipes (yes… play the bagpipes). Essex also maintains two online print-on-demand stores where patrons can acquire gallery quality prints of his art as well as other products that feature his work. To view what Essex does, and/or to shop his online stores (for which he would be extremely grateful), go to: 
https://society6.com/essexart,
http://bit.ly/TPublic_EssexArt
To keep up with Essex and what he does at EssexArt ABC, LLC, follow him on:
Facebook at, https://www.facebook.com/EssexArt,
Instagram at, https://www.instagram.com/essexart_abc (@EssexArt_ABC)
Essex is also listed in the Arts Council of Indianapolis artist directory at:
http://www.indyartsguide.org/artist/john-essex-ii/

I Heard An Angel Weeping

Okay, I’m not a poet nor do I remotely claim to be. However I read something so incredibly baffling to me today on Facebook concerning the current pandemic best practices we all should be doing… and the blind-eye turned toward them by some… it inspired a poem.
Sometime my muse leads me into strange territories.
•••••••
I Heard An Angel Weeping
~~~~~
I heard an angel weeping,
and I asked her why she cried.
She said she had been sent to earth
when a little baby died.
~~~~~
Mother and father couldn’t save him,
no matter how they tried.
The nurse and Doctor both worked hard,
they sit exhausted… and sighed.
~~~~~
Someone had endangered baby
while living with selfish pride.
That person wouldn’t change her ways,
knew precautions… still denied.
~~~~~
Needlessly touched surfaces,
where a virus did reside.
Then at a store touched
items on which it went to hide.
~~~~~
Poor baby later grabbed an item
where that virus did abide.
The carrier was on her way,
ignorance with each and every stride.
~~~~~
I heard an angel weeping,
and I asked her why she cried.
She said she had been sent to earth
when that little baby died.
•••••
John Essex II, 4/15/20

~ John Essex II is a retired art teacher, a two-time Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellow and an Arts Council of Indianapolis Creative Renewal Arts Fellow. He is also artist/owner of EssexArt ABC, LLC through which he keeps busy creating his own fine art, creates commissioned art, does caricaturing by commission and at special events, conducts private painting parties and is contacted regularly to play the bagpipes (yes… play the bagpipes). Essex also maintains an online print-on-demand store where patrons can acquire gallery quality giclée prints of his art as well as other products that feature his work.

Find it at: https://society6.com/essexart

To view what Essex does, and/or to shop at his online store, go to: https://www.facebook.com/EssexArt,

https://society6.com/essexart,

http://www.indyartsguide.org/artist/john-essex-ii/

 

Another Book Review (but I promise this really is a visual artist’s blog)

Here we go… another book review. I’ve not written this many book reviews since I was in the eighth grade… and this is only my 2nd in as many months.
I just finished another book by yet another Florida author. As it happens, this is the second book by author Ron Base that I have read. Honestly, I was much more impressed by this book titled, Bring Me The Head Of The Sanibel Sunset Detective, than I was by the other book I read in this same series. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the title of the other Sanibel Sunset Detective book… because all the titles in this series contain the words Sanibel Sunset Detective.
Though I don’t see this book winning a Pulitzer Prize of any sort, it has definitely won me over to being a fan of Base’s Sanibel Sunset Detective series. Now I am on a quest to read all of them and there are about ten, if the titles are any indicator… and I know I’ve already read one other (but like I said, I don’t know which one).
The main character in Bring Me The Head Of The Sanibel Sunset Detective, Tree Callister, is a former “old school” reporter from Chicago who is now a private detective working out of (of all places) Sanibel Island, Florida. One could safely assume a private detective on a south west Florida barrier island known best for sea shells and expensive real estate would not be busy much with assignments other than finding lost pedigreed poodles and securing recipes for coconut encrusted grouper. However Callister, in a bumbling sort of way, gets mixed up in a case involving a missing person, some short tempered local police, questionable FBI agent(s), a spiteful ex-spouse, international intrigue… and professional “hit people”. As if those were not enough to pique ones interest, author Base spins this tale in a way that (appears to me at least) seems an amalgamation of humor that might come from a brainstorming session between Jerry Seifeld and Mike Royko (okay… the Royko reference might be telling of my own age… but it’s one that fits… and frankly, I weep for you if you are not familiar with Royko).
As far as star ratings go, I’d have to give Bring Me The Head Of The Sanibel Sunset Detective a 3 1/2 our of 5 stars… but that is not actually a clear description. If a reader is a fan of easy reading, subtle humor with a hint of American neo-noir detective film references added for additional flavoring, I’d have to go 5 out of 5 stars.
Take what you want from the rating. As for me, I’m on the lookout for more Sanibel Sunset Detective capers… and hungry now for coconut encrusted grouper.
My daughter and I with author Ron Base at the Bimini Bait Shack… which is mentioned in the book. 🙂

~ John Essex II is a retired art teacher, a two-time Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellow and an Arts Council of Indianapolis Creative Renewal Arts Fellow. He is also artist/owner of EssexArt ABC, LLC through which he keeps busy creating his own fine art, creates commissioned art, does caricaturing by commission and at special events, conducts private painting parties and is contacted regularly to play the bagpipes (yes… play the bagpipes). Essex also maintains an online print-on-demand store where patrons can acquire gallery quality giclée prints of his art as well as other products that feature his work.

Find it at: https://society6.com/essexart

To view what Essex does, and/or to shop at his online store, go to: https://www.facebook.com/EssexArt,

https://society6.com/essexart,

http://www.indyartsguide.org/artist/john-essex-ii/

 

Multi-Person Caricatures… Fun Multiplied

Something I’ve been doing annually now for a few years is commissioned multi-person caricatures. I suppose there could be a another name for them, like “group” caricatures… but I’m kind of fond of the term multi-person. I think I like that term better because it speaks to the fact there is an individual nature portrayed with each person in the caricature which, in my mind, is the very heart of what I try to present.

But enough of what to call these 2 dimensional fun-fests made of paper, ink, and colored pencil, I’d prefer to focus on what is so appealing about them. For starters, all the multi-person caricatures I’ve been commissioned to do were of groups of people that had a strong bond whether by fraternal ties or long term friendships. Groups like that already have a sort of group dynamic that increases the fun of seeing that dynamic in a fun way via caricaturing. Something I’ve always done with these commissions is make sure everyone in the group receives a print of the finished caricature which expands the fun of them. The original hand colored multi-person caricature usually goes to the person who commissioned the caricature or to the person in the group that is targeted to be honored or surprised by the group caricature.

Though information about the individuals in the group for the multi-person caricature is shared with me, as are the characteristics that makes the group a particular dynamic, the end result is always one of surprise for those featured.  Primarily, I suppose, because I do not let anyone in the group see my work before the time it is to be presented or delivered. Additionally there are so many ways to include particulars about the subjects, and how a caricaturist interprets them, that the person who worked closest with the caricaturist as well as the individuals caricatured in the work are invariably surprised… and pleased if I do say so myself.

Every artist hopes their patrons enjoy the artwork they have commissioned for many, many years to come. In my own art career I’ve been fortunate enough to have had positive feedback long after my own fine art commissions have been received. But something I’ve noticed about caricatures, and I realize this is purely anecdotal and not scientific, there seems to be an additional level of joy or appreciation for the work because of the way a moment in the life of the subject is captured. When that moment includes those with whom the subject shares a particular bond as in a multi-person caricature, the additional level of joy or appreciation appears to be a bit deeper.       Yeah… I love my job.

~ John Essex II is a retired art teacher, a two-time Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellow and an Arts Council of Indianapolis Creative Renewal Arts Fellow. He is also artist/owner of EssexArt ABC, LLC through which he keeps busy creating his own fine art, creates commissioned art, does caricaturing by commission and at special events, conducts private painting parties and is contacted regularly to play the bagpipes (yes… play the bagpipes). Essex also maintains an online print-on-demand store where patrons can acquire gallery quality giclée prints of his art as well as other products that feature his work.

Find it at: https://society6.com/essexart

To view what Essex does, and/or to shop at his online store, go to: https://www.facebook.com/EssexArt,

https://society6.com/essexart,

http://www.indyartsguide.org/artist/john-essex-ii/

 

Become Aware of the Joy Available To You

I’ve been busy with commissions this Christmas season. Interestingly, when one is busy with commissions during the holidays it sometimes feels like the joy of the season is passing by as one works alone in the studio. Then again, when feedback occurs and people are happy with the final work that was created, one becomes aware of a real joy that occurs and a part of Christmas seems to appear early.

I find my work fun… in fact I don’t take commissions unless I consider them fun… and I’ve got to add it’s a big warm-fuzzy when clients are super happy with what I present to them. So now, the more I think about it, I’m not missing any joy of this time of year after all. In fact, truth be known, the commissions add a sense of joy (in more ways than one) that I actually would miss if it were not for them.

Whether you yourself are involved with commissioning work, working on commissions or none of the above… may you become aware of the joy available to you this wonderful time of year.

Merry Christmas

Pictured are two of the several commissions I’ve received this Christmas season..

~ John Essex II is a retired art teacher, a two-time Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellow and an Arts Council of Indianapolis Creative Renewal Arts Fellow. He is also artist/owner of EssexArt ABC, LLC through which he keeps busy creating his own fine art, creates commissioned art, does caricaturing by commission and at special events, conducts private painting parties and is contacted regularly to play the bagpipes (yes… play the bagpipes). Essex also maintains an online print-on-demand store where patrons can acquire gallery quality giclée prints of his art as well as other products that feature his work.

Find it at: https://society6.com/essexart

To view what Essex does, and to shop at his online store, go to: https://www.facebook.com/EssexArt,

https://society6.com/essexart,

http://www.indyartsguide.org/artist/john-essex-ii/