Last Easter (2010), Brad and I took a road trip several hours west to the desert land of Monahans, Texas. Brad needed to take some photos for an art project he was working on, and I decided I wanted to take some photos too.

We visited the Monahans Sandhills State Park to take some photos of the desert terrain. It was surreal watching truckloads of visitors frolicking in the sand as if they were enjoying a nice day at the beach. But it’s at least 10 hours to the nearest coast.

A friend just turned me onto Don Kenn Gallery, a blog featuring the monster doodles of Danish children’s television writer/director John Kenn Mortenson. The imagery is a bit macabre, but has an innocence that adds a bit of fantasy. I like it. I especially like that these are all done on Post-It notes, my own canvas of choice.

http://johnkenn.blogspot.com/

In the summer of 2008, I studied art history and drawing in Italy. Afterward, I decided to visit Spain and stay a week in Barcelona. It was the perfect opportunity to visit the German Pavilion of Bauhaus designer Mies van der Rohe, which was a longtime dream of mine. The Pavilion houses my absolute favorite piece of modern design, the Barcelona Chair, which continues to inspire me to this day.

When I was a just a boy of twelve, I wanted nothing more than to sit in my bedroom all day and play Nintendo games. I also stayed up late at night drawing and watching reruns of The Fall Guy. I was entering that pre-teen phase where I just wanted to be holed up in my room all day, away from the adults, away from the children, doing my own thing.

I typically sat on the floor, hunched over my work and straining my neck upwards to watch the screen of my 13″ Emerson. My dad saw my poor posture and decided to get me something to sit on. At the time, he really enjoyed going to local auctions and picking up interesting items on the cheap. This is where he found a collection of art books and supplies from the ’40s that helped me transition from drawing Ninja Turtles to figures in repose. This is where he found me the perfect chair.

He couldn’t have paid more than $20. It was the perfect size for my room. It was about three feet wide and sat two comfortably. The only defect was one of the leather straps beneath seat cushion was broken, but could have easily been stitched back around the chrome frame. I loved this comfortable chair, but when it came time to move, it somehow got left behind. I didn’t worry because my parents still owned the old house which sat vacant for several months. But the house was soon rented out, and the chair was never reclaimed.

Several years passed and I came across a book on home furnishings at a garage sale. There I saw my chair pictured and listed as the Barcelona Chair, designed by Mies van der Rohe in 1929 for the German Pavilion at the World’s Fair in Barcelona. Designed at the height of the Bauhaus movement, the Barcelona Chair remains one of the most stylish and elegant pieces of modern design.

As you can imagine, the loss of my own Barcelona Chair has weighed heavily on me for years. Currently, an authentic Barcelona Chair ranges from $4500 – $5600. And a vintage Barcelona Chair, like mine, may fetch more than that.

For years, the chair has been a source of inspiration for my pursuit of art and design. And I hope to one day be able to own another.

By MŪV*MƏNT on flickr

Pictured above are two vintage Barcelona Chairs dating from the 1960s,
matching the size and color of my own lost Barcelona Chair.

Rhino Lino: Artist Proof

Originally uploaded by quartermane

Brad’s been planning to sell his t-shirts (http://www.asabranca.net) at the First Friday artwalk in San Antonio for a while now. After getting the proper licensing and paperwork done, he’ll finally be able to set up shop tomorrow.

But since his license includes the sale of artwork as well, I decided to add a few of my own pieces to the pile. I am going to sell copies of “Kelpie” and “Songbirds” — a collage-style reduction print that my friend Kyra and I collaborated on, and the latest print “Rhino Lino” (that’s a working title).

Rhino Lino is a linoleum-carved relief print, done in the style of woodcuts. The basis of this piece is the famous rhinoceros woodcut by Albrecht Durer with some added elements of water flowing from its horn and jaw. I’ve played with the line quality to achieve a blend of lights and darks. I really enjoyed making it, even if it doesn’t achieve the amount of dimensionality I’d hoped for. It’s my first woodcut, and I hope to improve on these over time.

The price on each piece of this limited edition of 8 is $20.
Songbirds will be $40.
Kelpie will be $25.