Getting Wet and Salty - Homage to the SEA

Well, every so often I get a kink of nostalgia from way back in the crook of my neck. The kind of kink that only art can flex out. So here I have a piece called Boston Harbor. It would be a near impossibility to see the harbor waterfront like this today - what with all the stinkpot cruise boats - but I do remember a day in the winter looking out the wheelhouse window when there were only a handful commercial boats afloat.  

The BIG DIG was to blame.  

Boston Harbor

So, with a BREAK IN THE WEATHER, let us stand off the dock here in the Atlantic and lay to the Pacific!

Break in the Weather

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I can’t imagine not starting the OCEAN theme right here in Hawaii. So, as a proud veteran of the Navy of the United States I give you the USS ARIZONA! 

USS ARIZONA

Here, she’s plowing through head seas with a full head of steam and heading into the realm of GLORY. I prefer her to be atop the waves as opposed to being embraced by them. God Bless her and her crew.

In diametric opposition I want to show to you The Ship that was named - semantically - JAPANESE, I am talking the greatest battleship ever devised and constructed by man - the YAMATO. 

IJN YAMATO

She was standing safely off Pearl Harbor on that fateful morning, providing air cover that was never needed. But she was a party to the dirty deed done by the Zeros and Vals and Kates (fighters, torpedo and dive bombers) and she was a thing of unimaginable beauty. I wish we didn’t have to sink her (with ten torpedo's and seven 1,000 lb bombs!) in operation TEN GO, the GREATEST Kamikaze strike EVER!  She’d have made one hell of a Museum Ship.

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But enough of the gallantry of the Pacific, I also did a few “lesser known” starlets from the North Atlantic many years before. The “Look at all my bristling chains and all things bumpy” appearance of the Pre-Dreadnaught HMS Bucchante.

HMS Bucchante

A heavy cruiser that never really rose to her potential until the Germans and the Brits went to war, and at that time, the Bucchante was relegated to coastal patrols of the English coast as the DREADNAUGHTS had risen up ... only to be sunk! The Bucchante and me, we escaped the bullets ...by TIME!. 

The Germans - after years in the trenches and senseless loss of life - ended up getting bottled up in Scapa Flow in Scotland after “clearer minds prevailed” and then - on one moonless night, the scuttle cocks were pulled by the German crews and the pride of the captured Germans went to the BOTTOM, 

The Kronprinz

The Kronprinz was a jewel and she is still down there - upside down - in the hands of “Old Blighty”.

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Now a spin over to New England and the working docks that I used to call my home... And I may well again. 

One never knows.

Find a dock on the eastern seaboard that has a bountiful shellfish bed and you'll find a Culling board. Sure, it slimey.. but ...ahhh. HEY. Enjoy the clams!

Beside the Fruit of the Sea, there's the work of docking ships and barges. I'm not talking the pedestrian ship-a-day like in Kahului Harbor, I mean the mad rush of ships and traffic on the eastern seaboard. (I don't know about Long Beach but I'm sure they would agree).       Below is the Ethel Tibbetts - 

Ethels Final Sunrise

She was named Karen Tibbetts when I boarded her but after an ugly divorce the name got changed (go figure!) I think she was sexier as Karen...

 Then there is the workhorse of all workhorses - the Clydesdale among shetlands - THE HERCULES. I don't know what her bollard pull was as if was never measured - but in a footrace, she beat everybody with her submarine Fairbanks-Morse 20 piston, ten cydinder "opposing piston" mill.

The Hercules

 Plus, she had the distinction of once ramming the USCG base in Gloucester, Ma!

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Well, I have to go out and find a job and sweat the load now so I leave you with a good Holiday thought

Relaxed General Quarters.... many years ago

 Go in Peace and remember your friends and family over these Holidays! 

HAWAIIAN STUFFS

Every so often I get a bug in my butt about continuing my blog. But that would require that I set a theme and follow some sort of script ...of sorts.

Sorta...

I mean, there a lot of things that I may or may not do,  say or keep quite about or act in anyway regarding stuff that happens on a daily basis that are a totally without merit and not worthy of anyones' consideration.

Say that gem of a phrase to yourself ...once a day ....until you believe it and then the days become so much easier.

Anyway, this is a theme I call “Hawaiian”.

Simple, straightforward, no-nonsense and impossibly hard to misidentify ...stuff.

So here - in these pages (or packets or whatever the kids call these images) are a product of my years on Maui and Hawaii in general.... Ahhh, no.. just Maui. I want to show you some of the things that intrigue me here on the Rock.

Besides, the winters coming and maybe you need a break...

WHATEVER....

 

 

Here are a couple of pieces I did to get the motor running like a one cylinder "Go-No-Go"stroker on a skanky little gaff rigged staysail schooner pleading to pull itself off the rocks. 

I needed a break from all the chicks and rock'n'roll and 'stuff' that had nothing to do with Hawaii whatsoever. 

I was in vortex of "I'll do nothing Hawaaian" nonsense. I wasn't dissing the Hawaiians, Not at all! The opposite was true. I was trying NOT to diss my native M'ikmaq New England connections.  But where in the name of Fred the Farmer does it say a CANOE isn't a primal means of native transportation? The outriggers at the canoe clubs here on the south shore beat the sense out of dolphins wearing Leis and leaping into the sunsets. Outrigged canoes are manmade weapon/transport systems.

How cool is that? 

Heh heh heh... I'm a M'ikmaw indian paying a tribute to both Maui and Algonquin cultures!

 

 The exception would be the indigineous clothing in December!

NAP ...ANYONE?

 

The other dynamic to suviving in Maui is the "Chill it and be there". The best way to accomplish that is th take a polynesian 'siesta' in the loving glove of natural slumber... a HAMMOCK in the ocean breeze. A lovely place to be at peace, a hammock. 

Too bad I can't find a cohort.

HMMMMM.... nice!

 

 

The above two are really not all that Hawaiian but the 'locale' is. I find the memories of my past slip in under the doorstep and invade my sleep. The result is a drift toward the little suggestive nympths of the night and I come up with these.... a LOT!

Can't leave that thought without a salute to the girl who never became. Heather Marie. Sometimes the things that don't happen make the impossible inevitable and then, after a fashion, something you cannot do without. 

It just takes time to see.

Well, the LIFEGUARD is off duty now so I will wish you all a nice time here, Feel free to visit my website at < www.mauiartistronpitts.com >.

I'll be back soon!

Even The Angels Cried

A series of extraordinary events have occured in the past 96 hours. Events that have acted as a lever to dislodge the sediment encrusted way things have been done in the ART community here on OUR PARADISE island.

First: I was involved in an event that caused great consternation and sadness to the unassailable character of one of the stalwart musical FORCES on the island. A personal affront to everyone who knows or even briefly met her. GAIL SWANSON. My intent was to reinforce her priceless value but it went the other way. And then everything turned to SHIT.

The tears on her cheeks have washed away the Eh Bra(dda)h Era.

Earthbound Angel

Second, Those tears of our own Maui angel have since dried and the end of that newspaper cartoon feature has ushered in a new chapter in the realm of creativity. Gail will continue to thrill us with her table top musical blessings and my weekly illustrations will morph into a bigger, better, HAPPIER media format in the form of a online BLOG.

It’s time that the art community be represented by one of our own and not some well intentioned but unfamiliar journalists from the lower forty eight who have no ‘feel’ for our special cultural nuances.

Wanna see Gail Swanson LIVE? You should! 

If you haven’t, DO IT! 

Then you’ll see how the calibre of her talent could drive a lesser 'wanna-be' to write such mean things about her - Can you say JEALOUSY. This gal has Grammy winners and R’n’R Hall of Famers join her on HER stages because she’s THAT GOOD!

GAIL with just some of her friends and peers. She can be seen at MULLIGANS on the BLUE in Wailea, South Maui every Friday in an intimate dinner setting from 6:30 to 8:30 PM

Well, the BLOG will promote her as well as our other World Class musicians that call Maui their home. Wanna good place for reasonably priced grinds? I’ll have that too. And there will be artwork! Not just mine but others as well, from sculptors to visual and photographic and even PERFORMANCE artists. And then there are the undeniable “characters” that have no ‘gigs’ but just ARE. Bar staffers, merchants and even working class ‘stiffs’ that happen by every day and make a difference in our lives. They too will have a spotlight on the BLOG, They are all here, we NEED them and they all could use YOUR SUPPORT.

STAY TUNED to this FB channel for the BLOG update and announcements. I have no deadlines anymore so I am free to concentrate on this new endeavor.

Aloha from the artist formerly known as the "Eh Brah Guy"

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS, BB and the Brady Bunch

• My artistic homage to The New England Patriots - They are re-writing the accepted standards of excellence in the NFL and are doing it without arrest warrants or blatant stupidity, on or off the field. What an accomplishment in this day of over-hyped, over-paid, coddled sports stars (and histrionic coaches).

'A MAN WITH A PLAN'
Arguably the greatest NLF sideline wizard of all time, I present Bill Belichick.

'FIELD GENERAL'

In the above 2 pieces I've featured Bill Belichick and Tom Brady as they directed the Patriotic dis-assembly of the J-E-T-S - Jets - JETS - JETS  on Monday Night Football to the tune of 45-3.

I am `growing weary of this Tom Brady hair issue. I see Steeler DB Troy Palu-maul-you flying about the hash marks with waist length tresses trailing in his wake and I NEVER hear any dissing. No, just the opposite. He does SHAMPOO commercials. 

It takes sour grapes to make a rancid WHINE.

For the record, I like long hair on men, women, cats and dogs. If you can grow it DO IT!
Troy was only used as an example.

tiki - Tikier - TIKIEST!

There was a time when I was asked to participate in an theme: Do Tiki art. Whatever, so long as it featured a TIKI.

"TIKI-IN-LAW" - This was done with nobody in mind. I want to be up-front about that as I am divorced and bear no ill will to anyone from my past. But I overheard this variant at the South Shore Tiki Lounge some years ago. I thought it was funny. However, the waitress in the background is a cameo of one of my Best Friends (Emily S.) who is employed at the Tiki Lounge.

I was honored and lucky enough to join with many fine, gifted Maui artists invited to contribute. Happy to oblige, I decided to put the TIKI idol in more contemporary surrounds. Contemporary might not be the right word. You can judge for yourself:

"IRONY"

This took about two seconds to dream up. It practically drew itself.  I mean really! A guy named Barber with NO HAIR? Add the Tiki to the front of the name and there you have it - IRONY.

"Kong Tiki"

I love old movies and good books. Thor Heyerdahl wrote of his ill fated seagoing ship of reeds christened Kon-Tiki in the 'RA I Expeditions'. That was a book that I'd read as a child and for the old flicks, well the plight of  Fay Rae in "King Kong" used to give me nightmares. Big monkeys with hot chicks are scary to little kids. My fear has since subsided and my sense of satire has grown.

"Tikinaut"

The space walking Tiki was fun and creepy at the same time. Tikis, being wooden idols, need no oxygen so I could remove its helmet. The creepy part is when I replaced the tradition NASA umbilical hose with what is about a 16 foot long centipede. Anyone living in the tropics will understand the centipedes' diabolical and painful ways and why I got the creeps just drawing the creature.   Uggghhhh!

"TIKI KEIKI LEAKI"

I wish the Wikil-Leaks scandal broke before I did this bit of 'bathroom' art. A child is called a 'keiki' in Hawai'i in case you didn't follow the title parts.

"ROLLING COCONUTZ"

The Rolling Stones. You could travel to the most remote hamlet on Earth and that name would be familiar to the local denizens. The cool part is that the Stones released their "Tattoo You" album some 30+ years ago featuring Mick Jagger wearing a facial tattoo - a'la a Maori Warrior.  And Keith Richard, well, he just looks like a Tiki nowadays. Besides, he has a recent propensity for climbing up / falling from coconut trees, gravity be damned!

"MOUNT RUSHMOKE"

Just trying to include our lovely 50th State in the Icon of American History. A 'Moke" is an Hawaiian term that is the equivalent of "Hockey Goon" in NHL parlance. Big, tough and kinda scary, but good people. (Sometimes).

"ART CRITIKI"

This one requires no explanation. It's obvious to even the most obtuse of observers. Unless you are an art critic and then you're out of luck because the explanation would just leave you more confused than before.

Gotta get back to the TUGBOATS and 'things nautique'.

REFLECTIONS COLLECTION

I tend to work with themes. The weekly newspaper cartoon ("Eh Brah!") is at the whim or the reader/writer each issue.   If there is a theme to that, I guess you could call it: "Page 7".

When Ambrosia changed hands, the gracious new owner granted me exclusivity rights to turn the charming little watering hole into my own 'ersatz' gallery. (there are no galleries to speak of in Kihei.)

At the time I decided to do a theme I called the "Reflections Collection". A series of images that feature things about dance and music, but as seen in reflective surfaces: chrome, water,  eyeballs,  polished surfaces in general.  It was a unique theme and was very well received.

"Redemption on the Dance Floor" was an inspiration from the title of a single by Mauis' MEGA rock outfit "The Throwdowns".  Fronted by Toronto native Erin Smith, her (endlessly evocative) lyrics put this image in my head and it came out this way.

Being a massive Beatlemaniac, I could not do a series without the inclusion of the Fab One (and sometimes Three others) John Winston Ono Lennon.

"I've Just seen a Face"

But the ghost of Ed Sullivan rose up from my cerebral cortex (or hippocampus for all you neurologists) and enticed me to add Paul McCartneys' face and change the name. I am torn between the pieces, one I like for the singular presentation of John Lennon- the other for the duplex collaboration between he and sir Paul McCartney.

"Imagine"

This one ("Imagine" - above) is cool to me because if you look at Lennon's (solo) "Rock 'n' Roll" album cover (also above, just not quite as much), We see him standing in an open doorway. My image is what I imagined was inside the doorway and what we would see if we were looking outside... Lennon's back and bum bits.

"Eye on The Tango"

The "Eye on The Tango" was a favorite of Candice Seti (Ambrosia C.E.O.) so if you want to see it, you better be nice to her - perhaps she'll let you in her home!

"Jaco"

The conflicting scenery (a sun splashed beach reflected in the body of a bass sitting and smoldering in a lava flow) is the vision I held for this piece I call simply 'Jaco'. It's an homage to whom I believe to be the greatest bassist on the past century - Jaco Pastorius (Weather Report/ Joni Mithchell, Et AL). Conflicting scenery for a conflicted personality. The bottom-playing purists will argue that Jaco didn't play a double bass. But he DID! Before he bought that legendary Fender Precision, he had a double-bass that got ruined, I think by a flood or something. Jaco played a fretted bass for sound checks but played a beat-to-shit fretless Fender Precision during performances (he had ripped the frets out with vice grips and filled the fret slots with marine grade epoxy,  turning a perfectly good electric fretted Fender into ....a thing that made the Gods Themselves sit up and take notice). He used no magic pedals or effects loops, he just made the bass SING. Jaco had his emotional problems, just like the rest of us, but was seeking help and getting positive remedial results. He was on the way to full recovery when he was beaten to death in his late twenties by a bouncer in Florida. The greatest bassist of all time was just getting warmed up. We will never know the width and depth of his talent. We lose. Big time.

"Rain Dancers"

This is a simple study in colors and textures. I call it Rain Dancers because I couldn't come up with anything else! You notice that I signed it on both corners.... should you flip it over, end for end! It works upside down - it actually goes to another region or the viewers mind. Cool eh? (Yes, Virginia, those are stilt dancers)

Since when does upside down matter?

Well. time to get back to the creative side of the ledger.      Enjoy

tugboat artwork

It's back to the tugboats now. Had a great opening for the MERMAID theme last night at the Ambrosia Martini Lounge (Kihei, Maui, HI). So, now it's time to surface the ship, cast off the lines from the Vixens of the Deep and focus on my past: A life of a tugboat engineer in the North Atlantic. Living now in the Central Pacific makes this tasking a joy. I miss the old life and relish the new. Here's a sampling of my current TUGBOAT themed art.

Ready the Haul-down Line

The boats are primarily Reinauer Transportation tugs (Boston Towing and Transportation Division) with their distinctive buff and red colors (or "peanut butter and jelly" to the coastwise locals in the northeast).

Frisky Seas

'Frisky Seas' is an homage to the passing of one of the most beloved characters in the Boston tugboat community. Clarke Duncan.  Clarke was at once a serious tugboat operator and humorous shipmate. He left the tugs in the hands of the capable who will always remember him with heavy hearts. I will always tend to 're-christen' some of my boats with some reference to "The Dunk" - good friend, father, husband and shipmate.  May he rest in peace in the realm of King Neptune.

In the words of that great salty tugboatman: "What.. you got a problem with that?"