Skipfolio

Skipfolio: Coffee With Beatrix

2011-12-21T21:56:00.000-08:00

Koffie Met Beatrix 4’w x 4’h x 1” acrylic and collage on canvas

Meanwhile… back in the Studio, Skip Hill is creating bold still-life paintings with a funky fresh appeal.

"Koffie Met Beatrix" is from an evolving series of large, colorful works that play with abstracted space, place and mood. "These paintings reflect my love of languages, music, travel, as well as rich coffee, exotic tea and the fruit of the vine."

As a general rule, the Dutch keep their curtains open. As a culture perhaps the Dutch feel they have nothing to hide, and therefore do not feel the need to close the drapes in their homes. “Koffee Met Beatrix” is an intimate look through such a window into a gabled canal house in Amsterdam. The room is a harmony of abstracted space, contrasting patterns and clashing colors reflecting the schizophrenic elegance of the city itself.
Skip Hill’s recurring motif of the Asian porcelain vase is the central figure here..."a visual metaphor for Woman with full hips and a Japanese tattoo". The Dutch love fresh flowers,"bloemen" which in this painting explode with color and energy. Coffee time with cookies or light cakes is a delightful Dutch custom and “De koffie is klaar!” means the coffee is ready. A guest arrives on her omafiets (translated as “grandma’s bike” ) the classic Dutch mode of transportation in a city which has as many bicycles as people. One of Chopin’s Preludes is at play on the stylized baby grand beneath a painting of Beatrix, Queen of The Netherlands.

Skip Hill brings these elements together with a loose, cartoon inspired style, with humor and with love for one of his favorite places.

"Koffie Met Beatrix" is available for purchase or lease.

You Love It, You Want It...Find out how to get it!

Love Birds

2011-01-16T09:55:00.000-08:00

2010-10-29T22:18:00.000-07:00

Skipfolio: Throwback Shot

2010-03-05T08:54:00.000-08:00

Skip Hill Fall Mid 90's? North Parrington Oval

The University of Oklahoma, Norman Oklahoma.

Much too serious....I was spilling my guts out for this Art, was chained to it. Like a crow looking for a glittery thing, mining the History of Art and the banality of Pop culture, The Mimbres...Reaching and searching, desperate for something to hustle, copy or covet...Something visually cool and intellectually deep, with ( Le Patte) just the right painterly touch ...a style, a vision of what to draw, paint, sculpt or shape.... something to get me in the Market then into fame and fortune...just like that....straight tripping...certainly high,..Half the time I didn't know what the hell I was doing with myself, with art or why I was even trying....but on that breezy, sunny day

I could testify.."That lips distill nectar."

Doing the bohemian thing like a method actor, soul-pressed, mind-stressed living that shit Daily, to make this Art. Praying to jesus for backup and the next twenty bucks.

Wondering every day why I wasn't in Amsterdam?

"Liefde is Mogelijk"

2010-03-03T13:53:00.000-08:00

Vincent Van Gogh Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear, Easel, and Japanese print,

January 1889 (F527) Oil on Canvas 60x49 cm Courtauld Institute Galleries, London

Van Gogh cut off his ear

and gave it to a prostitute,

who flung it away in disgust.

Van,

whores don't want ears.

They want money.

I guess that's why you were such a great painter:

you didn't understand much else.

"But hey, that Gauguin was a crazy fool too..."

Skipfolio: Tripping towards Home

2010-02-17T11:08:00.000-08:00

Skip Hill The Prophet (He Got Game) 2009

28"h x 24"w monoprint with artist embellishments

The drive back through the Heartland was practically a religious experience. Six states in one day through varied landscapes and shifts of terrain, culture and time.

Tempting the speed limit, blowing past big rigs and crossing borders with the face of my son before my mind's eye. Billboards preach affirmation of my purpose, destiny and blessings... "I love you, I love you, I love you"...God.

Omens of safe return and promises all along the way. I had driven most of the trip in silence, except for my thoughts, the atmospheric noise of passing cars and whispering wind. Three-hundred miles out, I loaded the CD player with Moodswing's Spiritual High, The State of Independence featuring the seductive vocals of Chrissie Hynde. By the time I hit the Ozarks, a slushy mix of rain and snow had limited visibility, yet I felt the truck practically drive itself homeward like a horse honing in towards its stable. At dusk, the sun shone like a divine eye through the gathering of clouds as it settled into the horizon. I couldn't help but smile at the tears gathering in my eyes listening to Dr. Martin Luther King's haunting sermon of hope backed by a gospel chorus in the third movement.

Crossing over into the Cherokee Nation and the descending dark, riding the pony past Checotah, Sallisaw and Henryetta, another life away from Constitution Hall, the gritty streets of Philly, the Washington Monument, Stone Mountain and the Georgia pines. Indian casinos appear like cities of heaven in the distance and just as quickly fade into night behind me. The chasm of miles between here and home shrinking with every minute and the blur of white lines slipping under my wake.

One more Love's truck stop and my exit is next. Pulling into the driveway as if I had left just yesterday, I feel my heart race even as my mind eases. I sit in the car with my eyes closed and "Spiritual High" bumping loud, listening to the refrain and chorus for the last time tonight..."the state of independence shall be...the state of independence shall be.." The garage door slowly rises as Adam comes running out to the car. I lift up him, we hold each other tight without a word and I feel his tears convulsing in his chest as well as mine,... both of us engulfed in the swirl of music and this precious moment.

Skip Hill: New Work Atlanta, 2010

2010-02-12T13:56:00.000-08:00

Skip Hill Lekker LaLa (Kumquat)

2010, acrylic/epoxy on canvas, 20"h x 20"w

The Real Thing?

A fingerprint has intensifed the debate about the origin of a mysterious drawing sold at auction for $21,850. Is it a bargain Leonardo da Vinci picked up under the noses of connoisseurs or is it just an old German drawing? That is the $150 million question that art scholars in Europe and the U.S. are asking about La Bella Principessa.

.....The subject is believed to be Bianca Sforza, the illegitimate daughter of Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan.

Atlanta, GA.

Lekker LaLa (Kumquat) isn't a Leonardo but rather the first painting I have produced this year. I have been on the road away from the studio the last five weeks and had been in a creative funk for some time even before my trip began.

Lekker LaLa is the effort that has brought me out of the desert and will be a special painting in my body of work.

Collectors and observers of my work always remark about the rich colors, but the challenge of this new painting has been keeping the colors muted and accentuating the contrast of ebony and the white of these long Winter days.

Skipfolio: Niki de Saint Phalle is a FloMasta!

2010-01-25T16:52:00.000-08:00

The Firebird is Charlotte’s newest work of privately-owned public art and is a permanent fixture in the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art collection. Standing 17-feet 5-inches tall, the sculpture is a whimsical, bird-like creature covered from top to bottom in pieces of mirrored and colored glass. The Firebird was installed on the plaza of the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art facing South Tryon Street overlooking the new Wells Fargo Cultural Campus where the museum is located.

Created in 1991 by French-American artist Niki de Saint Phalle (1930-2002), the sculpture was purchased by museum patron Andreas Bechtler specifically for placement in front of the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art.

Bechtler, a Charlotte resident and native of Switzerland, was looking for a sculpture to serve as a counterpoint to the geometric lines of the museum’s architecture, designed by renowned Swiss architect Mario Botta. http://www.botta.ch/Page/Recenti_en.php

“When I saw the Firebird, I knew it was outstanding. I knew it would be great for the museum,” Andreas Bechtler said. “The Firebird is joyful, uplifting and engaging. It makes you feel that life is good.”

The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art is named after the family of Andreas Bechtler. Bechtler assembled and inherited a collection of more than 1,400 artworks created by major figures of 20^th-century modernism and committed it to the city of Charlotte.

The Bechtler collection comprises artworks by seminal figures such as Alberto Giacometti, Joan Miro, Jean Tinguely, Max Ernst, Andy Warhol, Le Corbusier, Sol LeWitt, Edgar Degas, Nicolas de Stael, Barbara Hepworth and Picasso. Books, photographs and letters illustrating personal connections to the Bechtler family accompany some of the works in the collection. Only a handful of the artworks have been on public view in the United States.

http://www.bechtler.org/

Lillian Blades @ Hammond House Gallery In Atlanta

2010-01-25T15:55:00.000-08:00

Lillian Blades is a FloMasta! Resurrecting Life by taking tossed and neglected materials and creating lyrical, ethereal mosaics that are open windows into memory, family myths, the past and present.

http://www.lillianblades.com/

Larry Walker @ Mason Murer Gallery Atlanta

2010-01-25T15:30:00.000-08:00

Larry Walker is a FloMasta! In his seventies and still knocking it out like a youngster

http://www.masonmurer.com/artists/walker_larry.htm

2010-01-24T19:53:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I'm chilling with my cousin Rodney in Philly. The house on Player Drive is new enough not to register on my GPS. It's a big, red brick Georgian in a new neighborhood of upper-middle class Indians and Russians. A police officer's family lives across the street. Inside Rodney and Cheryl's home is peaceful, serene, white walls, area rugs and sofas with well-appointed touches that mirror the Islamic faith that she practices and lives. She maintains a beautiful prayer room upstairs. Much of the furniture has been collected in the course of their extended travels through the world, most extensively through the Middle-East. Their military and government service has afforded them rich opportunities to build both valued professional and personal relationships in the heart of the region. He teases me, "Say, Man, you ever been to the Burj Al Arab in Dubai? Ever have lunch at the Muntaha? Two-hundred meters above Jumeriah Beach, The Palm and World Islands?"
But when asked to chose his favorite spot,.."Man, I like Bahrain..."

So Rodney mentions that he could use some help moving some things around in the basement. "Here, I wanna show you somethin'..",
He opens a door in the hall at the foot of the stairs. I had already walked by the door several times since my stay, assuming it was closet. We descend the stairs to the basement.
I notice how much space there is under the house. Lots of storage in here...lots of Rodney's hoard of custom-made suits, stacked piles of moving boxes, and stuff they've picked up over the years. So with a big grin and a flourish he laid out his goal to me... "Skip,..help me turn this space into a Man Cave, where I can come down here, play my music, play some pool and chill."

So I ask him, " You wanna get started now?"

"Bet...
yeah, Cuz'.

That'll be great."

"Alright..."
and like two gophers digging out a new hole, we got to work.

We put together several portable wardrobes and grabbed suits in turn by the armful, stuffing them in neat and tight..and out of sight. We waded through the boxes like water. We shoved, shifted, pushed, dragged, lifted, tossed and hauled until we had a system in place, and a place for everything. One area was cleared out and swept. Half an hour later, another six square feet of space is unburied and freed up.

"What's the story on the pool table?""Hey, it's heavy, but we can put it up if you wanna try... let's do something special with this room first, before we put up the pool table." Searching through a large box he pulls out bolts of fabrics and curtains purchased at Bahrain's famous Autumn Market. I'm selecting Afghan rugs, and rustic Iranian furniture. Then go through their collection of original paintings and drawings from Naples, Sierra Leone, Spain and Djibouti. As the concept begins unfolding we agreed that we're going for a look and atmosphere of a sultan's tent in a desert oasis. Or a private club tucked deep in the maze of a crowded souk in Damascus or Baghdad.

Twenty four hours later we're putting on the final finish of the Man Cave.
"My Baby is going to be happy with this, Man..."

2009-10-12T11:52:00.000-07:00

Vladimir Jones (Le Boxer) Series 2009

2009-09-02T21:08:00.000-07:00

Vladimir Jones Le Boxer Series 2009

Skipfolio: New drawings: just a glimpse of what I'm workin' with since I moved into the studio fulltime to work. I leave behind the four large drawings(4'w x 5'h) Las Meninas 2009 at the house... beautiful, exotic, moody female figures posed like stylish, well kept, Storyville whores or Deltas having tea in the dappled light coming through the glass of our florida room. The last week has infused these latest drawings of Super-hyped Superheroes with a Funky, Fierce, SweetbackBadass raw display of the hurt I felt leaving the house yet again. Putting my hands up, bobbing and weaving, punching, jabbing, throwing some shit off...Life as Art...this is what i got for the week.

Not Because You Asked

2009-08-28T21:05:00.000-07:00

Going through, coming out of the desert, like into a new land, 30 years on the cusp of greatness. Then here comes you. Just like the whispers promised you would...someday.
Today...
an angel come back to me... after all this time,
a healing taking place as we re-enter each others' orbit.
a caution of lust, even though that's where we used to really groove together...so I see that and recognize that what was once there, is no mo'...
Looking to something new, if there is anything there on another level. What I recognized first in her, there in the Beginning... is yet her still... somewhere under the scars of the loves, the lies and the betrayals collected over the years searching for the Dreams we dreamed of as kids talking on the phone well into the night.

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T18:35:00.000-07:00

Hey, Dad,

I recognize that whatever you want, you already have,... or can get it! (Hallelujah!..)

So I offer this pearl of great price,
knowing and believing that you are well on this blessed day.

On this day, I recognise you, and acknowledge you, and thank you
for who you are and all you represent.

I recognize you for your unique ways and manner, for the things you stand for...and what you won't tolerate.

I recognize you for what you have done for the life and love of your wife and your generation.

I recognize you, Dad, for the example of responsibility and a warm humor.

I recognize you as a testimony to the graceful power of the right tone and proper attitude.

I recognize you for your walk, and your willingness to be contrary even if you got to stand alone.

I recognize you for doing what you got to do, when you got to do it.

I recognize you most especially this day as the one who paved away
for me to reach this day, just in time to say...

I love you...

...So how much sleep do you think Barnes and Glover are gonna get thinking about tomorrow?
and what about El Tigre...seven shots behind with 11 to play at a soaked Bethpage Black, he has never won a tournament trailing by more than eight going into the final round...so is Tiger still in the hunt?

For Sydney

2009-06-18T22:38:00.000-07:00

"what we have, girl, is tantric...lapiz lazuli...
even though i've never seen your face.

what we have is the envy of the ignorant observers who know nothing of the chains that keep me bound to you.

what we have is hypnotic, baby.
sweet words

floetry

word junkies
flow flunkies,

you're the monkey on my back.

i taste you

smell

feel you

from within and afar.

embraced, mauled.

cursed

and kissed by you,

when you're not being demanding

or coy."

A One Night Stand @ Uptown United

2009-04-22T23:03:00.000-07:00

Artists Sean Vali and Skip Hill take it to the corner in a live art performance captured in timelapse at Uptown United in Downtown OKC. Props to dj k-ReAL, Ben Esthing, Josh Heilaman, and to video editor Michael Clardy.

Transcend: 5 Artists by 5 Artists

2009-04-22T22:38:00.000-07:00

"I don't live up to all the stereotypes...
...just the ones that count."

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mX0H2oDSmok

The Yoni Series

2009-03-25T21:55:00.000-07:00

"Say, Skipfolio...my man!...

You ain't been posting much lately, Baby...wassup wit that?"

"Yeah.. I miss you too,... and as much as I love blogging, I don't want to be chained to the blog...,..I'm gonna work it the way it works...but I'm an artist first..

... working and pressing to get my shit together right about NOW!.... and that takes work and time. I been settling old issues with my father's house in Alabama and spent four days there since I stopped by this spot. Spiritually draining.

I been busy kicking this nicotine demon's ass..I've been busy about the things I see before me in my mind's eye..'years on the cusp of greatness', the power of less is more..."

"Ok, babe, that's all cool, ...I feel that, dig that, luv that...

But what I really wanna know is...are you making any Art?

"...Didn't I say I've been busy?"

2009-03-19T19:31:00.000-07:00

Mocha Vrouw (voor jou...)

2008

inks, acrylics on collaged

travelogue of Morocco

published in the 1950's.

So how do ya' think he's doin'?...

2009-03-06T11:07:00.000-08:00

New Works: Rumble in the Jungle

2009-02-27T06:04:00.000-08:00

These new works continue my interest in employing 'prizefighters' as metaphors for the struggle and victories in the arena of mind, body, spirit, culture, economics and history.

Route 66 road trip

2009-02-26T14:28:00.000-08:00

"I gotta go to the bank,...You wanna ride with to Chandler? I asked.
"yeah, man,... sure,...let's roll.." he replied.

Wrestling With Angels

2009-02-24T11:16:00.000-08:00

I was emptying the car of paintings from the trip to Chicago, when my long time neighbor Jim came waving across the street, reaching for his smokes. "How was the show in Chicago?"

We shook hands and I shared my visit with Judy Saslow in her gallery, I told him of my discovery of the work of Nancy Pascke. We talked about the meditative time of driving 12 hours straight, of the health issues of a couple patrons of the Chicago art scene, and through winding paths of rabbit trails and free-flow trains of thought, we came to me showing him the artist proof of my book, Wrestling With Angels: A True Story Based On A Lie, Part One. I knew that he had studied theology, and was a poet, so I led him to the chapter Morning pages: proverbs and poems, and left him to read as I returned to unloading the car.

Here were his immediate thoughts...

Posting new stuff this week

2009-02-21T16:02:00.000-08:00

I've been in Chicago (Obamalandia) this weekend visiting friends and making the gallery scene, but I'll be posting again this week. There's snow, dirty slush and brutal cold of course...The cops are still posted next to the blast barriers in front of the Obama house on 51st street... Checked the INTUIT gallery show of outsider art, visited with Judy Saslow in her gallery on Superior (one of her favorite Bulls players has been traded to the OKC Thunder), got my fill of Jamaican Jerk catfish, rice and beans, plantains and Ting sodas...stayed in the studio of artist Arlene Turner-Crawford and enjoyed her art, her collection of jazz, and her hospitality. Back through Red State Amerika Sunday afternoon...Outreach presentations for The Oklahoma City Museum of Art next week...at some point a brother is actually going to get back in the studio and do what he do....

One of my favorite pictures

2009-02-06T07:57:00.000-08:00

My youngest brother's daughter, my niece. Blessed with a sweet beauty, Brains, and a strength of will for such a slender girl, that blows me away.

Whatcha' say?,..Gotta be somewhere in there amongst The One-Thousand Most Beautiful People In The World, don't ya think?

I think of her and I'm grateful for a time after returning from Thailand, when my Brother, Kevin and his beautiful wife, my sister Richinda put me up for a while along the road of 'Skip's Artist Trip'.

I slept on the russet red sleeper sofa that my former girlfriend had given them years earlier when they were honeymooners.

There in the den amongst the kid's toys, K.Hill's athletic trophies, the ping-pong table, on the mattress where she and I once lay and kissed and dreamed and made love. Today, I thank God,.. and you,... for a place to stay, to rest my head on a worn pillow and suffer inside for a while after her and Asia. A place to pray and yearn for the direction and purpose for my life. The time in Thailand had challenged my religious upbringing and so I was reluctant to go back to the church, though my brother's family attended faithfully. I missed Bangkok, I smoked cigarettes ("Why are you standing outside in the cold, Uncle Skip?") and I taught Art at my high school alma mater, but mostly dealt with the kids' challenging personal issues, which I carried around in my pocket like charms.

I don't recall making any art at the time, which pretty much tells you where my spirit was.

Squatting on my knees at the wobbly plastic table, she and I had a tea party. I remember how she kept me acutely involved in making the tea just right, getting the cups and saucers right, making sure we had plenty of sugar and she's giving me instructions at age, what?.. five? four?

I imagine I gave her a choice of Orange Pekoe or Earl Grey and she responded quickly and sure...

So, the morsel in this post is this;

...in the midst of my inner struggle and spiritual wandering, I'm looking at this intelligent, beautiful child Kayla, with her almond eyes, and I remember thinking,... "Wow, I flew halfway 'cross the world for... just... this.... moment...!

On this day so full of promise, I think of that day.

Orange Pekoe tea and the company of a beautiful young lady.

Success in school,

stay focused, Girl,

Love, Uncle Skip

Transcend @ Living Artspace Tulsa

2009-02-04T11:15:00.000-08:00

Did I mention that we're having a group show this Friday?

In Studio

2009-02-04T08:02:00.001-08:00

The work table, or better yet, 'clutter magnet'...repository of car keys, cologne, business cards, cd's, magazines, books, notes and the items of creative inspiration.

Residue of a San Biagio Langhe Rosso Janin; ripe blackcurrants, plums, spices and leather dominate, a polished palate with velvety tanins, nice fruit and a long elegant finish.

In frame, Suki 2003, inks on vellum 8.5"w x11"h from the Harem Series. Drawing by the artist.

lower left corner is 2006 Margret M. Dabney Visual Arts Award from BLAC inc.

lower right is Haiku Zenji, a collage on tile piece by from 2005.

Art

ready to be packed for Chicago.

foreground: Bruised But Not Broken

2008 acrylic, collage on wood.

background: Ukiyo Mami

2008 acrylic, collage and metallic inks.

LeRoi (der Koning van het straat)
Neo Soul, the dog

detail: Kabuki Jones 2008

acrylic, collage and metallic inks on wood panel.

Gulfstream (for winslow homer) 2008

mixed media on wood

This unfinished painting was started initially

as a donation to the Oklahoma City Museum of Art

for their annual fundraiser. This year's theme is the Harlem Renaissance and of course Jazz... as much as i dislike rehashing the tired motif of 'jazz musician' that is so pervasive in a lot of African-American art. Rather than put my self out on that path, I decided it need some more work. I found a substitute that the museum was thrilled to receive.

A Dramatic Super Bowl Finish

2009-02-01T20:25:00.000-08:00

There were times during this game that felt as though it had been scripted for a Disney movie, with the the miracle comeback written in for that "feel good" happy ending we Americans love. Staying true to form as the fifth most penalized team in the NFL this year, the Cardinals were flagged at several crucial drives in the game, killing any momentum they had manage to build.

When Arizona Cardinals All-Pro franchise player Larry Fitzgerald caught a pass in stride for 64 yards right up the middle of the field for the touchdown with 2:37 left to play, you felt the favor swing, and I suspect a lot of viewers started pulling for the underdogs to pull the upset again.

Fitzgerald had been well contained all night by the Steelers' secondary. But you knew at some point he would make the play that would change the dynamics of the game.

With time running out, the Cardinals celebrate the come from behind score and an apparent victory.

But the Pittsburgh Steelers had been in this situation before, having played the toughest schedule of the season. With thirty-four seconds before the end of the game, Steeler's quarterback Ben Rothlisberger threw a six yard strike in the endzone where receiver Santonio Holmes made a brilliant catch for the game-winning score, clinching the championship.

Santonio Holmes- from drug dealer in the streets of South Florida

to Super Bowl MVP

http://sports.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090201.wspthol1/GSStory/GlobeSportsFootball/home

Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner leaves the field for perhaps the last time.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/recap?gid=20090201022

Mike Tomlin, youngest head coach in NFL history to win a Super Bowl.

Kisses from Heaven

2009-02-01T19:53:00.000-08:00

Even if you don't give a damn about football, this was worth watching, hearing,..feeling. Like a voice of light calling from out of the darkness, just before dawn.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?

value="http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/realityrocks/132160/jennifer-hudsons-super-return

Transcend @Living Artspace Tulsa Preview

2009-02-01T11:35:00.000-08:00

1/31/09: Road trip to Tulsa to deliver my share of the upcoming exhibition, 'Transcend: Contemporary Black Oklahoma' at Living Artspace.

Nathan Lee of Visual Realms Studio curates the show and was on the phone making arrangements for some media play with the local TV station, when I came in.
While he was distracted, I took some shots to give you a peep.

Left: Where Nathan Lee's iconic series of biomorphic human trees were as slender as calligraphy strokes, Lee's new sculptures probe the artist's representation of raw human emotion by adding volume to the mix. You'll want to touch them.

Cherry Ledbetter's brightly painted sculptures of women who defy easy racial identity, are elevated craft with a folk-inspired flavor that calls to mind India, Africa, Latin America and the American Southwest.

Actor, performer and photographer Rory Ledbetter dares to go there in intimate but stark erotic black and white imagery of Black gay males that hearken back to Robert Mapplethorpe.

Suzanne Thomas' iconic Guardians Series' of 3-D paintings honoring powerful women from history, stand watch at the entrance of the gallery

A detail of Skip Hill's unfinished diptych 'Der Ubermensch' Captain America.

4'x8' mixed-media.

I have taken to abstracting elements of Pop, the social-political climate, African and Asian motifs, graffiti and jacking them up a notch.

Opening night I will complete the painting as a performance piece during the Artist Reception.

Artist/Curator Nathan Lee

Transcend: @Living Artspace February 6-19th, 2009

308 S. Kenosha Avenue, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Artist Reception Friday

February 6, 7-10pm

Today's Sunday School Lesson

2009-02-01T11:22:00.000-08:00

11 Days

2009-01-27T13:27:00.000-08:00

Intermidio: a kiss to the Universe

2009-01-27T09:56:00.000-08:00

The intermedio or intermezzo in the Italian Renaissance, was a theatrical performance or spectacle with music and often dance which was performed between the acts of a play to celebrate special occasions in the Italian court.

Enjoying the snow, cold, crisp tail end of a ice storm in OKC...
even as I do my thang here (Uptown United)
I'm thinking of Chicago
... and what calls me there,...

"hey, Amina... can I see you in the first two weeks of February?"
Gotta git back to my girl, Chi... as I come to a greater sense,
a broader vision of where home really is.
I'm missing the creative intelligence of CHLEE,
the quiet strength of Arthur and the spirit that is
Aiesha Wright telling a story,
making it up as she goes.. See ya'll soon.

Coming in touch with The Flowmasta...Itsa bout time!
Thank ya..
The warmth of gratitude for today
and worship with guitar
doin' the best i can ,
with the few chords i got.

a kiss upon the cheek of the universe
in the middle of the day.

namaste. bless.

Adam Emmanuel handles the camera.

The First Seven Days of Zen

2009-01-27T08:06:00.000-08:00

"I told ya'll, I didn't come here

to play!...Sweet Jesus!, I'm tryin' to get sum' shit done 'round here!"

Well, that's not exactly a quote..

but it's what I would be telling

both the Republicans and Dems at this point.

The Prince of Pamona, Puccini, and the Tijuana Tornado

2009-01-26T17:55:00.000-08:00

Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini

1858-1924 Capricorn. Italian composer whose operas, including La boheme, Tosca, and Madame Butterfly are among the Greatest Hits of the standard repertoire. I wish I had his name, "Giacomo"..that's smooth!

Antonio Paoli 1871-1946 Ares. Known at the height of his fame as "The Tenor of Kings". A crossover Superstar long before JLo and Marc Anthony, Paoli is considered the first Puerto Rican to reach international fame in the musical arts. Paoli would eventually lose a 2 million dollar fortune in bad investments and turned to professional boxing to make a living.

Teatro alla Scala Milan, Italy : One of the world's great opera houses.
The season traditionally opens December 7, St. Ambrose's Day. La Scala is to Opera,
what the Apollo and The Grand Ole Opry are to Blues, R&B, Gospel and Country
...What Madison Square Garden used to be for Boxing.

c'erano molti spettatori i conoscitori

conoscenti Signore Stallone i Signore Schwarzenegger

WBA Championship Prizefight
Shane (Sugar) Mosley vs. Antonio (The Tijuana Tornado) Margarito.

Mosley, the former champ from Pamona, California was considered too old at 37 to have a solid shot at winning.
He was 4-1 underdog, dogged by doping accusations and leading up to the fight, he was hit with divorce papers by his wife.
Margarito was the reigning Champ and the meteoric rising Mexican upstart who clocked Cotto to win the title.

Did it ever occur to Giacomo Puccini to write an opera based on boxing?

Mosley was strong from the beginning. All night the left jab set up everything he wanted to do.
He fired his punches at will, landing head shots, bodyshots, crosses, solid rights,

Margarito would just grin after Mosley landed a particularly wicked punch. But the blows and the points scored after these exchanges were going Sugar's way. By the ninth round it was just a matter of minutes before the beginning of the end.

http://msn.foxsports.com/boxing/story/9130972/Mosley-beats-Margarito-by-TKO-to-win-title

"...uno!,..due!,..tre!,..quattro!,..cinque!,..sei!... e' tutto finito!"

Today's Sunday School Lesson by Mr. Fish

2009-01-25T15:49:00.000-08:00

Uptown United LiveArt REMIX w/Skipfolio & Sean Valli

2009-01-24T11:48:00.000-08:00

"...everybody going Uptown,

that's where i wanna be

Uptown

set your mind free

Uptown

Got my body hot

Get down,

I don't wanna stop, no!

As soon as we got there

Good times

were rolling

White, Black,

Puerto Rican

Everybody just a-freakin.."

in fact the mood was more subdued when I walked in about 9:45 from the cold front sweeping across OKC, for the Live Action Art gig at Uptown United. It would be better to say specifically that the energy was down-tempo chill with a acute sense of the promise of a good time this evening. The ambient mix was smooth droopy and straight loopy, as guests milled about talking in groups with drinks and iPhone in hand. The DJ and the tech guys were running final checks of the lights,the audio and video equipment...and Sean Valli had already been at work on the mural rendering his signature sub-atomic-organic Tree of Life.

Below: Chad Mount (tribalbot) of Uptown United with artist Sean Valli

As the crowd began streaming in, my task was going for a pure jazz,hip-hop improv.

Something edgy,raw and love desperate like doodles in a heartbroken poet's notebook.I blocked in the large black iconic and ironic figure as a visual stabilizer for the image plane. In a nod to the film 'Beautiful Losers', I scrawl in the name "Sonny Liston", the mob-owned heavyweight champ who lost his title to a young Cassius Clay. I begin filling in the negative space with loose marks, signifyin' snarky text, curly arabesques, prime numbers, Japanese kanji and Spanish slang. Big-AfroSoul Sista geishas float laconic about the garden of random graphics and text like ghetto angels at Golgotha, and the Sistine Chapel

After a while I manage to tap into the Flowmasta, channeling a lifetime of visual prompts, impressions, the intuitive, but informed,.. Past the thought uncensored and grammatically challenged 'wordz'..Dopamine(?),

With a Salt N' Pepa remix trip-hoppin' through the speakers, I'm running with this line of fluid ink, like a child with sharp scissors.

The night unfolds,the creative process emerges and builds to a crescendo of handmade flourishes, "Looks good, Skip, I think you done, man...", the tag of my autograph and the flashing of cameras brings the last 3 hours of alchemy to an end.

Post project: Sean,Chad,Sam and Skipfolio

Live Art REMIX @ Uptown United: featuring Artists Skiphill and Sean Valli.

611 Creative & Uptown United LIVE ART REMIX

2009-01-22T22:44:00.000-08:00

A full house

of artlovers,

tattooed geeks

and beautiful freaks

at 611 Creative

for an exhibiton

of paintings,

watercolors

and drawings

by Ruth Borum,

Fernando Cassilas

and David Bruehl

The crowd.

talking with photographer Terry LaFrance about his upcoming show. He is also developing a series of images shot while serving in Iraq.

Shout out to DeShan

living and creatin art

down under in Australia.

Artist Fernado Casillas

with Jeri Wensel and

Tony Lacy who aquired

an original watercolor

for his collection.

A Tattoo artist by day,

Fernando with "Flying Tiger"

Ruth Ann Borum's painting is sick..and I mean that as a fan of this talented young artist

Her paintings calls to mind some

darkly lyrical alterpieces

found in the temple

of some obscure Scandinavian tribe

with Pre-Columbian roots.

These new work reach

another level in skill, quality,

scale and price.

"I just draw a line

down the middle

of the canvas and

star drawing and painting

whatever comes out."

"This is one

of the best nights

they have

ever had here."

Up Broadway @Uptown United

Thursday night in The 405 7ish p.m.

In coordination with the screening of the film Beautiful Losers at OCMOA, the crew at Uptown United invited me to collaborate with emerging artist Sean Valli to produce an Art Action mural during the after-party in their space. As we create, paint, draw, pour, drip, collage and develop the project in real time, our process will be videotaped, and the footage will be filtered, manipulated and projected on a large screen to the beats of DJ Ben of the group Esthing. Sean and I agreed to meet tonight and lay down a base coat and some foundations of color on the walls we'll be working on Friday night starting about 10. You always hear people say "there ain't shit to do in OKC, no culture, nothing jumping off round here!..." Well, I called "bullshit" on that and decided to jump in with a group of young, educated, creative, well traveled, tech-saavy indidviduals who have returned to OKC with the benefit of their skills, experiences and outlook,to bring a whole new, positive energy to NorthernDowntown (NoDo)and the developing MidTown district.

Ben is mixing it up on the Korg ES-X, dipping into Prefuse 73 from itunes

"my goal over

the next couple

of years is to have

12,000 MP3 mixes

on the internet.

That should get

me the world record."

"I'm so digging this, man.

The music,

the space,

the energy,

I'm gettin' to paint!

Word."

Sean Valli creates a scrim of texture and color, keeping the process wet!

Skip Hill connecting

with artist Jose

aka "Perilous Joe"

with the money quote..

"Man, I checked

out your work,

stepped in here

tonight,

and thought,

'I've always

known this brother.

Live Art Remix @ Uptown United

24 W. Park Place

Up the alley from Iquana Mexican Grill

Friday night after the screening of the film Beautiful Losers at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.

Inauguration Day...It's about time

2009-01-19T21:39:00.000-08:00

Haven't got too caught up in the daily twists and turns leading up to this day.

I have said repeatedly that Barack Obama isn't president of the United States until he takes the oath and speaks the words confirming it to be.

Since Obama's clinching of the election, I've been on an extended media diet, except for brief forays to http://huffingtonpost.com/ I've been reading and writing instead, organizing projects, trying to get back in the studio and making the conscious effort to take a break from the brilliant satire of The Daily Show with John Steward http://thedailyshow.com as well as the info-carpet bombing bullshit that passes for fair and balanced (sorry, no links) journalism at this precarious moment so early into the 21st century. Still, at heightened moments, I'm rushed by the electric magnitude of what has shifted in this country with Obama's dramatic, historic, election. At other times, I realize that one mulatto's ascendancy to the Oval Office ain't gonna change the statistics that plague the Black community, neither tomorrow, or the day after. I have felt the post-election hangover and awoke wondering if I haven't been a bit player in some Ocean's Eleven orchestrated political opera that has enraptured us, jacked us, and played us for the opportunity to maintain the game just as it has always been played. But beyond any personal doubts that might arise and linger, I just as quickly repent and recognize the terrific opportunity, the incredible reality of this American moment, this global moment.

So, no...I haven't been following the transition as acutely as I expect to follow the Administration after today. I have to say, I do shake my head at all of the Clinton appointees stocking the new administration of Change and Hope, but like most Americans, I'm giving President Obama time, patience, my trust and my prayers, if they'll make any positive difference.

The week before Christmas I spent a bone-chilling week visiting Chicago and Hyde Park when Obama was in town. Snow was on the ground, windchill well below zero. Sky crisp and clear.

As I crossed the boulevard at South Drexel and East 51st, the Chicago P.D. were posted up at the northwest corner of the wide perimeter secured around the Obama neighborhood. I felt the energy, pride and inspiration of a city for its' adopted son and senator, above and beyond the Blago distraction.

In a few minutes the day has arrived, when he will speak those words and make his promise to a purpose that calls for the greatness, not just of a man, but of a people..and I pray the sun to maketh shine on thee and us, as we embrace the new day by faith, hope, and with a sober awareness of the destructive costs of the last eight years of the imperial presidency.

And I wonder... are we willing to wrap ourselves around the challenges and costs for today and tomorrow? Can we truly make a change? Yes,......... if we are so inspired.

Congratulations with Best Regards,

and Blessings, President Barack Hussein Obama

"I might not get there with ya'..

2009-01-19T20:21:00.000-08:00

It would be my sin and shame, if I didn't acknowledge the day, the life, the profound legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as well as give honor to those unknown people behind the fame, who helped paved the way for his journey; heroes like Bayard Rustin, standing here in glasses behind Dr. King. Rustin was one of the organizers of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Because of Bayard Rustin's sexual orientation and despite King's support, NAACP chairman Roy Wilkins did not allow Rustin to receive any public recognition for his role in planning the march that propelled a bookish, Baptist preacher from Atlanta onto the world stage.

Transcend: Behind the Scene

2009-01-19T07:07:00.000-08:00

Posting images and thoughts from last weekend's filming of the documentary,
Transcend: The Face of Contemporary African-American Art in Oklahoma.

Saturday, January, 17, 2009

8:38am

Staging the set in the studio of Nathan Lee.

Brenna King (left) prepares for her recorded interview with the artist, as lights are strategically arranged.

Ms. King is a multi-racial woman of Caribbean descent. She's a mother, a Marine Corp veteran, an accomplished photographer, singer-songwriter, AfroFemi-Ninja and hopeful romantic. As personal friends, the two were able to discuss living and making art in Oklahoma, Black folk issues, White patronage and openly address Lee's interracial relationship with an older Hungarian woman. Finally, the two discuss his ever present challenge of living a productive life as artist/activist with narcolepsy, or Excessive Daytime Sleepiness (EDS), a neurological condition that causes Lee to fall asleep at any moment.

Director j.leigh brantly of Vox Populi Productions has worked in film in both Hollywood and New York. This year she will complete a film project based in Africa. With the Transcend project, her process is to establish a solid frame of focus, but allow the collaborative energy of the assembled artists to channel the film's production organically. Of course they in turn respect her authority as the last voice in any creative decision and final vision.

The art of Nathan Lee. The human form. meditative. voluptuous, zaftig. Mayan?, Africa?

The Feminine Id and universal emotion. The work of a man's hand and vision.

Loading the camera is Melissa Sue Lopez, writer producer of several film projects including "Masquerade" and "Emociones". Shooting begins shortly on her latest feature Shuttermind". She brings serious film skills, pure positive energy, enthusiasm, and love to the Transcend project. http://www.moonsueproductions.com/

Artist/Curator Nathan Lee and Transcend director j. leigh Brantly

The Magic that is Tatayana, age 5, daughter of Brenna King. Loves smoothies, Yoga, saris, and all things India.

Skipfolio: too little sleep, head cold, draining sinuses, sneezing and watery eyes. A large cup of coffee.

I'm in bliss.

In the green room, trying to keep her quiet enough to not interfere with the taping beyond the curtains. Foto by Nathan Lee

Transcend: The Face of Contemporary African-American Art in Oklahoma

Curated by Nathan Lee

February 6 through 19, 2009 at Living Arts in Tulsa, Oklahoma

http://livingarts.org/

Mea culpa, je regret, oops, my bad!

2009-01-13T07:47:00.000-08:00

Bad link on previous post..Search; Power vs. Force Dr. David Hawkins
http://http://www.amazon.com/

Take a Lick of This...

2009-01-13T06:55:00.000-08:00

In scripture we are told that man is affected by forces unseen. It is commonplace of our century that silent, invisible rays of energy are emitted by innocent-looking objects. The discoverers of radium paid for this realization with their lives. Roentgen x-rays are lethal, and radioactive emissions kill silently, as does radon. The attractor energy fields that destroy us are equally invisible and no less powerful, though far more subtle.

When it is said that someone is "possessed," what is meant is that his consciousness has become dominated by negative attractor fields from which he cannot extricate himself.*

By this definition we can see that WHOLE SEGMENTS OF SOCIETY are so thoroughly possessed that they themselves are totally unconscious of their motives. Wisdom tells us one worships either heaven or hell and will eventually become servant of one or the other. Hell is not a condition imposed by a judgemental God, but rather the inevitable consequence of one's own decisions. Hell is the final outcome of constantly choosing the negative and thus isolating oneself from love.

Power vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior by Dr. David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D.

http://http//www.amazon.com/Power-vs-Force-Determinants-Behavior/dp/1561709336/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231860587&sr=1-5

Art Bomb

2009-01-11T09:09:00.000-08:00

Re: Skipfolio; This is the day dat the Lawd has made

2009-01-10T13:31:00.000-08:00

Filmmaker Jlee gets back at me:

"thank you."

and replies..."quite touching....

so, you've had time to marinate....any sinews open?"

As far as the devil...

"I believe the devil to be both inward and outward, a culmination of our own fears and a enemy to our ascension, our freedoms, our moments...so then a squandered life be hell in finest form."

"As Mandela said.."our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, our greatest fear is that we are powerful..."

a reason 4 living

2009-01-05T21:45:00.000-08:00

That's No Bull!

2009-01-02T22:23:00.001-08:00

It was a week ago today, that I pulled into the parking lot at St. John Missionary Baptist, and saw there were still spaces left..."thank ya"...
As I approached the church, I saw the Temple and Sons' dark blue hearse and shiny Cadillacs, funeral flags, snapping and popping in the bright, windy, December morning.
I saw beautiful and familiar brown faces with sad smiles, dressed in their best black and densely packed into the small vestibule; each standing sober and braced against the chill coming through the door each time someone entered to pay their respects.
I glanced at the clock, as I turned off the cellphone, and saw that I arrived, alive, and on time...for the Homegoing Celebration of Mr. LeMon Earl Henderson.
His only daughter and my youngest brother have been in love, and married, for what seems like half of our lifes. We attended high school and graduated with his three sons, and though our families weren't close, we had done business with Mr. Henderson and we have interacted occssionally, as we have lived our lifes loosely in parallel over the years.

The sanctuary wasn't quite at capacity, but thick lines of mourners were still being ushered in. I saw my two young nephews sitting in the back, and slipped into their pew beside them. We hugged and I could see they weren't exactly comfortable with this death stuff.
I looked at the program detailing the order of service, and read the obituary condensing LeMon's remarkable story into a few paragraphs. I was reminded, yet again, just how difficult it is to critique a life, a book or a song until the last period is wrote, and you've sung the last note.

The rituals of death, as celebrated within the African-American community, are profoundly electric. Even a funeral as quiet and dignified as this one, emits a fragrance that innately recalls the distant memories of traditions of the Motherland, carried down through the ages by our ancestors. This laying of bones into the ground. This act of gathering from afar, to honor one who did great things or small things among us. To send off with love and pain, the souls that touch our lives or share our blood. These soul-releasing galas of honor and tears provoke a a point of focus at the favor of God raining on us yet living. We then quickly focus beyond our immediate selfs and direct our energy and love instead, toward a grieving Family, towards the recognition and appreciation of a life lived, even as we are brought to the numbing awareness of own lifescript. We come to thank God for yet another day in this life that we're commanded to forsake.
On a personal level, there has always been something caressing and comforting to me about the old school Black Church aesthetic of flowers, poster board fans with Mahalia Jackson radiant in glory, white gloved ushers, praises with holy hands lifted up, and Hammond organs moaning, squealing and humming softly like a butterly in flight, dancing over honeysuckle.

The chocolate baritone of a the pastor quoting psalms as he led the processional of wounded family members and close friends into the sanctuary.
There were scripture readings from the Old and New Testament, a gospel solo sung, like sausage and grits Soul, by LeMon's cousin, Mr. Chris Douglas. My brother gave a heartfelt rendition of "Still" backed by a group of singers carrying the chorus and harmony. Several people in the now crowded sanctuary rose to their feet in emotion, when Elder Hill called on them to .."give God the Praise!"
We laughed and stirred memories as we watched a video presentation of Broadway Ford TV ads from the early nineties, featuring a caravan of cars and pick-ups driving past a tall, vibrant and charming LeMon Henderson making the great deals and closing his every sales pitch with the catchphrase,"..and That's No Bull!"

I was moved most by the gentleman who approached the podium in a moment of reflection, to share the impact and affect Mr. Henderson had upon so many young Black auto-dealers. "LeMon Henderson has done more for Black businessmen all across the country, than anyone I know..." From humble origins and circumstances, his success as an entrpreneur enabled him to provide not only service to thousands of people, but also paid salaries and mortgages, bought food, clothes and sent kids to college. He was a world traveler who loved to work his cattle, a hunter and OU football fan, whose well-known work ethic is perhaps his greatest gift to his children.

The greatest gift LeMon Henderson gave to me, came shortly after I had returned to Oklahoma after years of living away. At the time, I had no real job, no money or any credit rating. As the salesman tried to find me a good car and struggled to make the numbers work, I sat anxious in his office. Mr. Henderson saw me through the glass and stuck his tall frame through the door.He greeted me with a big smile and asked "Hiya doin?". I stood and reached for his shake. His hand engulfed mine in what felt like a Klingon death grip as he loomed above me. I grimaced and smiled as he let go, and the blood began to return to my fingers."This is Kevin's brother.." the salesman began to say, when Mr. Henderson cut him off. "I know who he is!.. You been outta the country haven't cha'?" "yessir." "Well ,what can we do for ya'?' "Well, I'm trying to work a deal here to get a used car." "So what's the problem?" He asked. I laid out my situation to him while he listened for a moment, then turned to the salesman and said firmly, "Put him in a car."

Driving the Ford Tiempo off the lot, that cold wintery day, I was laughing and shouting in euphoria and gratitude for the favor shown me by Mr. Henderson . I continue to reflect on that moment, today, standing at his open casket and viewing his remains. The memory is fresh again. The gratitude lingers.

Press the ReSet Button

2009-01-01T19:46:00.000-08:00

Virgina Tech and Cincinnati battling it out at the FedEx Orange Bowl. Craig is 3 for 3 and needs Tech to win, to end the day on the upside.
"Thanks for coming and spending a couple of days down here with me, Skip"

"Thanks for having me", I replied.

His wife and kids in Dallas for the Cotton Bowl, He had invited me to Chandler to finish our business at the bank, to clean out the basement of the Law Center, to have some black-eyed peas, steaks, beer and indulge ourself, like gluttons, in college football. I have been de-stressing and processing the past year and all that has been achieved, believed and known. The dreams comes to pass by stupid faith and bustin' my behind. Coming against the obstacles we prop up in our minds. Seeing, with growing clarity, in the here and now.

"Life is Good, Skip...Lissen, I have always told you, the only thing standing in the way of you.. is you! Shit, you jus' gotta do it. "

1:38 left in the third quarter: V-Tech 13 Bearcats 7

Enter His Gates

2008-12-30T05:40:00.000-08:00

Le Tete (The Prophet) 2006

acrylic and collage on canvas 20w x 20"h

The Hodari Foundation

Lets see,...oh yeah,

I was driving my new truck into the city for Sonya's Sunday Edition of The New York Times.

For me the drive is worth it..to get the Times Magazine crossword puzzle.

Brutha cain't jus' walk down the corner for a Sunday Edition of The New York Times in OKC...

...ya' gotta git in a car and drive,

20 minutes west on the Interstate at 75mph, through acres of deer cover and new housing developments still going up. Driving beneath beautiful displays of American might and the jet roar of AWAC's and Bombers flying overhead like albatrosses and black daggers. Taking off, then slowly circling and landing again, with precision and skill at Tinker Air Force Base.

Cruising at 60, a straight shot, slight curving and dip along I-40 past David Stanley Dodge, Hudiburg Chevrolet, Midwest City "Home of The Bombers" and The village of Del City. More car dealerships and the approach into the eastern edge of the City and the confluence of highway. The burgeoning riverfront, the Boathouse, A mound rising from the earth. Bricktown. Bank and energy towers like fortresses over the renaissance of Downtown. I got a spot right at the door of Taylor's Newsstand and Bookstore, told myself I would buy the first book that I picked up..(Sonya had been playing The Secret dvd while on the treadmill.)

Charles Stanley, Enter His Gates, A Daily Devotional.

"hmmm...I guess that's the one."

I grab a copy of Barron's, The Times, waxpoetics No.32 with Sly Stone on the cover, and Hope Meadows, Real-Life Stories of Healing and Caring from an Inspiring Community, by Wes Smith.

I showed the woman behind the counter a copy of Wrestling With Angels and

she says, "when you get that published we'd love to sell it."

This morning I'm reading the Introduction to Dr. Stanley's book. "In John's vision of the New Jerusalem, the Holy City had twelve gates of pearl--three on each of it's four sides:

She had a great high wall with twelve gates and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel

three gates on the east,three gates on the north, three gates on the south and three gates on the west.The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. (Rev. 21-13, 21)

Dr. Stanley writes,

God has set before us twelve months of the coming year. these months are precious gateways to spiritual growth and development. each month during this year, we will strengthen a different spiritual gate.

JANUARY devotions concern the New Gate (Jer.36:10), which speaks of making a fresh start, setting goals, and preparing for challenges ahead.

Can a pick 'em? maybe you didn't hear what I jus' said..

I said,..Can I pick 'em, baby?...or what?!

Wrestling With Angels

2008-12-28T13:43:00.000-08:00

Amsterdam, New Year's Day

Okay, the secret is out,

but only because I let it slip.

I have received from http://www.blurb.com/, the Artist's copy of my latest book, Wrestling With Angels. I put a leash on Neo and headed down the path to the crossroads tucked in the overgrowth at the western edge of the developer's property. I peeled the sheath of cellophane from the package like placenta from a baby's face. I rejoiced in the essence of seeing it for the very first time. In that glorious moment, seven years or so in coming, I realised a vision and held it in my hands. After holding it close for several days, I heard a call to release it carefully to those precious ones who have been there from before the beginning.

and I've shared it with a select few of you.

Let me thank you all for your validation and affirmation.

The positive responses of friends and critics who have studied it, and snatched a few paragraphs to ponder, have been overwhelming. You have managed to recognize, to grasp the spirit immediately, and it resonates.

I began this project several years ago when my wife and I were separated for nine months.

We had a child together and it was early still in our marriage, and it was troubled and complicated. Leaving my baby son behind, I retreated like Ezekiel running from Jezebel, to Red State America, and a basement apartment in Chandler, Oklahoma, to lick my wounds, to heal and to begin the shaky steps back towards God's redemption.

The question for me at the time, as I began writing, was "How did I manage to get to this place, at this point in my charmed life?..." A life shaped by my choices, my fears, my doubts and delusions. A life created by romantic notions and quests towards the sacred and profane. Life driven by a will to happiness and sadness and adventure beyond the Jesus loving, African-American, middle class reality that was my personal foundation.

I revisited periods of my past and moments of choice in Thailand, The Netherlands, North Africa, LaJolla, California, and these Oklahoma badlands. I wrote of vain recollections, vivid memories and recognitions of the treasures lived back there. I wrote of my resentments and hurts; of my regrets and hopes for she and I, and for him.
By the time I finished the rough draft, we were reconciled and I moved on to making that work. The writings sat fermenting in the hard-drive of the old Mac G-5 that sat collecting dust in my studio.

...until the day I rediscovered the manuscript with the eyes of objectivity. It read as a story worth sharing, and so I do.

Preview Wrestling With Angels at http://www.blurb.com Click the bookstore link, search 'Skip Hill', and order your copy of this limited edition work of Art.

This is the day dat the Lawd Has made

2008-12-28T05:33:00.000-08:00

morning...

are you up?

as morning breaks and the young monks wrapped in saffron robes come quietly through the lush, wet bushes down the moist dirt path, carrying bowls of alms and fruit, flower garlands and rice cakes; nodding and bowing in gratitude. What are you doin for breakfast?

good morning...

I'm up. She's out. Kids will sleep for hours yet. ..."but It's Sunday morning. This is the day that the Lord hath made.. get yo' ass up and make some time for meditation and prayer..." I heard someone say in Jesus' name.

"Get yo' relationship right with Christ, and you could have more money than you can throw away.." Granny said to me Christmas night. I bent on one knee next to her, close to her seat at the breakfast table. I wrapped my arm around her and held her to me. Then she pulled away to say what she had to say. She gently collected and organized what food crumbs she found and shaped little mounds of them across the glass as she spoke with great love and grave concern...The air of quiet about us like the eye of an Oklahoma tornado, in mix of everyone having a real good time, shouting eating, drinking and laughing over each other.
All i could hear at that moment were her words.
"Ain't nobody told me nuthin' and I ain't heard nuthin', but I feel that somethin's wrong between you and God, Skipper.."
I was telling her about my recent trip to Chicago to visit some galleries and have my interview at the School of The Art Institute. "Did I tell you, Granny, that I happened to meet Rev. Jesse Jackson? yeah, my podna and fellow artist, Arthur Wright gave me a tour of The Little Black Pearl, a cool community arts academy...

What?..
"Until you get your relationship with Christ right, Skip you will not get all he's got for you in those powerful little hands of yours! God gave it to you and you got to give it all to Him! You can only do it through Him! God is pushing you forward and you letting the The Devil push you back, God pushes you forward, The Devil pushes you back!"

Okay, so now I'm listening to her and staring into her one good eye, as he chastises and encourages me... I mean you know I ain't gonna say nuthin back to her, I ain't crazy!... brutha's gotta give E. L. Madison her respect. But wasn't I just testifying to how I had heard and trusted the voice of a Holy Ghost telling me to leave the Oklahoma wilderness and drive to Obamaland, "I have a place prepared for you."...and seek my destiny by faith and action?
"Did you hear me, Granny?"

I struggle not to take offense, but I admit I was stunned. I stare at her clean, brown skin and the tug of time on her face, her small mottled fingers, bent, shiny, like varnished and polished oak.
I love on her, caress her with my eyes and I hold my tongue to consider her words.
They are on my mind and in my meditation this morning.
I'll get back with you on that.

This is the day the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it.
I'm going to write, get in the studio, work and worship in the spirit of creativity. I'm gonna play some guitar and get caught up with what's going on in the National Football League and specifically the NFC playoff scenario. I'll prepare some good food for the family, dream visions, make plans and delight in His ways all the days of my Life.

ghetto geisha

2008-12-27T15:21:00.001-08:00

Naomi Bubblegum 2008
acrylic and collage on canvas 29"w x 36"h
Private Collection

Between the Mainsite Contemporary Art Gallery show, my trip to Chicago, and the holidays,
I haven't been in the studio for weeks now. But when I do, I look forward to getting back, with much love, to these sexy sistas,..my haiku divas and ghetto geishas.
Tapping that feminine id and energy, using andinkra symbols and asian motifs, like tattoos, over her big hips and juicy lips... to catch her with a cup of mango tea, daydreaming about a lover just gone...or on the way.

baby, you betta' git ta steppin

2008-12-26T20:56:00.000-08:00

Early in the a.m.,
I'm in that post Christmas funky postpartum limbo,
but I got a little poem for ya'...

something written on the back of a postcard, a love note, that arrived in the mail from the Netherlands. She sent these words to me at a crucial moment of choice in my life, as I stood at the crossroads many years ago.
It's a love poem come back to me today, in these crisp, gray days
of winter...of darkness...of anxiousness...of anticipation,
of Hope for change, and the new year's redemption.

It goes a little sumthin' like this...

Gedachtenhoofd

Hij bestond slechts met z'n hoofd.
Beleefde dingen erover te denken,
erover te lezen.
Niet het doen, maar het denken over het doen
deed hem de dingen to beleven.

Totdat hij, op een dag,
zijn gedachten wereld doorbrak en er vandoor ging...

op zoek.

He existed only in his head.
Lived life thinking about things,
reading about things.
Not doing things, but thinking about doing things
is where he lived.

Until one day
he broke through his world of thinking, and went...

in search.

Baby, you betta' git ta' steppin'...

2008-11-24T10:09:00.000-08:00

SkipFolio is a site about Art and the Sublime,

"Your cup of coffee and chai,

with a creamy dose of

The Political and The Poetic."

Skipfolio is a visual intellectual cafe where I let you into my studio to share my art, my creative process and my influences.
From an artist's perspective, I blog about Media, Religion, Race, Fashion, Design, Business, Travel, Community Activism, Music, and The National Football League.

The first thing Thais traditionally ask a guest in their home is, "Are you hungry?" If you like Thai Food, Dim Sum buffets, Pho Boa, and all things Cuisine, Let's talk Food and Wine. Make your own postings of your favorite recommendations, cooking tips and restaurant reviews. I'll post photos and video from cultural and political events and excerpts from my latest art book Wrestling With Angels

I'm opinionated, with a center left lean on most issues and a old skool conservative stance on others, so I'll be keeping folks in check on these pages. I hope you will too. We gotta keep an eye on President Obama, this country and each other; as we labor together to heal a Nation in these perilous times. So, let me ask you, "Do you got somebody's back?

I believe in promise, affirmation and confirmation of who you are and what you are. I invite you for a walk with me along the artist's way.