The Quirk Museum

Marketing and Promotion V

2011-11-30T08:57:00.006-05:00

Yet another screwed up promotional piece from our marketing people. Trying to get a foothold somewhere in the Middle East, we found a cheap rent not far from the British Embassy in downtown Tehran. Confused and angered by our new saying, "The Fastest Growing Art Museum in Town" a group of students attacked our building and looted the place. They even hung some of our paintings upside down. We may have to relocate to Tripoli.

Quirk Museum sticker promo

2011-11-29T22:13:00.007-05:00

One of our Quirk Museum bumper stickers was spotted somewhere in NYC. We have no idea how this ended up there but want to thank one of our fans for bringing it to our attention. Remember people, always ask permission before applying your stickers.

Celebrity Endorsement - Shakira

2011-11-11T11:51:00.005-05:00

We're very pleased to report that - as well as being currently nominated for three Latin Grammy Awards, including Album Of The Year - Shakira will be the 2011 Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year, honored for her renowned artistic and philanthropic contributions at a tribute dinner and star-studded concert on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.

Congratulations to Shakira and thanks so much for getting a tattoo to help promote The Quirk Museum. That's a temporary tattoo, right? We know you're very busy, but remember that you are always welcome to visit and check out our artwork.

Celebrity Endorsement - Danny DeVito

2011-11-07T18:18:00.006-05:00

It's Always Sunny in the Quirk Museum when we get a shout out from Danny DeVito. Hey Dan thanks for promoting our twitter page, but next time put a shirt on.

Vintage Advertising at the Quirk Museum

2011-10-08T22:32:00.009-04:00

Here is another early example of our attempts at building the Quirk Museum brand. This vintage ad ran in the November 1952 edition of Popular Magnetics magazine. Looks like the model got a little wild during the photo shoot.

Guerilla Marketing with Bumper Stickers

2011-09-21T12:40:00.007-04:00

We sent a few bumper stickers to the Libyan rebels so that they can throw em on their pickup trucks. Don't think they tracked down Gadhafi yet. He may be camping out at somewhere in New Jersey. Click on the photo for a larger version.

Marketing and Promotion IV

2011-09-12T10:45:00.004-04:00

Here's the latest promotional piece from our marketing people. Even though they are really busy trying to find and capture Gadhafi, the Libyan rebels were nice enough to throw this sign together. We're definitely going to have to send them some of our new bumper stickers. Good Luck in Bani Walid!

Celebrity Endorsement - Lil Wayne

2011-09-09T19:31:00.004-04:00

A little while back we sort of got into a little celebrity endorsement. The musician and all around nice guy Lil Wayne sported one of the cups from the Quirk Museum Cafe and filled it up with some "drank". We hear he's doing pretty good lately. Weezy F Baby has broken another record this week, for being nominated 19 times at the 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards! Stop on in anytime Weezy!

Marketing and Promotion III

2011-09-04T21:00:00.005-04:00

Sometimes advertising during a protest or street demonstration can work out pretty well. We got the right sign, color, font, etc... but shortly after this photo was taken, our sign guy was cuffed, hit over the head with the sign and dragged away screaming about the World Trade Organization or something.

Marketing and Promotion II

2011-09-03T09:18:00.006-04:00

Here's a more recent example from our marketing people using signage in a crowded area. Is that Egypt? There are a few problems here. The font and font color are all wrong and the guy is holding the sign backwards. At least the spelling was correct.

Marketing and Promotion

2011-09-02T08:59:00.006-04:00

As with many museums and galleries the Quirk Museum has worked to promote our brand through various advertising and marketing campaigns. We have worked with a few different agencies over the years and some of the promotions have been pretty successful. Some have not worked out so well.

Here is an example of one of our early attempts at building the brand in a cost effective way.

More Booze Bottles

2011-07-08T12:29:00.005-04:00

Here's another still life painting of some little booze bottles that I collected along the shores of the Housatonic River. These were lined up on a window ledge catching the late afternoon sun.

For more trashy art, visit my other blog: http://quirktrash.blogspot.com/

Another Snow Bird

2011-03-21T21:43:00.005-04:00

Yesterday was the first official day of Spring. It was sunny in the mid 40s and my sons and I cleaned up the grounds here. I thought we were finally done with winter, but sure enough it snowed this morning. I dragged out another old painting of a starling lost in the winter.

Winter is Still Here

2011-02-22T08:09:00.004-05:00

Just when it seemed like Spring was here, we got a few more inches of snow. I found this painting from a few years ago in storage. Three Starlings are shown foraging for food in the snow.

Apples and Oranges

2010-11-09T23:32:00.005-05:00

It's not all about apples and oranges. I have some coyote skulls around here somewhere. This painting is a few years old and it's never been shown before. A world premier right here! It's an 8 x 10 inch oil on panel.

More Green Apples

2010-10-06T09:27:00.004-04:00

This still life of a similar subject was painted in 2008. The blue background provides a good contrast to the green apples. I don't remember the squirrels bothering with them until this year. One of our neighbors, who used to feed the birds and probably the squirrels, moved away, so now they are turning to me. If I catch em, they will be painted.

Green Apples and Leaves

2010-09-17T20:34:00.001-04:00

This is a recent painting of some green apples and leaves that came from a tree in the backyard. In spite of the lack of rain, this was the best apple yield in five years for this tree. Once the squirrels figured it all out, the apples were doomed.

Still Life with Sunflowers

2010-06-14T21:54:00.005-04:00

Time to get back to some painting. This is a painting of some dying sunflowers sitting in my grandparents old honey jar. I started it about 5 years ago but it remained unfinished. I decided to revisit the painting and lighten the background which was a big improvement. A few more touch ups and my signature and it will be done. Click image to enlarge.

Wrecked Car Drawing

2010-04-16T22:45:00.004-04:00

Who hasn't done this before? There's a body shop nearby that has a rotating exhibition of wrecked cars out front. This Saturn showed up a few months ago. You wonder about the people involved. I hope everybody's OK by now.

Drawing in Progress

2010-02-06T09:26:00.004-05:00

Here's a partial view of one of my latest drawings. The inspiration for this drawing came from a stereoscopic image of WWI soldiers titled, "Now Bring on Your Gas". Anyone who owns a dog would appreciate this image.

New Drawing- Those Who Qualify

2010-01-15T14:57:00.004-05:00

This drawing is based on one of those annoying ad banners that I find with my email. The ad reads, "Financial Aid Available to Those Who Qualify". They're giving out money even if you look a little like a crazed hermit. Then why is it so hard to get a loan?

Drawing of WTO Chief Pascal Lamy

2010-01-06T09:48:00.007-05:00

I get a lot of inspiration for my drawings from magazines, newspapers, TV and the internet. This drawing was inspired by a Tim Chong/Reuters photo of WTO chief Pascal Lamy in a NY Times article from October 2, 2009 titled "WTO Chief Sees Russian Interest in Joining Waning".

Drawing of Found Robot

2010-01-03T18:48:00.005-05:00

I was trolling the internet for robots and found this guy who looked a little like Dave Matthews to me. I believe the purpose of this robot was to to test facial expressions, trying to get him to be a little more human. Something to do with "invertuality". Notice the wires coming out of the back of his head and a lack of hands.

Another Sketch

2009-12-26T11:53:00.002-05:00

A small pencil sketch from the archives. Not sure what kind of plant we have here...

New Color Sketch - Some Trees in Orange

2009-12-23T13:29:00.006-05:00

I thought I should put a little bit of color in with the other drawings. This marker and color pencil sketch of trees is loosely based on a scene I photographed near a farm in Orange. The mountains and colors are pure fantasy. Click for a larger view.

Milford Beach

2009-12-22T08:29:00.004-05:00

Here's a drawing of the beach in Milford, half way between high and low tides. Since it wasn't too far from my house, I spent a lot of time swimming and hanging out there. This is was the view from Botsford Ave., looking east towards Silver Beach.

Another Drawing: My Backyard

2009-12-21T09:26:00.005-05:00

This is a view of my old backyard in winter. It mostly shows my neighbor Sandor's chicken coop, smokehouse and garden. To the right beyond that fence is a little bit of my old friend Pete's backyard. There were a couple of big oaks and some nice woods out there until they built those houses. It doesn't look like much, but I had some great times there.

Old Drawings New Drawings

2009-12-20T15:14:00.006-05:00

It's been a while since my last update. I recently got a new scanner so that I could archive some of the older drawings and paintings here at the museum. Stumbled across this rough sketch in one of the folders. This somewhat charming scene was sketched in the marsh near Milford Point. While paddling near there in September, I noticed that a lot had changed. The house and outbuildings had been torn and replaced with new houses. Progress I suppose. I'll be adding more drawings soon.

Tres Amigos

2009-05-18T12:45:00.004-04:00

I recently finished this painting entitled Tres Amigos (Three Friends). The title may be a little misleading though. It's based on a couple of ventriloquist dummies I picked up for the museum collection and reads like the 3 stages of someones life (mine?): Youth-Happiness, the Sad Clown-Despair and Death. It's also about confronting your fears, since a lot of people are afraid of ventriloquist dummies, clowns and death.

Charles Burchfield watercolors at DC Moore Gallery

2009-04-20T16:10:00.004-04:00

I went down to the city to see the Charles Burchfield watercolors at the DC Moore Gallery on 5th Avenue. I've admired his work for years, but never saw any in person. Amazing work, larger than expected with the artists' hand seen in the pencil and charcoal lines. The gallery was a little hard to find, but turned out to be a nice friendly place to visit. From there, I headed downtown to the Morgan Library and Museum for the 'New at the Morgan: Acquisitions Since 2004' show. Another place I've been trying to get to in NYC. An excellent show in a really nice venue - no photography though. The library itself is an awesome piece of work - thanks Mr Morgan. Check out this review from the NY Times.

NYC Mummy

2009-03-01T14:52:00.003-05:00

Haven't posted in a little while... I went down to New York, did some sketching, took some photos. It was a cold February night, on my way back to Grand Central along 44th maybe. I came across this guy sleeping on a bench, trying to stay warm. Felt kinda bad for him. As the economy continues it's decline, it seemed like there were more homeless people this time.

Wander around the woods

2008-09-09T14:12:00.002-04:00

Took another hike up by Shelton Lakes early Sunday morning to take some photos after the storm blew through the area. The fact that everything is still wet and dark makes for some great contrast. I like to focus on the little pieces of landscape right under my feet. I did a good amount of crawling around the underbrush down near the lake and was pretty happy with the results. Some of these photos will make good reference photos for possible paintings.

Water - Plants - Sky

2008-08-20T15:56:00.002-04:00

I took a little hike up by the reservoir a few days ago and took some close up shots of trees and plants near the water. The reflections of trees in the flooded areas, was very cool. Lots of frogs and other critters were out singing. Got a few good ideas for some paintings.

Brooklyn Guy

2008-07-28T09:16:00.001-04:00

I ran into this guy in a Brooklyn antique shop while picking up my painting from the Micro Museum. I decided to take the train and subway, rather than dealing with traffic since it was going to be a hot day and my Jeep has no A/C. Since I had a little time to kill, I walked around and hit some of the antique shops on Atlantic Avenue. Got some good photos for my upcoming book.

New York Graffiti

2008-06-29T21:09:00.003-04:00

Went down to New York with my sons and wandered around SOHO and the lower east side. Went to the Apple store, Kid Robot and the South Street Seaport area. When it comes to graffiti, NYC has some of the best.

The Drinkers at the Met

2008-06-24T05:57:00.004-04:00

While visiting the Met and checking out the Van Goghs, Monets, Picassos, etc... I found this dark little Honore' Daumier painting titled "The Drinkers", that I'd never seen before . I really like this character study from France, circa 1861.

Koons Balloon

2008-06-23T08:08:00.002-04:00

I was back in NYC again for the closing of the Redefining Portraiture show at the Square Inch Gallery. It was good to meet Gallery Director, Liz Afif and some of the other artists in the show. There's a book documenting the show available at https://www.lulu.com/commerce/index.php?fBuyContent=2561578
I also visited the Metropolitan Museum to check out the Super Heroes costume show, Photograpghy on Photography and Jeff Koons on the Roof. Gotta love that Balloon Dog sculpture. Even after seeing the Met's classical sculpture, it's pretty impressive. It's stainless steel and stands about 10 feet tall. I also got some good photos in midtown and went to the Top of the Rock. More on that later I guess...

Redefining Portraiture

2008-06-02T14:54:00.002-04:00

I recently had my photo, "Spare Change" accepted into an exhibition at a small gallery on the upper west side of Manhattan. They are also publishing a book from the show.

REDEFINING PORTRAITURE
NATIONAL JURIED EXHIBITION
May 8 – June 5, 2008

Opening: Thursday, May 8, 6-9pm

Square Inch Gallery
Juror, Liz Afif Gallery Director
215 W. 101st St. #3J
NY, NY 10025

The portrait can be a direct representation of a person’s physical appearance or it can be indirect for example it can be a narrative record of a cross-section of someone’s life, or an abstract image representing the subject’s essence. For this exhibition we wish to show the variety of kinds of portraiture and to reinforce the importance of portraits as fine art.

http://squareinchgallery.com/

“Redefining Portraiture” book: $27.95
http://stores.lulu.com/lizafif

Animals in Your Kingdom

2008-05-26T14:42:00.007-04:00

I got "My Crows" painting (below) into the "Animals in Your Kingdom" exhibition at the Micro Museum, located in the downtown Brooklyn, NY arts district. The show runs from June 7 - July 19 and the opening reception is Saturday, May 31, 7 - 10pm - www.micromuseum.com. After dropping off my painting, I went down to the Promenade and took some photos of lower Manhattan. It's a nice area, but it's a Hell Ride to get there from CT. Click photo for larger image.

Painting of Tulips

2008-05-17T16:44:00.003-04:00

I painted this about a month or two ago. Mother's Day flowers. This was one of the first paintings I did, using my new and expensive tube of cadmium red. As any painter will tell you, there's nothing like high quality pigment.

Painted Strawberries

2008-05-01T20:04:00.006-04:00

Nothing too exciting going on lately. I've been entering some work in a couple of different shows with mixed results. More on that later. A few days ago I had some strawberries, took a few photos of em and did this little 5x7 oil painting. As usual, click the image for larger version.

Swimming with the Fishes

2008-04-15T15:58:00.005-04:00

The weather was nice, so I headed down to the river for a little walk. It's a good time of year to pick up litter - before all the prickers and other plants cover it up. I found this doll who had obviously seen better days. At some point, it was probably some girls precious friend. Did it accidently fall into the river and get washed downstream? Or, was it thrown off of a bridge? If you can identify this doll by the tattoo on her back, I'll gladly return it.

St Patrick's Day Parade

2008-03-16T11:36:00.003-04:00

Took some photos at the St Patrick's Day parade in New Haven. Spotted this kid with a toy gun. Brings back memories of playing army with friends years ago.

Me and My Crows

2008-03-06T19:21:00.004-05:00

I'm a bird watcher and have always been fascinated with crows. Although considered a pest, crows are highly intelligent and were associated with Gods and myths of various cultures. I've been feeding them over the winter and watching how they interact with each other. I wanted to do a self-portrait and decided to include a few of my crow friends. Click the image for a larger version.

For more fact about crows go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crow

Snow in March

2008-03-02T10:42:00.005-05:00

Took a walk in the woods before work yesterday. It snowed Friday night and I wanted to take some shots before it all melted. I figure there may not be much more snow coming my way with Spring on the way. As a subject, I like the high contrast of wet dark trees against a backdrop of white snow. It's almost as close as you can come to a pen and ink drawing in nature.

Found Gold!

2008-02-17T10:55:00.004-05:00

There's a good reason to take your dog for a walk on a cold winters day - aside from the fact that Joxer loves to get out and sniff around and pee everywhere. We went for another walk down by the Housatonic river and I found a gold coin. You just never know what's gonna wash up along the shore. Lot's of plastic bottles, a dolls head, all different types of balls, driftwood, etc... Then out of the corner of your eye, there it is, something sparkles in the weak winter sun. You pick it up, and sure enough, it's plastic. I did find a real gold coin once in downtown Bridgeport.

Another Still Life at the Museum

2008-02-15T07:47:00.006-05:00

Did another small still life of one of my existing paintings. The original, titled Apples and Oranges, is 9 x 12 inches and the miniature is 2.5 x 3.5 inches. Another painting -a-day type project for me. Painting this small is a great exercise and allows me to look at the original with a new perspective. I should probably be going in the opposite direction by working small first and then larger. When I paint about 20 or 30 of them, I'll have a "Major Mini" art exhibition at the Quirk Museum.

A new still life

2008-02-07T16:28:00.000-05:00

I got a few small canvases from a friend and decided to make a copy one of my oil paintings. The original is 8 x 10 inches and the miniature is 2.5 x 3.5 inches. It only took me about 2 hours - kind of like a painting -a-day type project.

To see more of my still life paintings go to: http://www.quirkmuseum.com/painting.html

Annual Photo Show 2008

2008-02-03T09:52:00.000-05:00

I recently got 2 photos into the Annual Photo Show at the Carriage Barn Arts Center, New Cannan, CT. Paul Fusco of Magnum Photos is the juror. It's a nice venue and runs form February 10 to March 9. The photo, a one shot deal, was taken at the Shelton Day carnival in 2007. For more info: http://www.carriagebarn.org/photoshow08.html

A pool in the woods

2008-01-14T09:34:00.000-05:00

Took a hike on a nearby trail with Joxer yesterday. Got some much needed winter exercise and took a few decent photos. Went off the trail, following a stream along a heavily wooded valley and came across a spring fed circular pool that’s about 20 feet across. If there was a house or farm nearby, it has long since vanished. I’m guessing this was used during dry periods. I’ll have to explore the area a little more in the Spring.

Attack of the Cybermen

2008-01-13T17:11:00.000-05:00

A big fan of Doctor Who, my son got a Cyberman helmet for Christmas. While trying it on for a photo, Joxer “attacked me”. Good dog, protecting America from the Cybermen.

Michel Gondry videos

2008-01-07T23:21:00.000-05:00

Monday... back to work, at least the traffic wasn't bad. Signed up for a Flickr photo account today. Have to throw some photos up there at some point. Watched a dvd with my sons about French film maker/director Michel Gondry. He created "The Science of Sleep", "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and a lot of cool, imaginative animation and music videos for people like, Beck, Bjork, Chemical Brothers, Foo Fighters, etc... Check it out sometime.

Hike and Photos

2008-01-07T07:47:00.000-05:00

The warm weather continues (40s), so I took a hike with my friend Mitch along the Shelton side of the river yesterday. Kind of a drab time of year for nature shots, but also keeping an eye out for arrowheads. Hiked up through an old cemetery and the trails near the gas pipeline right-of-way.

Trip to New Haven

2008-01-05T22:06:00.000-05:00

It got a little warmer, so I took a quick trip to New Haven. Walked around and got some pretty good photos of the downtown area, people and parts of the Yale campus. The picture is a shot of the Gothic, Harkness Tower.

Idea Box

2008-01-03T23:30:00.000-05:00

If I toss things in a drawer, they get kinda lost, so I have a few boxes where I put random sketches, notes, news clippings, ideas... I was looking through the stuff, figuring out what I might paint next. It also reminds me that I have to update the drawing section of my website.

Down by the River

2008-01-02T19:49:00.000-05:00

Remember that Neil Young song? It got a little warmer yesterday (40s), so I took a walk down by the nearby Housatonic river. Brought my camera with me but I didn't take any good shots. I did find a couple of pieces of driftwood that had washed up that I'll be able to do something with. I've always had an interest in architecture and use some of these pieces as a starting point for structure-like sculptures.

Happy Burning Man

2008-01-01T18:04:00.000-05:00

I saw an interesting New Years story in the NY Times - my favorite newspaper. It's kind of a tradition that some people follow, of gathering up your old bills or writing down negative thought/events and burning them, thereby putting them behind you. I decided to do that myself by using one of my metal sculptures. Kind of like my own mini Burning Man festival.

A murder of crows

2007-12-31T08:40:00.000-05:00

A little while back, I set up a bird feeder on a post in my backyard. I thought it was high enough to keep the squirrels away, but that didn't happen. Also, the local murder of crows (about 30) showed up on a regular basis, so I feed them larger table scraps and put out bread crumbs on the ground for the smaller birds. Crows have appeared in my paintings and sculptures before and I'll probably use this opportunity to paint them again.

First Post!

2007-12-30T11:03:00.001-05:00

Here we go - first post for The Quirk Museum.

In the closing days of 2007, I finally figured that I might actually have the time to keep a blog going and hopefully have something worthwhile to say. We'll see about that.

The goal of this blog is to give people a little insight into the creative process and to promote the Quirk Museum web site. The goal of the museum is to launch my sputtering career as an artist into the stratosphere, so that I can quit my day job and have more time for art, music, photography, movies, etc...