Archive for October 6th, 2006

Last night I finally – FINALLY – got to pick up my painting. Earlier this week, Hooker posted the story behind the painting. Well I should clarify, the story behing the MAKING of the painting. Because that entry only talks about the past week of work Hooker put into it. When in actuality, I’ve been waiting for that painting for nine months. NINE MONTHS. An entire pregnancy of waiting. Except without the baby weight and pickle and watermelon cravings.

Hooker first brought up the idea of painting me something when I lived in this bedroom with a huge empty wall above my headboard. I never hung anything on those walls.

Then I moved last April (in which you can see my current place, including my NEW bedroom here. Go read the third comment down. Yeah.) The two of us revisited the idea of him doing the painting for me to hang over my bed. At this point, the canvas had been purchased. I had installed lights specifically to shine on this painting. No look. I really did.

Of course the nine month thing was neither of our faults. I asked Hooker as a friend to paint a little something for my blah bedroom. And then apparently everyone in the god damn universe had the same idea … except it wasn’t just a “fun painting for their blah bedroom!” – it was more like oh – ALBUM COVERS and POSTERS for bands. Or custom paintings for REAL PEOPLE. So obviously I told him to cut it out working on mine when he had REAL business to deal with.

But he finally had a bit of breathing room. So I saw my opportunity. And one night when he was out at a Patriots game I put my canvas on his desk with a simple note that read “DO ME”. How clever.

I’m glad I spoke up when I did, because a) within FOUR DAYS I had my painting and b) like 5 other people just hired him for things days after he finished mine.

I brought my baby home last night and lovingly hung her in her new little spot in her lovely little home otherwise known as “over my bed”.

Click on the photograph to see the notes.

So it took us nearly a year to get our act together, but this week good LORD did we get our act together. He turned out my painting, we got up his portfolio site (which hasn’t gone live quiiiite yet), I am nearly done putting together another soon to-be-announced website/community, and the two of us got an art show (well more like an art….residency) for the month of December. I’ll give you all the details of all of this later. (And then you can come and buy all of our stuff.)

But, as you can imagine, I am too god damn tired to go into the details of all of it right now.

PS. If you want your own Hooker original … visit his blog and catch him there. You won’t be sorry.

PPS. “1793″ is what he named my painting. Do some googling and see if you can figure it out.