Thursday, April 30, 2009

Dobbs Ferry





I had to go to westchester yesterday on business so I stopped in the town I spent a year in (about 5 years ago) The town is called dobbs ferry. It is a quiet town on the hudson river and I spent a year there living in a cottage alone with no car---- All I did was think and occasionally drink with the old war veterans in quiet bars. I didnt even paint much, it was time for thought and regrouping and reading. I will always have fond memories of Dobbs. The town reminds me of one of those Twilight Zone towns that somehow slipped the vicious hands of time and held on to that feel of a quiet and quainter america before she went insane from foot and mouth disease..I lived in the yellow cottage seen in one of the photos..

MODERN ART---Ralph Steadman


I love this painting. Notice the people herding through a modern art gallery. There is nothing for them, no nutrients, no food. Just a used car lot of nihilism. This is why I only go to the Met. If The Moma was to be turned into a steakhouse I would actually go ther, at least my belly would get filled while my soul remained starved.

NICE PAINTING RALPH!

Ralph Steadman


Here is one of my top three favorite living artists--he carries the yoke of an "illustrator" which only means he actually knows how to draw and is not a modern HACK...He is a fine artist in my mind..I hate to think that he will pass one day as did Hunter S. thompson. I hope he is in good health so he runs for another 20 years...

http://www.ralphsteadman.com/

...another eccentric brit--a character of the highest order.

self portrait with six fingers

Here is a self portrait that reveals the secret of my art---I have six fingers. The cat is out of the bag---And to think that the abstract expressionists had six thumbs! I took this in the Carribean---(a crappy restaurant in NYC)

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

cell phone photo---painting at christies auction house


I was in front of Christies auction house today. Here is a cell phone photo of a blow up of an amazing old master painting (the author of which I know not.) The window reflection adds a modern twist to a great work of art but I prefer the original without the stain of my unintentional modernism...

congrats!

congrats to J.S. and my faithful reader J.N for answering the Leonardo Learning test correctly! I will post answer and a NEW Puzzle tomorrow.

Triathalon

I have decided to make a decision by Friday as to whether I go and visit my favorite place in the world--"Nawlens" or to commit to a NYC triathlon july 20th. I am leaning towards the tough call, the hard decision....putting away my dreams of jambalya and hurricanes and southern watercolors in exchange pushing myself into my physical limits (the unknown) and finding out what is left in my engine and growing and or failing miserably (something that has never bothered me)..Leonardo Learning tells me to do the Triathalon. I am 99.9 percent signed up.

Iq Test---what is this??

I have decided to bring back my new and improved IQ test. If you are a long time follower you may know the answer here. I will post new ones daily..I like this game so I hope you put on thinking cap! The answer is listed the day after I post the picture.


email me with answer..I will not give you the right answer if you give me wrong answer, I will, however, tell you if you are right...

alexgardega@gmail.com

hot sauce

This customer from Canada ordered my hot sauce...Hot sauce freaks are strange people, I am one of them. They are also known as pepperheads.



Ron: It looks Awesome. It's the 130 something addition to my hot sauce collection. ;)

Monday, April 27, 2009

How to be famous

Get press young man! The world has enough unknown geniuses blundering around out there--- put your pedal down, turn off your TV and RIP IT UP! Life is short make great art and get your name OUT THERE! If you sleep you lose, be a very bright (if not brief) comet.

my hot sauce alone has 334,000 entries in google, all over an idea I had one morning over me eggs, it would have been much easier not to waste my time making the sauce and the label and all the other bothersome stuff...Life is not a dress rehearsal and history is short, scratch your name in the big oak of art and then return to the void from which we all came.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&channel=s&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&hs=eCZ&q=bernie+in+hell&btnG=Search


http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/soc/content/society/2009/04/11/sdcol0412.html


http://cityfile.com/dailyfile/1118



http://showhype.com/article/rachael_ray_cooks_up_new_show_for_daisy_martinez_ap/



http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4293193


http://www.nypost.com/seven/01082009/gossip/pagesix/we_hear_______149121.htm


http://www.nypost.com/seven/05172007/gossip/pagesix/bargain_images_pagesix_.htm



http://www.nypost.com/seven/01142008/gossip/pagesix/endquote_634815.htm



http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,479093,00.html



etc...

Bernie in hell

I finally got my domain name back..a "squatter " in Texas took my name after he read about my idea. For some reason he decided to give it back to me at no charge..thanks buddy.

www.bernieinhell.com

the mind of gardega is constantly aped and ripped off by lesser minds and that is just part of life. I would prefer if those around me (including artist friends) would not copy me but it is par for the course for people whose own ideas have all the flavor of beach sand and all the intellect of pet photography.

gardega on art

(kind of in order)

Raphael---greatest lines of all time

Leonardo----universal genius

Michelangelo---"painting is not my art"

Velasquez---master of soul.

Goya--master painter of the dark underbelly of mankind

Vermeer---his circles of light are the circles of holy genius

Van Gogh--passion above all--bad drawing skills

Munch---the horror!

Odd Nerdrum--modern master who is not modern


William Blake--the world unseen!

Picasso---painted checks and sloppy but was still brilliant.

DALI----next to picasso the greatest artist/ mind of 20th century

Houkusai---perfection

Alfred Kubin---lonely genius

Gericault---His raft couldnt save us from modernism but that is not his fault!

Church--heart of the andes!!!! better than some renaissance paintings.

Thomas Moran--color, color color!!!

Courbet---a powerhouse of art.

Gardega---bad artist but still better than my stilted contemporaries who worship at the wrong alters.


Tres Mal:

Pollacko*---those who cant do---drip

De kooning---bah!

Chagall---7 thumbs

Jasper Johns---nyet!

Rauchenberger---time has not served you well..

Burgero---sugar and more sugar, refined into nothing...angels cannot fly with wings made of sugar

sargent--all butter and no waffles





*All the abstract expressionists can be lumped together and tossed into the trash like old sushi.

St. Joseph

I am knee deep in drawings of St. Joseph. Here is a Raphael of St. Joseph-- Not my favorite Raphael...Doesn't sing like most Raphael paintings. I love working on church and mausoleum commissions, I get to pretend I am an old master plugging away for a pope or a Medici but in the end it is all hard work and labor with a few moments of hope. St. Joesph is the "father" of christ--at least his "spiritual" father. He was a carpenter by trade--- I am learning more as I go.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

art table

my younger days...NY TIMES

aside from my dumb quote I was still in the times...

Highlighting Hair, Women's Ultimate Crowning Achievement

(Page 2 of 2)

"Hair has always reflected the society that it belongs to, and especially in Africa it has different styles and meanings," Ms. Sherbell wrote in her statement. "Heads are covered, veiled, shaved, braided, adorned with medals, painted with animal fat or covered with cowry shells, as in my sculpture, to signify female sexuality and currency. All the designing has to do with the inextricable practice of ancestral and spirit worship from religious rites to the rite of passage."

Because the African cowry shells cannot be taken out of Africa she used shells from the Philippines. The elaborate sculpture makes a statement about how a woman presents herself. "With a head of shells she is an important person in her group," Ms. Sherbell said.

  1. Alex Gardega of Huntington, who attended the School of Visual Arts and the Fashion Institute of Technology, has been etching glass for six years, much of it relating to mythology. Drawn to the subject of Medusa he began experimenting with oil paint and etching on glass to create between the hair and the face "just enough tension between the two."
  2. Mr. Gardega's Medusa poses the question: "What if a woman with a normal face had such awful hair? What if she had classical beauty, how would she be looked at? How much are women today judged by something they have limited control over?"
  3. He chose to paint a peaceful Madonna-like face contrasted by serpent hair, placing her as a victim of the snakes. Perhaps, he said, that would make people look for a deeper meaning.

A monotype print of a kabuki actor and onnagata, Tamasaburo Bando, is a subject for Susan Carter Carter of Port Jefferson, a printmaker who is also an adjunct professor of art at Suffolk Community College. "In kabuki just a few strands of hair out of place can convey distraught emotions," Ms. Carter Carter said. "I elaborate on that and use the hair as a compositional device."

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

New Website

I have a new website launching this weekend. It is really a nice piece of design work by Rebecca Keast designs. if you need a website contact me and I will connect you...after my website is done she is then redesigning this blog so we will "kick it up a notch"--BAM! Per-fessinul

synchronicity---carl jung

When I painted my picture to the right I did not know this work by Church. I found this online this morning--- by accident. If I had used it as a base for my painting I would gladly own up to the idea as I have no problem with visual "launching pads." I painted the painting to the right completely out of my head and hand with no reference and I am still working on it. I am a believer in Karma so I try to be honest about such things. The funny thing is I spent much of yesterday reading Carl Jung who is the god- father of explaining such "coincidences." Maybe I am thinking they are closer than they are but I think they are pretty close...


Tuesday, April 21, 2009

czars

The government is now setting up "czars" car czars---climate czars and most disturbingly--- a NET CZAR. The gov. is now going to control the internet and "turn it off" if they feel there is an emergency. You can bet your bottom dollar they will create a crises that requires them to take control of the net and "keep us safe." The great thing about being neither right nor left is that you can hold anyone's feet to the fire. Welcome to the death of the free internet and the death of freedom of information---welcome to China. Rep Rockefeller (r-maine) and one democrat has signed onto the bill..

soddy daisy

I am able to tell what town/ state people look at my blog from...(I dont do actual addresses etc) in all my years on this thing my favorite name of any place has to be this....This name reminds me of the pig drawing below--- I shall change that title to include soddy daisy.


Soddy Daisy,
Tennessee,
United States

drawing of the day----by gardega

Here is a drawing I found in my files.

Here is the title:

daydream of a supra-realistic pig dreaming of the greatness of his creator who also happens to be alex gardega

god bless the veterans


This is my buddy from my favorite watering hole in NYC--the wicked wolf. If you want to see a cast of characters stop into The Wolf. Tommy was a street kid from Jersey who was also a medic in Nam. I call him the 13th sign (the healer) I have sat for many a bottle of wine and listened to stories about Nam and the jungles and the things he saw. I have the utmost respect for anyone who served our country as much as I hate war I respect war veterans more than I can say. Freedom isn't free and a lot of people paid for our right to have opinions with their lives and their blood. If you let our freedoms run down the drain and stand slack jawed and do nothing then you are wasting oxygen. The left and the right alike should understand that our freedom of speech and liberties are an endangered species. Climate change means nothing to me if we wind up in a 1984 thought crime world. I would gladly let my skin and the planet melt if I did not have freedom of expression and liberty of thought.

my first glass piece

When I was 17 I was accepted to the prestigious art institute of chicago. I was unable to attend due to financial reasons so I spent a year landscaping while my friends went off to school with daddys credit card.. In that year I worked like a demon--I taught myself to etch glass (before the internet)--- I was one pissed off and determined artist. This is the first glass piece I ever made, I sold it in a gallery when I was 20 for $10,000.00 (the day after I moved in to NYC with 20 dollars left in my pocket.) If anyone tells you anger is bad they are a fool. I work like a crazed person, anger gets me up anger is the reason I have made over 10,000 pieces of art-- anger got me on TV and in the papers and anger kept me going when all the chips were down and I had no friends and no food. Anger is a gift.

for most of my adult life I could never even look at this piece as all I could see was its faults. Now that I look at it I can see that it has the faint aroma of gardega which sometimes has a smell similar to the peculiar odor of genius.

The best thing that ever happened to me was the very thing I cursed, not being able to go away to school as I wished gave me a fiery eye and heart that I still carry with me and separates me form the doughy- eyed lifeless stare of my art- comrades.

VIVA GARDEGA!

dont mess with texas

All the money you make should go to charity if not you in the same camp as madoff----email from a stranger



I got an email yesterday from a stranger from one of the oldest and venerated financial institutions in NYC telling me that if I
didn't give my money from my Bernie in Hell hot sauce to charity I was no different than Madoff himself. Instead of telling him that I was using the money to paint a 5 foot portrait of hockey legend of Adam graves (one months labor) and putting it up for a silent auction for Ronald McDonald house (estimated to earn about 10k for kids with cancer) I decided to give him a good "Texas ribbing. " I told him that he had a lot of nerve sitting behind his desk on his fat wallet pointing fingers at an artist that moved out on his own at 17 and starved and fought his way to a name while he was a child whose dad paved his path and bought his ties and gave big handshakes in order to secure him a position in such a firm. I do not suffer fools gladly but I accept stupidity as part of life (like cavities and taxes) the one thing alex's brain does not accept is hypocrites---I cannot accept that part of reality--that and abstract expressionism---both make me puke in multi colors.


I wasnt really mad as I roll with such punches but he has no idea of me or my life so I thought his presumptions deserved a bit of the alex defense...

Monday, April 20, 2009

Jonathan Swift - "May you live every day of your life."

just a thought

I cant believe americans are okay with the idea of torture. I am neither left nor right but if you allow your country to become a place that is complacent with such things than you will do well to cup your ear and wait for the echos of Neros fiddle. If the rivers die then the lands die--- if we let go of our collective soul and humanity (our internal rivers) then it is only a matter of time before the grace of god we go the way of the DoDo. Just because hollywood has numbed and dumbed us and made such things acceptable doesnt make it right. If you torture someone 183 times they are going to confess to anything---I would confess to being napoleon and nero and mao. Some things my brain cant accept torture is one of them and I dont drive a prius and I dont eat tofu.

Leonardo Learning----Technique vs. Soul






Where the spirit does not meet the hand, there can be no art--leonardo




There seems to be two kinds of artists in this world--soul artists and technical artists. It is very rare when an artists legs are long enough to stand in both of these distant shores at the same time. It is a harbor that only a colossal-Rhodes genius can straddle, a Leonardo, a Vermeer a Velasquez. If you only have your feet in soul you have the semi-spiritual smears of Rothko and the drippings of Pollocko and the missed targets of Dekooning and you are nowhere. If you only have technique then you are a sargent, a burger-o, a David! Lifeless and over rendered like the ledger of AIG--- full of the toxic assets of overly rendered flesh and landscapes with the spirit of god lobotomized out like flesh from a melon!!! Musicians---nay, GOOD musicians----understand the idea that they are not getting "paid by the note." It is the empty bowl that is useful--the space between notes-the unplayed note! To paint without life is a great sin and to paint without technique is a great sin. In art school these camps were enemies and I watched the two camps of fools throwing eggs across the field of ignorance at each other. Blake had Soul beyond all as did that eater of old spoiled stew alber pinkham ryder! They carried the torch of Coleridge and the romantics but the romantic poets and writers were well versed in pentameter and structure and they knew their "stuff"---- they just didnt hang on to it like a babe to a nipple or an artist to a "system". Charle Parker said--"first you learn your technique--- then you forget all that shit and just wail..." A wise artists learns his craft and then lets go and lets the spirit guide his vessel to shore. A foolish artist cluthches onto the life raft of things learned and never grows beyond the systems learned as a pimpled student. A genius finds a way to have one leg in the life raft and the other in the good ship of faith and courage. It is a dangerous way to travel but the right path for the wise.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

in progress

on the easel...


still trying to find my way through the forest of lost souls...starting to see some light through twisted trees of faith. My work no longer looks like anyone elses, this is progress for a painter. This is neither blake nor Dali nor Blakelock or ryder but rather an amalgamate stew that is Gardega.

Dali's Home






A friend of mine recently went to Spain and visited Dali's Home and Museum. I plan to do this when I am done with my Mausoleum art. Thanks to Carol for the photos--will give more info. later.

Saturday, April 18, 2009


Hey, amid the chaos and the challenges don't forget to smile

Mirror installation



I completed and hung this installation today for 632 Hudson st. The client had an old metal frame and she wanted to put mirror inside It. We decided on "venetian antique" mirror and then I hung the piece up on the wall. It was heavy and very difficult to hang but it is now hung and an earthquake couldn't shake it off the wall. We decided to take things to the next level and we are putting together a glass design show in three months. I will make the glass pieces but she is going to work with me on some design ideas. No rest for Alex...Back to the grindstone..two shows in 5 months...that is on top of my painting deadline and mausoleum/ St work. I am looking forward to an all glass show--never had one.

This isnt an art piece per say but it is part of what led us to decide to make an entire show of etched and carved art deco glass. so it had a purpose in the overall picture of my brain.

Friday, April 17, 2009

brisbane australia

Dear Brisbane,

I would like to interview a person from austrailia for me blog..

please oblige, mate...


alex


alexgardega@gmail.com

video

http://www.davidicke.com/index.php/

deco windows---632 Hudson


I installed these Art Deco windows yesterday in the West Village. The design is taken from an element in the interior. These are carved glass panels. I would have liked to have had some dark (unetched) areas but privacy trumped design here so I had to rely on a variation of depth for design as opposed to a dark/ light..this is just a cell phone snap-shot but I will re-shoot Saturday. As I was delivering these pieces (a while back) one of the Olsen twins came into the space so they couldnt be installed. The Olsen twins screwed up my schedule. I have more respect for art deco and art nouveau and all its "craftiness" than I do for all the empty and lifeless slapdash postmodern art ever contrived....

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

word of the day

outré: unconventional; eccentric; bizarre.

art rep wanted

Alex is actively looking for someone who wishes to make a percentage of my art sales by repping me to galleries etc. I know the exact steps needed, I am just too busy for that kind of stuff--phone calls and follow up etc is not my strong suit. I am sure a person who is very DETAILED ORIENTED and anal and smart and doesnt mind putting together packages and outlook express etc etc etc...Must build a data bank and all the other stuff my lopsided brain cannot do. I am open to percentage deal and I have a long proven track record of selling hundreds of works of art. I am fair and easy going and never minded paying agent fees if I had a good one.


alexgardega@gmail.com

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Leonardo da Vinci Portraits : Slide Show

Leonardo da Vinci Portraits : Slide Show

Posted using ShareThis

painting of the day--rembrandt

Repro's of Rembrandt are nothing compared to the original but it
"beats nothing."

This is a great self portrait, if you really look at it those circles behind Rembrandt are very important and it is hard to imagine this painting w/o them. I sometimes think he added the circles as a final adjustment to fill in the "dead space." ---They are indeed the circles of genius.

Monday, April 13, 2009

one of the greatest minds to have walked on earth

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Tesla

bernie eggs




8 paintings

I have decided to give away 8 paintings to 8 people I consider to be very close to me. Even though I am a recluse I do have a few friends that are good people and I like to give art to people who deserve it. I wished my Old assistant--- J. would get back to me and pick up her painting!!!!!


----ahem

how to be a famous artist---leonardo learning

There is no point in being an artist if no one knows your name. It is much better to be a "press Whore." (excuse the term) I was never an artist who sat around in a cafe smoking and wearing a beret. I am up at 4 or 5 AM everyday plowing full steam ahead and living on red bull just to survive and follow my dreams. Warhol's 15 minutes is much too short for my ADD addled brain---I prefer 15 days or 15 years...Just keep moving full steam ahead, even if you dont know where you are heading. There is no excuse for laziness as it leads to anonymity and anonymity as an artist is as useless as last weeks sushi. Art is made to be sold and in order to sell art you need a name at all cost even if that means coming up with bad ideas that get your name in the paper!!!!! It is not about ego, ego is a trap---- it is about passion...The old masters fought tooth and nail to get their name "out there" and nothing has changed.... you should do the same!


http://www.nypost.com/seven/05172007/gossip/pagesix/bargain_images_pagesix_.htm


http://blogs.forward.com/bintel-blog/tags/alex-gardega/


http://nymag.com/tags/alex%20gardega

http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/content/society/2009/04

/11/sdcol0412.html


http://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/13/nyregion/highlighting-hair-women-s-ultimate-crowning-achievement.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2



http://www.canadaeast.com/rss/article/article/535945


and so etc., and ad nauseum....

Saturday, April 11, 2009

crazy alex has a write up tomorrow in a major paper..alex will share my latest crazy project after article comes out. tomorrow or monday...

this one is a doozy

Left vs. right

MY politics are neither left nor right. I am only concerned about one thing and that is the preservation and protection of peoples liberties and freedoms. I find both the left and the right have been extremely guilty of turning us into an Orwellian nanny state and surveillance society. If you have not read 1984 then I will buy anyone who wishes to do so a free copy and mail it out the next day. I think 1984 is one of the most important novels ever written, on my shelf it sits next to the most important american novel--Huck finn. If we wake up one day and find our lives are micro-managed by a government from what food we can eat to what temperature we can keep our thermostats at then we have not only woken up too but the game is truly over. To put a label on my art has never worked for me and to label my political views is a self limiting concept. Human souls will never have peace of mind when every aspect of your life is scanned and searched and traced and documented. If you do not see that we are heading down that path (and have been for decades) then you probably are not aware that is is colder in winter than in summer. I stand by my promise, if anyone has not read 1984 email me and I will send a free copy. Do not go gently into this dark night.

The Waltons

I used to bartend in one of the best steakhouses in NYC. It is The Palm one on second avenue. I met every kind of celebrity and famous person in there, after a while they just become another customer and you just hope that A) they dont annoy you overmuch and B) they actually tip you.

I met everyone from Martha Stewart, to Matt Dillon to Art Garfunkel (a regular)

Rule number one is you never rat out a customer, I never spoke Ill of any famous customer or dished dirt on anyone.

I will say this, Art Garfunkel was a really nice guy who used to play chess at my bar with his son. I liked Art.

Yesterday I was in little Italy and I stopped in for a beer to a cafe after a long day of running all over NYC. I stood at the counter and ordered a beer and a guy next to me with his family said hello. It turns out it was Richard Thomas from the Walton's. As A kid in a tiny town in Texas my family would gather round the tube and watch the Waltons, a very southern thing to do...I always looked up to the character John Boy because I thought he was a good person and it seemed to me as a kid it was a good way to be in life. (of course I turned into a crazy artist but I still try to be a good soul.) I wound up talking to him and his family for about ten minutes and they were as nice as the Waltons were--- I even drew a cartoon for his son...They were really good people and I actually asked him for an autograph for my mother. I dont ask for autographs, ever, as a rule but it was for my mom so I forgive myself. I have a big part of my soul that craves a simpler America, an america that used to be. The Waltons were about that time and palce when people actually had time to be people and not hurried and worried scavangers chasing after the next material thing they decide they need. I was very happy that Mr. Thomas seemed to be every bit as nice as his TV role and his family was the same. Sometimes you find moments
of hope in all the mess of the Urban- modern rat race.


Thanks, John Boy.

Friday, April 10, 2009

flower of life

Time for me to buy a new round canvas and paint another flower of life. I gave my last one away to a friend who catered my art show---I dont sell those paintings..They are about spirit and not for sale.

cell phone photo---the palm

Here is a photo of the kitchen at The Palm One restaurant in NYC. I worked here for years as a bartender and have close ties to the place. Very few people quit the Palm so most of the same people are still there. It is nice to have friends like I do there because most of my time is spent working alone in a studio and unlike most people I dont have co-workers to go out to drinks with. The reason this photo works depends entirely on the white rag in the foreground, if not for the chance of that being there there would be nothing to to tie the whole thing together, it is the visual string the wraps the package of the image. Your eye would simply follow the slick aluminum counter top and slide out of the bottom---the rag brings your eye back into the pic..

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

mother nature


In my glass art I use (and have used for 20 years) Aluminum Oxide---one day many years ago my eye was caught by the word aluminum oxide in a newspaper article. The government had been discussing and in turn doing---seeding the upper atmosphere with a bunch of toxic crap under the notion that it is trying to affect weather patterns etc. for years using Barium and Aluminum oxide, etc I have all the articles including the government docs. I will let you research it for yourself and determine the validity and the tinfoil hat factor of what I am saying. Below is a related article from todays fox news, it is finally leeching to the surface that "they want to do it, in fact they have been doing this for many years. On a side note Barium is used in my oil paints as is cadmium. If you turn off the TV and research and read gov't docs etc with an interest in becoming and informed human and not a sheep you can learn a lot. Get your fingers on google and look it up yourself!


I think spreading aluminum, which causes Alzheimers and Barium (a poison) into the AIR is not a solution for anything..my vote is not in yet on climate change but adding poison is not a solution unless we want cancer rates and dementia to increase across the planet aside from the fact that most baby formula contains dangerous levels of jet fuel. yes, you can google that and find out for yourself...the sheep news wont tell you much about the fact that most baby formula contains jet fuel---PERCHLORATE.


WASHINGTON — The president's new science adviser said Wednesday that global warming is so dire, the Obama administration is discussing radical technologies to cool Earth's air.

John Holdren told The Associated Press in his first interview since being confirmed last month that the idea of geoengineering the climate is being discussed.

One such extreme option includes shooting pollution particles into the upper atmosphere to reflect the sun's rays. Holdren said such an experimental measure would only be used as a last resort.

"It's got to be looked at," he said. "We don't have the luxury of taking any approach off the table."

• Click here to visit FOXNews.com's Natural Science Center.

Holdren outlined several "tipping points" involving global warming that could be fast approaching.

Once such milestones are reached, such as complete loss of summer sea ice in the Arctic, it increases chances of "really intolerable consequences," he said.

Twice in a half-hour interview, Holdren compared global warming to being "in a car with bad brakes driving toward a cliff in the fog."

At first, Holdren characterized the potential need to technologically tinker with the climate as just his personal view. However, he went on to say he has raised it in administration discussions.

Holdren, a 65-year-old physicist, is far from alone in taking geoengineering more seriously.

The National Academy of Science is making climate tinkering the subject of its first workshop in its new multidiscipline climate challenges program.

The British parliament has also discussed the idea.

The American Meteorological Society is crafting a policy statement on geoengineering that says "it is prudent to consider geoengineering's potential, to understand its limits and to avoid rash deployment."

Last week, Princeton scientist Robert Socolow told the National Academy that geoengineering should be an available option in case climate worsens dramatically.

But Holdren noted that shooting particles into the air — making an artificial volcano as one Nobel laureate has suggested — could have grave side effects and would not completely solve all the problems from soaring greenhouse gas emissions.

So such actions could not be taken lightly, he said.

Still, "we might get desperate enough to want to use it," he added.

Another geoengineering option he mentioned was the use of so-called artificial trees to suck carbon dioxide — the chief human-caused greenhouse gas — out of the air and store it.

At first that seemed prohibitively expensive, but a re-examination of the approach shows it might be less costly, he said.


Let's assume for the moment that beyond any doubt, global warming is real. Does this offer a viable solution to reduce global warming? Could this create another environmental disaster by loading the biosphere with aluminum oxide [apparently the preferred choice to be used in jet fuel].

A method is disclosed for reducing atmospheric warming due to the greenhouse effect resulting from a greenhouse gases layer. The method comprises the step of seeding the greenhouse gas layer with a quantity of tiny particles of materials characterized by wavelength-dependent emissivity or reflectivity, in that said materials have high emissivities in the visible and far infrared wavelength regions and low emissivity in the near infrared wavelength region. Such materials can include the class of materials known as Welsbach materials. The oxides of metal, e.g., aluminum oxide, are also suitable for the purpose. The greenhouse gases layer typically extends between about seven and thirteen kilometers above the earth's surface. The seeding of the stratosphere occurs within this layer. The particles suspended in the stratosphere as a result of the seeding provide a mechanism for converting the blackbody radiation emitted by the earth at near infrared wavelengths into radiation in the visible and far infrared wavelength so that this heat energy may be reradiated out into space, thereby reducing the global warming due to the greenhouse effect.

The details are clearly outlined in U.S.
Patent #5,003,186 at the following link.
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=5,003,186.WKU.&OS=PN/5,003,186&RS=PN/5,003,186

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/04/05/travel/05dordogne.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
I am now committed to making multiple glass sketches for a big mausoleum by may 15th. The subject is St. Joseph and I am doing both stained and carved glass windows---they are large installations. I will post progress as I go. This will be in tandem with my Adam Graves painting--- so it will be a busy month. Better busy than dead. I love doing projects like this as I feel like I am connected in some way my beloved renaissance with such commissions. It is funny because the fun part is the initial sketches and studies in the quiet of a studio and then it is 95% nitty gritty toilsome hard work--- blood, sweat and tears and then you walk away worn and tired and hopefully somewhat satisfied with the end result. Time to make the donuts.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

nawlens

this is what my brain sounds like all the time.


interesting blog

This guy is a chef I saw on TV once... If you read his blog he actually has a very interesting philosophical outlook on life. I have known a lot of chefs, they are usually not very brain centric people. He takes a very positive path in each entry of his blog related to food. Maybe it is all malarkey...Maybe not.


---- it turns out he faked much of his resume and they are canceling his show...
sometimes you have to laugh at life.


http://www.chefrobertirvineblog.com/index.php

bob dylans fine art.

Bob Dylan also does some fine art. I personally prefer his music but he is, after all----bob dylan--- you know that there is at least an interesting philosophy behind his art even if his technique is a bit lacking. I knew a professor who taught him for a short spell and supposedly the song "idiot wind" comes from that experience..(maybe true maybe not.)


I like to write words and lyrics but my musical skills are less than something to brag about.

http://www.bobdylan.com/#/fineart

words of the day

Demosthenes - "Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises."

Gardega Road


View Larger Map

Monday, April 6, 2009

I have until may 5th to paint a portrait of the hockey great Adam Graves. It is going to be sold in a silent auction for a charity I will not name until painting is done. I want the piece to be strong--- not rushed so I will start very soon. I want it to be large about 5 foot square so I must "get cracking." Adam Graves is a class act and has done a world of good for kids with cancer. It is refreshing when a sports figure does good in this world and actually seems to mean it as opposed to just using it as an image thing. I attended my first hockey game and it was the raising of the jersey of Adam Graves to The Garden ceiling. By chance and not design I am now painting his picture. Life is not stranger than you think, it is something stranger than you can think...the best laid plans oft go astray but sometimes the plans are laid out by a greater force than the noisy moped engine (that is the mind of man) can understand.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Leonardo Learning---Saturn

http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/photo/saturn/?src=e_h#

I am going to this..

dentist

Alex has a cavity the size of the national debt. Luckily I have a dentist who likes my art! One cavity=one Gardega original..Now the fun part---I can almost hear that drill. I have a fear of dentists greater than a fear of not being a successful artist. Put me to sleep and wake me when its over.

Leonardo learning---Manila


I forget that people actually read this thing so I am surprised when I am contacted by a person from another country. I was recently contacted by someone from Manila, the capital of the Philippines and I decided it was a perfect chance to interview someone from another country so I could learn about Manila from a person who lives there as opposed (in addition) to reading about it online...I did online research-- post interview. There is much I didn't know about Manila, especially America's involvement in a brutal war there starting in 1898--- I know little about history unless its "Art History"


Please
contact me if you are from another country so I can interview you!

Here is the interview with Rachell from Manila in the Philippines:

ME: how did you first hear about my blog? what media source?



10:57 AM Rachell: uh-oh
that was a long time ago...i honestly don't remember
10:58 AM me: thats okay..
Rachell: were you profiled in places like gawker?
plus, with stumbleupon...i have no clue
me: tell me a brief bit about your life and career in manila!
10:59 AM Rachell: well, i work a lot with movie and tv personalities
everyone thinks its glamorous, but it isnt
11:00 AM im not a party person per se, hate the see and be seen crowds, so i stay away from the "glamorous" bits :D
but it is fun, and i do enjoy what I do
styling taught me to iron! hahaha
well, a bit
11:01 AM maids are pretty common in manila, and i've always had them
i dont really need to iron my own clothes, so learning to iron because of my work is kinda funny
me: ha ha
Rachell: what else?
i just finished an out of town shoot yesterday
me: what can you tell me about manila as far as culture and life etc?
11:02 AM Rachell: with a 5am calltime!
culture? there's always something happening
plays, musicals, exhibits, concerts
me: vibrant?
Rachell: pretty much
11:03 AM if the invites i get on facebook are any indication
there's always something or the other, you just need to check the papers
11:04 AM me: what is the food like? can you explain the cuisine?
Rachell: filipino food, unlike the rest of asia, isnt very popular in the west
not because it doesn't taste good, it does
it just isnt very aesthetically pleasing
11:05 AM a lot of sauces, mostly brown
chopped up ingredients, so everything looks like a lump of something
me: a lot of meat?
Rachell: plus, we have a lot of spanish influences, due to the fact that we were under spanish rule for 400 years
11:06 AM meat, vegetables, seafood
everything is represented
dishes made from internal organs are popular, to the disgust of foreigners hahaha
of course, the ever popular balut
11:07 AM me: what are the main fruits and vegetables?
Rachell: subject of countless fear factor dares
mangoes are the most popular
and bananas are endemic
lots of pineapples
lychees, guavas, papayas
melons, watermelons
me: what is your favorite food?
11:08 AM Rachell: loads of fruits
we are a tropical country
favorite in what sense? i eat everything
me: do you have a favorite artist?
Rachell: and eating out is part of life in general
11:09 AM well, i graduated with a bfa
but am sad to say I don't follow the art scene much these days
11:10 AM me: you can choose from all of art history, living or dead.
Rachell: hmm
let me ruminate on that for now
11:11 AM as i have to think if the artists i liked before are still the ones i like now
me: okay...what else can you tell me about life in Manila?
11:12 AM Rachell: manila is very cosmopolitan, with strong american influences in the way of life
me: game shows?! awesome!
Rachell: i think it's one of the "least asian" cities in asia
yes, a lot of game shows
11:13 AM the poor treat game shows as their ticket to a better life
me: 90210? and dancing with the satrs?
11:14 AM what is the currency and main exports?
Rachell: dancing with the stars, no one actually brought it to the local channels
because you dwts is full of has-beens which the general public here may not recognize
lol
11:15 AM 90210 is here tho
gossip girl
most of the shows in the top 20
heck, even "the view" is shown on cable :P
currency is the philippine peso
11:16 AM im not quite sure what our main exports are
off the top of my head, i'd say fruit (we have dole plantations here)
garments
me: and the beaches are beautiful? correct?
Rachell: a few metals like copper
yes, they are
check my palawan folder on fb
11:17 AM me: who is the president?
Rachell: ugh
gloria macapagal arroyo
very corrupt
:P
no one actually likes her anymore
me: not well liked?
11:18 AM Rachell: but with several people power revolts under our belt, people have become apathetic
me: is the judicial system fair?
Rachell: skewed to the rich and powerful
corruption IS rampant
we are third world country you know
11:19 AM a(
me: sounds like america!
Rachell: a*
yes
we were under american rule for years
me: tell me about the caost.
coast
Rachell: and imbibed more than our fair share of your culture
which coast?
7107 islands
LOTS of coastlines
:S
:D
11:20 AM me: where is your favorite place to go?
Rachell: camiguin! i've only been once and am raring to go back
its a tiny island, but i love how laid-back it is
11:21 AM and food is terrific
11:22 AM me: sounds like a nice place, roughly what is population of manila?
Rachell: millions
i have to check online for the current census
in my head, its 6 million but i dont know how accurate my head is
hahaha
11:23 AM me: no problem, I will look it up..what else comes to mind? ---religion...
11:24 AM Rachell: wikipedia says 19mil :O
religion? largely roman catholic
with pockets of the muslim faith in the southern islands
me: is there strife? religious strife?
Rachell: but a lot of other religions are well-represented
11:25 AM well...the rebels are mostly muslim
me: what is a given day like for you in manila?
Rachell: i don't have a regular schedule as im freelance
11:26 AM so my day to day schedule is all over the board
i can sleep the day away
or not sleep for 48 hours, depending on work load
11:27 AM me: explain your work in a bit more detail
11:28 AM Rachell: well, i bring the clothes models and movie stars wear in tv shows and pictorials
so, im in charge of sourcing everything clothing related
11:29 AM i have to get in touch with brands and designers to loan me the clothes
and then return them afterwards
i dress them up during work proper
me: are they nice or are they spoiled?
Rachell: help with poses and give feedback on lighting during fashion editorials
11:30 AM some are nice, some are spoiled
depends on the person
the most successful ones are usually nice
or at least can act nice :D
11:31 AM me: do you find yourself introducing family and friends to their favorite stars and having to get autographs for people?
11:32 AM Rachell: nah
im the least star struck person
hahaha
11:33 AM me: but your friends!
now, what is the most popular show on TV that is not a US import?
11:34 AM Rachell: noon time variety shows are very popular
and the local soaps during prime time
11:35 AM there are two main, competing channels: abs-cbn and gma-7
and several bit players
plus the cable channels
me: well, I think we covered a lot. what is the big sport over there? is it soccer?
Rachell: basketball!
11:36 AM for a country where height is not a big feature in physical attributes, we do love basketball
me: never would have guessed that.
Rachell: no one in their right minds would
hahaha
i told you, american influence
11:37 AM me: who is the most famous Manilan? Is it the inventor of the Manila Envelope?
Rachell: every small village and barrio has their own league
most famous???
hmmm...again, the question is too broad
im not quite sure who to answer
11:38 AM and did the manila envelope actually come from manila? hahaha
me: that is fine...tough to answer that in any nation...
I want to thank you for the wonderful interview and for giving me this information from a personal point of view about Manila..Leonardo Learning thanks you!
11:39 AM Rachell: leonardo learning?
as in da vinci?
11:41 AM me: Part of my new website. Leonardo was interested in all things universally. I use that approach to learn as much as I can about everything and then to convey the learning on my blog.
Rachell: oh, very cool


American period (1898-1946)

U.S. Troops invaded Manila in 1898 and waged war with the Spaniards and Filipinos in the Spanish-American War and the Philippine-American War. Following the defeat of Spain, U.S. forces took control of the city and the islands in one of the most brutal and forgotten chapters of Philippine American history.

The American Navy, under Admiral George Dewey, defeated the Spanish squadron in the Battle of Manila Bay on May 1, 1898. Admiral Dewey testified that after the battle the Spanish Governor wished to surrender to the Americans rather than the Filipinos, whom he feared.[24]

Having just won their independence from Spain, the Filipinos were fiercely opposed to once again being occupied. Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed the First Philippine Republic at the Malolos Congress and had begun to build the foundations for an independent nation. Admiral Dewey, however, claimed he never recognized the Philippine Republic, as he did not have the authority to do so and did not consider it an organized government.[25] War broke out between the Filipinos and the Americans on February 4, 1899, when an American soldier shot and killed a Filipino in Manila. The Americans pursued the retreating Filipino forces province by province, until General Emilio Aguinaldo (then president of the Republic) surrendered in Palanan, Isabela, on March 23, 1901.

Escolta Street in stereoptical view, 1899.

American high command at that time was headed by General Otis who ordered invasion and occupation. By that time the Filipino troops had taken classic defensive positions around Manila to attempt to keep them out. However, the poorly armed, ill-trained soldiers could not compete with the superior firepower of the Americans and they lost and were severely beaten; so much so that it has been reported that the dead were used as breastworks.[citation needed]

Under the command of Aguinaldo the Filipinos began a guerrilla campaign to resist the new occupiers. This campaign had limited success in the early days following the initial occupation of the Americans although any successes were short-lived. The replacement of General Otis by General Arthur MacArthur, Jr. began an extensive campaign to suppress the local population.

This campaign by the USA has been reported as being a particularly bloody suppression with wild reports of commanders ordering the murder of everyone over 10 years old. Several books have been written on this war and it's implications for both the local peoples and the US. These books are largely hostile to the US: [26]

In the Treaty of Paris in 1898, Spain handed over the Philippines to the United States of America for US$ 20,000,000 and ending 333 years of Spanish rule in the islands. [27][28]

Manila continued under an American military government until civil government was established for the city on July 31, 1901. The Philippine-American War continued through 1903 at the cost of many lives both in Manila and elsewhere in the Islands. In 1935, the United States government committed itself to granting the Philippines Independence after a ten-year transition, a period that was extended by one year due to World War II.


The City of Manila (Filipino: Lungsod ng Maynila), or simply Manila, is the capital of the Philippines and one of the 17 cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila. Located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay just west of the National Capital Region in western side of Luzon, it is one of the central hubs of a thriving metropolitan area home to over 14 million people.[1]

Manila, occupying a total land area of 38.55 square kilometers,[2][3] is the second most populous city in the Philippines, with more than 1.6 million inhabitants.[3] Only nearby Quezon City, the country's former capital, is more populous. The metropolitan area is the second most populous in Southeast Asia.[1]

Manila lies about 950 kilometers southeast of Hong Kong, 2,400 kilometers northeast of Singapore and more than 2,100 kilometers northeast of Kuala Lumpur. The Pasig River bisects the city in the middle. Almost all of the city sits on top of centuries of prehistoric alluvial deposits built by the waters of the Pasig River and on some land reclaimed from Manila Bay.

The layout of the city was haphazardly planned during the Spanish Era as a set of communities surrounding the fortified walls of Intramuros (within the walls), which was the original Manila. Intramuros, one of the oldest walled cities in the Far East, was constructed and designed by Spanish Jesuit missionaries to keep from invading Chinese pirates and natives uprising. During the American Period, some semblance of city planning using the architectural designs and master plans by Daniel Burnham was done on the portions of the city south of the Pasig River.

Manila is bordered by several cities in Metro Manila such as Navotas City and Caloocan City to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong City to the east, Makati City to the southeast, and Pasay City to the south.

Well into the 13th century, the city consisted of a fortified settlement and trading quarter at the bay of the Pasig River, on top of previous older towns. The official name of the city under its Malay aristocracy was Seludong/Selurung, which was the same name given for the general region of southwestern Luzon at that time, suggesting that it was the capital of Ancient Tondo. However, the city became known by the name given to it by its Tagalog inhabitants, Maynila, first recorded as Maynilad. The name is based on the nila, a flowering mangrove plant that grew on the marshy shores of the bay, used to produce soap for regional trade; it is either from the phrase may nila, Tagalog for "there is nila," or it has a prefix ma- indicating the place where something is prevalent (nila itself is probably from Sanskrit nila 'indigo tree').[4] (The idea that the plant name is actually "nilad" is a myth.)[5]

Manila became the seat of the colonial government of Spain when it officially controlled the Philippine Islands for over three centuries from 1565 to 1898. During the British occupation of the Philippines, the city was occupied by Great Britain for two years from 1762-1764 as part of the Seven Years War. The city remained the capital of the Philippines under the government of the provisional British governor, acting through the Archbishop of Manila and the Real Audiencia. Armed resistance to the British centred in Pampanga.

Manila also became famous during the Manila-Acapulco trade which lasted for three centuries and brought the goods as far as Mexico all the way to South East Asia. In 1899, the United States purchased the Philippines from Spain and colonized the whole Philippine archipelago until 1946.[6] During World War II, much of the city was destroyed. It was the second most destroyed city in the world after Warsaw, Poland during World War II. The Metropolitan Manila region was enacted as an independent entity in 1975.

Manila has been classified as a "Gamma" global city by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network.[7]


Alice in Winter Watercolor

12  x 16 inches on arches paper to purchase https://tendollarart.com/products/alice-in-winter-watercolor