Sunday, February 16, 2014

Wrasslin

What started out as this...


...has ended up as this.


The top painting became increasingly garish...too garish, even for me. In fact, the last couple of ladies I've tried to paint have come off too heavy handed. This one may lack the high soap opera hamminess that I work so hard to achieve but, it's airy...and that's what I wanted. She doesn't lack drama completely*...her face is slightly off set. She's kinda cool...I think.

Enough of that nonsense.

I came across this today. It's been packed away since we moved out of the last house. Those are me and my Daddy's tickets. It was one of the funnest things I've ever done...one of the funniest too. The marquee match ended in a disqualification...which led to a "random" spectator throwing a chair at Superstar Billy Graham...and all hell breaking loose.

I loved wrestling when I was kid. We used to get it on the TV out of Atlanta...filmed in what must have been a small gym. It wasn't the big porno-fireworks show it is now. Just fat men in their underwear kicking each other and smashing things. What's not to love...it was awesome.

The best part though was watching it with my Daddy. Few things made him laugh that hard...he said it was cartoons for grown ups. The last time I remember watching an hour of wrestling...Rowdy Roddy Piper was flipping over a table, his face was purple and my Daddy, who had come in from work with barely enough time to loosen his tie, was in tears. I thought he was gonna fall out of his chair.

Y'all know where this is headed...


 Brace you'selves.





*Y'all tell me...what's going on here. What's she lookin' at...what's she thinkin' about. I thought maybe she was thinking about having the herpes but, I've removed the sore from her bottom lip.

7 comments:

  1. I love your 'garish' painting. What size do you normally paint?

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    1. Thank you ma'am.

      Most of these recent ones are 16 x 20. The one I'm working on now is a lot bigger though.

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  2. "Fat men in underwear kicking each other and smashing things". Perfect! I remember that old fashioned Wrestling on TV on Saturday afternoons, I didn't really want to look but occasionally found myself rather helplessly drawn to.... Yes, as your Daddy says, "cartoons for adults".
    I like the fringed blonde. She's just caught sight of something on the TV in the corner...she's slightly disapproving of it and wouldn't want to make it too obvious but can't help herself watching... Rowdy Roddy Piper has just flipped a table (of course).

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    1. Ha....just deciding whether or not she's beyond, too cool for, putting her brother in a head lock...as he's fixated on the screen.

      I'm starting to really like this painting...it's hanging, drying, above the computer and I've been staring at it for a day.

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  3. Why did you think the top lady was too garish? I like her. The other looks like a young Joni Mitchell, which is cool. Back in the 70's wrestling was big in the Britain too but was of a very different to the US style entertainment of today. Of course, it was rigged as well but was more of a 'Carry On With The Half Nelson' kind if you get my gist. Our favourites were Big Daddy ('Easy! Easy! Easy! Easy!), Giant Haystacks and the legendary Adrian Street. Look em up. I once stood next to Big Daddy in a theatre bar where he was buying a pint before hitting the ring. His real name was Shirley Crabtree.

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    1. PS...that Rezillos track is superb.

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    2. Very glad to see you here sir.

      She looks alright there but things got really messy...there was a lot of paint and I'm not as patient as I should be sometimes. Martha, my wife..who's actually named Jenny...really like the first one too. She'll be back.

      The second one started as a sketch of some alleged cave paintings of aliens in China...HA.

      Wrestling is unwatchable now but, we do have some local wrestling up in north Mississippi...with masks and goofy names and home made flyers. I'm tempted to take The Boy but, I'd like to check it out first.

      I'll look 'em up...they'll probably end up on the wall in here. Shirley...ha.

      The song makes me want to flip a table over.

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