Paintings on metal

Bottom__ "Hufflegrumpf" enamel and latex on steel. 10 wide by 30" tall. This character just looks like the word hufflegrumpf. This painting was done entirely with a random orbit palm sander except for the red circles.

Middle__ "Sawdust" this is a portrait I did of my cat, Sawdust. It is part of a series of drawings done on rusted tin panels. Sawdust has since run away. I think he is on the beach in Florida somewhere. 20" by 20"

Top__ "Bird in a hat" Enamel, latex, and pastel on steel. 8" wide by 14" tall

Blind Am, orbital sanders, fractions, and a play on words

Top__ this piece is titled "Blind Am and his washtub." Long ago, there was a blind, mentally handicapped black man named Am who lived on County Road 719. His house is still there, but he isn't. Am had very few skills given his physical and mental conditions, but he was quite mobile and industrious. He would drag around an old washtub with him and ask neighbors if they needed any clothes washing done. When he got tired, he would flip his washtub upside down and sit on it- wherever that may be that he felt like sitting.

2nd__ this piece has always eluded a title, and I have no idea why. I painted this piece entirely with a DeWalt random orbit sander.

3rd__ After getting heavy into furniture construction, I found myself always thinking in fractions due to the fact that I was reading a tape measure so much. I suppose I was reading more numerical fractions than words at that point.

4th__ "Power Plant." A picture of a plant with a green lightnin' bolt through it.

photography interjection

land tortoise table

There is a place in the ground along a fenceline next to a dirt road between a field and a pond in southern Alabama. It is a hole about the size of a soccer ball. Not many people know about this hole, but it is clear that many burrowing animals do know about it. Years ago, my Granddaddy Martin and I drove by it and he told me about the "land tor-toyse" (vernacular pronunciation, also referred to as a large turtle) that lived there at the time. Many years have passed, but the hole remains. Sometimes an armadillo may use it, sometimes a land tortoise, sometimes the vacancy sign is up. I have always looked at that hole with unyielding imagination since it is always unclear who, if anyone, may be using it. So here is a table dedicated to the fun that a simple hole in the groung can bring.

A second source of inspiration came about as I was building this table (which is usual for the furniture I construct.) My Granny has a cat that is absolutely solid black, except for one white toe on its back left foot. The legs of this table were all originally one cylinder constructed of poplar, with one dark green section. I subsequently cut into quarters to give four rounded legs. As you can see in the top photo, this table has three pale colored legs and one with a green streak. So here's a table also dedicated to a fleeting black cat with one white toe.

35" tall, 36" wide, 22" deep.

Late July developments

Top-- inspired by the Cat in the Hat and his ode to the moss covered, three handled family gredunza, this credenza features some fun construction done in the shop during heavy rains. This piece features doors constructed of reformatted raised panel doors and scrap plywood. The case is constructed of poplar and some oak resawn from some old posts. 66" long, 35" tall, and 24" deep. Best of all, it can be utilized in a variety of roles, or wear a lot of hats like old Suess's feline. It's official name is the "Edo meets Alabama" credenza. The name was inspired by the Japanese Edo period and by the presence of the funky, make it happen style doors.

Middle-- "Old Friends" rustic dining table. This table is constructed entirely of reused old timbers, most of which have been resawn. The poplar, oak, and hickory used in this table all came from posts that were used as stickers in lumber stacks at an old mill in Troy, Alabama. Overall dimensions are 60" long, 34" wide, 31" tall. By the way, that is a separate trunk under it in the photo.

bottom-- "Thompson-Boling bench." Hopefully I'm not infringing on some trademarked name or something with this name, which was inspired by a recent concert trip to the Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN. I couldn't help but notice how the light from the foyer area of the area flowed into the actual concert arena through the various entry portals. Of course, the colors here are an inverse of light flowing into a dark area. Make sense? Thought so.

Dimensions-- 18" tall, 66" long, 19" deep.