In December of 1998 I was waiting in line to meet Robert Anton Wilson at Fringe Ware, a now defunct underground bookstore in Austin, Texas. I looked all around me at the lurid posters from trash novels and B-movies of the forties and fifties. The decor made me think of the trashy paintings and ink work I'd done as a teen. I turned to the early twenty-something kid next to me and said, "Hey, I've got a bunch of drawings of girls with big ones and halter tops and such in my archives. Kinda like this stuff, but rougher." I nodded my head in a loop, pointing at the stuff on the walls. The kid, in a voice not unlike a nervous Crispen Glover, stated, and almost reverently, "You should have a web site, man." It wasn't till the next year that I had web access at home and could start building this altar to my own trash heritage. Keep in mind that I was
a post-pubescent male when I
drew this stuff. If you find any of
it offensive, remember I've stated up front that
this is Trash. Please read the liners I've provided to appreciate the context for each image. I was born in '56. You do the math.
To see the a larger version just click on an image.
1. "BLONDE IN
BELLS " Circa early 1973 (9" x 12"): contains
influences of Jack Cole's work for Playboy mixed
with
the girls from Archie Comics. After ten years of
Catholic school, I was amazed at the girls at my
new
public high school; they wore halter tops, tight
pants, and they smoked with open defiance. Note how the pants
waist and
her body don't meet up. Cheap watercolor on high grade rag drawing
stock.
2.
Muscular Hussy (9" x 12") This image--from same period as the Blonde Bells--is of a haughty harlot, a figment of an early
seventies teenage mind, has the upper
legs of an AFL halfback. The influence of Jack Cole in Muscular
Hussy is so pre-eminent, that it almost goes
without saying. Materials: Cheap black water
color on high grade drawing stock.
I'd spilled some of the black wash on the piece ages ago, but Dr. Psycho cleaned it up with Adobe 4.0.
3.
Space Vampiress (8.5" x 11") This is the retro crem dé la
creme of my teenage ourve;
c.late 1973: the materials; sable
brush and pen, and transparent inks and black
india ink
on heavy drawing stock. Sort of a prelude to
Heavy
Metal Magazine.
3.
Tuff Girl with a Gun (7.5" x 11") I was tempted to
put this piece in the fine art
figures
section because of the gesture and the loose
pencil
work. The undone blouse buttons sent it here:
c.early
1974; no.2 pencil, soft, on heavy newsprint.
4.
Brillo and Co (10.75" x 12") Inspired by a Zappa
tune; I won't quote it though. His estate is
too litigious. Submit your guess in the mail box
on the links page. Brillo's face was distorted by the scanner.
Circa January, 1974; opaque india ink on construction paper. Brush and quill.
5. Beach Girl (6" x 8.5") Circa early 1973: Line with felt tip marker on heavy newsprint. Roughed up by digital processing, but still a good interpretation of the original.
6. Babe in Two Piece (12" x 18") Circa late 1973: No. 2 pencil on heavy stock drawing paper. Studying life drawing at the time; drawn from imgination, trying to use shading instead of line to define the body. Smudged while in archive.
7. Pop Art Tubes (8.5" x 12") Circa late 1973: Fluorescent tempera on watercolor stock. Mad, even schizophrenic, over-stylized pop interpretation of an everyday studio presence.
8. Marv Hubbard (9" x 12") Circa late 1971: Tempera on drawing stock. Marv Hubbard played fullback for the Oakland Raiders in the early seventies. He was tough, got the job done, and said little. I did this drawing as much to work with the Raider logo as for any reason.
