New work opening this Friday in Eugene
Plus a spring/summer recap, so snuggle up...
August is Courtney month and I’m your feel-good hit of the summer
I haven’t written in a hot minute because I wanted to give everyone a breather. Honestly, too much of me is never bad for you. But I wanted to make sure that by the time we get to August, you are like, “DAAAAAAMN GIMME SOME OF THAT SWEET SWEET COURTNEY NECTAR.”
Grab a straw. The time is now.
New work at One Wall Gallery, August 2nd
Summer is First Friday season. That means hitting the mean streets of Eugene with your fellow townspeople in search of better-than-average visual art to set your eyeballs upon. To help with this endeavor I am showing a bunch of new work in a two-person show alongside the illustrious Thomas Pettus-Czar at the One Wall Gallery (30 E 11th, second floor of Epic Seconds Records). The exhibition titled “Mark-making, Mind-marking” alludes to our approach to image making. Thomas and I have degrees in art history, and an interest in graphic design. His new work are very minimalist graphic-like geometries. My practice lately has centered around building out my own personal iconographic lexicon through drawing and painting.
For this show I’ll be showing several works on paper, as well as a new series of work using spray paint and graphite on gessoed panel that feel like three-color screen prints. I’m still not sure how I feel about them. That’s how fresh they are.
I’d love to see you in person, so come give me your opinions about the new work at the opening reception this Friday night, Aug 2nd, 5:30-8:00pm.
I turn 50 years old
On August 16th, 2024, a Thick-tailed bushbaby Small-spotted genet will be born to proud and slightly terrified parents somewhere in South Africa. On the New Jersey Turnpike heading east, and North American cricket will have its head smashed on the windshield of a Peterbilt semi truck. In Eugene, Oregon, a cis white bearded male human will celebrate 50 years around the sun. This feels like a big deal, but it probably isn’t. I’ll let you know when I get there.
To ensure I remain constantly sore and the joints stay crunchy, I added a mini ramp to my backyard a few weeks ago. It was a serendipitous converging of A) the need to have something that would draw my youngest son outside this summer while I’m trying to work, and B) the closing of the local skate shop. The owner needed to unload it in hurry. I am neighborly (plus had cash), and here we are. I had one when I was growing up, and it has been super fun skating with my youngest son these last few weeks. I still know a few more tricks than he does, but he has less fear and his joints are made of rubber, so I expect he will pass me up by early September.
New album released by August 31st
I’ve got a new album of solo material I am very excited to release. I’ve been so busy that I haven’t had time to design the album cover quite yet. I say “by” August 31st because I want to make sure it is filling your ear holes by September. But also, if I get the album cover done in the next couple weeks I’ll be so excited that I’ll probably release it immediately. Goals and deadlines make the art happen.
My last full length solo release was back in 2020. I’ve actually had a completely different album-worth of material I’ve been trying to mix off and on for a couple of years now, but audio production processes come slowly to me. This batch of new tracks just happened to come together over a few months at the end of 2023. I recorded them better, so mixing was easier, and so here we are. To hold you over, here is a weird summer jam called “Plasticine Trauma.”
This track features my homemade noise box (pictured above) as well as my modular synth. Look out for the official announcement. Here is the track list:
Burzym funtime - 4:19
Cult whimsy - 4:14
Dialup banger - 3:33
Plasticine trauma - 5:02
Promises we keep, promises we sell - 4:21
Radio bird impaler - 19:23
Tapping my foot in hell - 4:23
Bonus round
Two cool things I did this past spring -
Thing the 1st:
Back in May the City of Eugene hired me to paint a logo I created in 2016 for the 20x21Eug Mural Project on a wall near the downtown park blocks. The logo was originally designed to be a stencil that could be applied on or near the finished street art. Alas, most of the artists didn’t want the logo distracting viewers from their work, which is completely respectable. The project has since been deemed a smashing success, so a commemorative book is being published to be gifted to project sponsors. The project team wanted the logo recreated as a piece of street art for the book cover. See if you can find it hovering over a nasty dumpster near Bao Bao House in Oak Alley downtown.
Special thanks to Eugene’s public art manager Kate Ali for hanging out with me all day and taking lots of pics. It was a fun day.
Thing the 2nd
In June I got a chance to perform a hour-long solo set down in Brookings, OR at the Semi Aquatic Gallery. This spot is owned and operated by one of my all time best homies from art school days - Spencer Reynolds. We had been talking about me doing a performance in his shop for a couple years now and I was finally able to pull it off. My wife Kari was able to join me. The kids stayed home with the dog.
Spencer is a supremely talented artist and Semi Aquatic is his high temple. Think of your basic coastal gallery featuring kitschy whale paintings, terrible glass art, and small porcelain animals glued to driftwood that’s been sanded and oiled until shiny. It probably smells like salt water taffy and patchouli.
Now picture the exact opposite - an oasis of exquisite taste and curation featuring handmade goods by some of the west coast’s finest designers. The gallery is also home to Spencer’s landscape paintings, drawings and graphic design (shirts, hats, etc). Spencer’s approach to painting is heavily inspired by the surf art tradition, but he is beholden to no genre. His work can lean more traditional, or totally glitched out and hyper colored, but always created with the eye of someone who freaking loves looking at and surfing waves. Visit his shop if you are traveling the 101 on the southern Oregon coast. You can buy originals, prints and merch at artandsurf.com.
Here is a taste of his work -
Thanks for reading and see you at my opening this Friday!