HUMMINGBIRD

So if you follow this blog you might remember several months back my family and I laid to rest our eldest and most kindered spirit my grandmother Alice Gallaher. Her sweet face and impression has continued to linger gently reminding me that the time we have in this life is precious, to relish it and not take it or time for granted. Do what you have to today, be smart, but don't waste time in doing what is right.

I wanted to do a painting for my family to commemorate her long life in full rich color. I had done a drawing of her in black and white ten years earlier while she was still alive, but this one had to be in juicy, brilliant and celebratory color. A while back I had started painting in oils for my personal paintings and gallery work and have found them to be quite a learning experience, testing my last bit of patience while pushing my knowledge of the medium and painting that much further with stunningly rich results and depth. As an illustrator I have primarily worked in acrylics and water-based mediums for their versatility, interchangeability, cleanliness and faster drying nature that allows one to do amazing things with these modern mediums and with a faster turn around time (the name of the game if you are in business).

I have never been one to celebrate medium over the importance of content, but there is nothing like facing tradition straight in the eye and realizing that as much as you may have learned in your time and place, there is so much more to learn and appreciate that came before you, from great masters that have accomplished things long ago and with far less technology at their disposal. I realize the journey has only begun... yet again. Painting has taught me this about life too and so has my grandmother. Life is a journey, with many wonderful things to learn and learn again. All you have to do is open yourself up to it, take a deep breath, and soar.

"Remember to remember me, standing still in your past, floating there like a hummingbird" - Jeffrey Scot Tweedy, Wilco


Images: ©Copyright Trey Gallaher

SKATE THIS ART

Well it was a packed house on Market Street last Friday night! The Market Street Gallery to be exact and everyone was in attendance to see a cool assortment of skate deck art that ranged from the out of this world to... "Is that Gene Simmons's tongue on that board?".


The Chronicle was there, the MOMA was there, and most of all the love was there for the Roaddawgz Homeless Youth Drop-In Center!

The silent auction started around 6:45pm and all eyes were on the look out for the favorites. The work was exceptional. This being my first skateboard show, I was thoroughly impressed with the diverse directions people took with their boards.



There was everything from acrylic paint, to wood carving, to even some interesting grip tape cut outs on the top!







There was the phallic to the sculptural to the scenic, and that is what truly made it interesting, variety!





This was definitely a great, fun, rewarding show that I look forward to next year already. The exhibit runs through May 31 so swing by and check out the show while it's up. You wont be dissapointed.










SKATE THIS ART HERE --> HERE

Images: ©Copyright Trey Gallaher

SKATING AWAY

A little history lesson here... I was a big skater as a kid back in the day. It was sometime around 1982 that I got my first skateboard. What a piece of crap it was... A "Kamakazi" was what it was called... The choice in those days of the Toys R' Us mass-produced variety was that.. or a Ventura skateboard (Michael J. Fox had one in Back to the Future Part I)... and well, in my book who could deny the Japanese style Rising Sun design that was on the bottom of the deck complete with copers, ribs and a skid plate...

A few years later (and a whole lot more practice) I would ride a Santa Cruz Bullet... my first serious skate... a classic ramp style board complete with OJ2's and German Speed bearings... I skated the shit out of that board... I would eventually skate a Lance Mountain and many other thrasher decks through a skate shop in Fair Oaks California called the WHEEL ZONE... My brother (a better skater) was sponsored by Blockhead and was a fearless street-style skater. We were both complete with long bangs and ridges cut into our hair, and the Circle Jerks played on our blasters. We stood in awe of the likes of a young Tony Hawk, Mark Gonzales(Gonzo), Rob Roskopp, Christian Hosoi, and Lance Mountain among many others. Check this out.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZIIhgLhB0k. Here is another one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p8fXhWBMlU&feature=related. The tricks were sad by today's standards. I gotta give props to the kids who have continued to push the tricks into gawd-knows what sickening combinations I've seen on You Tube!

Cut to twenty-seven years later and I was presented with the challenge to paint my own deck design on two different boards as an art-fundraiser for the Roaddawgz Homeless Youth Drop-In Center here in San Francisco. The reception is THIS Friday night May 8th at 1554 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94102. The show opens Monday the 4th and runs thru the 31st.

Check out http://www.skatethisart.com/ for more details, and be sure to come by Friday night 6-9pm and check out all the fresh decks that are on display and up for auction. In the meantime enjoy these process picks of my own. Started with a sketch and worked up my finished decks in acrylics. I designed them go together as a theme but they could be displayed separately too. They are called "Heaven and Earth (Ascending and Descending)"


The finished pieces (not shown here) are both on display and up for sale at the show, so swing by and check them out. Hope to see you there on Friday! Skate or Die!














SKATE THIS ART website --> HERE

Images: ©Copyright Trey Gallaher