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

SURREAL DIGI-BAND

It is very surreal to see your own look-alike avatar on-screen playing an instrument in a band that doesn't really exist. Gotta love it! Had fun with some of my kid-friends creating our own band and jammin' for hours!!!

We look like a cross between a retro Nirvana grunge band and a fifties Jersey-du-opp-band! Weird but fun...!!! Wiiiiiiiiii... Look Mom boxing gloves for hands!

PORTRAIT DEMOS

At school I am often doing demos showing technique, medium, drawings etc. I often grab models or students to get a drawing down before I start throwing the paint around. Here are few to give you an idea...
"Eva" (above)
acrylic and pencil
-in-class exercise.
"Julie" (right)
watercolor pencil
-one of my most favorite sketching mediums, great for on the fly or when you can't stay long enough to paint it out... just add water later!!




"Andrew"
acrylic and gesso over ink and pencil
-messy is best, let it ride, go with it!!







"Elizabeth"
gouache over gesso and pencil
-it's all about the light.








"Diane"
acrylics
-quick drawing directly with the paint.








Images: ©Copyright Trey Gallaher

DOS SOMBREROS

Couple of juicy charcoal life-drawings. Christopher our model wore this SWEET Mexican sombrero at life-drawing a couple of weeks back. So I decked him out drunkard style! These were twenty minute drawings done on 18x24in. Canson paper using the heaviest, darkest Char-Kole (the brand)I could find. Great fun!




Images: ©Copyright Trey Gallaher

SFIAAFF '09 TWO'FER

Made it to the SFIAAFF '09 San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival again this year... and there are two films I recommend for sure if you can catch them either in the festival here or coming to a film festival near you... or there is always Youtube... but I wanna throw some props out to these two outstanding films.

The first is HP Mendoza's FRUIT FLY which I caught at the film festival on it's premier night in the Castro Theatre and loved it. A San Francisco based setting is perfect for this film, and it was well received in the Castro. A great movie by a very talented artist, director, filmaker, songwriter all in one! And, if you haven't seen a movie in the Castro Theatre, then you are missing something truly special. Here is the trailer...



The second is Harry Kim's Documentary DIRTY HANDS: THE ART AND CRIMES OF DAVID CHOE about street artist, illustrator, and hard workin' punk ass David Choe. Now I have been fan of David Choe's energy and talent for years and I am always glad to see a fellow artist who puts his ass on the line taking risks and becoming immortalized in something like this, but lets not overlook the fact that David has paid a heavy price or two for a life like his. But I have been watching the clips of this documentary role out for over a year and the life and times of Mr. Choe guarantees to make interesting documentary film subject matter, so HOLD ON!




Go see 'em folks... get out and support your next generation of film makers and support the SFIAAFF !!!

BLOSSOMING

Every year at the end of February here in California and specifically San Francisco my favorite blossoming fruit tree takes it's turn to remind me of many precious things in my life. About the time of my grandmother's recent passing several weeks back, I was sweetly reminded of her every morning that I walked passed all of the blossoming Japanese Cherry trees that line the many steep sloping streets of this fair city. After reading up a little about the tree and others found in San Francisco, I was surprised to read that the Japanese Cherry Tree is the second most common tree in the city! Second only to the more popular and slightly more exquisite flowering Japanese Plum tree which looks almost the same but with slightly more brilliant pink flowers. The plum tree also has a twin albino version of it that is even more rare and is a white flowering tree with green leaves instead of the red leaves. Everyday for about two weeks I was taking pictures of the magnificent sweet color that these trees bring to the beautiful clear blue back drop skies that we get here in the winter. And if you stop, and smell the gentle breeze, you might just catch the lovely sweet scent of bubble gum that these flowers give off. It is good to be alive! I am reminded to take time... and enjoy these pics, and one of the true treasures found on the planet.





















































Photos: ©Copyright Trey Gallaher

WONDERCON '09 WRAP-UP!

It was a blast! Another year of WONDERCON which seems to be growing year to year. I went with two of my friends Shan and Gary. There were a lot of regulars and a lot of new faces to see. Like....



RICHARD KIEL!!!! JAWS to you and me. Yes another childhood dream checked off the list of to do's... "Get picture being choked by JAWS"... (the villian in the James Bond movies The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker).





A FRIGGIN RAD CYLON! Yes RAD... For you younger folks this was a dream that maybe you can't relate to, but if you grew up in the 80's, nothing struck more fear and fascination in you than an old-school cylon from Battle Star Galactica... complete with humming, oscillating red eye... You just had to be there... the 80's I mean!




And even something for the kids and perhaps the coolest costume there... I can't believe there is a guy under all that... My pal "G" gettin a shot for his three year old who couldn't believe dad met Bumble Bee...


Other great highlights were...

meeting up with one of my favorite graphic novel artists David Mack of his very successful series Kabuki... http://www.davidmack.com/

Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill... (Carrie Fisher ROCKS!!!! What a cool chic!)

we missed Adam West...

Erin Grey from Buck Rogers in the 25th Century... (again you had to be there...the 80's)!

Darth Maul (the guy that played him Ray Park)...

the storm trooper who actually said the lines "these aren't the droids we're looking for" ... Anthony West (who was a very cool cat)

and that guy from Children of the Corn... you know him from and a ton of great 80's and 90's movies... the blazing red-headed punk...Courtney Gains!

It was truly a fun day that I look forward to every year. Autographs from some has-been movie and tv stars, some great artist, great art, great BOOKS on art, portfolio reviews of art, comics, action figures, costumes, creatures and contests. If you have never been, even if you DON'T like comics, you gotta check it out at least once... there is something for everyone! Actually I'm already plannin' for next year.

check out these Youtube videos to sum it up...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0EkiYALymM&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irCvbNsBMYM&feature=related

Thanks to my buddy Shan Senaratne for the great shots!

Images: ©Copyright 20009 Trey Gallaher

ALICE'S WONDERLAND

My grandfather William G. Gallaher was the painter in our family, and though I never had a chance to know him in my adult life, I have always felt an intimate connection with him through his work (perhaps the reason I became a painter). But it was my grandmother that shared with me his many talents that remained hanging in her house. Growing up I would spend weekends at my grandmother's little house, just hangin' out and discovering the wonders of her mystical property shrouded in oak trees and hideouts to be discovered.

Alice Gallaher was a grade school teacher in her day, who loved learning. My sister reminded me on the phone recently, how she remembers everything was always about learning with grandma. This struck me in a peculiar way, maybe because I too am now a teacher, and I began to be reminded of all the things she did teach me that I never really thought about but somehow still remember. The little things in childhood that we hold on to in a distant memory, almost a dream-like place. There were some very clear specifics too, like her mannerisms, the way she spoke, paused, breathed, hobbled along, hummed a crackly tune. They are the wonderful nuances that we carry very deep in our memories and hearts throughout our lives, and even after theirs...

My grandmother was a crafts person, she collected, always widdling away at something, some project, a book, some music on the piano, a church program. Never anything fancy, or even noticed, but steady, steady the way grandmothers are in our lives. Almost like she could spend hours alone just noodling away in her own little world, cozy and safe. I remember her always showing me her latest painted-china piece she had been working on, or digging through an old closet way in the back to find some little puzzle we could work on together. Letting me explore and discovering on my own.

Decades later I was poking through a bunch of my grandfathers paintings, documenting them, trying to make some sort of record of all of his work that is scattered throughout our family, when I came across this painting, not signed, and hanging in my aunt's house. My aunt was quick to remind me that this was a painting her mother had done, NOT her father. I was taken aback... "This?" I thought... "Grandma? I didn't know she painted too? This is good! Really good!". I kind of wish I could find more of her works like this, especially now that I'm really into the impressionists and painting alla-prima! (a painting term for immediate quick, thick, impasto painting technique).

Though this painting may never be seen on the walls at Christie's, I am proud of my grandmother's painting (one of the only paintings she ever did) and amazed at the many secret gifts she had, the many projects she was always chipping away at. It's funny how we often think we know somebody all of our lives, only to discover something brand new about them, something that we see in ourselves that explains our own behavior and interests. I look forward to learning more about my grandmother's many secrets as well as my own. I guess we are still working on that puzzle together.

Painting: ©Copyright Alice Gallaher