My Vietnam series

And have we even covered my Vietnam series?

This is Gustave Courbet's "The Wounded Man." I sometimes get him confused with Gussy Fink-Nottle, the Wodehouse character, although I'm not sure why.



Anyway, the painting will be a collaborative effort (which is odd for painters). I'm doing the man and Kate (who's clearly getting access to better drugs than me--wait til you see...), a BAG colleague, is doing the background. Loosely re-interpreted, as you can imagine from the title, in a Vietnam setting. M16s and k-bars. Stuff like that.

Gonna be a big freaking fight about who gets the tree, I can tell you that.

Courbet, by the way, was a trip. This also happens to be a self-portrait. And though he's an acknowledged master, some of his stuff is so naughty, even I'm passing on posting the images. Give him a shot on Wikipedia and you can see for yourself. I mean, really!

All that said, however, it should be interesting to see how a collaboration works. Kate does these large canvases covered with what appear to be machines (sometimes machines of war) attached to balloons, floating in space. Since they are simultaneously realistic and abstract (aren't we all), that's just what I think they are. She may have a whole different story. Either way, I mean, this stuff is a trip, and I thought her take on the jungle might add just the right surreal touch to the series. I'll see if I can grab a shot of one of her paintings and post it in the next couple of days.