Cheech and Me

Look who I ran into at the Houston Fine Art Fair! Yep, that's Cheech Marin. When I asked if he'd mind posing with me in a photograph, he readily obliged, then said, "It's $50 or a lap dance - whichever you prefer."  Even though I had the $50, for Cheech Marin to ask this 48 year old lady for a lap dance is, well, that sort of thing just doesn't happen every day. He was a good sport.

 

Joe's Oleanders by David Bates was my favorite work of art in the whole place. I love everything about it - the colors, the style, the vase, the yellow house, the ocean, the window, the shadows, the clippers, the clouds - it completely and totally fascinates me. If I had an extra $80,000 I would have bought it on the spot.

This was my second favorite piece. It was probably called Yellowstone Pine (?) though I don't actually remember. The artist was represented by Santa Fe Gallery and can be relatively easily researched. (My friend Joan got a pamphlet from the gallery.)

It was so much fun going with an art friend who was excited to see works in person that she had previously only seen in print or online. Joan knew much more than I did about many of the artists we were seeing and her enthusiasm was contagious. Thanks, Joan.

In no particular order, here are some other personal highlights from the fair.

Joan said that I liked this one because it had a blue tree. Maybe. 

Who can resist an adorable bronze miniature horse? So cute.

This was a John Alexander piece. It's bound to be called Waterlilies or something to that effect. (I didn't read the card all that closely.) Recognized it from a ways away, though, probably because the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston had an exhibit of his work not too long ago.

This piece was made from spools of thread. In front of it was a tiny concave glass so that when you looked in the small glass, the image was upright. It was fascinating enough that it was made with spools of thread. I have no idea why the artist would choose to display it upside down like this and add the concave glass. Novelty?

This is a piece made from one inch painted tiles by Nemo Jantzen. The effect he gets from solid color tiles is incredible. It needs space to be appreciated.

This piece was painted on watercolor paper. The blue lines of the "notebook paper" were pieces of thread stretched across the page. It's hard to tell from this photo, but the painted figure is catching drops of blue lines which is making a puddle at his feet. Very clever.

Also, Cheech loves Texas.

Editor's note:  Many of you have commented on Cheech asking me for a lap dance. Yes, he really said that, but considering he started his career as a stoned comedian, it felt like part of his act. I was amused. 

My guess is that it's one of several witty replies in his arsenal for when people ask him for an autograph or photo. It evidently offends some people, which weeds out (so to speak) who actually stays for the photo op. 

Also, when I told the Amazing Reese what Cheech said, he laughed out loud, like the Amazing Reese he is. It didn't bother him a bit.

Cheech is highly regarded as having one of the finest collections of Chicano art in the United States. The way he lives his life as a fully creative person, comedian, actor,  director, writer, musician, and art collector is inspiring. What I'm trying to say is that he's more than the comment.