"Saving Namou, If Only Temporarily!"

I'm told it is an English Bulldog!

 Good "windswept" Saturday Morning, y'all.

A few years back, there was a home off Pat O'Brian Road where, standing on a concrete pedestal on the front lawn, was a three foot walking "Patty Playmate" type doll circa 1960's.

The owner, on special occasions and seasonal holidays, would bring the doll out in all sorts of fashions like summertime bikinis, festive Christmas costumes, an Easter ensemble, Mardi Gras regalia, and Catholic "back to school" uniforms. At times, I'd take the long way home just to see how the doll was decorated.

As they say in these parts, "It Ain't Dere No More!"

Fast forward to the Covid years and lo and behold, a neighbor here in Merrywood decided to brighten the lives of all that drove by her home with a smiling, wooden English bulldog head peaking behind the driveway fence.

I noticed, when the owner of the home took down a Mardi Gras colored boa from around the dog's plywood head, that it needed a bit of TLC. One morning en route from my home to "Giddy Up" in downtown Folsom, I spotted the lady of the manor walking her dog. I introduced myself and proposed, with her permission, to give the peekin' pup a well deserved makeover.

At first, she was a bit skeptical, but I won her over by assuring her that I was a professional artist and could help to restore it.

So, yesterday, with an hour to spare between my wife's hair appointment and the coming rains, I grabbed a tube of acrylic titanium white and a tube of ivory black and went after the restoration.

In the process of completing the project, the owner, Christiane Mummectheu, drove up with her pup,"Doodlebug". We had a good conversation about the history and condition of her "Namou." She told me how nice it was for me to help save her welcoming doggie decoration. I told her the story about the three foot doll off of Pat O'Brian Road and how much I enjoyed seeing it from time to time. I hoped to continue to see Namou everyday as a I drive by.

 A work in progress...

A bit later, I apologized for having to end the "chit-chat" as I was up against the clock to finish. She said she looked forward to seeing the finished product, told me that she had errands to run, thanked me again and took off.

I finished up with the dog's eye lashes as it started to drizzle...

Good Timing!

Copyright 2022/Ben Bensen III

"A New Kinda No Fly Zone!"

One of the seven panels in a brochure...

Good Saturday Morning, y'all.

From 1978 to 1981 I was employed at the electronics division of General Dynamics. Jack Leynnwood got me connected with a head hunter named, Helen Edwards after I complained to him about my struggles to make any head way with my Art Center degree.

Two weeks before my interview, Helen Edwards instructed me to get a haircut and purchase a suit. I told her that I had just purchased a three piece suit for a job working as an editorial illustrator at a local bank.

In less than one month, I was hired as a graphics designer and tech illustrator. Fast forward to 2022 and my world of realities past have resurfaced in the form of the Javelin and Stinger weapons system.

At GD, another designer and I, created ads and brochures advertising the merits of the shoulder held surface to air weapon.

Although Stinger has been provided to the many insurgent groups fighting in civil wars, when we were creating the ads, both weapons, the Viper ( later the Javelin ) and the Stinger were considered a potent defense for NATO against the Russian buildup of tanks and the helicopter gunship, the MI-24 Hind.

If you look closely, senior GD illustrator, Ed Ramstead, who got all the juicy assignments, has a Russian gunship downed by the Stinger missile... And of course, the silhouette of another Russian aircraft is being targeted!

But, of course!

And now, several nations like Germany, Lithuania and the U.S. announced that they were providing the new and improved Stinger missiles to the Ukrainian forces defending against the Russian invasion.

A new kinda "No Fly Zone" deterrent. Hopefully, shipments will arrive there in time, but honest, "is this trip really necessary!"

Second cup!

Copyright 2022/Ben Bensen III

"It will be interesting to see if he actually follows through with the offer"...

 "Little Deuce Coupe" was blasting on the stage PA system as I sat down with my friend Al to have my first cup. I don't know if Frank was a Beach Boy fan, but I was sending GiddyUp and a few "community papers" car crazy hints all week long.

Halfway through my first cup, Cathy Rodriguez, dropped by with En Plein Air intentions, so we walked the back driveway to check out the classics and find a spot in the shade that would work for the four hour cruise.

There were some great setups with a wide variety of cars to paint.
But, I found a shady place between two blue SS Chevelles and a 1937 delivery truck.

One of the fun things about painting at shows is the people that come by to see what I'm up to and the comments they make.

"Can I, um... can I look over your shoulder?"

"No," I'd say, quoting a Talking Heads song entitled, "For Artists Only"... "You can't see it till it's FINISHED!"

You know, I could've finished the painting, maybe not to my satisfaction, but completed if I hadn't spent so much time entertaining myself with the many visitors. It was so good to see people I haven't seen in years or, at least, since Covid.

One ten year old boy, who, I assume was the son of the owner of the delivery truck would come by every hour or so to see my progress.

"Sir, when you finished, can I have the painting?"

"I don't know, man. I don't give away paintings until I sign it and I only sign it if I am satisfied with it," I replied.

"It looks good to me now," he said.

"You'll have to wait till I start putting some paint on the sketch, first!" I said.

"And, thank you," I said. You can't make a good painting from a bad drawing!"

My instructional comment about the arts fell upon deaf ears!

In between the many stories and wonderful kudos I received from the visitors as well as the classic car owners, the boy would return to peruse and once again ask if I was finished.

"Mister, mister, he said. Are you gonna put the writing on the door?"

"It sure is looking good to me," he later commented.

After about the four or five visits over a period of four hours, I caved in.

"I tell you what, here's my business card with my email address," I said, handing over to him one of my cards.

"In about a week, when the paint dries and I can fix the wheels, you send me an email and we'll see if I like it enough to sign it."

"Okay?"

With the enthusiasm only a ten year old can possess, he smiled, put the card in his jeans front pocket and skipped back to his parents and the 1937 delivery truck. It will be interesting to see if he actually follows through with the offer.

Looking back over yesterday's activities including the many bands on the stage as well as Frank's harmonizing with his daughter's wonderful vocals, I wanna thank all those who came by to visit and said such nice things to me about the painting.

That was awfully sweet!

I never got to complete the car wheels, but people loved seeing the progress over the three or four hour attempt. I later finished, at home, the wheels in the spirit of the original effort.

Later in the day, after cleaning myself up and wiping the paint off my forehead, I sat down with some friends from Gus's and had a beer and the best fully loaded hamburger I've had in years. Thanks Scott Penton!

Copyright 2021/Ben Bensen III

"Odiferous!"

 

Good Sunday Morning, y'all.

The rains from the night before not only washed away the last vestige of pollen from off of the cars, but in the misty morning also cleared out the air. The catbird is back and just in time to inspect the progress of my and our neighbor's blueberries. It's an annual event!

About a month or so ago, when I'd take Pierre for his morning constitutional, I would commune with all the sights, sounds and smells of the dawn.

But the dawn didn't always smell so great. Usually, I send the dog out in my shorts and tee shirt. I read somewhere that as a part of that partnership with nature one should walk barefoot on the lawn... It's kinda an Indian thing!

Still, something very subtle but unmistakably in the air surrounded me. It wasn't the dog's pee or his poop. It wasn't the night jasmine on the trellis next to the bird bath. It wasn't the smell of the grass I cut days before. It didn't seem to be from somewhere. It kinda seemed to follow me as I "went American Indian" all over the yard.

I smelled my shirt and smelled my shorts. I'm no longer flexible enough to smell my feet but for certain their was a dis-stink order coming from me... Every day.

It never dawned on me that my diet was the culprit. For a week or more, I was eating a combination of roasted garlic hummus and a garlic cheese that I mistakenly bought at Whole Foods. The unforgivable morning odor disappeared when, over time, I finished consuming both aromatic snacks. A week or so later I finally figured it all out.

It reminds me of a receptionist at a local CPA firm where my wife worked as an assistant to one of the partners. The woman used to pop cloves of garlic like candy and no one could place where the odor came from until one of the partners saw her chomping down on a clove or two. It was like seeping through her pores.

I don't remember if the receptionist was fired, asked to refrain from such a snack and by doing so was attacked by a blood sucking Transylvanian, or sent downstairs into bowels of the building to file tax returns forever. Funny...

Guess you are what you eat... and drink!

Second cup, y'all...

Copyright 2021/ Ben Bensen III

"A Wholesome Folsom!"

 

A revised sketch...

Had a great day with my artist friends in NOLA visiting my exhibit and cruising the hospital for other tidbits of art. More on that tomorrow, I guess.

Frank at GiddyUp ask me about two or three weeks ago to present to him my solution to a fence that covers the ugliness of a trash bin for the coffeehouse. I had the privilege of seeing two other solutions. So, I went in a different direction though I must admit it is a bit grandiose for his needs.

Anyway, when he saw my sketch, he asked me for a "color scheme" with a few additions. I gave him one color scheme with three different type treatments.

I'll just share one of these...

Copyright 2021/Ben Bensen III

"Oh Yeh... You're The P-47 Guy"...

My Plein Air painting of a WWII dive bomber, the Dauntless!

This guy with a big smile and a cap that read, "That's All Brother!" comes up to me while I was struggling to finish my SBD painting before closing time and asks, "Ben Bensen?"

So, I replied in the affirmative. The cap with the saying,"That's All Brother" stitched on it, was from the name of an aircraft, a C-47 Skytrain, that was performing at the airshow. But, the cap gave me no clue as to who he was. I could not understand how he knew me, but I didn't know him. 

I hate when that happens! 

Actually, I really don't. It is rather flattering to know someone knows you, and has some kind of effect, be it negative or positive, from your being alive. But, his bright smile, surrounded and accentuated by a mustache and goatee, seemed to dispel any suspicious thoughts that may have entered into my "dome."

"Hi, I'm Zack Baughman!" You know me from Facebook," he said.

"Facebook, I thought... hmmmm!

Now, all day, folks were coming up to me and my aviation artist friend, Marc Poole, and introducing themselves for one reason or another. ( Both of us got hit up to donate our painting for a "good cause!" ) It truly was a blast and the ultimate ego inflator!

But, this guy, with the infectious personality, really had me stumped until I saw his tee shirt. It was  completely brown with a very familiar, silhouetted picture of a plane silkscreened on it.

"Oh yeh! Yeh... Zack Baughman... I'm sorry. You're "The P-47 Guy!"

( It seems, Zack, has been seen all over the world, and Facebook,  seated in, or standing on, or cuddling up to what is left of the few, big and burly WWII fighter... the P-47 Thunderbolt. )

He politely accepted my goofy reference, and we both had a good laugh before spending the next half hour, or so, chatting away like two long, lost brothers!

Copyright 2015/ Ben Bensen III