A Poke Tree

The artist makes no attempt at naturalistic representation. The trunk is a hurried brown elipse; the foliage nothing more than a slash of green, almost an afterthought. Grant is clearly only interested in conveying the extreme pokiness of his subject. The branches are violent slashes; the crayon dripping with emotion. Haunting.

A ladder you climb up and once you get to the top you just walk in there.

Grant is obviously channeling Jackson Pollock's Number Seven in this drawing. Does the ladder in the title refer to the ladder Pollock employed in creating his paintings, dripping and pouring paints from its heights? Or, could this be a commentary on Pollock's climb up the ladder of the art world and his fame, ego, and alcohol fueled destruction? Either way, the young artist has out-pollocked, Pollock.

What's this a picture of?
-he traces the drawing with his finger, "it's a picture of this."
But what is it?
-"Marker"
Are you saying it is art about art? Is it a metapainting?
-"I bet you can't lift me up!"

Bat Cave

When it was pointed out that there are no visible bats in the painting, the artist explained, "You can't see the bats because they are sleeping behind the painting." The bats are sleeping behind the painting. Grant, having resolved the two dimensional plane of the work with a furious series of monochromatic strokes, addresses the space behind the work. Lucio Fontana attempted to bring this same space to our attention by puncturing the actual canvas, Grant punctures our understanding with a single sentence.

Some Popcorn Came Out

I spent several days last week in New York, searching through the galleries of Chelsea and Williamsburg for some piece of art that would move me, and then I came home to this.

After World War II the center of the art world shifted from Paris to New York. I believe my friends, that we are about to witness it shift to Olympia, WA.

I spoke with Grant yesterday, and it seems the new art will be posted soon. In fact he has promised that we will love it, because, "you haven't seen anything like this before!"

The Bus Does Things It Can't Do

In the past few weeks I have received a slew of negative letters regarding my recent statements in Art in America that Grant is the greatest artist working today, if not the most important artist in recent history. I have been accused of being incapable of separating my role as a contemporary art commentator from my role as a father (of the greatest artist of our time). I think this drawing does more to defend my views than anything I might write (as brilliant as it might be).

When It Twists and It Shooks

What is "it": that is the question. We know "it" twists and is also capable of shooking, but what happens when it does? No answer is given.

A unique iconography seems to be developing in the young artist's work. Disembodied heads, blank eyes, swirling masses, and anthropomorphic pigs populate his drawings like remnants of half-forgotten dreams. Grant clearly owes a debt to the surealists, but his art seems to be more directly influenced by the urban art scene of today.

If the left don't getcha then the right one will

Grant, why do you call your hands "Thomas and James"?
"Because they love everything."

A Bear Walks to Food

A found bear sticker sits in an empty expanse of paper; the bear plods forward with his head down, never leaving, never arriving as he searches for sustenence. The human condition masterfully captured with one orange bear sticker.

The Magic School Bus Spins into Action

"The bus is bibrating, that means it's getting smaller." The Magic Schoolbus spins in a red blur in the upper left portion of the page as a green monster watches apprehensively. What "action" will the school bus bring? The monster appears to be clutching a purse to his chest. Will the bus attempt to rob him? Grant identifies the red arabesque at the bottom right as a "number panic", perhaps that is a clue. The monster is green, he is finance incarnate. He clutches a change purse to his chest symbolizing greed. He is menaced by the specter of a gallows to his right as a "number panic" closes in. What seems to be the source of all this upheaval?- a school bus. Clearly, the artist feels that shrinking education budgets will somehow cause the stock market to crash. Don't go selling your stocks or anything though, he's only three, what does he know about the market? Or education budgets for that matter. Plus, that really doesn't even make any sense if you think about it. The kid's in preschool for Pete's sake, he shouldn't be commenting on the financial world in the first place. I'm going to go give him a time-out.

*I know it looks yellow on here, but I swear he is green in the original.

A Stamp on His Head

This is the artist's first known mixed-media piece. A figure flanked by a puma and a bear grins, his gaze hidden behind a stamp placed on his face. Is this actually a cyclops, Polyphemus perhaps, the stamp over the eye a metaphor for his blinding at the hands of Odysseus? Does the bear at his feet act as a stand in for the giant's treasured flock of sheep? When asked for some sort of insight into this enigmatic work, Grant explained, "Candy is tasty".

Your Kung Fu is No Match for My Color Theory

Grant and I were trying to decide who liked the color blue more. Grant explained, "I'm hungry for blue. I am going to eat it tomorrow. It's like frosting." Defeated, I said I would settle for green. "Green is like climbing a wall", he added.

A Parable

"When I was a Papa, I had a big scar on my chest too, then I washed it off and now I am a little boy."
I asked him how he washed it off and he said "oil and water".

Sorry for the lack of new art. Grant seems to be suffering from a small case of artist's block.

Time Warp Trio

"Weltschmerz" is the word Grant uses to describe the emotion caught on our time traveling friend's face. Having seen what humanity has to offer through the ages, he is unimpressed and world-weary. His blank eyes convey an ennui magnified by the realization that he can never truly go home.

Door Full of Paint

This is a drawing about a man who opened a door full of paint. The paint is the swirling orange mass in the upper left corner. You'll notice how perfectly the artist has captured the look of surprise and consternation on the man's face as he takes in the situation. There is no escape from his messy orange fate.

Pig Going For a Walk

Here is another pig. This one is walking past a train. I just asked Grant to explain this one to me and he yelled, "No! I have to go to the bathroom!" and raced off. He has no time to explain his work to neophytes.

The Number One Place (with juice and lemonade)

I asked Grant what he drew and that is what he said. So, if you ever wondered what the number one place looked like, this is it. Also, I hope you like juice and lemonade, because it's apparently full of the stuff.

Pig

This is pretty clearly a pig head to me, so, if you can't see it you may want to get out and look at some more pigs.

It's Just a Picture

Grant was actually annoyed when I asked him what he drew. "it's just a picture". Ceci N'est Pas une Pipe. Well played little man.

Thomas the Tank Engine

This is Grant's favorite drawing. It is Thomas the Tank Engine barreling down the track. You'll notice how Grant intentionally used crude lines and distorted the form to suggest energy and motion, capturing Thomas at his most dynamic. He tore up his first few attempts, the draftsmenship was impeccable, but he felt they were too static. I think he just needed a nap. Kids!