Fossils as Art

(Above) This is a 72” Gar. It was bought for Harrod’s Dept Store in London.

(Above) Turtle - 48” from tail to tip of nose. Bought in January by private collector from Wyoming.

(Above) This piece is 32” x 64”, and is a bluish gray stone layer that has been brushed to bring out some of the brownish tones. So unlike the natural finish of the other murals, this is more of a smooth matte finish. Priced at $12,000.

(Above) Fireplace with fossils. Click on any image for a much larger view!

(Above) This fossil counter top is magnificent.

(Above) The above object is a whopping 72” x 46”, and is a tan stone with bluish gray veneer, and includes a rare 25” Gar fish. It’s priced at $22,000. Click on this for larger view!

(Above) According to Greg, this palm has just been completed. It is 105” tall x 74” wide! Palms are highly sought after for their beauty, and highly valued due to their scarcity. Price is $75,000.

(Above) This one is 83” x 54 1/2” and is a rare palm flower. According to Arvid Aase, the curator of Fossil Butte National Monument outside of Kemmerer, Wyoming, this is the finest specimen of its kind ever found. Even more rare than a palm frond. The price is $50,000.

(Above) The object above is 36” x 96” and the fish are quite remarkable. On the right is a large Phareodus encaustus, the needle-toothed predator of fossil lake (distantly related to the modern piranha). On the left we have what is known as an “aspiration.” This is a very rare occurrence where a fish died from choking on a fish it was attempting to eat! It literally bit off more than it could chew. In this case a large Diplomystus dentatus was trying to eat a small fish that became lodged in its throat. Priced at $27,000.


WHEN I WAS A KID, I WAS INTRIGUED BY FOSSILS. OK, well—I was also into dinosaurs, WWII bombers and planes, comic books and super heroes, drawing, things I could find in the woods and creeks— and lots of other things. Unfortunately, there weren’t many fossils in my neighborhood. The only ones I ever really saw and touched were in science class. Dinosaurs and fossils actually still intrigue me—only now it’s by watching the Discovery Channel on TV.

So recently, when I saw an ad for “mural-sized fossils,” I had to learn more. So I called the company, Green River Stone Company and spoke to one of the owners, Greg Laco—whose fossil quarries are located in Wyoming, about an hour and a half drive from Logan, Utah.

Greg was great and we talked on the phone at length about his awesome operation. He said that the fossil beds were discovered out in Utah during the building of the Transcontinental Railroad— and people have been digging there ever since.

Green River Stone Company carefully digs, cuts and cleans these giant sized fossil slabs and presents them to interior designers and discerning home owners. These objects are not cheap. What you have is a work of art—a one of a kind object that is millions of years old. You just won’t believe the size and enormity of these slabs. They’re real, genuine and rare, the kind of things that museums usually show.

If you’d like to learn more about these incredible objects for your home, office or planned property—contact Greg Laco at 763-551-0001. Or, to see these magnificent specimens ina showroom setting, contact their Chicago Showroom: Filsinger-Chicago. Call Cary Filsinger at 312-245-0404, or go to their website here.

ABOUT THE GREEN RIVER FORMATION:
In the early Eocene Epoch over 50 million years ago, drainage from the newly uplifted Rocky Mountains filled an intermountain basin to form what geologists call Fossil Lake.

The climate of Fossil Lake was subtropical, similar to the climate of Florida today. The lake’s paleo-environment persisted for about 2 million years, and was home to palm trees, crocodiles, turtles, and an abundance of fish. On numerous occasions, unique conditions came together to result in some of the best preserved fossils ever discovered. The sediments of fossil lake were first discovered in the 1850’s near the town of Green River Wyoming, thus the name “Green River Formation” which has become famous. Unlike other fossil formations around the world where fragments of specimens are prevalent, Green River fish are most often perfectly preserved in entirety.

Paleontologists and sedimentologists theorize that the lake was deep enough to be anoxic (devoid of oxygen) at the bottom.

This prevented scavengers from disturbing the fish, and inhibited decomposition. Several of the laminated sedimentary layers contain so many fish fossils that scientists believe there were relatively frequent events such as algal blooms which resulted in large scale fish kills. Algae and other plant and animal life would die and fall to the bottom as in lakes and ponds today. Storms brought runoff from the mountains, covering the fish with mineral rich material that would ensure their preservation.

Tom Fuller’s Religious Environment

Click on image for larger views.




Above: This is a scan of one of Tom’s business cards.

Various ephemera from Stefan Hester’s visit.

RECENTLY, I MET PHOTOGRAPHER STEFAN HESTER. During the course of our conversation, he happened to mention that he was recently on a trip (riding his new Stella scooter!) to New Orleans and that he had stumbled onto a religious environment, with “dozens and dozens” of religious signs. At first, I thought he might be referring to W.C. Rice’s religious environment outside Montgomery, Alabama. But he told me that this environment was in Mississippi. I was intrigued—especially when he said he took a bunch of photos.

Stefan had one of those fascinating one-on-one conversations with the owner, a man named Tom, who told Stefan: “you didn’t just stumble upon this place boy... you were sent here and you were sent here for a reason.” Ooooo-kay!

Stefan told me that he was “preached to” for some time until he finally had a chance to speak. His first words were something like: “Sure has been great to meet all these ‘good people’ on his trip.” Tom’s response to that was: “Well-l-l boy… lots a ‘good’ people aren’t saved and you know what happens to sinners.” (gulp!)

Stefan was allowed to take pictures, but not before being asked to sit and have lunch with Tom and his friend. “I insisted that I was not hungry, so they told me I could take the lunch with me,” said Stefan. “He handed me two cans of something called ‘Libby’s Potted Meat Food Product.’ I proceeded to watch them eat the food product with their fingers before I drove off.”

Stefan says he still has the 2 cans of unopened potted meat.

Bryan Haynes: Missouri Regionalist Painter

Above: Winter: Grand Army Road, 24 x 16”
Above: Osage Lane, 36 x 24”
Above: Fence Builders, 36 x 24”
Above: Tavern Cave 1, 48 x 24”
Above: Snow at the McAtee’s, 24 x 12”
Above: Osage on the Bluffs Above the Missouri River, 36 x 18”
Above: Beyond Bethlehem, 36 x 24”
Above: Sycamorum, 24 x 16”
Above: Round Bailing 1, 24 x 12”
Above: Maifest, 24 x 16”

MISSOURI ARTIST BRYAN HAYNES is fast becoming one of Missouri’s most renowned fine artists. His approach to the landscape is distinctly his own—pure, romantic and stylized. Not to mention he has a color sense that can ratchet up anyone’s perception of color. His work is grandiose, and makes one feel humbled within the great design of nature. Shadows work magic in his paintings, turning entire fields into deep red blacks with patches of fire breaking through in critical spaces. He loves all of the seasons equally. And he has learned much from his personal studies of American illustrators, like Norman Rockwell and Maxfield Parrish. As well, Hayne’s work shares affinities with the WPA style of the 1930s, giving us a kind of stylistic, heroic approach to what we see.

Haynes began his career graduating from the prestigious Art Center College in Pasadena, CA as an illustrator, and soon was working for some of the biggest and most important corporate clients in the world. But his heart has always been that of a landscape painter, continuing in the traditions of artists like Grant Wood, Thomas Hart Benton and John Steuart Curry. Haynes can be understated with color as well as fully saturated, depending on his vision at the time.

The Haynes family lives in the woods, basically, in St. Alban’s, MO, on patch of land overlooking one of the most picturesque valleys in the state. There, he walks the paths amongst the hills finding the inspiration for his art. Haynes is a masterful interpreter of nature. With no apologies for being a romanticist, he makes no room for anything that does not fit within his re-creation and stylization of what he sees. This adherence to a code is what makes him unique. His work never wavers and never shows signs of indecision, for what you see is that of a sure hand and a steady vision. Whether he is painting large murals for institutions, restaurants and architectural interior environments, Bryan Haynes has his way of working. The best artists have always had this stubborn genius.

Haynes has a show that opens this Friday at the American Legacy Gallery in Kansas City, MO (March 6 - April 10, 2009). It is called “Historic Regionalists” and he will be keeping company with other masters like Thomas Hart Benton, John Steuart Curry, Birger Sandzen, and Charles Banks Wilson, among others.

See more of Bryan Haynes artwork on his website: www.artbybryanhaynes.com. You can buy prints of any artwork, or commission a portrait or a mural. But buy an original while you can— Haynes is becoming widely collected.

Nuclear Products for the Modern Age

WHENEVER WE PLAY SCRABBLE, the first word, usually the only word that is ever played with the letter “X” is, of course, “X-Ray.” It’s a great word—very mysterious. So mysterious, in fact, scientists could only come up with the letter “X” to describe it. In fact, my father told me once about a promotional machine installed in his shoe store back in the late 1930s or early 1940s that was an actual x-ray machine. Customers simply slid their foot under the machine, pushed the button and looked down at the screen. Voila! You could see the bones in your feet!

Well, that little cancer causing monstrosity was quietly pulled off the market the following year for causing tumors in people (imagine that!). And who wouldn’t want to wash their hands with x-ray soap or smoke radium cigarettes? I know I would.

In honor of misguided marketing names and the innocence of science, enjoy these few vintage products from the dawn of the nuclear age. Life was a blast when only we had the bomb. ;-)

Cloning the Past

(Above) “Lady with a Squirrel and a Starling”, 1527 by Hans Holbein the Younger
(Above) “Portrait of a Young Girl”, 1460 by Petrus Christus
(Above) “Maria Portinari”, 1470 by Hans Memling
(Above) “Lady with an Ermine”, 1490 by Leonardo da Vinci
(Above) “Portrait of Margaretha van Eyck”, 1439 by Jan van Eyck
(Above) “Girl with a Pearl Earring”, 1665 by Johannes Vermeer
(Above) “Portrait of a Chambermaid”, 1625 by Peter Paul Rubens

Rainer Elstermann is a Berlin commercial and fine art photographer who did this series he calls the “Old Masters” (how about that for a title, huh?) and recreates these art historical paintings with… children. What he has come up with is a 21st century spin on classical art. It’s fun.

Have a great Saturday.

The “Dark Room” Is In Use

(Above) Come on in.
(Above) Photographer Scott Ferguson and unidentified friend.
Above: The Dark Room is cultivating a new audience of young art directors, designers and photographers.


Click on any image for larger view.

(Above) This scene, with the last spike of sun just before the sky turned black, was on-screen for exactly 3 seconds. I was lucky.
(Above) Definitely click on the above pic.
Click on any image for larger view.


Above: The house is falling.

IT’S ALMOST 1:30 am AND I AM FALLING ASLEEP, but tonight my wife and I watched The Wizard of Oz (1939) in it’s entirety to the music of Pink Floyd’s 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon.

It was at FK Photo, run by Mark Katzman and Scott Ferguson. The Dark Room is a part of FK Studio, a large party room that is beautifully designed—and the ultimate place to get to know folks in the industry. Why, I even met a beautiful young woman who claimed to be a descendant of Robert E. Lee? Wow. I was seriously impressed. I had to sit down. The movie was about to start.

Anyhoo, the film was projected at least 20 feet across in Blu Ray, Hi-Def. The quality was AMAZING. Fifteen feet in front of me the quality was just about like a giant print. Except it was moving. I knew I was seeing something special.

Because the image was Blu Ray Hi Def, I started shooting images right off the wall with my digital camera. I was just blown away by the incredible sound and images and the detail I had NEVER seen in this film before. After all, I remember seeing the film for the first time it was shown on color TV! That was analog euphoria. This was hi-def euphoria.

Some of these pics—to me—very much mimic the haphazard style of many snapshots I like. Additionally, what I like is the way these pics are so familar, but way darker. And even scarier than I remember.

If you have seen the Pink Floyd music and video—let me know what you think. Was this an accident, or an intentional Pink Floyd mind freak? I say it is an accident— that we’re locking onto the occasional coincidence—forgetting all the places it doesn’t match.

The Dark Room is a private room, a part of FK Photo in St. Louis. FK Studio can be reached at 314.241.3811.

Later.