From the Yard

© Ryan Cooper | All Rights Reserved

Georgia O'Keeffe Museum & Ghost Ranch

I had the privilege of visiting the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum and seeing the O'Keeffiana: Art and Art Materials exhibit recently. The museum is situated in downtown Santa Fe, which I must say has excellent weather this time of year.





Seeing O'Keeffe's art materials in person is a strange experience. Here are these things - mostly pastels and oil stored humbly in her husband's tackle box and other modest containers; nothing abnormally special - and in this rudimentary form they created some of the most beautiful and notable art of the American Southwest.



I also got to visit the famous Ghost Ranch, where O'Keeffe lived and worked for nearly fifty years.



It is easy to see why she loved this environment. One characteristic of O'Keeffe's paintings was that she oftentimes focused on small portions of a subject, magnifying it to epic proportions. I don't believe the motive for this approach can be fully realized without visiting the territory in person. Ghost Ranch is a place that not only looks big, but feels big. Overwhelmingly big. The features themselves are not what create this feeling so much as the contrast of said features against their inactive and comparatively dead surroundings.



Georgia O'Keeffe's home/studio at Ghost Ranch still has her ladder propped up against its adobe walls. It is said that whenever she would have guests, they would always be made to climb up the ladder onto the roof where they would talk and take in the view. The ladder also made an appearance in her 1958 painting, Ladder to the Moon.



I highly recommend touring both the Georgia O'Keeffe museum in Santa Fe and Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu.

Silence of a New Year EP - 4

We are in the mixing stage. Our friend Ross Ingram (who mixed some songs from The Black Angels' Passover) will be assisting us for the next couple weeks as we wrap up some last minute parts/details of the recording and prepare for mastering. We are shooting for a February 22nd release date.



I will also be opening a shop in the near future where I will be selling prints of my artwork along with a few other items I'm currently working on. Stay tuned for more details.

Silence of a New Year EP - 2

Still recording. Hopefully finishing keys this week, then moving on to guitar and vox after Thanksgiving. It has been both rewarding and challenging to record at home, but I'm glad we are able to take our time and get it right. We experienced drum issues in the beginning and had to retrack some things, but being the beast that he is, Matt was eager to play his parts again. Lucy has stepped up in a big way as well. In the end this recording has brought everyone closer and I'm excited about the kind of music we're making.

I also finished our new logo this week:

Silence of a New Year EP - 1

I have been working on recording an EP for the last couple weeks. We are done with drum tracks and are setting up for bass and possibly keys this weekend. Everyone is looking forward to the finished product.

There is also talk of doing a cassette release.

A few pics from the process:

J's Tattoo

Tattoo design for a friend.



Final tattoo.

SXSW 2010 + Current Projects

Well, I have survived another SXSW. Pictured below are Yacht and Glass Candy, a couple of highlights from the experience.


I am working on several paintings at the moment, in tandem with my usual graphic design responsibilities. Here is a sneak peak at Friends of Cupid.

Budgeting my time has been a challenge lately, and unfortunately it has come at the expense of my blog. Nevertheless, 2010 is going to be a big year for Analogous Life when it's all said and done with.

The script for my next animation project is currently underway as well, so expect some updates on that in the near future.

Until next time...

64 Photos by 64 Photographers

Here's a pretty insane collection of photos by a variety of photographers from around the world. If you have eyes, you should check it out.


64 Photos by 64 Photographers

Photography by Leonard Greco

This guy does some great black and white stuff and has a simple, straight-forward portfolio. He has also worked with some cool musicians like Sebastien Tellier and the guys from Yeasayer. Definitely worth a look.


Leonard Greco

Simon's 5th Birthday + Mother's Milk

Simon, celebrating his 5th birthday.

Mother's Milk

Charcoal and pastels on Bristol, 19 x 24"