Free Art Frees Art Deep in the Heart of Texas

A sampling of free art at the University of Texas (Jompiy and Slumpu).

I just returned from Austin, Texas after a fine visit with friends. Throughout my stay I gave away a box full of art, ate copious amounts of barbecue, drank homemade prickly pear wine, and chilled in the spring heat of day and surprisingly cold Texas nights. Dan was my host, an Austin native who kept shaking his head at the scenery in despair and disgust. “90% of this wasn’t here 10-15 years ago.”
Dan lived in New York from 2005 - 2015. I gave him a going away art party to raise funds for his prodigal son return trip back to Austin. One of the paintings I made to raffle had the title “Austin Probably Sucks”.
Beyond the goodness of the food, beer and friends, I would have to agree with my 10 year old prediction. What a greedy strip mall waste of human potential. Ugly doesn’t begin to define it. People move to Austin for more money. That’s the truth, and it’s ugly. Grossly ugly. Even the homeless have craft beer and smartphones.
If you need to prove that art has died where it once thrived, visit Austin.

Some free art for UT students

The best barbecue I sampled was in a tiny no frills crockpot-holding-brisket and grocery on the other side of the tracks in Taylor, TX.

Dan pleased with his latest batch of prickly pear wine.

Austin Probably Sucks 2015. Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 18"

I made this painting as 1 of 30 for Dan’s going away party back in 2015. Below is a video of the dance floor in the back yard. Dan is the big guy. I’m the one with all the moves.