2 photos of all 2,009 Reindeer paintings,

Here are two photos of all 2,009 Reindeer paintings, now they are all started. However, only two are finished (not pictured) and even those are only almost finished. It is Wednesday may 20th, 09.

This group of paintings are going to be amazing!

The thing is, just to keep going. At one point recently, like 2 weeks ago, I thought that painting Reindeer was really stupid. However, I also knew that I was going to think that, so when it happened I was able to immediately get past it. I seriously was able to think, well I knew this was coming, I knew it from the beginning, since way back in January when I started this project, and I just moved past it. Unfortunately, I moved instead to thinking my whole life was sort of a waste of time. I also know this must happen to most of us at some point, so I was glad it happened when I was in Tahiti. 

Tahiti was good, I set up a studio on a surfboard under a tree house and I got to hang out with my friends Frankey and Stewy, who I met in the graveyard in Mundaka Spain (where a bunch of castaway surfers were camping) back in 1978.  We caught some good waves back then, and we caught some good waves on this trip too. 

So, I was able to move past some self doubt and keep going, which is the point of this post. Nice as it seems, I do know that I am really going to struggle with this from time to time, but tonight I actually think this group of paintings are going to be amazing!

A meeting with...

South Pacific, Stewy, Franco and others. Undisclosed Islands, old friends and new legends. Vanilla plantations and 22 years without electricity. A meeting with Mr. Crawley, denied, disclaimed, anonymous, yet revealing. For those of you who know what I am talking about, I've probably said too much. Less soon, 

Regards, 

Nack

(Poll results 22 yes, 4 no, 6 maybe)

I sold reindeer #881 as a Pre-Sale to a hip LA collector, that saw what he needed to see even reckoning with the unfinished state of the piece. Some people, they got it, and they are usually the ones who "get it."Well, that's 2 down 2,007 to go...check back soon. 

brad-

Pirates

I saw this and thought it was interesting. brad-

" In 1991, the government of Somalia collapsed. Its nine million people have been teetering on starvation ever since – and the ugliest forces in the Western world have seen this as a great opportunity to steal the country's food supply and dump our nuclear waste in their seas.

Yes: nuclear waste. As soon as the government was gone, mysterious European ships started appearing off the coast of Somalia, dumping vast barrels into the ocean. The coastal population began to sicken. At first they suffered strange rashes, nausea and malformed babies. Then, after the 2005 tsunami, hundreds of the dumped and leaking barrels washed up on shore. People began to suffer from radiation sickness, and more than 300 died.

Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN envoy to Somalia, tells me: "Somebody is dumping nuclear material here. There is also lead, and heavy metals such as cadmium and mercury – you name it." Much of it can be traced back to European hospitals and factories, who seem to be passing it on to the Italian mafia to "dispose" of cheaply. When I asked Mr Ould-Abdallah what European governments were doing about it, he said with a sigh: "Nothing. There has been no clean-up, no compensation, and no prevention."

At the same time, other European ships have been looting Somalia's seas of their greatest resource: seafood. We have destroyed our own fish stocks by overexploitation – and now we have moved on to theirs. More than $300m-worth of tuna, shrimp, and lobster are being stolen every year by illegal trawlers. The local fishermen are now starving. Mohammed Hussein, a fisherman in the town of Marka 100km south of Mogadishu, told Reuters: "If nothing is done, there soon won't be much fish left in our coastal waters."

This is the context in which the "pirates" have emerged. Somalian fishermen took speedboats to try to dissuade the dumpers and trawlers, or at least levy a "tax" on them. They call themselves the Volunteer Coastguard of Somalia – and ordinary Somalis agree. The independent Somalian news site WardheerNews found 70 per cent "strongly supported the piracy as a form of national defence".

No, this doesn't make hostage-taking justifiable, and yes, some are clearly just gangsters – especially those who have held up World Food Programme supplies. But in a telephone interview, one of the pirate leaders, Sugule Ali: "We don't consider ourselves sea bandits. We consider sea bandits [to be] those who illegally fish and dump in our seas." William Scott would understand.

Did we expect starving Somalians to stand passively on their beaches, paddling in our toxic waste, and watch us snatch their fish to eat in restaurants in London and Paris and Rome? We won't act on those crimes – the only sane solution to this problem – but when some of the fishermen responded by disrupting the transit-corridor for 20 per cent of the world's oil supply, we swiftly send in the gunboats.

The story of the 2009 war on piracy was best summarised by another pirate, who lived and died in the fourth century BC. He was captured and brought to Alexander the Great, who demanded to know "what he meant by keeping possession of the sea." The pirate smiled, and responded: "What you mean by seizing the whole earth; but because I do it with a petty ship, I am called a robber, while you, who do it with a great fleet, are called emperor." Once again, our great imperial fleets sail – but who is the robber?

j.hari@independent.co.uk

To spend the day, like a pic-nic.

Last Saturday I was invited to an art show in San Francisco, that was among my favorite show ever. Called propaganda, the show featured all Obama campaign related art. Great stuff and I was honored to be included. (Brook Turner collection).

This Saturday I will be doing the art fair again, with a twist. For me, it is a fun way to spend the day, like a pic-nic. Sitting around a parking lot all day, doing some art (which I need to do anyway) it's a mini vacation. Here's the info, please stop by. Friendly faces wanted!

SATURDAY April 11th from 10AM to 4PM. Ghettogloss and their army of vendors transform THE MICHETORENA STREET ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PLAYGROUND ON SUNSET BLVD. into what one attendee called "the coolest arts and craft pow-wow in LA." Tents are pitched and tables are loaded up with quirky displays of art, vintage knickknacks and hand-crafted jewelry. Bring a beach chair and a coffee. Take a break and hang out with Tara, Scooter and me. The Art Fair is every Saturday, but we are participating on Saturday April 11th.
PS. We don't have a tent or a table, we use a blanket and the ground!

on the week-end

In SF on the week-end, photos coming. Obama art!