Ron English at Delay No Mall, Hong Kong

I have just relocated to Hong Kong and the first store I checked out was Delay No Mall in Causeway Bay. Was thrilled to find out that Ron English is having a signing on the evening of 10 Jan 2009. Made it a point to attend since I have always like Ron's colourful but yet political paintings.



Left the office and rushed to the store. Ron English was signing at the store where a number of his tees, toys, merchandise (cups, wallets, bags) were on display. The main centrepiece was the collection of Abraham Obama vinyl busts in the middle of the room. Ron is a soft-spoken guy and he did not say much. He was signing toy figures, the Obama busts and the Obama prints.



Ron spent an hour and a half to paint on a live model as well. While it was great for me to see him painting live, this did not bear well with the crowd and most of them left halfway through. Although the room was packed, I had the feeling majority of the people had no idea who he is or what he had achieved. I guessed the organiser felt the same way, because he had to tell Ron to cut short the live painting since there were still some fans waiting around for him to sign their toys.




I left the store with 2 of his mini-figures, a Abraham Obama vintage bronze bust and a signed print. I did not even say a word to him as I was awestruck to be in the presence of a legend. I am just happy I had the chance to shake his hands and posed for a pic. That pic will be kept forever.

"the Flood Brings Curious Encounters" by Andy Kehoe

Just saw this beautiful painting by one of my favourite artists, Andy Kehoe, and I must say, it is truly really impressive.

I have no idea why but the whole composition of the piece is just stunning. According to his flickr comment, it is supposed to be a forest dragon. And the damn beast looks f#@king regal!

If the first preview piece of his upcoming show at Black Maria Gallery ("The Wonder", October 17th) is so nice, I can't wait to see the rest of the show. I don't even dare to ask how much this piece is (I am supposed to save up for a new apartment dammit!)

Faile's Bunny Boy Blue

After so bloody long did I bother to bring my arse out of my computer chair (damn you Facebook!) and send my Faile's Bunny Boy Blue print to the framer. (Don't ask me what is the official name of the print, it was sold as Bunny Boy Blue by Black Rat Press)

Anyway, there are a couple of reasons why I did not send the print to the framer once I got the print. Firstly, I was framing my BAST prints as priority (My Cash Bazaar and Und Erotik). But most importantly, I have no idea what is the best way to frame it (I always love metallic coloured frames but it doesn't look good with this print).

So I lurked at Faile forum to check out some of the framed Failes that the members posted and I saw that most of them go for white frame with white matt. (The other option is acrylic box but it is expensive!) And white on white actually shows off the Faile-iness (wat?) of the artwork in the best way.

Though, I was really tempted to go for a glitterly gold antique looking frame for this piece but changed my mind at the framer when my framer asked me whether I am colourblind or simply blind.

Anyway I went for white on white, and I truly love the final framed piece. I have hung it in my bedroom and now I wake up every morning to see this beauty. This has inspired me to frame the rest of my Faile prints still lying in tubes or in my folder. (yeah right... another few months perhaps before I lifted my arse off the computer chair thanks to Warhammer Online now...)

(If only I know how to explain to my wife why the boy is kissing the rabbit and what is the hidden meaning behind the artwork... Anyone?)