Here is my latest painting for the next show at Acme Artists June Show, in Canton, Ohio.  This painting is Acrylic on primes hard board, 16×20 in.

Here is the latest painting in my classic horror series.

This is a 16×20 acrylic on hardboard.  Look for more in the near future… I’ve got a couple more great pictures of the Phantom that I am going to do.

Here are a few new examples of what I am working on now.  Of course with this kind of subject matter I have quite a series planned.

Both of these are 16×20, acrylic on masonite board.  This something new for me, but lots of fun to do….and CHEAP!!!!

My next one….which I am just about done with…. Is the Phantom of the Opera, the original with Lon Chaney.  Very creepy but way cool.  I’ve got a couple different picts of him , so I may do a couple of him.

I will update with pictures of it when I am done.

I just brewed a recipe that I got out of the good old joy of homebrewing book or the “homebrew bible” as I like to think of it.  It is a stout recipe that is similar to a Tooth & Vine Sheaf Stout, and if you’ve ever had one of these little gems you know why it has to be tried.  the interesting part is that you start out with a 7 lb Irish stout kit and then you add some extra hops and 1/4 lb of roasted barley and that is it.

First off, the Irish stout kit, WOW!!!, I have never seen anything like that except maybe axle grease.  it was soooo thick and that was even after letting it heat up in a pot of water on the stove top.

We racked to secondary last night and it smelled so good, the coffee and chocolate smells were just incredible.  I am so lucky that I have started kegging, because now I will probably be drinking this little gem next week.

Unfortunately I am no closer to getting my kegerator up and running, I just can’t find the right fridge or chest freezer to use.

I finally got the final picture, in the Wizard of Oz series of paintings, up on the site , so check them out.  This series, actually all of my paintings, is for sale.  The Wizard of Oz series is $600 + s/h.  All of my paintings are acrylic on stretched  canvas and they are 16″x20″ in size, except for the gekko.

Feel free to ask if you have any questions.

Yes!!!My awesome brother got me all the stuff to start kegging my own beer…WOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!

I just have to get a couple of batches of beer done for the family:

1554 Belgium Black Ale clone

Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar clone

then I get to do a Snow Cap clone for my self and keg it.  My brother even gave me a party tap in case I don’t get my kegerator set up in time, no more having to wait for natural carbonation.  Pictures to follow

I’ve finally added some new pieces to my gallery.  As you will see, I am working on a Wizard of Oz series and I am now working on the Lion to finish the series.

Enjoy!!

I keep reading blogs about holiday beers and which ones are the best and which just don’t make the grade.  The thing that drives me crazy is that no one includes GLBC(Great Lakes Brewing company in Cleveland)’s christmas ale.  I don’t know if they just can’t get their hands on it or what , but me and my wife do our own little tasting every year and GLBC still comes out on top.  We’ve pretty much exhausted our local shops selection of holiday beers, but still nothing can knock the GLBC off the top of the list.  We have had some pretty good beers with great flavor.  If you want an ale with just the perfect mix of spice and blend of flavors seek out  Great Lakes christmas ale and I promise you won’t be able to go back to anything else.  It has become my mission to try to duplicate this beer.

Well we finally got to taste our first attempt at xmas ale, not bad, but not what we were shooting for.  It is drinkable, which is always a plus, but not GLBC xmas ale.  I know it is a tall order to get something that perfect the first time, but you can always hope.  I’ve already started planning the next attempt.  I think that my base beer was a little to mild to start with, so the spices are over powering the beer and not blending with it.  I think that I have found a recipe to try online instead of starting with a kit.

more to come on this important topic…

Tis the season!!!

I have just bottled my first attempt at a Christmas ale and the preliminary taste is good.  I started out with a basic amber ale, Northland ale from Austin Homebrew, and added honey, cinnamon and ginger, that’s it.   I used the northland because it had cascade hops, for that spicy character, and cluster hops.  I think that I may llok into some other hops to try, the cascade added a little fruitiness in the prelims, although it isn’t bad.  Now is the hardest part….waiting, but i am ready to try another batch.

Since I had gotten my starter from Austin I decided to try their Promotional Black Ale, because they have this great deal that they charge you a flat shipping fee no matter how much you order.  I just racked this one to secondary yesterday, and so far it smells real good.  Something different for me in this one…Moravian black grains and Warrior hops(WOW).  Really looking forward to this one!!