There’s a damn terrific poem over at Anti-Heroin Chic by my friend and colleague Dennis Villelmi — take a look at “Everlasting Pieces.”
One of the things that consistently appeals to me about Dennis’ work is his frequent use of dark road-trip-through-America settings — like Jack Kerouac crossed with a troubled, looking-glass Norman Rockwell. When I finally get a chance someday to drive my own cross-country odyssey, I am going to bring his poems along with me.
Oil.
Featuring “Rosie the Riveter,” by Norman Rockwell.
Original artwork by Norman Rockwell.
If you were a Scout in the 1980’s, then I’m sure you remember these. Yes, I was a Scout for a while too, and I fully realize that will amuse a lot of people who know me.
I’m pretty sure I aced that whole Cub Scout gig, as its only real requirement was being polite to adults, along with maybe doing good deeds every now and then. I did just fine at the “Webelos” stage too. Being a Boy Scout, however, had many more requirements — they included, among other things, not dying of exposure. And here was where the expectations of scouting at last exceeded my natural aptitudes.
So I wasn’t exactly John Rambo out there. If the Boy Scouts had voted on superlative awards, then I’m pretty sure I would have won “Most Likely to Die in the Wilderness,” or maybe “Most Likely to Perish in a Fire He Inadvertently Started,” or maybe even “Most Likely to Arrive at a Girl Scout Meeting by Mistake.”
Oh, well. I had fun with it.
The painting on the Bot Scout Handbook below, by the way, is “Come and Get It” by Norman Rockwell. Here’s some trivia for you — if you’re ever surprised by the sheer volume of the man’s paintings, that’s because he completed more than 4,000 in his lifetime.
[Update: I see that I misspelled “Boy Scout” as “Bot Scout” above, but I’m leaving it there because it’s funny.]
Featuring “Golden Rule” by Norman Rockwell.
Cover of The Saturday Evening Post, published December 4, 1920.
This artwork was completed for the cover of the December 2nd, 1922 issue of “The Saturday Evening Post”.
Happy Thanksgiving!!
A friend of mine attended a street art festival in Houston over the weekend; this is one of the photos she took. The chalk artwork here is an update on Norman Rockwell’s 1943 painting, “Freedom From Want.” (Look closely and you can see a few tweaks.)
One of his annual humorous covers for “The Saturday Evening Post.”
How many “foolish” things are depicted here?
Eric Robert Nolan, Author 