The Legend of "The Allnighter"

It wasn't intentional of course, it was just another few weeks painting before i was really making a good living at this...But somehow "The Allnighter" painting i did ended up in the Surrealist Exhinit at the Williamsburg Historical Museum. This show was insane, hanging along side Salvador Dali, HR Giger, Ernst Fuch, etc... This was like 6 years ago maybe? It escapes me.

I barely escaped the world of bartending in New York City and Brooklyn. I took a roll of the dice and let go all jobs to focus on my love, painting. I was broke, credit cards maxed out, but fuck it. I've never been one to follow any rules whether it's the law or school. The only world that ever made sense to me was Punk and it hasnt changed yet. 

Ok back to the topic, "The Allnighter" somehow became i guess my "iconic" piece...meaning that if you think of me and my work, that's the painting that pops up first. Proof being the painting sold instantly and about 2 years ago i released a very limited edition giclee print of it at $200 a pop in an edition of 50 and they all sold within 4 days. SWEET!

Here's how the painting basically started out as... a bootleg ripped up and safety pinned Dead Boys T-shirt!

Well the Allnighter didn't actually start as a T-shirt. It just made me inspired. (I'd like to thank Erin for being my model for this one)

I'm not one to follow ANY art, my influence comes from my life story so my works is my storybook of my youth until now. And that being said "The Allnighter" represent a huge many years of my severe cocaine and whiskey addiction. 

My sick mind told me not to go into rehab. My insanity told me to kick a bad heroin habit i could switch over real fast to buckets of blow and booze. It worked in curing the "sickness" but opened a door of delusion, sorrow and bullshit. 

Feeding the DEMON...

Swallowing 2 fifths of Bourbon a day and a line of coke every 10 minutes then became my routine in the early mid- 90s. I was morally and spiritually corrupt. I was a garbage can. 

I ain't gonna lie, I did have alot of fun at times. Snorting coke and fucking girls i just met and drinking/snorting for days straight at a time.  Going to shows at Coney Island High on St. Marks Place, meeting girls, getting into fist fights and forgetting all my real problems felt like the life. Stealing to get more money for my habit made me feel smart and crafty. Being on a mission from the second i woke up made me feel like i had a purpose. I felt falsely powerful and confident.

In the year 2000 i went to my first AA meeting. Followed by years of NA, 11 years later i am still clean.

I started painting to keep the voices in my head from tricking me to use. I was going bananas in between my early meetings and needing something to relax me. You see, i  always though i was going to be  punk guitarist or bassist till i died on tour somewhere. I was content with that. I got this art career by accident! A gift given to me by letting go of the dark cloud and opening my mind and heart to something new. 

That's my true story.