Skreening Batmobama

Check out my new "Batmobama and Robiden" T-shirts available here: BATMOBAMA SHIRT.



I stopped in the Skreened shop in Clintonville this afternoon to get one of the shirts for myself, and I had a blast visiting with the staff. They do an excellent job and they seemed to enjoy themselves in the process. Here's a shout out to Daniel who documented the visit diligently on his iphone and said he would post pics on the Skreened blog at some point.

Check out their site to see all the cool offerings and learn about how to upload your own designs too: www.skreened.com

Batmobama Giclee Prints

I'm offering limited edition giclee prints of "Batmobama and Robiden" in my Etsy store.

I just posted it last night and it's generating a lot of interest. Not that Obama needs help boosting his popularity, but I might recommend some grey tights and blue, shiny skivvies to help secure his lead in the polls -- and Biden doesn't look too bad himself in his cute little number!

Check it out here and order one for yourself: www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16193297

We Do Need Another Hero!

The next World of Wonder Gallery show is called “Hollywood DC: Lights...Camera...Election!” and it’s all about the new era of “superstar politics.” My painting “Batmobama and Robiden” shows our Democratic candidates Obama and Biden as the famous dynamic duo from the campy sixties series, with the bat signal projecting their campaign logo from atop the distant White House.
Looming eerily in the corner are the villains, Penguin and Catwoman, who look suspiciously like the Republican nominees McCain and Palin.
As the election draws near and I find myself wrapped up in debates, pundit analysis, and those increasingly annoying campaign ads, it seems that the line between sides is pretty clearly drawn despite the popular “reaching across the aisle” rhetoric. I look to Obama and Biden as symbols of the hope and change I believe in, and I’m anxiously counting down the days until they swoop in and take out the bad guys with a big “Ka-Pow!” on November 4.

Soon I’ll be offering giclee prints and T-shirts featuring this painting. Check back for more details within the next few days. The “Hollywood DC” show is opening Thursday, October 23rd at 8PM at the World of Wonder Storefront Gallery in Hollywood. Check out their website for more details: www.worldofwonder.net. One of the giclees will also be a part of the “Art of Politics” exhibit at the Bar of Modern Art in Columbus opening on October 22. Visit BoMA’s site here: www.barofmodernart.com.

Metro Pulse Reviews DollyPOP

Here's an excerpt from a DollyPOP review in Metro Pulse by Coury Turczyn (click HERE for complete article):

Paul Richmond’s “The Dollypop Guild” is perhaps the biggest attention-getter at the show. In vibrant Technicolor hues, it portrays Dolly as Glinda the Good Witch from The Wizard of Oz, encapsulated in a pink sphere of magic as she wields her sparkling wand. In the distance, a sign for Dollywood points down the yellow brick road, promising sanctuary. Standing in ruby slippers is the artist himself as a young boy, watching the delightful spectacle.

“In a campy, over-the-top way, this piece represents the magic and inspiration I found in Dolly during a difficult time in my life, a time during which I felt incredibly alone,” writes Richmond in an e-mail. “The amazing and somewhat poignant outcome of the DollyPOP exhibit is that I’ve met many others who connect with the painting, having walked that same yellow brick road themselves.”

Richmond, who lives in Columbus, Ohio, says he found inspiration in Dolly as he grew up “as a little repressed gay boy in the Midwest.” He often incorporates his own personal narratives in his work, reflecting his journey to self-acceptance—and Dolly provided help along the way.

“After watching The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas as a child, I decided I wanted to grow up and be like Dolly,” Richmond writes. “This wasn’t exactly an acceptable aspiration in my hometown, but I was drawn to the flamboyant entertainer because of her over-the-top persona and seemingly abundant self-confidence. Throughout my life I struggled with my desire to fit in, all the while knowing that I was very different from my peers. I saw in Dolly a kindred spirit, someone who chose an offbeat path and made it work.”

When it came time for his Dolly tribute, Richmond had found his perfect muse, and the result is a dazzling meeting of artist and subject: bold, colorful, playful. But this wasn’t the first time he had devoted a piece to Dolly.

“I had the pleasure of meeting her as a child and presenting her with a drawing that I had labored over for months,” Richmond writes. “She was incredibly sweet and the experience was a milestone of my young adult life, helping me learn that I could set goals and make them come true. When I found out about the DollyPOP show, I knew I wanted to try and portray that experience and the inspiration I found in her at such a young age.”

Sneak-Peek

I'm working to finish a new piece for the upcoming exhibit "Hollywood D.C: Lights...Camera...Election!" I plan to have it finished this weekend, but I wanted to give you a sneak-peek at one small section of the digital sketch I created as a reference. Who is this, you might ask? Well, although a superhero never reveals his identity, he might if he were vying for the vice presidency! Check back next week (same bat-time, same bat-channel), to see the finished piece, "Batmobama and Robiden." There may even be guest appearances by some notorious villains too!

In the meantime, if you're in or near the LA area, you might want to start making plans to attend the opening on October 23 at 8PM. According to curator Thairin Smothers, "the opening reception will be bigger and better than anything the WOW Storefront Gallery has done to date, with a gala opening reception featuring a red carpet, and step & repeat for celebrity guests. We are also going to announce soon the addition of a certain celebrity host, as well as a fabulous celebrity d.j. for the occasion."

Wow - celebrities galore! Wish I could be there. I will, however, be attending the reception for a similarly-themed exhibit a little closer to home later in the month. The "Art of Politics" group exhibit at the Bar of Modern Art in Columbus, Ohio opens on Oct. 22 from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm and will feature a giclee print of my "Batmobama and Robiden" piece. A percentage of the proceeds from this exhibit will be donated to Obama's "Campaign for Change," a cause I am honored to lend my work to.

Circus Show Recap

Gale Hart, curator of "The Circus Show & Other Atrocities," sent me a link to some photos from the opening reception HERE.

They've also added photos of many of the pieces to A Bitchin' Space Gallery's website, which you can check out HERE.

The show was a big success and I was thrilled to participate. Here's a shot of the "circus train" of artwork (I'm still looking for mine...)

DOLLYPOP Recap

"Wow!" is all I can say after a whirlwind trip to LA for the opening of "DOLLYPOP" at the appropriately named WOW (World of Wonder) Storefront Gallery. Ok, maybe that's not ALL I have to say...

For starters, it was so wonderful to reconnect with my fabulous friend Jane and get to know her also-fabulous husband, Chris. They're quite the artistic super-duo of Hermosa Beach, and I was really inspired by their many exciting creative projects in the works.

Jane and I did some requisite beach frolicking and boutique shopping before getting ready for the big event.

When we arrived that evening at Hollywood Boulevard unsure of the gallery's exact location, a distant window display made our destination all too clear -- a gigantic (as in taller than me) sculpture of Dolly's girls.

Inside the gallery, the fun continued with a remarkable series of unique and often over-the-top tributes to a lady deserving of no less. The Dolly-love was instantly apparent as multiple costumed Dollys (including the amazing Lenora Claire) worked the room while a video projection took us through highlights of Dolly's career (including a duet with Miss Piggy and a slightly uncomfortable performance with some guys juggling flaming torches over her head). Dolly's songbook provided the perfect background music, and a display of hay bales and live chickens helped round out the ambiance. By all means, this was the party I had always dreamed of (although the chicken thing probably wouldn't have occurred to me!).






It was especially gratifying to talk with so many people in attendance who really connected with my work, especially the "Dollypop Guild" piece. It seems that as alone as I felt during childhood with my mom's heels and my country diva dreams, there were actually quite a few others out there walking a similar yellow brick road.


E News host Marc Malkin was co-curator of the exhibit, and he along with Steven Corfe (who works at WOW as a curator and producer) were incredibly gracious and complimentary. They managed to make me feel right at home, a feeling which continued as I looked across the room to see someone sporting one of my retro-Dolly T-shirt designs.

We met the cutest couple from Louisville, one half of which, David Mitchell, was responsible for some of my favorite pieces in the show (pictured below with his velvet Dolly painting). He and his partner had gotten married earlier that day -- what could be better than a DOLLYPOP honeymoon? Congrats, guys!


After some pink champagne and some lively discussion, we made our way back out into the world -- our spirits a little sparklier and our world full of a bit more wonder than ever before.

The next day, the Dolly-mania continued as Jane and Chris treated me to a matinee performance of "9 to 5: The Musical" (which had debuted only 4 days earlier) starring Allison Janney, Stephanie J. Block, and Megan Hilty with songs by Dolly. No one could set a tale about kidnapping and attempted murder in the "pink-collared ghetto" of the office-place to music like our girl, and Megan Hilty was as cute as could be in the role Dolly made famous in the original movie.

I'm SO incredibly grateful to my friends here in Columbus for treating me to this amazing adventure, to Jane and Chris for being such generous hosts, to the WOW Gallery for inviting me into their joyfully extravagant world, and of course to Dolly for providing the inspiration for it all!

Check out my complete set of photos from the trip HERE.

Check out World of Wonder's coverage of the event HERE, HERE, and HERE.

The Defamer review, "It's Dolly's World, We Just Live In It" can be seen HERE.

Check out Dollymania's coverage HERE.

Recap with photos from Daveland Art HERE.

Click below for an article in LA Confidential magazine about the show, featuring one of my pieces:

And check out WOW's video recap here: