Mr. Hooper Art Blog

I have several paintings on sale on my Etsy shop. Many of these pieces are more than 50% off the original price. This is a great opportunity to get yourself a nice Mr. Hooper painting at a great price. Please visit my on sale section of my Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/mrhooper?section_id=7612306

I have been painting 6 and 8 inch square paintings for many years now. Last year I came across these 4 inch wooden squares and I hatched an idea for a bunch of new small paintings. These 4 inch paintings would give people who enjoy my work an opportunity to purchase an original painting without breaking the bank. I plan on only painting about 100 of these, so that will give people something that a lot of other collectors do not have.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/86791214/original-pop-surrealist-painting-gray

Where do you think the expression Great Googly Moogly comes from? I am somewhat enamored with that expression and assume that the first time I ever heard it was on a Muddy Waters record. I suppose it is simply one of those colloquialisms where to point of origin is lost to history. To me it is just a silly thing to say without any real meaning. Most people I meet remember Googly Moogly from a Frank Zappa recording, but I must admit that I am not familiar with that particular song.

"Great Googly Moogly"

"I Gave You Hush-Puppies," black ink on paper, by Mr. Hooper

This is one of my drawings from out on the road. I can’t remember exactly what year this was done. I do remember that I was in a little spot in Florida’s panhandle  called Cape San Blas when I created this. I recall that my wife and I ate at some near-by seafood restaurant and the idea of “I Gave You Hush-puppies” was hatched. Now, how I connected this gritty, comic-style street scene with hush-puppies?…I have no idea. Cape San Blas is an absolutely beautiful spot on the Gulf of Mexico, yet I was inspired to create a street scene with drunken street folks. Go figure.

This is a piece I did a few months back. It combines one of my ink drawings with random pieces of a map and illustrations from a book about wild plants. It is a lot different than my painting style, but somewhat reminiscent of my old comic drawing style. This piece is available on my Etsy page:  http://www.etsy.com/listing/82833213/original-mixed-media-collage-art-by-mr

I wouldn’t call these collage pieces a new direction by any means, but they are sort of  an alternative to my small paintings. They also give me an opportunity to think of composition differently.

"Auburn Old Guy"

"Bluejay" Mixed Media on wood, 6" X 6", by Mr. Hooper 2011

I painted this one this past summer. We started getting more bluejays at my backyard bird-feeder. A family of jays are now residents in the backyard. In the last year or so, I have become more interested in birds. The fact is, I once had an unnatural fear of birds. I think it was because I saw the Hitchcock movie the Birds when I was really young.

Anyway, I was pretty happy with the way this one turned out. I like the semi-checkerboard pattern in the background. I enjoy using maps in these mixed media paintings because suggests a setting for the the subject. Also I love the graphic quality of maps.

You probably didn’t know that R.E.M. is my favorite band of all time. When I heard the news that they decided to call it quits back in September, I decided to blow the dust off all my R.E.M. cd’s. I think I listened to nothing but R.E.M. for two solid days. Sometime in that span of time I created this guy:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/83923380/original-robot-art-red-robot-singing-rem

I have sort of an odd interest in historical figures. Sometimes it has to do with the person and their accomplishments. Sometimes it is a person I admire. My interest in the late president, Richard Nixon, has nothing to do with him as a person, politician, or anything like that. There is something about the way that Nixon looks that makes him an interesting subject to me. Here is my latest Nixon painting.

"Mighty Milhous" mixed media on wood, by Mr. Hooper 2012

As a younger person I had a great interest in underground comics. I tried my hand at being a cartoonist, but kind of found my way into the art world as a painter (albeit through the back door). Occasionally I will bust out an ink drawing here and there. Here are a couple of random drawings for you to enjoy.