Welcome, noble reader, to the Fieldhouse Gallery.
Well, don't just stand there---look around. Feast your eyes on the beauty within, and know from whence it comes...
....okay, okay, I think you get the picture. (*groan*) These are the works of many accomplished, and perhaps not-so-accomplished, artists and writers that I have run across in my cyber-travels. Enjoy.
Last updated on November 4, 2002
Andy Warhol once said that everyone in the world is entitled to 15 minutes of fame, or something to that effect. No matter what your impact on society or your fellow man may be, someone, somewhere, will eventually give you credit for it.
Of course, credit for achievement and credit for sheer effort can be two different things entirely. Let's face it... when was the last time you saw someone, with only the barest level of talent or expertise, work their crankcase to the bone to make something that fairly screamed of intense personal commitment, and then watched as someone of inestimable ability just slap something together and end up getting all the kudos for it?
Well, the proprietors of the Museum of Bad Art are out to change all that. Once housed in a Boston basement, MOBA has grown to be America's, if not the world's, largest purveyor and exhibitor of, as their motto states, "art too bad to be ignored". Rest assured, however, that they don't just take in any old crap---the crap that hangs on their walls only gets there after intense, painstaking scrutiny of the story behind the work, as well as the effort put into it by the artists themselves. In other words, effort counts for everything here, regardless of artistic quality....and, brother, lemme tell ya, there's some real jewels in here.
Elfwood High Fantasy Art Gallery
For those who enjoy fantasy and science-fiction artwork and stories, Mecca has arrived in the form of the Elfwood Art Gallery. Formerly known as Lothlorien, Elfwood is a three-year labor of love by the intrepid Thomas Abrahamsson, and is quite simply the largest and most extensive showplace and database for fantasy and sci-fi artists that I have ever encountered. Here's the stats in a nutshell: over 1,500 artists and writers contributing over 15,000 (yep, that's THREE zeros there) paintings, drawings, sketches and stories...and it shows no signs of slowing down. And he doesn't just accept any old schlock he sees, either-----this is high quality work from exceptional talents, in a gallery that, if built in the real world, might just give the Smithsonian Institute an inferiority complex.
(And since we're here, I heartily recommend you take a gander at the works of one Laura Chatterton, a member herein. Admittedly, I'm biased here---the lady happens to be my cousin---but I think you'll agree she knows her way around pen and paper.)
Very few people have had a more interesting rise to power in their lives than has this man. An Irishman by birth, he was born (at least, to hear him tell it) Lester Galooly O'Calcutta McToil, which he obviously shortened later. (I have no idea why...that name has undeniable character!) The events listed in his "Man-o-Manifesto" (which, sadly, I am now unable to locate) speak of a life richly lived, through the eyes of one who has survived, among other things, having a paperweight shaped like a big toe miss his nose by a quarter-inch....
But I digress...the real reason he's in this section is, of course, his talent as an artist. His career is just as interesting as his life story---he specializes in poster and pin-up art, and has worked on concert promotions for such musical luminaries as Alanis Morrissette, Tori Amos and the Offspring. His work has also been featured in motion pictures such as "Detroit Rock City" and "The Chase". Additionally, Les has cultivated a loving following in the BBW community (that's "big beautiful women", for the unenlightened) for the beautiful portrayals available for viewing in his "Toil Girl" galleries. (He has even earned the praises of Camryn Mannheim herself! Yowza!)
