This photostream has evolved into a lot of personal photos so if you would like to take a moment to visit my art website, please go to www.lukedollar.com

Additionally a recent series of provoking Holocaust inspired works can be found here:

www.flickr.com/photos/38572296@N05/

If you want to get any further into my head, which is not advised, you may read on.........

   

Tuesday December 11 2007 11:57AM Alameda, CA

 

All I will say is this: Art and family, nature and religion trying to avoid discussing politics with republicans wanting war fighting peace with visions of violence and growing tension wrapped tight in store bought justice in the light of night finding pain while seeking pleasure in women and men while children and elders understand through painting drawing photographing documenting studying reading travelling writing poetry while drinking wine vodka water juice by fire light feeling explosions of thought sipping coffee wearing masks with no intentions of sleeping just watching nuclear disasters unfold upon humanity cloaked in artificial charity and destroying environments filling every ecosystem with stewing sewage sewing lies of equality erasing racism sexism discrimination fighting stereotypical labels crippled by an inability to discourage insecurity in my life and finding false history of the world on the internet as fact and dusty textbooks written in forgotten foreign languages and dialects of sicilia for dead mafioso a familia flush with warm murder and mayhem like mickey and mallory a disillusioned life in poverty brought upon by evil good people wrapped in false charity claiming color blindness suffering from hidden despair with bursts of confused joy wrapped in plastic pop insanity aka culture bringing an appetizer of hunger to a entree of creative starvation to the masses while gluttony lust and greed bring eden to the suits and corporate monsters of hell who claim to own heaven and rent purgatorio from hollywood offices and rewrite dante's inferno or paradiso which is circles and squares because they are the same thing in this culture of victims and predators that is really just a civilization of government corporations protected by crooked laws and misguided principles attempt to maintain order and control of generations of abandoned children with innocence lost to high bidders and knowing only defeated vague ideas of fatalist victories still feeling smug in hopeless seas of angst bearing witness to releasing social suicides by suits for the glory of owning a slice of the pie seeking counsel finding false elation punctuated by fits of rage that is this disease of insurance reluctantly providing medication pills and drugs feed addiction dependence on chemicals provoking occasional pleas of guilt or innocence by false confessions or denials coerced with promises lies with roots in all mammals with tears and tempers and feelings fluctuating dispositions with histories of depression by unrealized insatiable desires for sexual stimulation by instant gratification only self satisfying born of insecurity yet not really caring and somehow totally normal bouncing from happiness to sadness sharing forced kindness courtesy of good old fashioned chivalry disconnected with land lines a network of cell phones that double as land mines with highlights of nuclear biological chemical warfare fueled naturally unnaturally by oil gas fuel petrol fire triggered by shoe bomb sock fuses toes feet nails turned to shrapnel birds land in the barrel that is the home of fish we call men with blood on our soil and shells all melted by desire to consume in the name of democracy facism capitalism communism coexistence not feasible still taking drugs prescriptions and cocktails looking to exotic cars planes trains and sex for sale to escape to exotic imaginary places oblivious of reality in a third world vacation not a witness to poverty the beginning of the end has signed on while youth busy with technological candy in despair shitting apathy not feeling embarassment shame or care and oh how pathetic the animal instincts cloaked in claims of survival to rape and torture much worse than we know dont see it dont feel it so we disregard it along with mother nature goes human rights civil liberties disguised in red white and blue camoflauge patriotism while scars glossed over as future generations lost sight of American ideals even before being born and force fed distractions in televisions computers body and mind alterations trying to repair our own imperfections with placebos questioning where reality begins when after birth the only guarantee is we die so wondering what the significance of the words and dreams and images and visions of an individual unit of humanity could really possibly be.

 

Finding comfort in knowing that if no one is perfect, every one of us IS.

    

Wednesday December 5 2007 2:23PM Alameda, CA

Hello,

 

Who am I?

I don't know but I am working on it. Here is what I DO know...

I am a mixed media painter and photographer working out of my home based studio in Alameda. Most of my work is medium to large sized "urban landscapes" on canvas. However, I am interested in war, history, portraiture, figurative work, landscapes, injustice, religious themes (especially Catholicism as it relates to society), artistic nudes, politically charged imagery and a million other things every day. I like urban decay, texture, writing, sketching, reading and staying up all night. I drink coffee in the morning and red wine at night. I am a creature of the night and rarely go to bed before 2am. I am tired a lot during the day but I believe that with this one brief life we are given, we can sleep when we are dead. I have a wife and a child who I love very much. I am lucky that they tolerate me as well. I do eat meat but I sympathize with vegeterians. I dont really get vegan. I subscribe to National Geographic, Time, ArtNews and Smithsonian Magazine. I enjoy museums, the ocean, listening to Moby on my ipod, eating chocolate, camping about once a year and chilling in North Beach whenever I can. Vesuvio might be my favorite bar even if I dont like the price of the drinks. I have lived in Portland OR, Lafayette CA, Spokane WA, Pullman WA, Santa Cruz CA, San Francisco CA, Oakland CA and Alameda CA--in that order. I am 28 years old, but only for 18 more days. My favorite movie is "City of God" followed closely by "Natural Born Killers" and "Requiem for a Dream". My favorite catchphrase lately is "Fuck Pop Culture." I just dont like what is happening to kids today. I am a good listener. I try to be brutally honest about my opinions as much as possible. But I treat others as I wish to be treated: with respect. I don't smoke cigarettes but have been known to puff on the peace pipe now and again. I am a social person with a small circle of good friends and close family but I maintain a large circle of acquaintances and like to party like a rock star when the moon is full.

 

My Art:

Much of what I have said about myself above would shine light on my artistic interests. So what I will say is that I typically work in acrylic but I enjoy oil paint more. I incorporate photographs into much of my work. I have always considered myself to be a traditional artist but I have come to the conclusion that an artist needs to take advantage of whatever medium and/or technological tool that is available to make their work as effective as possible. Of course "effective" can be defined in a million ways. But for me, there is simply no substitute for photographic detail. And there is no way that a photograph can truly be "painterly" so in order for my artistic visions to be realized, the two must be combined. I have been working on this technique primarily since 2003 and have streamlined the process to a point that I am quite satisfied with.... most of the time. When there comes a time that there is no room for improvement, I will probably cease to be an artist. If there was no room for growth, what would I strive for? If I ever reach that point, through any channel other than death, I would be shocked. Some of the artists who I consider to be my favorites are Francis Bacon, Gottfried Helnwein, Caravaggio, Goya, Delacroix, Mel Ramos, Rauschenburg, Hopper, daVinci, Chuck Close, Thiebaud, Robert Bechtle, Vermeer, Lucien Freud, Egon Schiele, O. Winston Link, Muybridge, Whistler, Rodin and Cindy Sherman.

I love architecture, especially Victorian era construction which is one of the many reasons I love the San Francisco Bay Area.

 

My beliefs:

What do I believe? I am a conservative liberal. I am liberal on most of the hot button issues that are important to citizens of the Bay Area. But on certain issues, I am more conservative. I am opposed to abortion as birth control, opposed to current immigration policies, and very much opposed to the Bush regime. I support gay marriage, states rights, free speech, and the right to bear arms. I support the death penalty and do not mind paying higher taxes to fight poverty in our cities. I become very angry when discussing the war in Iraq or thinking about what the Bush Administration has done to America over the past 7 years. I get choked up anytime I see video of the World Trade Center towers coming down. But I believe the war on terror is a farce. I despise the Federal Government but I understand why we need them. If California were to split from the Union, I would be fully supportive! But I think it would be best to make it a West Coast split (CA,OR,WA) in order to maintain full control over the ports. I often go on tangents and my sense of humor does not come across well in Craigslist form. I try not to take life too seriously but I have a tendancy to do so. I believe in God but I am not convinced that any human really knows who or what he/she is. I hope there is an afterlife. I was raised Catholic but I have my doubts. However, I still embrace the traditions of the faith and have a lot of pride in my heritage as an Italian/Irish-American mutt.

 

What am I looking for?

I dont know. I guess I am just putting all this out here on the chance that someone will read this and think, "Wow, this guy is just like me." and drop me a line or something. Unfortunately, I am pretty busy and don't have a whole lot of extra time to dedicate to new friendships but hey if you and I have a lot in common, a friendship would only be natural. I am certainly not looking for any sort of scandalous relationships or unnecessary drama in my life. But I would love to meet other artists, photographers, or like minded individuals to share ideas with, maybe do portraiture of each other--photography or painting--or just get some feedback. Tell me you hate my work. Tell me you love it. Tell me I should have been a lawyer. Whatever you want, just tell me something. Send me a link to your website, your art, your photos, an obscene photograph, a poem, some hate mail, spam, a tooth, a rusty nail... anything.

 

***So I guess I could have kept it simple with my title: Artist seeking inspiration!!!***

 

Please feel free to explore my site and see some samples of my work. There are drawings, photographs, small paintings, and nonsense ramblings in my "Writings" section and a sample of my larger mixed media works in my "Gallery" section.

If you have any questions, comments or feedback, please feel free to contact me. Thank you!!

-Luke Dollar

 

My website is: www.lukedollar.com

 

12/11/07 10:58AM

"Well the corporate world you mention is a necessary part of the engine that drives my art business and keeps bread on the table. And these days, I am honestly not sure what is more damaging to society..... Corportate greed or "popular culture". Of course the two are tangled so badly that it's difficult to tell one from the other but I still view them as two different yet inseparable and unavoidable machines. If only pop culture could escape the corporation and marry art, music, and culture like it has in civilizations past...what a world. What a strange world we live in. And I sound like some sort of extremist. My daughter is 18 months old and I have found that I am far more concerned with the fabric of our culture than I ever was before. I always knew the world was a confusing mix of beauty and filth, wealth and poverty, pleasure and pain, joy and despair...but now I find myself trying to figure out who exactly is selling what...and at what price, and at what cost. "