Shake'n and Bacon at Fester's
Shakeân and Bacon at Festerâs
30 x 40
2005 / #6
This painting started out as âSharonâs Take on Shake and Bakeâ about a friend of my Momâs who used to gather eggs as a child by grabbing the chickens and tossing them out the door while gathering the eggs. I may still do that image someday, but her description of how she would grab the bird by the legs and swing it over her head a few times before letting go, just cracked me up. (Hey, good egg pun there!, sorry). I wanted to make a painting that captured this gesture but it was not enough of a story. At this time, American Idol was really becoming a cult show and people were singing everywhere so I took both concepts and put them together. The âshake and bakeâ phrase goes back to my childhood (âand I helpedâ, remember that?), so it was a natural title to tweak.
The left side character is swinging that chicken while she sings to the spatula, something everybody has done at some time or another be it with a hairbrush, a spoon or a power drill. The right side character dances her heart out grooving to the radio; her shoe has flown off and is heading for the door. Both ladies have the diner dress uniform with apron and hairnet, but also some cool shoes. They only serve three things, chicken, bacon and coffee. Read the orders across the top and you will see.
The Festerâs part was added after I painted the first counter creature. He looked really familiar and I realized it was Uncle Fester from the old Munsterâs show. It was fun to do his expression so I painted him again and again, even looking in the door. So now this chicken and bacon diner must be in some strange twilight zone town occupied by singing waitresses and cult TV has-beens. The feathers are flying and the bacon is bouncing, but it is a rockân good time nonetheless.
30 x 40
2005 / #6
This painting started out as âSharonâs Take on Shake and Bakeâ about a friend of my Momâs who used to gather eggs as a child by grabbing the chickens and tossing them out the door while gathering the eggs. I may still do that image someday, but her description of how she would grab the bird by the legs and swing it over her head a few times before letting go, just cracked me up. (Hey, good egg pun there!, sorry). I wanted to make a painting that captured this gesture but it was not enough of a story. At this time, American Idol was really becoming a cult show and people were singing everywhere so I took both concepts and put them together. The âshake and bakeâ phrase goes back to my childhood (âand I helpedâ, remember that?), so it was a natural title to tweak.
The left side character is swinging that chicken while she sings to the spatula, something everybody has done at some time or another be it with a hairbrush, a spoon or a power drill. The right side character dances her heart out grooving to the radio; her shoe has flown off and is heading for the door. Both ladies have the diner dress uniform with apron and hairnet, but also some cool shoes. They only serve three things, chicken, bacon and coffee. Read the orders across the top and you will see.
The Festerâs part was added after I painted the first counter creature. He looked really familiar and I realized it was Uncle Fester from the old Munsterâs show. It was fun to do his expression so I painted him again and again, even looking in the door. So now this chicken and bacon diner must be in some strange twilight zone town occupied by singing waitresses and cult TV has-beens. The feathers are flying and the bacon is bouncing, but it is a rockân good time nonetheless.