Houdini Painting Stained Glass

I never know what will inspire me. I've been wanting to do a new Houdini painting but had nothing in my head. Then yesterday I saw a picture of a stained glass window. So I decided to try a painting that looks like a stained glass. It's on canvas, not glass, though the finished product would look killer on glass.

It's certainly a fun painting and has a really cool look to it. I chose a profile just to keep Houdini's facial features simple. I could have blocked all the facial features but I don't think it would have looked like Houdini. So instead I went after the technique that is used in a lot of stained glass windows that have figures of people on them. The faces and hands are usually painted and added to other colored glass.

Blackstone Profile

I just finished this about 10 minutes ago. I wanted to do more of the profile paintings and this time I did a caricature profile of Blackstone Sr.. I've painted Blackstone a number of times, but I really like the look of this.

I'm keeping the red background for the 'old time' magicians but I think I'm going to switch to a different color for the modern age of magicians, IF I do anyone from the modern age. Once again, this is acrylic on canvas and the size is 16x20.

Update: For most artists when they sign their painting that means it's finished. For me, when I sign the BACK that means it's officially done. I usually put all the information on the back such as medium, size, name of painting, date completed and such. I may alter this painting slightly, though I have not yet made up my mind completely. If I do it will be in the next day or so. IF I don't do it by then I'll sign the back and it will be done.

Backstage

Most of the people who read my blogs are magicians, but I do have a few friends who read that aren't. With that in mind I thought I'd give the laypeople a backstage view of what it's like to be a magician. First off we deal in illusion and the biggest illusion starts with the job! This is about 90% business and 10% performing. That might be different for performers who work through agencies, but for a person who does most of his own bookings, the majority of my time is spent with marketing, advertising, designing flyers, postcards, posters, answering calls, making calls, selling shows, and about a gazillion other little things.

Ok, before I loose you, let's switch over to the magic part which I'm sure you'll want to know about. The performer arrives before everyone else, and depending upon the size of the show we may have to put up a sound system, possibly lighting, backdrops and the like. Then comes putting the props, tables, illusions and other bits and pieces together. Come showtime we ramp up the personal energy, crank out the show, make people laugh and entertain them and then take the bows. If time permits we can shake some hands after the show and sign autographs. Often though we are time crunched and we've got to pack all that stuff back up in half the time it took us to set it up because we have to be somewhere else or we need to be out of the building by a certain time. Once the vehicle is packed more often than not it's on to the next destination or if you're lucky it's home. The show lasts 30-90 minutes depending upon the size of your show. Add at least an hour to that for a small show for load in and even more for load out.

Of course you might be thinking, 'yeah but you make a lot of money from the show so it's worth it'. Well first, yes it's worth it regardless because you don't usually do this unless you love it. But the price you get paid diminishes once you figure in the marketing that went into that show, the mailings, the office time, the rehearsal time, the prop design and creation or the prop purchases. If you have an assistant or two that figures into the price as well. Suddenly that 'big check' isn't so big. That isn't to say I'm complaining. It's just the reality that any business has to deal with and this is a business just like any other. This business just happens to have a glamorous side, but maybe now you can see that the glamor is tiny compared to the amount of work that goes into the show.

Oh, and the show. Sometimes it takes years before material in the show is really great. There are times when a trick is rehearsed for a very long time before it even gets in front of an audience, so there is already a huge time investment. And if it's an original routine, there may be prototypes and experiments that precede all of that. Show's aren't put together in a day. A lot of blood and sweat go into making a routine into something special. Sometimes sadly the entertainment value that we seek in a trick never quite makes it so it gets dumped. That's a tough thing when you're dealing with a piece you've invested so much into.

A great example for me was the Steel Straight Jacket. Now there is a prop I'd wanted for years. Once I had it, I thought it would be a piece of cake to entertain with. Ummm, hardly. It was a big pain in the you know what. I worked that thing to death trying to figure out the right way to do it. I tried comedy, I tried high drama, I tried talking through it and not talking through it. Eventually I began to stumble upon the right combination, but to be honest, it's still a work in progress.  It plays really really well now especially when I compare it to the early days, but it can always be better. The day I'm satisfied with it is probably the day I'll pull it from the show, lol.

But that's all part of the life of a performer...

Ancestry +

During my last post I mentioned my new hobby of searching through ancestory.com. What an amazing site, though I'm finding it has some limitations. But still for the amount of things I found, it's truly a priceless resource. The photo here is of a house, not just any house. This is the house that my Grandmother lived in in 1920 with her parents, brothers and sisters and her Grandparents.

How did I find it? The 1920 Census had the address listed and I then looked it up on GoogleEarth. I expected to find a vacant lot or a parking garage or industrial building. I never expected to locate the actual house. Now I'm not 100% sure this is the actual house, but looking at it, I'd say I'm 90% sure this is it and if it isn't then it's still the lot where the house had been. The house in that photo is of the style of home from that time period and it's certainly at least 70 years old if not older.

UPDATE: Talked to my Dad who said he actually remembers the house when he was a kid. So I found the right one.

Ancestry

My Great Great Grandfather from Norway

Over the past few weeks I've been doing tons, and I do mean tons of research online and in books on Houdini and magic history. In the course of that research I found a site called archives.com. I have to admit I was not thrilled with that site though because every step along the way they wanted me to pay more money for information, so I quit and went a different route.

One of the last things I did look up while I was there was some family information, just to see if it would show up. I found a record for what I thought was my grandfather but wasn't really sure. I did that about two weeks ago. Well for whatever reason on Friday evening I got the urge to check out the family history/family tree and I decided to try ancestory.com. Imagine my surprise after just 30 minutes how much information I was able to turn up. In two days time I have parts of my family dated back to the 1600s! And other parts dated to when they arrived here in America.

I found some relatives in Norway, I found relatives here in America I didn't know about. It's wild how much information is available. Most of the work is done through census records and you can view and print the actual census records (something archives.com wanted you to pay more just to see). The photo is of my Great Great Grandfather who came to America from Norway in 1869. When you go back that far in years you end up with more and more Grandparents from each side of the family. You figure in  your immediate family you have your grandparents on your Fathers Side and Mothers side, that's two sets or 4 people. But your parents have grandparents so that's 4 more on each side or 8 more people. It keeps multiplying from there as you go back in time. It's pretty wild actually.

The archives.com system is set up so well that it almost becomes like a video game to see how far you can go. It's quite addicting. Needless to say, today I'm taking a break from the fun and getting back to work, more mailings to work on, more preparation to do for 2011. Looking forward to an exciting year!

Routines I CAN'T Do

Maybe I should say I won't do them. Some of them I want to do too. The Bowling Ball production. What a beautiful effect and done by EVERYONE! Cardiographic, also a great trick and frankly fits my character well, but everyone is doing it. Though I think a different take on it might be ok.

The Losander Table is another effect I totally love but at this point with so many people doing this, I am afraid I'll have to opt out for now. Sadly there are a whole series of great tricks that I just won't go near because they are being done by so many other performers.

My feeling is you have to offer something different or you have to do something so well that you are clearly the best at it. Look at it like this, if all the magic performers are doing the same routines, what does the buyer of entertainment do to differentiate? The buyer looks to find the cheapest act. That doesn't help anyone.

I've also noticed for illusionists it's often the smaller tricks that everyone goes away talking about, yet those seem to be the ones that they put the least amount of time in. Instead they are doing the standard routines. I often wonder what would happen with a straight jacket escape if it was really played up for what it is, stressful, confining, constricting and near impossible to escape from. But what you see instead are performers using jackets too big, getting out in under 10 seconds or using the jacket as a comedy routine. The moment it's used for comedy, the 'tough escape' part of it goes right out the window. Granted there are a lot of comedic moments possible in the routine, but all out comedy for something as powerful as the straightjacket, I don't know. I've written a lot about the SJ in my older blog and it's something I love and hate. I hate that it's over done, but I think in the right hands it's still powerful.

All the magic above is powerful, don't get me wrong. But the first thing any act has to do is get past the buyer, they have to please the booker, they come first. The audience actually comes second as strange as that sounds. If you don't please the buyer/booker, you don't work and no one sees you.

I'd put the following routines in that mix:

Interlude Illusion
Origami Illusion
Sub Trunk
Modern Art
Orange, Lemon Egg Canary
Torn and Restored Newspaper
Any sort of Russian Roulette Knife Stab

those are a few off the top of my head, I'm sure there are more

Uggh! Not Again

That statement is actually for TWO things. 1. SNOW. It snowed here this morning. The dusting was three inches, thanks again Weather Folks for getting it wrong. I'm not ready for a replay of last year 2. Car Problems. This Van of mine is driving me nuts and draining me dry. The latest, it won't start. It turns over but won't start. This will be the fourth time it's been to a mechanic this year. If next year turns out the way I'm hoping, then she's gonna get either replaced or I'm going to get a second vehicle.

Fortunately, all the times I've had problems I have yet to miss a show. But it's certainly been trouble. I'll have to have it towed tomorrow.

That's ok though. It could be worse and I'm sure it's something minor. At least it will be done in time for the weekend.

Howard Thurston

I think this was one of last years paintings. It's Howard Thurston the great illusionist. This is maybe the fourth or fifth Thurston painting I've done. There is actually one leaning against the wall in my office waiting to be finished. This one doesn't photograph well but it's filled with color, even in the black jacket and white shirt. The next Thurston (which isn't finished) is a very similar pose but will be more realistic.

This is 16x20 and as with most of my artwork, painted with acylics.

The Profiles Houdini & Soo

I love this painting. It's sort of a sideways caricature. Usually when I post it I don't post the actual painting but instead a 'blue' version of the original (tinted in blue). But I figured why not post it here as this blog is specifically for my artwork.

The plan is to do a number of these profile pieces. This is painting in acrylics. The size is 16x20.

This next one is Chung Ling Soo, the fake Chinese Conjuror who was really an American name William Robinson. This is also in acrylics and is 16x20

2011

I can't say that I'm completely happy with how this year has ended. There were some things that I wanted to do that I just never got around to. Plus I dropped the ball on something rather important to me, reading. I had set a goal a couple years ago to read at least 10 books a year. I know, not that big a goal for some folks who love to read, but for me, it was pretty big. Well I read 21 books that year. That was two years ago. Last year I think it was half that. This year, 1 book. That's kind of embarrassing. I have been a reading fool that last few weeks, but it's been research so I've not been completing books, just scouring through particular chapters.

So let's move to 2011. There are at least three, no strike that, FOUR major things I want to do this year. Plus a whole lot of smaller things. It's always been my desire to do a Jail Escape. I found one a few years ago but I never really followed through. This year I'm going to have to do something with it for sure.

The next thing is The Magic of Christmas. This was an idea I had a few years ago also. I had the idea but it never went beyond that. Basically, the Magic of Christmas is a big theatre show celebrating Christmas.
It could be tied in to charity fund-raising possibly which would be nice. But I'd love to do a show of that nature. I figure it may take a year of planning just to get that going.

The other two things, I'm keeping close and not letting those out of the bag other than to say one of them involves Halloween.

As for the small goals, I'd like to get the Carnegie Entertainment Agency up and running. I started on that this Fall and then I lost my computer and tons of files and it happened at the worst time. So once the new year kicks in I'll get that running. I want to set some new records for shows this summer. Summer is always big for me and I'd like this year to be the biggest yet. Oh and there is one piece, one magic routine that I really really really want to get into the show.

So there you go, it's a start. I actually make up a Goals Book with the lists of everything I want to do. It's quiet helpful for keeping you on track, it's also helpful to show you how you slacked off if you end up dropping the ball, lol.

Something To Think About

I've been doing a lot of research recently on Houdini. You may or may not be aware that Houdini wasn't the most beloved entertainer of his time. There were those folks who loved him yes, but there were just as many if not more who hated him. I'm in the group that thinks he's great even with all his faults.

I found this story in the Milbourne Christopher bio "Houdini The Untold Story". Houdini apparently had been having a private feud with the editor of The Sphinx Magazine (a popular magical periodical of the time). The editor, Dr. A.M Wilson would either NOT mention Houdini in his columns or would purposely slam Houdini. Here is a quote from one of his columns:

"Magic is an art, a science that requires brains, skill, gentlemanliness and talent of the highest order. Brick Walls, torture cells, straightjackets, handcuffs, etc. demand nothing but physical strength and endurance, nerve, gall, bluster, fakes and fake apparatus, etc. ad libitum, heralded by circus band advertising. In my opinion magic is brought into disrepute by all such. Their place is in the side show or dime museum"

Well one day Houdini ran into Dr. Wilson at the Martinka Magic Shop. As you might expect, words were exchanged and they departed hating each other more than they did before.

What is the purpose of this? For me, I've been in this boat. I know what it's like. And it pretty much sucks for both parties involved. In the magic world today, there are so many little cliches that dislike each other. Whole groups of people that won't even talk to each other. They have their reasons, some of them might even be justified. But wouldn't it be better to agree to disagree than to hold all that animosity inside?

Here is the rest of the Houdini story. A few months after this incident in Martinkas, a mutual friend brought Houdini and Dr. Wilson together during Houdini's tour in Kansas City. Let me quote the book again, "I apologized to Houdini, he made amends" said Dr. Wilson, "Now we are friends as we should have been years ago."

I think there is never a better time to lay aside negativity than right now. I've done it. Hey, there still may be people that you don't particularly care for, but put the negativity behind you, forgive and move forward. If they want no part of it, that's fine, just move on, you did all you can do. Who knows some of those people may turn out to be some of your closest friends. In the long run it's a win win for everyone.

One of My Favorite Things About 2010

I have to say one of my more favorable memories of 2010 has been the increase in original magic and routines in my show. I've always tried to make routines my own, but for some reason something snapped in me this year and I just started working on routines that were far more original.

I'm not sure there is anything completely original, but I do strive for uniqueness. I was thrilled with the routine called GERMAPHOBE, which as you might guess was a trick with germs. I have a feeling that there will be a GERMAPHOBE 2.0 down the road as well. The Automaton Duck Story that I developed and then the repainting of a very standard prop was something that really caught me by surprise. I took a trick that I actually hated and tried to come up with an angle that would make it relevant today. My choice of angles worked and I ended up with a piece that totally enthralled adults.

The Candy Sands is another that just has me thrilled. I wrote up a version of it for my column but the routine that I created for myself is completely different. Imagine doing the Sands of Egypt trick with candy, well that is essentially what Candy Sands is. Does it play well? YESSS!

There are a number of creations that have yet to make it in the show. And of course there are subtle changes to existing routines that have made them even stronger. My favorite change for an existing routine is with an effect where two hand drawn images change places. I had always played it in a very comical fashion in the past. But the newer routine really focuses on the art. It's funny but sometimes the smallest change can take a routine from being just ok, to great.

I'm looking forward to a major change in my linking Hula Hoop routine. I think after 20 years of performing it and adding a bunch of moves that were not in the original routine that I can safely call this version mine. It's the new ending that I'm most excited about. I may have finally found what I've been looking for. Sorry for being cryptic, but I don't want to give it away nor to I want someone else running out and claiming it as their own before I debut it. Needless to say it's very cool and very different.

2011 looks to be even bigger and better in the creativity department. Looking forward to the new year!

Mall Shows Are Back

White Flint Mall

This was my set-up at White Flint Mall in Maryland on Halloween.

I've performed at this mall before but it's been a few years. I was VERY surprised at the number of people that crammed themselves into a fairly small area to see the show. There were people as far as the eye could see and even more up above on the second level. Due to the fact people showed up early, I went ahead and started the show a little early. The end result was that I did 59 minutes.

The stage area is quite small so there were no big illusions in the show. What I did do however was a great deal of audience participation routines. The one thing I left out that I wish I had done was my Challenge Rope Escape.  This is my adaptation of a routine made famous by Steve Baker, known professionally as Mr.Escape and he called it 'The Tug of War' Rope Tie. That really sums up the actions and the look of the tie. It's a bear of a tie too and fun to do. It's one of those things I've always gone into with complete lack of fear and maybe that is why I've had success with it. I've had people tie so tight I thought my wrists would snap off. But so far I've never gotten stuck. That isn't to say the actual escape is easy. And 9 times out of 10 when it's over and I think back on it I wonder why I didn't get stuck. Unfortunately for the audience present I didn't think it would fit in with the other material that day so I dropped it from the show.

So that's what I left out! lol. What I did was a lot of Halloween themed routines with ghosts, pumpkins, witches, more ghosts, haunted houses, did I mention ghosts? oh and some really unusual card magic.

I will say it was nice being back at a Mall again. I always enjoyed that market and it's been a while since I've been in a mall to shop, let alone do a show!

Magazine Cover

Well here it is, the cover of the Kidabra Journal. Inside is a pretty lengthy write-up on yours truly.

The interview by Skip Wade is fantastic. It’s quite in depth and really covers a broad period of time rather quickly. Within the article is a sidebar that I wrote on my artwork. I share with the readers where and why I began doing paintings of magicians. And then there are two effects that I share with the readers as well.

For those unfamiliar, I am a columnist for this magazine and I write a bi-monthly column on magic. The name of my column is ‘Conjuring for Kids’ though that is hardly accurate. I think only one column actually had an effect specifically for kids, the rest of the columns have been mostly magic geared towards families, meaning adults and kids.

My column is getting a make-over next month and I'm renaming the column All Things Magical, as that is for more appropriate given the monthly content.

One thing I'd like to add about the Kidabra Conf/Magazine/Organization, though it does cater to the family and kidshow performer, the content within the magazine is some of the best you'll ever read. Solid marketing advice, solid management advice, the tricks are fantastic and practical (very rarely will you find a card trick). The articles are written mostly by full time entertainers and or those with many many years of experience. I've been writing for the magazine for three years.

* In August of 2010, I presented a lecture at the Kidabra Conference, and also hosted an event called 'The Magic Detective'.

(this is a reprint from July 18th, 2010, previous blog)

A Day In The Life

Since my previous blog died on me (actually my computer died and fowled everything up), I was forced to move my blog over here. Whereas my previous blog covered everything, I've broken it up since the move into three separate blogs. The Magic History stuff is covered under www.deancarnegie.blogspot.com, The Art related stuff  and everything else is covered under www.artistofmystery.blogspot.com

Let me say as a performer and one who knows a lot of other full time entertainers, the climate for entertainment is really rough. I know of a bunch of people that have just decided to get out of the business all together. I know of a lot of folks whose show numbers are way down. And I know folks whose numbers are way up.

The full time entertainment business is not for the weak or unsure. It's also not for those who aren't willing to occasionally suffer for your art. I remember a few years back when people were getting into magic full time like it was the easiest job in the world. Now I look and most of those folks are gone.

Personally, though I've felt the 'roughness' as well, it just means you have to work even harder for the gigs than you did before. And if you aren't willing to work harder, then you shouldn't be in this business anyway. I love what I do and I work at it 24/7. Ok, maybe not 24/7, but rest assured I'm thinking about it right up until the moment I fall asleep. Often in the middle of the night I wake up with some idea or concept that I'll have to write down to insure it's not forgotten. This is the way of things for a full timer.

Looking at 2011, I see a year of excitement and energy and record setting show schedule. I'm thrilled that the new year is upon us. It's going to be great, just wait and see!

Houdini Again

I'm doing a little cross promotion for myself today. The painting above is of the eyes of Houdini. And most of the artwork you'll see here will be magic related, though I might slip the odd non-magic thing in on occasion. If you are interested in magic as well as my art, you must visit my other blog at www.deancarnegie.blogspot.com   That blog is devoted to the history of magic and is very heavy on Houdini history.

The painting above was done in acrylics about ten years ago. The desire was to capture the hypnotic look in the eyes which is why everything else is very basic but the eyeballs have detail. The photo doesn't quite to justice to the actual painting. I've received a lot of comments over the years as every magician picks out that it's HOUDINI even without seeing the rest of the face.

One Other From Magic Hat Series

I almost forgot this one. I guess because this is technically the oddball. You see all of the Magic Paintings are of magicians named Harry, except this one. The first was Harry HOUDINI, the second was Harry KELLAR, third Harry BLACKSTONE, next Harry JANSEN, last Harry ANDERSON. This one is Alexander Herrmann.

This guy is interesting. First, he really was the first BIG magician in America even before Harry Kellar. Herrmann however wasn't so much an Illusionist, though he did have a couple large effects in his show. And from what I've read, he was quite the comedian. Alexander Herrmann is the fellow where we get the iconic image of the magician and the top hat and mustache. Though I'm not sure Herrmann ever wore a top hat, but mustache, you bet!

This painting was actually #4 in the series. It matches Kellar in style, but for whatever reason I think I missed on the Blackstone. Regardless, it's a very cool painting. I tried to chose magicians who wore different hats. Kellar and Harry Anderson have fedoras but at least they are different colors. And surprisingly only one magician wears a top hat and that is Harry Jansen, known professionally as Dante.

Chung Ling Soo - Impressionism

I think this might have been the first attempt at trying Impressionism. I can't recall now, it was either this or the Marco that you read about earlier. Needless to say they were both done at the same time. This one actually received a bit of alteration several years after it was first completed. I never was happy with it so I altered the curtains in the background. I don't know if that is against the rules of painting but tough, it was done.

This is on canvas board and of course painting in acrylics and painted mostly with a pallet knife.

The painting is of Chung Ling Soo a vaudeville magician who was really an American named William Robinson. He created this chinese character after seeing the real chinese magician Ching Ling Foo. Soo died on stage while performing the very dangerous Bullet Catching Trick.

In the movie 'The Prestige' Chung shows up very briefly in the early part of the movie. He is the only real life magician mentioned in the movie all the others are fictional.

Another Marco

Here you have my Mom and Dad standing in front of my first painting of Cesareo Pelaez also known as Marco the Magi. This hangs in the gallery of the Larcom Theatre in Beverly Mass. This was a gift to the company from me for all the many blessings they bestowed upon me. They are just the nicest group of people.

If you are interested in finding out more about that group, visit their website at www.Legranddavid.com or if you are in the Boston area, go see their show!

Marco The Magi

This is not the best photo of this piece but I can't seem to locate any others. This is Cesareo Pelaez of the LeGrand David Magic Company is Beverly Mass. I have painted Cesearo, who performs under the character name Marco the Magi, several times. This is my all time favorite painting of him done in an impressionistic style. I will say it never photographs well. The background curtains are a burgundy color but they just look black here. This was my first or second attempt at impressionism.

This also appeared in the 2007 issue of MAGIC Magazine though it was not on display in Las Vegas.

Art Exhibition 2007

This is a convention in Las Vegas called 'MAGIC Live'. It's put on by MAGIC Magazine and is one of the hottest conventions of it's kind. The editor of the magazine, Stan Allen asked me if I could send some of my artwork to display during the convention. I agreed. He extended an invitation to the convention with that request but it wasn't until last minute that I was able to go and then I could only stay for the first evening and had to go back home for shows.

I must say this was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed talking with folks about my artwork. The Cardini and the Doug Henning were the two pieces that received the most chatter that night. The Robert-Houdin is right behind my head and the abstract Dante is directly behind me out of view. All of these paintings were featured in the Sept 2007 MAGIC Magazine as well along with one other that I'll share next...

Robert Houdin

Yesterday was his birthday! Happy Birthday Robert-Houdin. The Father of Modern Magic. Well, the Father of Victorian Aged Magic is more accurate. This is the fellow Harry Houdini got his name from.
I have a lot of respect and admiration for Robert Houdin and the more I read about him the more intrigued I become. This was the first Houdin painting but I assure you will not be the last. I added the clock on his lapel as a subtle tip-off of who he is. Though one magic friend said "It's Carl Ballentine!" and I had to laugh because it kinda looks like him as well. But no, it's Robert-Houdin the great french magician and inventor.

Dante Abstract

This was an early abstract caricature, not even sure the  year, might have been late 90s. Anyway, this is Dante again, Harry Jansen. This painting appeared on the September 2007 cover of MAGIC Magazine. It's one of my favorite abstract caricatures. Dante is a very iconic figure in the world of stage illusionists.

By now you'll also notice my painting styles are all over the board. Actually this is a very early style that I worked in and moved on from. I'll post a couple more of this style so you can see the variety.

Cardini The Great Manipulator

This is probably the most popular of all my paintings. This has appeared on the covers of MAGIC Magazine and also ELAN Magazine which is an art magazine. It's a fairly small painting of Cardini and I'll tell you why. I was sitting in my old studio and decided to go ahead and paint. The only thing I had handy was a small canvas board and I threw a sketch on and just started throwing colors down, not really expecting anything to come out of it. In fact, there was a second painting that I had done first and it was junk so I didn't expect this to be anything either.

In this case, I happened to get up to get a drink and when I came back I saw the painting at a distance and marveled at what how it was taking shape. I had to fix the monocle as it didn't look right at first. The top hat he is wearing is mostly out of the frame of the canvas, but for some reason it works. I've had offers of a couple thousand dollars for this one and so far I've turned down the offers. This is one of the few that I probably won't sell anytime soon.

The painting is of Richard Pitchford, better known as CARDINI. He was the greatest stage magic manipulator in the history of the art. His act was copied by hundreds of performers but no one ever got close to the charm that Cardini possessed. This is actually my second Cardini painting. The first was a commission that is very different than this one. Today the commissioned piece sits in a private collection in California.

Harry Anderson # 6 in Magic Hat Series

Here is Harry Anderson, known as Harry The Hat in the magic world. He went off and became a big ole famous Hollywood Actor and left magic behind for a while. Actually, I don't think he ever left magic behind. He is a brilliant thinker and great performer. This was to be the finale painting in the Magic Hat Series. I often think about doing more, but if I do it will have to be a new series, not additions to this one.

Harry is in acrylics, like most of my art. He is 20x24 if I remember correctly.

Dante #5 Magic Hat Series

This is Harry Jansen, also known as Dante the Magician. He is said to be the successor to Howard Thurston, who was Kellar's successor. Dante was an interesting performer. I think he spent most of his time overseas performing, but as the War was getting to break out in Europe he came home. Dante is very much the traditional magician in appearance with the tuxedo and top hat. Though in his case the cigar also became part of his trade mark look. Adding to his look was a phrase or set of magic words that also became associated with Dante, Sim Sala Bim. He used it as the name of his show and also as the words he would say just before a feat of magic. After he left Europe the name was picked up by a German magician Kalanag and he used it as if it were his own.

The Dante is painted in acrylics. It's probably my favorite of the six Magic Hat paintings. It's the same size as the Kellar, 20x24 and it is also my second Dante painting.

Blackstone Sr. 3 in Magic Hat Series

Harry Blackstone Sr. was a contemporary of Houdini. They were friendly enemies. Blackstone continued to perform into the 50s and 60 and died in 1965. Some of his signature routines included The Dancing Handkerchief and the Floating Light Bulb. His son Harry Jr. would also become a magician and perform many of his fathers routines in a contemporary fashion.

This was a piece that I was unhappy with. Even today I dislike it. It doesn't have the same look as the Kellar. To me it seems as if my artistic abilities went backwards instead of forwards. This is my own personal criticism. I have many people who love the Blackstone/Hat, so though I may not agree, I'm not going to argue.

This piece is acrylic as well and the size is larger than the Houdini and the Kellar. This one is 24x30.

Harry Kellar - Magic Hat Series

Harry Kellar is one of my favorite magicians. Though I must admit my favorite magicians list is pretty long! Harry Kellar was the first big named illusionist in America. His performing career spanned the late 1800's until around 1910. When Frank Baum was writing the Wizard of Oz he used Kellar as his inspiration for the Wizard character.

Kellar was my second piece in The Magic Hat Series. I did not rush this one like I did the Houdini. In fact, it sat for almost a month with only 1/3rd of it having been painted before I really got serious about it. Once I did get my mind straight on it, I finished it rather quickly. I thought it was a natural progression from the Houdini and was very happy with the finished piece.

This painting is slightly larger than the Houdini. This one is 20x24 and was painted with acrylics.

The Fine Art of Magic - Houdini

I have been a magician for more my entire adult life. The only thing I've been interested in almost as long is art. There was a period of time when I was 'art free' meaning I didn't do anything related to art. But I picked it up again a few years ago and have enjoyed every minute of it.

Most of my art is related to what I do, magic. So the majority of my artwork consists of paintings of magicians. There are close to 100 paintings of various magicians and when the urge strikes, the number usually jumps up by intervals of 5 or 10. I have a feeling there may be some new artwork coming before 2010 is over.

For now though I'd like to start with the piece above. This is the first painting in a series that I call "The Magic Hat Series".  It's Harry Houdini wearing a hat. This was supposed to be an exercise in painting. I honestly didn't expect it to turn out the way it did. I just started throwing colors down on the canvas and the result surprised me. Once the face was done I slowed down a lot and I wish I hadn't. I wish I had just gone crazy during the entire thing. Of course I may have ruined it, but I still think it looks quite cool. This painting is 16x20.

I work in acrylics primarily and usually on canvas or canvas board. My artwork has been featured on the covers of a couple magazines. It's also been featured in a book on Magic & Art. I have several pieces hanging in the Gallery of the Larcom Theatre in Beverly Mass. There are also a number of pieces in private collections.