“Non Sequitur 06/19/2017”

“Non Sequitur 06/19/2017”
by Wiley Miller (1951-)
6.5 x 17.25 in., ink on paper
Coppola Collection

I just had to have this one… it sums up my thinking about social media so well.

When I asked Wiley to inscribe it, I had noticed that the window on the right was blank… well, no more!

Reminder: Wiley championed the cool idea of providing publishers with cartoons that can be published in either of the traditional formats depending on how you crop the original.

“Marvels” (issue 1, p 37; issue 2, p 32) 1994

“Marvels” (issue 2, p 32) (1994)
by Alex Ross (1970-)
11 x 17 in., watercolor and gouache on board
Coppola Collection

These two pages come from “Marvels,” a four-issue series that brought artist Alex Ross onto the comics scene with his photorealistic, painted representations of superheroes. The series was a tale uniquely told from the perspective of a common man who was experiencing the hero emergence of the Marvel Universe, from 1939-1974. Ross’s current work is now carried by various art galleries (at art gallery prices).“Marvels” (issue 1, p 37) (1994)

by Alex Ross (1970-)
11 x 17 in., watercolor and gouache on board
Coppola Collection

Mirror Birthday

Mirror Birthday should be a thing.

Reflect your  lifetime backwards to get perspective on what those years mean.

This year is a fun one for a chemist. I’m 60, so go to my birth year (1957) and look backwards by 60 years to see what was going on in 1897.

1897: the year electrons were discovered, and Dow Chemical was founded

1957: electrons and Dow Chemical were as old as I am right now

And also, the pencil sharpener was patented, as well as the movie projector; the first internal combustion submarine sailed, Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” was published; and Oscar Wilde was released from the Gaol Prison.

“The Fortunate Shipwreck (galley 29)”

“The Fortunate Shipwreck (galley 29)” (1936)
by Norman Mills Price (1877-1951)
8.5 x 8.5 in., ink on board
Coppola Collection

The Fortunate Shipwreck was written by Gladys Blake, illustrated by Norman Mills Price, and published in 1936. A couple of the Price illustrations have surfaced, and this is one of them. On the back of the drawing it says:

“The Fortunate Shipwreck”

Caption – “I don’t think you are so very old, Grandmother, – Ummida is over a thousand. She told me so.” (galley 29)

By 1912, after a diverse and global art education, Price, a native of Ontario, was working in New York City as an illustrator. He was known and admired for the detailed historical research he would do for his drawings and paintings. He is thought to under-appreciated, in part, because he worked relatively slowly and meticulously, and this limited the volume of his output and his exposure. An honorary president of the Illustrator’s Society at the time of his death, he was certainly recognized by his peers.

Anatomy of a Commission (I)


“1957 Fire Rooster 2017” (2017)
by Daniel Macchiarini (1954-)
3.5 x 3.5 in. base with a 4.5 in. rooster,
in bronze with ebony and ivory inlays and copper highlights
Coppola Collection

Anatomy of a Commission (I)

In the Chinese tradition, your 60th birthday is a huge deal because it represents the restarting of the life cycle dictated by the combination of the 12 zodiac signs and the 5 elements coming back around. The year 1957 ushered in the fire rooster, and 2017 marks its return.

I decided to commission a couple of special name stamps with my adopted Chinese name (高伯乐), the one I use for the name of the art gallery at this site. My artist of choice was by buddy, Danny Macchiarini, some of whose works I have featured here.

The Chinese imperials had two kinds of personal stamps. The first kind was a large and ostentatious block, so I wanted a good-sized chunk of bronze, on the order of a 3.5-4 inch cube, with a carved stamp in the bottom and topped with a rooster. Danny could have three of the four sides to make his modernist designs, and the name would appear right-side on one face to match the mirrored carving on the bottom surface.

Danny designed an excellent rooster, filled with attitude, who was cast separately from the base. Here are a few steps in the process of the lost wax method.

The wax sculpture

The wax carving of the bottom face, with the stamp

The casting of the rooster

The casting of the bottom face

The casting of the rest of the cube, assembled and polished

Next up, a small and diamond-crusted name stamp, with a rooster, done in gold. Did I mention that 60 was a big deal?

“Tumbleweeds” (02/15/1979)

“Tumbleweeds” (02/15/1979)
by Tom K. Ryan (1929-)
5.5 x 18 in., ink on paper
Coppola Collection

From 1965-2007, with his clean art lines and classical, gag-a-day wit, Tom Ryan led a 42-year stint on telling the story of the denizens of Grimy Gulch (population 49), the 6 7/8 Cavalry from the nearby Fort Ridiculous, and the members of the Poohawk tribe. The Poohawk named Lotsa Luck, who stars in this episode, was my personal favorite. He was snarky before snarky was in, and for years only communicated via his ever-present note pad.

“Surf” and “Seas”


Cloudy Sea” (2012)
by Oriana Kacicek (1986-)
6 x 6 in., oil on linen
Coppola Collection

A few days ago I posted a seascape by Barbara Kacicek (Oriana’s mom) that was so evocative that I had named it Mood Indigo. I am continually taken by any artist’s ability to evoke tone and mood through their medium… whether it is paint, pencil, music, stage, or in movement.

Given that the only one of these things I can barely do is art, I am drawn to artists. When you look at Cloudy Sea (above), I get that sense of a passed storm and imminent clearing. In Surf (just below), I get the completely different feeling of the joyful sunny day. And seeing them together creates, for me, a contrast and sharpening of the difference precisely because of the side-by-side comparison. Look at Cloudy Sea II (bottom of entry) and see how different it is – for the story it tells – compared with Cloudy Sea (above), and how those different values become more acute when you view them together.


Surf” (2012)
by Oriana Kacicek (1986-)
6 x 6 in., oil on linen
Coppola Collection


Cloudy Sea II” (2012)
by Oriana Kacicek (1986-)
6 x 6 in., oil on linen
Coppola Collection