The Naked Silo

above painting: private collection each: 14" x 17", ink on paper, 2005

above painting: private collection above painting: private collection above painting: private collection each: 14" x 17", ink on paper, 2005

"A logo doesn't sell, it identifies. A logo derives its meaning from the quality of the thing it symbolizes, not the other way around. A logo is less important than the product it signifies; what it means is more important than what it looks like."  – Paul Rand  On New Year's Day this year my wife, Krista Dalby , came up with the notion to accompany an NGO to Ghana and take shadow puppetry and art supplies to the kids in small villages there, but it wasn't until late spring when she was having serious fundraisers and was deep in prep for this project that I first heard the phrase "puppets without borders" and I immediately knew I had to get graphically involved.  I had planned to start my concept doodles after I got home from my projectionist shift at The Regent Theatre one night, but inspiration struck while I was still in the projection booth, some Hollywood blockbuster flickering in the background, and all I had at hand was an envelope a

28" x 20", oil on canvas, 2012, private collection Back in February, Krista and I  held a contest to celebrate our two year anniversary at Small Pond Arts . We were kind of surprised to find, once everything was added up, just how much we had achieved in those two years. This wasn't about bragging because it was stuff we had to do out of necessity, but we thought it might inspire others to share the great things they had achieved...and that, in turn, might inspire others as well. The draw was random and on 15 March we had our winners; I was most concerned with the winner of the portrait since I'd be painting it. A local PEC man named Clinton won that and we discussed ideas for the painting over Facebook. It turns out he is a big comics fan and his favourite character is the Blue Beetle –and we figured it'd be a whole lotta fun if the portrait of Clinton had him wearing BB's costume. Being a fan myself, I was not only familiar with BB, but I even had a