Claude Lyles Artworks / Estudio Cielo Azul LLC: June 2020

Enjoy the photos, you should be able to click on to open them up and even pinch open further.

Since I shut down my website, several of you have asked how you can see my art in one place. Well, I have just the answer: through Art St Louis you can use ArtLoupe; the link is below

artloupe.org

Now the (kind of ) bad news...You need to view it through their app on your mobile device, won't work on your laptop, desktop, or tablet. The benefit is that you can click on "artist" and input Lyles and see all of my active pieces, a price, and an easy way to order. For me it is palatable that they only charge 10% commission. If you select a piece to purchase ArtLoupe will notify me, create a mailing label for me and all I have to do is package it up and mail it. It will add a S&H cost to you, usually approximatelyely $15 dollars. You can charge it or use your Pay Pal account.

I am making more use of links, music and visual. Click on them and then you might have a second link to search. Some locations, such as YouTube generate revenue for your "free" viewing by running ads, so be patient. On occasion there is a "skip ad" button. Sometimes it will load and start when you go there, sometimes you need to click on the white arrow in the red box.

I hope you enjoy the updates to my art and life as presented in this blog. IF you don't like the political stuff and don't want to receive future blogs just say so, no hard feelings. So far, only two have taken me up on the offer. With that in mind, remember:

Below the Fold below is where lies controversial stuff, if you don't want to go there, stay above.

And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, I present:

New Art:
tweaked art - I don't want to hold up the blog while I finish some new pieces...
Tweaked this one, I felt what I thought was finished was too flat. Better now.

Garden of The Gods, CO Springs, CO oil on canvas board 8 x 10"

And, just to show you, I have started 6 oils and one large format acrylic. We'll see where they go.

Distant Art - my 7 pieces in Colorado at the Wynbrier Gallery, two others have sold.

Florida: With a Saint Louis touch. Gene was flight director for ALL astronaut launches until Saturday's flight in Florida. He attended SLU. Played By Ed Harris n movies, pretty good likeness, especially when they gave him a flattop cut.

Mother Nature?

Human Interest: Hmmm. Had to bury her daughter at only 83...

From Walter Williams, a Black economist who makes a lot of sense...

"Imagine that you are an unborn spirit in heaven. God condemns you to a life of poverty but will permit you to choose the country in which you will spend your life. Which country would you choose? I would choose the United States of America."

Link to full article

Watching: It is race season so...click on the link and Ride Away
Vettel lap around F1 Monaco GP A little over 2 minutes, a lot more downhill than I remember.

St Louis had a wonderful homegrown band, Bob Kuban and The In Men. Bob was a longtime teacher and headed the music program at Bishop DuBourg (Jack Dorsey) for years. They were the go-to band for teen clubs in STL, such as Magdalen. His singer was named Walter Scott, family name Nottheis. St. Mary's HS grad. Wally was a pretty good singer. They had two great songs, one charted at # 12 The Cheater. Superb drumming, key changes, a "live" Fender Strat sound, with ringing chords and a little hook, And, as you always need, a good, fun story, this one with an ironic twist ending.

Here is a link to listen to, you might remember it.

WLS FLASHBACK FAVORITES PLAYS The Cheater

I liked, as much or more another song that came out almost simultaneously, by The Fortunes You've Got Your Troubles, (I've Got Mine.) I think the Kuban version had more soul, gravitas, urgency. But both are good. For your listening pleasure. YouTube, one version by BKuban.

And now, the rest of the story...
Wally was murdered and it was featured on Forensic Files. Big deal in South St. Louis.
about 20 minutes long

Watching and Listening: This is from Eric Clapton's 2013 Crossroads Festival. 1. EC is playing with sheer pleasure; at about the 1:40 mark he sings Sunshine of Your Luvuvuvuv (4 times); when he smiles at the band about 5 minutes in, just a great time on stage. 2. That is NOT Ginger Baker on drums but true to the original track. 3. Doyle Bramhall II helps him on the high notes. I think this was EC's last Crossroads Festival. ONE of the greatest live recordings of all time, 6 minutes of pleasure

More listening: I have decided that Ringo (no last name) is the most underrated rock drummer of all time...listen with purpose on his Beatle tracks; and, two drummers who truly changed style for rock, Ginger Baker and Keith Moon. Last, I'm always thankful for The Allman Brothers for having dual drummers, great sound to offset Gregg Allman's soulful sound.

Reading: This isn't below the fold because it affects us all, The NY Times censors off its Best Seller list because the author is a sitting Republican, veteran Senator. She was outselling the 2nd place by 5x's. The fifth on the list is a clear leftist anti-American, but she was included.

WWII:

I was reading about our air and sea battles around the Philippines and New Guinea and have never paid attention to how many islands are in this area, and the vast amount of water and real estate that needed to be conquered. The Japanese had 200 airfields in this area! This was in Air & Space from the Smithsonian; an article on how deadly were our P-38's, but how tragic a misplaced sense of PR can be. This particular ACE was all of 25 when he died. Remember when you were 25? Your son or daughter?

Gerald R Johnson, not to be confused with Gerald K Johnson, he ended his war career with 22 kills.

In 1945...

Take a second to remember our troops.

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Humor: Don't fall for this, I tried it.

A reader's response:

Below The Fold---------------------------------------

Enter at your own risk:

Its not all negative or bad in this section: "We should never despair, our Situation before has been unpromising and has changed for the better, so I trust, it will again. If new difficulties arise, we must only put forth new Exertions and proportion our Efforts to the exigency of the times." —George Washington (1777)

And. In his essay "The Contest In America," 19th century libertarian philosopher John Stuart Mill wrote, "War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things; the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks nothing worth a war, is worse. A man who has nothing which he cares more about than he does about his personal safety is a miserable creature who has no chance at being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself." Expanding on this thought, Mark Alwxandr writes, in part...

It is that "decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling" which accounts for why so many "miserable creatures" have downgraded Memorial Day to nothing more than a date to exploit for commercial greed and avarice. While America's Armed Forces stand in harm's way around the globe, many Americans are too preoccupied with beer, barbecue and baseball to pause and recognize the priceless burden borne by generations of our uniformed Patriots.

It is also why such "miserable creatures," are found in abundance today among leftist cadres on college and university campuses, in the leftist halls of the Capitol building and in the slums of their Leftmedia echo chambers.

That notwithstanding, there are still tens of millions of genuine American Patriots who will set aside the last Monday in May to honor all those fallen Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coastguardsmen who have refreshed the Tree of Liberty with their blood, indeed with their lives, so that we might remain the proud and free. Who are these brave souls? Spend some time on the internet to find out.

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Another Day, Another Walk, Another MIZZOU license plate...Near Barnes & Noble on my walk to Starbuck's for a morning hot, whole milk latte with two Stevia.

So, I approached the driver/owner as he returned to the car and I was walking home. I introduced myself and told him my class year (highly classified over the last 10 years). He said he was a '70 undergrad and '72 Masters. We talked about how crazy were those days, Black Jack Matthews, Black Panters, Weather Underground, etc. After the Kent State murders. Mizzou, at the protesters' request allowed students to take the grade they were holding, rather than take a final, as this was in early May. Thus, they could "march for peace." He proudly told me he marched. He also said that his children, (40ish?) thought today's marches, protests, looters, rioters , were on to something never before seen in the USA. Shame on this guy if that is true of his children. My remembrance was of the students walking around with cardboard signs that had melted in the incessant rain, ankle deep in mud at Sanford field. My roommate and I took the grades rather than the finals and spent three days playing tennis in-between the rain storms and had the courts all to ourselves. Worked out great all around.

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I know it is parody, but awfully close to home...