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  1. TITLE:  JESUS  BROKE  OUT  the  LAMBCHOP  PUPPET 


  2. and  HIRED  an  ANGEL 


  3. to  TRY and   CHEER  UP  a CLINICALLY DEPRESSED  
    PAUL  
    McCARTNEY



  4. apologies for the odd formatting in this ad. 
  5. I'll fix it with a new ad as soon as I can-


  6. I've just added some pics of this painting showing up in 
  7. some of my new kata billups videos 
  8. (they show the scale of this largest rock and roll icon art pieces yet to date).





  9. This piece is over 5 feet high and 7 feet wide.

  10. like the title says I turned down a 150,000 dollar offer on this piece.-



  11. Thousands of collectors across the USA,
  12. Canada, and Europe own my work. 
  13. many celebrities also collect my work. 
  14. Willie Nelson, Trisha Yearwood, Susan Sarandon
  15. Julia Roberts, Jimmy Vaughan and R.E.M. are just a few ...

  16. and as I mentioned above- please check out some of my new youtubes - 
  17. about my artwork. 

  18. This painting shows up in the background of quite few of them. 
  19. just put kata billups videos 
  20. in your search bar









  21. In this scenario from my imagination
  22. shows Jesus visiting a clinically depressed Paul McCartney.
  23. He is sitting on Paul's right side and slides a Lamb chop
  24.  Puppet in to Paul's peripheral field of vision.
  25. Paul hasn't bothered to get out of his robe.
  26. His white socks dangle off the ends of his toes.
  27. He is depressed and disheveled.
  28. On the wall behind him is the cause of his plight...
  29. Yoko...
  30. (some say she broke up the band)...
  31. but I include here a good retort to that from two
  32. anonymous writers via a Beatles fan site I visited recently--
  33. these comments are in a small font---
  34. "It's not that people think they wouldn't have broken up because of her
  35. because their break up was inevitable. But people just hate her. Like me,
  36. I can't stand her. Not because of what she used to do, but because of what
  37. she's doing to Julian. For not letting Cyn go to John's funeral. There are so
  38. many things people hate her for... I agree that those are terrible things,
  39. you are definitely right about that. I just get tired of people blaming her
  40. specifically for the break-up, and that happens A LOT. People have
  41. simplified it to that point. I’m not defending her as an ideal person
  42. or anything, it’s just the scapegoating and the “Yoko” trope
  43. (Ever been called a Yoko? Even without me saying anything, you all know
  44.  what that implies). Not to mention the misogyny and racism that gets
  45. directed at her for no reason other than her proximity to John".

  46. back to my painting.... 
  47. Paul has a paint brush and has scrawled
  48. an 'X' through one of Yoko's pictures
  49. he also painted red "devils horns" on another Yoko poster.
  50. and Yoko is crumpled on the floor. 
  51. to quote John Lennon on this topic- "I've always thought there
  52. was this underlying thing in Paul's 'Get Back.' When we were in the
  53. studio recording it, every time he sang the line 'Get back to where you once belonged," he'd look at Yoko." 

  54. The angel wears a Japanese robe and fuzzy fake leopard slippers.
  55. She is turning around to smile at the viewer as she sweeps the floor.
  56. Jesus' expression is slightly mischievous.
  57. He knows that Paul doesn't want to communicate directly-
  58. so he moves the puppet's little lambswool mouth
  59. and uses a silly falsetto voice in an attempt to cheer Paul up.
  60. Like many of my paintings, there are elements within the
  61. piece that are autobiographical.
  62. The setting for this painting is the tiny living room of an old house
  63. by a railroad that I rented while attending Graduate School.
  64. My beloved old German shepherd (Zoe) lies on her old blue mat at Paul's feet.
  65. A couple of my other Beatles paintings are displayed on the living room
  66. walls. The big Lazy-boy chair is one I found at Goodwill.
  67. The green and white 50's hassock and old floral covered chair (far right)
  68. I found at yard sales.
  69. The purple drapes and painted wooden "stage"
  70. base were not actual to my little house
  71. but I added them near the completion of the painting to give
  72. the piece a stage presence - (yes, all the world is a stage...).
  73. Please allow me direct you to my graduate THESIS
  74. (see paragraph and link below).
  75. It will explain more about my quest to paint Jesus the way I see him
  76. (in real time- with real emotions- interacting with people throughout
  77.  the world regardless of their status, problems, biases.


  78. overview: ABOUT MY GRADUATE THESIS:   The goal of my Graduate 
  79. Thesis was to portray Jesus in real time and with the full gamut of emotions
  80. in twenty first American culture. Some may find the above painted scenario frivolous.
  81. Please remember it is only ONE example of the goal of my THESIS
  82. (to show Jesus as an emotional being). One painting can not show ALL
  83. the span of emotions. As I mentioned in the preceding paragraph,


  84. I chose to show Jesus' humor, wit, satire and compassion in this scene.
  85. The piece also expressed (for me) Jesus' ability to cross time and culture lines
  86.  This is where my work becomes serious behind a seemingly frivolous facade.  

  87. overview: ABOUT THE PROBLEMS AMERICANS FACE:  America has been known
  88. for its frivolity over the past few decades. The eighties was known as the "me"
  89. generation and was a time for getting rich from empty dot coms. The people
  90. of many countries have recently experienced much graver conditions than most
  91. Americans- but Americans may soon know the dangers and challenges which
  92. much of the rest of the world understands. The American economy is in serious
  93. trouble. We have exported some of the things we Americans do best
  94. (invention and production). Our textile mills are only one of the hundreds
  95. of industries that are now based overseas. Thomas Jefferson had strong
  96. warnings for America if the majority of its citizens ever became anything
  97. other than agrarian. He explained that this is the only way to remain self sufficient
  98. and independent individually and as a nation.

  99. The twentieth century witnessed bizarre measures to break apart the family farm. Crazy things happened- like our Government paying subsidies for farmers NOT to produce. 
  100. Many of our elected officials are driven my greed and a lust for power. They have created new credos of policing other countries and now declare wars without the proper Constitutional "permission"
  101. This alone engenders much of the disdain we Americans encounter by the rest of the world. 

  102. One third of American homes are in foreclosure, 
  103. millions of Americans have been robbed of their savings and pensions by greedy elites and bankers. Although in some ways we Americans have grown up like children, 
  104. we have not been immune to suffering. Our suffering has been more of the silent type. 

  105. The statistics in our country show very high rates of sexual and spousal abuse. 
  106. Our enlisted men and women are suffering record levels of post traumatic stress and suicide. 

  107. Therefore the point of this painting remains: no matter the tribe or tongue we come from, 
  108. Jesus sees, cares, and is ready to become the type of friend we need Him to be. He is ready and able to heal a leper, or to befriend a depressed rock star. 

  109. I have painted more "serious" paintings but they can be perceived as "preachy" in our post-Christian culture.







  110. ARTIST's TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION :

  111. 1.  This Original painting is entirely hand painted (by me of course)
  112. on heavy cotton canvas. 

    It was painted during the second year of my time in Graduate School 
  113. (while receiving my M.F.A.). 
    It is signed and dated 2004.

    2.  The medium used is acrylic on canvas. 

    Acrylic paints are now equal to or superior to oil paints. 

    If the acrylic paint is a high quality pigment (such as the ones I use).

  114. the longevity and steadfastness are often superior to oil paints.
  115. A little known fact about oil paint is if the artist does not have
  116. decades of experiencing with the medium- oil paint can easily
  117. crack and chip after about a decade. This is due to the improper
  118. mixing of the drier and other mediums in the oil paint itself.


    DETAILS about ART WORK, FRAME and SHIPPING:
     
    1.  The painting is a PRIMARY ORIGINAL of my work 

    2.  The frame will be of extremely high quality and 
  119. and measures 66" high and 88" across.
  120. will cost over 2,000 dollars. 
         If the buyer prefers the piece to be unframed I will stretch 
  121. the piece on 4" to 6" WIDE stretcher bars and paint the sides
  122. per the buyers instructions. This will be a "gallery wrap" style of framing.

    3.  If the buyer wants the piece sent to a destination within the 
  123. 48 United States of America I will stretch and frame the work
  124. and transport it by commercial freight service.
       
    4.  If the buyer wants the piece shipped to a destination 
  125. outside of the 48 Continental United States I will ship the painting -
  126. properly rolled into a cylindrical shape- and inside a wooden box.
CATEGORIES OF WORK


  1. 1. PRIMARY ORIGINALS 
    These are the most time consuming and generally the largest in scale of my works.
    They are owned by hundreds of Private Individuals and many Museums worldwide.
    One Primary Original work of art can take me weeks, months or even years to create.

    I generally create only five to twenty pieces of this type work per year. 

    2. VERSIONS OF WORK
    These are generally the second most time consuming and expensive of my works.
    They are entirely hand painted Versions of certain of my Primary Original Paintings 
    The demand for them arose when Patrons admired my previously sold
    PRIMARY ORIGINAL pieces and wanted something similar but not necessarily as expensive.
    They are similar to but in no way identical to the Primary Originals after which they take their inspiration.
    They are also not merely a re-painting of my PRIMARY ORIGINALS
    because each one contains new artistic- discoveries.
    For instance, I am often inspired to rework the figures settings and colors- in ways
    which never occurred in the PRIMARY ORIGINALS.
    They become an extension- a continuation of the PRIMARY ORIGINALS
    from
     which they are inspired.
    I typically spend a week, two weeks or even longer on each piece.
    They sometimes (but do not always) have unique frames which
    I embellish with one-of-a-kind mattes and vintage objects de' art and unusual titles.
    They may be framed very simply - or be painted on gallery wrap canvas which requires no frame.
    I create only between ten to fifty pieces in this category of work each year.
    All these pieces are ethically technically legally
    (and in every way) Original Paintings.

    3. REPLICA ORIGINALS
    These are generally my least expensive category of work.
    They also take me the least amount of time overall.
    Unlike the VERSIONS of WORK category,
    (see 2. above)
    these pieces are as close to being identical to the PRIMARY ORIGINALS
     as I can possibly manage.
    The only exception being the frames.
    They are entirely hand-painted (generally smaller) replicas of certain Primary Originals
    Ethically, technically and in every way, these pieces are also Original Paintings.
    These pieces require weeks for me to complete.
    They often have very unusual frames which
    I embellish with one-of-a-kind mattes and vintage objects de' art and unusual titles.
    They may be painted on wood, canvas or other materials.
    I usually create between twenty to one hundred pieces in this category of work each year.

    NOTE: I'VE BEEN CREATING WORK IN CATEGORIES 2 AND 3 FOR APPROXIMATELY 20 TO 30 YEARS- 

    BUT BY THE END OF 2021 I HAVE DETERMINED TO COMPLETELY DISCONTINUE NEW CREATIONS IN THESE CATEGORIES. 

    I MADE THIS DECISION TO FOCUS MY ATTENTION ON 

    OTHER CREATIVE VENTURES SUCH AS THE OPENING OF MY FIRST PHYSICAL GALLERY, 

    CREATING NEW PRIMARY ORIGINALS, 

    MY YOUTUBE PRODUCTIONS AND SEVERAL SPIRITUAL GOALS.

    IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING PURCHASING A PIECE IN THIS CATEGORY THIS COULD BE VERY GOOD NEWS FOR YOU

    FOR SEVERAL REASONS. HERE ARE JUST A COUPLE OF THOSE REASONS...

    1. IT IS HISTORICALLY VALUABLE TO OWN PIECES THAT CONSTITUTE THE LAST IN THE SERIES OF AN ARTIST'S WORK. 

    2. LIMITING THE  AMOUNT OF PIECES IN CIRCULATION ELEVATES THE POTENTIAL 

    FOR AN ARTIST'S WORK TO APPRECIATE. THIS IS SIMPLY STATED IN THE OLD ADAGE 'SUPPLY AND DEMAND'.