The Devil Queen

How my wife and I sold our souls to the Queen Anne Victorian we tried to save.

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Location: Crow Mountain, Arkansas, United States

Synopsis: This is a cautionary tale. A seriously disturbed couple find the charming, old ruin of a Queen Anne Victorian in Russellville, Arkansas, and buy it for $1.00. They tore the roof off, cut it in half, and had it moved to some land they owned sixteen miles away because they didn't know any better. Since then, they have hired and fired contractors, had all of their tools stolen, re-wired, re-plumbed, insulated, and essentially rebuilt the entire house. Their only problem is that after four years it still isn't finished. Now they are tired, broke, and wonder what in the hell it is they've done to themselves. And, it's haunted.
(Last updated on April 3, 2008)

Press: Russellville Courier Article - December 2003, HGTV website article, AP story - October 2006, and Victorian Homes Magazine - February 2008 (link coming soon).
Art: From time to time, I receive requests for my art. If you would like to look at more of my art, go to The Failed Artist. If you would like to buy my art, email me. I am more than happy to answer any questions you might have. Thanks!

Friday, September 14, 2007

Gonzo, That's What We Do

Apparently, our 2006 Halloween Sabbath was quite a success; we've been informed that we will be having another one this year. Scarlet and I weren't satisfied with the level of fear we were able to achieve last year, so we are trying to think of things we might do to terrorize our friends and acquaintances. Suggestions?

Costumes are concern as well. To further my goal of becoming the Hunter S. Thompson of home improvement, I think I ought to devote some serious time to the full immersion approach to touch my inner Gonzo. Specifically, with Halloween just a few short weeks away, I think that I will become the man himself for the duration of that one hallowed eve.

Really though, houseblogs almost have to be Gonzo, don't they? From the ever dubious source of factual information, Wikipedia:


"The word gonzo was first used to describe a 1970 story written by Hunter S. Thompson, who later popularized the style. The term has since been applied in kind to other highly subjective artistic endeavors.
Gonzo journalism tends to favor style over accuracy and often uses personal experiences and emotions to provide context for the topic or event being covered. It disregards the 'polished' edited product favored by newspaper media and strives for the gritty factor. Use of quotes,
sarcasm, humor, exaggeration, and even profanity is common. The use of Gonzo journalism portends that journalism can be truthful without striving for objectivity and is loosely equivalent to an editorial."

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5 Comments:

Blogger amanda said...

We have loved our wonderfully eccentric house painter since we first hired him in 2005. In addition to doing awesome work, he is quite a character. Due to our glowing recommendation, our next door neighbors hired him to paint their house this spring. We work outside the home, and usually only saw this guy for a few minutes a day or spoke with him on the phone. After observing his actual methods and having way more interaction with him than we did, our neighbors started calling him "The Gonzo Painter". It's an accurate and colorful description!

10:23 AM  
Blogger SEA said...

Hi John -

This is really an artist question: what's a "cradled panel"? You mention that some of your paintings are on those, and I don't know what they are.

Cheers,
Susan

10:23 AM  
Blogger John said...

Amanda, you've gotta love Gonzo!

Susan,

A cradled panel is a wooden panel (roughly 1/8 to 1/4 an inch thick) which is backed with thick wooden supports along the outer edges and, on larger panels, cross pieces as well. These offer more support to the panel and prevent warping. If I think about it, I'll take some pictures of the reverese side of one for you. Hope that helps.

10:50 AM  
Blogger SEA said...

Thanks - that does answer my question. Next question. How can I buy one of your paintings?

7:16 AM  
Blogger John said...

Susan,

Email me at thedevilqueen(AT)hotmail(DOT)com or just leave a post telling me which painting you'd like and how to contact you.

The shipping is included for the smaller paints. I haven't shipped one of the larger paintings yet, but, if the cost isn't too great, I'd be willing to include if for them as well.

Thank you for your interest and please let me know which one you are interested in.

Thanks!

- John

10:06 AM  

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