What a great day! I am proud to be an artist today. I'm in Kansas City to unveil and donate the painting I created to celebrate the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. When Bob Kendrick from the Musuem asked me if I would create the piece, i was aprehensive. I wasn't sure i could do the subject justice. But the more that i've learned about the history of Black Americans in baseball, the prouder i am to have been asked to create this work.

Today would have been John "Buck" O'Neil's birthday. Buck is quite the hero here in KC and his name SHOULD be a household name. He was the first African-American coach in the Major Leagues and was instrumental in the building of the museum. He is a member of a very special club....a society of very special people who had a very special impact on our country. I had an appreciation for my subject before today, but after receiving a private tour of the Museum from Bob, i have a very new and very real appreciation for the impact and significance of the Negro Baseball Leagues. The Museum tells an incredible story of how hundreds of players and people persevered in order to participate in America's pasttime...the way this one sport and this one cultural phenomenon began the process of bringing the races together...ironically, the League were born of segregation, but in the end, they brought us together as a nation....white people and black people sat in the stands together to watch baseball games during a time when it was unheard of for the races to mix at social events...this began a huge and much-needed wave of change. And of course, there was Jackie Robinson...as Bob put it "there are two important dates in the progression of the civil rights movement in America....Before Jackie...and....After Jackie."

I was touched and honored and overwhelmed being here today. I am glad to include Bob Kendrick and all of the folks at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum among my friends and I look forward to working with them in the future.

Here's one little plug....we've created a small (75 pieces) 3-D limited edition series of prints based on the original painting to raise funds for the Museum. They are available excusively through the Museum and if you're interested in obtaining one of them, email Bob Kendrick (bkendrick@NLBM.com) directly. He's offering a 10% discount on the prints for members of my collectors club.

--Charles

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So, two weeks ago, i made one of my whirlwind tours through Germany and France. I started out flying from JFK in NY to Frankfurt, Germany....the major hub there. Frankfurt airport is HUGE...if you ever have to go there and make a connection, leave yourself lots of time if you aren't familiar with it. So, i started in Franfurt and then flew to Zurich, Switzerland. From Zurich, I took a train to Konstanz, Germany for my first show at Galerie Mensing. It was only my second time in Konstanz and it's absolutely gorgeous - the region is right on the biggest lake in Germany and when you look out on it, it's like looking at one of our Great Lakes. The bank is lined with cute restaurants and that's where the gallery is. Konstanz is very close to the Swiss border and there were a lot of Swiss at the show. My work has been shown in Switzerland for almost 15 years also.

After the show, i took the train back to Zurich where i spent the night...in the morning, i flew to Dusseldorf which is the closest big city to Baden-Baden, the site of my next show. This was my first trip to Baden-Baden, as Galerie Mensing had only recently opened their new location there. I took a taxi from Dusseldorf airport to Baden-Baden for the show...the landscape along the way was very interesting...and the city is a nice mixture of old and new....wonderful old churches there. It's known as "The Spa City" and people come from all over Germany to visit the Spas. Famous German Model Alexandra Kamp was a the show and i had never met her before either....what a wonderful person...just so down to earth...and of course, beautiful! We had a great time together.

After Baden-Baden, i took the train back to Dusseldorf where i had a show the following day. I love Dusseldorf and have been there many times. It's a big "shopping city" and Galerie Mensing has their gallery right in the heart of it...the Konigsalle...in a famous indoor mall called "The Sevens." I knew a lot of the collectors who came to that show...it was like seeing a group of old friends again...lots of fun.

Then it was off to France.... plane to Paris....did you know they have MOTORCYCLE TAXIS in Paris???? I have been there many times and never noticed...i couldn't help it this time because as i stood on the back of a long taxi line, a gentleman tapped me on the shoulder and tried to get me to go on his motorcycle taxi...i actually thought about it...but only for a minute...which was a good thing because a few minutes later, as I went through the tunnel in a taxi/van headed into the city....i spotted the same guy on his motorcycle taxi. He had a passenger on the back who had a backpack and i guess the poor guy had left the backpack open because his papers were flying all over the place behind him...oops. What a disaster....and those motorcycle drivers there are CRAZY. He was weaving in and out and zooming by...i think i would have had a heart attack if i'd driven on the back of that thing!

Well, my neice Sylvie met me in Paris ... she lives and works there and i always look forward to seeing her when i go there...and together, we took the train to Lyon. They have a new bullet train so the ride only took 2 1/2 hours.....but it made both me and Sylvie sick. ugh. We soon recovered though and Sylvie helped me the next day at a wonderful show at Galerie Nuances et Lumiere.....the show was packed and Mr. and Mrs. Azoulay, the owners of the gallery, did a fabulous job of gettting people there and showing them my work.

Sylvie and I didn't leave the gallery until after 10:30pm...we grabbed a quick pizza on the way back to the hotel and CRASHED. Next morning, it was a train back to Paris and a plane back to JFK....four cities in five days! Whew! No wonder i'm a little jet lagged still.

 --Charles

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I'm going to Kansas City next week. I've never been there and i'm really looking forward to it. I love travelling to new places! Let me know if there are any specific restaurants i should try to make sure i hit.

I'm going there for a really great reason. The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum asked me if i would create a pop art painting for installation in their collection. I was honored. I just finished it a couple of weeks ago and they asked me to come to Kansas City and dedicate it in a ceremony on what would have been John "Buck" O'Neil's 97th birthday. The painting features Buck in the middle and he was one of the greatest ambassadors baseball has ever had. The first African-American coach in Major League Baseball history, he was also instrumental in the building of the musuem which opened its doors in 1990. A limited edition 3-d print based on the painting will also be sold to raise funds for the Museum.

My mission as a pop artist is to capture all the different aspects of our popular culture. I'm honored to have been asked to create a work that pays tribute to a very important time in our history. And given the wonderful news of the day, and the incredible progress our nation has made...I feel that my painting is particularly meaningful today.

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I was reading a great blog entry last week about Andy Warhol and a biography written about him, Andy Warhol Prince of Pop.  The author wrote:

            Andy Warhol is inseparable from American Pop Art – an art movement that started in the 1960s and continues today. What made Warhol famous over and above other Pop artists (such as Roy Lichtenstein, Tom Wasselmann, James Rosenquist, Claes Oldenburg) was his application of this art form into media such as advertising, design, books, films, TV production and fashion. Besides, when other famous Abstract Expressionist artists of the time (such as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko) remained true to their oeuvre, Warhol shamelessly experimented with different media, form and content, extending the boundaries to establish his own style and standards not only on Pop Art, but also on contemporary American culture.

Andy Warhol is often referred to as the Father of the Pop Art Movement, which began in the 1960's. My first exposure to Andy Warhol's work....other than the famous soup can paintings....was his 3D movies in the 1970's....Andy Warhol's Dracula was a personal favorite. He was so avant garde in his film making. His sense of feeling wasn't like any movie i had ever seen before...very dark with strong sexual overtones. Very interesting for a movie about Dracula.

I think that what made Andy Warhol so incredibly special was how he was able to move into so many worlds with his artwork....very similar what Robert Rauschenberg accomplished but even more so. Warhol was into art, films, fashion, architecture, and advertising. His influence permeated every facet of popular American culture. He was a newsmaker and a celebrity presence.

What is amazing for me as an artist is to note the way that he was able to apply himself with equal energy to so many pursuits. For me, just creating the artwork that i create is all-absorbing. It's all i think about and all i do. It takes a great deal of energy. I can't imagine how much energy and focus it took for him to express himself in so many different ways.

I was once asked whether or not i was part of the next generation of pop artists, carrying on the work of Warhol, Rauschenberg, Rosenquist, etc. It's a hard question to answer. I look at how many of those artists were considered commercial and today are revered as famous fine artists. Sometimes i feel like i am going in that direction too - i hope so. I do believe that i and my contemporaries are the next generation in a sense...maybe i unconsciously feel an obligation to carry on the movement...but that makes it sound too important. It's not something i think about very often because it's too much pressure and i'm just not there yet. I ASPIRE to be considered the "next generation" and to have that responsibility...but only time will tell if that's how my work is seen.

--Charles

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I don't know any artist who doesn't have a sketch book. I'm no exception. I carry it with me all the time...work in it especially while i'm travelling...on the plane...in the hotel....my sketch book is my outlet for imagination....the only person i have to satisfy with my sketch book is me....it's where i go for free expression, experimentation, and to try out my ideas. I thought i would share a few of my more recent entries with you. Last weekend, my mom was visiting and we ended up drawing together. Can you tell which one is hers?

Adam used to work in our studio when he was going to school at Columbia for playwriting. Little did i know that we were in the presence of one of the greatest playwriters of the future. His "Food for Fish" is currently being performed by the Single Carrot Theatre in Baltimore. Read the reviews on Adam's blog and then take a look at the rest of his portfolio. Adam added a great deal of creativity to our studio...even if it was a "different kind" of creativity. If you want to follow a young playwright's career, then make sure you stay up with Adam....he's going to do great things! Rarely have I met someone as dedicated to his art...and determined to be heard!

Hey Adam, congrats on your recent marriage too!

--Charles

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Well, we're several weeks into our "Get in the Game" contest and the entries keep rolling in. We've asked you to send us the answer to the question "what is your favorite sport and why?" to enter the contest. Take a look at our corporate partners contest page to see what you can win from my publishing company and the Sports Museum of America.

In the meantime, i'd like to share some of the results with you. We've heard from many of you and you have a lot of different favorite sports....Baseball is your favorite so far, with more than 10 times the number of votes than any other sport. We've heard about the usuals....football, golf, basketball....but we also have votes for foosball, racquetball, and hot dog eating! Some of your entries are logged in the comments section of this blog. Keep those entries coming. You can still enter...either by posting a new comment to this blog or emailing your entry to info@fazzinocollectors.com. Enjoy!

--Charles

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My Associate Julie received this note from Helene  a few days ago after we helped her obtain the exclusive gift collectors pin that i created for the United States Olympic Committee. That pin is causing quite a stir. I saw one go for more than $600 on ebay recently! Remember, you can get yours by making a $100 donation to the USOC. The details are in the member's lounge.

           I had to write and tell you how much I appreciate and thank you for making the effort to find the source for getting the third spectacular pin Charles did for the Beijing Olympics for me and the other Fazzinophiles out there!!! I first found out about this pin when i saw it on e-bay, and almost fell out of my chair! I bid on it, of course, and made my bid high enough (I thought) to discourage anyone else from grabbing it. SO, i thought i was safe with a bid of $22!! How wrong I was. When i woke up the next morning and saw that it went for $512!! I dif fall out of my chair! The next move was to call you guys and find out what this pin was all about and where could we get it? Unfortunately, the answer was that it wasn't available to the general public...I was crestfallen. But not to be dissuaded from my quest, I called you and when you said "I'll call the manufacturer" I just knew, if it was possible, you'd find out. And you not only did, but got me all the information, the name and the address and everything I needed.

          The next day, I sent off the letter and the check and today I received my prize! And it's thanks to YOU! I think all my fellow Fazzinofreaks (I just keep coming up with these nicknames for us), owe you a major debt of gratitude and recognition for going that extra mile and for that matter, so does the USOC, because i'm sure that the website will generate a lot of checks to the USOC, not only from us members but probably by word of mouth to lots of other pin collectors and just people who appreciate Charles's work. His NBC pins have always sold out. And after all, that's why the USOC commissioned Charles to do the pin, so they would benefit from teh donations...but how else cna the public find out about the pin?? I don't know why they haven't put the word out. It is at least partly, if not fully, a tax deductible donation.

          I have, from the moment I finally met Charles, to this moment of joy, found all the people connected to and who work with him, to be the nicest, most helpful and accessible people I've had the pleasure to know. I didn't mean to get so wordy, but, my cup runneth over! Feel free to edit for length if you'd care to post this on the blog.

         Thanks again. Many Hugs,

         Helene White

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