That's my Boy!

Jesse Aycock's new album draws in icons

Jesse Aycock rehearses in Church Studio while preparing his latest album, which was recorded in March. NEAL CASAL/Courtesy

By JENNIFER CHANCELLOR World Scene Writer
Published: 8/11/2012  2:07 AM
Last Modified: 8/11/2012  4:11 AM

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Related story: Guitarist finds time to help out Tulsan.

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Tulsa singer-songwriter Jesse Aycock says there's sometimes a cosmic energy that brings things together exactly when they're supposed to.

"You can't plan this. I couldn't have planned this," he said recently.

Aycock is adding the finishing touches to an album he recorded at Church Studio earlier this year. It includes a constellation of stars - several of them his idols.

Two - multi-instrumentalist Neal Casal and drummer George Sluppick - are part of The Chris Robinson Brotherhood. That band makes its first appearance in Tulsa on Saturday at Cain's Ballroom.

Other guests on Aycock's album include Tulsa Sound icon and drummer Jimmy Karstein, Los Lobos guitarist David Hidalgo, Boondogs member Indy Grotto, longtime Tulsa bassist Eric Arndt and Little Rock studio wizard Jason Weinheimer.

Yes, the album's practically done. But it doesn't have a name, or a record label, or a distributor. Right now, he's OK with that, he said.

What's perhaps most impressive is how it all came together.

A somewhat peculiar incident put Aycock in touch with his idol Casal, "Way back when Myspace first came out," he said.

A woman from the Universal music group in London "contacted me after hearing my music and said I really needed to hear her friend Neal - Neal Casal," Aycock said. "I told her I loved his music. I had a bunch of his solo albums when I was a kid."

The woman sent Casal copies of Aycock's music.

In return, Casal wrote Aycock a letter.

"He said we should definitely do something, anything, sometime, anytime," he said. "He was working with Ryan Adams & The Cardinals at the time."

When that band came through Tulsa, "We hung out. We didn't do much, but we talked and talked."

Flash forward to an off-chance opportunity for Aycock to jam with drummer Sluppick through mutual friends in Little Rock. The pair became friends.

"Then, all this time later, I get a phone call from George. He said, 'Guess who I'm sitting with?' He was with Neal and said he'd just joined a band with Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes called the Chris Robinson Brotherhood."

Aycock stops, then explains, "The Black Crowes was one of the first live shows I ever went to as a kid."

Flash forward to early 2012. Aycock said he was driving around town, thinking about all the songs he'd been writing, "and I was wondering what I was going to do with them. When was I going to make an album? I was daydreaming about doing something with George and Neal and right while I'm thinking about that - my phone rang."

It was Sluppick.

"He said, 'I'm down to play some gigs or make a record, man, what'cha got?'"

Within weeks, the pair flew into Tulsa - and walked into the iconic Church Studio, the former recording home of many of their music idols, including former owner and Tulsa Sound founder Leon Russell. They're all big fans of the sound, one which Aycock also embodies - a blend of soul, country, blues, folk and straight-up rock 'n' roll.

About that time, a seemingly unrelated tour rolled through town - the Hendrix Experience Tour - which featured Los Lobos guitarist Hidalgo.

A friend of a friend of Hidalgo knew he'd be in Tulsa a day before the concert and picked him up to show him the world-famous Church Studio.

"I was recording in there and we'd just finished a bunch of stuff for the day. I didn't even know he was there," Aycock said.

"It was this amazing thing. David looked at me and asked, 'You care if I try something?' A hero of mine who just happened to show up went and got his custom guitar and we just had this huge jam session and hit record."

Aycock also regaled them all, especially Sluppick and Casal, with tales of Tulsa Sound musicians like J.J. Cale, Russell and Jimmy Karstein. "I told them Karstein still lived in town - that I should introduce them."

And he did. Next thing Aycock knows, Karstein wanted to play on the album, too. And he did.

"That's just one of those weird times that you can't ever plan for."

Sluppick and Casal were soon schooled by an original - Karstein - on the "good old days" at Church Studio, when Russell was at its helm.

"It's a lot different now than it was in the 1970s. There was the gorilla skin on the walls, the whole place was dark all the time, and sometimes Leon would wake everyone up at 5 a.m. to go in and track music. The vibe's still here, and they felt it. They really got into it. There's a lot of music history in these walls."

And though there's a lot of excitement and anticipation from everyone involved about this album, this "cosmic" coming together, Aycock said he's not in a particular rush to release the album.

"Before now, I've just released everything on my own. I've paid for everything myself," he said.

This time around, he's "shopping" the record, and hopes to get help with national and international promotion and distribution through record labels.

"Yes, this is an indie album - we did it all," he said. "I'm just not in a huge hurry to 'dump' it just to get it out there. I want this album to be heard."

SOLD! Stormy Beach Reader 10x10 oil

This painting is an original oil on canvas.  10x10.  Painted from photos taken during my vacation at the Gulf Coast.  I want to read what he is reading.  A big storm was fast approaching as one lone reader remained.  I liked the color of the beach umbrellas, still in bright sunlight, against the stormy sky.

If you want to bid on this painting which starts at a very low auction price w no reserve, click here to visit my ebay auction. 

And even MORE fun!

Have your Cake and Eat it Too! by MargaretAycockDesign
Browse more Chocolate Aprons

Having more fun with my store

I will create a girly one too

Long Horn on the Wichitas by FolkSalad
View more Longhorn Belt Buckles

Pretty Floral Belt Buckle by MargaretAycockDesign
Browse Girly Belt Buckles

12x12 Fruit Stand

I just finished painting this scene of a fruit stand and noticed a little slackening of the canvas so I ran cold water over the back and set it in the sun to stretch.  I came back out in about an hour and noticed that ash from the fires that are raging about 30 miles down the road had entered the painting.  I took a photo of it but now I think I will clear most, if not all of them off.  But it does capture a moment in history doesn't it!?

I was painting this for inclusion in an upcoming 12x12 show where it will be for sale.  If anyone wishes to purchase it before then for $325, let me know and I will find something else for the show.

Painting and Dancing

Dancing is second in line to painting as a fun thing to do.  When I went to tango I noticed everyone put their dancing shoes in a bag to carry them to class ( didn't want the leather soles to get scuffed up and dirty from the outside ) Anyways, I first created the painting and then got a brilliant idea.... put my tango still life on a canvas bag to carry dance shoes!

Let's Dance (perfect to carry your dance shoes in) Bag by MargaretAycockDesign
Browse Tango Bags

Deer in the Woods 9x11 oil Margaret Aycock

This is a painting of deer that had taken up residence in our out of the way campsite in the Wichita Mountains. It is brighter in real life.  bad lighting today for photos.  It is on auction this week on my ebay gallery.  You can bid on it here

I just opened a really cool store too with a bunch of my paintings on aprons, bags, t shirts etc.  you can check it out here  Let me know what you think.

For other paintings, teaching DVDs, my book, visit my blog

I am having fun with my new store

I am slowly putting together a little store that will feature my paintings on t shirts, tea pots, aprons, tiles and more.  Here is a little tile

Frilly Violet Iris Tile by Margaret Aycock Designs by MargaretAycockDesign
Browse for a different tile

Bathing Suited Figures

During class last week I brought in some older paintings that I was frustrated with and had decided to paint over.  I set this painting on a table facing the class and each person who walked in said " Wow!  I love that painting!"  When I said I had already lightly sanded it and was going to paint over it, they all protested and said, " don't do a thing to it.  Sell it just as it is."  Well there were things that bothered me about the painting but sometimes if something has sat long enough in the back of the studio, it doesn't seem quite so overwhelming to pull it out and fix mistakes.  I should have taken some before and after pics so you could make your own assessment but too late... I ended up fixing the water line, adding 2 more figures and another couple umbrellas, fixed the little girl w the towel and now those things that I loved about the painting are not fighting with those that I didn't.  I am so glad they stopped me from painting over this as I really like it now.  Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes is all we need. Speaking of which.... Now that I see the photo, I think I will lengthen the legs of the little girl just a hair. :-)
To bid on this painting click here  where you will go to my ebay auction.  If you want to find out more about me and my work, purchase a book or dvd, or read about my show at the State Capitol, read further down on this blog.

Shady Creek (Flint Creek) 10x10

I am very fortunate to have access to a beautiful log cabin in the woods, next to a beautiful clear, cool river.  I recently went there with my mom, husband and kids and an assortment of extended family.  There is nothing more relaxing than floating on a raft down a stream.  So I got to spend the days under the shade of tall cottonwood trees while painting, and getting to cool off in the stream and float when taking breaks.  Ahhhhh.... Oh, did I mention that it has been over 100 degrees for over 22 days now w no end in sight?  All the more reason to head for the creek.  This painting is on auction this week in my ebay store.  You can place your bid here and enter into my ebay gallery as well.

The Calm before the Storm 10x10

This painting was done from several photos taken during our trip to the gulf a few weeks ago.  There were huge storm clouds gathering as the sun shone down on the last bathers of the day.  It was a foretelling of what would come.... It drummed up a huge storm that soaked the area and brought a lot of flooding.  Fortunately we were 1/2 way back to Oklahoma before it ever hit so we missed the storm but got to enjoy the dramatic sky surrounding brightly colored beach umbrellas.  This painting is on auction right now through my ebay gallery.  To place your bid, click here 
A portion of the sale will be donated to the Tulsa Arts and Humanities Council

Granny Smith Apples on Striped Cloth

This is one in a series of paintings of fruit on striped cloth.... just to make my students trust their eyes while they paint.  They were so excited to see me bring just 2 pieces of fruit..... until, that is, the cloth :-)  I have an 8x10 similar to this one on auction this week on ebay starting at $69 w no reserve.  To place a bid or to check out my other paintings on ebay, click here  To find out about my upcoming one woman show at the State Capitol ( oops it started today so I guess it is here! ) read a little further down in my blog.

Single Peoney, 6x6 oil on canvas

This is a little painting that I did when the peonies were in bloom.  I have a lot of single flowers, single fruit, coffee cups etc in my daily painting section of my ebay gallery.  This one is knocked off full price this week and put on auction at a very reduced price.  to bid click here 

Catalog for Governor's Gallery

Image List:      read left to right.  All paintings are oil on stretched canvas and are priced unframed.  All paintings will be framed but some may be slat framed and some will be ornate gold.  If buyers want frames then I will price them separately.  The first 3 paintings are gallery wrapped and will be unframed.

Row 1 :  12x12 Osage Sky $300, Osage in Bloom $300, Osage Prairie Road $300, 10x10 Roses in Jelly Jar $300, Wild Roses $300

Row 2:  8x10 Woodward Park Tulsa $300, Illinois River Fisherman $300, Tall Grass Prairie Grove $300, Tall Grass Prairie Tree $300, Red Bud and Iris $300, Quartz Mountain View $300,

Row 3:  9x12 Azaleas $300, 8x10 Tulsa Community College Forest $300, Peonies $300, Frilly Iris $250, White Iris $250, My Fair City $300

Row 4: 16x20 Standing in Flowers at Turner Falls $600, Playing in Flint River $700, Tall Grass Prairie Brook $700, Oklahoma Girl in Fall $450 , Prairie Girl $450, Cowboy Dreams $500,

Row 5:  18x24  Stone Bluff Vineyard $600, 16x20 Peonies and Blue Bowl $700, Stopping to Pick Berries in Skiatook $700, Flint River $700, Azalea Walk $700, 20x24 Sunday in the Park $900

Row 6:  12x14 What we saw on the way home from the river $300, 16x20 Flowers from my Garden $500, 11x14 Red Roses $400, Clear Creek Monastery Road $300, My Garden $400, An out of the way Place at Gilcrease Museum $400,  Shady Garden $400, 16x20 Tango in Tulsa $700

Row 7:   11x14 Garden Walkway $300, 10x14 Osage County Barn $300, Pansies $400, 20x24 Treasures $900,  30x36 What I found in the attic $1200, 20x24 Summer on the Prairie $700

 

The New Tulsa Sound Series:  These are priced at $250 each.  They are multimedia, ink and acrylic on 8x8 canvas board.

Row 1:  Jesse Aycock, Josh Massad, Jared Tyler,

Row 2:  Annie Ellicott, Andrew Bones, Fiawna Forte

Row 3:  Dylan Aycock, Dustin Pittsley, Josh Raymer

Flint Creek Sketch 6x6 oil on canvas

click here to bid or to visit my ebay gallery  This is a painting sketch that I did last year while visiting one of my favorite spots in Oklahoma.  This was a little feeder brook that flowed into flint creek.  I did a few larger pieces after this one.  Two of those pieces are going to be hanging in the Oklahoma State Capitol bldg's Governor's Gallery for the months of July-September.  I have a one woman show there during that time.  I am trying to get my catalog finished and up on blogspot so that those who can not attend can at least view the pieces and actually purchase. 

6x6 Peach oil on canvas by Me!

What to do on a  hot summer afternoon?  Paint a series of peaches.  This is one in a small series of peaches on a striped cloth.  This one is in my ebay gallery.  One if its sisters is on auction there.  To visit my gallery and see nearly 80 of my paintings, click here

SOLD! Peach 6x6 oil

In my neighborhood there is a great community garden.  Although I don't garden there due to the fact that I have a huge garden in my own back yard, I did, however contribute to the planting of a bunch of fruit trees and berry bushes and grape vines.  We just had our first huge crop of peaches and plumbs.  I decided to paint them. I had so much fun, I decided to do a little series.  This is one in that series and it is on auction this week.  to bid on it click here to go to my ebay auction

on painting my self portrait without trying

I have been teaching painting for a long time now.  I often start with a master painting to teach the methods of measuring, drawing etc.  What I have found over the years is that I can make a pretty good guess at who produced the painting by how much the painting looks like the student.  I have been painting portraits for years.  I am a Caucasian female.  I once painted from life, an oriental girl and then just another Caucasian female.  On both portraits, I was asked, " Is this a self portrait?" 

 I guess we can't help ourselves.  We see that image in the mirror every day and it just appears on our canvases!  

Beautiful Girl and an Oklahoma Sky

If you leave a painting with me long enough, I am going to fool with it again.  Such is the case with this one.  In my adult painting class I usually start with a master painting so that I can teach the principles of measuring, glazing and such.  My students ( and I ) must change the hair, costume and background to make it our own.  This came from one of those demos.  I worked on the sky a little more as I love to put a dramatic, Oklahoma sky in my portraits.  Anyways unless this painting is sold on my ebay auction, it will be going to join the exhibit of my work in a one woman show at the State Capital Bldg later this month where it will be priced at around $400 or so.  Until then, check it out in my ebay auction and visit my ebay gallery.

Check out the Art Focus Magazine Article

To check out the recent Art Focus Magazine and read an article about my capital show, click here

Artist Statement for my Oklahoma State Capital Show

Oklahoma, The Place Where I Call Home

Artist Statement

I found out last year that I would be given the honor of a one woman show at the Governor’s Gallery in the Oklahoma State Capital Building.  Shortly thereafter I received a grant to complete the project from Oklahoma Visual Artists Coalition.  I have spent the year painting in some of my favorite places in Oklahoma.

This project took me all over our fair state, from the mountains at Quartz Mountain and the Wichitas to the vast prairie land at the Tall Grass Prairie.  When I started this project I planned to visit the outer reaches of the state of Oklahoma but then life happened.  My husband had a heart attack in the spring of the year which drew me closer to home.  While my husband recovered, I gave myself permission to enjoy the beauty in my own back yard where we have been moving away from a grass lawn and instead, have created water, flower and vegetable gardens.  This spring I found that no matter where I turned in the back yard, I could find something beautiful to paint, so included in this series are many paintings from my own gardens.   The peonies have traveled with us for 30 years, from house to house and travel further back in time to my husband’s great grandmother’s flower beds.  Some of the roses were salvaged several years ago from the area where now sits the Tulsa jail. 

I grew up in the Catskill Mountains of New York where I lived near a beautiful trout stream which ran right behind my house.  I spent many a day playing in the creek and exploring the woods and fields around my home.  Thanks to Petra Field Camp who supplied my lodging along Flint Creek where I have been able to explore, play and paint the Illinois and Flint Rivers and the Clear Creek at Clear Creek Monastery. 

There is still nothing more inviting to me than a dirt road.  Many of the paintings of the Osage and Tall Grass Prairie lands are off the beaten track.  Thanks to fellow explorer, Richard Higgs (NPR’s Folk Salad Radio Show), I was able to paint in some of the more remote places in the Tall Grass Prairie without getting lost.

Last year on a return trip from the prairie we spotted a sign advertising wagon races in Skiatook.  Again, a dirt road beckoned us.  We found we were too late for the races but put it on our calendar for this year.  The painting, “Stopping to Pick Berries,” came from some of the photos I took the day we sat in the shade of a persimmon grove and watched the races.  I can highly recommend it.

You can hardly paint in Oklahoma without painting at least one cowboy and one tornado.  I included the cowboy in my still life. “Cowboy Dreams,” and the tornado actually came from a very quick photo taken out the window of the car as we were coming home from Flint Creek.  We were trying to decide “should we stop or should we put the pedal to the metal and get out of here?”  We decided on both. (This painting will be in Capital Show only )

I teach adult oil painting lessons in Tulsa and when I am teaching at TCC every semester I choose a master painting to work from so that I can demonstrate techniques of drawing, measuring, brush work, and glazing.  The resulting painting is unrecognizable from the original as hair, clothing and background are transformed.  I love any excuse to paint a wonderful Oklahoma sky which you will see in the background of two of these paintings.  (The portraits will be in Capital Show only)

I am also the wife of a singer/songwriter ( Scott Aycock), and the mother of a singer/songwriter/musician ( Jesse Aycock ) and composer/musician ( Dylan Aycock).  My husband is also co host with the above mentioned, Richard Higgs on NPR’s music show, Folk Salad.  We also host musicians in our home concert series, House Concerts Unlimited.  All of this is to say how I came to paint the series, “The New Tulsa Sound.”  My life is not only surrounded by art.  It is also full of music.  I love what the young musicians are doing in Tulsa.  There is such a spirit of generosity among these guys and gals and a respect for tradition that has been inspiring us all in these parts for many years.  They were the inspiration of the painting of these portraits.  I have many more to go and some of them have been snapped up by Horton Records already, but I wanted to share some of them with you and encourage you to look them up and support their music.  The genres range from folk, rock, blues, jazz, and world music. (The series has been on display at Living Arts during “Oh Tulsa,” and will be in Capital Show only)

I truly want to thank the Oklahoma Arts Council for inviting me to display at the State Capital.  It is such an honor for me.  I also want to thank the Oklahoma Visual Artists Coalition.  They have been an encouragement for me as an artist throughout my career and were especially supportive, financially, in this endeavor.   Thanks to Steve Liggett and Living Arts for allowing me to preview the show in Tulsa so that I could share it in the place where I call home. 

A lazy Sunday

 A photo that we are tweaking for the chap book

Some of the smaller paintings getting weeded out for the show.

What a delightful day.  We spent a lazy morning drinking coffee, reading the Sunday paper and watching Sunday morning political shows.  The afternoon was spent working on Scott's chap book and organizing and working on paintings for my upcoming capital show.  Later we moved to the back porch, lit a fire to keep the mosquitoes at bay and had a nice supper while listening to Scott's radio show, NPRs Folk Salad.  We came in and went from public radio to public tv and have been watching and listening to Tony Bennet singing w all our favorites,Amy Winehouse, Aretha Franklin, KD Lang, Nora Jones, Willie Nelson, Lady Gaga and more, all singing those great old torch songs.  Now those are songs to fall in love by! 

SOLD! Playing in the creek on a summer day, 16x20 oil

I did this painting from photos and oil sketches done at Flint Creek  in Oklahoma.  I love to go play in the creek.  These are my great nephews.  This and other paintings are on sale through my ebay gallery.

Irises 11x14

My very favorite painting place this year, has been my own back  yard.  This was painted a couple of weeks ago as the irises were beginning to bloom and the red bud tree had lost its red flowers.  I am painting for a big show at the state capitol right now.  It will feature favorite places in and around Oklahoma.  If you would like to bid on this painting or enter my ebay gallery, click here  If you would like to visit my blog, click here