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The Will of The People

I don't like to philosophize high and mighty.
I swear to God I don't, though circumstantial evidence often suggests otherwise.
"What do they want?" was the big question when Occupy Wall Street began.
"They want what any American with a brain in their head wants, provided that American isn't a bankster, or corporate profiteer." I thought to myself as I embarked on my latest painting. It was finished in December, but I held off on it's debut until the eve of Occupy Congress in solidarity.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you, "The Will of The People"- A 36"x24" oil painting.
Enjoy!

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The Winter of Our Discontent

From the inception of my recent art-show, "Gatos Del Exterior" last June, the race was on.
Any perceived tragedies that ensued were self-imposed for the most part. I'll be more specific. Plans were set in motion in June for a show in September/October. A basic law that should be adhered to when planning a show in my estimation would be that one should have all the pieces they would hope to show, ready to be shown. Common sense. I guess that's just not the way I roll. The basis for setting the date of the show when we did, was that was when the show needed to be. I raced from June to the day of the show trying to get my latest piece finished for the show. I showed it unfinished.
After the show, I spent a week decompressing, and thinking about how things would be going. There would be a lot of catching up, so many important  had been put on hold.
Occupy Wall Street was about two weeks old, and it had my attention for many reasons. Time will prove it's significances, but I personally believe this is the beginning of a major turning point, an inevitable evolution if you will. Like most of the other 99%, I believe some things need to change, and the spirit of the movement is to take action now. For many, that has meant taking to the streets. The sort of action I needed to take was clear to me right away, and would lead me right back into another mad race.

See you in five years.

"Gatos Del Exterior" closed today, and despite some insignificant political opposition, it was well met by all who attended the opening reception, and those who viewed the show afterwards. Chris Yambar, well-known cartoonist and writer for, "The Simpsons" commented, "Went to Jeffrey Puccini's artist reception last night downtown at the Lemon Grove. BEST ARTIST RECEPTION IN YEARS! Smooth, fun, smart set up, good mix of crowds. Paintings were selling off the walls. Big fan of the man's work! Visit and see for yourself."

Paintings did sell off the walls, but that wasn't the major thrust of the show for me. I like to have a show like "Gatos Del Exterior" about every five years or so, to show my appreciation of my local supporters. It was also about introducing my super-talented co-exhibitor, Jess Leininger to a wider audience. It was an evening of good music, food and fun. My home-made, "Wild Giraffe" wine did flow. I offered samplings of, "Wild Youngstown" made from local wild grapes, Mulberry, Cherry, Strawberry, and Mead. My helpers got very drunk, and their function was somewhat diminished,  but we got by. What an assortment of delicious food! Every kind of cheese ever made, fruit,and a selection of desserts beyond compare.(Kudos to Jess Arnold!) Dan Susany's Be well, Drum-on, held the room spell-bound as they started the evening musically. "This is so awesome! we've never had anything like this here!" a Lemon Grove employee mentioned enthusiastically.

The place filled up quickly. At about 7:30, a half hour into the show, the bar-tender overwhelmed, rushed to me and said, "It's time to collect money at door, right?" I said, "No, not until ten. the entertainment and the food are all donated". He looked at me with shock, and horror, and scurried off in a huff. The music was overseen by Master of Ceremony P.J. Rosenburg, and it flowed smoothly, and set the tone for the evening. We were treated to the avant-garde stylings of Donnie and Beth Dipiero, a heart-felt acoustic set from Rukus Radio's Trevor Q. Murphy,  Smooth, free-form fusion from Dave Lynn and friends, and later on in the evening, the return of Punk-a-billy legends, The Bedspins.

Gatos Del Exterior was well attended and everyone seem to be having a great time. I was extremely pleased the party unfolded as planned. If you didn't make it out, well...I feel sorry for you! Maybe you can come to the next one. I'll see you in five years!

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Gatos Del Exterior?

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Some of you may have caught wind of, "Gatos Del Exterior" (Outside cats), and might like to know more. Well, let me tell ya. I'm a bit on the shy-side, certainly not the most social person you know. A Puccini siting can be a rare thing. Still in all, I'm an artist that gets a lot of support and encouragement from my community. That being the case, I like to host a showing of my artwork every 5 or so years. I try to make it as, Party-like as I can, as a way of showing my appreciation to those who truly stand by me.

Aside from offering a sampling of my, "Wild Giraffe" home-made wine, I'll also be offering many of my original works at drastically reduced prices for the duration of the show. So much so, that my planned prices raised Nikki's ire. She said that selling my originals so cheap will de-value my work. I disagree. My prices will return to normal after the show. I really want to give my supporters an opportunity to own an original piece. I'm confident the value of a Puccini original will only increase, as I strive to make each painting better than the last, and I haven't been disappointed. It'll be a great time to acquire prints of your favorite pieces for previously unheard of prices.

Then there's my co-exhibitor, Jess Leininger. If you don't know who she is, you will. Like me, she's, "Untrained". I consider her a better artist than I am in spite of her young age, and I think quite a lot of myself. I'm particularly impressed with her skills as a photo-realist, which rival my own. She goes me one better with her strictly original, born of her own mind, fantasy works. Again, this show will be an opportunity for a savvy collector to get in on the ground floor of something really good.

Then there's music which will be presented by the multi-talented P.J. Rosenburg. If you don't know P.J., you should. Over the years he's played with a number of bands, most recently, The Bedspins, and Jones for Revival. He'll be featuring a local all-star line-up, culminating in the return to Youngstown of The Bedspins for the first time on a local stage in over two years.

All of this is taking place at The Lemon Grove, the premier establishment of the Youngstown renaissance courtesy of local visionary Jacob Harver. You don't have to buy anything to stop by, have a little wine,  and say, "Hi", to a couple of the finest, "uneducated" artists you may meet.