On the last day of February Jayne and I met at a friend of hers at Old City Java in Knoxville. Jim Owens is an actor and artist originally from Detroit. He and his wife lived in Knoxville for awhile ("I worked a lot" Jim said) and after exploring Los Angeles and San Diego he and his wife have recently moved back to Tennessee.
The reason we were meeting was that Jim had volunteered to work with us on a logo for the Flying Anvil Theatre. Why? Maybe he's crazy. Maybe he finds meeting middle-aged women over espresso exciting. Or maybe he's one of those talented and generous artists that I cross paths with in this business who remind me how exhilarating the process of creating art can be.
You know what? Maybe it's all of the above.
However, even before I met Jim, I saw his work. Bold, colorful paintings and prints lined the brick walls of Old City Java. Jim paints what he terms "car-noir" - a combination of sexy autos and stylish women emanating attitude from Hollywood circa 1950.
And his work is amazing.
Here's his website. Check out the goddess print. Cool, huh?
Speaking of cool - Jim had brought his Mac and we played with images, fonts, sizes, colors, words for the logo. We drank more ice tea. Jim and Jayne discussed the wings, which Jim had originally hand sketched on the back of a napkin. Jayne liked the left wing. Jim advocated for the right wing. We joked about political leanings but quickly went back to the art.
After about an hour Jim got an idea and put a tilt on the word "theatre."
- and yes, yes, yes. Heavy, light, flying, tilted, serious, whimsical. Perfect.
We plan to put it on everything - shirts, hats, shorts. Maybe I can finally talk Jayne into getting that tattoo she always said she'd get. Someday.
At which point we'll put on our heels, slap on some lipstick, rev up the old Caddy, and varoom! If we get lucky enough we may even get to pose for the next Jim Owens print.
Hey Y'all - watch this!
