Five years ago I was in my local vintage vinyl and music memorabilia store, Gold Million in Bryn Mawr (PA) (http://goldmillionrecords.com), which was hosting an exhibit of work by Cal Schenkel (http://www.ralf.com).

Frank Zappa fans will know Cal as the artist responsible for many Zappa/Mothers album covers, including Cruising with Reuben and the Jets:

Cal is originally from the Philadelphia area and lives around here now, and was at the store that day. We had a nice chat about his time working with Frank and I then said I wanted to buy a painting that was on the wall:

As you can see, it is in the style of the Reuben cover. It may also remind you of some of Carl Barks’ creations (Beagle Boys, Goofy, etc.); Cal has mentioned Barks as an influence in interviews.

Cal and I stood in front of the painting and he said something like ” . . . geez, I’m not so sure I really want to part with that . . .”

Maybe all artists say that when they’re trying to make a sale. (Sorry, Cal).

What made me really want to buy it was the frame, which is distressed and . . . ornamented, I guess you would say . . . in a pretty bizarre fashion. The frame is chipped and burnt; there are all sorts of nails driven into it; and there are several plastic toys/figures melted into it. Here are some close-ups:

   

           

It is a great piece that I still excitedly show to visitors to my office (willing or un-).

A few weeks ago, I was at an exhibit focused on World War I at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and saw this painting by Horace Pippin:

The painting is entitled ‘The End of the War: Starting Home”. I was struck by the ornamentation of the frame here. Perhaps this is something more prevalent than I am aware of. Here are close-ups of the frame:

I don’t know if Cal has seen this work. It’s a more literal approach to the ornamentation. But very effective in its own way.