Look, Baby, I'm a Reggae Star!

Baby, Look, I'm A Reggae Star,  acrylic and graphite on panel, 24 x 30 inches, 2009.

I don't make too many self portraits, but every once in a while I get the urge.  This is one of those instances.  

In my mind I fancy myself a Dancehall King, up on stage with my mic, chattin' over riddims, and movin' the people.  In reality, the crowd usually consists of one person, my darling wife.  So, in the confines of our apartment, I live out my reggae dream by performing for her with music blasting and a gyration of body not easily duplicated.  If I am doing my job well, she'll get a twinkle in her eye, crack a smile, and eventually laugh, and that is when I know the crowd has gone wild!  It feels good to be a star.

The gator in this painting represents yours truly.  The only literal likeness to be found is in the color of the eye. I tried to match it to my true color.  To be a king of the dancehall one must be rough and rugged, while still maintaining one's cool.  As an alligator I've got tough skin, a quick mouth, and I'm cold-blooded.  
My chosen form is the embodiment of this paradox, vicious and smooth, all at the same time.  In this picture I am smoking one of my favorite pipes, a mini churchwarden that was made in Denmark by Björn Bengtsson.  

So, I'm up onstage with my pipe and I'm chattin' so tough, so tough in fact, that a Luchador, clad in the colors of the Jamaican flag, shoots out of my pipe like grapeshot from a cannon.  He  bawls "RAGGA, RAGGA, RAGGA!" as he flies through the air.  To get a feel for the toughness I speak of, I suggest listening to Burro Banton's,  Boom Wha Dis.  You might even try listening to it while viewing the work, after all, I was listening to it while making the work.