We
met Gene Skala online...once again underlining the community potential
of the Internet. He created several beautiful panels to adorn the stage
for Rickie Lee Jones' performance at the Old Town School of Folk Music
in Chicago. The next day the two of them drove around the city, taking
in the shadowy ghosts of memory standing in doorways, the shelter of the
overpasses, and towering glass, brick, and steel. Here was the alley where
Rickie's father walked carrying a big stick (in an old crumpled photo).
There was the hotel where they lived way back when. five
a.m., oil on canvas, collection of the artist
Gene is a gifted artist, a painter
of worth, and fine graphic artist. Enjoy the two large canvases currently
on the island by clicking on the images below. A more extensive show of
his works will be mounted in the future on GBI (Great Big Island).
chicago
rickie lee jones
suitcase,
oil on canvas, private collection 
five
a.m., oil on canvas, collection of the artist